I stood at the bottom of the stands and looked for Sam, the guy I’d moved across the country with. He sure had been hard to find since we arrived in Landing. I could feel the people in the stands looking at me, but I ignored it and just focused on finding my newly mysterious boyfriend. I made my way around the stadium with no luck. I couldn’t find him anywhere.
He’d said that he would be there, so I found a seat and tried to blend into the crowd while I waited for him to show up. It wasn’t easy, that much was sure. Landing residents seemed to scoot away when I walked by them. I wanted to like them, but I’d never felt quite so shunned in my entire life. I didn’t think I’d done anything to offend them, but they all seemed to want to keep their distance from me.
The country music screeched to a halt and a man with a thick accent started talking about the next cowboy up. The men were riding bulls, which just seemed dangerous and pointless to me. I was slightly concerned for the bulls, too. It couldn’t be healthy for them to have such large men sitting on their backs. As I contemplated the cruelty level of bull riding, a man caught my eye.
I mean, caught my eye in a different way. Different because, first of all, he was the first person who had looked me in the eye since I’d arrived. Second, something seemed to sizzle in my lower belly the moment our gazes connected. Butterflies was too innocent a word to use for what I was feeling. In all actuality, it felt like someone had released a thousand tornadoes in my stomach, that were all spinning and swirling and trying to escape at once.
The man was big. He towered over the tall men around him, making them seem average, at best. His shoulders were wide enough to land a small plane on, and his arms bulged with muscles that tested the limits of the denim shirt he was wearing. A narrow waist and hips were encased in dark leather chaps. I was hungry to know what feast was waiting for my eyes when he turned around and gave me a backside view.
Tousled blonde hair fell almost to his shoulders and peeked out from a dusty cowboy hat. His lower face was all sharp angles and five o’clock shadow. I couldn’t see his eyes as clearly as I wanted to and I found myself standing, my body desperate to get a closer look.
I bumped my ankle on part of the metal seating and the pain cleared the haze from my head. I blinked a few times and felt my eyes go wide. What in the world? The cowboy was still there, standing in the dust right inside the fence, watching me with a half-grin on his face. He winked and I reacted like someone had set my ass on fire. I jumped about a foot in the air and then rushed towards the exit.
With my heart racing, I fought the urge to look back at the man. Something about his raw masculinity was calling to me like no man ever had before, but I’d never been a cheater and I had no plans on starting. I had to just get away from him and pray that whatever I was feeling went away. Damn, I had to cool off. No, I had to find my boyfriend and make him spend some time with me so I could remember why I didn’t need to feel anything for anyone else. Sam was enough. He had to be.
I decided It would be my best course of action to go back to the motel and find my phone so I could call him. I could ask him to come home and then wait for him in nothing but a skimpy nightie. Things between Sam and me were okay. I’d just have to prove that to myself, I figured. I shook out my trembling hands and tried to forget about the sexy stranger. The tornadoes in my stomach hadn’t calmed down any, but it was probably something funny I’d eaten.
When I rounded the corner of the stadium, from the new angle, I spotted Sam’s truck at the back corner of the parking lot. The shiny new chrome stood out amongst the other vehicles and I had a momentary pang of anger at Sam. He’d just had to have a new truck. I’d poured more of my hard-earned money into it than I cared to admit. It was yet another part of his country western dream that I was going along with.
The closer I got to the truck, the closer I got to realizing something wasn’t right. The cheering from the rodeo drowned out most of the moans, but not all of them. Chills swept through me as it dawned on me that I knew what I was going to find when I reached the front bumper of the truck, but it didn’t stop me.
I trailed my fingers along the warm metal at the side of the truck until I stood beside the bed of it and could clearly see Sam going at it with a woman who was bent over in front of him on the other side of the bed. Judging by the look on her face, she was really enjoying it. Judging by the look on his face, he’d spotted me.
“Shit! Beth!”
