“I came to escort you to the event this afternoon, of course,” he answered, tipping his hat.
“I figured you would be at the arena by now. I was planning to take a cab. Where are your riding clothes?”
Brady indicated the bag at his feet. “Everything I need is in there. Come on, pretty lady, let’s get this show on the road.” He held out his hand, and though she gave him a wary look, she allowed him to pull her out of the room after she’d gathered her things. He let her hand go once they got off the elevator, knowing it would make her uncomfortable if he touched her openly. That was fine—she could run like a scared filly. For now.
When they arrived at the arena they met Conner and Jessica, and Brady handed over his gear. After grumbling about how Conner had gotten out of going to this one, he and Leah made their way to the private party. Upon entering they were immediately greeted by David Nelson. “Leah, Brady, so glad you could join us!” He drew them both farther into the room and let out a high-pitched whistle, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.
Brady saw Leah’s face flame and surmised that even though she was accustomed to being in the spotlight she was probably finding this kind of attention a bit much. Before he could reflect further, though, David urged them to stand at his side as a large easel with a covered canvas was brought out and placed next to the trio. David rubbed his hands together, his smile getting wider.
“Folks, let me introduce Leah Fitzpatrick, Olympic champion figure skater, and, of course, you all know Brady Parrish, the number-one-ranked bull rider on the professional tour.” Applause rang out and both Brady and Leah smiled and gave small waves to the crowd. “I was fortunate enough to convince Leah to take some time out of her busy schedule to visit the tour and meet the fans—take some pictures, sign autographs, that sort of thing. To that end, I’d like to debut the new ad campaign for Nelson Motors to go along with this promotional tour.”
He slid the draping off the canvas and Brady turned to look at it. It was one of the pictures he and Leah had taken during their photo shoot. The caption read, Two Worlds Collide—The Rodeo King and The Ice Queen. He was afraid to look at Leah, but he could see out of the corner of her eye that she wasn’t particularly pleased about her nickname being plastered all over as part of the campaign’s slogan. Before he could think better of it he’d grabbed her hand and squeezed.
Hearing her gasp, he looked down into her eyes, which betrayed so many emotions—anger, confusion, hurt. Unfortunately he wasn’t sure how many were directed at him for impulsively taking her hand and how many were as a result of the campaign ad. She yanked her hand out of his and then stood there, still as a statue, as if to prove her nickname correct. He mourned the loss of her warmth, knowing to the marrow in his bones she was no Ice Queen.
Nelson continued, oblivious to the complete lack of animation on Leah’s face. “Isn’t it great? We’re going to be featuring the ads on billboards, in selected magazines, and on the tour itself.” With every word it was as if Leah drew further and further into herself while Brady could only stand there and watch, his jaw clenching. “Anyway, both will be around this afternoon for you to meet and take photos with, and later Leah will be signing autographs while our champ here gets ready to face his eight seconds in the ring.”
People began to disperse and Brady heard Leah expel a slow breath. She turned to him. “I don’t say this very often, but I need a drink,” she muttered. “Would you get me one, please?” Placing her hand on his arm, she gazed into his eyes and he had to remind himself where they were before he kissed her again.
“Of course, darlin’. What’ll you have?” He turned, tucking her hand into the crook of his arm to lead her toward the bar and away from Nelson. No way was he leaving her alone right now.
“Wine is good.” As they gained some distance, she glanced at him again. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For getting me away from him. For supporting me. For knowing it was upsetting me. I feel so foolish.”
“Why do you feel foolish, sweetheart?”
“I’ve been in this business long enough that stupid things shouldn’t bother me. They should just roll off my back. I’ve been called ‘The Ice Queen’ for so many years you’d think I wouldn’t even hear it anymore, but I do. Sure, people can say it’s a play on words because I’m a skater, but you and I both know it’s an insult.”
