He was the number one bucking bull shifter in the world right now. He could have any buckle bunny he wanted, but he’d never been interested in easy. He was a worker, and Annabelle? She was work.
Her flight had landed twenty minutes ago, and she would be walking through that sliding glass door and out to his truck any moment.
In front of him was a Mercedes, behind him was an Audi, and his mud-splattered, jacked-up Chevy stuck out like a sore thumb.
In his defense, he’d washed his truck yesterday because he was nervous as hell and wanted everything to be perfect for her. And that’s when the what-the-fuck-was-wrong-with-him took over because he didn’t normally do this. He didn’t get nervous. Not talking to girls, not talking to interviewers, not being on TV, and not when he bucked in front of thousands in rodeo arenas every couple of weeks. It just wasn’t him. He was Steady Eddie. But this girl? This werewolf? One night with her had drawn him up and changed his whole way of thinking.
She was special.
He’d washed his truck, but then Dead had stolen it, gone mudding, and left it in the woods for him to find because Quickdraw was “being weird,” according to Dead of Winter-the-Asshole.
When the sliding glass doors of the airport opened, Quickdraw sat up straighter, studying the crowd that meandered through and spread out like cockroaches across the sidewalk.
A family of four, then two dudes wearing brand new designer cowboy hats and Wranglers that had never seen a speck of mud, probably some city-slickers here for the rodeo, followed by a four-pack of ladies in their early twenties, a harried mother, two more pretend cowboys, and then…there…following them up was Annabelle.
Every part of Quickdraw froze—all but his hammering heart.
She was even prettier than he remembered.
Annabelle stepped out into the cold breeze and pulled her long pink and black plaid peacoat tighter around her waist. She looked around, but she didn’t see him right away, so he got the chance to drink her in. Her hair was a deep burgundy that looked red in the sunlight but brunette when she was inside. Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of oversize sunglasses, and her full lips were painted the same color as the pink in her coat. She was tall and had those soft hourglass curves he loved.
When he rolled down the passenger window and called her name, a smile took her face, and his heart pounded even harder. God, she was a stunner.
He shoved open his door and jogged around the truck to help her with the pink suitcase she dragged behind her. He tossed it in the bed and then opened her door, but she hesitated there.
He couldn’t be sure since she still wore sunglasses, but she seemed to study him. “Hi.” Her voice was so soft, so pretty. She probably sang well with a tone like that.
“You’re here,” he rumbled, way lower than he’d intended. Fuckin’ bull was right at the surface. “I thought you wouldn’t come. Again.”
She offered a crooked smile. God, she was pretty. And unique. There was this cute little gap between her two front teeth.
Annabelle took his offered hand and crawled up into his lifted truck. He resisted the urge to buckle her seat belt for her. Girls didn’t like psychopaths. Dead of Winter and Two Shots Down had schooled him in “how not to fuck this up.” Although, he really didn’t know why he was taking girl advice from those two dipshits. If they didn’t piss off their mates at least twice a week, it was a slow week.
There’d been a moment, right before she climbed into his truck, that he wanted to pull her in and hug her. That was fuckin’ weird. He wasn’t a hugger. Or a snuggler. Or a complimenter. Or supportive. Or really even nice in general. Cheyenne had nicknamed him the porcupine of the herd. Which he was fine with because they mostly left him alone thanks to his porcupine-ness.
But with Annabelle? Pretty, strong, protective Annabelle? One night with her a month ago hadn’t been enough.
“The rodeo ticket you sent me isn’t until this weekend,” she said as he climbed behind the wheel.
“Cheyenne wanted us all here early this week since it’s the finals. I figured you could take a bit of a vacation, maybe get a break from reality, and see Raven more this way.” And spend more time with him, but he didn’t want to scare her off with his plans.
“Are there still hotels available?” Her tone was careful.
He slid her a glance as he pulled out from the curb and onto the airport exit ramp. “I figured you could stay in my camper, and if you want me out of it, I don’t mind sleeping in the bull pens. You ain’t scared of me, are you?”
“I’m just…” She swallowed hard and stared out the window. “I just want to take everything really slow.”
She was different. More careful. More reserved. He’d done something wrong, something to rub her fur the wrong way, but he couldn’t figure out what. “What changed?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’m shit at this, Annabelle. You females are complicated like rocket science, and I ain’t a particularly smart man in that area. With me, you’re gonna have to say what you feel and let me react and adjust. If you keep it inside and wait for me to figure out what’s wrong? I won’t even know there’s a problem. I’m not sensitive like that. Now, if you’re in trouble and need some muscle behind you? Need someone to beat the shit out of anyone messing with you? I’m your man. Blood and fists, I understand. Feelings don’t come so natural to me.” He took the exit that would lead them out of the airport. With a quick glance at her pretty profile, he asked, “What changed? After that night, you texted me back right away for two weeks. I thought I was making you happy. You sure as hell were making me pay attention. And then you just stopped responding. Just went ghost on me. Is there someone else? I know we were just starting to talk, and I don’t have a claim on you, so it’s okay. Just say it like it is. If there’s someone else, I can back off.” That was a fuckin’ lie. If there was someone else, he was going hunting.
Annabelle pursed her lips and looked over at him, shook her head. “There’s zero other boys. It’s not like that. I’m not seeing anyone.”
Thank God. Now he didn’t have to obsess over some other man stealing her heart. “Okay, then it’s me.”
“I can’t explain it right now. I just… Is it okay if we just settle in and get to know each other again?”
Something was wrong, and he was a fixer. It was a knife in his gut not being able to cure whatever was ailing her. Hearts were a complicated thing he’d never understood, and probably never would. And Annabelle? Well…he didn’t really know her well enough to guess what he’d done wrong.
“I can get you a hotel if you’d feel more comfortable there.”
She let off a little sigh of relief. “I would.”
Chapter Three
Quickdraw was a brute in the arena, but in the quiet of his life, he was a gentleman. Sort of. If she ignored how thoroughly he’d fucked her last month. Ha.
Keep your head on straight. You are here for business. To get to know him. To see his merit.
He’d been hurt when she’d asked for the hotel, and that part had surprised her. Sure, he was pretending to be okay, but the look on his face had stung her heart.