The Irish Cowboy: Bear Creek Rodeo

by Jessica Marin

  If this is how he makes me feel from just his kisses, there will be no going back once I give him my body.

  I will irrevocably be his forever.

  Chapter Nine

  RHETT

  Leaving Tessa after she agreed to give me a chance was physically challenging and I don’t just mean because of my painful hard-on from our make-out session by the pool. I want her always by my side, especially in bed, but I know I have to take things slow with her. Feeling her reaction toward my kiss lets me know that our physical relationship is going to be off the charts, but I want it to be on her terms, when she’s ready. I’m more than happy to let her navigate that aspect of our relationship because she’s worth waiting for.

  I asked her to lunch on Sunday since I had an inkling she wouldn’t want a late night because of work on Monday, but to my surprise, she said she had to go work at the bar, saying someone called in sick so they needed her to fill in. Jealousy raced through me at the thought of other men getting to see her and for a second, I almost drove down to Austin just to sit at the bar and be with her while she worked. But I knew that wouldn’t be a good idea, especially since I’m already treading on turbulent waters with her agreeing to give me a chance. So I kept myself busy by preparing for the Belton rodeo, working out and taking a nap. By the time I woke up, she was already off work so we talked during her car ride home.

  Today’s a new day and I’m not going to go another day without seeing her, so I decide to surprise her by driving to see her at the rodeo. Ryan, thinking my idea was genius, asks me to drop him off at Adeline’s car dealership. We stop to pick up more flowers for our women and make our way to Bear Creek. The dealership is not far from the rodeo, so I arrive within five minutes after dropping Ryan off. I’m excited to see how my lass reacts to my surprise visit, especially since I heard the disappointment in her voice when we hung up last night for her to get some sleep.

  I walk around the rodeo first, admiring the state-of-the-art facility and how much money is spent on the upkeep. I make my way to the back of the arena and follow the signs to the office. I open the glass door and see an older looking gentleman talking with the receptionist. He’s going over some paperwork with her, his voice deep and firm. He looks up when I walk in, his eyes sizing me up and down before plastering a smile on his face.

  “Good morning, can I help you?” he asks and there’s something vaguely familiar about him, which is odd to me since I’ve never been to Bear Creek before.

  “Good morning, I’m here to see Tessa Mandel.” I nod in acknowledgement to both of them. He looks at the bouquet of flowers, a sarcastic smirk playing on his lips and tells the receptionist to go get Tessa.

  “I’m Tessa’s boss, Caldwell George.” He offers his hand for me to shake, his grip hard as if he’s giving me a warning. “And who might you be?”

  “Tessa’s boyfriend, sir.” His eyes shoot up in surprise and I take great satisfaction in saying that out loud.

  “Rhett?” I hear Tessa’s sweet voice and turn to watch her come down the hallway toward me. She looks so beautiful that I almost possessively growl, wanting to let everyone know she’s mine. She’s wearing a sleeveless blue floral sundress, her brown hair in a half up, half down style with light makeup highlighting her gorgeous face. She stops inches away from me, her eyes having that element of surprise I was hoping for.

  “Tessa, this man says he’s your boyfriend. As of four days ago, you didn’t have a boyfriend.” Her boss studies her closely, looking for answers. She casts her eyes downward and starts fidgeting with her hands. It’s nice that her boss cares, but I don’t like the tone of voice he’s using with her.

  “As of this past Saturday she does,” I answer for her, enjoying how red her cheeks are getting from embarrassment.

  “Tessa, is that true?” he asks incredulously and I become aware that Tessa and her boss seem to have more of a father/daughter type of relationship. I mentally tell myself to ask her more about this when we have some privacy.

  “Um, well… we’re dating,” she stammers out in her adorable state of flusterness.

  “That’s right. Exclusively. Aren’t we, little lass?” I smile as she immediately nods her head yes, her reaction making me very happy that she had zero hesitations. “So if we’re dating exclusively, that means I’m your boyfriend and you’re my girlfriend.”

