Page 37 of Ropers Can't Tie Knots
Hunter doesn’t reply. Instead, he presses his lips to mine, and I melt into him. My body moulds to his as my arms go around his neck, and I’m lost in everything that’s Hunter Burke. Hunter’s kiss differs from before. While there’s still desire there, this has something else, and it feels like I’ve earned something I didn’t know I was competing for.
When he finally releases me, I playfully pluck his hat from his head and set it on mine. He chuckles and holds me tight with one arm while taking his hat back with a wicked smile.
“Do you know what the cowboy hat rule is, counsellor?”
Laughing, I step back from him when the announcer’s voice sounds over the speakers.
“Never touch a cowboy’s hat?”
His lips twitch as he bends down next to my ear. “In the land of flirting with cowboys, the hat is a symbol of who you belong to.” Hunter slides his hands around to my ass and pulls me closer to him. “If I put my hat on you, it means I’m interested. You’re mine.” His hot breath is a brand on my skin, and I swallow hard. “But Gabe…” Hunter nuzzles his nose under my ear, and my knees quiver. “If you take my hat, that’s a proposition. You take a cowboy’s hat…you take the cowboy to bed and ride him until the sun comes up.”
“Jesus fucking….” I can’t breathe because Hunter just sucked all the air from my lungs with that sexy history lesson.
Hunter steps back, tips his hat with a wink and…walks away. Leaving me with my jaw on the ground, a half-hard dick and a whole new appreciation for cowboy hats.
“G-Good luck!” I shout after he’s too far away to hear me because that’s how long it took me to find words to reply that weren’t curses or gibberish.
I walk back to the stands for my seat with Jackson’s parents and Riley, completely stuck in the charged conversation I just had with Hunter. How the hell am I supposed to just watch a rodeo with that playing on repeat in my head?
“Hey, Gabe!” Riley calls out as I bound up the steps. “You look far too concentrated to enjoy a rodeo. Did something happen?”
“Maybe?” Pulling out my phone, I google the cowboy hat rule while telling Riley what happened. He gently takes my phone out of my hand.
“Gabe, don’t look it up. It’s true, and if he said that to you…” He whistles low. “He’s got it bad.”
Riley waggles his eyebrows, and, despite feeling very out of sorts, a smile lifts my lips.
“You think so?”
My heart races again at the thought that maybe this might mean something to Hunter and not just be a convenience. It’s been very lucrative for me so far with all his contacts in town, and he’s received his first advance from the trust, but Jackson was right when he said I had a crush on the guy.
I did before I married him, and while it was purely physical initially, now…now I’m not really sure what it is.
The rodeo announcer carries on, and I listen with half an ear, but it’s enough to know Hunter rides with Jackson in the first half and Levi after the break.
Riley bumps my shoulder with his. “What’s going on, Gabe? Something is off with you. Is it this thing with Hunter?”
Jackson’s parents whoop and yell, so I glance out to the rodeo ring along with Riley. He stands and wolf whistles with his fingers and yells out to Jackson, who waves with a smile and a wink at Riley. Hunter’s gaze locks with mine, and a flush of heat runs through my body. He tips his hat and winks, and I honest to god feel like my entire body is blushing.
“Thereissomething with you, isn’t there?” Riley lowers his voice. “Something that’s not pretend?”
With a quick glance towards Jackson’s parents, who are chatting with a few others, I bend closer to Riley in my seat.
“I don’t know what’s going on with us, Rye, but…there’s something. He’s…he’s not like the Hunter I met two years ago or even six months ago. He says and does things with me he wouldn’t with anyone else.”
“He’s never had a relationship since Jackson has been friends with him, Gabe. Nothing long-term.” Riley murmurs, and I hear the concern in his voice. “Do you want this to not be fake?”
“Yes? Maybe? I don’t know.” I sigh and run a hand over my face as the first competitors get ready. “He does something to me, and I can’t ignore it. That’s as specific as I can get.” A saddle bronc rider bursts from the gate, and we pause our conversation for a moment. “He took me for a horseback ride last week, and it was heaven, Riley. He taught me what to do, he showed me the fields behind the ranch and he…he told me a lot about his parents and grandparents. Something shifted, and I feel it, Riley.”
My best friend studies me closely and squeezes my hand. “I don’t know if he’s that kind of guy, Gabe. He loves Jackson and guards their friendship closely, and he’s accepted me, but…he’s never given me a reason to believe he wants a relationship.” Riley gives me a small smile. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Another bronc rider rides, and the crowd roars around us. I know Riley means well, but I don’t want to admit to him it might already be too late for me being hurt. I’m already too attached to the guy.
“Let’s just watch our men. Don’t worry about me.”
“If you change your mind…”
Riley always wants to be my support, and I love him for it, but it’s not the right time to raise my fears.
