Collision (12 page)

He felt his face redden. “Affair?” he finally managed to
bite out. Conner threw him a funny look before returning his attention to the
road, but he ignored it and said, “You think what we’re doing here is an
affair?”

“What else would you call it? I’m going back to Connecticut
soon.”

“I haven’t thought about a specific term, but I know
‘affair’ isn’t it.” He didn’t know why this was upsetting him so much, but the
fact she thought he was just some boy toy to play with while she was on the
road didn’t sit right with him.

“Okay, calm down,” Leah answered. “Bad choice of words.”

“Got that right,” he muttered.

“Forget I said anything, all right?” She reached out from
the back seat and massaged his neck.

“Whatever.” He turned around in his seat so he could look at
her. “You don’t have to meet them if you don’t want to.”

She smiled and her entire face softened. “I want to meet
them, Brady, they sound like great people. It would be nice to meet a set of
parents who actually care about their child.”

He winced at the reminder of her life growing up. “I’m
sorry, baby.”

“Not your fault.”

“I know, but I still wanna shake your parents and ask them
what the hell’s wrong with them. It ain’t right.”

“What’s done is done. I’m all grown up now. They do their
thing and I do mine.”

He tilted his head to look at her. “Have you spoken to them
since you’ve been gone?”

“No. I left a message with my father’s secretary before I
left just to let them know I’d be gone, but they haven’t called me and I
haven’t called them. We sometimes go for months without talking, unless, of
course, they want to trot me out for some event at the country club like a
championship racehorse.” Even though she was obviously striving to keep her
tone light, he could see the pools of hurt reflected in her eyes. What would
make a set of parents turn their back on a wonderful person like Leah? He
couldn’t even begin to understand it. His own childhood had been so different
from hers.

They finally pulled into the arena parking lot at noon, and
Leah left to check into her hotel. Brady, Conner and Jessica took care of
laundry and grocery shopping, and Brady fell into bed, in his trailer,
exhausted. When he woke up again it was almost midnight. Picking up his cell
phone, he frowned. Leah hadn’t called all day. True, he hadn’t called her
either, since he’d slept far longer than he’d planned, but it still bothered
him. He dialed her number and got voicemail. Was she avoiding him? He knew he
was probably being paranoid and felt foolish for even being worried. After
eating a quick meal, he went back to bed, not waking up until almost eight
o’clock the next morning. He hurried through his shower and called Leah.

“Hey, how are you?”

“Fine.”

His brows furrowed. “Did you sleep okay last night? I didn’t
hear from you.”

“Yes, I slept just fine, and now I’m starving. Are we having
breakfast?”

“Yeah. Why don’t you grab a cab and come get me?”

They ate breakfast in relative silence, despite his attempts
to get Leah to talk, and then separated so she could work out her ankle and he
could see his parents. He’d made plans to have Leah meet them at dinner,
figuring having some time with his parents alone before they met her might not
be a bad idea.

He was lying on the bed resting when a knock sounded at the
door. He opened it and was enveloped in a tight hug by his mom. “Bradybear, I
missed you!” His mother fussed over him for a minute before he finally talked
her into sitting down at the banquette. His dad clapped him on the back before
he sat down next to her. After starting a pot of coffee, Brady sank into the
seat across from them.

“So when are we going to meet this young lady of yours?” His
mother dove right in.

Brady laughed. “Tonight. We’re all having dinner together. I
invited Conner and Jessica too, but he said it should just be the four of us.”
He rolled his eyes at his mom, knowing she loved Conner like another son.

“Where is Conner? How’s he doing these days? I haven’t
talked to him in a long time. Has he made Jessica an honest woman yet?”

“He’s fine. And no, he hasn’t. Maybe soon though, you never
know when they’ll decide to just go off and elope.” He figured that was the
most obtuse answer he could give.

“So,” his father said, obviously changing the subject. “Are
you ready for tomorrow night?”