  She looks back and forth between her boss and the receptionist for any dispute in meaning. “Right…” she slowly says, nodding her head in agreement and my heart pounds in victory that I just got her to admit she’s my girlfriend so quickly.

  “Well, looks like congratulations are in order. What’s your name, son?” He gives Tessa an intense look before his face softens.

  “My name is Rhett Kearney, sir.”

  Mr. George blinks rapidly, a look of disbelief covering his face.

  “Rhett Kearney, as in The Irish Cowboy?” Although skepticism laces his voice, I see a hint of recognition in his eyes.

  “Yes, that would be the one,” I confirm, enjoying watching Tessa squirm.

  Mr. George looks again at Tessa in surprise and she shakes her head at him. They stare at each other, sharing something silently between them when Mr. George’s demeanor completely changes.

  “Well, welcome to Bear Creek Rodeo, Rhett! We’re so dang excited to have you and your brother participating with us this year. Did Tessa mention that she will need you both to be here two days before the event? We want you to be a part of our press conferences and carnival that happen beforehand. Probably best you arrive on the Tuesday before the rodeo.”

  I look at Tessa, who glances at me with pleading eyes that beg me to agree to anything this man says. “She hadn’t mentioned it yet, but you can count us to be here early. Just send me an itinerary of dates and times and we will be there.”

  “Wonderful! Thank you for being so accommodating. I’ll let Tessa give you the details. In fact, why don’t you two go out to lunch and discuss? My treat!” He pulls out his wallet and hands Tessa a one hundred dollar bill that she refuses, but Caldwell George doesn’t take no for an answer. She finally gives up and keeps the money.

  “You two enjoy your lunch. One more thing, Mr. Kearney, that I want to make crystal clear to you.” He clears his throat and leans in closer to me. “Harm Tessa in any way shape or form and I personally will make sure you never get to compete in another rodeo in this country ever again.”

  I immediately like this man and his loyalty to my girl. “You have nothing to worry about, sir.” I match his stare with my own intensity so he sees how serious I am about her.

  “We’ll see about that,” he replies, turns around and goes into his office.

  Tessa rolls her eyes, grabs my hand, and leads us to her office. Her office is a decent size with a desk, office chair and two other chairs across from hers. I put her flowers down on the corner of the desk and then shut her door, her eyes widening at the sound of the door locking when I twist it.

  “I like your boss,” I say as I watch her back herself into a corner while I advance toward her. I can’t wait any longer - I need to feel her lips on me now! She gasps as her back hits the wall and in one-second, I’m all over her. Her hands snake through my hair, pulling me as close as she can while my tongue thrusts inside her mouth. I grind my pelvis into her, grab both of her legs and hoist her up, forcing her to wrap her legs around me. We both moan at the same time when our cores connect with each other, the barrier of our clothes doing nothing to cool the heat between us. Her sweet, delectable mouth plays havoc on my senses and I know I need to stop this before someone knocks on her door. Her little moans of pleasure make me imagine what she’ll sound like once I’m finally inside of her, the vision causing me to become so hard that I’m a mere moment away from coming all over myself.

  I break away from our kiss and place my forehead against hers, our panting breaths mingling into one. We stare into each other’s lust filled eyes while we try to regain our composure. Her cobalt blue ey
es are shining with passion and I mentally take a photo of the way she looks, hoping I get a chance to make her look like this every day for the rest of our lives.

  She gives me a quizzical look, one that I want to kiss right off her face. I sigh out loud and untangle her legs from around me, letting her slowly slide down my body. I close my eyes and grit my teeth, telling my lower half that it’s time to calm down. “If we continue our exploration of each other, I will be eating you for lunch right here in your office. Let’s go get some food in our system.”

  She quickly fixes her hair, grabs her purse, and announces she’s ready to go. I open the door for her and as she’s about to walk past me, she leans in and whispers, “I look forward to being your meal replacement one day soon,” and saunters away with a seductive smile on her on lips.

