Chapter 5 Ro #2
She shrugged. “We did but plans change and it looks like she’s cool with that.
” I glanced toward the bar once more to find the woman Reece had been downing shots with engaged in conversation with the man next to her.
When I turned my eyes back on Reece, she was watching me, so I did the same.
Her eyes were glossed over from the shots and her pouty ass lips were curled into a smile.
“You good?” I asked, arching a brow.
She nodded. “I’m great. You’re here.”
I chuckled and turned my attention to Lindee who approached the table with the beers I’d requested. She placed them on the table and walked away without speaking. I turned my attention back to Reece. “You wanted me here.”
“Yep. I left you a note.” She wrapped her fingers around the beer and brought it closer but didn’t take a drink.
“I saw that. Thank you for dinner.”
“You’re welcome. You earned it.” She smiled and twisted the beer between her fingers.
“Does that mean feeding me is back on the table?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Would you like me to feed you, cowboy?”
The innuendo was intentional but I decided it was best not to go there, so I settled on, “I’m never going to turn down a home cooked meal.”
She rolled her eyes playfully. “Did you come here for me?”
“Yeah.”
I could have lied but there was no point. I had a couple weeks with Reece’s cute ass, a month tops. Being honest about my attraction to her wouldn’t do any harm.
“Why?”
My eyes dropped from her face and moved down her neck over her bare shoulders. When my gaze was on her low set lids again, I smirked. “To thank you for feeding me.”
She laughed and shook her head. “You’re full of shit.”
After she lifted the beer and turned it up, she placed it back on the table and rolled it between her fingers.
“Where are you from, Ro?”
“Texas.”
“Why’d you come to Miller’s Pointe?”
I stared at her for a minute, considering my answer. Instead of the vague response I usually gave, I told her the truth. “I lost the thing I loved the most and a woman broke my heart.”
“That sounds like two different things but I’m guessing it’s not.”
I kept my eyes on her and shook my head before I turned up my beer.
“You gonna share what that means?”
“You want me to?” I smirked and she nodded, pushing hair from her face. It was cute as fuck.
“My name is Eero McCall.” She frowned, staring at me, but I saw the exact second her mind locked in.
“Shit, you’re rodeo. Bronco rider, right?”
“Was but yeah.”
Her brows inched in as she stared at my face. “How did I miss that?”
I smirked, knowing exactly how, Mrs. Mel. “You called me Ro, so I assumed she didn’t tell you who I was.”
“No, but honestly, I didn’t care. She’s good at reading people, and if she sent you to me, then she trusted you weren’t going to murder me or anything crazy.”
“Damn, that’s where your mind went?” I grinned and she shrugged again.
“World’s a crazy place. You have to think the worst and hope for the best.”
“I feel you.”
“So why was and not are?” she questioned.
“A year ago I was qualifying, but shit went wrong. Got thrown off the bronco and couldn’t get out of the way in time. His hoof came down on my back and also smashed my knee. Doctors said that was it. If I kept riding, I risked permanent damage and the potential of being paralyzed.”
“Oh wow, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Even if I thought it would never be me, I knew the risks. Faced them each time I entered the chute.”
I lifted my beer, needing a moment. No matter how much I accepted my reality, the shit still hurt. That was my entire life. I never thought about anything beyond retiring one day because I never assumed I would have to.
“That sounds very rehearsed and diplomatic but I’m sure it’s not that simple. The time invested, the dedication, the love for it—because let’s be real, you have to love that shit to be crazy enough to do it.”
I grinned with my eyes locked on hers. “So now I’m crazy?”
“I mean, considering you were willing to do the whole man versus beast thing, you’re a little off.”
I nodded. “Yeah, valid point.”
She toyed with the beer before she gave me her eyes again after pushing hair from her face. “And the other thing?”
The woman who broke my heart…
“You lose the career, you lose the girl who loves you because of it.”
“Well that’s pretty shitty.”