Brady shrugged. “Not much to get ready. I show up, ride the
bull, and win.”

“Easy as all that, huh?” his father teased.

“That’s how it’s supposed to be,” Brady replied, grinning.

Brady talked with his parents for a little while more before
they went their separate ways to get ready for dinner. He pulled the Airstream
away from his truck so he could go pick Leah up. She opened the door wearing a
flirty little dress and something snapped inside him. Kicking the door closed,
he grabbed her and sank his tongue into her mouth. She moaned and leaned into
him, pulling him closer until their bodies touched from head to toe. As the
kiss went on and on their passion smoldered and flamed and his body sang with
arousal.

Fastening his mouth on the tiny hollow behind the delicate
shell of her ear, he sucked. Her head fell back to give him better access and
he took it, dragging his teeth down the narrow column of her neck. Feeling her
shudder, he pushed his still-hardening cock into the juncture of her shapely
thighs and groaned. He let out a vicious curse as he stepped back.

“Much as I wanna fuck you ten ways to Sunday, my parents are
waiting.” Willing his dick to subside, he ran a hand through his hair. Leah was
panting, and his resolve was thinning as he watched her breasts heave. “Leah,
babe, we’ve gotta go.” His hands itched to reach around, grab her ass and pull
her into him again. He swore under his breath.

“Uh-huh…”

Walking farther into the room, he looked around and saw her
purse lying on the bed. “Is this all you need?” If he didn’t get her out of
there soon he’d throw her on the bed and have his way with her. He doubted that
was really how she wanted to make a first impression with his parents, though—arriving
at the restaurant with a wrinkled dress and all flushed and glowy from the
orgasm he’d wrench outta her. She nodded and he took her elbow, handing her the
purse.

When they arrived at the restaurant he took Leah’s hand. She
gave him a strange look and he realized this was the first time they’d ever
held hands in public. They reached his parents’ table and he pulled out a
chair, seated her, and then sat himself.

“Mom, Dad, this is Leah.” He watched his parents’ reaction
to her. They’d looked her up online, he knew, and he wondered how much they’d
read about her “Ice Queen” persona.

Leah smiled and Brady could tell she was nervous. This wasn’t
her usual “stranger smile”. It was genuine, but strained. “It’s a pleasure to
meet you both. I’ve heard a lot about you, and I have to admit I’m very jealous
of Brady’s upbringing. It sounds like you guys had a blast.”

Brady’s mom smiled. “It’s nice to meet you too, Leah. Brady
hasn’t been quite as forthcoming about you, but then I don’t ever expect him to
be.” She gave him an indulgent smile and he shook his head, chuckling. Brady’s
mom leaned toward Leah and said in a stage whisper, “You can’t trust a man to
just hand over information. You’ve gotta pry it out of him.”

Leah laughed. “You’re right.”

The subtle tension in the air cleared. The waiter came to
take drink orders and then they all concentrated on their menus. Dinner was
delicious and the conversation flowed back and forth easily, though Leah
remained quiet. He noticed her watching the interaction between him and his
parents, a wistful expression flitting across her face before she was able to
school her appearance once again.

He’d never understand why you’d bother to have a child
unless you were going to love him or her unconditionally. Leah’s parents had
treated her horribly, and he wasn’t surprised she didn’t keep in touch with
them. It was a shame, though. He vowed with whatever time they had left
together to make Leah see what an incredible woman she was. Maybe if he kept
saying it she would finally start to believe it.

After taking care of her promotional duties Leah sat with
Brady’s parents to watch the event. As usual, she was nervous, but the way
Brady’s mother was clasping her hands together on her lap and chewing on her
lip only made the problem that much worse. By the time Brady’s turn came up
Leah’s stomach was churning. Thankfully he stayed on for the required eight
seconds. The next night Leah sat with his parents again, her gut clenching when
she saw him drop onto the bull in the chute and not letting up until he rode
without incident and his score was announced.

