Page 48 of Tangled Up With You

He didn’t say anything until he helped me into the passenger seat and rounded the hood, climbing in on his side. He started the engine and placed his hand on the gearshift like he was about to put the truck in reverse, but instead of doing that, he spoke. “His name’s Dusty Silver.” Christ, the guy even had a cowboy name.

I twisted in my seat to face him better, but he kept his eyes pointed at something beyond the windshield, something he wasn’t seeing, given that he was lost in a memory.

“He’s a legend,” he continued, his voice void of all emotion. “One of the best bull riders of his time. He used to be my mentor. He trained me, taught me everything I know. He was like family to me.”

Sadness filled my chest. “Waslike family?”

Connor blinked, finally turning his head in my direction, and what I saw in his gaze tore my heart to shreds. “Turned out, while I was looking up to him like a second father, he was thinking about how I could further his reputation. Had a couple bad rides some time back and got in my own head about it. When that happens, your rides start to suffer. I hit a patch of bad luck, dropped in standing, so Dusty dropped me,” he said witha shrug. “Scraped me off for a bull rider he thought could carry him further.”

“Vance.”

He nodded, and I suddenly hated the guy even more than I already had. “Now I’m starting to think I should have let you knock those ridiculous teeth out.”

His laugh didn’t hold any humor, his smile brittle. “That happened right around the same time I caught my fiancée cheating on me with that samefuckin’guy.”

And the hits just kept on coming. I sucked in a sharp, pained gasp. “You were engaged to Rodeo Barbie?”

He nodded, knowing who I was referring to. “It was years ago, and I now know it never would have worked because what I thought was love really wasn’t. But losing two people I cared about at the same time, being tossed over by both of them... it fucked with my head for a really long time.”

In that moment, everything clicked into place. Why Connor had gone from hot to cold all those months ago. Why we shared what I thought had been a special night—one of the best nights of my life—only to wake up and find him gone. It made sense now, and as much as it broke my heart, it pissed me off even more that two people who were supposed to care about him, who were supposed to have his back, had dismissed him so easily.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, reaching over to wrap my fingers around his thick, corded forearm.

He shrugged and slid the gearshift in reverse. “It’s over now. No point in dwelling on it anymore. Let’s put this night behind us, yeah?”

I nodded, giving him a smile that I hoped didn’t look as sad as I felt, because I didn’t want to put the night behind us. Not the whole thing anyway.

Because the truth was, before those assholes had showed up to ruin it, it had been one of the best nights I’d had in a really long time.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Ivy

Istood at the window of my office, looking in the direction of the barn where I knew Connor was working for the day. I chewed anxiously on my thumbnail as a million thoughts raced through my head.

After that brief run-in with that Dusty guy the night before, the Connor who I’d spent the evening laughing and stuffing my face with, the Connor who had managed to rev me up with every look and touch, never made another appearance.

I’d toyed with the idea of inviting him in for a drink the whole hour-long drive back to Hope Valley, but as soon as he walked me to my back door, he’d issued a curt “goodnight” and disappeared into the carriage house.

I went into my own house and got ready for bed, alone and bereft, surprised I was missing him. When I finally fell asleep, my dreams were full of Connor. Touching me and teasing me the way he was so good at doing. Tasting me.

I woke up with an ache in my core that refused to go away. I’d tried touching myself, even whipping out my vibrator. I gotoff, but it was barely enough to take the edge off. I felt like I was coming out of my skin, like I was going to lose my mind if I didn’t get some relief.

And there was only one person I wanted.

I couldn’t deny it anymore. I craved him. I wanted him. Ineededhim.

Before I knew what was happening, I was driving a UTV toward the barn in search of Connor. He wasn’t inside, so I headed toward the pen, stopping briefly to say hi to Gretel. I found out not too long ago that she was pregnant as well, but while I had yet to pop, she was swelling bigger every day.

She let out an unhappy bleat as I patted her head like she was lamenting the pains of pregnancy. “You and me both, sister.”

With one last rub to her head, I headed for the round pen where Connor was working that same black horse he’d been in there with the last time I was here. I braced my forearms on the railing and rested my chin on top as I watched him work, pulling my bottom lip between my teeth and biting down to keep from moaning.

He was so goddamn sexy. So sure and confident in what he was doing despite the size and weight the animal had on him. Not only did his confidence turn me on, but so did the gentle way he handled the filly. The low, soothing tone, the words of encouragement and praise. It took me back to our night in the barn and how he kept calling me a good girl, praising me for how well I took his cock.

God, I wanted that again.

I’d gotten his attention at some point, but I was too lost in memory to notice him moving in my direction. A shame, really, because I loved watching that man move.

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