Chapter Twenty-Nine
Leo
Her hair was a tangled mess across my face.
I didn’t move it, just breathed in the scent, felt the silky strands feathering my skin and my smile widened.
This was all I’d ever wanted. Maddy in my arms, unapologetically cuddly. Affectionate and needy for me. The Maddy right here is a version I’d never experienced but yearned for to the depths of my soul.
My woman.
And I had to leave her again. The Stampede semi-final was only a couple of days away and I needed to get back and train.
I lifted my arm and the muscles protested, just a reminder that I was getting too old for bull riding.
I was considering giving it up once Stampede was finished; it’d be great to go out on a high.
Bull riders didn’t last long at my age, and I’d rather go out before injury forced me into retirement.
I figured at this age I would be becoming a father and if I retired now, I would have time to spend with my family and watch my kids grow.
Maddy was the mother of my children, no doubt about it. I just needed her to face her fears and realize she was being dang stubborn about not wanting a future together. I knew she was scared but I would wait.
In the meantime, I could train new, young bull riders. I’d been at the bottom and right now, I was sure as hell enjoying the journey to the top. And I was here, not just because of talent, but because people believed in me, pushed me and had faith. I wanted to be that person for someone else.
Pressing a kiss to Maddy’s soft cheek, I sat up. She grunted in her sleep but didn’t move. I turned on the shower, waiting for it to warm up and then stepped inside, letting the water pummel my back, soothing aches I hadn’t realized I had. I chuckled to myself; that damn woman had worn me out.
The first round was fast, just as we’d both agreed it would be. But the second was much slower, more intimate. I got half hard just from remembering the way Maddy looked at me over her shoulder as I pounded into her. The look in her eye, her mouth open, lips parted in a moan.
“Fuck,” I huffed.
I needed to get out of the shower and go find her for round four. I couldn’t get enough of her but I wasn’t surprised. I’d been without her for so long, my body was making up for lost time.
The shower door opened, distracting me and I spied the woman herself.
Naked.
My eyes lazily tracked over her body. Her long legs, petite hips and waist, small breasts with nipples already hard. She was looking at me, eyes heavy-lidded from sleep but with a sparkle that I knew spelled trouble. Her tongue slid over her bottom lip as she raked her stare over me.
“Get in here,” I growled, reaching for her and tugging her into the shower.
I spun her around and pushed her against the tiles. She gasped when her breasts pressed the cool ceramic. I stroked her thigh, sealing my lips against the curve of her neck while I kneaded her muscles.
She groaned, her head dropping back against me and her hand tunneled into my hair, her fist gripping tight and holding my head in place. I nipped her skin and sucked, knowing I was leaving a mark and supremely satisfied that everyone would know she belonged to me. Finally.
The loud spray of the water gave me an idea, and I grabbed the shower head, pulling it from the holder and turned Maddy to face me.
Her expression turned quizzical but I knew she trusted me and didn’t say anything, just watched as I held the showerhead over her arm, the warm water trickling down her skin.
I pulled it back, moving it over her chest and then held it directly over one breast. The water beat down over her puckered nipple and her chest rose and fell with her deep breaths as she watched.
“Does that feel good?” I asked softly.
She nodded, raising a hand to her other breast and plucking her nipple. I batted her hand away and moved the showerhead to give it the same treatment.
Maddy leaned into the sensation, her body brushing against mine, her thigh nudging my dick which had become rock hard from watching her. I trailed the showerhead down her stomach before I tapped one thigh with my free hand.
“Hook this around my hip,” I commanded.
She nodded keenly and I loved how eager she was. Her thigh hooked over my hip, parting her legs and I turned the full force of the showerhead directly onto her pussy.
She cried out, bucking against me as the pleasure hit her. Her eyes rolled back, hands gripped my shoulder to keep herself upright, her head falling back against the tiles. I moved the showerhead in small circles then pressed it in closer, focusing on her clit.
“Are you gonna come for me, Maddy?” I asked, then moved the showerhead away.
“Yes,” she whimpered, hips arching forward to find the relief she needed. My cock twitched at her moan, I loved seeing her lost to sensation, so wanton in her pleasure.
“Kiss me.”
Maddy obeyed immediately, linking her arms around my neck, one hand fisting my hair as she pulled my mouth down to hers for a hungry kiss.
Her tongue slid inside, tangling with mine.
I dropped the showerhead and pushed two fingers inside her.
She shivered against me, her mouth faltering as a soft cry slipped out.
I thrust my fingers in and out of her, so wet, from the shower, from her excitement.
I stroked my fingers over my cock, coating it in her arousal before I lifted her, pressed her back against the wall and lined us up.
“Yes!” she cried out as I thrust in. I let her take over and she bucked against me.
I fought to stay upright in the shower against the force of her pulsing hips.
I loved her strength, loved her passion, loved everything about this woman.
I loved the expressions she made, the sounds that slipped out, the way she fit so goddamn perfectly to me.
“Tell me,” Maddy whispered against my lips.
“Fuck you feel so good,” I moaned as she clenched around my dick, making it so tight I could barely move inside her. I brought my hand up, two fingers rubbing against her clit. She was close, I could feel it. Feel her body coiling tight, ready to release.
“Tell me,” she repeated.
I smiled, realizing what she wanted. “You want me to say it again?”
“Please,” she begged.
I kissed her damp, swollen lips. Then pulled away.
“I love you,” I murmured.
She cried out, clinging on to me so fiercely that I was glad I had the strength I did to withstand the force of her hold.
Her pussy clenched around me, then flooded my dick with a warm, wetness that had me seeing stars.
I held her still as I emptied into her, each pulse dragged from my body by hers until I couldn’t hold us up anymore.
