She raced inside, fearing the worst, since Hayden and Kane were supposed to be on an overnight camping trip—the only reason she’d agreed to a girls’ night out in the first place. Fortunately, Hayden had only forgotten his inhaler. Once he’d gotten home and used it, he hadn’t wanted to leave again so Kane had waited around to talk to her. Which was sweet and thoughtful and made her feel like complete shit.She’d double-checked on her son amidst Kane’s reassurances the boy was fine. In that moment Ginger was grateful that Kane was attuned to Hayden’s unpredictable physical ailments and she appreciated Kane didn’t think less of Hayden for them.Ginger had slumped against the wall across from Hayden’s room, feeling guilty. Feeling relieved.Feeling overwhelmed.Kane moved close enough to her she felt the heat radiating from his body. “Ginger? You okay?”“No. I feel like a horrible mother. Not being here when Hayden needed me.”“He didn’t want to worry you because he really was fine. If I
“You’ve no interest in Ginger at all?”Lie. Lie through your damn teeth, fool.But Kane couldn’t snow his brother. “There’s interest. And sparks. But I don’t wanna do anything to jeopardize my relationship with Hayden.” He swigged his beer. “Ginger is a temptation that I’ve resisted.”So far.“And yet, you willingly put yourself in close quarters with her?”“Yeah, I ain’t exactly the brightest crayon in the box, am I?”Mouth tight, jaw set, Kade stared at him.“Jesus. What?”“Is that part of it? You think she’s smarter than you?”“Think?” Kane repeated. “I know it. I barely graduated from high school, remember?”“So? I don’t think she gives a shit what grade you got in world history.”Kane raised his beer bottle. “That would’ve been a D-plus.”Kade laughed.“Hey, I was extremely proud of the plus. Anyway, in addition to her kid, her daddy lives with her, so ain’t nothin’ happening. Like I said. I’m just helpin’ out.”“How is Dash? You don’t have to like…help him to the bathroom and st
If Ginger was surprised by how quickly she acquiesced, she was even more surprised by Kane’s thoroughness. His gentleness.He rinsed her hair. Her face. Her eyes.“I can take it from here,” she said curtly.“Like hell. I’m gonna help you to your feet whether you like it or not.” He wrapped his arms around her midsection.She sucked in a breath when the muscular backs of his forearms brushed the underswell of her breasts. Her nipples constricted. Her whole body quivered.“Steady. I know you’re cold. Let’s get you upright first. Then we’ll see about getting you dried off and warmed up.” He lifted her with almost no effort. Instead of letting her go, he held her tightly against his body.She whimpered.“Am I hurtin’ you?”“No. I’m just…mortally embarrassed.”“Listen to me. I am here to help you. With everything. Including this kinda stuff. So all you need to do, Ginger, is let me help you. Can you do that?”“No.”He laughed. “Tough shit.”She nearly smiled through her chattering teeth.“
A dizzy, disconnected feeling buzzed through her system and she found it difficult to breathe. “And yet you were a perfect gentleman.”His deep-throated laugh vibrated through her body.“Oh, maybe I looked like that on the outside. But on the inside? I would’ve liked nothin’ better than to lock that damn bathroom door behind me and put my hands and my mouth all over your perfectly lush curves. All over. Every inch. Over and over. Until I knew that body as well as my own.”Ginger looked sideways at the bulge in the crotch of his jeans and then met his dark gaze. “You’re attracted to me after the very unsexy way I mooned you?”“Are you serious? Lord woman. With you bent over like that?” He rubbed his fingers across his goatee, staring at her hungrily from beneath lowered lashes. “’Bout the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever seen.Took every ounce of restraint for me not to drop my jeans and just drive into you. No sweet-talkin’, no foreplay. Just down-and-dirty, hard-and-fast sex.”A wave of
Ginger grinned.For the next hour, they convened around the kitchen table. Kane was extremely patient in teaching Hayden the basics. He didn’t criticize his choices nor did he offer him false praise. He explained.The most entertaining aspect was watching her father and Kane measuring each other, gauging their opponent’s skill level, trying to figure out each other’s tells.Ginger called a halt to the card competition so they could eat supper.Again Kane wouldn’t let her do anything. He made her sit as he heated up the soup. Between the four of them they finished the pot. Hayden flopped on the living room rug with his Lego set. He could amuse himself for hours. Ginger counted herself lucky her son was such an easygoing kid.They’d conned Ginger into playing banker for the McKay versus Paulson card tournament. Both Kane and her father bought in with twenty-five bucks worth of poker chips.Despite the throbbing in her shoulder, Ginger gritted her teeth, determined not to take a pain pil
