Keely’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. Holy shit. That amount would eat a huge chunk of her budget for the first year. But if she didn’t get it done…the clinic couldn’t open. As it looked right now this dream of hers was nothing more than a pipedream. Her eyes burned hot with unshed tears.Bawling wouldn’t solve a damn thing. She needed to think this through. Like she should’ve done from the beginning. It embarrassed her she’d gone off half-cocked, believing she had the construction portion of the project under control.“We’ll help in whatever way we can, Keely, you know that,” Remy said quietly.“I do know that.” She looked at her watch. “I also know I’m late for my babysitting gig with Colby and Channing’s hellions. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”Jack didn’t chase Keely down because she needed time to process her mistake. Later tonight they could discuss solutions like rational adults. He pointed to Chet’s cooler. “Got anything stronger than water?”“Sure.” He pulled out a bottle
The last thing she wanted was to drive to Moorcroft and face her failure. She’d thought about the problem and hadn’t found a viable solution besides hiring a demolition company and trying to keep on schedule. Jack had allotted six weeks. They’d nearly burned through two already.Jack. He’d been so sweet again last night. Carting her off to bed. Tucking her in hadn’t made her feel like a child; it’d made her feel cherished. Yesterday when she learned she’d fucked up big time, Jack hadn’t belittled her for her ignorance. He hadn’t swooped in and offered to fix it for her.Would you have taken his help if he’d offered?No. No matter how good his intentions were, Keely couldn’t take money from him. It was her mistake; she’d find a way to fix it.When she pulled up to the building an hour later, trucks were parked everywhere. Ten industrial-sized Dumpsters lined the parking lot. What the hell was going on?She cautiously entered the building amidst the banging and hammering. Male voices ec
“What would you rather read?”“Erotic romances.” Keely winked. “As far as other activities? I’m on the volunteer list for the community center and fill in when someone’s sick or on vacation. Oh, and I like to dance.”Jack wondered if her excessive social calendar was because she didn’t like being alone. “You don’t ever stay home and relax? Kick off your boots and stay a while?”“Sure. But my idea of relaxing and yours are way different.”Why did he bristle? “Meaning what?”“I relax when I’m asleep. Reclining in front of the TV as a way to relax? No thanks. I’d rather do things with real live people instead of pretending what happens on a sitcom or dramedy or reality show matters. Connections matter to me. And there’s nothing more relaxing than laughing with family and friends.” Keely buttoned the last button of the India’s Ink dart league shirt.For Christsake. This woman played in a dart league sponsored by a tattoo shop. She had tattoos. She drove a dirty pickup. She had fifty diffe
He muttered,“Fuck.”“What?”“Nothin’. I’m getting tired. Now that we’re done with business we oughta hit the road.”Jack squinted at the clock. “It’s ten. You don’t have the wife and kids here. I’m not all in for getting shitfaced, but why are you so eager to leave?”“No reason. Just tired.”Then Jack knew. Keely was here. The question was: who was she here with? “Where is she?”“On the dance floor.”He wished he had another goddamn shot to suck down. “Alone?”Carter shook his head.Jack snarled.Before he bolted, Carter grabbed his forearm. “It’s just her friend Michael. Don’t go after him.”“It’s not Michael I’m going after.”“Jack—”“Don’t wait around.” He tore his arm from Carter’s grip and exited the booth.Jack didn’t barrel up and pull Keely off the dance floor. He watched from the shadows, planning to ambush her. If she fought, he’d drag her out of the damn bar by her hair.When had he started giving into his caveman mentality?The fast song ended. Some crap with too much sli
“Why do people move to Sundance?” he countered.“Not many do. They’ve got more money than God and can afford the outrageous land prices, and don’t have to rely on earning a living locally.”“That’s a harsh assessment for your beloved hometown.”She shrugged. “It’s true. We are reverse snobs. Any of those ‘new-age’ types who try and gain a foothold in the community have a hard time. Most don’t stick around long. We don’t like change. We like our guns, we like our beef, we like the money from coal and oil. We like to challenge anyone who tries to take it away from us. If you don’t embrace all that is our western way of life…well, we ain’t got time for ya.”Jack tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “So when Henry asks where we’re going to live after we’re married, you’ll say…?”“We’ll split our time between Colorado and Wyoming for now, but after we start having babies, we’ll settle in Sundance because it’s a good place to raise kids and I have lots of family around the area.”He sh
