A Cowboy for Christmas (8 page)

The man smiled and went on his way, but she felt far from composed. “He’s going to splash that all over the media.”

“Yeah, so?” He sounded pretty damn joyful about it.

“Soooo…my father.”

He blinked at her, obviously not understanding. “What about him?”

“No mixing business and pleasure. If he sees it, there could be trouble.”

Dusty brought her close with a hand on her lower spine. His eyes were dark and daring. “You’re a grown woman. Are you telling me your daddy dictates who you date?”

Before she could question the word “date,” more people surrounded him—this time cowboys. Bronc riders, bull riders. Bull fighters even. And that team roping pair that was just as sexy in person as they were on TV.

Feeling like fanning herself, she slipped out of the mob. Dusty was getting teased and slapped on the back. She tossed him a wave and headed toward her seat. The ladies around her didn’t speak as she sat down. When a popcorn seller came around, she bought a bag. When the first buttery kernel passed her lips, she realized how hungry she was. Dusty had kept her in bed all day, orgasming. The least he could have done was give her some Gatorade.

Or one of the Rawhide energy bars.

Smiling, she munched and watched the event get rolling. Some rides were successes, others not so much. One bronc rider was carried out on a stretcher, unconscious after taking a hoof to the temple.

She scooted to the edge of her seat, worried for the man she was quickly becoming attached to. If anything happened to Dusty, she’d feel terrible.

Dusty’s face hit the big screen, and the crowd went nuts. Avalee added her voice to the din. He spat into the dirt and nudged his hat, and then he flicked his fingers as his way of releasing tension before the ride. Funny how she knew that about him. Just as she knew how he loved her tongue gliding around his rim while she sucked his cock.

Squirming now, she clasped her hands and waited.

“Dusty Waite’s entering round three with a whippy horse. Black Snake Groaner is the ride of choice tonight for Dusty. He’s killing it in the saddle here at Finals, folks. But a bad ride tonight could mean Juan Varuso takes his place.”

She held her breath. Dusty was on the back of Black Snake Groaner, a pure black mount. The animal tried to throw him even now. What would happen when the gate opened?

A rattle of metal and then Dusty was off, whipped right and left. The horse kicked high, urging the crowd to its feet. She stood too, straining to see the rider. His entire body was thrown out of the saddle four times…five.

“C’mon, Dusty!” Her cry was swallowed by the noise. He was tossed, his neck jerking as if he were a boneless doll. He recovered, arm high, posture perfect as the beast went into another spin. The buzzer heralded the end of his ride.

He leaped off, hit his knees and placed his hands together in prayer. She screamed with the crowd. She shifted her attention from the man to the big screen, prepared to see his score.

Instead she saw her and Dusty together, lips locked while the announcer questioned her role in Dusty’s good ride. She stopped breathing.

Her eyes were closed and the look on his face…God, it was tender and intense and filled with focus—for her.

Her heart was tripping fast. Everyone in the arena as well as national TV had seen it too.

She steeled herself for a call from the president of Rawhide foods—her father.

* * * * *

Avalee was as edgy as a cat in the room full of rocking chairs, but at least she wasn’t avoiding him today. However, she was swamped with sales, and the owner of a chain of food stores in northern California had taken her out to lunch to discuss getting her line on his shelves.

Dusty had tried like hell not to be jealous of the short, bald man wearing far too many knuckle rings. But he failed miserably. He wanted all her time.

To kill the hours until she returned, he sold some power drinks to whomever stopped by the booth. It was good PR for both him and Rawhide. When he got bored of that, he left the selling up to Avalee’s assistant and walked out on the town.

As he passed a shoe store, he slowed. The spike heels were sexy as sin with red soles. A departure from Avalee’s boots, but she’d look damn fine in them—and nothing else.

Inspiration struck, and he went inside. Five minutes later with his credit card burning from that purchase, he went straight to the theater and bought the best seats for tonight’s show.

