TWO MONTHS LATER...

Noa:  That thing you did...Mmmm. Come back and give me more of that.

Brax:  Babe, I need more of a clue than ‘that thing.’

Noa: That thing you did with your tongue. Join me?

Brax: You still in bed?

Noa: Yes, been laying here in a sex coma waiting for someone to come back and make me feel alive again.

Brax: I’m on my way ;)

Noa: Hurry!

“Virgil, I gotta go!” I toss my towel inside my workout bag and sling it over my shoulder.

“But Finals are tonight,” he shouts at my back.

I throw my hand up and wave it in the air to signal I heard him. “I know. Trust me, I know.” I look back over my shoulder at him, and the devilish grin I’ve been wearing lately is splitting my face in two. He shakes his head, but he’s smiling too.

This is what love feels like. She’s the center of everything I do; she’s my touchstone.

I race through the hotel lobby to get to the elevators. I should really slow down, so I don’t run someone over, but she’s waiting, and that’s all my heart cares about.

The elevator doors are shutting as I approach, but I ‘m not too proud to shout, “Please hold the elevator.”  They start to re-open as I get there to jam my hand in the door opening.

“Thank you,” I say to the couple standing inside. “You saved me from running up thirty flights of stairs.”

I lean back against the posh, leather walls of the elevator. Las Vegas hotels have always put me outside of my comfort zone, but not this trip. Noa deserves all of this finery, and I’m excited to give it to her as a special reward for living in the trailer these past two months.

“You’re welcome. You need to rest today. You’ve got a big night ahead of you,” the gentleman says.

“Are you a bull riding fan?” He’s dressed in a business suit, with silver cufflinks and a Rolex watch peeking out of his jacket arm.

“I am, ever since I was knee-high to a Brahman bull on my grandpa’s farm.” He unlaces his hand from the beautiful woman in his arms and holds it out for me to shake. “I’m Scott Andrews.”

The last name and his Texas accent give him away. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Andrews.”

“Any idea who you’re picking to ride tonight?” The look on his face is passive, but the glint in his eye is hopeful.

“Why? You looking to increase your Las Vegas odds with inside information?”

A deep rumble of laughter erupts from him. “We all know you’re going with Bodacious tonight. Your ‘day of reckoning’ is finally here.”

I shrug my shoulders and give him a tight-lipped smile. “You never know. I’ve been known to change my mind, although they say the third time’s a charm.”

“I look forward to watching the ride, no matter which bull you choose. I secretly hope it’s an Andrews’s bull. Good luck tonight.” The door opens to his floor, and they exit, wrapped up again in each other’s arms.

I press the 30th-floor button several times in hopes that makes it get me there faster.

****

ANY MINUTE HE’S GOING to come through that door. I hope the perfume I sprayed leads him to me. I hear a bag drop to the floor in the main room and know he’s here.

My heart races every time I see his face after any length of absence. I never want to be away from him, but I love the thrill I get when he comes back to me. It’s always with enthusiasm, and that’s how love should always feel.

The bedroom door handle jiggles, and the door swings wide. His broad shoulders take up the entire width of the door frame, and my heart thumps wildly with excitement in my chest. He stands there sniffing the air.  I caught him; hook, line, and sinker.

I’m sitting naked on top of the rumpled sheets, flipping through a magazine of fun things to do in ‘Sin City.’  I wish I would have put some naughty lingerie on, but why slow down the process of having to remove it. I want him, and I want him now. I drop the magazine to the floor as he takes his first step towards me.

His shoes are the first thing to get kicked off, as one flies across the carpet and thumps against the bed. He crosses his arms and grabs his shirttail pulling it over his head, and letting it fall to the floor. His thumbs hook the waistband of his shorts, and in one fell swoop, the striptease is over, and he’s naked with me.

The bed dips as he climbs on and slowly crawls toward me. His left eyebrow is raised suggestively, making me wet for him. His fingers wrap around my crossed ankles, and he pulls separating them— giving him a view of the small patch of strawberry blond hair above my clit.

I watch him lick his lips when he sees what he likes. I lower myself, scooting toward him, bending my knees. I desperately want what he wants to give...that thing he does with his tongue drives me insane.

His rough, calloused hands softly trace the length of my calves.  The nerves running up the back of my knees pulse erratically with his touch. The pads of his thumbs massage my thighs, as he lowers himself onto his elbows. His full, sensual lips place butterfly kisses where his thumbs traced my skin.

I’m halfway to arousal just watching his lips heat my skin. Mini quakes of orgasm roll through me, and he hasn’t gotten to my sensitive spots yet.

The tiniest spark of electricity ignites my lust the minute his fingers spread my pussy lips. He looks up at me before leaning in and winks, causing my skin to heat and flush in anticipation. The tip of his tongues swipes my clit, and all I can do is grip the sheets tighter. My uterus rolls and jumps as his tongue sucks gently on my sex.

His tongue dips in and out of my vagina—he wraps his arms around my thighs, dragging himself into me. Deeper. Deeper. His teeth gently pull on my clit. His tongue licks and laves my opening as his thumb presses against my clit, rubbing, stroking, pulling, and teasing me with little pauses in between.

My legs quake as the pressure builds. Each lick pushes me closer and closer to release. My fingers twist the sheets, and my body convulses with my orgasm. His thumb presses into my G-spot, in and out, in and out, as I ride the crest of my orgasm.  “Feel better now?” he asks. I nod my head vigorously YES.

