10. Becca

10

BECCA

I held my breath the whole entire time he was up on that bull, but he won. Not only did he win the preliminaries, he won the whole day. They are already forecasting him to be the winner of the event tomorrow, and I can't even try to contain my excitement. As soon as he's off that bull and out of the ring, he's jogging toward me. I get out of my seat and meet him halfway. "Oh my gosh, that was so good. I'm so proud of you," I tell him.

He pulls me against him and holds on to me tightly. People are walking in both directions all around us and some people are patting him on the shoulder and congratulating him, but neither one of us seem to care. I have feelings for him. I know it's fast, and I know I have bad judgment and all of that, but I don't want to think past today. I want to live in this moment and see it through.

Does he have the ability to break my heart? Absolutely. There's no doubt about it; he can do that, but there's no way I can just walk away. He grabs on to my hand and starts walking out the back door to the truck. "You sure you don't want to stay around and watch the rest of the rides?"

He shakes his head. "No, I want to take you out. You deserve a good meal and to have some fun."

I laugh because he's crazy. "I am having fun. I've had a blast. I can't remember having this much fun."

He helps me into the passenger side of the truck. "Name it. Anything that you want to do, we can go do it."

I tilt my head to the side and look at him. He's so unselfish. He's nothing like my ex, and the more I get to know him, the more I realize that is the truth.

I push his blond hair off his forehead. "You have a race tomorrow, and I think it's pretty important that you're rested up for that."

He shrugs. "I will be. Tell me what you want to do."

I put my hands on his shoulders. "If I wasn't here, what would you be doing right now?"

He seems to think about it for just a second. "I'd be at home, probably drinking a beer and going to sleep. I sound like I'm a lot of fun, don't I?"

I laugh because that actually sounds like a perfect night to me. "All right, let's do that."

He rears back. "No way. You need to have some fun. If you don't, there's no way I'm going to get you to come back to one of these."

"No, really. I think that sounds good, actually. I would love to curl up on the couch next to you and just hang out."

It seems that he's happy with what I say, because he doesn't wait another minute. He shuts my door and then runs around to his side of the truck. Minutes later, we're at his house sitting on his couch, each of us drinking a beer. "You sure you don't want anything to eat?" he asks.

I shake my head. "No. I told you that rodeo food was pretty good. I may have to walk a few extra miles this week, though."

He shakes his head. "Nah, you're perfect the way you are."

With my back pressed up against the couch, he leans in and kisses me. This kiss is more intense and more heated than any of our previous ones, and I feel like I can't get close enough to him. I'm pulling him toward me as he's tightening his hold on me. He kisses my lips, my cheeks, my neck, and then back to my lips again. I pull back, breathless. "I changed my mind."

His eyes get really big as he pulls back. "What's wrong? What did I do?"

I shake my head, realizing that I made him think something is wrong. "No. I mean, I changed my mind about—you know." I wiggle my eyebrows at him.

He looks at me seriously. "Becca, you're going to have to spell it out for me."

I wrap my hands around the back of his neck and hold on to him. "You remember I told you that I wouldn't have sex with you? I've changed my mind."

He takes three deep breaths and rests his forehead against mine. He looks as if he's a man that is struggling really hard with something. When he pulls back, he looks at me. "I need you to tell me about your ex."

I look at him with indecision. That's the last thing that I want to think about right now, but I know it needs to be done. I release a breath and try to gather my thoughts. "I dated my ex for a month. He told me that he loved me. He took my virginity and immediately got out of bed and left to go on a date with someone else. He told me that the whole month was a lie and the only reason he went out with me was to have sex with a virgin."

Lucas' hold on me tightens, and I see the anger on his face. I shake my head at him. "Don't be mad. It's done. It's over with. I'm over it."

He tilts his head to the side and cups my cheek. "Did you love him?"

I shake my head. "No. I'm 23 years old. I liked him and thought it was time, but no, it's not like he broke my heart or anything like that. I was more angry and embarrassed that I let something like that happen than anything else."

His hold tightens again, and he shakes his head. "This is not your fault. None of that was your fault. He's the asshole."

"I know he is."

He leans toward me. "Is that what you mean when you said that you didn't even like sex?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I didn't. It wasn't good, but he also never made me feel the way that you make me feel."

Lucas lets out a deep breath. "Whether it happens now or a month from now, I'm not going anywhere. I want more than just sex with you."

There's so much that I want to believe. I would love to believe that what he's saying is true, but I'm not going to let my heart or my thoughts go that way. I need to remember what this is. He's my rebound guy. He's going to help me move on. That's what we agreed to, and I'm not going to change the rules in the middle of the game. I'm going to go into this with my eyes wide open. I'm going to have some fun. "I don't want to wait a month. I don't want a week. Heck, I don't even want to wait another second, Lucas. I want you."

He pulls out of my arms, stands up, and holds his hand out to me. I put my hand in his, and he helps me up from the couch, pulling me toward his bedroom. He doesn't stop until we're right next to his bed. His hands go to my shoulders, and he looks deep into my eyes. "Are you sure about this, Becca?"

I don't even hesitate. I've never been so sure of anything in my life. I stretch up on my tiptoes and press my lips to his. His hands go over my shoulders, down my back, and he cups my ass, pulling me close to him. I can feel his hard bulge press into my belly, and I try to get closer to him.

There's a yearning deep inside of me wanting more, knowing that this time is going to be different. Already, it’s better than I could have ever imagined. "Yes," I whisper huskily as he kisses my neck.

He pulls back, and I can see the strain on his face as if he's trying to hold back from me. He pulls his shirt from the waistband of his pants and throws it across the room. I can't resist his muscular chest, and I put my hands on it before touching every hard muscle on his abdomen. He sucks in a breath as if my touch makes him crazy. He reaches for the hem of my shirt and starts to pull it up. "May I?"

I look him square in the eye. "You can do anything you want with me."

He grunts loudly, "Fuck," and I can't help but smile as I watch him start to lose the self-control that he’s tried really hard to hold on to.