Chapter 7
CHAPTER
SEVEN
Savvy.
I pushed through the door of Forty Acres and the low hum of country music mixing with the sounds of clinking bottles and loud conversation slammed into me. The place was packed with bodies moving around tables, cowboys leaning against the bar, and couples already swaying to the song playing from the old jukebox in the corner.
The air smelled like bourbon, beer, and a little too much cologne, but it wasn’t unpleasant. It was familiar. A rodeo crowd, loose from the barbecue, ready to drink and celebrate.
I hadn’t come here for any of them. I was here for him and he knew it.
Destry sat at the bar like he had been born there, his hat casting a slight shadow over his face. He had one long leg stretched out, a beer hanging loosely from his fingers, and the lazy confidence of a man who never had to try too hard.
The second I walked in, he found me. His eyes locked onto mine. He delivered a sexy smirk, and my stomach tightened.
He didn’t wave me over nor did he call my name. He just watched and waited.
Damn him.
I straightened my shoulders, and made my way through the crowd, ignoring the handful of cowboys who tipped their hats or shot lingering looks my way. I didn’t break Destry’s gaze and he sure as hell didn’t break mine.
By the time I reached the bar, he was already grinning, looking way too damn sexy and pleased with himself.
“I thought I was gonna have to track your pretty ass down.”
I slid onto the stool next to him, resting my elbows on the counter. “You won the bet, Callahan. I keep my word.”
“Good to know.”
The bartender, an older man named Hank, who had been slinging drinks since before I was born came over, wiping his hands on a towel. “What can I get you, sweetheart?”
Before I could answer, Destry spoke. “Bourbon. Neat.”
I arched my brow. “Who said I drink bourbon?
“I did, so you’re drinking bourbon.”
Hank chuckled and poured the drink, sliding the glass in front of me.
I narrowed my eyes, but I didn’t argue. Instead, I wrapped my fingers around the glass and took a sip and the burn rolled down my throat smoothly.
Destry watched me with amusement tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“Something funny?” I asked.
He shook his head, taking a drink of his beer. “Just enjoying the view.”
“You’re arrogant.”
“And it turns you on,” he drawled, leaning in just enough for his voice to be felt. “You’re drinking bourbon with me at my bar.”
“It’s not your bar.”
“I got your pretty ass here. I feel like I own the gotdamn world.”
He wasn’t wrong. Half the cowboys in this place either looked up to him or wanted to be him, and every woman in a ten-foot radius was watching us, probably wondering why I was the one sitting next to him.
I ignored them.
I took another sip and set my glass down. “So what now?”
Destry tilted his head. “Depends. You in a hurry?”
I met his gaze, wanting to say yes because this was a lot, but I didn’t. “No.”
His smirk deepened. “Good.”
For a while, we just sat there, drinking in comfortable silence. Every now and then, someone stopped by to talk to him—other riders, a few ranchers, one of the rodeo judges—but Destry never let the conversation pull him away.
Every time, his focus came right back to me. Eventually, the music changed, and a few couples drifted toward the dance floor.
Destry set his beer down, then turned to me.
“Dance with me.”
I laughed amused as hell. “Not happening.”
He arched his brow. “Why not?”
I shrugged. “Because that’s exactly what every woman in here is waiting for, you pulling her onto the dance floor.”
He looked me over. “That why you don’t wanna do it? ’Cause they’re watchin’?”
“No. I don’t want to do it because I’m not them and I don’t wanna feed your ego.”
He grinned, clearly enjoying this too much. “Having your sexy ass here with me already did that.”
I sighed, finishing my bourbon, pushing the empty glass away. “You’re a bit much.”
“You’re still sittin’ here,” he murmured.
He had a point.
I glanced over at the dance floor then back to him. One dance. That’s all it would be.
I slid off my stool, standing in front of him. “One dance, Callahan.”
His grin widened. I expected him to stand and take the lead like he did with everything else but instead, he stayed put, tilting his chin up, letting his voice drop just enough to make my pulse race.
“Come here, then.”
The way he said it, smooth and certain, had my fingers twitching at my sides.
I huffed a breath and stepped closer. He didn’t reach for me. Just let me come to him and when I was close enough, his hands found my hips, his touch light but confident like he had been waiting for this moment.
“See?” he murmured. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
I rolled my eyes, but before I could say anything, he pulled me into the rhythm of the song, moving us like we had done this a thousand times before and for some reason, I let him. After the end of the song, he leaned in close. “That was practice. Now let’s go do the real thing.” He lifted and smoothly led us to the dance floor.
I told myself it was just a dance, that it didn’t mean anything, but the moment his hands settled against my hips, warm and sure, my pulse was racing again.
The bar faded away, the voices, the music and everything blurred to the rhythm of his movements and mine.
“Didn’t take you for a dancer.” I kept my voice even, my hands resting lightly against his arms.
His grip tightened slightly, just enough to make me feel it. “Didn’t take you for someone who’d let me lead.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
He smiled, sexy as hell. “Too late.”
I tried to focus on anything other than the way he felt, the way the heat from his body seeped into mine. I tried to ignore the fact that, despite my best efforts, I was relaxed and my body fell into rhythm with his like it was second nature.
I tilted my chin slightly, glancing up at him. “This your usual game? Get a girl out on the dance floor and smooth talk her until she forgets she doesn’t like you?”
Destry chuckled. “You really want me to believe you’re forgetting and not falling?”
“Yes.”
“Then why you still here?”
I didn’t have an answer for that, so I looked away, watching the way people moved around us, some watching, some lost in their own worlds.
Destry’s hands shifted, sliding over the denim at my waist. Not enough to be too much, but enough to make my skin prickle beneath the fabric. He was enjoying this.
