Page 31 of Entwined Hearts
My eyes widened when he tipped my chin back, his fingers ice cold against my skin. “I mean it. I might’ve been looking at you, but it was my fault for letting my mind wander. I knew better.” He let my chin go, but I couldn’t bring myself to look away. The pain in his eyes killed me.
“Are you okay? Really?”
His eyes searched mine, and he let out a heavy breath, his mask cracking. “No. I’m not okay.”
I took a step closer. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
He looked down into his drink, swirling it around. “I’m terrified PBR won’t have a place for me once I’m healed,” he confessed on a broken whisper.
That was one of the few times Weston had ever sounded unsure of himself, and it broke my heart. “Of course, they will. You’re Weston Tate. You’re the best of the best.”
A corner of his mouth curved with a weak smile. “I’m glad you feel that way, but my agent doesn’t. He just sees dollar signs.” His lips went into a thin line as he kicked a rock around with his boot. “And I’m not bringing any in right now. What if I don’t heal fast enough? What if I don’t heal enough period and never get cleared to ride again?”
He swallowed hard. “I don’t know who I am if I’m not a bull rider, Savannah,” he said, his voice full of doubt. “You know how much it means to me.”
My blood boiled at the idea of someone belittling Weston and his lifelong passion to nothing more than how much money he was bringing in. It was dehumanizing and just flat-out pissed me off. He was more than a walking money bag. So much more.
“Then fuck him,” I said, scowling.
Weston’s head shot up, brows raised. “Fuck him?”
“Yes. Fuck him. Fuck PBR. Fuck the fans. Fuck all of them. If they can’t see how great you are, then they don’t deserve you.”
He laughed, the sound low and warm. It settled over me like a blanket I wanted to curl up with. “Never thought I’d live to see the day I hear you say fuck.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, well, a lot’s changed in eleven years. I say fuck all the time now. I even scream it sometimes.”
He brought the glass to his lips, eyes locked on mine, while he let out a little hum that had me shivering in the ninety-degree heat. “That right?”
I cleared my throat, now realizing how what I said could’ve been misconstrued. “Yep.”
His eyes flicked over me before meeting my gaze again. “I bet some things are the same.” His voice had a husky edge to it, like he wanted to find out for himself.
Unable to resist it, heat bloomed beneath my skin. “Maybe.”
I knew one thing for certain: our chemistry was the same.
There was no denying it. Not then, not now. I’d never been able to replicate it with anyone else. It was fire in my veins, lightning cracking along the sky, potent and exhilarating and so damn addicting.
I gave in to the temptation and let my eyes rake over every glorious inch of him. He’d always been in shape because of riding and working at the ranch. But this was more. So much more.
Weston was purely man as he stood before me. From the V that angled into the waistband of his jeans to the chest hair dusting along his defined pecs. My mouth went dry as I got my fill, and I knew I was being obvious, but I couldn’t care. Especially when I knew he didn’t.
But then I looked at his left arm, at the black ink I had somehow forgotten was there.
I took a step closer, standing in front of his arm now. “Weston…” I rasped, trailing my fingers over the angel’s face. Goosebumps prickled along his skin. She wasn’t just an angel, but Lady Justice with the blindfold over her eyes and holding the scales. Her features were similar to mine. Too similar.
I looked up at him wide-eyed. “Is that?—”
“You?” He nodded. “Yeah.”
I blinked quickly, trying to get rid of the burn in my eyes. “When did you do this?” I whispered, unable to look away.
“A few months after you left,” he said softly, staring down at my fingers on his arm. “I was drunk and sad and figured if youwere going to be under my skin forever, I might as well make it official.” His throat moved with a thick swallow. “My angel who upholds the law.”
As usual, his honesty was staggering. I envied his ability to bear his heart so easily. I always had. And I knew he wasn’t like that with everyone, so to know after all this time he still felt that comfortable with me was… I couldn’t put into words what it meant to me.
“I can’t believe you did this.” I couldn’t stop looking at it. Couldn’t stop touching it. Him.