He finished in first place and his ranking held steady. Leah
could tell he was proud to have done so well in the competition when his
parents were in attendance, and when a group of riders decided to go out, he
asked Leah if she wanted to go. She considered going to bed since they had
another early-morning drive, but then decided to throw caution to the wind. How
often did one get to check out an honest-to-goodness honky-tonk, anyway?

Leah sat on the barstool and watched Brady as he laughed and
talked to some of his fellow competitors a short distance away. He was in a
great mood. She sipped her water, knowing it made her look totally out of place
since everyone else was pouring beer and shots down their throats at an
alarming rate, but she’d never had much of a taste for alcohol past a glass of
wine or champagne. Brady was having a good time, though, and that was all that
mattered.

He glanced over at her and their gazes held. The heat in
Brady’s eyes made her breath catch. She couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel
room so she could touch him. Now that she’d had him she couldn’t get enough.
Brady was a real man—a man’s man. She’d had no idea what she’d been missing all
these years with those prissy metrosexual banker types and she had every
intention of making up for lost time.

One of the other bull riders slid onto the stool next to her
and ordered a beer. “Hey, Leah.”

“Hi, how are you?” She pasted on her best friendly smile,
but all these cowboys started to look alike after a while, and she had no idea
who he was.

He smiled. “Flynn. We met a coupla days ago when I came back
on tour.” He gave her a true good ’ole boy Southern smile. She’d gotten to know
that look well over the past few days. “You’ve probably met a whole ton of
people on the tour, huh?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Better you than me. I can’t remember names to save my damn
life.”

Leah had been in the public for so long she’d developed her
own way to remember names, but even that wasn’t foolproof, as attested by this
interaction with Flynn. “It’s not easy.”

They were soon joined by others as more riders came up to
the bar to order refills. Most stuck around after getting their beers and they
all began to make small talk. One of them, a tall, lanky man named Randy,
jerked his head toward Brady. “So, tell us, Leah. You two an item?”

Leah’s face flamed. A million different thoughts vied for
her attention. How did they know? Was it that obvious? They tried to play it
cool in public, but maybe they weren’t fooling anyone. Maybe someone had seen
them at the restaurant with Brady’s parents. What would Brady want her to say?
What did
she
want them to know? “Um,” she stammered. “Brady and I have
become friends. We spend a lot of time together since we’re doing the tour.”

“Uh-huh,” he nodded, a smile playing at his lips as he took
a long pull of his beer.

She willed the red in her face to subside. “So, how did you
guys do tonight?” she asked. A change of subject was definitely in order.

They grunted. “None of us finished in the money like your
boy did,” Randy answered. “Did he tell you about him and Conner?”

“What about him and Conner? They’re good friends.”

Randy and the others laughed, but it was obvious it was at
her expense. “Oh, they’re good friends all right. Very generous with each
other.”

Leah didn’t know where this conversation was going, but they
were definitely trying to get some sort of rise out of her. She didn’t like
being played. Pasting on a cool expression, she said, “Look, all I know is that
Brady and Conner have known each other for a long time. As far as I’m concerned
that’s all I
need
to know. If there’s something you guys think I should
be aware of, just tell me. I don’t appreciate being the butt of jokes.”

Randy put his hands up in mock surrender. “No need to get
angry, little lady. We’re just trying to warn you. Brady and Conner share
everything.” He looked her up and down. “Everything.”

Her brows knit together. Surely he didn’t mean…

“Everything,” he repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Just thought
you ought to be warned.”

Picking up her purse from the bar, she turned to the men.
With as much dignity as she could muster, she said to them, “Thank you for the
warning, unnecessary as it was. I’m tired, gentlemen, so I’ll bid you all good
night.” Hopping off her barstool, she forced herself not to run out the door.
But one word echoed in her brain…
everything
. Had Brady only seduced her
to get her into bed with the both of them? Did they share Jessica? She’d never
seen Brady act like anything but a friend to Jess, but she’d only known them a
few weeks. Maybe she’d missed the signs. And why did she instinctively believe
the other guys?

