Rodeo: A Bad Boy Romance (FMX Bros Book 2) (3 page)

“You should have come to me earlier, Sayler. I could have helped.”

“You tried to stop me from the whole Kurt fiasco. I was just too stubborn. It’s over now.”

He shook his head, and I lowered my hand. “It’s
not
over because if I ever lay eyes on the guy, I’m going to rip him to fucking shreds.”

I smiled. “Shit, there’s the rowdy guy I remember from high school. Not used to seeing you so damn serious. And . . . it seems to me . . . the younger Parker would have kissed me by now.”

He shrugged. “Guess I’ve matured some out here.” His mouth tilted and those crease lines appeared again. “Sort of.” His arms circled around me, and he pulled me against him. “Shit, those lips,” he muttered. “Used to dream about that grape flavored lip gloss you slathered on those amazing fucking lips.” He lowered his mouth over mine. The years apart faded away, and I was back with the boy who I’d sneak out in the middle of the night to be with. My body reacted instantly to his kisses, to his strong confident touch. I felt a weakness in my knees and a flutter through my body that I hadn’t experienced in a long time. He lifted his hand and pushed my bangs away from my eyes with callused fingertips.

“Wow, Parker Stevens, you
have
grown up.”

“Damn right. Got a few more tricks up my tattoo sleeves than I had back when we had to fool around in the back of the truck.”

“Or in my dad’s tool shed. Still remember when you rolled onto that rake.”

“That hurt like hell.” He reached up and took hold of my face and kissed me lightly. “I’m going to show you just how mature I am. I’m going to leave and let you get some sleep . . . alone . . . in your cute, little corner bed. I’ll probably be up all fucking night thinking about you alone in that bed, but . . .”

I hopped up on my toes and kissed him again. “Guess we both need time to absorb this.” I knew something was still chewing at him, and it wasn’t just about us going to our separate beds.

“About your job at the club . . .”

I pressed my fingers against his mouth. “No, don’t talk about it. You’ll ruin the moment. I need the job. That’s all it is—a job.” We’d only just reconnected, and I’d already laid bare my horrible marriage. I wasn’t ready to tell him the rest.

I put my number into his phone, and he did the same. He walked to the door and turned around. “Really fucking glad you’re here, Sayler.”

“Me too.”

Chapter 3

Rodeo

I glanced over at Cole. “Do you think he’ll do it?”

Cole lifted his shades to his head and looked back at Denver. He’d been riding circles, warming up his tires and trying hard to wrap his oversized brain around the idea of a front flip, an extremely difficult freestyle move. It was a trick that, if mastered, could move him up to a new level of competition and secure him even more sponsors and paid show invites. A smooth front flip could assure him a spot at the X-games and solidify his name in the sport.

Cole sighed and lowered his sunglasses over his face. “Don’t think so. Not yet. He’s over thinking it just like everything else. And with his scientific analysis of every move, the motion of the front flip is just not jiving with the reality of physics. Coming off the kicker makes a back flip a natural trick. The force is with you and the bike for a back flip. But it’s a total defiance of nature to push that bike into a front flip.”

I stared at Cole through the black lenses of my Oakleys. “Well, that was impressive. I’d almost think that came right from Denver’s mouth.”

Cole’s chin shifted to the side and back. “It did. I’m just repeating what he was telling me this morning. But I think I should at least be given credit for remembering it. Even if the whole thing didn’t form and gel in my head.”

My hand landed hard on his shoulder. “Very good job. I’m proud of you.”

He flicked my hand off. “Yeah, yeah. Hey, Denver said you both got an invite to the exhibition freestyle show they’re having out near the desert. Guess you’ll have enough money from that gig to start working on that Corvette I so generously handed over to you.”

“Handed over? It was a bet and you forfeited.”

“Forfeited, my ass. All I had to do was get one date and a kiss. I won that wager and then some.”

“Oh, should I discuss the ‘then some’ with Kensington to get the real scoop on just what went down on that first date?”

“You do and you’ll be finding yourself sleeping in a tent in the park.” Cole pushed the sleeves of his shirt up. “Getting hot out here. You didn’t say much about last night. I heard you drive off in your truck. Did you go back to see the girl?”

“I did. She’s had it rough. She was married to this total douche bag we went to school with, and he turned out to be an even bigger asshole than I thought.” My fists curled tight just thinking about Kurt Greene and his smug face. “I think she’s in some kind of trouble. She won’t tell me what, but, now that I know she’s here, I’m going to keep an eye on her.”

Denver’s bike roared as he leaned forward and headed for the narrow metal ramp. His front tire shot up, and he pulled off a clean back flip with a tight landing on the other side.

