Would Jake be going? Did she even want to know?
Should
she want to know?
“Jake, how about you joining us?” Reece asked. “I’ve got enough seats.”
“Are you sure?” He looked at Reece. “I don’t want to horn in on anything.”
“You won’t be. In fact, we’d consider it a favor if you make sure Trish has some fun. She usually has a hard time letting go after a competition.”
“I’m fine,” she protested.
But Jake turned his head to look at her, that same heat in his eyes. “Like I said, I’ve seen you compete, and you’re damn good. I’m sure you’ll win tonight. I’d love the chance to help you celebrate.” He paused. “That is, if you don’t mind.”
Trish wondered briefly if Jake Keenan was a player. He had the vibes of a Dom, but she wondered if she was misreading him, just because of the mood she was in. God, the thought of being naked in front of him, on her knees or spread wide with wrists and ankles manacled—
She needed to stop this right now before she embarrassed herself.
She cleared her throat. “I think it would be nice if you joined us.” She kept her voice as pleasant yet as even as possible. “Of course.”
“Great.” Reece pulled out his cell. “I’ll text Katie and give her a heads up. Make sure she takes a nap before tonight.”
Somehow, Trish managed to get through the rest of the lunch, even though she was so conscious of Jake next to her, his body touching hers, that she was ready to jump out of her skin. He gave off a combination of controlled energy and quiet competence that lit up all of her senses. She would love to ask Liz about him, but she couldn’t figure out how to do it without giving away the fact that she’d been instantly attracted to him.
She listened as the men chatted, quietly finishing her hamburger and fries. She thought she was doing a good job until she glanced up at Liz and saw the woman smile and wink at her. Trish slid a glance sideways, hoping Jake hadn’t seen it, and thankfully he was engrossed in conversation.
“Well, boys and girls.” Reece pushed back from the table. “This has been great, but I think it’s time to get back to work. Trish, see you tonight.”
“Thanks for coming to cheer me on.”
He dipped his head. “Our pleasure.”
As they walked out of the temporary saloon, Liz hung back and hooked her arm with Trish’s.
“Hot, isn’t he?” she said in a tone only the two of them could hear.
“I have no idea what you mean.”
Liz gave a soft chuckle. “Of course, you do. And it’s time you got an interesting man in your life.”
“Yeah, well, they always come with a caveat, you know?”
“Don’t write him off until you check him out. And I’ll ask Alex about him. He might know all the hidden facts.”
“Let’s not make a big deal out of this,” Trish protested.
“Right, but let’s not let it fall by the wayside, either.” She gave Trish a hug. “See you tonight.”
Trish stood for a moment watching everyone walk away. Just as she was about to head to her truck, Jake Keenan turned around, touched the brim of his hat, and winked at her.
She thought about that wink as she walked back to her pickup. She thought about it even more as she drove to her motel room. And she still thought about it as she stripped out of her sweaty work gear and stepped into the blessed stream of a shower. She just couldn’t get the man out of her mind.
Why couldn’t she meet a Dom like him? The submissive in her curled up from deep inside, picturing herself naked before him, forehead to the floor. Maybe he’d punish her for some slight infraction or misstep. God, she could almost feel the sting of the lash or the slap of the paddle on her ass and more moisture gathered in her pussy. Or maybe he’d order her to suck his cock, swallowing every drop.
Did he use a lasso in his work? Instantly, she had a vision of the rope wound around her and tied with intricate knots on erotic pressure points.
Watch it, Trish. You don’t even know a thing about him.
But anything was possible, right? The Hallidays and the Wrights were committed to the D/s lifestyle. It didn’t have to follow that Jake Keenan was, but maybe—
Damn! She’d need to make this shower really cold if she was going to be in shape for tonight. Really, really cold.
But instead she leaned back against the tile of the shower, closed her eyes, slid her hand down between her folds, and brought herself to orgasm while the image of Jake Keenan cracking a whip danced in her brain.
Chapter Two
Jake Keenan settled in his seat, waiting for the event to begin. They had all grabbed a quick bite on the rodeo grounds before heading to the arena. He was disappointed Trish Barton hadn’t joined them. She’d been getting ready for the first round of barrel racing. He was aware few competitors ate before their competition, but he’d hoped she’d at least have a cold drink with them. Oh, well. She’d agreed to go out afterwards. He’d make do with that.
