One Night With a Cowboy (5 page)

“That all?” Emma asked.

“Yes. Why?” She frowned, already exhausted from both the travel and all this banter.
How long would it be before the guys got back with their beers? Maybe then Emma would
leave her alone.

“I notice you didn’t deny my third point. That cowboys are hot.” Emma’s brows rose
with a challenge.

Becca’s gaze hit on Tucker and Jace, walking toward them now, each with two big plastic
cups in their hands. Tucker’s long legs ate up the distance between them, the cowboy
boots making him swagger just a bit. His hat was drawn down low enough over his eyes
that it emphasized the strong line of his jaw. She let out a breath. “Fine. I’ll concede
these two particular cowboys happen to be hot, but nothing more.”

Emma sighed, loud and long. “You won’t give even an inch, will you?”

“Nope.” She finally broke her gaze away from Tucker’s tempting form to glance at Emma.

A small smile bowed her lips as she saw Emma watching the two men’s approach as well.
Her sister finally glanced her way. “That’s okay. Time will prove me right.”

Becca had a bad suspicion it might, but she couldn’t worry about things like Emma
gloating right now. She was too busy wondering, and worrying, what her nosy sister
might do or say next to embarrass her.

“And when they get back here with those beers, you drink up. You need to relax. You
obviously forgot how to flirt during all the time you were with that ass Jerry.”

“I can flirt just fine.”

“You’re doing a pretty shitty job of it tonight.”

“That’s because . . .” Becca couldn’t say. Maybe she had been out of the dating world
too long. Maybe Tucker was just so far removed from any man she’d ever been attracted
to before she was out of her comfort zone. It wasn’t like she could talk Chaucer’s
Canterbury Tales,
or Broadway shows with him. The fact was, she was so attracted to him in a raw animal
kind of way, she’d be happy to not talk at all. She let out a sigh but refused to
tell Emma any of that, so she gave up. “Oh, be quiet. I flirt fine.”

“Whatever you say. Just drink some beer. You need it.” Emma kept her voice low as
the men descended the stairs toward them.

Becca couldn’t reply to Emma’s suggestion she get drunk so she’d flirt better, because
there was the hotter-than-hell cowboy handing her a cupful of beer. She took it, needing
two hands to do so it was so big.

“Thanks.” She glanced up into those eyes hidden in the shadow of his hat, making them
look even more sultry.

“You’re welcome.” His lips curved, looking soft in comparison to the dark stubble
covering his cheeks and chin.

Jerry had gone an entire week without shaving once when he’d taken vacation time from
work, and he still didn’t have stubble nearly as thick as what she suspected was Tucker’s
five o’clock shadow. She’d never known she’d been into the rugged-type of man, but
this look was sure doing it for her tonight. Becca took a sip of beer, hoping the
icy-cold foam sliding down her throat would cool the parts lower that were really
starting to heat up.

Her gaze hit upon Tuck’s big hand wrapped around his own cup, and the tingle deep
inside her increased twofold as she imagined what those long, thick fingers would
feel like running over her body. God, she’d gone so long without good sex. She’d probably
never even had the kind of sex Tucker could offer. The getting-thrown-down-and-sweaty
kind. Becca’s attention moved to his biceps, straining the fabric of his button-down
shirt. Yes, sir. He could definitely pick her up and throw her onto the bed. No problem.

She watched the cup press against his lips as he took a sip and then frowned at the
dark liquid and ice cubes she could see through the plastic. She glanced at Jace’s
cup, and it, too, contained the same colored drink.

“That’s not beer,” Becca accused.

He swallowed and then smiled. “No, ma’am. It’s pop.” She couldn’t help smiling, too,
at how Tucker called soda
pop,
as he continued, “I admit I’ll ride hung over, I won’t lie to you and say I haven’t,
but I’m not crazy enough to drink before I sit my butt on a bull.”

“A bull?” Her eyes opened wide at his revelation. “That’s what you ride?”

Next to Tucker, Jace laughed. “Yup. What did you think we did?”