“Relax, Savvy. There’s nothin’ wrong with enjoying yourself.”
“I was enjoying myself before you dragged me into this.”
He laughed arrogantly, unconvinced. “I’m sure you were.”
I was about to argue, but then he did something I wasn’t expecting. He spun me. An effortless turn reminding me that he could take control any time he wanted.
When I landed against him, my back to his chest, my breath hitched, and for a split second, I felt everything. The way his chest brushed my back, the firm press of his hands on my stomach, and the undeniable pull between us I’d been fighting since the first time he looked at me.
I was too aware of him, too aware of myself, and he was too damn perceptive of all those things. I straightened, shaking it off as I stepped out of his hold, turning to face him. “You’re getting too comfortable?”
Destry grinned, sexy and lazy. “A little bit but so are you.”
I brushed past him, heading toward the bar. “You got your dance. Now I’m getting another drink.”
He let me go, but I felt his gaze trailing after me and the heat of it followed. I reached the bar and tapped my fingers against the counter, trying to get a hold of myself. I needed a minute, just one minute, to breathe where I didn’t feel his touch or smell his cologne. One minute to push past whatever the hell was happening between us but before I could order, I felt him again which meant the problem was now right behind me.
I turned slightly, finding him too damn close with that damn smirk still in place.
“What now?” I asked, trying to sound unbothered.
Destry leaned close. “You gonna let me buy you another drink or you still tryin’ to prove a point?”
I narrowed my eyes. “What point?”
“That you don’t fuck with me.”
“I never said I did.”
“You don’t have to say it, Savvy. I can see it all over you.”
I refused to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. Instead, I grabbed the fresh glass of bourbon the bartender set down for me, threw it back in one gulp, and slammed the empty glass on the counter.
Destry chuckled, shaking his head. “Damn. You trying to impress me?”
I licked the last bit of bourbon from my lips, meeting his gaze head-on. “Not even a little.”
He laughed and… shit, his amusement was sexy too. The sound hit me somewhere deep. This was a game, a push and pull, and I wasn’t sure which one of us was winning. I pushed off the bar, brushing past him with my shoulder barely grazing his chest.
“Where you going, Rebel?”
I glanced over my shoulder. “To remind myself that I don’t like you.”
Destry grinned, tilting his hat back as he watched me go but we both knew I wasn’t convincing anyone. Not even my damn self. I needed air.
The second I stepped into the bathroom, I gripped the edge of the sink and stared at my reflection in the mirror. My pulse was still too damn fast, my skin too damn warm, and I hated that he had this kind of effect on me.
Destry Callahan was a problem.
One I wasn’t sure I wanted to solve.
I turned on the faucet, letting the cold water run over my hands before pressing them to my face. I just needed a minute. Just enough time to pull myself together and remind myself exactly who I was dealing with.
The man was cocky as hell, impossible to ignore, and worst of all—he knew exactly what he was doing to me.
I took one last steadying breath, adjusted my hat, and walked back out into the bar, ready to face whatever this night had left for me. I found Destry still at the bar, sipping his beer, watching me like he’d been waiting the whole time.
He didn’t comment on my little escape and didn’t tease me like I expected. Instead, he just gestured toward the empty stool beside him.
“Sit with me, Savvy.”
For some reason, I did without arguing and the tension settled. We talked for hours about nothing and everything.
He told me about growing up on the Callahan ranch, about his first ride at fifteen, the first time he got thrown hard enough to knock the wind out of him. I told him about working on ranches all over town, about how I used to sneak into rodeo stands just to watch the barrel racers, dreaming of the day I’d be out there myself, and how my parents supported my dream but couldn’t financially help me get there.
He listened, really listened, and I found myself relaxing, laughing, letting my guard down more than I should have. Somewhere between my third bourbon and his third beer, I forgot I was supposed to be keeping my distance. It was too easy to let the walls drop with him and that was scary. I didn’t realize how late it had gotten until the bar started thinning out, the once lively crowd began moving toward the door.
Destry stretched, rolling his shoulders back before tossing a few bills on the counter. Then he looked at me, easy and unhurried.
“Come on,” he said, tipping his head toward the door. “I’ll walk you to your Jeep.”
I hesitated because as much as I fought him about being here I’d actually enjoyed myself and wasn’t in a rush to leave. Still, I didn’t argue. I just slid off the stool and followed him out into the warm night air. The fairgrounds were quieter now and the sounds of the bar faded behind us as we stepped into the parking lot.
I reached my Jeep, pulling my keys from my pocket, but before I could open the door, I felt him move. Destry stepped right into my space, lightly pressing me against the side of the Jeep. I looked up at him, but he didn’t say anything.
He just watched me. His hands rested lightly on either side of me. His body was close but not touching and his eyes swept over my face like he was memorizing something important.
The air between us thickened and his gaze dropped to my lips then lifted back to my eyes. Before I could process what was happening, he leaned in and kissed me.
Not soft. Not tentative. Deep. Certain. Completely in control of the kiss and me and fuck…
His lips moved over mine, slow and thorough, pulling me under and I didn’t stand a chance. I felt it everywhere. In my chest, my stomach, my toes curling in my boots. His hand lifted and his fingers skimmed the line of my jaw, keeping me exactly where he wanted me. I kissed him back.
For a few long, dizzying seconds, I let myself sink into him, into the warmth of his body and the steady demand of his touch. By the time he pulled away, I was breathless and my heart hammered against my ribs.
Destry’s eyes were dark with satisfaction and an arrogance I felt just as strongly as that damn kiss.
“Drive safe, Savvy,” he murmured.
Then he tipped his hat, turned, and walked away, leaving me standing there, still trying to catch my breath.