The first time he’d laid eyes on her was at the rodeo a year ago in Waco. He was visiting a friend whose lady was competing.
“She’ll probably lose to Trish Barton, though,” the friend had said. “Man, that woman is unbelievable.”
Once he saw her, Jake had to agree. Trish rode her horse as if one with the animal, thigh muscles tight to the saddle and calves pressed into the girth as she guided her animal in the tight curves. She took her turns with impeccable precision, beating everyone’s time. He couldn’t get the brunette out of his mind, with her light brown curls and her fancy shirt that glittered as the lights in the arena caught it. When they announced her as the winner, she rode into the arena standing in her stirrups, grinning and waving her Stetson at everyone as she did her victory lap.
He hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind. It wasn’t that he didn’t have his share of women. Maybe even more than his share. But at night when he closed his eyes, it was Trish’s compact figure he saw, her fancy blouse outlining her lush curves, her fine ass glued to the saddle, her lips pressed together in concentration as she urged her mount through the cloverleaf around the barrels. Sometimes, he even dreamed of her riding naked and bareback, and in his sleep he’d strain to see her pussy, wondering if her pubic hair matched the color of the hair on her head.
At the time, he’d been moving from place to place, working roundups on the biggest ranches in the Southwest, too restless to settle down. In Oklahoma City, he’d seen the ads for the rodeo, checked to see if Trish Barton was competing and gone to watch her again. She was fucking damn good, way above everyone else, and a joy to watch. And haunting his dreams more than ever.
He did his best to get her out of his mind. On his cell phone, he carried a permanent recommendation to the top bondage clubs no matter what city he happened to be in. Normally, he was one hundred percent into whatever sub he chose to play with, but after Oklahoma every time he looked at a woman he saw Trish’s face.
Funny how things in life worked out.
If Reece Halliday hadn’t flown into Oklahoma to look at buying a prize bull from that ranch where he’d been working, they might never have met. If Jake’s boss hadn’t told Reece that Jake was the expert on bulls, they might never have had a long conversation. But Jake was looking to plant his feet somewhere, and Reece was looking for a foreman with primary responsibility for his new bull breeding operation.
So here he was, looking down at the arena below him, waiting for the woman who haunted his dreams to ride in. The mounted units in red, white, and blue, carrying either the American Flag or the Lone Star flag had already done their thing to flashing strobe lights and the sound of drums. He’d sat patiently through the bronc riding, trying not to glance at his watch every five minutes.
Katie Halliday leaned her pregnant self close and whispered, “The barrel racing is up next.”
“I’m enjoying all of this.” He made his voice as noncommittal as possible.
“Uh huh.” She winked at him. “Is that why Reece told me the way you looked at Trish during lunch, he was surprised her clothes didn’t catch fire?”
Jake hoped he didn’t look as embarrassed as he felt. “I was just admiring a good-looking woman.”
She laughed and winked knowingly, then pointed to the arena below them. “They’re getting ready for the first rider.”
He did his best to watch each competitor as they rode into the ring at a full gallop and wound in the cloverleaf pattern around the three barrels. They leaned their horses into the turn, coming close to the barrels to shave seconds off their time without hitting the barrels themselves. They were good, all of them, but Jake was waiting for the best. The champion.
And now here she came, tripping the clock timer as she raced into the arena. She was a blur of her signature red, white, and blue as she and her horse completed the cloverleaf. When the buzzer sounded, Jake looked at the clock readout in front of the judge’s booth. She’d beaten everyone else’s time by three seconds. When they announced her name as the winner and she rode in for her victory lap, more than his brain stood at attention. His cock, obviously wanting to get in on the festivities, swelled and pressed hard against the fly of his jeans. He glanced to his right to see if anyone was paying attention to him, but their eyes were glued to the arena, clapping and cheering. He took advantage of their distraction to ease the material of his jeans so his shaft wasn’t so constricted.
He did his best to keep his errant body under control as they headed downstairs, out of the arena, and back to the barn area where Trish would be stabling her horse. She was still in her fancy outfit, brushing her horse down in the stall.