“I don’t know. I mean I saw the bulls over there, but I guess I thought you rode horses
or something. Or maybe you, like, herded the bulls and roped them.” Becca shot Emma
a glance and saw her laughing and shaking her head.

“I told you bull riding was one of the events. I read the entire schedule to you right
off the rodeo web page the day we booked our flights. Remember?”

Becca remembered the day. She just tended not to listen too closely when Emma started
talking incessantly about things that didn’t really interest her. Though she sure
found Tucker interesting—and now he was smiling at her.

“Roping bulls.” Tuck grinned wide as he captured her in his gaze. “You’re absolutely
adorable.”

“Um, thanks.” Her cheeks heated at the compliment.

Um, thanks? She stifled a groan at her reply. Dammit, Emma was right. She couldn’t
flirt for anything. She took another sip of beer.

“And to be fair to your sister, Miss Emma”—Jace tipped his head in Emma’s direction—“Tuck
and I do occasionally ride horses and do some roping, too. We rope calves, or steers.
Not bulls.”

“You do?” Becca asked.

Emma’s attention turned to Jace now. Becca was happy to see her sister wasn’t exactly
immune to cowboy charm, either. “Calves and steers? That’s really interesting.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Tucker dipped his head in agreement. “Jace and I competed in team roping
for a few years once upon a time.”

“Until someone backed out on me.” Jace shot Tucker a look.

Tucker’s brows rose in response. “Circumstances beyond my control and you know it.
And you could have found another header if you wanted to.”

“Yeah, yeah. Like just any other header would do.” Jace scowled at Tucker and then
glanced at Becca and Emma. “I’m a heeler, you see.”

“Ah, of course.” Becca nodded and tried to look as if the entire conversation about
headers and heelers hadn’t gone right over her head. She knew about headers and footers
and other document formatting–type lingo, but this rodeo reference was totally new
to her.

Tucker laughed, deep and low. A sound that went right through her core.

“I’ll explain the different events to you while we watch.” He shook his head, still
grinning. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had to explain rodeo to a city girl.”

She got a twisting of irrational jealousy in her belly, not that she’d ever assumed
she was the first woman this cowboy had charmed. “Oh, really? Have you had to explain
this stuff to a lot of city girls?”

That elicited another hearty chuckle from Tucker. He leaned lower, closer to her ear.
“Never one as cute as you.”

He straightened again right after he spoke, but the warmth where his breath had wafted
across her skin remained. It intensified and spread through her. Becca swallowed hard.
She glanced at Emma, who luckily was getting a lecture from Jace about something rodeo
related, judging by how he was pointing out things to her in the arena. Good. She
didn’t need Emma watching her. She knew there was no hiding from her sister the blush
creeping across her cheeks. After the big serial killer stranger-danger rant a moment
ago, she was in for a big I-told-you-so from Emma for letting Tucker get to her.

“Your sister said you flew here. From where?” Tucker was asking Becca a question,
so she couldn’t worry about Emma’s imminent lecture anymore.

“New York.”

Tuck nodded. “Yeah, I shoulda guessed that.”

“Why?” Her brows knit in a frown. She’d worked very hard to make sure she didn’t have
any sort of regional accent. She was certain she’d done a good job of keeping any
New York influence out of her speech.

“That wasn’t an insult, sweetheart. Just an observation. All the New Yorkers I’ve
known have a certain . . . way about them. I would have recognized it, if I wasn’t
too busy noticing other things, I suppose.”

“Oh, really? You get a lot of New Yorkers in this part of Oklahoma?”

“No, not so much. But I do know a few folks who weren’t born in this state. You know,
one or two.” Grinning, Tucker continued on, either oblivious to or just plain ignoring
how she had reacted to his comment. “So, how long you here for?”

“We leave tomorrow.” Emma, suddenly back in the conversation with Becca and Tucker,
answered for them both.

“Really? Well now, that’s a real shame. I guess we better make the most of tonight
then. Don’t you think, Tuck?” Jace asked his friend.

“I guess so.” Tucker tipped his head in agreement and took another sip of his soda,
but his attention never left Becca as his gaze held hers over the rim of his cup.