“Hell,” Ramona said with no sarcasm. “I fired my travel coordinator the second I had cell service in the States. Trust me, you do not want to hear me whine about the Orient.” She paused. “You okay? For being wildly in luurrve and all, you don’t sound like your chipper self.”“I’m nervous about meeting Jack’s clients. I do not want to say or do anything to fuck it up.”“You’ll be fine. You’re charming, funny and you can drink any man under the table. At least you used to, but damn, you’ve been dull as dirt the last few years, cuz.”“Ramona!”“Kidding. Sheesh. Should I build up your confidence with serious stuff since your sense of humor has vanished?”“Yes, please.”“Let’s start with the obvious. What are you wearing tonight?”Keely rolled her eyes. Ramona lived the code “clothes make the woman” and truly believed all that fashionista crap. “I’m wearing my emerald moleskin skirt, brown boots with the orange and green butterflies, a slim-fitting, button-up shirt in dark tan and a brown
Laughter.“The bottom line is, I didn’t like Jack personally, but professionally, I knew no one was better qualified to help me with historic renovation project than Jack Donohue. I swallowed my pride and called him. He swallowed his disbelief and met with me. And miracle of miracles, we didn’t exchange one insult at that first meeting. Once we hashed through the business end…well, two years of no contact gave us an entirely new appreciation for one another. We saw each other in a whole different light. Because our past history was so…volatile, we didn’t tell anyone we’d fallen in love. No one in our families would’ve believed it.”More laughter.“Keeping our feelings private allowed us time to understand and accept how deep those feelings really are.”Hell, that sweet story choked Jack up and he knew it was a damn lie. He didn’t care if the committee disapproved of a PDA; he had to kiss her. He pressed his lips to hers, letting her warmth and sweetness flow through him.“Oh my, that
Her entire posture stayed tight. Closed off. Skeptical. “Why?”“A week from today there’s a job I have to be on site for until it’s finished. I’ll be gone for three full weeks. But this week and especially next weekend, I need you to keep up this pretense.” Inwardly, Jack winced at his word choice. What had developed between them hardly felt like make-believe.“What’s going on next weekend?”“Convention in Denver.”Keely scowled. “First I’ve heard of it. A lot has happened. You can’t expect me to remember all of it.”I’ll remember all of it. The way you taste first thing in the morning. The sweet scent of lilacs surrounding me last thing before I drift off at night. Your eyes glaring at me with anger. Your eyes devouring me with hunger. Your laugh. Your determination. The unquestioning love you have for your family. The way you make love with your heart and soul as well as your body. I’ll never forget any of that.“Jack?”“I swore I told you. This is our annual Professional Preservati
He stirred, moaning as his cock hardened. Lengthened.When Ava started sliding his shaft over her tongue, his hand landed on her head.Immediately it snapped back and Chase scrambled upright. “Ava? What the devil are you doin’?” He inhaled a sharp breath through his teeth when she tongued the tip. “Hell. I thought it was a dream.”She pulled off his shaft long enough to say, “Nope. I want to make this buff body to squirm.” She licked him like a lollipop.“Oh, I’ve no doubt you can make me squirm. You probably could get me to beg.” He brushed her hair back from where it’d fallen in her face. “But—”Again, Ava eased off and met his gaze in the near darkness. “But nothing. You don’t get to direct this.”If she thought he’d lovingly pet her, agree, and murmur encouragement, she was mistaken. Chase’s big hands were on her face, gripping her jaw. “Yes, I do.”His answer turned her panties damp. As did his explicit command, “On the floor. On your knees.”As Ava moved, so did Chase. He perche
She loved his reaction to the scrape of her teeth, the sucking kisses, the feather light placement of her lips in random spots on his neck. Goose bumps spread across his arms and up his nape. He shifted on the bed, not thrashing, but wiggling enough she knew he liked what she was doing to him. She reveled in this immense power of worshipping rather than being worshipped.Ava immersed herself in him. The scent of his skin. The tangy taste of his sweat. The way his muscles strained beneath her tongue. She kissed, licked and nibbled her way down the center of his throat, from his square jaw to his breastbone. And could she get a halleluiah that he had chest hair? Talk about manly, masculine goodness. She rubbed her face over the dark patch of hair, breathing him in, listening to the pounding of his heart, warmed by the heat from his skin, and knowing his body’s response to her was echoed in her body.Bracing herself on all fours above him, she watched his face as she tongued his nipple.