His hand reaches up, and he weaves our fingers together. Each of us holds on dearly to the other as we lay in silence. “And what would you like to do for the rest of the afternoon?” he asks, rolling over onto his side to face me. His face buries deep into my hair to nibble on my ear. “We can do anything you want. You name it,” he whispers.

“Anything, huh?”

“Yes, anything.” He kisses my shoulder and chest as he waits for me to decide our entertainment. The tip of his tongue tastes and teases my hard nipples before sliding into his open lips.

“Well, staying in bed with you until tonight is pretty tempting, but I have one thing in mind.”

“Just one thing?” His left eyebrow shoots up in that sexy way of his when he questions me. The curiosity is burning through his hazel eyes.

“I’d like to be Mrs. Braxton Ryder when you win tonight.” I peek up at him with uncertain eyes, not sure how he’s going to respond to my lackluster proposal.

“Noa Grace Knight, are you proposing to me?”

I sit up into a kneeling pose at his side. I take his left hand in mine, placing a kiss on his finger where a wedding band will soon go.

“Had I known my life was going to be this amazing falling in love with you, I would have found you sooner and stayed once I did. Now I don’t want to waste another moment, not experiencing it to its fullest with you. I want to be your wife supporting you through every major milestone. No matter the outcome, I want you to know you’ve got someone who’ll always be cheering you on from the sidelines, laughing when you laugh, and crying when you cry. Braxton, will you marry me?”

****

AT ROUND 3, I WAS IN third place for the finals, not scoring very well on Lucky Lindo. He didn’t give me too much fight, but if I drew again, I could get bucked off of the new bull and get zero points. So I took the points I earned and prayed it would be enough.

Round 5 was kinder to me, receiving maximum points for my ride on Black Skully.  He was a mean son-of-a-bitch and caused a pinched nerve in my neck.  Noa took care of me, and the much-needed points pushed me into second place. Tonight matters.

Tonight, I get to pick my bull. Like Scott Andrews said, “A day of reckoning is coming.” No one expects me to pick Bodacious with our history, so I put his name down on the paper. I couldn’t disappoint my fans. That bull is two years older, but I’m also two years wiser.

Noa helps me get into my chaps, zipping them up and making sure all the snaps are closed, patting my ass upon her final inspection.  We’ve developed these little rituals of ‘good luck’ that we do before each ride. They seem to be working so I’m not going to stop them now, but I know the only luck I need is her by my side.

We walk to my designated chute hand-in-hand. She carries my Sponsorship vest for me, and we wave to the fans as we hear our names in the crowd. We find Virgil in front of the chute waiting on me.

Noa holds out my vest for me to slip my arms through, pushing it up and over my shoulders, then running her hands down my back to smooth out the creases.

“Mr. Ryder, good luck. Go be a feather in the wind.” She stands on her tip toes and kisses my lips.

“Mrs. Ryder, you’re the only luck I need. I’m gonna go out there and be Bodacious, giving him as good as I always get.” I quickly kiss her nose and step up on the chute railing to watch that blond motherfucker trot in. He slams against the chute walls as soon as they lock him in. A chute hand adjusts the bull rope around him and cinches it, handing Virgil the excess to hold.

“Did you just call her Mrs. Ryder?” Virgil asks.

“Yes. Yes, I did, and it feels so fuckin’ good.”

“It’s about damn time, boy.”

I climb over the railing and place my boots toe forward on the metal rungs. Bodacious accepts my weight at first, but as soon as I get the bull rope wrapped around my hand, he charges at the gate that holds us in with all the force of a wrecking ball. His front legs attempt to climb the rungs, but he misses, and they fall back down to the packed dirt.

Be a feather in the wind. Be a feather in the wind. Be a feather in the wind.

Virgil pats my shoulders in a three-count like he always has. “You ready?”

I raise my free arm up as my anthem song, Puff Daddy’s ‘Victory,’ starts to play.

My boots come off the railing, and I hover my spurs just over Bodacious’ flank. I’m gonna take all the piss and vinegar out of him right at the gate.

I nod my head and the gate swings wide.

My right spur jabs him causing him to kick and spin, but I’m holding tight to him. I’ve already slid back further than I intended too, but I spur him on the right side to twist back so I can re-seat myself in my sweet spot. If I can keep him in tight circles, I can win. He’s a wildcard if you give him too much space to play.

He kicks up and out on my right side, causing my free arm to swing wildly with momentum, barely missing his head as we land on the packed dirt hard. My hat off with the force of our landing.  The crowd is a blur as he bucks left twice. The motherfucker slings nasty bull snot up in my face. It hangs like a thick haze across my eyes and nose. 

The buzzer blares, and I let go of the bull rope. It unwinds as fast as I can tug on it. My left spur grinds into his left shoulder as he twists, and I jump for safety, curling into a tight roll. One of the bullfighters grabs my hat and hands it to me as I run to the sidelines for safety, right into the open arms of my wife. This right here is the real victory.

The crowd goes wild, stomping their boots on the floor and letting out long cat whistles. The level of noise in the arena is insane. The crowd chants my name and throws mementos into the arena after one helluva ride. I jump up on the chute gate and wave my hat in the air in victory.

I’ve finally won my well-deserved happily-ever-after, and now I’m gonna go ride off with my sunset.