Leah stumbled outside, hand covering her mouth. She hated
being lied to. Looking around wildly, she realized she had no way to get to the
hotel—she’d arrived with Brady. Swearing, she’d just pulled her cell phone out
of her purse when she heard a noise behind her. Before she could process what
was happening, she had been picked up and turned around. She looked into
Brady’s bewildered eyes. “Where are you going?”

“Anywhere but here,” she got out through clenched teeth. Her
mind was replaying the past days—everything Brady and Conner had said or did.
Was it all just a lie?

His face turned stone cold. “What did they say to you?”

She laughed, but it sounded anything but amused. “Oh, they
said plenty. When were you going to tell me you and Conner share women? Right
around the time he crawled into bed with us? Or when I caught you in bed with
him and Jessica?”

Brady’s eyes closed briefly, and when they opened again, she
saw myriad emotions reflected in them. Anger, regret, pain. He swore. That was
all the answer she needed. Turning on her heel, she marched toward the road.
Before she got ten feet, though, he’d grabbed her arm. “Let go of me!”

“Not ’til we talk about this. It’s not what you think.”

Whirling around, she poked him in the chest with her index
finger. “How can it
not
be what I’m thinking?”

He caught her finger and held it to him, grabbing her chin
in his other large, warm hand. “Because it doesn’t happen anymore, not since
Conner met Jessica. It was a choice the women made, not something we ever
forced on them. Plus it didn’t happen all the time.”

“Right. You expect me to believe that?”

He blew out a harsh breath. “I never lied to you, Leah.”

Leah snorted.

“I never lied to you,” Brady repeated. “I didn’t tell you
about it because it didn’t seem relevant to us, but I never lied either. Did I
try to deny it just now? No.” When she continued to try to pull away, he
tightened his hold briefly before releasing her. “Dammit, Leah, listen to me!
At least lemme take you back to the room and we’ll talk about this. I’m not
letting you go back there alone to sit and stew.”

“If you never lied to me, then why did I have to hear about
this propensity for sharing from someone else? You made me look like an idiot
for being in the dark about it. And obviously we’re not hiding this thing
between us very well if they thought to issue this warning.”

“They were just dicking with you because they’re dicks.”
Brady rubbed his forehead. “Look, can we just go? I don’t wanna do this here.”

“Fine.” Knowing she had no other way of getting back to the
hotel, Leah strode to Brady’s truck and got in, folding her arms over her
chest. He got in the other side, turning the key in the ignition and backing
out of the parking lot in silence.

She didn’t know what to think. After all, she didn’t know
Brady well enough to be sure he was telling the truth. And he hadn’t denied he
and Conner shared. But did he want to share her? Was this whole thing some
elaborate seduction scheme to get her to fall in bed with both of them? Or,
since Brady had said Conner didn’t take part anymore, with him and someone
else?

Propping her elbow up on the doorframe, she leaned her head
on her hand and stared out the window. She saw Brady glance over at her a
couple of times through the reflection in the window, but he didn’t speak to
her.

They reached the hotel and she hopped out of the truck. When
they arrived at her room, she unlocked the door and went inside, Brady
following close behind. Sitting down on one of the chairs surrounding the small
table by the window, she waited for him to begin.

He sat opposite her and pulled his hat off his head, tossing
it on the table. Blowing out a breath, he pushed his hand through his hair.
“I’ll be honest and I’ll tell you everything, but I’d ask you to reserve
judgment until you’ve heard me out.”

Leah nodded. “That’s fair.”

