Her Bareback Cowboys (3 page)

Their arrival at a tollbooth saved her from replying, and she leaned over to dig into her handbag placed at Wade’s feet. He didn’t remove his hand from her thigh and her motion shoved his fingers onto her crotch. The gentle stroking through her jeans made her fumble with her purse. On the third attempt, she managed to extract the toll fee and straightened in her seat.

It took all her willpower not to squirm and open her legs to afford Wade better access. Instead, she removed his hand, placed it on his thigh and ignored the sense of deprivation in her pussy.

Minutes later, they were on their way again and the men stared out the windows. The road narrowed and traffic increased. Grateful for the excuse to return her attention to the road, Adrian didn’t initiate conversation. Half an hour later, the deep breathing of the cowboys whispered through the silence.

Her shoulders relaxed and she concentrated on getting the three of them to the farm outside of Volksrust in one piece. Potholes littered the road and swerving around large trucks transporting coal to power stations required all her skills to stay safe. She understood why the Groundhog Saddle Company had chosen to do the advertisement on a working farm. But did it have to be on the other side of the earth?

The GPS indicated the turnoff to Perdekop and she took it, losing most of the heavy traffic in the process. The town consisted of a general dealer, a farmer’s supply and a hotel. When the tar suddenly changed to gravel, her companions shook awake.

“Where did civilization go?” Maverick yawned audibly, stretched his arms above his head and grimaced.

“Do you guys want to stop for a bit? We still have about an hour’s drive left according to the GPS.”

Both men accepted her offer and she pulled to the side of the road on a concrete bridge, switched on the emergency lights and turned off the engine. An eerie silence descended upon them and Adrian opened her door. The cold fingers of the winter wind tugged at her hair and she clasped her arms to her body as she walked to the edge of the bridge.

Below her, a stream of clear water rushed in mini waterfalls over the smooth rocks, melting the residue of ice that had formed during the night. On the banks, weeping willows held watch, dipping their bare shoots into the stream and swaying in the dusty breeze. Brown-yellow grass grew knee-high and in the distance, a herd of cattle grazed against the slope, their brown and black bodies clinging like ticks to the hillside.

If the landscape on the farm were similar to this one, the photos would be stunning. Her gaze lingered on the broad shoulders of the men standing at the car. They were trouble and temptation rolled into two very enticing packages. She neither wanted nor needed that sort of chaos. But, she wanted and needed the job.

Squaring her shoulders, she walked around the car, opened the rear door of the Cruiser and extracted a flask with mugs. “Anyone care for a cup of coffee?”

“Hell yeah. If I’d known you had some, I would have begged some hours ago.” Maverick shrugged at Adrian’s frown. “Airline coffee is hideous,” he explained and rushed to her side, rubbing his hands together and blowing his warm breath over his fingers.

“It’s instant coffee, but at least it’s hot.”

Wade joined them and took the mug she offered, sliding his long fingers over hers. “I’ll sure appreciate a cup right now. My body objects to being flung into winter when summer is in full swing in Houston.”

She pointed toward the small cooler. “Milk and sugar are in there if you want some.”

“Thanks, but this is fine,” the men chorused and moved to stand on either side of her, shielding her from the breeze.

She’d never felt more protected and exposed at the same time. Their big frames dwarfed her and the feline inside her purred in appreciation. Her body tingled with awareness though they hadn’t touched her. Mesmerized, she watched their fingers hug the cups, caressing the smooth ceramic surface. How would it be to have those strong fingers subjecting her body to the same treatment?

Darn it, Adrian. Get your head out of their pants and onto the job
. She finished her coffee in one long gulp, the liquid scalding her throat and landing hot in her stomach. After flinging the mug into the container, she rounded the car to the driver’s seat and waited for the men to finish.

Adrian slammed the door and Wade held on to Maverick’s sleeve, pulling him some distance away from the vehicle. “She’s a looker, isn’t she?”

