Page 84 of Wild For You

His face betrays no emotions. “What do you want to hear?”

“That you’re not thinking of going back to bull riding. You hit your head and survived it. Next time you might not be so lucky.”

He shrugs. “That was a long time ago.”

“Not long enough, Cash. Your doctors warned you, yet you did it again, and here you are.” I point at his leg, then add softly, “You need to find yourself a sports activity that doesn’t involve you breaking your neck.”

His lips twitch. “I’m very much into physical contact. You know anything that involves a lot of stroking, and plenty of touching.”

“I’m serious, Cash. You could have been killed.”

“My family’s being dramatic.” He catches my scowl, and his expression softens a little. “Look, I’m not going back to bull riding, if that’s what you want to hear.”

“Are you sure?” I cringe inwardly at how hopeful I sound. This is none of my business, and yet it is because I care for him…more than I’m ready to admit to myself.

“No, but it’s what you want to hear, right?”

I groan with frustration. He’s not taking anything seriously. He doesn’t care that his risk-taking is hurting the people he loves. “Everyone’s worried about you. Everyone including me. I’ve read your health report countless times. You can’t ever ride again. You need to understand that, but you don’t seem to. And now you’ve started to be weird again, just like before. People say it’s a pattern, and it’s been making me nervous.”

I know I’m rambling, but I can’t help myself. His unwillingness to realize that he’s risking his life is making me more upset than I should be.

“Relax, sweetheart. I’m…” He’s struggling for words, but something flashes in his eyes. “…under a lot of pressure right now. Bull riding has always been my outlet. It’s always helped me take my mind off of things. You can tell Shannon to mind her own business, and that I can take care of myself. I know what I’m doing.” He reaches out his hand to touch my cheek gently. “But if it means so much to you, I won’t do it again.”

I bite my lip as I regard him. Did he just say what I think he said? It’s so unlike me to get emotional, but I can’t help myself. “You’ll stop?” My voice is quivering.

“Not a fan of bull riding, huh?”

“It’s not that.” I hesitate, unsure how to put it so I won’t hurt his feelings. “It’s dangerous, and unfair to the poor animals.”

“The animals?” He sounds surprised.

“Yes. It’s cruel. No one asked them if they wanted to take part. They’re forced to act aggressively.”

His sexy smile stretches into a grin. “You’re an animal activist. You didn’t strike me as one.”

“Why? Because I’m not running around waving banners and shouting for the whole world to hear that I’m a vegan?”

“It’s not like that, Erin. I can assure you they treat the bulls with as much respect as they treat the rider. The animals are well groomed, get health inspections, a special blend of food, and they never buck more than twice at a single event. Speaking of food—” He cocks his head. “Did you chuck out your steak last night?”

My cheeks heat up. “I thought you wouldn’t notice.”

“I didn’t, at first.” His thumb brushes my chin, lifting it up. “But Margaret asked me why I’d throw away a perfect steak. She offered to feed it to her dogs. It didn’t make sense to me. Until now.”

“I’m sorry.” I grimace, realizing I should have just eaten it because you don’t throw away food when people cook it for you.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Erin? You’ve been here for weeks, and you didn’t once mention that you were a vegetarian.”

“I didn’t want to be rude.” I shrug. “Besides, I’m not a vegetarian. I just don’t eat some animals, like the kind that recognizes you as their owner. Or the kind that is capable of loving you back. That’s all. It’s the same reason why I don’t like bull riding or any sport that involves torturing animals for fun.” I stop, wondering whether I’ve said too much. This might be the moment he’ll decide that we don’t have much in common, but I don’t care. I need him to know who I am as a person.

Cash stares at me for a few seconds. And then he smiles, and I know while we might not have everything in common, at least he respects my viewpoint.

“You promise?” I whisper.

It takes him a while to reply, but when he does his tone is soft. “I promise. Now, let’s watch a movie.”

He pulls out his cell phone and opens what looks like an app. I want to say more, to thank him for being agreeable, but I sense that might not be a word he might want to hear. So I just keep my mouth shut. A moment later, the lights go out, and the wall before us turns into a white screen.

“Wow. An indoor cinema.” I laugh, impressed. “You really know how to take relaxation to a whole new level.”

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