“Told you he wasn’t ready yet,” Cole said. “I think once he is, there’ll be no stopping our boy, Denver from Boston.”

I hopped down from the retaining wall where we usually sat to watch each other practice jumps. My mind hadn’t been focused enough on riding to pull off more than a few unimpressive tricks.

“Where are you going?” Cole asked as I headed toward the house.

“I’m gonna make a call. My phone gets shitty reception out here.” I grabbed my phone off the patio table. I wasn’t completely sure what Sayler would be up to or if she was interested in seeing me, but I decided to give it a try. I hadn’t stopped thinking about her all night. We hadn’t seen each other in years, but it felt as if we’d never parted. She was the one person who made me feel completely at ease.

She picked up on two rings. “Hey,
Rodeo
.” She laughed. “Thought I’d give the nickname a whirl. I like it. What’s up? I hear a dirt bike. Are you out at the track?”

“Nah, we’re in Cole’s yard. It’s really more of a giant stretch of barren land, but since it’s behind the house, we call it the yard. He has a cool setup here with ramps and a foam pit and everything else to give a two wheel enthusiast a permanent hard on.”

“Nice. A boy playground.”

I could hear a car radio in the background. “Are you driving somewhere? Did you get your car started?”

“Now that would be illegal for me to be chatting with you on my phone, wouldn’t it? My car is still playing paper weight. I’m in a friend’s car.”

Of course my mind went straight to her cruising around town in some guy’s car. Sayler had never lacked for male friends or boyfriends back in Montana, and it was kind of stupid of me to think she wasn’t seeing someone. She was beautiful and funny, even if a little scattered in her current life. She was also the one girl who could reduce me to a jealous fool. The scene at the strip club had assured me she still held that power.

“Jenny and I are going over to the club. She’s the club owner’s wife. I give her dance lessons on Sundays. The stage is the perfect place to practice. It has a great floor.”

Not that it cleared out the possibility that she had a boyfriend, but I was still relieved. “When is the lesson over? Thought we might take a drive down to the beach.”

“The beach? Kind of cold for the beach, isn’t it?”

“This coming from a girl who once participated in a snowball fight in just her bra and shorts.”

“That was your fault. I was getting dressed when you blew that snowball against my window. Scared the crap out of me and earned me a nice lecture from my dad. I had no choice but to march down in my state of undress and heave a snowball back at you.”

“Oh, I’m not complaining. Best snowball fight of my life. It’s sunny today, so the beach will be nice. We won’t be wearing bathing suits or jumping in the waves, but we can take a walk along the sand. And there’s a great food place on the pier. Hot dogs with pickle relish, just the way you like ‘em.”

“Ooh yum. You know I’m a sucker for a good hot dog. Pick me up at the club at noon. I have some jeans and a sweatshirt in my dance duffle. So I’ll be ready for our beach adventure.”

“Cool. I’ll see you then.”

Chapter 4

Rodeo

There was only one car in the lot of the Sunset Strip Club. Music vibrated the tinted front windows. The front door opened as I reached for it. A woman with a pretty smile, pink running shorts, a cut-off gray t-shirt and a duffle slung over her shoulder was on her way out. “You must be Parker. I’m Jenny.” She looked me up and down as we shook hands. “Huh, expected something different from a Montana boy.”

“Decided to fit in with the west coast natives. But I’m still a Montana boy in here.” I tapped my chest with a fist.

Her smiled widened. “That’s sweet. I like you already.” She pointed back over her shoulder. “Sayler was just getting in a few minutes practice without my two feet getting in her way. Go on in. Nice meeting you.”

“You too.”

I shut the front door behind me and headed into the barroom. Sayler hadn’t heard me walk in. Music rumbled through the overhead speakers. The place seemed completely different without the murmur of voices and the clanking of glasses. I had no business telling Sayler not to work at the club, but it still bothered me plenty. I needed to help her get out of the problems she was having.

I lifted a chair off the table, set it on the ground and sat down to watch. Sayler was wearing skin tight black shorts, a black sports bra and pink ballet slippers making the performance just that much better. She was in her own world up there, flowing perfectly in step with the music. Even if she was just walking across a room, she always looked as if she was floating a few inches above the ground. She’d been dancing since she was a little girl. Her parents had even shelled out some good money for professional dance lessons. Apparently that dream had died with her rotten marriage.

Sayler spun around once like a dancer on the top of a music box. She didn’t need a pole to support her. Her long leg curved back and everything about her was coming back to me in hot waves. When we’d dated we always had a hard time keeping our hands off each other. We had been teens with raging hormones. All Sayler had had to do was wink at me across the tables in chemistry and my concentration and focus, which had always been weak anyhow, especially in science class, was blown to bits. I would be waiting all day until we could jump into the truck and drive off someplace like the river or the trailhead at the end of town. Back then, we hadn’t needed anything but each other to have a good time. And it had always been a good time with Sayler. 

