Page 11 of Filthy and Fierce (Stone Cold Cowboys #1)

DIXON

I won. It’s the first round, but I did it.

And as they call my name, the first person I look for is Faith Allen.

She’s waving her hands over her head, cheering and going wild. I want to run to her, pick her up, swing her around, and make sure every cowboy here knows she’s mine.

But I can’t do that.

Hell, I’ll never be able to do that.

As people gather around me, I lose sight of Faith. Kids are shoving posters into my hand for me to sign, women are shoving their breasts in my face, and some of them are even stuffing their phone numbers in my pocket.

But I’m not interested. What I want more than anything is to go back to my room and curl up in bed with Faith by my side. Maybe order takeout and talk and laugh. It’s crazy the thoughts I’m having, but they feel like a dream.

“Good job, son. ”

I wince as Charlie Allen slaps me on the back. I can’t even look him in the eye. “Thank you, sir.”

Charlie is smiling ear to ear. “Now I know you’re going to celebrate tonight, but take it easy. Finals are tomorrow, and you need to be well rested.”

Karla, a woman I used to hook up with, is coming toward me, and I cringe thinking about the last time we got together. She comes toward me, putting her hand at my waist. I back away from her touch, but it doesn’t slow her down. “Congratulations, Dixon. You wanna celebrate?”

I avoid Charlie’s gaze. “I think I’m going to rest tonight.”

Charlie’s smile drops for a second, but I turn to Karla. “Sorry, but I need to talk to my boss.”

Karla nods her head. “Call me later, cowboy.”

She walks away, and I find Faith across the room. She’s talking to some cowboys, but her eyes are on me. When she sees me looking at her, she jerks her eyes away. Too late, princess. I saw you looking. But that’s okay, cause I’m looking too.

“Are you okay?” Charlie asks. He’s looking at me worriedly.

“I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep good. Plus, I’m getting old.”

Charlie’s forehead creases. “Old? I never thought I’d hear Dixon Chase talk about getting old, turning down dates, and?—”

Before he can finish, Faith walks up. “Congratulations, Dixon.”

She hugs me, and it’s awkward as fuck because I’m yearning to hold her against me, kiss her, and not let her go. “Thanks, uh, Faith. ”

I almost called her princess. If her dad heard me call her a nickname, there’d be no hiding the way I feel about her.

Faith looks at her dad. “So what are you doing tonight?”

He rubs his belly. “Well, ya know, there’s a few guys that want to have dinner with the legend.”

Faith rolls her eyes. “Oh, you humble guy…”

Charlie just raises his shoulders in a shrug. “What? It was their words, not mine.”

Faith laughs. “I bet.”

I force myself to look away from Faith because there’s no hiding my feelings from her or her dad, but Faith and I need to talk before anything.

Charlie puts a hand on Faith’s shoulder. “I can skip the dinner, though, and you and I can go out.”

Faith waves him off. “No way. I can entertain myself, Dad.”

“Come with us,” Charlie encourages her.

But she’s shaking her head. “No, really, Dad, I didn’t sleep much last night, and I could honestly get some food from a tent or a truck and go straight to bed.”

Charlie’s eyes widen, and he looks suspiciously from Faith to me. Shit, he’s putting things together. Faith said almost the exact same thing I said to him about getting no sleep last night. “Okay, well, I’m off to celebrate. I’ll see you two in the morning.”

I avoid Faith’s gaze completely and slap her dad on the back. “Call me if you get into trouble tonight, ol’ man! Don’t make me bail you out again.”

Faith gasps, and I realize my mistake. She must not have heard this story. Well, I’ll hear about it later. Right now, I’m going to get as far away as I can from Faith because there’s no way I can be around her and just act like there’s nothing between us.

Tucker Yates stops me. He’s the number one bull rider in the state. He’s a single dad that is busy raising a son while also riding the circuit. “Congratulations on your ride today.”

I nod. “Just the first round. Good luck to you. I hear you drew Warrior. He’s a mean son of a bitch.”

Tucker nods. “Yeah, but I got him.”

I’m about to ask him about his son when another cowboy comes up to talk to him. I pat him on the back, wish him luck again, and then walk away.

I’m almost to the exit when Karla stops me.

She puts her hands on my shoulders, pressing her breasts against me.

I grab her hands and hold them away from me.

I obviously have it bad because I don’t want Karla touching me.

Hell, the only woman I want to touch me is Faith Allen—the one woman I shouldn’t want.

“Karla,” I say, blowing out a breath. “I’m not interested.”

She flinches but recovers quickly. She’s a woman who is not used to being told no, so I’m fully expecting a tantrum, a scene, or worse. She rubs against me. “You know how good we are together, Dixon.”

I laugh, trying to take the bite out of my refusal. “Sorry, Karla. I need to focus on my ride tomorrow.” I put her away from me. “I’m not interested.”

She gasps, and her mouth falls open. “Fine, but we both know you’ll be crawling back to me at the next circuit. We’re explosive together, and you know it. ”

She leans up and presses a kiss to my lips, and I jerk away.

It all happened so fast, and as Karla walks away, I’m wiping my mouth as I turn around to look where Charlie and Faith were standing.

She saw. Faith saw Karla’s little scene.

Even from here, I can tell she’s not happy.

Charlie is talking to some cowboy, and Faith is watching me with a pained expression.

Her face is pale and drawn. I want to talk to her and try to explain, but Charlie grabs her attention, and I’m left standing here, trying to figure out what to do.

I can’t fix anything with Charlie around. I need to talk to Faith, but I’m going to have to do it without her father here.

Reluctantly, I walk out of the arena because I know if I don’t, I’m going to make a scene, and Faith and her father could end up hating me for it.