10. Bull

10

Bull

She looked incredible . Those luscious breasts were damn near escaping, bouncing up into the open neck of her blouse so that I could see almost all of the creamy flesh, right down to her bra. And when she started getting up out of the saddle I could see that gorgeous ass, all curves and bountiful promise, bouncing up and down just like it would on top of me, if I had my way. And she was brave as hell. She didn’t know a damn thing about riding a bull but she’d gotten up there and done it anyway.

Brave and beautiful. Goddamn. She was like that warrior queen with the spikes on her chariot who led the Romans. Lady Godiva, that was it.

And then she was falling and I was lunging forward, catching her just in time.

I pulled her to my chest— just to make sure I had a good hold on her. Those fantastic breasts squashed against my chest and I almost growled. Okay, I’d probably pulled her slightly closer than necessary. And the hand on her ass, lightly squeezing her rump, probably wasn’t strictly needed. But safety first.

She looked up at me, her eyes big and panicked...but then they narrowed in a look I recognized. I could feel the heat of her body throbbing into mine. As I straightened up, her thighs wrapped around me and the softness between her legs pushed tight against my groin. I was suddenly harder than I’d ever felt.

Her lips were just slightly parted. We stared at each other….

And then she was jumping down and—

Running for the door?

Oh, hell no. Not happening.

I raced after her, bursting out into the evening heat. She spun around when she heard me and stumbled to a stop. The doors slammed behind me, quieting the blare of the jukebox. The only sound was the cicadas and the occasional rustle of the breeze in the trees.

I could tell she was about to run again. Well, the hell with that. I jumped forward and grabbed her wrist, then yanked her back towards me. She gave a little cry of surprise and staggered forward. I put both hands on her waist and pushed her up against the wall of the bar. “Goddamn it, woman! What the hell is the matter with you?”

She squirmed in my hands. “It’s not—I can’t—”

“You can’t what?”

“I don’t do this.”

“Do what? Date? Fuck? Kiss?!”

Her breath was coming in shudders, now. I frowned and released my grip on her. Suddenly, my theory about her being some man-eating New Yorker looking for fun didn’t feel right. Which only left —

Was it really possible that she was some innocent? With a face and a body like hers? What the hell had she been doing—hiding under a rock?

And it wasn’t as simple as her not liking me. She kept looking at me and then looking away. Every time she met my eyes, I could see the raw need in her; every time she looked away, she looked terrified. She was into me...but some fear she had was winning out. I was pretty sure it wasn’t me she was scared of. Who, then?

“Are you married?” I asked.

She blinked. “What? No!”

“Then what the hell is your problem?” I moved my head in closer and lowered my voice. “Lily, I want you. I want to bang seven shades of hell out of you. I want to hear you screaming my name until your goddamn throat is raw. And I’m pretty sure you want me, too, so why do you keep running away?”

She shook her head. “I can’t be with you.”

I frowned. “Why?”

“I can’t be with anyone.”

I sighed in exasperation. “Why? You promised your body to Jesus? Give me a straight answer!”

She was silent and, for a second, I thought she was going to do just that. But when she met my eyes again, I could see something there...something awful.

She was an innocent. An innocent who’d seen some seriously bad shit.

Then, before I could say something, she’d pushed me back and was running away down the street.

Goddamnit! I felt like pulling off my hat and throwing it in the dirt, but then I remembered Kirsten was still wearing it. I stalked back into the bar, horny and frustrated and in need of liquid solace .

Instantly, Kirsten was by my side, pressing her body to mine from ankle to shoulder, her ash-blonde hair brushing silkily against my neck. “City girls,” she said disparagingly.

I looked down at her lithe body and all the pleasures it offered...then grabbed my hat off her head and pushed her away. For some reason, I wasn’t in the mood anymore.