“Yeah it is.”
“Did you love her?”
I nodded.
“Do you still love her?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Do you want to?”
I shook my head and she smiled softly. It was the sexiest thing I had seen in a long time, mostly because it was her and she was so fucking beautiful. Reece finished her beer and threw her hand in the air. A few minutes later, Lindee was at the table.
“Can you bring a bottle of Black Ops bourbon? I think we’re going to need something stronger than this.” She pointed to the beer then grinned while Lindee nodded, tossed out, “be right back”, and pushed her way through the crowd. Reece stood and extended a hand.
“Dance with me.”
“I’m not much of a dancer.”
“Then I’ll do the dancing and you can keep me company.”
My eyes moved past her to the dance floor before they were back on her, crawling slowly from her legs up the rest of her body.
She pulled her lip between her teeth and squinted a little, like she was second guessing asking, but that pretty ass smile was back when I turned up my beer, finished what was left, then stood, accepting her hand.
I followed her to the dance floor and accepted the fact that I was about to make some terrible decisions because of Reece Allen but damned if I wasn’t going to enjoy every single minute.
I was in trouble.
Serious trouble but I welcomed it with open arms. That trouble had a beautiful smile, chocolate brown skin, and hands that kept finding their way to me.
For thirty minutes, Reece locked her fingers behind my neck or kept them on my shoulders and chest while she leaned into me, rocking her hips against me in a way that made me painfully aware of how good she smelled and how soft her body was.
True to her word, I was just there to keep her company while she smiled lazily, gazing into my eyes while she grinded her body against me.
Never cared for dancing, but for Reece, I would do that shit every time she asked.
But nothing compared to the moment she confiscated my hat, dropped it onto her head, and shoved me out of the way to line dance with her girl to “Cowboy Swag”.
I didn’t stand a chance because every woman in the building who wasn’t already on the dance floor rushed out there, taking over.
I was familiar with the artist Kevo but had never heard the song.
I assumed it had to very cowgirl’s new anthem based on the way they began stepping together, twisting their bodies and testing the depth at which they dropped to the floor.
Reece was intensely aware of her moves. Each sway of her hips was intentional, seductive, and had me locked in.
There was nothing overly dramatic about how she moved but I followed every shift of her body as she worked through the choreographed steps with that big ass unguarded smile on her face.
Reece kept her attention divided between me and her girl, and every time her eyes made it back to me, there was no mistaking what was on her mind.
When Kevo sang “tip your hat to the man you’re leaving with tonight” and Reece’s gaze met mine before her delicate fingers pinched the rim of my Jaxson and her chin dropped so that the only part of her face I had a visual of were those pretty ass lips, I had to shift my stance to work through the discomfort of my body’s reaction.
She looked at her homegirl seconds later and the two of them fell out laughing before their heads were close and they worked through the steps while whispering to each other.
Once she reached her limit on the dance floor, we headed back to the table.
This time, instead of allowing the small weathered wood to create a barrier between us, Reece dragged her chair right in front of mine.
She worked one of her legs between mine so that her knee was against the seat but that wasn’t enough.
She kept her hand on my thigh while we talked about any and everything.
None of it was important but I didn’t want to forget a single damn detail Reece shared with me. She was damn sure attractive, and I had not intended for her to become my distraction, but with very little effort other than just existing in my space? Reece became the focus of all my attention.
I leaned forward to take my Jaxson and she grinned, shaking her head. “I want to wear it.”
“And I want to see your hair.” I reached forward again and lifted my hat, dropping it onto my head while she shook hers, moving the fluffy mass then shoving some out of her face.
“You like my hair?”
“Yeah, I do. You got a lot of it.”
And I could put it to good use…
“I like wearing it like this.” She grinned, shaking her head again a little more dramatically, giving me that beautiful smile.
“When I was a kid, I wore braids a lot. I had so much hair my dad didn’t know what to do with it.
