He’d just reached for the handle when he heard her sharp voice. “Brady, dammit, wait.” He stopped, but didn’t turn around, not able to bear the pity in her eyes. He heard her heavy sigh. “This isn’t how I wanted this morning to go.” In silence, he waited for her to continue. He’d be damned if he was gonna make this easier for her. There were plenty of fish in his sea, but for some unfathomable reason, he only wanted Leah.
“First of all, I’m not ashamed of what happened between us. Are you listening to me, Brady? Do you hear me? Turn around and face me.” He turned and leaned against the door, crossing his booted feet over each other and his arms over his chest. “I’m not ashamed,” she repeated. “I’m confused. I’m not sure where I stand. Where we stand. I’ve never been in a situation like this. I don’t have casual sex.”
“This ain’t casual,” he snarled.
“Then what is it, Brady? Are we dating?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “All I know is I don’t feel very casual right now.” His eyes raked her up and down and she shivered.
“Okay, well, then we need to talk and figure out how we want to present ourselves to the outside world, where we go from here. For my part, I don’t particularly want to flaunt our relationship. I think Nelson might try to exploit it and I’ve worked very hard to keep my private life private. Hence the nickname.”
He grinned. “Darlin’, there ain’t a thing icy about you. You’re hot as hell.”
Her face flamed. “Thank you. Anyway, do you agree?”
“Yeah. But—”
“But what?”
“I don’t want all the other guys on tour thinking they can come sniffin’ around you, either.”
An elegant eyebrow rose. “Sniffing around me? Nice, Brady. You’re such a barbarian.”
“Fuckin-a right.” Smirking, he crossed to her and plunged both hands into her hair, staring down into her eyes. “You’re mine, and I wouldn’t mind my fellow competitors having an inkling about that.” He groaned with the need to taste her again. Tilting her head, he pulled the skin on the side of her neck into his mouth and sucked.
“Brady!” she protested, trying to pull away. “You’ll leave a mark.”
“Uh-huh,” he confirmed before grabbing more and sucking again.
“Brady! I cannot go out there today with a hickey on my neck. Do you understand me? We’re not teenagers.” She twisted in his arms and he finally let her go. Rushing over to the mirror above the desk, Leah inspected the red mark. “I can’t believe you did that. If that leaves a bruise…” He couldn’t help the smile that began to creep up but quickly squelched it when she spun to face him. “I have a reputation, Brady, and it isn’t for being a brazen hussy.”
He couldn’t help the bark of laughter that escaped. “Brazen hussy?” She looked as if she was about to slap him and he backed up a step involuntarily. “I’m sorry, honey. I couldn’t help myself.”
“Why? Why couldn’t you help yourself? Are you some kind of animal?” She turned back to the mirror again, muttering about a scarf.
“Aw, don’t get so worked up about it. I doubt people will even notice,” he told her, trying to defuse her anger. He’d known what he was doing but hadn’t realized she’d be quite this angry. Sure it was juvenile, but hey, no one had ever accused him of being mature. “Look, I’m sorry. I really am. Most people won’t even notice the mark, but a man looking to get with you will and he’ll know you’re taken. He just won’t know by who.”
Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him in the mirror. He stared back, unwilling to look away. Why he felt so possessive of her he had no idea, but didn’t have time to reflect on it further—he needed to get the hell outta here and shower. Not daring a glance at the clock, he’d bet he had an hour or less to make it to the arena on time.
“Fine. But I want to make a deal with you.”
“A deal?”
“Yeah. If someone makes a comment about it, I get to…” She looked him up and down and he resisted the urge to fidget. “Pluck one of your chest hairs.”
He winced. “No way.”
“If no one’s going to notice you have nothing to worry about,” she answered, all wide-eyed innocence. Fuck. She had him and she knew it.
“You’re a cold, cold woman, Leah.”
She just smiled. “Why do you think they call me ‘The Ice Queen’?”
