Hunt, Sofia - Riding the Circuit [Rodeo Riders 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (5 page)

“Good run.” She gave him a thumbs-up.

He tipped his hat at her, but the brief meeting of their eyes caused her pulse to race. She felt her face flush and pulled her hat lower to hide her reaction.

Jonah rode a few runs later, also riding Loco. More compact and bulky than Riley, his dark good looks stirred something inside her, too. Funny, she hadn’t felt interest in any man except Riley in a long time, yet Jonah attracted her as much as his buddy. She hoped it was a sign she was getting over Riley, instead of a sign she might be even deeper than she wanted to be. Lusting after both men, currently her bodyguards, wouldn’t be a wise thing, not when her interest in at least one of them extended beyond a casual sexual attraction. She didn’t
like
either of them, yet her body sure did.

Crazy, but true. She wanted them. Both of them. Separately, of course. Or together. Or hell, she didn’t know what she wanted. She just wanted their bodies, naked, hard-muscled male bodies, sweaty and turned on moving on top of her, inside her, even underneath her.

Mitzi fanned herself and reined in her imagination.

Those two meant nothing to her. She suffered from sexual deprivation, and they were convenient. She’d best keep them at arm’s length and maintain the pseudo-professional relationship they pretended to have. Sure, she loved to get under their skin, driving them crazy by eluding their watchful eyes and making it difficult for them to keep track of her. Heaven knew why she enjoyed harassing them, but she did.

“Hey, cowgirl, pay attention.”

Mitzi started, embarrassed to be caught daydreaming by the grizzled old cowboy sitting on the arena fence. She turned her horse around and waited for Jonah to bust out of the roping box.

Jonah’s run was only a tenth of a second behind Riley’s. If their times stood, they’d be on their way to winning first and second money, a good start to the circuit for them. Judging by the looks of their trailer, they could use every penny they earned.

Finished with her duties, Mitzi rode back to the barn and unsaddled Rowdy. She looked up when she heard footsteps near her stall. She glanced up, expecting Riley and Jonah.

“Honey, I could’ve helped you with your outfit design.” Her archrival Brooke Regan’s voice dripped venomous honey.

Mitzi bristled and bit back an equally nasty retort. Brooke and Mitzi got along like two Mustang mares vying for alpha mare status. Brooke had competed for the NARA Rodeo Queen title along with Mitzi and lost by a fraction of a point. She still held a grudge. In fact, she claimed Mitzi slept with the judges, which was so not true. Those paunchy, old men? Not a chance, not for any crown.

“Good to see you managed to stay in the saddle.” Brooke sneered.

“So, Brooke, how
did
you do in the barrel racing today? Seems like I saw a barrel or two hit the ground.” Mitzi shot Brooke a murderous glare over the top of Rowdy’s back.

Brooke pursed her lips as if she’d just swallowed a particularly sour lemon. “I’ll be in the money this weekend.” Suddenly, she turned her attention to a spot behind Mitzi. The acid look on Brooke’s face transformed instantly into a megawatt smile.

Mitzi looked over her shoulder to see Riley and Jonah walking toward them, still in their chaps, spurs jangling. Something inside turned soft and gooey, which irritated Mitzi. Her response to these two guys wasn’t acceptable. They were thorns in her side thrust upon her by an overprotective, controlling father, not love interests, or even sexual interests.

“Howdy, ladies.” Jonah tipped his hat and leaned nonchalantly against the stall. He caught Mitzi’s eye and winked. Her heart thudded, and she glared at him, pissed at her ridiculous reaction.

“Oh, Jonah,” Brooke gushed. “I’ve been looking all over for you. I’m looking at a new horse. I’d like your opinion.” The bitch’s gaze flicked to Riley, but his brooding expression backed her off. Riley had that dark, dangerous thing going on, just the bad-boy type who attracted women like flies even when he didn’t try.

“Well, now,
darlin
’, I’ll look you up this weekend, and we can discuss it.” Jonah turned away from Brooke.

Obviously dismissed, Brooke shot one last dagger at Mitzi and stomped off.