Sayler bowed at the end of her dance like a true ballerina. I hopped to my feet and clapped as I walked toward the stage. “Forgot how good you were and how fucking hot it makes me to watch you.”

She sat on the edge of the stage and braced her hands on my shoulders. My hands went around her waist as I lifted her down. “Seems like it was only making you hot under the collar last night.”

“That was only because there were other guys watching you, and yeah . . . that definitely bothered the shit out of me. Now, if you want to get up there and try again with just a one man audience.”

“Nope, you promised me lunch and I’m hungry. There’s a crappy little shower in the dressing room bathroom. I just need to rinse off and change.” She motioned for me to follow her to the dressing room.

“This hallway is less scary without the raging moose stomping behind me in his size twenty shit-kicker boots.”

“He went pretty easy on you as far as I can tell.”

“I’m sure I have you to thank for that.”

She pushed open the door to the dressing room, and I followed her inside. She grabbed up her duffle bag. “I’ll just be a minute. Go ahead and have a seat.” She pointed out her chair and dressing table.

She left the bathroom door slightly ajar, and I could see the shadow of her movements as she undressed. I’d spent all night in bed thinking about the kiss, the sweet, familiar taste of her, and it had nearly been impossible to sleep.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you about the change in plans,” I called toward the bathroom. “I’ve got a friend who owns a string of rental horses that he uses to take people on guided tours around the vineyards and wineries.”

Sayler leaned back and poked her head and bare shoulders around the edge of the door. “Horses and wine. I like where this is going.”

“Actually, he was just going to lend me a couple horses to take out for a trail ride. But we could take a bottle of wine with us. I take it you still know how to ride,” I asked just before the water turned on.

“Just like riding a bicycle . . .” Dark brown eyes peered around the edge of the door again. “. . . or a cowboy. Some things you just never forget.” She blinked her long lashes suggestively at me.  Not that I needed any suggesting. Sayler had always been a master at teasing me, almost mercilessly sometimes, and those same frantic, urgent feelings were coming back.

I spun around in the chair and lifted her perfume bottle to my nose. She wasn’t the kind of girl who needed to douse herself in a lot of fancy scents or cosmetics. She could steal your breath just wading out of a Montana lake, wet and without makeup.

She had a little notepad next to her makeup and hairbrushes where she’d doodled some hearts and a music note. There were some numbers scratched on the pad that she’d totaled to thirteen hundred and fifty dollars. At the top of the paper she’d scratched hard in black ink ten thousand dollars, and with the same black ink, she’d drawn heavy jagged lines around the amount as if she was angry about it.

The water turned off, and I could hear her moving around inside the tiny bathroom. I glanced up in her dressing table mirror to look back toward the bathroom. The door opened and Sayler stepped out with her short wet hair combed back off her face. Her skin was still damp from the shower. She was completely naked.

I swung the chair around. Long legs carried her across the floor to me. I stared at her, taking in every incredible inch of her. My cock was pressing urgently against my fly.

“Like I said, Sayler, I fucking missed ya.”

“As much as I like to think I’ve grown up,” she said quietly, “especially with all the bad decisions I’ve made along the way—” She climbed onto my lap and straddled me. There was just enough room for her knees on each side of the chair. She lifted my face up with her hands. “The second I saw you, all I could think was that I wanted to go back to that time when nothing mattered to either of us except having fun. I miss that simple time . . . with you . . . the boy who could make me laugh and forget that there was anything ugly in the world. Maybe we weren’t right for each other. But maybe, just maybe, we weren’t wrong either.”

Her lush lips hovered over my mouth. My palms smoothed over her shoulders and back and around her ass as her tongue drew sweet circles around my mouth. My arms tightened around her, and she kissed me long and deep as her naked body moved against me.

My mouth ran along her neck and shoulder. “God, baby, you feel so perfect in my arms. I should never have left you in Montana.” A shiver ran through her as my tongue stroked her taut nipple. “How the hell did we talk ourselves out of this?”

She wrapped her arms around my head to hold my face against her breasts. “We were young and thoroughly convinced there was more to life. Who knew that the
more
was just going to be a lot of disappointment.”

Her skin warmed beneath my fingertips. Her breath was coming in short spurts as she moved her hips over me, rubbing her pussy against the solid erection pushing against my jeans. “Do you still keep the condoms in your wallet?” The slightly tattered sound of her soft voice made me grit my teeth with wanting her. I was keeping it together, but barely.

“Might have a few stashed away.”

She curled down and pressed her mouth against my ear. “Then what are you waiting for, cowboy?”