Rodeo Riders (7 page)

“How did you find me?” she asked.

“Maybe instinct.” Taking the bridle from her, he looped it over his neck. Then, obviously not caring who else saw, he took her in his arms and bent her back until she clung to him to keep from falling. Her legs slid between his, and she felt cradled by him.

Alive.

Instinct closed her mouth in on his. The same primitive reaction propelled her pelvis toward his. He was aroused, as turned on as she felt. When he parted his lips, she did the same and welcomed his tongue into her. His tongue circled her mouth, then rolled in and out, igniting memories of another kind of invasion. Familiar heat spun through her.

“Get a room!” a man yelled.

“Do it fast,” another added. “Looks like the two of you are going to be busy all night.”

“Are we?” Cougar asked as he helped her straighten. Instead of releasing her, he pressed on her buttocks and kept her close. “Going to be busy all night?”

Taking his face in her hands, she looked up at him. Even as her body gave out the message that she intended to explore for as long as the two of them lasted, she faced the world beyond this moment. “You’re going to be leaving as soon as things wind up tomorrow, aren’t you?”

“I have to. The bulls are—”

“Committed to the next rodeo. I know.”

“Not just that one. They’re booked clear up to the finals. And depending on how they perform through the rest of the season, I might be taking a couple of them to the finals.”

“Living on the road.”

“It’ll quiet down during the off-season, but I’m going need to replace some of the stock, which means some travel.”

“Not Rampage?”

“No.” His smile lasted no more than a second. “He’ll be around for several more years. What about you? Are you going to try to qualify for the finals?”

A few days ago, she hadn’t dared look beyond trying to face her demons. She’d accomplished her goal. If she was ever going to make her mark in the barrel-racing world, this was the time to do it.

If.

Not caring who saw, she rested her hands on his hips. They hadn’t said anything about a future together. This thing between them was too new, and she’d had too much personal baggage to get rid of.

“Don’t,” he warned and removed her hands.

“You don’t want—”

“I don’t trust myself where you’re concerned.”

“You don’t want—”

“Oh, I do.” His hard and hot gaze left no doubt of his meaning. “But if I go to one rodeo and you another, the only way I’m going to handle it is by walking away from you now. I’m not going to try to discourage you from competing. I pulled my life back together, so I think I know what you’ve just done. I don’t want your effort to be for nothing.”

“You think I should—”

“I think you should do what
you
want with your life and not be pulled away from it by what’s been going on between us. If you do, the time will come when you regret it—and resent me.”

Chapter Nine

It was probably close to three a.m. Because she hadn’t bothered with shoes, Jordan’s feet were silent on the packed gravel. Small rocks dug into her, but she gave the discomfort scant attention.

She’d tried to sleep, she really had, but the answers she’d been seeking had kept her awake. As for whether she’d learn more now—

Cougar wasn’t in his rig. Instead, he was sitting in a lawn chair near it. Only a few lights had been left on to illuminate the grounds. As a consequence, if she hadn’t memorized his contours, she wouldn’t have known the shadow belonged to him.

Maybe he knew the same thing about her, because he nodded when she drew close and indicated she could sit in the chair next to him. He was barefoot and shirtless.

Had he put the other chair out because he knew she’d come? Maybe he’d only been hoping.

“I love this time of night,” she said, sitting down and stretching her weary legs. “The world has gone away, leaving me with my thoughts.”

“You aren’t the only one who’s been thinking.”

“And?” How she wanted to touch him! But not yet.

“No matter what I want, the decision is yours.”

“Which gets down to what do I want to do with my life.”

“Right. You faced the past. You can go forward.”

“Thanks to you. If you hadn’t let me get on Rampage’s back—”

“I believe you would have gotten to this point without me or Rampage. All he and I did, maybe, was get you there faster.”

“You really believe that?”

He didn’t answer. Unless she’d been mistaken, he hadn’t moved a muscle since inviting her to join him in the dark.

“It’s strange,” she said. “Ever since Rampage rearranged my leg bone, I’ve thought of little else. But not tonight while I was trying to fall asleep.” Although her legs threatened to collapse, she stood and moved in front of Cougar. “Tonight I thought about you. Us.”

Gazing into the eyes of the man lost in the night, she unsnapped her shirt and pulled it off her shoulders. Then she held it out, not breathing until he accepted the gift. She hadn’t bothered to put back on her bra after getting out of bed. Neither had she bothered with panties, a fact made clear as she stepped out of her jeans.

“I’ve been doing the same thing,” he said and took the jeans from her.

“If you want me, if you want to explore this
thing
between us, I’d love to follow you and the bulls.” Her voice was thick with unspent tears and fear more powerful than she’d ever felt. What if he didn’t want what she did?

He dropped her clothes to the ground. “What about competing?”

“If I can get entered in time, I will. But it isn’t a priority.”

He took her hands and pulled her close. “It’s an insane life. I don’t really have a home.”

“I don’t need one.” Tears trickled down her cheeks. “Just—just you.”

“What about your life?”

“You are my life. As long as I have that, everything else will fall into place.”

Standing, he lifted her in his arms. Clinging to his neck, she pressed her cheek against his chest as he carried her into his sleeping quarters. A night-light in the bathroom was the only illumination.

“Welcome home,” he said and deposited her on his bed.

About the Author

A fast-fingered writer of erotica, Vonna Harper loves penning stories set in remote locations where her characters can give in to primitive impulses. Throw in a little capture and/or bondage and she’s a happy camper. Her website is
www.vonnaharper.com
. She’s also on Twitter and Facebook and loves connecting with readers.

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Far from home and their herd, Nokoni and Hah-Tee can’t afford to draw attention to themselves. Instant attraction to Terena complicates their already competitive relationship, but she’s their one connection to the man they suspect stole one of their mares.

Overcome by instincts as ancient as time, the urge to mate rolls over them with the speed and ferocity of a desert storm. Yet even as Terena struggles to make sense of her desire for the swift, mysterious shifters, danger lurks. Someone is out to collect every last one of the horses born with wings on their feet—even if it means bullets must fly.

Warning: Studs doing what studs do, hormones raging, and of course the whole complex threesome thing.

She needs their courage—and their bodies. The feeling is mutual…

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Warning: Menage with complications. Shape-shifting with complications. Outdoor sex, cabin sex, dream sex with ropes. Woman on a mission, and men with muscles upon muscles answering the call of the wild.

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Horrified, Mala desperately searches for the compelling man, but it’s as if the thick vegetation swallowed him whole. Yet she hears his voice calling for her—only his voice.

Caught in a portal filled with disembodied voices calling him backward in time, Laird Jaeger clings to his only lifeline to the present—the woman with gray-green eyes. A mystical thread connects their thoughts as ancient forces drag him deeper into a nightmare, farther back into a past only his Seminole blood remembers.

A mysterious, panther-like creature guides Jaeger toward a past life as Thunder, the ancient tribe’s one hope of survival. Even as the past wraps tendrils around his soul, his and Mala’s connection endures. Its power is enough burn a fiery path of desire through time, but their growing love may not be strong enough to break destiny’s spell.

Warning: Sex in a bugless Everglade. Lots of hot sex with no bugs. Or snakes. But some rather judgmental Seminoles.

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They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

Cincinnati OH 45249

Rodeo Riders

Copyright © 2015 by Vonna Harper

ISBN: 978-1-61922-887-0

Edited by Linda Ingmanson

Cover by Angela Waters

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: May 2015

www.samhainpublishing.com