Read Online This Kiss (Made In Montana Book 12) by Debbi Rawlins - Free Book Online

other. His pupils were so big and dark she hardly saw any blue. She hated to think what she looked like with her wild tangled hair. Though the bulge under her fanny hadn’t subsided, so she couldn’t be the utter mess she imagined.
    She finally shifted her gaze to his hand, still secured to the bedpost, and she picked up the pocketknife. She had no reason to be sitting on him. Or staring at his bare chest.
    She gave the cuffs a reassuring tug, mostly for show, then lifted herself off him. Very carefully. No peeking, no unnecessary touching.
    One thing was for certain. She didn’t want to be tempted by his bare chest all night, so she’d have to figure a way for him to put his shirt on. As for his lower half, the sheet draped over his lap would have to do for now. It sure wasn’t lying flat, though.
    “So, how do you plan to deal with bathroom trips? Are you going in with me to be my...handler, so to speak?”
    Luckily it took very little for him to annoy the hell out of her. “You’re despicable.”
    Ethan laughed. “I’ll make a deal with you.”
    Sophie rolled to the side of the bed and jumped off. “You have nothing I want.”
    “You sure about that?”
    She glanced back at him. “When you get thrown off a bull, you must land on your head a lot.”
    “Ah, rodeo humor. Not very good, though. Hey, don’t lose my pocketknife.”
    She shoved it deep into her jeans pocket. “Oh, so now I have everything you want, and you have nothing of interest to me.” She swept a pointed gaze over his body. “So, as for making a deal...” She shrugged. “Too bad.”
    “I’m being serious.”
    “You should be. You’re in a lot of trouble, Ethan.” If he made her regret this, she’d save the court time and money and just shoot him. “What is it you want?”
    He started to smirk, then gave up the smug act. “Let me ride for Safe Haven,” he said, steadily meeting her eyes. “And you have my word I won’t run.”
    “What about the finals?”
    “I’ll make it to Vegas.”
    Sophie was on the verge of a colossal headache. He hadn’t been a stupid boy in school, and she assumed he hadn’t lost any IQ points since then. “I doubt you can do both and still meet your legal obligation.”
    “Watch me.”
    “How am I supposed to believe you won’t take off on me?”
    “Because I gave you my word.”
    “Right.” She rubbed her left temple.
    “Just like I gave Matt Gunderson my word I’d ride for Safe Haven.” He sure seemed intent on making a mess of his career. His life. “They haven’t done one of these benefits before. If it goes well, it’ll become an annual event. What do you think will happen if their headliner scratches at the last minute?”
    She sighed. Her job would be a lot easier if he was only pretending to be noble. But this wasn’t an act. Even back in high school Ethan had had a reputation for stepping in for the underdog, and not just her.
    With a small shake of her head, she reached into her pocket for the key. “What time do you ride?”
    “I think I’m last.”
    “Of course you are,” she muttered. “So, after that we leave, right?”
    “I’m on the lineup for Sunday, too.”
    “What if you get thrown on your ass before the eight seconds tomorrow?”
    With a deadpan expression, he said, “This isn’t about qualifying, so it doesn’t matter.”
    Boy, did she hope she’d packed aspirin. “We’ll split the difference. You ride tomorrow and then Sunday we drive straight to Wyoming. That way you can—”
    He was already shaking his head. “People paid a lot of money for tickets.”
    “I bet they pay even more for the finals.”
    “Let me worry about that.”
    “Oh yeah? Hmm.” She frowned at the key, and then at the lock. Anything to avoid those hypnotic eyes. “That should take care of everything.”
    “Sarcasm? Sure, that helps.”
    She glared at him then. “Your main problem is that you’re not concerned enough.”
    He had the most annoying habit of looking like