Unridden: A Studs in Spurs novel by Cat Johnson Read Free Book Online Page A

out?”
    “This woman’s different, Slade. I can tell.” The bull hopped once in the chute and Mustang quickly reached over and grabbed the back of Slade’s vest, steadying him on the animal’s back.
    “Dammit, Mustang, quit distracting me,” Slade growled. Settling himself again, Slade gave a nod and the cowboy on the ground swung the gate open to release both bull and rider into the arena.
    “Talk to you more when you get off,” Mustang called after him, then watched his friend disappear into a cloud of dust.
    Chase Reese, one of the younger bull riders, who had been favored for Rookie of the Year until he hit a dry streak, hopped up onto the rail next to Mustang. “Slade’s amazing. It’s like he’s glued onto that bull. I wish I could do that. I went two for ten last series.”
    “You look down,” Mustang said simply, following Slade’s progress as the bull spun around to the left without deviation, from one end of the arena to the other.
    As the eight second buzzer sounded, Slade released the rope wrapped around his hand. He jumped off the bull, hit the ground with his shoulder, then rolled to avoid a hoof to the ribcage before the bullfighters redirected the charging animal away from him.
    “I do what?” the rookie asked.
    Seeing his friend was safe, Mustang finally looked at Chase and answered his question. Damn! Had he ever been this young? The kid probably didn’t even have to shave once a week.
    “You’re looking down at the ground. If you look there, you’re gonna end up there. Now, ‘scuse me. I gotta talk to Slade.”
    Leaving the kid standing there with an amazed expression on his face, like he’d just been handed all the secrets of the universe, Mustang jumped down to go meet Slade behind the chutes.
    “Hey, man. Good ride. That bull was one hell of a spinner, huh?”
    Slade laughed and pulled off the tape from around his wrist where it held the glove on his riding hand firmly in place. “Hell yeah. They weren’t kidding when they said he came out of the spinner pen. Felt like I was on a ride at the county fair.”
    “So we have to formulate a plan,” Mustang began.
    “For what?”
    “To reel in that woman I told you about.”
    “Just do whatever it is you usually do.”
    Mustang shook his head. “The usual bullshit isn’t going to work on her.”
    Slade sighed. “Where did you say she’s sitting?”
    Ha! Slade had given in and was actually showing some interest. Smiling, Mustang narrowed his eyes and easily found her again in the stands. She was writing feverishly, while trying to watch the rider in the arena at the same time. He tilted his head toward the section directly behind them. “Far end of the fourth row.”
    “What the hell is she doing?” Slade frowned as he watched her.
    “Hell if I know, but I think she’s taking notes. See what I mean? This woman is special. She isn’t going to just fall into our bed.”
    Her hair wasn’t huge, she wasn’t made up like a showgirl, and her clothes showed curves but not an inch of skin. She was different, which was what drew Mustang’s attention to her in the first place.
    Since Slade had been in his strange funk lately, Mustang figured he’d try something unusual. Hell, even the two eighteen-year-olds going at each other in front of them barely got a rise out of his friend. Mustang was running out of ideas, but this woman…she was pretty much the opposite of their usual conquest and that might be exactly what they needed. It was worth a shot to cheer Slade up. Besides, never opposed to trying new things, he could use a bit of a change himself once in a while.
    “Mustang, she’s probably a damned reporter. That’s all I need, to be featured in some exposé. I can see the headline now. Slade Bower, third ranking bull rider in the world, propositions reporter for a threesome with former Rookie of the Year, Mustang Jackson . That will go over real well with the fans in the Bible Belt.” Slade scowled at Mustang.