Page 25 of Reckless
I wantone. I want a fraction of his greatness. I’d be happy to have even a sliver of their success so I can be part of that legacy too.
I want to be more than the World Bull Riding Federation wild child and a fantastic lay.
So, I start my burpees.
Summer smiles at me and shakes her head. “Wow. You really must not want anyone to know about last night.”
“He’s just...miffed that he already...failed at his goal,” Rhett puffs out from beside me as I start my first jump up in the air. My muscles riot against me as I urge my body back into action after what has already been a two-hour workout.
“What was your goal, Theo?”
I ignore them both.
Sure, I stepped out on the goal I shared with Rhett during one of our talks, but I’m not about to explain to them that this was different somehow. This wasn’t just another—
“Something about living like a monk for the next season to help with his focus.”
Rhett chuckles as he bends over, and I find myself hoping he hurls. The agitation pushes me harder. As I keep going, I feel Summer’s eyes on me.
Assessing. She analyzes things way too damn closely. Sees far too much.
“You smell like tequila,” she says, clearly opting not to pile on with her fiancé.
Once I join Rhett back on the mat, huffing and puffing and wishing I were dead, he turns and grins at me. “I knew you’d never be able to keep your dick in your pants.”
Though they’re meant as a joke, his words sting. They’re also the nudge I need to get motivated, because I want my mentor’s respect. I don’t want to be the butt end of a joke or seen as the child who never grows up. I want to chase my dreams and prove to myself I can do the things I set my mind to.
I don’t want to be the one-night stand who’s used to scratch an itch. I want a woman like Winter Hamilton—beautiful, and smart, and sharp-tongued—to look at me and see a future.
7
Winter
Marina:So you quit your job, left your husband, and now won’t answer my calls?
Winter:Seems like you’ve figured out the gist all on your own.
Marina:Call me back.
Winter:The more I think about it, the less I have to say to you.
Marina:I raised you better than this. Stronger than this. More focused than this.
Winter:I can’t remember a single hug.
Marina:What?
Winter:You never hugged me. Never consoled me.
Marina:That’s what the nanny was for.
* * *
“Well, shit. It looks pretty damn good in here.” Sloane has her hands propped on her narrow hips, taking in the small house with a satisfied expression on her face.
My nod feels like a Herculean feat. For the past three weeks, I’ve experienced a whirlwind of emotions and made life-altering decisions. Because I was too bitchy to hang out with joyful people, I spent Christmas alone in a hotel, dreaming about Theo Silva running his rough hands all over my body and trying to recreate the sensation with my own.
Not that I’d ever admit that last part out loud.