She pushed her hips back, meeting his every hard thrust with a soft grunt. The fringe on his chaps swung forward, the leather connecting with her skin.Even as his cock plunged into her fully, even as his balls drew up, aching for release, even as his legs shook and sweat coated his skin, he planned for the next time he fucked her. The next hundred times.Chase closed his eyes; his hands yanking her body back to meet his escalating thrusts. Faster, harder, deeper, the only words echoed in his head as primal need roared. Impossible to hold off his orgasm, no matter how much he wanted to prolong the sensation of sinking into her soft, wet, flesh.He threw back his head, groaning as his cock emptied in hot pulses. Groaning louder when he felt Ava’s pussy contracting around his dick as she came again.Heart thumping, mouth dry, lungs lacking air, Chase fell forward onto Ava’s back, bracing himself on his hands. Although this rendezvous was supposed to’ve been a dare, a fun, wild slap and
“Who are you?” Douchebag demanded.“The guy tellin’ you to get the hell outta my room.”The douchebag looked at Ava. “I thought you said this was your room.”“Hey, fuckface, eyes on me, not her.” When douchebag turned, Chase stabbed his finger at the clothes by the bed. “You’re done. Grab your shit and get gone.”“Nuh-uh.” Douchebag gestured to Ava. “I get gone when she tells me to, not you, little man.”Ava said not one word.Chase’s anger hit the boiling point. Instead of yelling, his voice dropped lethally low. “Get. The. Fuck. Out.”“Or what? You gonna throw me out?” Douchebag sneered. “You’ll have to eat your spinach and grow some first.”Faking calmness he didn’t feel, Chase scooped up the man’s belongings, opened the door and dumped the pile onto the walkway.“What is wrong with you?” Douchebag loomed over Chase.“You have fifteen seconds to get out of my room and out of my face or I will beat you bloody. You’re not the first asshole who’s tried to take me on, believing a short
That vague comment got his back up. Was she trying to get rid of him? Just to be ornery, he said, “I hadn’t planned on goin’ anywhere today. Thought I’d stick around the room and rest up. Hang out with you, my friend.”Panic darted through her eyes. “Oh. Obviously since you’re paying for half the room that’s your prerogative. But I was hoping…”“Hoping for what?”“To have a few hours of quiet time so I can get your rides separated from the other footage.”Quiet time his ass. She wanted nookie time. And he’d be goddamned if he’d just fucking walk away and make it easy on her to bang a total stranger in his hotel room. “I’m not exactly loud, Ava.”“I know, Chase, but I need quiet. Complete silence. No TV. No talking. No cell phone conversations. No fighting.”The sneaky-ass woman knew that lying on his bed, counting the flaws in the ceiling tile for hours would drive him bonkers. But the idea of any man, in here—the private space Chase shared with Ava—touching her, kissing her, fucking
Ava nodded. “I’m new to the world of rodeo. He agreed to show me the inside scoop. That’s all.”“Dollface, that surely ain’t all. Not even close. The man has it bad for you.”Not bad enough to act on it.“I seen how he’s been lookin’ at you.”“And how’s that?”“Like you’re a hot, sweet fried Twinkie and he’d like to lick you up one side and down the other before devouring you completely.”“Except the man seems to be on a sugar-free diet,” she said wryly.Taz chuckled. “Maybe. But I reckon he’s just trying to keep from gorging himself.”“Such an overactive imagination, Taz.”“I try. Better to be one of them colorful characters folks talk about than an average Joe.”The conversation drifted to Ryan. Upcoming rodeos they’d all be attending. Other events. Then Taz took off, leaving Ava alone. It was enough to give a girl a complex about men.Right. She already had enough complexes, although she doubted anyone would look at her and believe that.A guy paused behind the barstool on Ava’s ri
“I’ve gotten up early to work out. I met this rookie kid last week. After I rode, he cornered me, calling me out as Chase McKay.” He smiled sheepishly. “The little shit promised to keep my secret if I gave him bull ridin’ pointers.”“Which you did.”“Not that he listened to me. Kid is such a greenhorn. And stubborn? He won’t turn his foot out, refuses to wear a helmet, won’t consider a trying a different wrap. So I gave up talking to him about bull ridin’ and we watched the slack competition. What did you do—” his knuckles grazed her breasts as he reached for the lanyard around her neck “—besides craft fake press passes?”“I had my assistant whip them up. Realistic, don’t you think? I needed access behind the chutes so I can video you from a closer angle. It’s made a huge difference. You won’t believe the footage I got today.”His rough-skinned hand enclosed hers. “Ava. We need to talk.”The lanky, shaggy-haired young rider inserted himself between Chase and Ava. “Man, that ride was e
“Of course they will. Are you by a computer? Sorry. Stupid question. Go to Faces of Rodeo dot com.”“I’m there. What is it?”“A new magazine I created,” she said with pride.“Seriously, Ava, this is your brainchild?” Computer keys clicked in the background. “The Check back for more details on the main page is vague.”“Which is perfect for my purposes. Anyone who checks it—and me—will believe this is a brand-spanking-new magazine, still working on a web presence. Ooh, now go to Behind the Chutes dot com.”“Why do you need two fake magazines? Why not just one?”“So I have options.”“You’re scaring me. You did all this?”“Yep. Thank God for cheap, quick and easy websites.”“Behind the Chutes—all the news and current standings of the stars of the PRCA. Now that is a great magazine tagline.”“Thank you.” Filled with nervous energy, Ava hopped off the bed. “So what do you say? Can you get these made up this afternoon and Fed Ex them to me by tomorrow?”“I should say no, but I haven’t heard
Wanting what you can’t have will only make this trip miserable. And this trip isn’t only about getting down and dirty with Chase McKay.Also true. Disgusted with herself for wallowing, she focused on the task at hand for today—finding a motel within their budget.Chase wandered to check out the contractor’s rough stock.Ava wasn’t content texting him; she called. “Hey, I found us a room. I actually comparison shopped. This place isn’t as nice as the first one I checked out, but it does have free Wi-Fi.”It amused the hell out of him that she sounded so damn proud of herself. “It’s less than a hundred bucks?”“Of course. Be nice if you had a little faith in me, Sundance. Anyway. I’m starved. I’ll probably try to find something healthy before I head to the rodeo grounds. Did you want me to pick you something up?”“If it’s healthy? Hell no. I noticed a couple of tempting treats as I wandered past the vendor stands.”“We are talking about food treats, right?” she said sharply.“Be nice if