Page 14 of Hung Up (Shadow Ridge #1)

Stetson wastes no time as he strips out of his shirt and steals a football from Bryce, running off toward the water.

Lee and Bryce quickly follow, one of their shirts landing on my tote.

Jesse, however, hesitates as Kai lays his towel out on the other side of me.

We stare at one another, the unnamed tension growing thick between us.

And damn this bull-riding cowboy for what he does next.

Without breaking eye contact, he slowly and deliberately grabs the bottom of his black short-sleeved tee and drags it up his stomach, bringing my attention to his very toned six pack and the defined V of his hip bones disappearing beneath his blue swim trunks.

Then he’s pulling it over his chest, his arms up so I can stare at his chiseled chest, which is ever so lightly dotted with hair.

And as his shirt lifts over his head, his biceps strain, bringing attention to their sheer size and strength from the many years of bull-riding.

Finally looking at his face, I have to stop myself from flushing as I see the satisfied smile gracing those perfectly shaped lips. Jesse tosses his shirt to me, flashes me a wink, and then runs off after the others.

It’s the sun. That’s why I’m hot.

“You’re drooling,” Kai teases. I avoid eye contact as I lay flat on my beach towel, staring up at the sky.

“Was not,” I mumble, and that only makes him laugh.

I glance over to my other side to see Dean laying flat on his back with his book covering his face, so I turn my attention back to Kai. “So tell me. How’d it go with Georgia?”

“It was great,” he replies, the joy evident in his voice. “She’s a really nice girl. Max won’t stop blowing up my phone now, though.”

“That’s what you get when you start dating someone’s best friend.” I flip over onto my side, propping up my elbow and resting my head in my hand. “You are dating now, right?”

Kai shrugs. “We haven’t made it official or exclusive or anything. I’ve only been home just the once for us to do something.”

“Something, huh?” I wiggle my eyebrows, and he shoves my shoulder gently.

“I’m not one to kiss and tell.”

The sound of the boys reaches our ears as Stetson and Lee roll through the sand, fighting for the football while Bryce and Jesse look on. Except a certain brown haired cowboy keeps glancing our way. I shake my head and turn my attention back to Kai, only to see him giving me an unreadable smile.

“Get on with it,” I tell him, flipping over so I’m resting on both elbows.

“He doesn’t shut up about you, you know.” I turn to him with furrowed brows, which only makes him roll his eyes. “Don’t act like you don’t know who I’m talking about.”

I focus my gaze on the boys to see they’re back to playing. “I annoy him about as much as he annoys me, I’m sure.”

“You’re not wrong.” Kai’s laughter causes Dean to stir, but he doesn’t remove the book from his eyes. “That only makes him like you more. I think he’d treat you well if you gave him a chance.”

“Yeah, not going to happen.” I feel Kai’s gaze burning a hole in the side of my face. “I don’t need a boyfriend, Kai. I don’t want the complications and the feelings and everything that comes in between. I’ve sworn off all things relationships.”

Kai shifts so his entire body is facing me. “So Rylie is right, then. We need to get you laid.”

I sputter in surprise, shooting up as I whip to face him. “You two talk about me? You talk about my sex life?”

“Lack thereof, you mean.” He chuckles at the horrified look I know is on my face. “Come on, Freckles. She’s your best friend and we’ve become close. Of course she’s going to want to gossip about you with me.”

“Unbelievable,” I groan, bending my knees to rest my elbows on them. “You two are incorrigible.”

“Maybe. But we’re also right.” I scoff out a laugh. “So, tell me. What’s your type?”

I tilt my head back and glance up at the sky. Lord help me. “My type is none of your business.”

“Come on, Faith,” Kai whines, leaning a little closer into me. “I won’t tell anyone, I promise. Except for Rylie. Let us pick someone for you, at least. I swear we have good taste.”

“I am not having this conversation with you,” I tell him with a scoff of disbelief. “When I am ready to get laid, I can pick someone myself.”

A shadow suddenly covers us both, and our gazes whip toward the figure. My eyes widen in horror while I know Kai is sporting nothing if not a cocky, pleased smile. Jesse doesn’t spare Kai a second look, his attention entirely focused on me.

“If you pick someone, pick me, Sweetheart,” he says, and I swear my heart stops. “I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you.”

Recovering quickly from my surprise at his appearance and a brief moment of oh my god, I can’t believe he said that to me , I lean back on my elbows, look up at him, and say, “In your dreams, Pretty Boy.”

“Oh, you can count on that.” He gives me a teasing smile, and I raise a brow. “Come on, Sweetheart. You know I’d take good care of you.”

And that right there is part of my problem.

“Not sure you can handle me,” I tell him with a sly smile of my own. “I’m a lot harder to handle than one of those bulls.”

“Promise?” Kai laughs but tries to disguise it as a cough when I stare at him. “Are we making waves, Sweetheart?”

I gesture to the three bull riders behind him, who are staring at us. “Get back to your game. Your friends are waiting.”

Jesse starts walking backward, his eyes never leaving mine. He places a hand over his heart before saying, “You know where to find me, Sweetheart. I’ll be waiting.”

“You’ll be waiting a long time, Pretty Boy.”

“If you say so.”

He jogs away before I can get in the last word, and I fall on my back with a groan, covering my face with my hands.

I can’t believe that just happened. Now, not only do I have to worry about the fact that Kai and Rylie are suddenly friends, or that Jesse just offered to sleep with me, I need to worry that I was considering his offer for a brief moment.

But before I have the opportunity to tell Kai something along the lines of, ‘this is all your fault’ or ‘please snap me out of it’ or even ‘I beg of you to keep me on a short leash’, Dean just goes ahead and makes it worse.

“Ten bucks says they sleep together before Louisville.”

Kai laughs. “I’ve got twenty on them not making it out of Jacksonville.”

I abruptly stand, tossing my book into my tote and grabbing my towel, staring down at the pair who seem to think that my misery and sex life are something to be betting on.

Kai looks sheepish as he tries to get his laughter under control while Dean is now blocking the sun with his hand as he gives me a small smile.

“I hate you both,” I tell them. But as I walk away, both of their laughter now reaches my ears, letting me know I did not, in fact, say that with gusto.

As I reach the edge of the beach where the sand transitions to a strip of grass before the parking lot, I turn back around to see Jesse standing where my towel had been, staring at me. Spinning around, I march toward my car with only one mantra in mind: stay strong.

But as it’d turn out, Kai is right. I don’t think we’re making it out of Jacksonville.