“Did she and Brent Black split the sheets?” Jonah directed the question at Mitzi.

Mitzi shrugged. “Heck if I know. Not that it’d matter to her one way or another. She’s after anything in chaps.”

Riley raised one dark brow but didn’t comment.

“Don’t you two have horses to take care of or stalls to muck or something?”

“What’s the matter, honey? Are we making you nervous?” Jonah’s voice dropped a notch and sent chills tripping along her spine.

“No, not at all. I just don’t need your constant attention. Get a life.”

Riley straightened and scratched the back of his neck. “You are our life for the next few months. Like it or not.”

* * * *

The Enforcer stood back in the shadows and watched as Mitzi prepared herself for bed. He could almost make out the outline of her figure through the curtains on her windows. He moved closer, careful to stay away from the pool of light near the trailers. The light flicked off, removing his ability to see anything.

He pictured her in her bed, naked, the cool sheets sliding across her soft skin. Someday, it’d be his body doing the sliding, inside her, deep inside, claiming her as his and purging all others from her mind.

Soon. Soon he’d come for her.

Whoever coined the phrase
pleasant dreams
had never dreamed of Riley and Jonah all night.
Pleasant
didn’t come close to describing the erotic fantasies invading her sleep. Mitzi wanted nothing to do with those cowboys, yet her body had different ideas.

Fuming at her body’s uncontrollable attraction, Mitzi turned on the water spigot near the barn and waited for the bucket to fill. Once full, she lugged it toward the open doorway.

“A little cooperation from you would make our lives easier.” Riley Backstrom spoke from behind her and caught Mitzi off-guard. She dropped the bucket and soaked her red boots. Just what she needed to start off the morning—wet feet and an argument with Riley.

“I told
your
better half I don’t need a bodyguard.” She stopped in her tracks, swinging the now-empty water bucket against her leg. Mitzi’s feet squished inside her boots.

“Your father says you do, and he’s paying the bills. Ours and yours.”

“Admit it, Riley Backstrom, you don’t like the arrangement any more than I do.”

Riley lounged against the fence, his arm rested on the top rail. He chewed on a piece of straw and studied Mitzi with heavy, lidded eyes. “What makes you think that,
darlin
’?” He did a lazy assessment of her body in her tight western shirt and even tighter blue jeans.

“You do a piss-poor imitation of Jonah’s accent.” Irritation rippled through her and settled in the pit of her stomach along with something more unwelcome.

“It’s not Jonah we’re talking about here.” He smiled his rare crooked smile, the one that lit up those deep chocolate eyes and was guaranteed to make her panties moist. It worked. She’d gone from bone dry to squirming in a split second. Her feet weren’t the only things that were wet.

“You don’t like me much.” Part of her wanted his denial. She licked her lips and stared at his. She wanted them on her, everywhere and anywhere, as long as they did their wicked deeds and left her satisfied just like before. She’d never gotten over their one night together. How pathetic was that?

“I don’t hate you. Exactly.” His dark eyes, ever watchful, revealed nothing.

She jerked her head upward and met his dark gaze. “Then why do you avoid me?”

His mouth quirked. “
You
hate
me
.”

“No, I don’t.” She wished she did, but try as she might, her body and heart weren’t playing fair.

“I’m glad we’ve gotten that straight. Neither of us hates the other.”

“Hate’s a strong word. Mutual dislike is more accurate.”

“That’s about right. Unfortunately, I have a job to do, and you aren’t making it easy.”

“I don’t need you two dogging my every step. Besides, I believe in people earning their money.” Mitzi waited for his reaction to her pointed insult.

He raised one eyebrow and shrugged. “It’s a tough job, but somebody’s
gotta
do it.”

“I don’t need you or your crony.”

“Oh, but you do.” He stepped into her space, too close for comfort. She stood her ground, refusing to let him get a rise out of her. A small scar ran across his chin. She wanted to touch it, run a finger along the ridge of his nose, across his sensuous lips.

