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He ignored that, too. “Lean back a little. Knees tight. Don’t fight it.”
I did all of that except the not fighting it part, because the operator chose that moment to hit the button. The bull lurched, and I yelped. Loudly. Luckily for me, it made me forget what a horndog I was because apparently my will to live was stronger than my lust.
The crowd cheered like this was the highlight of their week.
“Okay!” I shouted. “Okay, I’m doing it. I am actively doing this.”
Sterling stayed right at the gate with his eyes locked on me. “You’re good. Stay loose.”
“I am many things right now, but loose is not one of them.”
The bull bucked harder, and suddenly I was bouncing like a poorly secured carry-on. I laughed. I screamed. I might’ve cursed the bull personally.
“Sterling,” I yelled as I slipped sideways, “I would like to formally opt out—”
The bull gave one final, aggressive jerk, and I flew.
It wasn’t graceful or heroic. I went airborne in a way that felt extremely unfair, my limbs flailing as the world tilted, until I finally landed on the mat in a heap of denim and lost dignity.
The bar exploded with cheers as I lay there, staring at the ceiling, breathless and stunned. Sterling was at my side instantly, crouching, his eyes scanning me worriedly. “Are you okay?”
I blinked up at him. “I think I blacked out for a second, but emotionally I’m thriving.”
He huffed a laugh, his hand braced on my knee. “You did great. I was even a little turned on.”
I blushed. “That’s not even a compliment. Everything I do seems to turn you on,” I griped.
Hattie’s head popped into view before Sterling could answer me, a grin on her face. She leaned closer, inspecting me. “No broken bones. No crying. I call that a win.”
Ryder appeared over her shoulder, and he clapped once. “I’ll admit it,” he said, nodding at me like I’d earned his respect. “You lasted longer than I thought you would.”
“I screamed,” I said. “A lot.”
“It would mean Rusty wasn’t really fixed if you hadn’t,” Hattie said, pulling me into a quick, celebratory hug.
Sterling straightened abruptly. “All right,” he said. “Time to go.”
Hattie froze mid-victory hug, and Ryder blinked at him. “Time to go?” he repeated. “Why is it time to go?”
Sterling didn’t look away from me, and his jaw was clenched, like it was making him twitchy that Hattie was touching me. “You told me I had to have one drink,” he told Ryder, making an imaginary check mark in the air. “And she rode the bull,” he continued, doing another one. His gaze dropped to my lips, and something spiked through my core as it lingered. “Seems to me like I fulfilled all of your requirements.”
Understanding slid into place all at once. It made my pulse stutter and my thighs press together without permission. I knew exactly why he wanted to leave, and even though my brain knew I was sore from our activities earlier…my vagina was telling me she was up for the challenge.
Fuck. This was the opposite of what I should be doing.
“You know what? Mack’s over there. I need to ask him about my car,” I said frantically, bolting up from the ground and lunging out of Sterling’s reach toward the man in question.
I heard him laughing behind me like I’d done something funny.
“Mack!” I called, wincing at how breathless I sounded. He was going to think I was propositioning him.
Mack was still standing at the rail as I approached, his eye on the bull’s latest victim as it started up again. He looked up, startled when he heard my voice, and then he straightened. It seemed his nighttime getup was the same as his daytime getup, judging by the coveralls he was wearing, but this pair looked much cleaner than what I’d seen him in before. His hair had been slicked back instead of shoved under a cap, and it looked like he’d at least wiped at the lenses of his glasses before coming out tonight.
“The car,” I blurted awkwardly when I saw I had his attention. “Can I ask you about my car?”
He nodded. “Yeah,” he said easily. “I fixed what I thought needed fixing.”
My stomach dipped. “Oh, so it’s done? That’s…great,” I murmured, ignoring how disappointed I sounded.