“That she is, my friend.”

“What are we going to do about it?”

Maverick stared silently at Wade for a few seconds. Was he the only one so severely affected by Adrian’s presence? From watching the interaction in the car, he’d assumed Maverick was interested. Adrian hadn’t removed Maverick’s hand from her body like she had with his. Wade shut the lid on the unfamiliar jealousy threatening to bubble over.

“Let’s wait and see,” Maverick answered finally. “If I’m not mistaken, the lady’s been burned and she’s men-shy.”

“She does seem reluctant to act on the attraction, doesn’t she?” Wade sighed and nodded. “Fine, let’s see where this leads.” He glanced around the still partially frozen countryside. “In its own way, this is beautiful.”

Maverick grinned and returned his mug to the basket. “Stop the presses. A true Texan who finds another place on earth to his liking?”

Wade shrugged, dropped his mug into the container and closed the rear door of the car. Maverick’s playful punch to Wade’s shoulder alleviated the tension simmering between them and Wade relaxed. They were here to make money, but also to have some fun. It wouldn’t do any of them any good to stress over what might never be.

Chapter Three

Adrian waited until the road had leveled out slightly before she risked a glance at Wade. “So, you never answered my question. What made you decide to earn your living on the rodeo circuit?”

Wade lifted his left foot onto his right knee and she forgot to watch the road as the muscles bulged under his jeans. She drove through a rut and the steering jerked, snapping her attention back to her driving.

“
We grew up together and I think we knew how to ride a horse before we could walk. Over the years, just riding became boring and we tried different things until we found that we were very good at roping stubborn bulls.”

Maverick chuckled and Adrian met his gaze in the mirror. “We were in constant competition with each other. After a while, the ranch hands came to fetch us to help with roping the mavericks that broke from the herds.”

“Mavericks? Is that where you got your name from?”

“Might as well be,” Wade drawled. “He showed a remarkable likeness to the wild steers that gave us a run for our money.”

“Aawh, you’re just jealous because I’m better at taming those steers than you are.” Maverick swiped at an imaginary strand of hair on his forehead and arched his eyebrow.

Adrian giggled. “So I gather your parents took one look at you and thought you’d be a wild one?”

“Hey, I’m nothing like those stubborn bulls.” Maverick winked at her in the mirror. “I like to think I’m a very accommodating fellow.”

“Anyway, we participated in our first rodeo when we were fifteen and hit the professional circuit at eighteen. Since then we’ve been ridin’ high.” Wade shifted to a more comfortable position and opened the window a little.

“Are you related?”

Maverick laughed. “Thank Heavens we’re not.” He tapped Wade on the shoulder. “Ole Wade here is much too serious to be any relation of mine. Besides, you can tell a friend to butt out of your life, but family is a completely different matter. They just assume they have the right to tell you exactly what your faults are.”

“Maverick can’t even handle the family he’s got. Adding another member would only complicate his life,” Wade interjected.

“And you? Do you have a big family, Wade?”

“Just my parents.”

Something in the way he expressed those three words pulled the emergency brake on Adrian’s questions. Her curiosity was piqued, but she knew when a subject was off-limits. And discussing Wade’s parents was definitely a no-fly zone.

“What type of photos are you looking for?”

Wade’s abrupt change of subject didn’t surprise her and she respected his need for privacy. After all, she wouldn’t want to share the last three years of her life with virtual strangers.

“Besides marketing the saddles and equipment, the company wants photos of sexy cowboys to convince the ladies the ride is worth their while.”

Maverick leaned forward and draped his arm across her seat. “So you think we’re sexy?”

Adrian smiled. “It doesn’t matter what I think. What matters is that I make you look sexy in the photos.”

Wade chuckled. “Nicely dodged.”

The road surface was atrocious and Adrian had to slow their progress along it to a virtual crawl. For the next hour and a half, they continued their good-natured banter until they reached the farmhouse, and Adrian parked the car under a carport. They all alighted and the men spotted the horses and rushed to the corral. At least she’d have a few minutes to herself to regroup.