Dread dropped like steel in my stomach, crushing everything in its path, including the tornadoes and my ability to keep my lunch down. I bent over and threw up on the special edition rims that he’d wanted. They didn’t matter much anymore, anyway.
CHAPTER 2: Elizabeth
By the time Sam got his pants up, I was halfway across the parking lot. I didn’t have a clue where I was going, and I wasn’t seeing clearly through the tears.
I’d given up my life in DC to join him on his stupid journey of getting back to his roots. I’d given up my job and my beautiful apartment. I’d given up being near people who loved me and wanted to be with me.
The injustice of it all settled on my chest and I found myself so angry that I wanted to hit something, someone. I wanted to hit Sam. I’d never been violent, but I could feel my fingers tightening into fists at the idea of laying into him.
“Beth! Jesus, stop. Let me talk to you!” Sam caught my shoulder and spun me around.
It was the push I needed. I swung my hand out at him, aiming to clean his clock, but he ducked it. Frustrated, I shoved him away. “Don’t let me stop you, Sam. Go back to fucking Daisy Dukes over there.”
“Are you going to calm down any?”
I laughed. “Go to hell, Sam. It’s over. We’re over. This whole thing was a stupid mistake.”
“We’ve been together for two years, Beth. You just moved across the country with me! You’re really going to end it like this?”
“You’re really going to fuck someone else while I’m waiting for you to come back to the motel?”
He tossed his hands in the air and seemed exasperated. “I’m sorry, okay? Let’s just forget this. Come back to the room with me.”
I sat down on the curb behind me and crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m done with this, Sam. Let’s not drag it out.”
He punched the car next to us and backed away. “I’m going back to the room. I’ll be there, ready to talk, when you are.”
I didn’t watch him go. I really was done. I knew in my gut that this was one of those times when I made up my mind about something, and I stuck with it. I was ending a two-year relationship in a matter of seconds, but strangely, it didn’t feel the way it should have. I was pissed, embarrassed, and hurt, but I didn’t feel crushed by the thought of leaving Sam. Not five minutes after I’d made the decision, and I was already thinking about how good it would feel to get back to DC. Hell, all I needed now was a little bitch fest with my girlfriends about Sam doing me wrong, and I’d be over him for good. And the best part? I’d get to escape the country hell he’d landed me in.
I sat there for over two hours watching people get in their cars and leave. When there was just one truck across the lot and the lights around the arena flickered out, I realized that I wasn’t as okay as I thought. I mean, I was still certain of my decision, but I hadn’t thought about how I was going to get back to DC. Everything I owned was in that motel room with Sam. I had no money, no transportation, and nowhere to stay the night. The last thing I wanted to do was have to step back into a hotel room with a waiting, pleading, cheating bastard.
The tears that I’d been fighting off fell too easily as I realized just how alone I was, and just how dark it was in the parking lot.
CHAPTER 3: Alex
The rodeo had done nothing to sooth my nerves. Every muscle in my body had been tense since I’d seen her in the stands. My bear was pawing at me, telling me to go and find her. He wanted to ravish the little human. I wasn’t far behind.
It’d been a while since I’d
felt anything besides anger and frustration. For over two months, I’d been dealing with the shit from Dad’s death. He’d left the ranch in a fucking mess, that was sure. No boss, no back up plan, no nothing. My oldest brother, Matt had stepped in as temporary overseer, but, in my opinion, he wasn’t exactly the best man for the job.
Matt was no better than my other brothers. Lucas, Michael, and John were all money-obsessed. They didn’t give a shit about the ranch when it came down to it. It was all about the bottom line on their financial spreadsheets.
Despite the constant distraction in my head that my family situation had become, everything had quieted when I saw her. It was as though the entire world around us stilled for those few moments. I’d fucked my way through every woman, bear and human alike, in Landing, and every town around, but I’d never felt anything like I’d felt when I laid my sore eyes on her. The universe was paused, and then she turned and ran. My bear had tried to take control, and go after her.
