Chapter 27
I feelthe moment Garrison arrives at Peakside.
The air grows dense, my nipples tightening in anticipation. There’s no need to look toward the door for confirmation. I know he’ll come to me.
The bar top is cool beneath my forearms as I rest forward against it, swirling the tiny black straw through the deep brown liquid in my glass. The same drink he ordered and made me drink the night he walked me home. I’ve only had one sip, just enough to leave my throat burning and the scent of whiskey on my breath. It eased some of the nerves fluttering through me but didn’t erase them completely.
A Brody Steele song drifts through the air, playing on the old speakers above the bar. I proudly recognized it after the opening notes as his second single, a classic in his small but popular repertoire. I’m grateful it’s an upbeat one, not up for a slow love song right now.
I need something fast that won’t have me slipping into my mind and overthinking everything that I’m about to do.
The hairs on my arms rise at the same moment I inhale through my nose and smell Garrison’s cologne, the luxury scent something from one of those designer shops I can’t afford. My mouth goes dry, excitement thrumming in my blood.
“Is there a reason you’re not at the table with everyone else?” The voice is low and throaty in my ear.
I shiver, keeping my eyes trained forward on the shelves of liquor behind the bar. “Are you feeling better?”
“Mmm. Now.”
His body settles beside mine, so much power rippling from him that it’s almost hard to breathe beneath the weight of it. My temperature spikes when he splays a hand across the top of my ass, over the thin material of my purple sundress. The slight hitch in his breathing when the tip of his finger tugs at the band of my panties beneath it has me soaking the gusset.
“I feel underdressed,” he adds gruffly.
“I’m not sure you could ever be underdressed in a thousand-dollar suit.”
“Look at me.” His fingers flex over my back, drifting low enough to feel the cellulite on my ass cheek. He tightens his grip, not put off by it. “And I’ve never owned a suit that cheap.”
Turning my head, I finally do look at him. My eyes grow wide, sweat breaking out on the back of my neck. The sight of the jeans isn’t surprising after seeing him at the ranch, but my knees grow weak at the sight of him in cowboy boots. A man in a pair of muddied-up boots has always turned me on, but I should have known my reaction to Garrison wearing them would put all previous ones to shame. He wore these on purpose. It’s not a coincidence after I told him how much I like them.
It’s a miracle I’m able to keep myself from shoving him onto the bar and?—
“We can leave,” he rasps, reading my expression or goddamn mind, I don’t know or care. “Right now.”
My head is foggy, but I manage to shake it side to side. “Not yet.”
“Stop looking at me like that, or you’ll get fucked in a bathroom stall, then.”
“Who said anything about fucking? Hmm? I’m here with my friends, and you were just ill.”
He uses the hand not cupping my ass to grip the edge of the bar as he dips his head and murmurs, “Two days in bed with you, Poppy. I had this ass dangled in front of my face for two days and wasn’t allowed to bury my face in it, so, no, you’re not here with your friends. You’re here with me, and you’ll be leaving with me whenever you can’t take the empty ache in your pussy any longer. I’ll be waiting to take it away. All night long if I so choose.”
I clench around nothing, my panties ruined.
“You’re not the only one here who might be up for that task, Garrison,” I whisper, loving the way he has to lean in further to hear the words.
The first scrape of his jaw against my cheek is electric. Blood rushes to the skin beneath his touch, buzzing.
His grip on my ass turns punishing, and I’m grateful we’re on the opposite side of the bar as our friends so they can’t see his possessive hold on me. Not a single one of them would understand how much I love it. Ache for it.
Despite all the questions in my mind, having this man lay a public claim on me like this is enough to turn me inside out. Even if it might ruin all of my plans before they begin.
He turns his face, and his mouth catches my jaw, lips parting as he says, “If you’re trying to get a rise out of me, it won’t work.”
“No?”
“No, honey. It won’t.”
“We’ll see.”
The arrogant tone in his statement is what I focus on when I push away from the bar and leave him standing there alone. I stride past the bar, head high and hips swaying a bit more than necessary, knowing he’s watching and hoping he’s already feeling his control waver. Anna’s eyes catch mine the moment I step into the open walkway, her smirk only adding to my confidence.
An older man is currently on the back of the new mechanical bull, a small crowd gathered around him. He’s hanging half off the thing as it bucks, his right leg almost sticking straight up in the air while he grapples for a new hold. Two seconds longer, he’s falling onto the mat below the bull. The crowd shouts as he climbs to his feet and cups his hands around his mouth to yell a booyah!
Anna’s sweet perfume hits me a beat before she sidles up beside me and asks, “You do know how to ride one of those, right?”
I laugh, a bit disbelieving. “You’re asking that now? Once I’m about to hop on the death trap?”
“I mean, Bryce tried to convince me you were capable, but I figured I’d ask you myself before I encouraged you.”
“I’m not amazing at it, but yeah, I can ride a mechanical bull.”
She nods loosely. “He’s watching you already. Wait. Are those cowboy boots?”
“Yeah. I nearly fell to my knees the moment I saw,” I admit.
“He’s glaring at me now. Did you piss him off before you even left his side?” she asks, the words strained as if she’s trying not to laugh.
