Daddy's Virgin (A CEO Boss Romance Novel)

I didn’t have much of a choice in this, anyway. I told Vanessa I would get the money for her, and her face had been filled with hope when I told her about the plan. In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have told her about it until I was able to hand over the money because if I failed, it was going to be such a letdown for both of us.

But I’d just been so excited about it. Anyway, what was the harm? I wondered. I am the king of the mechanical bull at this point, and riding a real bull couldn’t be all that different, could it?

“Good morning,” Larry said, reaching over to shake my hand in his firm, assessing grip. His eyes scanned my face, and after a moment, he scoffed and released my hand. “You’re cocky.” He walked around me, sizing me up. “I figured as much when George introduced me to you, but I didn’t realize how cocky you were. Overconfidence will get you killed.”

I rolled my eyes. “You haven’t even seen me ride yet,” I said. “Maybe I have a reason to be cocky.”

Larry raised an eyebrow at me. “George tells me that you’ve never even ridden a real live bull before,” he said.

“I haven’t,” I said defensively. “But it’s the same theory as riding a mechanical bull, isn’t it? You just have to find the rhythm of it, move with it. Don’t fight it. Only real difference is that when you get thrown, you have to get out of the way as quickly as you can. But I can learn that. I’m good at falling at this point. I haven’t gotten seriously bruised up in a while now.”

Larry laughed incredulously. “You really think that’s all it takes?” he asked. “Getting out of the way?” He shook his head and flapped his hands at me. “Get the hell out of here. I don’t have time for this. You’re going to break your damn neck, and that’s not the type of publicity George is looking for.”

“What, just like that?” I asked. I sneered at him. “You probably just think it’s too big of a challenge. Or maybe you’re afraid that I’m going to show you up. You’re so bitter about getting injured and not being able to compete anymore that you don’t want anyone else to be able to have that glory, is that it?”

Larry growled and grabbed me by my shirt, slamming me back against the truck, his face close to mine. “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” he snarled.

“What the heck is going on here?” George asked, coming out to the porch. He stalked down toward us. “Larry, let go of him.”

Larry dropped me to the ground roughly and backed up with his eyes still narrowed at me. I wanted to throw a punch or two. I practically frothed with anger, but I calmed myself down. I needed that prize money. Vanessa needed that prize money. And the only way to get it was if I got Larry to let me show him and George what I could do.

George turned toward me, a frown on his face. “I don’t know what the hell you said, kid, but don’t say it again if

you want to have any part in this competition,” he told me.

“I’m not a kid,” I spat.

He only rolled his eyes in response to that and turned toward Larry. But Larry waved off whatever it was that George started to say and instead pointed a finger at me. “Riding a real bull is nothing like riding a mechanical bull,” he told me. “And if you think it’s the same thing, you’re going to get yourself killed.” He jerked his head. “Come with me.”

I glanced toward George and then followed Larry across the ranch, still marveling at the shoddy conditions of the place. We entered a dark barn, where I could hear kicking from a few of the stalls. Larry led me along and pointed toward one of the stalls. “That’s Ginger,” he said.

I walked closer and peered over the door to the stall, frowning down at the reddish-colored bull there. He wasn’t doing much, just lounging on the hay, but as I looked down at him, he tossed his head and stood.

The thing was massive, an incredible, muscular beast. It snorted, and I could practically feel the heat of its breath from where I was standing.

“Take a good, long look,” Larry told me. “Now, binding a bull’s testicles isn’t common practice anymore, but they’re still going to buck. And imagine the way it’s going to react to the crowd and the noise. He’s not gonna be happy, and you’ll be the closest thing to him. And you’ll be lying there on the ground, prostrate, after being thrown. Ginger charges at you.”

Larry caught my shoulder and pushed me roughly around to look at him. “You run, but you don’t run fast enough. You’re hurt, maybe, from the fall. Your shoulder took a hit, and you can’t lift your arm to climb up the walls at the edge of the ring. What do you think happens to you?”

I swallowed hard, imagining it.

“That’s right,” he said. Something flickered in his eyes, and he looked away, staring down at the bull. “I was the best rodeo rider in the world for a while,” he said. “And, I still got injured in a competition. It’s not about learning how to fall properly. It’s about respecting the bull and respecting the sport and knowing what your limits are.”

“Why didn’t you ever get back into competing?” I asked him curiously. “I mean, you healed up well enough to ride again, didn’t you?”

Larry stared at me for a moment. Then, his mouth twisted into a bitter smile. “It took two years of daily physical therapy to learn how to move the left side of my body again,” he said. “I still have no feeling in my left hand.”

I blinked, gaining a new respect for the man.

“Come on,” he said, turning and stalking deeper into the barn. There was a mechanical bull there in the back of it, and Larry gestured toward it. “George seems to think you’re something special,” he said. “And for that matter, so do you. So why don’t you show me what you can do?”

“I thought riding a real bull was different from riding a mechanical bull,” I said. “If I’m going to be riding a real bull during the competition, don’t I need to practice on one of those?”

“You do,” he agreed. “But I’m not putting you on a real bull without seeing what you can do on a mechanical bull first. The last thing I need is for you to get gored on your first ride. I don’t want to get my truck all bloody taking you to the hospital.”

That was fair enough, I figured.

I hopped on the mechanical bull, and Larry tsked. “Your form is all wrong,” he said. “I can tell you’ve never even ridden bareback on a horse. Jesus, we’ve got a lot to work on.”