“I gotta go, but before I do, I want another kiss.” He gathered her in his arms and gave her his mouth, letting her dictate the depth and pace of the kiss. She nipped at his lower lip and then chased his tongue into his mouth, playing with it before retreating back into her own mouth again. He grabbed her hips, pressing his erection into her stomach and groaning. Pulling away, he pressed his forehead to hers. “I wanna fuck you so bad.”
She giggled. “Why, Mr. Parrish. What sweet words. A girl could swoon.” Pushing him toward the door, she reminded him, “You have to go.”
“I know. Just one more kiss.”
She covered his lips with her fingers. “No. Now go.”
He reached around and gave her a hard swat on the ass. When she yelped, he said, “Don’t take that tone with me, woman, or I’ll put you over my knee, even if it makes me late.”
She snorted and he gave her another hard spank. “Ow! Brady!” He gave her two more in rapid succession and watched as her eyes glazed briefly. She liked that. He filed that information away for later reference.
“Be a good girl or I’ll use my bull rope next time. See ya later.” With a wink, he left. How he was gonna survive until he could sink his cock into her warm, wet pussy tonight, he had no idea, but he wasn’t looking forward to finding out.
Chapter Seven
The day passed quickly in a whirlwind of hand shaking, picture taking and autograph signing. She felt like a politician and was almost surprised no one had made her kiss a baby. Her face hurt from smiling. But Brady had been right. None of the fans seemed to notice the mark on her neck. If any of the riders had, they’d been smart enough not to say anything.
Plopping down in the seat Brady had left for her at will-call, she finally let out a breath. Here in the friends-and-family section she hoped to get a brief respite from the masses. She had to admit that David Nelson appeared to be a marketing genius—the fans asked her a million questions about her skating and wanted to know when she was competing next. She was certainly gaining fans—ones who didn’t know about her history with the sport and therefore didn’t have preconceived notions about her. It was kind of nice. Hopefully she’d have a skating career for a couple more years now so these new fans would actually get to see her skate.
Leah took the opportunity of a breather to call James. She knew he was probably on pins and needles to hear how the event was going.
“Hi, James,” she said when he picked up.
“Ooh, I’ve been waiting for your call. How is it?”
“Not bad, actually. A little dirty and dusty for my taste, but overall, not bad.”
“So what do they have you doing?”
“They set up a little table on the concourse of the arena. I’m just talking to fans, signing stuff, taking pictures, that sort of thing. No biggie. The people are really nice and they seem interested in skating, which I didn’t expect.”
“Me either. Huh.”
“Yeah,” Leah continued, “they’re asking me all sorts of questions about the sport, when they can see me compete, how do I choose music and costumes. It’s sort of cool. No one here seems to be judging me with the whole ‘Ice Queen’ thing, either, which is great in and of itself, you know? Even with that stupid slogan plastered on everything.”
“I can imagine. So what are you doing now?”
“Waiting to watch Brady ride. I got to see a little bit of the event but I’ve been pretty busy all day. Brady and his friend Conner are both riding toward the end. Apparently the highest-ranked riders always do.”
“Sounds like you’ve learned a lot already.” James paused for a few s
econds. “So this is really okay with you? You’re doing all right?”
“James, stop worrying. I’m fine, truly.”
“All right. Well, call me again when you get to the next event or if anything exciting happens.”
Leah said goodbye and hung up the phone. She watched a couple of the guys ride, and then it was Conner’s turn and finally Brady’s. Leah hadn’t realized how nervous she’d been about Brady’s ride until it came time for him to mount his bull. She felt pain in her hands and looked down to see that she was gripping the metal bleachers so hard her knuckles had turned white. Willing herself to ease up, she stared at the chute and prayed. She knew from talking to Conner and some of the other riders that the bull Brady had chosen in the draft was described as “rank”. In short, an ornery type.
It meant Brady’s score would be higher if he stayed on, but that would be harder to do because this bull tended to buck and twirl harder and faster than other bulls. She’d been right when she’d told Brady it was very similar to figure skating. You did the hard jumps because they had the greatest potential to get you a high score, but they also had the greatest potential for failure.
