Page 43 of One Last Rodeo

He winks. “Marriage is nice.” He looks out at the ring where Micah’s currently doing a cartwheel post-ride. “Let me go talk to my idiot nephew,” he grumbles. “He’s looking too tight out there. Bet he'll be hurting tonight from riding that stiff and flipping around like a kid.” He strides off toward the chute exit.

I pop a couple sunflower seeds into my mouth, chewing slowly, letting my gaze sweep the arena again. And then I hear the sweetest fucking music to my ears. That sharp, to the point voice that to most might sound like she's upset or annoyed. But I knowshe's not. I know that she's just smarter than everyone else and we should all be listening to every word she says and obeying. This is how she talks when she's working. When she's sharing her knowledge. When shecares.

I turn. And there Catalina is. Cream short-sleeved shirt tucked into bright-red pants hugging hips I had in my hands last night while her pussy swallowed my cock. Her hair is down in her natural, dark curls. Not pinned up or swept back in a bun.Loose. She’s bare faced and looks like every fantasy I shouldn’t be having.

And is she wearing heels? Out here? Why?

Gone is the all-black wardrobe. In its place iscolor.And if I knew she'd give me another shot, maybe I'd puff out my chest thinking the glow on her cheeks today is because of what we did in my hotel room. I know that's not the case. Because Doctor Alba made herself perfectly clear that what happened between us couldn’t happen again. And no one will ever get to know. I’m not going to disrespect her by going against our agreement.

“Doctor Alba,” I say, giving her a nod like I’m not categorizing every change on her face this morning. The softness in the corners of her eyes when she looks at me. The slightest tick of her lips like she wants to smile but won't allow herself to since she’s working.

I hadn’t seen her on the plane ride here; the riders took a separate van so Craig could talk bonuses with the staff on the drive to the airport. I see that was a good thing now. One glimpse of her in those pants and I’d have crashed the aircraft just to get a seat next to her.

“Hello,” she says, voice professional and calm like she didn’t ruin me for all other women just twenty-four hours ago. “How’s your shoulder feeling?”

“Fine. How are you?”

She rolls her neck, stretching side to side. “Sleeping on the plane was impossible.”

I remember her saying she needs an eye mask to sleep. I stored that away like it matters, like I’m planning on being around long enough to do anything with that information. I wonder if she’d forgotten hers.

“The guys look good today,” she adds, without missing a beat. “No injuries so far which is good.”

Just another day at work for her.

She's not thinking about last night. She’s definitely not crashing out like I am.

“Hm.” I hum low, breathing her in as discreetly as humanly possible. She smells like clean skin and cocoa butter again. The same way that my pillow and sheets smelled after she left.

Before I can stop staring and sniffing like a creep, she leans into my side and lifts her chin a little.

“Do you mind if I take a quick look at the tape Heath put on your shoulder? I trust him, but I’d like to see how the swelling looks today.”

I clear my throat. It’s rougher now. “No. Go ahead and look.”

She reaches up with gentle fingers, lifting the brace that’s covering my arm to examine it. The top button of her shirt shifts just enough to give me a flash of white lace underneath. I swallow hard. She wears lingerie for herself. Under scrubs. Under work clothes. Just walking around like that while I’m supposed to stay professional. It’s cruel. It'scunning. I’m trying really hard not to get hard while imagining her naked.

A part of me wishes I didn't know that detail about her. A darker part of me likes knowing that no one else knows. My jeans get tight, and I cross one booted foot over the other, pretending I’m stretching when I’m actually adjusting myself.

She finishes her examination and then slips the brace back over my shoulder gently. “Thanks. It looks good.”

I nod. “No problem.”

“There’s something else I needed to discuss with you.”

My whole body perks up. "Oh, really?"

Because I was looking for you too.

"Okay, so don’t make this weird,” she says softly.

“Well,” I chuckle deeply, “when you start a sentence like that, I’m bound to make it a little weird.”

She rolls her eyes. “Just hand me your phone, cowboy.”

My brows shoot up. “Aw, Doc… you finally giving me your phone number?”

She bites back a smile and shakes her head. I dig my phone out of my pocket and hand it over. She unlocks the screen, her brows rising in surprise.