A call to Ryan told him Avalee still wasn’t back from lunch, so Dusty stopped and had a beer with the top bull rider this season. After checking the time on his phone more than once, his friend urged him off. With a bounce in his step and his purchase in hand, he maneuvered through the crowd toward the Rawhide booth. The assistant was out front, ringing up a sale and Ryan was talking up the energy drinks.

“Where’s Avalee?” Dusty asked.

He jerked a thumb toward the rear of the booth. Behind the wooden crates display, Dusty caught a hint of warm brown hair. Affection surged through him and he found himself grinning. When he rounded the display, he caught her on her cell.

“We’ve sold out of the Tin Cup Tack now too. No, Daddy, the Panhandle Pumpkin isn’t moving that well. I know you like that flavor, but…” She threw Dusty a strained look and listened to whatever her father was saying.

Dusty set down the bag and moved up behind her. Her ass was mighty fine in skin-tight jeans. Her legs looked a mile long tucked into her boots, and she wore a fitted black Rawhide shirt today. The fact it matched the one he was wearing gave him another sort of thrill.

He burrowed his nose against her fragrant neck and inhaled. She tensed in his hold but didn’t move away. So he kissed a path up to her ear, and then wiggled her earlobe back and forth with his teeth.

She slapped at him, her voice hitching as she tried to speak to her father. “Of course I’m distracted, Daddy. There are a two thousand people around me. What did you need to talk to me about?”

With the point of his tongue, Dusty drew little swirls under her jaw. She pinched him hard enough that he started. Laughter bubbled from him, but he kept it on mute while she spoke.

She went so dead still, he withdrew to see what had happened. He’d never known her to be so rigid.

A ragged, stuttering breath left her. “So you did see Dusty’s ride last night.” She listened. He wished he could hear what was being said to her, but he had an inkling. Their photo had been thrown on the big screen for all of America to see.

“Yeah, Daddy. Yes. I know, it was stupid of me.”

Dusty spun her to look into her eyes. Regret lived there, hot and bright. He held her gaze, daring her to say this was a mistake. She was the best damn thing that’d happened to him in ages.

He wrapped his fingers around her upper arms. She stood stiffly.

“I understand. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” When she stabbed a blunt fingernail into her cell, she avoided looking at him.

Raising her jaw with his knuckle, he said, “Avalee?”

“He saw it.”

“Who gives a fuck?”

She searched his gaze, her own holding a light he didn’t understand but feared. Was she going to tell him they couldn’t see each other anymore? “We have to give a fuck, Dusty. We can’t go on like we have been.”

He gave a shake of his head. “You’re an adult. You can choose who you’re with.”

“Yes, but from the beginning I knew—”

He silenced her with his kiss. Slamming his mouth over hers, drawing her onto tiptoe to plunge his tongue between her lips. Need ruled for five solid heartbeats. She tore free, but he held her in place.

“I have plans for us tonight, Avalee.”

Her eyelids fluttered, and he knew she was hot and needy. Maybe that office was open again…

“Plans where?”

“After my ride. We’re going to stroll through the Botanical Gardens and see the nostalgic Christmas display.” Normally he’d be working off the pre-ride nerves but since meeting her, he’d thought little about his competition. He wanted that buckle with a burning passion, but he wanted Avalee just as badly.

Hell, I can handle both.

Her lips twitched. “You sound like a tourist pamphlet.”

“That’s where I got it.” He flashed a grin. “And then we’re going to a show.”

She looked at him warily. “Dusty…”

“And you’re wearing these.” He grabbed the bag and whipped out the heels.

Her eyes flew open and she pressed her hand to her mouth. “Dusty, those are…tell me those are knockoffs.”

He grinned. “I don’t do anything that’s not the real deal, sugar. Try them on. I think they’ll fit.”

“No. I cannot accept those!” Her gaze raked over the high-end shoes every woman in the world coveted.

“You can and will, and if you don’t have a dress to wear with them, we’ll go buy one.”