Conner was standing on the fence rail, leaning over and helping Brady prepare. Suddenly, the bull jumped in the chute and nearly bucked Brady off right then and there. He took hold of the sides and waited until the bull settled and then resumed his preparations, winding his bull rope around his hand until he was satisfied. The bull snorted, which tossed snot in all directions, and Leah made a face but couldn’t look away. Brady continued to be jostled around and Leah had no idea how his legs weren’t being crushed on the sides of the chute. She bit her lip. Now she knew how people felt when they watched loved ones skate. She doubted anyone felt this way when she skated, though. Sighing, she returned her attention to Brady in time to see him nod and the gate swing open.
The bull immediately spun hard to the right and it looked as if Brady wasn’t going to be able to compensate, but he managed to right himself and stayed on. His free hand wasn’t as controlled as last night, and as the bull bucked and twisted back to the left Brady’s body jerked violently and Leah could swear his helmeted head slammed into the bull’s hindquarters. She winced, but still he held on.
Then all hell broke loose. Brady was bucked, but landed too close to the bull. The bullfighters couldn’t distract the beast in time and it knocked into Brady as he tried to scramble away, tossing him into the air as if he weighed nothing. Leah gasped, her hand covering her mouth in shock. Landing on his side, Brady rolled away and was able to climb up onto the fence while the bullfighters took care of the animal. He was panting and Leah could see he was favoring one leg, letting it hang off the rail.
She knew he hadn’t made it to the eight seconds—she hadn’t heard the buzzer sound. He climbed over the fence and landed on the other side, still only on one leg. Conner was right there, pointing to his leg, and Brady was shaking his head. Leah didn’t know what to do. Should she go to him? Would he want her to? He should see the doctor. She knew that much. As the bullfighter handed him his bull rope and another rider gave him his gear bag, he and Conner began to walk back to the riders’ area, which was in the opposite direction from the medical room. Brady had a noticeable limp.
Before she knew what she was doing, she was on her feet and following the two of them. She asked one of the riders for assistance jumping down from the stands so she didn’t have to waste time making her way back up the stairs and around the back, then began to walk as fast as her injured ankle would allow. She hit a patch of softer dirt and her ankle turned, sending a painful jolt straight up her leg. Silently berating herself for her own stupidity at chasing him like this, she’d worked up quite a head of steam by the time she caught up with the two men. Spinning in front of them, she put her hands on her hips. “What do you think you’re doing?”
He raised his gaze to hers and she saw a combination of anger, pain and disappointment. Being bucked off in the finals meant he wouldn’t finish in the money for this event, so he was undoubtedly upset about that, but he needed to have that leg looked at.
“I’m going to the locker room. What are you doing?”
She shook her head. Men.
“You should be getting that leg looked at.”
“It’s fine.”
She set her jaw. “Bullshit.”
Both Brady’s and Conner’s eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Bull. Shit.” She got closer to him and poked him in the chest. “If you don’t agree to go to the medical room you can sleep alone tonight.”
He grabbed her finger and Conner cleared his throat. “I’m outta here, man. Wonder where Jess got off to?” Turning on his heel, he strode away.
“Chicken,” Brady muttered. Then he focused his attention on her again. “So if I don’t go let the doc look at what’s undoubtedly just a little bruise on my leg you won’t let me fuck you? Have I got that right?”
She lifted her chin. “That’s right.”
A rumble sounded. “Hell of a bedside manner you’ve got.”
“If it makes you take care of yourself, I’ll do what I have to do.”
He regarded her for a moment, and she could practically see the steam rising from his head. Finally he smiled, but she didn’t trust that smile for a minute. It was trouble. “Since you’re so fond of deals, let’s make another one. I go see the medic, and when we get back to the hotel you get down on your knees and suck my cock.” He leaned in closer and Leah felt his hot breath tickle her ear. “And when I come, you swallow it. Every. Last. Drop.” His voice was barely more than a throaty rasp, but Leah’s panties were soaked nonetheless, and her breath was coming in shallow pants. “You got me? I see the doctor and you suck my dick. Deal?”