Before he could respond they were interrupted by a woman who wanted to meet Leah. He watched her plaster on her professional smile and shake the woman’s hand. Amazed she could turn on the charm that fast, he got their drinks and hurried back to her side. After all, she may be able to turn on the charm, but he wasn’t sure how long she could keep it up in an environment where she felt so uncomfortable and he wanted to be there if she needed him. She accepted the glass of wine, giving him what he knew was a genuine smile, and he felt ten feet tall despite the smallness of the gesture.
He remained by her side for the duration of the party and was sorry when he had to leave to get his gear ready to ride. Once back in the riders’ area, though, he forced his attention to the task at hand. If he didn’t prepare properly he could be killed. As David had said, he was the top-ranked bull rider, but that could change in a second if he let his mind wander. He needed to make hay while he could—a bull rider’s career was only as good as his next ride and he needed money to be able to keep his ranch. It had taken all his savings just to purchase and outfit the place and it needed a lot more work before it would become the ranch he envisioned spending his retirement running.
As he pulled his bull rope and rosin out of his bag, he blocked everything else out of his mind. When he was satisfied with his rope, he checked all his other equipment—vest, mouthpiece, chaps, boots and spurs, to make sure he had everything and that it was all ready to go. Then he took his bag to the side of the arena near the chutes and found Conner and Jessica.
“Hey, man,” Conner said.
“Did you see what’s going on with Leah?” Jessica asked.
“No. Why? Is she all right?” Brady asked, his question coming out sharper than he’d intended.
Conner smirked. “Calm down, Romeo. She’s fine. Just getting mobbed.”
“What do you mean, getting mobbed?” He began to turn in circles, looking for where they’d set her up.
“I think it’s great. People are really showing an interest in her,” Jessica replied.
“She’s fine, Brady,” Conner tried to tell him.
“How can you tell? You hardly even know her. She’s not real comfortable here, especially since Nelson plastered that stupid ‘Rodeo King-Ice Queen’ shit all over the promo stuff.” He started toward the spectator area, his bag forgotten. Conner followed.
“Seriously, man, she’s okay. I just talked to her a minute ago.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” He rounded on Conner. “Where is she?”
“Buddy, calm down.” Conner put his hands up. “Right over there.” He pointed and Brady whirled around again, seeing a crowd gathered in one area. He headed toward it as if he were one of the bulls competing tonight.
Excusing himself as he plowed through the crowd, he made it to the front in record time. Leah looked up at him, surprise evident in her eyes. They were separated by a table, but he made short work of it, skirting around until he knelt at her feet. She turned in her chair, her eyebrows knit. “Brady? What’s going on?”
He took her hand. “Are you all right?”
“Of course I’m all right. Why wouldn’t I be all right?”
“You’re not getting overwhelmed?” Leah glanced up at the crowd, which Brady noticed was starting to look at the two of them with more than a little curiosity. Shit. He dropped her hand and stood. “I just wanted to check on you. I won’t be able to make it out here again until after I ride.”
“Okay…” she answered. “Well, um, have a… What am I supposed to say? I assume that like in skating, ‘break a leg’ doesn’t really apply.”<
br />
Brady laughed. “How about ‘have a safe ride’?”
“Have a safe ride, Brady,” she whispered, her eyes turning liquid.
“I will.” He scooted away before he did something to cause further conjecture amongst the fans. Pulling off his hat, he ran his hand through his hair as he walked back to the chutes.
Conner was waiting there, leaning against the rail with his and Brady’s bags both on the ground at his feet. “Did you rescue her?” he drawled.
“Fuck off,” Brady snarled. Conner just laughed. “But thanks for watching my bag.” Sabotage wasn’t common in the NBT, but it wasn’t smart to just leave your gear lying around and he silently berated himself for losing his head so easily.
“That’s what friends are for, man.”
Both he and Conner helped other riders as they got situated on their bulls. As top-ranked riders they wouldn’t take their turns until the end of the night. Brady began to think about the bull he’d been assigned. He had ridden Ace in the Hole before, and the bull wouldn’t be his hardest ride this season, but certainly wouldn’t be a walk in the park either.