Jesus. He wanted her. Yet, he knew having her just once would be like a fucking gateway drug. He’d become addicted. He’d want more from her than sex. He’d want everything.As he debated on the best way to wake her, her eyelids lifted and she peered at him drowsily. Her shy smile proved to be his undoing. He took the kiss he craved, bringing his mouth down on hers hard.Right away her lips parted, her tongue eagerly sought his and the kiss caught fire.Kane groaned, lost in the rush, lost in the give and take of the kiss. Pulse-pounding passion tinged with sweetness. No roving hands. No body parts grinding together. Only their mouths touched. Wet lips.Swirling tongues. Nips of teeth. Gliding, sliding, falling headfirst into the kiss, well past the point of no return, he never wanted to stop kissing her. Somehow, Kane eased back from the pleasure of her mouth.Ginger stared at him, wide-eyed, tracing her kiss-swollen lips with the tips of her fingers.“What?” he said thickly.“I’d wond
He lifted up, so their eyes met over the plane of her body. “Watch me.” He lowered his head, rubbing his cheeks, his jawline and his lips into those tight red curls, coating his facial hair with her juices. “I love the way you smell almost as much as I love the way you taste.” He slid his thumbs up through the wetness and pulled back the supple skin hiding that pleasure pearl.Her belly rippled with anticipation.Kane nimbly flicked his tongue across the nub, not too hard, or too fast, just a consistent pressure.“Yes. Yes. Don’t stop.”When her pelvis arched, his lips enclosed her clit and he sucked, matching the rhythm of her pounding pulse.Sexy whimpers surrounded him as she came, hard, fast, wet, and then she was done.After gifting her pussy with one last soft-lipped kiss, Kane pushed up, placing his hands by her head.Ginger’s generous mouth curved into a lopsided smile. She reached her arm above her head, stretching like a contented feline. “Wow.”“How’s the throbbing shoulder
“Not funny.”“Look. The division of duties ain’t the same on the ranch as it is in a traditional nine-to-five workplace. We do what needs done. Sometimes there’s a helluva lot that needs done. During calving season. During haying and branding. Like when Skylar was pregnant with the twins? I sure as hell wasn’t gonna make Kade stick around and check the herd in the middle of the night. Especially when he lives a lot farther away than Dad or me. Besides, he wouldn’t have been worth a shit anyway, worryin’ about his wife.”“Calving is a busy time?”“Exhausting. I don’t get more’n a couple hours sleep for at least three weeks. In the last few years, Kade handled the daytime chores. Dad switches back and forth between helpin’ both of us. If Dad gets too tired, then Ma pitches in. I’m usually out at the bunkhouse with my cousins during that time, since we’ve staggered the calving season. So, see? It all works out.” He got up and grabbed the coffee pot, refilled both their cups. “For instanc
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
“Probably their whole adult lives. Why?”She released a wistful sigh. “They’re beautiful. So in tune with each other. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to have that solid connection every day. I wish I had my video camera so I could capture their happiness.”Maybe Ava did understand more than he credited her.“By the way, when are you planning to teach me to two-step?”“I’m not.”“Do you dance?”“Yep.”She frowned. “But you don’t want to dance with me?”“Drop it, Ava.”Of course she didn’t. “I’ll only put up with so much high-handed behavior, and you’re pissing me off. Answer the question. Why don’t you want to dance with me?”“Because I’m short,” he snapped.About twenty seconds passed before she was in his face. “That’s it? That’s your reason for not dancing with me? Here’s where I tell you that is not a valid reason. That’s a sucky reason.”“It’s a valid reason to me. Christ, Ava, you’re a good three inches taller than me when you’re not wearing them three-inch fuck-me heels. I wil
“Such sweet bullshit,” she mimicked. “How soon before you’re ready to leave?”“As soon as I get my boots on.”“I’ll change shoes too.”Chase shoved his wallet in his back pocket, and maybe for the first time he’d gone out with a woman, he hadn’t double-checked his condom supply.The place was jam-packed and they scored the last table. Pretty basic menu. Several different cuts and sizes of steak. Fried chicken. Pasta. Seafood. The house specialty was the chicken-fried buffalo steak, served with mashed potatoes, gravy and a cold broccoli salad.“It all looks good. I’m too starved to pick one thing.”“Trust me to order for you?” Chase asked.Ava folded her menu and set her elbows on the table. “Please.”The waitress dropped off two glasses of peach iced tea and Chase dumped in three packets of sugar.“This is a cool place.”“Pretty standard for a small Midwestern town. I try to find joints like this rather than eating at another chain restaurant when I’m on the road.”She mumbled somethi