“I agree. We definitely should.” Emma shot Becca a look heavily laden with suggestion,
which she tried her best to ignore.

“There are some good bars around here. Some of them have live music on weekends. How
would you ladies like to go out after we’re done here? Maybe you’ll get to experience
a real live Oklahoma honky-tonk while you’re here.”

“We’d love to go out afterward.” Once again, Emma answered for them both.

“You up for that?” Tucker looked specifically at Becca, making direct eye contact.

The problem wasn’t Tucker. It was her. She’d been miserable and monogamous for so
long, she was afraid she’d forgotten how to let loose and have fun. If she’d ever
really known how to begin with. Looking at Tucker, she realized he was the perfect
guy to relearn with.

She swallowed hard and gave in to temptation. “Okay.”

“Good.” He smiled wide. His eyes twinkling beneath the brim of his hat captured hers
and made her heart beat faster. She could picture those eyes holding her in their
trance as he leaned in for a kiss . . . or more.

Damn. She was in big trouble. She and Tucker could have one hell of a crazy night
together. The kind of memories that would last her a lifetime. Then she could fly
home and never see him again.

This plan wasn’t like her at all. She didn’t do one-night stands, but right now, after
all she’d been through recently with Jerry and the job loss, the idea of throwing
caution to the wind in favor of some mind-numbing fun seemed a little too tempting
to pass up.

Becca took another long swallow of beer. She needed all the courage she could get.

“Another?” Tuck’s gaze dropped to the increasingly low level of the beer in her cup.

“Um.” Oh, what the hell. She nodded. “Sure. Thank you.”

“Y
ou like her.”

“What? Who?” Tuck stoically did not respond to Jace’s question. Instead he kept his
gaze on the concession stand attendant as the kid poured two more beers.

“You know damn well who. So how we gonna work this?”

“Work what?” This time Tuck wasn’t playing dumb, but knowing his friend, he was almost
afraid to find out what Jace was talking about.

“Getting them alone. They must have a hotel room nearby since they’re not local, but
I’m thinking they’re most likely sharing one room. So one of us is going to need to
get another room.”

“I think you need to slow down and not put the cart before the horse.” Tuck shot Jace
a warning glance.

“What?” Jace’s eyes opened wide. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You can’t assume we’ll be giving those two anything more than a couple of beers.”

“The Tuck Jenkins I know would never say something like that.”

“No, probably not.” Tuck let out a snort.

The man he used to be a year ago, right after the divorce, would have been fine with
screwing a girl behind the building or bending her over the sink in the men’s room.
In fact, that had happened in the restroom of this very arena. He’d been pretty shitfaced
and it was all a little hazy, but he was sure it had been here. Which meant it had
also been exactly one year ago during the Independence Weekend Rodeo.

He shook the memory away. He was a different person now. Jeez, at least he sure as
hell hoped he was. Besides, he could tell Becca wasn’t that kind of a woman and he
didn’t want her to be. Her careful consideration of each and every question, from
moving from their seats down to the floor, to deciding whether she wanted another
beer, was one of the things he liked about her.

Sure, he’d like to get naked, even get a little kinky with her, but he’d also like
to wake up next to her in the morning. He hadn’t thought that about a woman since
the divorce. He pushed thoughts of his ex-wife away and turned to Jace. “Let’s see
how things go. Okay?”

“Okay.” His friend eyed him closer than Tuck was comfortable with. “You do know, your
divorce? It was nothing you did. Brenda was always a bitch. I knew that from the first
time I met her. I always thought you deserved better.”

This conversation had taken a turn for the serious. The last thing Tuck needed or
wanted right now was serious, or a concession stand analysis of his failed marriage.
He laughed and tried to lighten things up. “It would have been nice if you’d told
me before I put the ring on her finger.”

Jace shrugged. “If you’d made me your best man instead of
her
brother, maybe I would have.”

“This again? It’s not like I had a choice.” Tuck rolled his eyes, not believing they
were on this subject again after all these years. His own brother would have been
the logical choice for best man, but as he’d said, Brenda had forced the issue.

