Chapter 154 When Wanting Is No Longer Allowed
POV Maya:
Ever since a farmer friend of the brothers asked Dominic to help break his aggressive bull, I’ve been begging them to take me along. I want to see the cave-dwelling brute get thrown far away—something to cheer me up and make me forget the conflicts raging inside me.
“I really want to see Dominic get screwed, so let’s go,” I say, making the brothers laugh while Dominic scowls.
“Are you sure you want to go, you troublemaker? Bulls get angry when they see red, and your fire-red hair is going to draw a lot of Baron’s attention,” Dominic says, and I bring my hands to my hair, scared at the thought of the bull seeing me and charging.
“Luca, give me your hat,” I beg desperately, and the bastard bursts out laughing. “My pink hat hasn’t arrived yet,” I say, pouting. It doesn’t take long for him to hand it over. “Now that’s better.”
I stuff all my hair into the hat, not a single red strand showing. I smack Dominic on the ass, ready to watch him get launched like a little ball.
...
I’m no longer enjoying watching Dominic get thrown around. In fact, every time he falls off the angry bull, I get worried. I’ve shouted so many times I won’t be surprised if I lose my voice soon. Mikhail and Adrian are in charge of opening the gate so Baron can come out. Luca stays nearby to assist Dominic and help distract the bull, which charges at him full force whenever he falls. I don’t like this—especially after Sebastian confided that Baron is a rodeo bull.
“This isn’t going to tame him, Sebastian, for God’s sake,” I say desperately, watching Dominic hit the ground again. “Dominic, get out of there already! That Baron is going to end up shoving those horns up your ass!” I shout as the massive brown bull charges the stubborn brute.
“Calm down, Maya. My brother knows what he’s doing,” Sebastian says. I turn to him, wanting to smack him and his optimism.
“And what if your brother falls, hits his head, and dies?” I say, panicked. “Don’t answer—just thinking about it is giving me a fit. Dominic!” I yell at the damn brute, but all he does is wave his hand, saying everything’s fine. I need to put an end to this shit.
This isn’t bull-breaking—not here, not anywhere. Is Dominic thinking he’s a rodeo cowboy, for fuck’s sake? I notice a few men watching Dominic put on his show, and I decide to put on mine. Let’s see if they won’t want to leave after I pull one of my stunts.
I take off my shirt, leaving only my red lace top. I let my hair loose from the hat and put the hat back on, going full hot cowgirl. I tug the sides of my thong up above my jeans. I glance to the side, and Sebastian hasn’t even noticed what I’m doing—he’s too focused on his brother falling.
“Dominic, if we don’t leave right now, I’m going to make some friends while we wait for this shit to end,” I say, and the son of a bitch makes an OK sign with his leather-gloved hand. “Stubborn bastard.”
I move away from Sebastian, who’s still watching his brother, and head toward the farmhands, who break into smiles as soon as they see me. Let’s see how long it takes for those idiots to notice I’m no longer quietly leaning on the fence.
(...)
POV Adrian:
I open the gate for Dominic, who doesn’t last more than six seconds before hitting the ground again. Ever since he accepted Darren’s offer—an old acquaintance of my father’s—to keep working his rodeo bull, my brother has been racking up bruises. But he does it for the money Darren is paying. Out of all the cowboys in town, Dominic is the only one brave enough to ride Baron, the undefeated bull of Texas.
No one manages to stay on that bull for more than three seconds when he’s in the arena. Dominic is the only one I believe could beat him, but my brother has never been interested in being a rodeo cowboy. And our mother is grateful for that.
The deal was to come three times a week, which I think is too much. My brothers and I are always ready to help Dominic, to make sure he doesn’t get seriously hurt. I can’t wait for this shit to be over. Dominic only needs to do this for one more month. Soon the rodeo will start, Baron will be more than ready, and the money Dominic is getting from old Darren will help us for a while.
“Just three more times and we can go home,” he says, climbing back up on the fence, waiting for Mikhail to lure Baron into the pen Dominic needs him in to mount.
“Be careful not to—” Luca falls silent and looks around. “You bitch!” he yells, and I follow his gaze, seeing on the other side, in a spot farther away from us, Maya laughing and talking with three men. I instantly get pissed when I see how she’s dressed.
“I’m going to kill her,” I say, taking a step toward the fence.
“No,” Dominic stops me. “We have no right to interfere.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Luca asks. “We need to get that bitch out of there.”
“Luca, she’s not our woman. She’s nothing of ours,” Dominic declares, and I snort at the irony of this shit.
“She’s not our woman, but I doubt you’re not dying to go over there and throw her over your shoulder,” Dominic curses and nods.
“Yes, I want to do exactly that, but we told her we don’t want anything, so we’re not going to be possessive sons of bitches over a woman who isn’t ours. After our conversation, how long do you think it’ll take before she’s with another guy?”
I stay quiet, just like Luca, and Mikhail, who has just come closer.
“The sooner we see her with another man, the easier it’ll be to get used to it. Now let’s finish what I came here to do.”
We say nothing and keep helping Dominic. A few times I glance over to where she is, and even though I hate not being able to do anything, Dominic is right. If we don’t want anything with her, there’s no reason to act like possessive ogres.