“You got another letter. What did it say?” Riley put a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at him. She hated being put at a disadvantage like that. Her nostrils breathed in the earthy scent of him, a combination of hay, horses, and soap. He’d rolled up the sleeves on his faded flannel shirt, and his biceps bulged with raw strength. His broad shoulders and chest filled out the shirt nicely. Her fingers itched to dive under that shirt and through his chest hair. He released her chin.

Mitzi’s gaze slipped lower to tight blue jeans slung low on his hips and a big belt buckle under which was an even bigger bulge between his legs. He wasn’t immune to her any more than she was to him. She remembered what Riley’s big cock felt like as it plunged into her over and over again until he took her over the edge and into the most incredible oblivion.

Riley snapped his fingers in front of her face, flinging her back to the present. His intense gaze indicated he’d known exactly what had distracted her. “Hey. What was in the letter?”

Mitzi met his gaze, her face hot with embarrassment. “It said, ‘I’m watching you.’”

“I don’t like the sound of that.” His jaw tightened.

“To me it sounds like a line out of B movie and just as original. It’s all a farce of my dad’s invention to keep me in line. He’s probably in cahoots with Ethel
Hagart
.”

Riley seemed to ponder that for a moment. “And what if you’re wrong?”

“I’m never wrong.” At least Mitzi hoped she wasn’t.

* * * *

“That she-devil is driving me fucking crazy.” Riley ran his fingers through his hair and popped the top of a cold one. Frustration clouded his judgment and wound him tighter than a bull in a bucking chute.

Jonah glanced up briefly from the saddle he was oiling. “Sounds like a personal problem to me.” He rubbed the saddle with big, lazy circles of his sponge.

“She’s not sending you over the edge?” Riley wiped sweat off the bridle, hung it on a nearby nail, then leaned back against a stall. He tipped his hat back on his head and rubbed his eyes.

“She’s a little challenging.” Jonah’s mouth twitched.

“Try a lot. She’s making this job hell. She takes every opportunity to ditch us. When she doesn’t ditch us, she finds other devious ways to torture us, like spending three hours in the mall shopping for handbags. All the time she knows good and well I’m waiting outside. Damn, just put a bullet in my head. It’d be less painful.” Riley shook his head and paced in front of Jonah. He wrung his hands and wished he could ring her neck instead. No amount of money was worth this crap.

Jonah chucked his sponge toward the open trailer door and dropped into the lawn chair. Cleaning tack had never interested him for long. He seemed deep in thought. Riley waited him out.

Finally Jonah spoke. “Do you think they’re real?”

Riley jerked his head up and barked out a strangled response. “Real?” He remembered too well how real they felt in his hands, how hard and perfect her nipples were, how they looked after he sucked on them and made them wet with his saliva.
Damn.
He sank down onto the trailer steps and stared at the sky.

Jonah chuckled. “Aw, man, drag your big head out of the gutter. I’m talking about the threats, not her tits.” His buddy’s eyes narrowed. “But while we’re on the subject, are they? Real?”

Riley sighed. “There’s nothing artificial about that woman.”

“
Awww
, man, I knew it. Why don’t you just fuck her again and get it out of your system?”

“Are you crazy? No thanks. I barely escaped with my soul the last time. Maybe you should. You keep bringing her up.” Riley couldn’t take back the suggestion once he’d uttered it, even though he damn well wanted to.

“Oh, man, I can’t do that to my best buddy.” Jonah rubbed his chin in thought. “Even though the more irritated she makes me the more I want to take her for a wild ride.”

Riley bit back his gut response. “Be my guest.” It didn’t set well with him that his buddy or any other guy might be taking Mitzi for a ride. Which was crazy. He didn’t have any claim on the woman, and he’d only bedded her once. Sure, it’d been the hottest sex he’d ever had in his entire life, but the power of that one time made him keep a safe distance. If the spirited filly ever realized his vulnerability, she’d exploit it for all she was worth.

“You don’t really mean that.”

“I do. Have at it.” He avoided Jonah’s eyes.

“I just might, given the opportunity. I’d tame our little chestnut.” Jonah grinned and puffed his chest out.