“Correct. You didn’t, because she was a bitch.” Jace spread his hands wide. “See the
logic here?”

“Yes, I do. Now help me carry these drinks.” Tuck handed two of the cups off to Jace.
“And next time, open your damned mouth before I walk down the aisle. I don’t care
if you’re the best man or not.”

“Next time, I’ll let you know exactly what I’m thinking. In fact, I think I’ll start
right now by saying if you don’t take that pretty little thing to bed tonight, you’re
going to regret it the rest of your life.”

Didn’t he know it, though he truly hated when Jace was right. Tuck picked up the last
two cups and turned away from the concession stand. He scanned behind the chutes.
It was easy enough to spot Becca in the crowd, even from a distance. Her gaze met
his and his heart rate picked up speed.

Crap
. One night wasn’t going to be enough with this girl. He knew that already and they
hadn’t even gotten naked yet.

The announcer’s amplified voice coming over the sound system interrupted Tucker’s
suspicions he should probably run in the opposite direction, far away from Becca,
without looking back. Otherwise, there was a good chance he was going to be drowning
eyeball deep in something he wasn’t sure he was ready for.

Luckily, he couldn’t think too much more about that now because it was showtime. He
glanced at Jace. “Come on. We better get back.”

“I was waiting on you.” Jace frowned before he turned and led the way back to the
chutes and the two women.

Tucker let out a slow breath, thinking one more time it would probably be less risky—and
less painful—riding the rankest bull in the State of Oklahoma than opening himself
up to a woman again.

Loud music reverberated off the walls, sending the adrenaline coursing through Tuck’s
veins. He’d competed for so long, such cues as the roar of the crowd, the announcer’s
echoing voice, and the pounding base of the music pumped into the arena all caused
a visceral reaction. It all combined to tell his body it was time. He was like a warrior
preparing for battle, every cell in his being ready, except his battle was against
a bull and it would last only eight seconds.

Worse, the bull riding was the final event. He had an entire evening to sit through,
feeling hyped enough to crawl out of his skin, just so he could jump on that bull
and expend some of this energy.

His gaze hit on Becca, and he decided there was a much better way to get rid of some
of this restlessness. The image hit him of tangling his hand in her hair, pulling
her head back, and claiming her mouth with a long hard kiss.

That would certainly be nice and there was nothing he would enjoy more, but instead
Tuck smiled and handed her the beer. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” Her focus went to his cup. She smiled. “Soda pop again?”

He tipped his head. “Yes, ma’am.”

“You will drink later on, won’t you?”

Hmm, she’d warmed up a bit while he’d been away. What had done that? Was the beer
kicking in? Or perhaps it had been a heart-to-heart with her sister, who seemed to
be all for their spending time together later. Either way, something had swayed Becca
toward him. Gone was the slight hesitation before her every sentence. Instead was
a bold flirty city girl he’d definitely be happy to get to know a lot better, not
that he hadn’t been into her already. Now that she’d gone and added another layer
to her complexity, she was even more tempting.

Maybe that kiss wasn’t out of the question after all . . . a bit later.

“I surely will. As soon as my feet hit the dirt after my ride, I will gladly join
you in a drink.”

“Your feet, or your face. Either one.” Jace grinned wide.

Tuck shot his supposed friend a less than happy glance. “Thank you for your confidence.”

Jace’s eyes crinkled in the corners with his smile. “You’re very welcome.”

He turned back to see Becca smiling.

“I look forward to it.”

Tucker raised his cup to her in a toast. “As do I. So, let me tell you what’s going
to happen tonight.”

Her brows rose. “All right.”

Her smirk told him she was thinking about something besides rodeo. He laughed and
shook his head. “In the events, I mean.” They could discuss the post-competition activity
later. He’d look forward to that. “It moves pretty quick. You can’t keep the animals
cooling their heels in the pens or the chutes for too long.”

“Of course.” She nodded knowingly, but he suspected she’d probably never owned anything
bigger than a goldfish. Or maybe one of those little dogs fancy women carried around
in their purses. That was fine. He was a very good teacher. He’d certainly enjoy their
lessons.