“No, I do,” she cut in. “But Dusty, I can’t.”

He kissed her again—hard. “Be ready to go right after my ride.”

Chapter Five

“How did you know my shoe size?” Avalee’s head was filled with the scents of growing things as she and Dusty meandered the maze of botanical garden.

He pointed out a fat animatronic polar bear wagging its head back and forth. Kids bounced and squealed in front of it, and Avalee smiled. When he answered her question, he gave her a sheepish look from beneath his cowboy hat. “I looked at the size in your boots.”

Her lips fell open. Men really did such things?

“I might have a small shoe fetish.”

She stopped walking, gaping at him. “Does this only apply to women’s shoes or men’s too?”

“Well I don’t go lookin’ at my buddies’ boot sizes, but I probably spend more on my own footwear than I should.”

They both looked down at his boots that probably cost as much as her first car. “They
are
pretty boots.”

“And yours are pretty shoes. They’re improved by you.” He caught her chin between his rough fingers and kissed her. Soft and sweet. She melted against him, wondering why she was still spending time with him—and letting him touch her—when it was no good for either party. And her father was unhappy too.

She drew away and gave him a faltering smile.

“Oh no. None of that.”

“What?” To cover her emotions, she bent to sniff a hothouse rose bush. The velvety red blooms smelled like heaven, and she inhaled deeply.

“You’re thinking loud again. Haven’t you been having a good time with me tonight?”

She straightened. “Yes.”

“That meal was one of the best I’ve had in this city. Believe me, I’ve eaten a lot of crap food. Diners on the road, convenience store pizza that’s as hard as roadkill baked by the sun.”

She couldn’t stifle her giggle. He was so…great. On the surface, he was larger than life, but beneath he had layers of personality she wanted to get to know more.

He pressed a hand to her spine and they kept walking. Fake snow fluttered from a snow machine around one bend, and she found her new Manolo Blahnik heels covered in white.

“Oh no.”

Without warning, Dusty hooked an arm under her thighs and yanked her into his arms. He carried her five steps until they were out of the fake snow. Damn. How sweet was that? A man so chivalrous he didn’t want her to get her feet in pretend snow.

The flakes swirled in the air, filling the brim of his hat. Laughing, he shook his head and showered her. Some flakes caught in her lashes, and she blinked them away. When she met his stare, a dark heat climbed her insides. The level way he gazed at her was making her forget why she shouldn’t be spending time with him. At the end of the Finals, he’d move on and she’d go home too. The idea of seeing him here in Vegas next year gave her a pinching feeling in her chest.

She didn’t want to be strangers.

“Hey, Dusty. Sorry about your ride tonight,” someone called.

Her gaze shot to him in surprise. Dusty tipped his hat to the fan and tugged on Avalee’s hand to pull her along the path.

“You had a bad ride?” she asked.

“L’il bit.” His lips compressed for a solid heartbeat before he waved a hand dismissively. “I’ll recover tomorrow.”

“You had a bad horse?”

“Just a bad ride.”

Crap. He couldn’t fall out of the standings or else he’d be done with Rawhide. That would only hurt both her company and him—he needed the money to keep competing.

“Dusty, that’s not good.” Her voice pitched too high, almost panicked.

He held her gaze. “It’ll be all right, Avalee. We’re almost to the end of the garden. C’mon.” Pulling her through the crowds stopped to see the exhibit, he rushed past topiaries sculpted to look like beloved Christmas figures to the finish.

“What’s the hurry?” she asked, heels clacking.

“I don’t want you trying to escape from me before I can get you up to my room.”

She forced him to slow. “Dusty, is that a good idea? I mean, we both know this isn’t going anywhere. Actually, it’s jeopardizing your position with Rawhide not to mention you’re distracted in the arena—”

He pressed his fingers over her mouth, silencing her. When his dark eyes loomed close, her heart began to beat fast. Too fast. “Don’t say another word about it. I don’t want to stop seeing you. I don’t want to sleep alone.”

