Read Online Rock (BBW Secret Baby Bear Shifter Romance) (Secret Baby Bears Book 2) by Becca Fanning - Free Book Online
Authors: Becca Fanning
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the emergency exit near the back, fumbling nervously with his hat. Something on the other side caught his attention, and he opened the door, allowing a stampede of pigs to run into the arena, herded by Eddie and Owen. The three of them took off the moment the last pig was in.
Immediately, officials jumped into the arena to usher the pigs out, but it was uncontrollable chaos. Some of the audience continued to laugh. Others became hostile, objecting to the prank.
Brianna was one of them. The woman was red with fury. The Tyrell Clan may have released the pigs, but they’d also unleashed a dragon.
***
A bonfire lit up the night, a rival to the sun, which had just set. It was the end of the rodeo. There would be no more bull rides, no more pranks. There was only the fire, built a short walk from the stadium, close to the desert.
Brianna was off at a corporate tent talking business with a potential sponsor. It was supposed to be an easy contract. The sponsor would watch her ride, preferably to victory, and then they would make her a deal. According to Brianna, sponsorships for women were hard to come by. No one had faith in the sport, not where female bull riders were concerned. She’d been really excited about the deal, but after the pig incident, it was no longer guaranteed. By the time the pigs and the mess they made had been cleared out of the arena, there was no time to finish the women’s competition. They moved on to the men’s, cutting the women out.
Feeling angry on behalf of all the women bull riders, Dakota orbited the bonfire in search of Eddie, waving off the smoke and cinders. She found him doing card tricks for a group of fans, most of them as drunk as a pub filled with Scotsmen.
“What the hell did you do!” she yelled, forgetting to be small, forgetting to hide. She grabbed the deck of cards from his hand and threw it into the fire, much to the protest of the group. “Not everything is a game.”
Eddie didn’t flinch. If anything, he enjoyed her anger. “Why don’t we go somewhere more private?” he suggested, and he led her into the abyss of the desert, away from the cat calls that followed them.
“It was funny,” he defended, stopping beside a cactus. “It was just a windup.”
“It wasn’t funny for Brianna. She could lose a huge sponsorship deal because of your stupid windup. Why did you have to pull the prank while the women were competing? They have it hard enough as it is.”
“Wouldn’t it be sexist not to pull the prank while the women were competing?” he joked.
She wanted to shove him. “There are consequences to your actions, Eddie. You of all people should understand. You face scrutiny for being a shifter. One day, they may not let you ride, not professionally. Put yourself in Brianna’s shoes.”
“Boots, not shoes,” he corrected, but he frowned, her words clearly sinking in, troubling him. “I’ll apologize to her. I wasn’t thinking.”
“No, you weren’t.”
“I’ll fix it. Just don’t look at me like that,” he pleaded. “Don’t look at me the way my brother does. I’m better than this, I promise you. I can give a rat’s ass what everyone else thinks of me, but not you. I care what you think.”
“Why?” she demanded. “You barely know me.”
“Well, you’re beautiful, for starters,” he said, gently placing a hand on her cheek.
She needed to push his hand away. This was not what she’d come to West Texas for. She was meant to go unnoticed, not encourage a cowboy to chase after her.
“And?” she pressed, full of anticipation, ignoring her logic.
“And I feel drawn to you. Connected, like you’re the rope I can hold onto and steady myself with.”
She felt the same, even if it was a fleeting fantasy inspired by the wildness of the West, its heat a lust that burned beneath the skin. “And?”
“And in about two minutes, there’s gonna be fireworks to mark the end of the rodeo. That’s when I’m gonna kiss
Immediately, officials jumped into the arena to usher the pigs out, but it was uncontrollable chaos. Some of the audience continued to laugh. Others became hostile, objecting to the prank.
Brianna was one of them. The woman was red with fury. The Tyrell Clan may have released the pigs, but they’d also unleashed a dragon.
***
A bonfire lit up the night, a rival to the sun, which had just set. It was the end of the rodeo. There would be no more bull rides, no more pranks. There was only the fire, built a short walk from the stadium, close to the desert.
Brianna was off at a corporate tent talking business with a potential sponsor. It was supposed to be an easy contract. The sponsor would watch her ride, preferably to victory, and then they would make her a deal. According to Brianna, sponsorships for women were hard to come by. No one had faith in the sport, not where female bull riders were concerned. She’d been really excited about the deal, but after the pig incident, it was no longer guaranteed. By the time the pigs and the mess they made had been cleared out of the arena, there was no time to finish the women’s competition. They moved on to the men’s, cutting the women out.
Feeling angry on behalf of all the women bull riders, Dakota orbited the bonfire in search of Eddie, waving off the smoke and cinders. She found him doing card tricks for a group of fans, most of them as drunk as a pub filled with Scotsmen.
“What the hell did you do!” she yelled, forgetting to be small, forgetting to hide. She grabbed the deck of cards from his hand and threw it into the fire, much to the protest of the group. “Not everything is a game.”
Eddie didn’t flinch. If anything, he enjoyed her anger. “Why don’t we go somewhere more private?” he suggested, and he led her into the abyss of the desert, away from the cat calls that followed them.
“It was funny,” he defended, stopping beside a cactus. “It was just a windup.”
“It wasn’t funny for Brianna. She could lose a huge sponsorship deal because of your stupid windup. Why did you have to pull the prank while the women were competing? They have it hard enough as it is.”
“Wouldn’t it be sexist not to pull the prank while the women were competing?” he joked.
She wanted to shove him. “There are consequences to your actions, Eddie. You of all people should understand. You face scrutiny for being a shifter. One day, they may not let you ride, not professionally. Put yourself in Brianna’s shoes.”
“Boots, not shoes,” he corrected, but he frowned, her words clearly sinking in, troubling him. “I’ll apologize to her. I wasn’t thinking.”
“No, you weren’t.”
“I’ll fix it. Just don’t look at me like that,” he pleaded. “Don’t look at me the way my brother does. I’m better than this, I promise you. I can give a rat’s ass what everyone else thinks of me, but not you. I care what you think.”
“Why?” she demanded. “You barely know me.”
“Well, you’re beautiful, for starters,” he said, gently placing a hand on her cheek.
She needed to push his hand away. This was not what she’d come to West Texas for. She was meant to go unnoticed, not encourage a cowboy to chase after her.
“And?” she pressed, full of anticipation, ignoring her logic.
“And I feel drawn to you. Connected, like you’re the rope I can hold onto and steady myself with.”
She felt the same, even if it was a fleeting fantasy inspired by the wildness of the West, its heat a lust that burned beneath the skin. “And?”
“And in about two minutes, there’s gonna be fireworks to mark the end of the rodeo. That’s when I’m gonna kiss
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