Her eyes narrow, though she can't hide her smile. "What exactly are you asking for, cowboy?"
"You know what I want." I find that sensitive spot just below her ear.
She laughs and pulls me down to her for a deeper kiss, full of everything we can't say in public.
Jake's voice cuts through the moment. "If you two are done making me sick, we've got a championship to win."
Kinsley steps back, thoroughly kissed and absolutely beautiful. "Bring me back a belt buckle—a pretty one."
I tip my hat with a grin. "Yes ma'am."
Inside, the arena smells like dust and adrenaline. After the opening ceremony and grand entry, Jake heads to the chutes. He gives it a good effort, but it's not enough for the world title.
When every other event is finished, it's my turn, I double-check my gear and head behind the chutes. The air is thick with tension as cowboys prepare for their moment of truth.
"Graveyard Shift's looking rank tonight," Jake observes, nodding toward the massive bull. The animal's shoulders roll with barely contained violence.
"Good," I say, meaning it. "The nastier they are, the bigger the payoff." I look toward the stands where Kinsley's sitting with my family.
"You're so gone on that woman it's embarrassing," Jake shoves me.
"Yeah, I am."
The announcement echoes: "Ladies and gentlemen, from Gritstone, Colorado, riding Graveyard Shift, Wyatt Halloway!"
Fifteen thousand people roar. I climb the rails and settle onto Graveyard Shift's back, feeling his power coiledbeneath me. This is the moment—everything comes down to this.
"Remember, he's going to come out spinning left, then dive hard right. Don't get ahead of him." Jake checks my rope one final time. "Ride him like you mean it," Jake says, stepping back.
I nod toward the gate judge, and everything explodes.
Graveyard Shift erupts from the chute like a freight train derailing, his massive shoulders twisting with violence that sends shockwaves through my injured body. I stay centered, moving with him instead of fighting.
Left spin, just as predicted. Four seconds. He plants his front feet and whips right—the kind of move that's sent cowboys flying. But I shift my weight and ride through it.
Six seconds. Seven. The bull launches into the air with physics-defying force. The impact when we hit sends lightning through my ribs, but I'm still riding, still fighting for every fraction of a second.
Eight seconds.
The horn sounds. The bullfighters move in as I slide off. My legs buckle when I hit the dirt, adrenaline and pain flooding through me.
"Ladies and gentlemen, that's a ninety-three-point ride for Wyatt Halloway! That puts him in the lead with one rider left!"
The last rider goes down at six seconds, and the arena erupts. Championship buckle. World title. Everything I've worked for since I was stupid enough to think I could make a living getting thrown around by angry livestock.
And somehow, I know it was never supposed to happen until now… until her.
The buckle ceremony and interviews blur past. Through it all, Kinsley and my family are right there, beaming with pride. All I can think about is holding her close.
The woman I'm going to marry if she'll have me.
"How soon can we get out of here?" I whisper against her ear while smiling for another photographer.
"Are you hurting?" she asks, concern flickering across her face.
"Hurting for you," I quip, pinching her hip. She yelps and gives me a dirty look that I hope was caught on camera. Her answering kiss makes the photographers cheer. It takes too long to get out of there and yet I feel like it was a dream.
The rooftop restaurant floats thirty floors above the Vegas strip, all soft lighting and city views. Our corner table overlooks the neon blur that looks like fallen stars across black velvet.