RodeHard

Lauren Fraser

Six weeks surrounded by hot, rugged
cowboys doesn’t sound like hard work at all. In fact, writer Kat McCray is
going to enjoy this assignment. One look at sexy ranch owner Justin Shaw and
she knows exactly how she plans to spend her downtime. In his bed.

Justin works hard and has the body
to prove it. And he plays even harder—him and his two best friends. He’s more
than happy to help Kat explore her darkest fantasies…especially the ones that
involve all four of them.

Kat’s walk on the wild side is only
temporary—Arizona is a lifetime away from her real life in New York. But she
can’t deny she’s starting to fall for Justin. He’s sexy as hell and sweet as
sin. And their sexual experiences with his two friends are nothing short of
scorching. That doesn’t change the fact she’s going home at the end of her
stay. Unless she can somehow turn this fantasy into reality.

Ellora’s Cave Publishing

www.ellorascave.com

Rode Hard

ISBN 9781419939396

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Rode Hard Copyright © 2012 Lauren Fraser

Edited by Grace Bradley

Cover art by Dar Albert

Photography: Valua Vitaly, Wallenrock, Igor Kireev,
Artkot/Shutterstock.com

Electronic book publication March 2012

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Rode Hard

Lauren Fraser

Chapter One

What the hell had her boss been thinking? Kat McCray scanned
the dusty rodeo grounds looking for the woman she was supposed to meet. Through
the loud speakers the banter of the announcer and the rodeo clown blared across
the open air, followed by laughter. A dog barked. The sound set off several
others, only adding to Kat’s feeling of confusion. She was a long way from New
York City.

Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders. She could
handle this. A sporting event was a sporting event. She’d done her research,
watched countless hours of PRCA on TV, knew all the ins and outs of scoring.
She was as ready as she was ever going to be. Unfortunately, she just hadn’t
quite been prepared for how chaotic everything seemed. Everyone just mixed
together, contestants roamed around chatting with friends and fans. People were
scattered everywhere, dogs mingled in with their owners as the cowboys
congregated. How the hell was she supposed to find anyone?

Her sight rested on a group of young women. None of those
women were her host. Their tight tops, short skirts and even shorter shorts
looked more like they were heading out for a night on the town rather than
sitting at a dusty rodeo watching men wrestle cattle to the ground.

She glanced down at her own jean-clad legs and felt
decidedly overdressed. Wiggling her toes in her new boots, Kat wrinkled her
nose at the layer of dust covering the formerly pristine leather. Well, if
nothing else came out of this she at least had a new pair of kickass Lucchese
to wear. The cognac ostrich boots were quite possibly one of the best purchases
she’d ever made. After much discussion her boss had finally relented and let
her submit the receipt for expenses. If she was going to be spending six weeks
on a working ranch, the least the magazine could do was fork out for some new
duds—it’s not as if she could wear her Jimmy Choos on a ranch.

She lifted her long blonde hair off her neck, praying for a
breeze to cool her down. Holy crap it was hot. No wonder all the women were
barely dressed. Her antiperspirant better live up to its claims because there
was nothing attractive about sweat stains.

Scanning the crowd again, she spotted a tall woman with a
long, chocolate-brown braid, which hung over her shoulder almost to her waist.
The woman glanced over at a group of giggling girls and even from twenty feet
away Kat could see her rolling her eyes. This woman was no groupie but an
honest-to-god cowgirl. Clad in a tank top and jeans, the worn boots spoke of a
woman who wore them for work rather than show, despite the strip of pink
leather. Kat smiled at the flash of color. That had to be her girl. Kat
strolled over to the attractive brunette. “Denise?”

The woman smiled down at her. At five foot six Kat wasn’t
particularly short, but next to this woman she felt almost petite.

“You bet. You must be Kat,” Denise said as she stuck out her
arm. Warm work-roughed hands encompassed Kat’s palm in a firm grip.

“I am. You fit your description perfectly.”

Denise laughed and stuck out her foot. “I get teased a lot
about the boots.” She shrugged. “What can I say though? Even covered in manure
and smelling like a horse I still like to feel a little girly.”

Kat grinned. “I don’t blame you.”

“So is this your first rodeo?” Denise asked.

“That obvious, huh?”

Denise looked her over. “A little, yeah.”

Great, just what she wanted—to look like a complete idiot.
She wrinkled her nose and looked back at the woman who was supposed to take her
under her wing for the next six weeks.