Peeling his fingers off her lips, she swayed toward him, hungry to feel his hard body against hers while she slept too. Yes, this was far too intimate for a short fling. Damn if she could stop the giant snowball from rolling, though. It was gaining momentum and getting bigger by the second.

* * * * *

Dusty ran his tongue over Avalee’s calf with extreme slowness, watching her eyes hood with every inch of flesh he tasted. All the way to her ankle, and then he slipped her heel off. Money well-spent. She’d had so many men eyeing her tonight, he’d been damn proud to be her date.

He kissed her instep and eased her shoe back on. She was spread on the table in his room, hair cascading over one side. He’d popped her breasts from her bodice, and they rested on the shelf of fabric, high and tightly beaded at the tips. The skirt of her dress was around her waist, and her pussy was glistening with want.

“You’re a real puzzle, sugar. You look like the girl next door but then I find you aren’t wearing panties.”

A flush climbed her cheeks, and his cock jerked hard in response. He wanted her with a raging passion, and he was fighting to keep it slow.

I don’t want to be predictable.”

“That you’re not, sugar.” Holding her gaze, he slipped his hands beneath her bottom, lifting her to his lips.

“Dusty…” She gasped.

“What? You’re spread on the table and I plan to feast.”

The first stroke of his tongue down her slick folds drew a groan from both of them. He zigzagged his tongue down her seam and probed her opening. She bucked, and the table rocked on uneven legs.

Holding her still, he began to devour her bite by bite. His momma had taught him not to play with his food, but that’s exactly what he had planned for tonight. Teasing her into a frenzy.

But when she rocked her pussy into his tongue, a wave of need slammed him. With a growl, he picked her ass off the table and sucked her clit into his mouth. She twisted her fingers in his hair, sending shockwaves of lust into his system. Her voice was a constant murmur of bliss. When it reached a crescendo, he couldn’t hold back another second.

He jerked her to the edge and rocketed to his feet, unbuckling faster than he’d done most everything in his life. “I fucking need you, Avalee.” As soon as he had the condom rolled into place, he was lifting her into his arms and settling her on his cock.

She cried out, head thrown back. He sucked her throat as he filled her in one shove. Electric heat engulfed him and travelled rapid-fire through his whole body. When he reached her delicate pointed jaw, she turned her lips into his.

The kiss they shared nudged him so high so fast. He shook with the effort to hold back even as she clamped around his length, screaming with abandon.

He held her suspended, feeling her pulsate around his length. Then he was following her into oblivion.

That was one hell of a ride.

* * * * *

Avalee couldn’t shake Dusty all the next day. He tagged behind her everywhere she went like a lost puppy—or a guard dog, more like.

After bumping into him for the third time while reaching for more energy drinks on the rustic shelving, she grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “Don’t you have someplace to be?”

His eyes twinkled more than the lights from the bedazzled belt booth. “No. This is where I’m supposed to be.”

“You’re definitely drawing a crowd here. We’re selling out too fast. I’m going to have to see if I can get more product shipped in overnight so we aren’t sitting at an empty booth by the end of the week.”

“See? That’s a good thing. I’ve got plenty of time to kill. I don’t ride till tonight.”

This worried her more than anything. His mind wasn’t on the competition. He had so much riding on this event yet he seemed uncaring of anything but being with her.

It was flattering as hell, she had to admit. She let go of his shoulders and brushed her hair off her face. Yes, she liked his attention too much and when they parted, it would be a wrench.

“Have you visited with your other backers? The oil company, the chicken nugget people?” she asked.

He raised a shoulder in a shrug, revealing that he really didn’t care to. “I’ve got time. This is where I want to be, but I don’t want to suffocate you. So I’ll give in and leave you alone for a few hours. Will you come to tonight’s event?”

When she met his bright gaze, it was hard to say no. Impossible, actually. She nodded.