His buddy Randy had ridden Ace successfully last week, but the bull bucked off all but the most experienced—and lucky—riders. Brady needed a score in this round in order to get a good placement in the draft for tomorrow’s bulls. After speaking briefly with Randy about last week’s ride, he leaned back to wait, still going through possible scenarios in his mind. Points were important at this point in the season, especially with other riders like Conner, Randy and Marco breathing down his neck.
Turning, he scanned the friends-and-family area for Leah, spotting her toward the front next to Jessica, in the exact spot where the ticket he’d left her would’ve put her. She and Jess were engaged in an animated conversation, and he couldn’t help but smile. Had she taken his ticket on purpose or had the others forgotten to get her one? Did she only do it so she could visit with Jessica? Hell, he didn’t care. She was here, watching him ride. It was weird, he felt almost as if she was his girl, rooting for him and him alone. Shaking his head to clear it of that ridiculous thought, he turned back toward the rail, but not without a twinge of something in his gut. Loneliness?
When it was his turn to ride, he sank down on the beast’s back and wound the rope around his hand, pounding on the hold with his free hand until he was satisfied. Nodding at Conner and then the official, he pushed off from the rail and began to move with the bull, who immediately twisted left. Brady shifted his weight with it, being careful to stay on-center and keep his free hand high and away from himself. The bull gave a good kick, but Brady was ready for it and held on, squeezing with his thighs. The bull spun again, to the right this time, and Brady corrected again. The sounds of the roaring crowd seemed a million miles away, and before long he heard the buzzer.
Disengaging his rope, he was able to hop off and land on his feet, running for the rail while the bullfighters corralled the bull into the chute at the far end of the arena. He waited for his score. Eighty-nine point five. Excellent. He heard the announcer’s voice rumble over the loudspeakers, “And with that score, Brady Parrish moves into second place behind Randy Suzan.” Nodding in satisfaction, he climbed over the rail and accepted a slap on the back from Conner.
“Nice ride, man.”
“Thanks. What place did you end up at?”
“Fourth.” Conner shrugged. “I’ll do better tomorrow.”
“Damn right.”
“So your filly couldn’t take her eyes off you while you rode.”
Purposely taking a minute to accept his rope and congratulations from the bullfighter, Brady finally turned back to his friend. “I like her. Is that a crime?”
“No sir.”
“Then why the teasing?”
“You teased me mercilessly about Jessica. And because it ain’t often I get to see the great Brady Parrish’s nuts in a vise over a woman. I kinda like it.”
“I’ll thank you to stop talkin’ about my nuts,” Brady retorted, but Conner wouldn’t be waylaid.
“She’s got you bad. I guess she must really be something in bed, huh?”
Brady rounded on him. “We haven’t slept together—yet. But keep your voice down. She’s not like other girls. She’s a classy woman, and I don’t want it getting back to her that we’re talking shit.”
Conner’s eyes narrowed. “You really like her, don’t you?”
“Fuck, I don’t know. She gets my blood boiling, that’s for damn sure.”
“So what’re you gonna do about it?”
“She said before she wanted to be friends, but now I’m not so sure. The way she looks at me sometimes…” He thought about that smile she’d given him earlier and his cock began to harden. Bad time and place for that and he willed it to subside.
They picked their bulls in the draft, took the pictures with Leah, and then made their way back to the rider’s area. Conner spoke again. “Well, you’d best make a move soon, ’cuz with the attention she’s getting from the guys it won’t be long until she’s spoken for.” His gaze slid up to Jessica, who was waiting for them a short distance away. “I would know.”
A surge of adrenaline rushed through Brady. “Over my dead body,” he snarled, striding away to find his woman before one of his jackass compatriots got his hands on her. He heard Conner’s chuckle behind him, but didn’t waste time trying to play his cards close to the vest. He and Conner had been close for a while now, and he couldn’t hide what he felt for Leah from his friend even if he’d wanted to.