Denise and her brother owned a small working ranch and
training facility just outside of Tucson. Even though he barely competed
anymore, her brother Justin was one of the most recognized cowboys on the
circuit, and Denise had carved out an amazing reputation for training cutting
horses. The pair would make the perfect story for the sports magazine where Kat
worked. Over the next several weeks Kat was going to learn all the ins and outs
of life on a ranch. Since many of the magazine’s readers dreamed of life on the
open trail, she was going to give them a firsthand look. The fact she might be
able to give the readers a sneak peek at the life of a rodeo star was an added
bonus.

“So you still game to stick around and watch some of the
action?” Denise asked.

“Absolutely,” Kat replied. Flapping the front of her shirt
to cool herself off, Kat glanced around. Maybe she could sneak off and slip
into something cooler. When she’d left home this morning it had been raining
and cool, but here in Tucson it had to be close to a hundred degrees.

“Do you want a tank top or something?” Denise asked.

“Oh my god yes,” Kat sighed.

“Come on, I’ll get you sorted out. I always keep a few
things in my brother’s trailer.” Denise eyed her up again and grimaced. “Sorry
it’s not going to be what you’re used to.”

“Whatever you have will be fantastic.” Kat wiped the sweat
off her brow. “Is it always this hot?”

“Honey, we haven’t even started to get hot yet.”

“Great,” Kat muttered.

Denise led her past a few sites before finally stopping in
front of a large trailer with several horses tied up outside. Denise pushed
open the door of the trailer and Kat followed her inside.

“You want coffee or anything to drink?” Denise asked.

“No, I’m good.” Kat scanned the little kitchen area, empty water
bottles rested along the edge of the sink, a couple of dirty dishes sat stacked
neatly beside them, taking up the rest of the tiny counter space. Dusty jeans
lay draped across the back of one chair, on another lay a pair of chaps and two
pairs of worn gloves rested on the table. It was actually surprisingly clean
considering. Having been in numerous locker rooms and athletes’ hotels over the
years for work, Kat had expected to see more of a mess. Single guys living out
of their bags tended to be notoriously untidy.

Denise rooted through a drawer under the banquet seat and
pulled out a teal tank top and tossed it at Kat.

“Thanks.”

“You can change in the bedroom.”

Sliding the door shut behind her, Kat stripped off her shirt
and slipped the tank over her head. Despite Denise’s towering height, Kat was
larger in one key area that made the borrowed shirt a tad uncomfortable. The
ribbed knit pulled tightly across her chest, and she tugged on the arm holes to
loosen the material. It was snug but a hell of a lot better than what she’d had
on.

She pushed open the door and stepped out. Denise winced and
started to laugh. Kat glanced down at her ample chest. “Does it look that bad?”

“No, not at all.” Denise shook her head. “That shirt just
looks a lot different on you than it does on me,” she said and pointed to her
small chest.

Kat pulled the neckline up to try to cover her cleavage.
“Guess I’ll fit in perfectly around here now.”

Denise snorted. “Well let’s hope not. You might look like a
buckle bunny but that doesn’t mean you have to act like one.”

“A buckle bunny?”

“Oh come on, you’re a sports writer, you know how it is with
groupies. They’re like the rodeo version of a puck bunny.”

“Ahh got ya. Yeah, I definitely won’t be acting like a
buckle bunny then.” Kat laughed. She’d grown up around professional athletes
and they’d lost some of their mystique over the years. In her experience the
more successful the man, the bigger the ego and that was so not her thing.

She adjusted the top again. “All right, let’s hit it.”

Following Denise out of the trailer, Kat surveyed the
grounds. The scantily clad women made so much more sense to her now. For some
reason she hadn’t expected to see groupies on a rodeo circuit. At the evening
dance, absolutely, but not at the dusty rodeo grounds sweating in the heat. No
one could look their best after baking all day. Sweat mixing with the kicked-up
dust was not a good look.

Denise led the way past the crowds and scanned the stands. A
man’s hand rose from the crowd and she nodded. “This way.”

Kat gawked at all the fans, everyone from old, weathered
cowboys to little kids sat anxiously awaiting the next event. The air hummed
with anticipation. She tapped Denise on the shoulder. “What’s next?”

“Bull riding.” She beamed. “My brother’s event.”

Denise sat on the bench and nudged the person beside her to
slide along. Kat dropped into the vacant seat and glanced down the line to
thank the man for moving. Wow. That wasn’t a man, that was a sexy Stetson
commercial sitting beside Denise. The man brought his finger to the brim of his
cowboy hat and smiled. His perfect teeth glistened against tanned skin.

Denise shook her head. “Don’t encourage him,” she told Kat.

“Huh?” Kat blinked before turning to look at the woman
beside her.

