a birthday party at the Dark Horse. Now the party was over and all of those women had gone home to their boyfriends or husbands. Erin had neither. It was November and she’d be heading back to her hometown in Seattle the first of the year, without having done anything Texan, anything remotely wild.
“Ready for another, blondie?” the bartender asked, his gaze on the near-empty glass in her hand, yet it was the dubious look in his eyes that brought her five-foot-four frame to attention. “Or maybe you’ve had enough?”
“I haven’t had nearly enough,” she said. “One more.” She offered him a sweet smile. “Thank you.”
The bartender walked away shaking his head and she focused back on the bull that seemed to be calling to her. Was she being an idiot, or was that bull looking straight at her, tempting her to take a chance, teasing her with his grotesque fake horns to come get him?
With the last sip of her margarita at her lips, she spotted a tall, gorgeous beast of a man. He was six foot two if he was an inch, all packed nicely into cowboy duds, boots and hat, his shoulders wide enough to carry that longhorn over his shoulders without breaking a sweat.
Speaking of Never Do’s: in all her twenty-six years, she’d never done a Texan before. She burst into a fit of giggles. Good thing no one around her noticed or she’d really look like an idiot. But the sad fact was, there were also forty-eight other states’ worth of men she hadn’t been with. Her home state of Washington housed her ex, Rex Talbot. Now, he was a piece of work. And she was glad she was staying in Royal, Texas, at least for the holidays. Rex had nearly ruined her reputation in Seattle, but she wasn’t going to dwell. Not tonight.
Maybe exactly what she needed was to bring one of these hunky cowboys home tonight. Preferably, that chunk of handsome beast making direct eye contact with her. He had perfected the art of smolder, had it down to a science and she was loving all the attention and the fact that he’d picked her out of a sea of stunning women.
His incredible eyes never wavered. They stayed on her. And she returned his scrutiny, finding not a flaw on the sharp angle of his face, the set of his chiseled jaw or the deep ocean blue of his eyes.
He made her breath catch. He made her yearn. He made her hot. The silent communication between them was ready to combust.
Sheesh, maybe she shouldn’t have another margarita. She was really thinking outside the box tonight. She turned to the bartender to tell him to forget that last one. She didn’t need it.
And when she turned back around, ready for another round of eye contact with her handsome broad-shouldered Texan, he had disappeared. She searched for him, desperate to find him, scanning the entire saloon with eyes peeled, but it was no use. She’d lost him in the swarm of the crowd. He may have gotten bored and left the saloon.
Disappointed, her stomach clenched. Story of her life.
So much for taking a risk.
But then, there was always the mechanical bull.
Yes, that’s exactly what she’d do. She’d ride the darn thing. Why not? She needed one lasting memory to take back with her to Seattle. One thing she could say she’d conquered while in Texas. The ex-nanny, a woman who also knew her way around a music room filled with children, might just need this bit of excitement to cling to once she left the lone star state.
Ha!
And suddenly, that bull didn’t look so intimidating anymore. Suddenly, the challenge bolstered her courage. She could do this. She could ride that silly-looking contraption. And her bravado didn’t waver while she stood in line to take her turn. It didn’t waver when one rider after another eventually got tossed off. Just a few seconds, was all she was asking. Five. Five seconds on that bull, and she’d be satisfied, and thrilled and proud.
“You can do this,” she muttered under her breath.
And when it was her turn, the arena host whose booming voice rose above the patrons of the saloon announced, “This little lady is Erin from Seattle, and she’s gonna give Destroyer a go.”
She gulped and a crewman helped her up onto the leather back of the bull. “We’ll take it slow,” he said. “Use your thighs as a grip and try to keep yourself centered as the bull begins to move.”
Once he moved back, she took a big breath and nodded to the crewman to start up the robot.
And the bull began to jerk.
* * *
Erin looked up into the dazzling blue eyes of the beast. He was kneeling over her, staring at her face, a frown pulling his very kissable mouth down. Had she slept through her very best fantasy? What was going on? She moved and the cushioned padding at her back rebelled with a squeak. “What the...”
“You took a fall,” he said in a deep baritone voice. With a nod of his head, he gestured to the metal bull.
She realized where she was instantly. And that the crowd circling the arena was watching her. “How long did I ride?”
That brought a smile to his lips. Oh, and it was a killer. “About three seconds.”
She grimaced.
“Your head?” he asked.
When a crewman approached, the beast gave him a glare that would have sent the Hulk cowering away.
“I feel fine,” she answered. She did. She’d been tossed off the bull and landed hard on the padding, but nothing hurt, nothing seemed fuzzy. Anymore.
Except that her handsome beast was at her side, helping her to her feet. She was met with a round of applause and cheers. She chuckled out of sheer embarrassment and then her body tilted, swaying sideways and everybody else seemed to be leaning. “Uh-oh.”
“I’ve got ya,” he said, catching her before she lost her balance and lifting her into his arms. “You need air.”
She stared up at him again, amazed at his strength. From this angle, he was even more appealing. His size, the sexy base of his throat, the scruff on his face and those blue eyes, locked him into a category all his own. He carried her as if she was a handful of marshmallows, instead of a twenty-six-year-old woman. And before they got too far, she pointed toward the bar. “My purse.”
He nodded and changed directions, carrying her over to swoop up her purse off the bar stool with the grace of a panther. He glanced down for a second. “I’m Dan.”
She smiled. What an odd way to meet. But she was not complaining. “I’m Erin. Nice to meet you.”
He grunted a reply.
The contrast of the dimly lit smoke-filled noisy saloon to the cool crisp fall Texas air outside helped to wake her up out of this steamy sort of dream she was in. She didn’t want Dan to put her down, but it was awkward and she didn’t know where to put her arms, so she’d looped them around his neck. Now that they were outside, touched by moonlight and facing the parking lot where it was quieter, the reality of the situation was starting to dawn on her. “I, uh, I’m fine now,” she said. “You can put me down.”
He gave her another glance, nodded and then took great care to allow her to slide down his body. For safety’s sake, she assumed, but oh, the brush of his body with hers sent all
