1001 Dark Nights Read Online Free PDF Page B

jewelry supplies. “Got other plans?”
    “Maybe.” London pointed to the back of the camper. “Got a mattress that needs pounding. And darlin’”—she gave him a hungry, full-body perusal—”you look completely recovered to me.”
    “Much as I’d love to take you up on that offer, ain’t gonna happen today.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because even before my injury I wasn’t the kind of guy to indulge in indiscriminate sex.” That made him sound like a total pussy. He made light of it. “That’s why they call me ‘The Saint,’ remember? Plus, I’m gonna make you at least buy me dinner first.”
    “There’s a box of Corn Pops in the cupboard. And the milk is fresh.” She waggled her eyebrows. “I’d totally give it away to you for free.”
    He laughed. “Taunting me won’t change my mind.”
    “So saintly you is leaving just when it’s starting to get interesting?”
    “Yep. I said my piece. Come by tomorrow when you get done here. I’ll be around.” He picked up the clipboard and scrawled his address and phone number in the last box where she’d written— D.L. A-ride. “Didja get my joke?”
    “Dial a ride? Yes. Not funny.”
    “I’ve heard that before too.”
    “What?”
    “That I lack a sense of humor and I’m always too serious about everything. So with that...” He headed for the door.
    London grabbed his hand. “Did I scare you off by being too aggressive? Is that why you’re slinking outta here like a scalded cat?”
    “No.” He said, “No,” again more forcefully when her eyes remained skeptical. “I like that you know what you want—I’ll never judge you for that. This all happened fast. You kissed me once; I kissed you once. I’m guessing the heat between us surprised us both, and hot stuff, ain’t no doubt there’s an inferno between us just waiting to ignite. We both need to think about it and decide how far this is gonna go before it blows up in our faces. But it’s not happening an hour after we reconnected. And not ten steps from a bed.”
    “For the record, can I say I hate that you’re right?” She plucked up the clipboard and clutched it to her chest. “I didn’t even like you an hour ago. Now I’m pissy that you won’t test the bounce factor of my mattress, so obviously my head isn’t clear.”
    “Lust and reason rarely go hand in hand.” Sutton let his gaze move over her, making sure she knew he liked what he saw. “Let’s let reason win today.”
    “Fine. But it doesn’t feel like much of a victory.”
    “For me either, sweetheart.”
    After Sutton exited London’s camper, he headed straight for his truck. Unlike past years on the rodeo circuit, no one stopped him to chat. No one recognized him. That would’ve bothered him when he’d been trying to make a name for himself. Now it just drove home the point he was done with the world of rodeo.
    Or he would be, as soon as Dial had regained some of what he’d lost. Only then could Sutton find an owner that saw the workhorse beneath the spirited nature.
    The drive to his place passed quickly. At home he fed Dial and talked to him about London, mostly out of habit. There were times on the road when Sutton had felt his horse was his only friend—totally fucked up, but true. Dial wasn’t just a tool to him. Most of the time the opposite was true. Dial needed the challenge of those moments on the dirt. Sutton needed the moments on the dirt as a means to an end.
    Over the years, socialization had gotten easier for him, but in the beginning on the circuit, he’d remained in the background, barely speaking because he’d always been painfully shy. Early on most folks considered him conceited, but he couldn’t help people seeing what they wanted to. Rather than hit the wild parties after a competition, he hid in his horse trailer and watched DVDs.
    That’s not to say Sutton didn’t have friends—just none of them, with the exception of Breck Christianson, were professional rodeo competitors.