With a crooked grin, he stamped her lips with his once before heading out of the booth. As soon as he was spotted in the crowd, he was surrounded. She watched the mob move with him until they all disappeared from view.

“He’s sweet on you,” Ryan drawled from behind the cash register.

She shot him a mind-your-business look.

“Your dad’ll be happy to hear you’re hooked up with Dusty Waite.”

No, actually the opposite was true. He wasn’t happy because when things ended between them, she and Dusty would have too much tension to be good business partners anymore.

She pushed out a sigh. Maybe she shouldn’t go to the rodeo finals tonight, after all. He needed to stay focused.

But no, she’d promised.
Just this last time.

Ryan eyed her. After working closely with the man on more than ten photoshoots, he knew when she wasn’t happy with something. “Is your father actually giving you trouble about seeing Dusty?”

“Who says he knows?”

“Everyone knows, Avalee. We all saw the kiss on the big screen and it replays hourly on the sports news.”

“Ugh.” She twisted away from Ryan and started tossing the few bars left in the bottom of one crate into a fuller one.

“There are rumors too. You should know.”

She stilled at Ryan’s serious tone. Slowly she pivoted to face him. “Rumors about what?”

“That Dusty took that fall last night because you weren’t there.”

She pursed her lips. He hadn’t asked her to the performance. He’d wanted her after. And boy, he’d had her time and again. Her body still ached in all the right places.

“He took a fall?” He wasn’t one to show off bumps and bruises, but she hadn’t noticed any on him last night. She’d definitely scoured his body with her eyes, lips and hands.

“Yeah, got whipped back and couldn’t recover. Are you going tonight?” He sounded anxious, and suddenly she felt a lot of pressure for Dusty to come out on top. If he didn’t, she’d be blamed again.

“Yes, I’m going. Help me stock this shelf?”

“Sure.” He started putting the bottles of power drinks onto the shelf as haphazardly as he had that first day, but she hardly cared. Her mind was fixed on the cowboy she had so much fun with—in and out of bed.

“Hi, Avalee.” Ross, the reporter, was back complete with his dimples and a big shiny belt buckle.

“Hey, Ross.” She wasn’t in the mood to answer banal questions and dug deep to find her patience.

“I just ran into Dusty on the way out of the building. Aren’t you worried about what people are saying?”

She spun on him, irritation rolling through her. “If you mean the rumor that I had something to do with his less than stellar performance last night, no.”

“What about the rumor that he could lose his sponsorship with Rawhide if he doesn’t place in the top three?”

Now that wasn’t a rumor. Dammit, how did people find out private details of a contract?

She pushed her hair off her face again. “Dusty isn’t going to lose.”

“Can I put that in print?”

“Absolutely. I have total confidence in Dusty Waite,” she said in official tones. But he did seem less focused than he had a few days ago when she’d first met him. She’d have to hope for the best, but if he didn’t pull a win tonight, she’d be forced to move to plan B—to stop seeing him. Her gut instinct to walk away was probably best anyhow.

But that meant her heart would feel as if it were trampled under the hooves of a band of wild horses.

* * * * *

“Fuck, I can’t get a good seat.” Dusty clenched his jaw and tried like hell to find a solid position on the back of the bronc. The beast was steamed already, thrashing the walls and stamping.

He jerked himself to the front of his saddle and righted his grip. With his thighs squeezed tight, he glanced up, waiting for the gate to open and his ride to start.

He picked Avalee’s warm brown hair out of dozens of wives and Buckle Bunnies seated in the reserved section. A smile built inside him as her gaze connected with his.

Then the horse was out, twisting hard to the right and whipping him. He stayed on, focusing all his energy into the ride that could earn him a quarter million dollars by the end of the week.

What he’d do with those winnings first was take Avalee away on a relaxing vacation far from life’s distractions. He wanted her totally centered on him, and he’d give her lips, breasts, sexy clit piercing and every body part between his undivided attention.