His solution was paying someone to braid it.
When I was old enough to do it myself, I just set it free. ”
“Y’all close?”
Her eyes dropped and she nodded when her gaze was on me again. “Yeah, very. He raised me.”
I wondered about her mom and felt we were comfortable enough where I could ask. However, I didn’t want to push it if that wasn’t a topic she liked to discuss. So I simplified things by offering a way for her to share whatever she wanted.
“Tell me your story, Reece.”
“It’s not interesting.”
She had no damn clue how eager I was to absorb whatever she wanted to offer. “Let me be the judge of that.”
When she only stared at me, I placed my hand on her exposed thigh and moved my thumb over the soft skin just inside her knee and added, “I told you about my broken heart, the least you can do is tell me if anyone has ever broken yours.”
Her eyes locked on mine before she swallowed roughly and spoke quietly. “My dad.”
I frowned, not understanding until she clarified, “He left me and my dad was all I had. So that’s the only man who’s ever broken my heart, and I miss him, a lot, but not tonight. Tonight I’m happy and happy feels good.”
I couldn’t help myself when I asked, “I make you happy, Reece?”
She grinned softly and nodded, making that big ass hair bounce. “You do, and I think we should get out of here so I can make you happy.”
Her hand moved up my thigh and I caught her wrist. “You’ve been drinking a lot.”
“Yeah I have but I’m also very aware of what I’m saying and doing.”
She lifted from the chair, balanced herself by placing a hand on my leg, and brought her mouth incredibly close to mine. “I want to leave…and I tipped my hat to you, which means I get to leave with you, cowboy.”
I lifted a hand and eased my fingers into the softness of her hair at the nape of her neck, fisting it gently before my mouth was on hers.
I slid my tongue into her mouth and the connection was like a live wire shooting through my veins.
When she leaned closer, kissing me deeper, I growled in frustration because I wanted so much more from this woman than I had the right to take.
Her fingers dug into my thigh and I curled my fingers into her hair more, making the kiss deeper until she separated and grinned. “Maybe we should go.”
“Yeah, maybe we should.”
While Reece said goodbye to her girl, I closed out our tab then tucked her at my side while we walked to my truck.
As soon as we were inside, I turned the heat up as high as it could go to combat the icy temperatures.
The drive to the house was less than twenty minutes but I had to laugh to fight my disappointment when we pulled up and Reece was out cold.
I guessed that was the universe’s way of stopping me from doing something stupid. I got out and yanked her door open, pressing a kiss to her forehead before I tried to wake her. “Reece, we’re here. I need to get you in the house.”
She mumbled something about me knowing the code and I sighed, giving up on her providing any type of help to get into her place.
I lifted her from the seat, kicked the door closed, and walked us to my temporary residence.
Once inside, I carried Reece to the bedroom I had been in earlier, laid her on the bed, and removed her boots and jacket before I tucked her in.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her, so I remained peacefully at ease watching her sleep.
My mind couldn’t let go of the idea of Reece having her legs wrapped around me and I did a mental inventory of the last time that had happened.
It had been months since I had a woman in my bed, and even then, I wasn’t fully there.
I tortured myself by stopping to watch qualifying rounds for bronco and bull riding between locations and ended up fucking my frustrations out that night.
She’d thoroughly enjoyed herself based on the offer for me to spend a week with her but I barely remembered the experience because I was in my head the entire time.
Every part of me wanted every part of her, but it wasn’t happening tonight.
I was well aware that sex with Reece wouldn’t be selfish or about me and that posed a problem.
I could already imagine her voice being the motivation for me to make sure she never forgot having me in her bed.
With thoughts of her mouth and soft hands on me, the experience was already ingrained in my memory and I hadn’t even touched her.
That was a gotdamn problem, so I headed to the room next door, stripped down to my briefs, and climbed in bed with a hard dick and a smile that felt too damn good considering how I’d ended up here.