I slumped against the wall and sank down into the bottom of the shower cubicle, her splayed in my lap as we both caught our breaths.
“Fuck, that was incredible,” she sighed, head resting against my chest.
“It was,” I agreed. I didn’t think our sex could get better, but I was wrong. Each time we hit a new high that I didn’t think we could ever top.
“I can’t believe you came because I said I love you,” I teased, smoothing her hair away from her face and peering into her soft hazel eyes, warm from her blissed-out expression.
“Whatever Cowboy,” she sulked, her cheeks tinted with pink. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
I laughed. “Too late, baby.”
*
“I have to go now,” I breathed against her skin.
“No,” she mumbled, still half asleep. I’d worn her out again.
“I have a flight to catch,” I replied.
“Miss it,” she responded, peering at me with one eye open and slung a leg over mine, hooking it under so I couldn’t move.
I laughed at her insistence. “I’ll be back for good soon. Not much longer.”
“Promise?”
I nodded, kissing the tip of her nose, then her forehead, her eyes fluttering closed and she sighed happily.
“Fine. Want me to take you to the airport?”
“Obviously.”
She snorted as she lifted herself up in bed, the sheet falling to her waist and exposing her bare chest. Damn, I’d never get sick of looking at her. She was the most stunning woman I’d ever seen.
I groaned and tore my eyes away before my dick perked up again. Ugh, too late.
“I love how horny you are. I never knew this about you,” she teased as her stare lingered on my growing cock.
“I guess now you know it all,” I chuckled, tugging on boxers and jeans, much to her disappointment.
We dressed in silence, both of us trying not to focus on the fact that we were saying goodbye again. We rode to the airport in silence, it wasn’t uncomfortable, just companionable. And when we pulled up at the drop-off zone, we both sighed heavily as we got out.
I tugged her to me, and she wrapped her arms around my waist, squeezing tight as she rested her cheek against my chest. I stroked her hair, which had dried in a slight kink that looked adorable.
“Not much longer,” I murmured.
She nodded against me, then pulled back, eyes sad as she stood on tiptoes to kiss me.
The zing that I usually felt when we kissed shot straight through me, electrifying me.
I slanted my mouth, coaxing her lips to part so I could slide our tongues together.
When we pulled apart, resting our foreheads against one another, she repeated, “Not much longer.”
*
“I’m proud of you, son,” Frank said. I wouldn’t have said he was smiling, but he wasn’t not smiling either. “You’ve come a long way.”
“Thanks to you,” I replied.
Frank made a dismissive sound and waved his hand. “Shut up.”
I laughed. “Any final words?”
“Yeah, don’t ruin it now.”
I laughed again and we headed out into the stadium together. Today was the semi-finals at Stampede. I’d managed to place as a top rider after the rounds of pool play along with a couple of other guys I’d been training with. Frank and I stood by our chute while I strapped on my gear.
“You’ve got Big Bucker,” Frank confirmed. I stared down at the bull in the chute, his smooth white coat with flecks of brown running through it. A strong bull. An aggressive bull. A bull that would hopefully give me everything it had to push the score as high as possible.
If a bull was lackluster, that could drag down the entire performance. I’d gone up against my fair share of aggressive bulls; sometimes it was like the animal had a personal vendetta. Although I didn’t think that was possible, I didn’t discount it either.
“Good, should give everyone a show then.” I winked at Frank and clambered down onto him.
“Break a leg!”
I glanced up and saw Tori standing beside Frank, her arm resting on his shoulder, grin as wide as hell on her face.
“Why? You bored and need something to fix?” I tossed back.
She laughed and then nodded before someone rushed over and dragged her away.
I tried to block out the crowd and focus my thoughts. I didn’t need any distractions; I needed this to be my best run yet because I needed to get a place in that final.
When I was ready, I nodded to Frank and he whistled loud.
The gate to the chute was pulled open and Big Bucker lived up to his name.
He came out swinging, jerking to the left, the force of each twist felt like it was going to tear my free arm from my socket.
I held firm, gripping the flank strap as tight as I could and keeping myself rigid.
Every buck felt like my body was being pulled in two different directions.
I was older now and felt the pain like I never had before.
The bull dropped its head low and I draped over the front of him.
I didn’t have much time before he bucked again but I managed to sit up, pushing my hips forward and getting myself straight.
The next thing I knew, the buzzer was going.
Eight seconds done. I tried to slide off the bull but he bucked with such force that I was thrown.
The bull fighters were shouting, I could see the bright colors of their tops in my periphery but my arm was caught on the bull and I was dragged underneath him. When he bucked and his back feet landed, they cracked down onto my torso.
There was an intense amount of pressure, then a sharp stabbing pain hit the left side of my chest. The bull charged off and I tried to stand but I couldn’t.
Weakness flooded my body and I couldn’t draw breath.
My legs collapsed into the dirt, and I glanced towards Frank who was shouting furiously at me.
I couldn’t breathe. I tried to take deeper breaths and that made everything worse. My head became fuzzy and black dots appeared in my vision. I could hear shouting and someone lifted me up. The stabbing pain in my chest intensified and I cried out but only a garbled sound left me.
“Mad—” I choked on the word. I tried to breathe and couldn’t, panic took over. I glanced around but my movements were sluggish. Then Tori was in front of me, her eyes wide. Her mouth was moving but no sound came out.
Over her shoulder I saw my score; eighty-eight point two-five. I’d smashed all my other scores. Me and Big Bucker together.
Fuck, why couldn’t I breathe? Why did my chest hurt so much? I’d been trampled before but it never hurt like this.
Panicked shouting was all I could hear. My chest felt like it was on fire, I tried again to talk, to breathe, and failed.
Then I passed out.