The farmhouse resembled a luxury five-star lodge with eight en-suite bedrooms, a lounge equipped with a fireplace and a dining room that could seat sixteen people. The kitchen was a study in modern technology while the family room had a flat screen television, pool table, dartboard and quality stereo system.

She chose a room overlooking the horse corral and carried her luggage and equipment inside. When she dragged her suitcase from the car, a large hand closed over hers.

“Let me get this.”

Wade’s touch scorched through her body and she withdrew her hand. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” He hauled the luggage inside and waited for her to show him her room, where he deposited the suitcase on a bench.

They walked into the kitchen and Adrian stopped at the fridge. “Are you hungry? We can check if the cook left something in the fridge for us.”

Wade shook his head. “I’ll wait until dinner. We found the saddles and equipment in the barn and the ranch hand said we could take a couple of horses out this afternoon.”

“And you’d rather be riding up the hills than be stuck inside the house planning the rest of the week.” She planted her fists in her sides and pretended to be angry. “I suppose the horses are being saddled as we speak?”

Clearly not fooled by her stance, he closed the distance between them, hugged her and planted a kiss on her cheek. “I knew you’d understand.”

The screen door banged shut behind him, leaving her alone inside the big house. She stood for a few moments, palming her cheek and catching her breath. While the men were outside, she might as well set up her equipment and go over the prerequisites the Groundhog Saddle Company had set—anything to avoid reminiscing about the effect of Wade’s touch. She walked down the passage to her room.

Two hours later, a knock at her door shattered the absolute silence she’d been working in. The flash she’d been inspecting slid from her fingers and bounced on the bed. With her heart beating in her throat, she looked at the door. A tall, lanky woman stood in the doorway, resting a perfectly manicured hand on the knob.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” The woman smiled, stepped into the room and held out her hand to Adrian. “I’m Marie.” At Adrian’s puzzled stare, she continued. “The chef?”

“Goodness, I never heard you come in.” She took the proffered hand. “I’m Adrian, the photographer.”

Marie’s smile didn’t waver as her gaze swept over the chaos reigning inside the room. “I know. I’ve been an admirer of your work since I could remember.”

Adrian felt herself aging at Marie’s words, although she couldn’t be more than a couple of years older than the other woman.

Apparently oblivious to the effect her words had on Adrian, Marie spoke again. “When the company asked if I would be the chef on this assignment and I heard you were going to be the photographer, I couldn’t refuse. I just had to meet the woman who made those advertisements come alive.”

Recognition niggled at the back of Adrian’s mind. Marie seemed familiar, but she would’ve remembered meeting someone as bright and sunny as Marie. She ignored the puzzlement. The stress of the past year must be playing tricks on her. “So you don’t reside on the farm?”

“Heavens no. I’ll die if I have to stay in this place permanently. Did you hear how quiet it is?” She tipped her long black hair over her shoulder and shuddered. “It’s creepy when the only sound you hear at night is your own breathing. I slept here the first night and decided it wasn’t for me. Now I’m staying at the main house with the farmer, his family and the ranch hands. If I had to stay here so far away from everyone, I’d be a nervous wreck when this was over.”

Adrian couldn’t remember the last time she’d met someone who could talk so much so fast. At least she wouldn’t be the only female on the premises. Despite envying the woman’s perfect body and face, Adrian couldn’t help liking her.

“Well, I’m glad for some female company. How about if I make us a cup of coffee? That way you won’t feel so alone in the kitchen.”

Marie towered over Adrian and for a moment Adrian feared she’d committed a mortal sin by offering to do something in the kitchen, but then Marie smiled and slipped her arm through Adrian’s. “You know, I think we’re going to get along just fine. Anyone willing to spend some time in the kitchen with me is a cut above the rest in my book.”