I smirk, ignoring the urge to look over at him. “He thinks I’m going to be the one begging him to take me home tonight.”
“He’s a fool,” Bryce says, sliding up on my left. Her shoulder bumps mine, and I lean into her for a moment. “Now, get the hell up there. I’ve added your name to go next.”
With a hard swat at my ass, Bryce sends me lurching forward, narrowly avoiding tripping over myself. That’d be enough embarrassment to have me leaving this place and moving to Switzerland for the rest of my life.
Garrison’s eyes are a hot and heavy weight on my back as I slip through the crowd of people and make my way to the barrier of protective cushion that runs along the edge of the ring. Flashbacks to my first few years of legal drinking hit me full force when Thomas, a Steele Ranch farmhand with a head of buzzed blond hair half-hidden beneath a baseball cap, offers me his hand, and I take it, allowing him to help me over the barriers without flashing my panties to everyone. It’ll happen the moment I hop up on the thing, but once is better than twice.
“Go, Poppy!” Bryce shouts, sticking her fingers in her mouth to whistle. “Make that bull your bitch!”
I cup the top of my hat in my hand to remind myself it’s there and prepare for the jump. The last time I was on a mechanical bull, I was at least twenty pounds lighter and way more agile than I am now. A cold flush trickles down my spine, poisoning the excitement that I’ve built up. Garrison is watching, and if I break this stupid fucking bull, I’ll never get past that mortification.
Hands grip my hips and lift me into the air, forcing a cry from my lips. I frantically shoot my arms out in front of me and grab for the rope around the bull’s neck, holding on for dear life. Thomas all but seats me on the cold padding of the mechanical bull and then offers me an encouraging smile when I swing my leg over and sit fully on its back.
The hem of my dress rides high up my thighs, exposing far more skin than I was planning on tonight. I don’t let myself focus too much on that, though. Nobody is going to get a flash of my goodies that I don’t want to.
“You ready?” Thomas asks while I adjust my grip on the rope.
Risking a look past the crowd of drunk bodies, I focus on Garrison’s waiting glare. It’s flaming, warming me right back up. His arms are crossed over his chest, biceps bulging and jaw clenching. It’s the exact reaction I was hoping for.
Somehow, that reaction only gets better when Thomas pats my leg and Garrison focuses on where he’s touching my bare skin. I cock a brow at him, not bothering to hide my grin as his lip curls.
“I’m ready,” I say.
Thomas tips his chin and steps back. “One hand on the rope, the other in the air. We’ll start the clock once you start moving.”
I shift my pelvis and lean forward on the bull before lifting my arm in the air.
“Thanks for the help,” I tell him before he climbs over the barrier.
His smirk spells trouble. “No worries, beautiful. See you on the other side.”
The first jolt of the bull beneath my body is a shock. I slide forward before I tighten my thighs around its body and prepare for the rock backward. It starts slow, a tease of something easy and comfortable that won’t last more than a few seconds. By the time my palm has grown sweaty around the rope, it’s moving much quicker, harsher, my entire body jerking and muscles pulling. Cool air hits higher up my thighs as my dress rides up, but I can’t reach back to adjust it.
“That ’a girl, Poppy!” Anna screams as the crowd cheers, growing excited with every second that I stay on the bull.
I want to find her and smile in thanks, but the only person I can make out is Garrison. I’m drawn to him, and it doesn’t seem to matter the time or place, he’s the centre of my attention.
Possession and an unmissable sense of desire. Of potent need. That’s what I see in those guarded greenish-brown eyes as he watches me from just beyond the crowd, having moved closer in the time I’ve been on this bull. He can’t keep himself away from me the same way I can’t keep my distance from him. There’s no lie in the world that could convince me otherwise.
I don’t know how long I last on the bull, but my legs burn, and my grip on the rope is now utterly worthless. I’m weak and sore, preparing my jump off. The moment I feel my fingers slip down the rope, I move both my legs to one side of the bull and jump.
It’s not perfect by a long shot. I stumble on my feet, arms flailing wide as I fight for balance. Then, Thomas is in front of me, steadying me with his hands on my elbows. I stare at him, the ground swaying beneath my feet.
“I’m good,” I say when he leans in far too close.
He grins devilishly. “Yeah, I know. But he’s not, and I’ve been waiting to see that guy lose his cool since he got to CP.”
Whipping my head to the side, I sway on the padding beneath me and gasp. My eyes nearly roll back in pleasure at the sight of Garrison grabbing hold of the barrier and tossing himself over it. He lands gracefully on his feet, and I embrace his seething anger as he stalks toward me, letting it wrap around me, feeling strangely safe.
His touch is gentle yet branding as he sidesteps Thomas, nostrils flaring while taking my hand in his and pulling me into his chest. I melt against him despite my best efforts. He feels so good, his body molded around mine in the most delicious way.
I tip my head back to stare up at him and shudder against his chest. Only in my dirtiest dreams did I imagine being stared at with this unholy level of desire.
When he speaks, the words are strained, guttural.
“We’re leaving. Do yourself a favour and don’t argue with me. If you listen, maybe I’ll allow you the ability to be able to sit once I’m done with you.”
I’m the one pulling him out the door.