Page 78 of Reckless Hearts

His throat bobs as he defends himself. “Like you’d just walk away from that.”

I snap back, “You’re sure as hell right I would. I’m not a fucking idiot out here risking my life for no reason. The second that kid was safe, you should have backed down. Do you want to get knocked out of the circuit? Because that’s what will happen if you get a major injury right now.”

“It was fine. I had it,” he says, his confidence less steady now, hesitation hollowing the words.

“You did not fucking have it.” Seizing his shirt, I slam him back into the locker, the metal rattling with the force.

He curls his fingers into my shirt and yanks me forward, the toes of our boots touching. I can make out the lighter streaks in his blue eyes. The world grows small, crackling electricity sparking between us as our ragged breaths mix together.

Years of fighting accumulating into this moment has the hair on the back of my neck standing. Agitation prickles under my skin, a rawness in my chest that shouldn’t be there as I stare him down.

Colt’s bitter laugh brushes my lips as he stares into me, accusation and betrayal written in his eyes. “I don’t know why you care now when you sure as hell didn’t back then.”

His words punch through my ribs, stealing my breath.

“Didn’t care? I didn’t fucking care? Is that what you think?” My voice rises until I’m nearly screaming. Flames lick up my skin as fire boils inside me. How could he be so fucking wrong about everything? I clench my trembling hands into fists.

I want to yell. Scream. Rage at him. I want to slam him into the locker until I knock some sense into him.

“I fucking cared,” I growl.

“Not more than you wanted that rookie title.” His voice cracks, and everything boiling inside me bursts out.

“Fuck you.” I crash my mouth into his. I’ve lost my fucking mind, and I don’t intend to find it.

Palms press into my chest, attempting to push me back, and I bite his bottom lip in response. The world explodes when he opens for me, his tongue thrusting between my teeth, rubbing mine. He tastes like mint.

I groan deep in my chest when he grabs my hair and kisses me harder, our teeth clanging together. Desperate, needy sounds escape him, and I grip his waist, pulling his hips forward until he’s lined against my hard cock.

His head jerks back, breaking the kiss, and he stares at me with eyes so wide the whites are visible on all sides. It takes a second, but once I recognize the emotion playing out in his expression, my hands snap away like they’ve been burned.

Mortified. He’s fucking mortified.

The second I release him, he’s gone, the door slamming behind him in his wake, leaving me heaving. My forehead presses into my arm, braced against the locker. A million thoughts swirl in my mind, each overtaking the other, but one stands out more than the rest.

I liked kissing Colt Lawson.

I wanted him.

I want him.

Chapter 24

Callie

“I didn’t expectto see you here, boy.” The stallion looks up and whinnies, jostling the gate to grab my attention, then swaying his head like an impatient child. I laugh, his wide, dark eyes so close to mine I can see my reflection in them.

A large black nose nuzzles into my palm, short hair tickling me as the black stallion searches for more treats, snorting, hot air shooting through my fingers when it comes up empty.

“Don’t worry,” I laugh, digging into my pocket. “This time, I came prepared.”

He nudges against me and eyes the apple. I hold it out on my flat palm, and he chews on it with a wet crunch, his lips working deftly, leaving my fingers damp.

“I think I just made a new best friend,” I murmur, scratching along his jaw where he can’t quite reach, the short hair prickling against my skin.

The bull in the next stall grunts, and the horse swings his head, exhaling through his nose in what seems to be equine exasperation.

“Must be hard being stuck beside these beasts,” I hum, comforting him.

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