“Deal,” she whispered. Why the thought of doing that for Brady revved her up so much mystified her, but she couldn’t ignore the way her entire body had caught fire at his suggestion.
He straightened and Leah watched as his nostrils flared. “I can smell your arousal. Damn, woman, you heat my blood. Let’s go. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I get to see your pretty little lips wrapped around my dick.” Brady traced the tip of his index finger around her mouth and all she could do was squeak in response. He leaned in and whispered, “You want that, don’t you? You want to take me in your mouth. That’s what’s got you so worked up.” His eyes closed to half-mast. “I want to fuck you so bad my cock could pound concrete.”
He tipped up her chin and stared into her eyes with an intensity that frightened her, but she was powerless to look away. “Fuck. Let’s do this.” He got to the medical room and ducked his head in. “Can you take a quick look at my leg? I’m sure it’s just a bruise, but I’ve got an overprotective mother hen out here who’s making me have it looked at.”
Leah, who’d come in right after him, let out an annoyed huff. “I am not an overprotective mother hen. I’m a professional athlete who knows that when you get hurt you should have your injury examined. Now go.” She nudged him farther into the room.
“Why don’t you go ahead behind the curtain and take off your pants so we can see what we’ve got going on?” the medic told him.
Brady started for the curtained-off area and Leah began to follow. He turned, smirking at her and her face flamed when she realized her mistake. “Um…”
How could I have forgotten myself like that?
She looked around into the amused faces of several bull riders. Closing her eyes briefly, she willed herself to disappear. When that didn’t work, she stumbled to the door. “I’ll just be out here waiting.”
“You do that, darlin’,” Brady answered with a chuckle.
Leah waited for him outside. She was mortified, and she only had herself to blame. The way she’d reacted, both in insisting he go see the doctor and in trying to follow him into the examination area had made it abundantly clear that she and Brady were more than friends. So much for being discreet.
A
moment later Brady exited the room. “Ready to go, sugar?” He slung an arm around her shoulders and she shrugged him off. “Aw, don’t be like that. I was a good boy and did what you told me to.”
She glared at him. “You’re laughing at me.”
“Never, sweetheart. I would live in fear for the family jewels if I did.”
“You know what’s going to happen, don’t you?”
“What?”
“The guys in there are going to tell everyone we’re involved. It’ll be all over this place by tomorrow.”
“Maybe so,” Brady agreed.
“But I guess that wouldn’t bother you, would it? You look like the big stud while I look like the slut.”
He gaped at her. “Why would you look like a slut for being involved with me?”
She rolled her eyes. Sometimes men could be so dense. “We’ve known each other only a few days and already we’re together. That makes me a slut.”
He stopped suddenly, his hand curling around her upper arm. His stare was hard when she looked at him questioningly. “I don’t wanna ever hear you refer to yourself in that way.” His words were coming out in a staccato beat. “You are not a slut. You are a grown woman who has the right to do whatever you damn well please. Conner and Jess dealt with that same sort of thing when they first got together and I won’t put up with it. If I even get a whiff that someone has said something like that about you or our relationship I’ll take them apart with my bare hands. You got me?” He released her and began to walk again.
Taking a deep breath, she lagged behind him. A rush of moisture had flooded her sex when he’d spoken. No man had ever cared about her enough to make a threat like that. There were so many layers to Brady, and every time he showed her another one she fell a little harder. She couldn’t afford to want him any more than she already did, but every time she tried to pull away he sucked her right back in.
As if he’d never made that outrageous declaration, he began to talk about their travel plans for the next day. Nelson had offered to ferry her to the next event in a limo, but she’d turned him down. All she needed was for everyone to think she was some stuck-up bitch who had to travel first-class all the way.
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