With that image in mind, Tuck continued. “The action pretty much alternates between
the two ends of the arena. The bucking chutes are at this end and the ropers’ boxes
are at the other end. So you’re gonna see bareback bronc riding here, then tie-down
and team roping down there. Then saddle broncs at our end and steer wrestling at the
other end. There’s a break so they can set up the barrel racing for the women—I’ll
explain it to you when we get to it. Then there’s an event for the kids. Mutton bustin’.”

“Mutton? Like people eat?” Her eyes opened wide, making him smile.

“Yup. Sheep. The little kids—like five or six years old— ride those and try to hang
on. Then the maintenance crew drags the arena and the bull riding closes the event.”

“They save the best for last, huh?” Becca’s lips looked too damned tempting when she
smirked all vixenlike. It would be very easy to bend down and take a taste.

Tuck swallowed hard. He certainly hoped there would be one more event at the end of
the night. A private one between him and Becca. “They certainly do.”

“I look forward to the end, then.”

So did he. So did he.

“So, right now there will be some exhibition riding. The barrel racers will ride in
with the colors. Once the flag is brought out there will be a prayer and the singing
of the national anthem. Then there will be some riders in the ring, warming up the
horses, both the rough stock and the trained stock . . .” He paused when he realized
Becca likely didn’t know the difference. “I’m sorry. Am I going too fast for you?”

“No. Don’t worry. You’re definitely not going too fast.” Becca took another swallow
of beer, but her eyes stayed on him.

Tuck drew in a deep breath, deciding to cut her off for a while after this drink.
He wanted her. Hell, yeah. But he wanted her because she wanted him, not because he’d
gotten her drunk.

That thought gave him pause. It was just another thing that had changed in him since
a year ago. Back then he’d be pouring shots into a girl if it meant it would get her
out of her pants quicker. Sure, he’d had to step quick to avoid getting puke on his
boots once or twice after that, but what did he care? He was quick on his feet, and
quick to get in and out.

That was back then.

Not anymore, and definitely not tonight. Tonight, with Becca, he intended to take
his time. And he wanted her to be acutely aware of every single second of it. He glanced
at the clock on the scoreboard. It was dinnertime, and judging by the way one beer
had loosened her tongue considerably, he was betting she hadn’t eaten. “Hey, you girls
want to try one of our Oklahoma delicacies?”

Again Becca’s brows rose. “Sure. What did you have in mind?”

He smiled. They’d get to that later. “The arena specialty. Foot-long corn dogs. Ever
have one before?”

“Foot-long, huh? Impressive.” Emma laughed. “And no, I can’t say I’ve ever had a corn
dog.”

“I’ve never had one before, either, foot-long or other.”

The expression on Becca’s face was so devilish and inviting, Tuck had to yank his
gaze away before he did something he shouldn’t, like take her in back and show her
something else that was long. Not twelve inches, but long enough for his purposes.

Jace shook his head. “Oh, you girls don’t know what you’re missing.”

He swallowed hard. “I’ll go get us a few.”

“Thank you.” Emma smiled at both him and Jace, but it was Becca who kept drawing his
attention.

“My pleasure.” Tuck shot a glance at Jace that told him to follow and then headed
up the stairs one more time.

“What’s up?” Jace matched his stride. “I’ve seen you buy girls drinks, but you’re
not usually one to feed them.”

“She’s getting drunk.” Or at least her sudden easy flirtatiousness led him to believe
she was.

“Yeah.” Jace nodded. “What’s the problem? That’s a good thing.”

Tuck frowned. “You can be a pig sometimes. You know that? Anyway, I figured they could
both use some food in their stomachs.”

Jace shook his head.

“What now?” Tuck was getting pretty annoyed at Jace’s judgmental head shaking tonight.

“You’re different. That’s all. It’s not bad, just different. I’m trying to figure
out what changed. Is it you just getting older? Or is it this woman?”

“It’s me trying to be a decent guy and show two out-of-towners some hospitality. Stop
reading into things.” He certainly hoped it wasn’t this woman who had him suddenly
acting like a gentleman, because she was flying away tomorrow.