Her scent called to us. Honeysuckle with a little hint of something spicy. It’d taken everything in me not to chase after her when she’d left. My bear had roared in my head, scratching at my insides, demanding I find her.
I’d stayed late at the stadium, using the excuse that I needed to make sure everything was locked down tight, but, in reality, I needed more time to calm down. My fur was still just under the surface. I was too close to shifting to be able to hang out at the bar with everyone else. Adding liquor to my current agitated state was a sure fire way to cause a disaster.
A hint of her scent wafted through the parking lot as I headed out to my truck. Damn. I shook my head. I was losing it, smelling her when she wasn’t even there.
The farther into the lot I got, though, the stronger the scent. She was here. Somewhere. I stopped moving and tilted my head back to take in a deeper breath. Her scent came from the north end of the lot, the darkest corner. When I tuned into my senses, I realized I could hear whimpering.
Fur sprouted from my arms and hands as my bear roared in my head. He shouted that she was hurt and we had to save her, but I was already running in her direction.
I spotted her, sitting on the curb, looking small and vulnerable. With a quick scan of the area, I saw no imminent threat, but it didn’t stop my bear from raging at the sight of her tears.
I was still a few feet away from her when she looked up and spotted me. Her bright blue eyes widened to saucers and her hands balled into little fists in front of her face, ready to fight.
“What are you doing?!”
I froze in place and shook my head. Great, I thought, I’d scared the hell out of her by charging at her. “I heard you crying. Are you okay?”
The tension in her shoulders relaxed a bit and her fists uncurled. She reached up and swiped at the tears. “I’m not crying.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Of course, not. What are you doing out here in the dark?”
She wrapped her arms back around her knees and frowned. “It wasn’t dark until a few seconds ago.”
My dick hardened into steel as her plump breasts were pushed up as they rested on her knees. Her dress barely contained the beauties and my mouth watered at the sight. “Need a lift?”
As she hesitated, I shoved my hands in my pockets, trying to look harmless. It wasn’t easy. I was a big guy, an even bigger bear, and everything inside me was demanding that I grab her and claim her.
That gave me a slight pause. Claim? I’d never felt the urge to claim anyone before. I’d damn sure never wanted to have that urge before. Fucking my way through town had never seemed like a bad way to live. Claiming someone meant having a mate to come home to, it meant responsibility. It meant forever. Forever for a bear who liked to roam wild and free, was a long time.
I looked down at the small human and took a step back. My bear roared at me and demanded that I get closer to her. He was infatuated already.
“I… I don’t have anywhere to go.” The words seemed to break some type of barrier that she’d erected upon seeing me. The tears began silently falling again and it didn’t seem like they were going to stop.
My bear was so close to the surface that I was sure my eyes were turning golden. I blinked a few times and tried to remain in control. “Alright. How about you just get in my truck for now and we can decide where to take you after? It’s going to rain soon.”
She looked up at the sky and then at me. “You aren’t some pervert, are you?”
I couldn’t help the sly grin I gave her. “Of course, not, ma’am.”
CHAPTER 4: Alex
“I’m Alex, by the way.”
She stood up and straightened her dress. Her hands shook slightly as she rubbed the fabric down across her thighs. “Elizabeth.”
I walked beside her to my truck and had to fight to keep my hands to myself. She was way too sexy, and smelled so damned good. At probably a foot and a half shorter than me, she made up for her lack of height with the most delicious curves. Her waist dipped in but her hips and ass flared, begging for me to bite at them. I wanted nothing more than to bury my face between her legs and find out if she tasted as good as she smelled.
“Why don’t you have anywhere to go?”
“Because my boyfriend is an asshole.”
Boyfriend? Whoa… my bear raged so much, I had to cough to cover a growl. The bear was pissed, but the man was irate. I’d been entertaining visions of sinking into her soft curves since I’d first spotted her. The idea of another man touching her set my teeth on edge. “Yeah?”
