Read The Rider's Dangerous Embrace (An Interracial Bad Boy Romance Story) for Free Online Page B

Occasionally she came in to the office just to be told to go home, there was nothing to do that particular day.
    All this responsibility and it seemed like she didn’t even know what she should be doing.
    She pressed the little button on the intercom. “Mary, would you mind getting me a coffee? I have a feeling it is going to be a rather long day.”

    ***

    Ray's wasn’t exactly her choice of a hangout. It was set out from town a little ways, just on the corner of a main road and a dirt road, making for the perfect, rural backdrop. Apparently honky-tonks used to litter the rural Indian back in the seventies, but as the times changed, so did the landscape. Now, there were redneck bars, sports bars, and any memory of the old honky-tonks were few and far between.
    Except for Ray's. It stood there, proud and tall, still going strong.
    Jayda approached the bar that was known for the rusted, old mechanical bull on the roof, complete with a metal cowboy hat attached. She knew before she entered, that it was going to be lacking any class, but then again, why did rodeo cowboys and buckle bunnies need class? The aim was to have a good time and get drunk doing it.
    Ray's certainly advertised that well.
    She climbed the wooden stairs to the old fashioned porch, and then opened the big swinging door into a whole different world from the quiet, serene country night just on the other side of the door.
    It wasn’t like the rodeo party. This was more. A permanent fixture. The decor, the lights, were tailored to the wild cowboy type. Bull horns, deer antlers, and horse shoes decorated the walls, along with the old kind of hardwood that you just didn’t see in establishments anymore. It smelled of beer and wood and dust. Just like she imagined it would when she first saw it.
    This time she wasn’t paralyzed by the party people or the dancers. She knew exactly what she was doing. Jayda walked up to the bartender.
    “Can I help you?’ The way the bartender looked at her, it was like he was saying “You don’t belong here.”
    But she did, and she got tired of seeing that look on people’s faces. Rather than questioning it, she just ignored it.
    “You got top shelf whiskey?” She desperately needed a drink, and she wasn’t going to go for something cheap.
    “Yeah.”
    “Double shot. You know Luke Daniels?”
    “Who doesn’t?” He snorted, wiping out a shot glass with his cloth before slamming it down and filling it up with her liquor of choice.
    “He here?”
    “Over in the corner, sulking. As usual. Alone.” Bartender rolled his eyes, and slapped the bar.
    “Put it on his tab, I’m here, meeting him.” She didn’t expect this to fly, but he just nodded and walked away, leaving her to her thoughts. She downed it and then made her way straight towards him, confidence flooding her for the first time.
    “Of course.”
    It couldn’t be the Crown, it hadn’t gone into her system yet. This was all her. She was going to rope that bull in, she knew it. He was interested, he wanted to talk to her, and he was damn sure ready to sign.
    Thomas had said as much, and now she was going to do something right. Something good. For her father’s company.
    Her company.
    “What took you so long?” he asked, smirking.
    “Had work. You know, that thing I do,” she shot back, her tone just a bit unprofessional. He had a way of unnerving her, but not this time. Even if she had to get a little rude.
    She had to let him know who was in charge.
    “Oh, I am sure you work, sitting there in your air conditioned office, your ass on a leather chair, not bothering to get covered in the dust you make your money on, Princess.” His deep, gravelly, voice drove her crazy, he had a way of flirting with her. Even when he was insulting her. It was enough to make her want to scream at him and pull him in for a kiss.
    A kiss that shouldn’t happen. Couldn’t happen.
    He unbalanced her again, but that only made him smile, the quick smirk coming to his