Page 117 of Homebound

I need to watch her shatter around me.

Each thrust drives us closer to the edge, and I can feel my control slipping. The way she clutches at me, her nails digging into my shoulders, her pussy gripping me, tells me she’s just as close.

I thrust deeper, my hips snapping forward as I pull her down onto me at the same time. Her legs start to tremble around my waist, and a searing heat races up my spine, electrifying every nerve.

We’re both shaking, teetering, burning, and then we plunge over the edge together. Her moans mix with mine, raw and loud, and the sight of a few people glancing our way only makes me come harder.

God bless hay bales and their perfect height.

She clenches around me, her body pulsing in time with mine, and I pour myself into her. We scream our moans into the sunset, our voices melding with the sounds of the rodeo, until there’s nothing left but our ragged breathing.

“Look at you,” I say, stroking her cheek as I soften inside her. She’s flushed, her skin glowing with satisfaction.

“I think some people are.” She smiles against my lips, her breath still coming in soft pants. “Wyatt Patterson, who knew you were so dirty, fucking me in public like that?”

I kiss her, slow and tender this time. “What can I say? I wanted this whole rodeo to hear you screaming my name so they know you’re mine.”

“Oh, summer boy,” she drawls, resting her forehead against me. “I think the entire world knows I’m yours now.”

48

DIABLO

DAKOTA

“Give it up for Kodie Cutler, the Cowboy Killer! Let’s see if she can stay on the wild and wicked Diablo!” the announcer’s voice slashes through the arena’s applause.

The crowd erupts while my stomach swarms with nerves. I’m glad I packed an extra pair of jeans in my bag after that little romp in the hay bale with my summer boy. I was feeling good after that—calm, settled, ready—but now all those worries come rushing back.

But I can do this.

I’ve got this.

Even if I am riding Diablo. The bull who almost broke Nash Sawyer.

I don’t even want to think about that day because it was the last time I ever saw his goofy grin. He came back from the hospital, sweating, pale as a sheet, with his smile petrified into a grimace, but at least he survived. Only from then on, we didn’t call him Smiley…

We called him The Ghost.

That made him grin a bit when he got his new nickname. It’s actually an honor in the bull riding community to earn one based on the hellish ride you survived. Only the toughest riders get a badass nickname.

Cheers fill the late-summer air, but I tune them out. Same as always. I can’t afford to be thinking about Diablo just like I can’t afford to be thinking of the crowd’s applause. I need to ride out my emotions in that middle lane, not too fast, not too slow.

My dad strides up to me through the relentless heat with that same grumpy scowl under the brim of his hat. Leaves might be changing everywhere else, but September is still brutally hot in Texas.

“You ready to ride Diablo?” he grunts, but I see the worry there in his eyes.

“I’m ready to hurl behind the chutes.” All bulls can be mean, but that Bramer’s especially tough.

It’s got me all twisted up, but it also means if I do well, my score will be even higher. He’s the most aggressive bull out there, so if I can just stay on, I’ve got a good shot of impressing the scout today.

My dad doesn’t crack a laugh at my joke. He takes me in his arms, gripping me fiercely. “Remember, you stay loose and—”

“Flow like good tequila. Smooth and steady,” I finish for him, our well-rehearsed mantra washing a familiar wave of calm over me.

“Right you are.” He taps the brim of my hat with a trembling finger. “If you stay on this round, that’ll be one hell of a score. You’ll have a shot at making the Austin Rattlers one day, you hear?”

I straighten at the thought, imagining sitting in the draft and them calling out my name. It’s everything I’ve wanted, but now the thought of saying goodbye to Wyatt and Vienna taints the dream a little. I need to figure out how to make them part of my world. This dream won’t mean anything if I can’t have them by my side.