“Oh, hey!” She looked up when Jake leaned over the stall door. “Thanks for coming tonight.”
Instantly the double meaning of the words snapped into his mind. Yeah, he’d love to be coming tonight. Right in her mouth or her hot body, maybe after spanking that very fine ass until it was a bright red.
Damn it, you idiot. If she could read your mind, she’d run for the hills. Not everyone likes the pain/pleasure Dominant/submissive environment.
But, oh god, if she did…
He dragged his mind back to the here and now. “Great job tonight.”
“I think Misty here gets all the credit.” She grinned. “She likes to show off as much as I do.”
Their gazes locked, and that same snap of electricity he’d felt at lunch zapped through him. Behaving himself tonight wasn’t going to be a lot of fun.
“Come over here, and let me hug you.” Liz Wright gave Jake a gentle shove to make room for herself.
“I’d offer you the same thing,” Katie laughed, “but I don’t think I can get close enough.”
“We’ll all have plenty of time to hug her when we get to the restaurant,” Alex broke in. “Good work, Trish, but no less than we expected. You’ll be running out of room for all those trophies pretty soon.”
“That is, if she had a shelf to put them on.” Liz glanced at her. “If you ever gave serious consideration to my offer, you’d have all the shelf space you needed. Or wanted.”
Jake looked from one woman to the other. “What does that mean?”
“It means,” Liz told him, “I’m trying to convince her she’s won about everything possible. That since she’ll probably take the championship at Nationals this year, it might be nice to think about settling down.” She looked at Trish. “And coming to work for me training racers.”
“And I keep thanking you for the offer, but you know how I feel.” Trish gave Misty one final swipe with the brush. “I’m not ready to settle down yet. You know that. I love the thrill of competing.”
“Meet the right man, and you might change your mind.” Liz grinned at her husband. “Alex managed to change my mind about a lot of things.”
Trish dropped some oats in Misty’s feed bucket and made sure she had water before letting herself out of the stall.
“No man is going to make up my mind for me in this area,” she insisted.
“Just be sure you aren’t so hooked on the thrill of competing and winning that you miss a great opportunity. Or a great guy.”
“I promise you, when I’m ready to settle down, you’ll be the first person I tell. Okay?” She dusted off her hands. “Now let’s go eat. I’m starved. And ready to celebrate.”
“We came in three cars,” Reece commented, “although I told Jake he could have ridden with us.”
Jake shrugged, trying not to be obvious about the fact that his eyes were glued to Trish’s every move. “We were watching the young bull. If there was a problem, I didn’t want you and Katie to have to leave and go home.” He chuckled. “That’s what you pay me the big bucks for.”
“In any event,” Reece went on, “Trish, you can ride with one of us, and we’ll bring you back to get your truck when we’re done if you like.”
“I have a better idea.” Jake heard the words come out of his mouth before he realized he’d said anything. “Trish, why don’t I follow you to your motel? You can ride with me to dinner, and I’ll bring you back afterwards.”
“Oh, I’m not sure—”
“That’s a great idea!” Liz grinned at her friend. “I should have thought of that myself.”
Jake watched a slide show of expressions wash over Trish’s face—surprise, anxiety, insecurity—wait! Insecurity? From this self-assured rodeo champion. Then she looked at him, and he saw unexpected need in her eyes. At least, he hoped it was need.
For a brief moment, her mouth curved in a tiny smile before it disappeared and she turned to fiddle with the latch on the stall door. “I’d hate to put anyone out.”
“It would be my pleasure,” he assured her.
And you have no idea how much.
“Good!” Liz clapped her hands together. “Then let’s get out of here. We have reservations at Hannigan’s.”
As they headed out of the barn, a tall redhead with angry lines on her face stomped up and planted herself in Trish’s path.
“I don’t know what you did tonight to win,” she spat, “but whatever it is, enjoy it because it’s the last first place you’ll take.”
Beside him Trish tensed, then forced herself to relax. “Good riding’s what did it, Lily.” Her voice was unexpectedly calm. “Maybe you should just practice a little more.”
“We all know what kind of practicing you do,” Lily sneered. “And I’m telling you, that’s it. You’re done.” She turned on her heel and walked off, anger in every line of her body.