“Don’t encourage him. He has a big enough ego already.”

The man clasped his hand to his chest. “Ouch, Dee, that
hurts. How can my ego be inflated when you’ve been shooting me down since we
were twelve?”

Denise rolled her eyes. “Right, Dunc. Kat, this is Duncan
and beside him is Kasey.”

Kat glanced at the two men. God, the second one was as sexy
as the first. How had she missed
him
? Damn, she might become a buckle
bunny yet. Wow.

Kasey tipped his hat and nodded.

“So, Kat, you must be the reporter everyone’s been talking
about,” Duncan said.

“That’s me.”

He shifted on his seat to look at her. “I hear you’re going
to be riding out with us on Monday morning.”

Kat flicked a glance between Duncan and Denise. “You work
for Denise?”

“Yeah, more so now that we’ve cut back on traveling.”

“Oh you both compete as well?”

“Yes ma’am, but we don’t do the bulls like Jus,” Duncan told
her.

Kat ran her eyes over Duncan. With his long, lean build she
could picture him on the back of a horse. “What events do you compete in?”

“Kase and I are partners in team then I also do tie-down
roping and he does steer wrestling.”

Steer wrestling. That definitely suited Kasey’s muscular
build. With his wide shoulders he looked as if he could take down a cow with
ease. “You guys don’t do the bulls or broncs?”

Duncan laughed. “Nah, that’s for showboats like Jus.”

Kat looked at Denise. “I thought your brother won all-round
doing roping events?”

“He did, but since he’s semi-retired he thinks it’s fun to
compete in bull riding or bareback or some other such nonsense.”

“Why do you call it nonsense?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’ll see when it starts. I can’t
think of anything more stupid than getting on the back of a two-thousand-pound
pissed-off bull with his nuts tied up around his throat, but that’s just me.”
She flicked her finger toward the two men beside her. “These idiots all think
it’s fun.”

Duncan threw up his hands. “Don’t lump me in there. I like
watching it, but I’ve never competed.”

“I’ve seen you idiots climb on the back of a bull at the
ranch after talking shit to each other so don’t give me that.”

Kasey grinned, his golden-hazel eyes twinkled with amusement
as he shrugged. “Come on, your brother called him a pussy, it’s not like he had
a choice.”

“Right.” Denise shook her head. “Idiots,” she muttered.

Kat watched the byplay within the group with amusement. The
easy friendship between the three was obvious.

The announcer’s voice crackled through the PA system,
announcing the first rider on the bulls. Tanner James from Texas.

Kat sat up straight, her stare focused on the chute. The
gate flew open, the bull leapt free in a spin that sent the rider flying
through the air and landing hard on the ground. Ouch, that had to hurt.

The second rider followed the same path as the first. The
third managed to hang on a little longer but still didn’t last the eight
seconds. In theory eight seconds sounded like a piece of cake, but as she
watched the men being thrown off the bulls in every direction she realized just
how long eight seconds could be.

Finally Justin Shaw’s name was announced, riding Diablo’s
Curse. The crowd cheered in support of the hometown boy. All eyes rested on the
chute, waiting for man and beast to burst free. Kat saw the rider give the nod
that he was ready and the gates flew open. The bull launched into a rapid spin
to the right. When he didn’t shake the rider free, he bucked and snorted,
sending spray flying through the air. Changing tactics, he kicked to the side.
Denise’s hand gripped Kat’s arm tightly as they watched. Finally after what
seemed like minutes the horn blew, announcing the rider had lasted the eight
seconds. Justin dismounted, rolled and jumped to his feet. The crowd cheered.

A score of ninety-one flashed on the scoreboard and the
stands erupted. That kind of score would almost guarantee a win.

The hands unwrapped from around Kat’s forearm and she
glanced down at the nail marks in her skin.

Denise grimaced. “Sorry about that. I always get a little
nervous when he rides bulls.”

Kat waved it off. “No problem.” She didn’t even know Justin
and adrenaline zipped through her own body. Watching him had been exciting and
somehow incredibly sexy. The way his muscles had bunched beneath his shirt, his
forearms corded as he gripped the rope, the single-minded determination to
conquer the beast. Damn, it made her kind of hot. She glanced over and Duncan
caught her eye. He gave her a slow grin. Busted. God, she really wasn’t much
better than the buckle bunnies. The danger involved in bull riding added a
whole other element to the rodeo, and oh yeah, she was a fan.

The next rider up managed to last the eight seconds but his
score was considerably lower because his bull had barely put up any fight. The
following two riders fell off at four and six seconds respectively.

Finally the event was finished and Justin was announced as
the winner.