She shrugged and a lock of her long blonde hair fell over her shoulder. “I guess I can say ex now. I just caught him banging some red head over the side of his truck. So, that’s over.”
I opened my truck door and stared down at her. “He cheated on you? What the fuck is wrong with him?”
That got a grin out of her. “That’s not even the best part. I just moved here with him. From DC. I packed up and moved across the country to be with an idiot who cheated on me within days of arriving. I sold my favorite bedroom set!”
Even seeing her cheeks turn red and her muscles tense in anger turned me on like nothing I’d ever felt before. I wanted more of her. “Sounds like a fucking asshat to me. What else?”
She tilted her head and bit her lip. “What else?”
I grinned. “I’ve had exes before. The lists of things they were pissed about were always longer than that. What else did he do?”
“Oh. Um… He begged me to help him buy a new truck. I emptied my savings for that. It’s a stupid truck. It’s like a shiny new toy. He wouldn’t even let me take the plastic off the seats. And he didn’t apologize tonight! I caught him screwing someone else and he didn’t even apologize! The worst thing, the absolute worst thing, is that he’s sure that I’m coming back to the room tonight. He’s probably expecting me to walk in at any minute. He’s in for a rude awakening. I’d rather be homeless than go back to him.”
I watched as she looked up at my truck and tried to figure out how to get into it. “Need some help?”
CHAPTER 5: Elizabeth
I side-glanced at Alex and then back up at the truck. I knew the limitations of my short stature. I could climb into the truck, sure, but there was no way I could do it without flashing him half my backside. “Um, yeah, actually.”
I expected him to extend his hand or his arm to help me hoist myself, but he wrapped his hands around my waist and moved like he was going to pick me up. I made a squeaking noise and shook my head. I was short, but I had plenty of curves and none of them were lightweight. The thought of him straining and struggling to lift me into the cab was mortifying. Lord knows, I’d suffered enough humiliation tonight.
“What’s wrong?”
I stared up at him and felt my cheeks go red. “You can’t pick me up like that.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not exactly a feather. Believe me, I’m heavier than I look.”
He laughed and, hot damn if he didn’t pick me up with ease
, and sit me down on the truck seat. He left his hands on my waist. “These muscles aren’t just for filling up my shirt, ma’am.”
I couldn’t help but giggle. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing with him, but there was something about him that made it pretty darn difficult to say no. The tornadoes in my stomach were back with a vengeance and every time we made eye contact, they swirl a little faster, a little wilder.
“Thank you.”
His eyes were honey brown up close. They seemed to glow golden sometimes when he looked at me. “You’re welcome.”
The silence between us grew. His hands were still on me and the air between us seemed to be alive. My skin was raised with goosebumps and even the light cotton covering my chest suddenly felt heavy.
Thunder rolled in the distance and Alex’s fingers tightened on me. “It’s going to be a big storm.”
I looked past him and watched the night sky light up with a lightning bolt. Anxiety nagged at the edges of my mind until I could no longer ignore it. I pulled away from Alex and crossed my arms under my chest. “This wasn’t how things were supposed to work out,” I mumbled.
“Fasten your seatbelt,” was all he said before closing the door and walking around the front of the truck to get it. He slammed his own door shut and then started the truck. “Ready?”
I shrugged. “Where are we going?”
“My trailer. This storm isn’t gonna be nice and there’s no way I’m leaving you out here in it.”
Heat blossomed south of my stomach and I shifted in my seat. “You don’t have to do that, Alex. I can’t go to your home.”
“You can and you will. You can even have the bed. You’ve had a long night.”
“You’re being so nice. Thank you. I mean it. I don’t know what I’d be doing right now if it weren’t for you.”
He pulled out of the lot as the first fat rain drops started to fall. “No need to thank me. I get to spend some time in the company of a beautiful woman. Things could be a whole lot worse. The way I see it, it’s a win-win.”
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