He found her surrounded by fans and riders alike and had to fight through the crowd once again to reach her. He tapped her arm and she smiled up at him. “Second place. That’s great, Brady. You know, bull riding is a lot like figure skating, actually.”
“How’s that, darlin’?” He couldn’t wait to hear this comparison.
She tilted her head and pursed her perfect, full lips. Only the size of the crowd kept him from bending down to nibble on them. “Well, both competitions last two days. You have two rides—we have a short program and a long program. In both sports, you can make up ground on the second day. And from what I read in the program, you get to choose your bull tomorrow, which can affect your score, kind of like how we can sometimes choose what order we skate in depending on our rankings after the short program.” His eyes roved over her face. He had to get her out of here. “Brady?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you all right?”
“Fine.” It came out as little more than a squeak and he cursed his raging hormones. He cleared his throat and tried again. “You ready to go?”
“Um, sure.” She turned to everyone and gave a brief wave. Brady couldn’t handle it anymore. He needed her and hoped to hell she felt the same way. Otherwise he was in for a very unpleasant night. As he tugged her along, she said, “Brady, seriously, slow down. I can’t keep up with you in these boots with my ankle the way it is. What’s the rush?”
Brady swore. He’d totally forgotten about her ankle. Now he felt like an ass. He pulled them into a little alcove and pressed her to the wall, pushing his body against hers and letting her feel his erection. “This is the rush,” he rumbled. “I want you. I need you. Please, please tell me I’m not the only one with this ache.” He gave her a brief, hard kiss and pulled back, searching her face. Her eyes flared and he wondered if it was in arousal or anger.
“Take me home.”
Anger. He deflated. “All right, darlin’. If that’s what you want. I’d never force myself on a woman. I hope you know that.” He began to move out of the alcove but she grabbed his arm and yanked him back.
“I meant, take me back to the hotel because we can’t do this here.”
Groaning, he sank into her for another kiss, but pushed away again. “Come on.” Spurred on by his sexual hunger, he moved as fast as she could follow him with her injured ankle. He considered picking her up, but there were too damn many people around for that. Reaching the door of the are
na, he flagged down a taxi. Once in, he reached for her almost immediately, drawing her to him for a long, drugging kiss. She tasted of mint and pure, hot woman. There wasn’t a damn thing icy about her. Running his hands down the sides of her body, he found the hem of her blouse and slid underneath, caressing the smooth skin of her waist.
He was consumed by want of her, and she wasn’t holding anything back either. Dragging his mouth away from hers, he planted kisses down her jawline to her neck. Finding her pulse point, he bit down gently, eliciting a swift inhalation from Leah. She arched her back and he took the opportunity to grab her legs, hauling her up to straddle him. Nuzzling into her cleavage, he marveled at her incredible softness. She was like nothing he’d ever felt before and he knew if he couldn’t touch more soon he was gonna lose it. He couldn’t wait to run his hands and mouth all over her body.
She writhed on top of him and he groaned in response. “Sweetheart, if you don’t stop that we’re gonna have an embarrassing situation right here in the back of this cab.”
Her hands slid into his hair, knocking off his hat. “Kiss me.”
“Now that I can oblige,” he told her, gripping her hips as he laid claim to her mouth again. She opened instantly and he pushed his tongue inside, sampling her sweet taste. A low moan rose from her chest and he caught it with his mouth as he continued to build the raging fire between them. He barely noticed when the cab arrived at the hotel. Pulling away, he set her down on the seat. “We’re here.” Reaching into his wallet, he handed the driver a bill and opened the door, helping her out. They rushed to the elevator. “Your room or mine?”
She bit her lip and he couldn’t help it. He bent down and licked the spot, then straightened as the doors opened. “Um, I’m not…prepared…” she finally got out, refusing to meet his gaze.
His eyebrows drew down in a tense frown. “Are you having second thoughts?”
Her head snapped up. “No, no.” She blushed and he grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him.
“What, then?”
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