“It’s true sometimes Conner and I shared women.” He glanced
at her. When she didn’t speak, he continued, “But we don’t anymore. Conner is a
one-woman man now that he has Jessica. He’s crazy about her. At no time was the
objective with you to try to get you to agree to be shared. It never even
entered my mind. Not once. If you told me it was something you wanted, a
fantasy of yours, I would consider it to make you happy, but never, ever, did I
seduce you with the intent of trying to get you into bed with anyone but me.”
He reached over and grabbed her chin. “Leah, I want you to look at me.” When
she did, he said, “I’m a lotta things, but I’m not a liar. Do you believe me?”

Leah looked into his eyes. He stared back, not blinking, not
wavering. He was telling the truth. She’d dealt with enough liars in her life
to know the difference between a man being honest and one who was feeding her a
line. “Yes, I believe you,” she whispered.

Picking up her hand, he kissed her knuckles. “Thank you.”

“I’m sorry I reacted like I did. It’s just—I’ve been lied to
so many times by so many people. My parents, managers, coaches, it’s hard to
trust anyone. I’m sorry I ruined your evening.”

Brady grinned then. “You didn’t ruin anything, darlin’.
We’ll just have a private night is all.” He waggled his eyebrows and Leah
couldn’t help but laugh.

They fell into bed together, their bodies moving of their
own accord as each sought the touch of the other. Brady’s touch was almost
reverent as he used his hands and mouth to bring her over the edge before
finally sinking inside her. He was uncharacteristically quiet as they both
strained for the ultimate release, coming together in a chorus of low moans and
sighs. She and Brady stayed curled up in each other for long moments before he
headed into the shower. A short time later he emerged, a cloud of steam
billowing in his wake. As he stretched, Leah watched the play of muscles over
his strong back and shoulders as she bit her lip. Pulling on a pair of boxers,
he slid back into bed with her.

“Night, sugar,” he said, kissing her shoulder. He pulled her
close, spooning into her back.

“Night…” Soon she heard his deep, even breathing and knew
he’d fallen asleep. Unfortunately, sleep didn’t come so easy for her. After
he’d gotten into the shower it had hit her. She and Brady had just made love.

* * * * *

The next night, Brady and Conner sat in lawn chairs outside
the Airstream, having a beer. Brady’s head fell back as he stared up at the
stars above. “What the fuck am I gonna do?”

Conner slanted him a look. “About what exactly?”

“About the fact I’m in love with Leah.” There, he’d said it.
Out loud. And lightning hadn’t struck him down where he sat. He felt a weight
lift from his shoulders. “Dude, I love her.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“This is her last event. She’s flying outta DFW
International day after tomorrow.”

“Well, here’s an idea. Tell her how ya feel.”

Brady laughed, but there was no humor in it. “You make it
sound so easy.”

“It’s exactly what you told me to do when I was chasin’ Jess
all over Texas. I’m just giving your own advice back.” He took a long pull from
his beer and then leveled a steely gaze at Brady. “Don’t fuck this up. Women
like Leah don’t come along every day.”

Brady groaned. “I know.” He took another drink, draining the
remainder of the contents. “The thing is, I have no idea how she feels about
me. What if she just wants to have a good time with a cowboy while she’s
ducking her real life? She called our relationship an affair not so long ago.”
He couldn’t keep the bitter tone out of his voice, much as he tried.

Conner looked at him as if he were an imbecile. “Have you
ever noticed the way she looks at you, man? It’s actually kinda nauseating, and
that’s sayin’ something, considering how I’m sure Jess and I look at each
other.” Brady snorted, using the beer he’d just grabbed out of the cooler to
hide the smirk creeping onto his face. “Believe me, bud, she’s as into you as
you are into her.”

“Maybe,” Brady conceded. “But how the hell would we make a
relationship work? I don’t fit into her fancy life. Besides, she’s gonna be
back in Stamford training and competing and I’m gonna be on the road with the
tour.”

“That I can’t tell you. You’re gonna have to figure out your
own way to be together.” Brady could only grunt in reply. Figure out a way?
Yeah, right. Shaking his head, he watched as Conner rose, stretching. “I’m
gonna turn in. See you tomorrow?”