  I wince as my dick tries to stand right back to attention in the confines of my jeans. Her merciless words hitting it exactly on the bullseye.

  Ah, my brazen, sexy little lass.

  With the way our bodies react to one another, that day will be coming sooner rather than later.

  Chapter Ten

  TESSA

  The next three days go by in a blur with Rhett occupying any free time I have outside of work. He consumes my every waking thought when he isn’t around and when he is, he lights my body on fire with just one look. When he gives me his “I’m about to devour you” look, my body instantly reacts and I can’t say no to him.

  I don’t want to say no to him.

  Due to our busy schedules, his visits occur at nighttime with him and Ryan coming to our apartment after work. We all have dinner together, spending most of the meal getting to know each other and then playing 100 questions during dessert. I’m learning that Rhett is devilishly smart, funny and for the most part, pretty laid back. When he talks about his future, it’s the same aspirations I have for myself; be my own boss and travel the world.

  Once dinner is over, Rhett and I usually go for a walk, but tonight we knew we weren’t going to be walking. Instead, we headed straight for his truck to continue getting to know our physical bodies, steaming up his windows with our desire for each other. What was only supposed to be a make-out session turned out to be me screaming my release from the exquisite friction against my core as I straddled and rocked against him while he devoured my lips, my breasts, and my mind. We were like teenagers making it to third base and the next step was to go all the way to home base. He just has to look at me, say my name in his husky, Irish accent and I’m his.

  Rhett Kearney is a masterful thief, barreling his way into my life and stealing my heart.

  I stare at him in awe as I try to come down from my orgasm. This man has made me feel so many different emotions in the short time I’ve known him, that I can only sum up my feelings in three ways:

  Beautiful.

  Fulfilling.

  Terrifying.

  “Come with me to Belton,” he demands so softly that I blink to process what he just said to me.

  “I’ve got to work.” My heart plummets just uttering those words, but it’s true. He’s become the sweetest distraction, a distraction that I never wanted, but selfishly don’t want to ever give up.

  He smiles at me - this time his smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “You’re right, I’m sorry,” he says as he brings my bra straps up my arms back to my shoulders. His gentle touch sends shivers down my spine and my core muscles tighten once again with need. It dawns on me that after Belton, he will be traveling north, where he won’t be able to drive so easily to see me. The thought of not seeing him for a couple of weeks makes me sick to my stomach and I start thinking of a solution.

  “What about if I come up to see you perform on Saturday and spend the night?” I suggest, thinking I can work Friday and take off Saturday.

  His eyes light up with happiness, making me want to always make them light up that way. “I love that idea,” he growls, grabs my neck and kisses me hard, showing me just how happy he really is. I groan at the loss of his lips when he pulls away. “Lass, as much as I want to spend all night long holding you, it’s getting late and we should hit the road.”

  I look at my watch to see that it is past 11 p.m., and he still has a long drive ahead of him. We adjust our clothing and leave the truck to go back up to the apartment. As soon as we open the door, Adeline and Ryan break apart from each other, their disheveled hair, plump lips, and rosy cheeks indicating loud and clear what we just walked in on them doing.

  “Tessa, we’re going to Belton!” Adeline jumps up from the couch and comes running at me.

  “Wait, we are?” I look at Rhett, who is looking at his brother in shock.

  “You asked Adeline too?” he laughs as Ryan nods his head and comes over to us. “That’s it, Adeline, you’re a keeper. Ryan is instantly smarter when he’s around you.”

  Ryan punches him hard in the chest before throwing his arm around Adeline’s shoulders. “I have a feeling this is going to be the first of many road trips together. C’mon, everyone, group hug time!”

  We all laugh at him and when Rhett pulls us together for a hug, I pray that his words come true.

  I work late at the bar in Austin Friday night, not getting home until around three in the morning. Rhett made me call him as soon as I got home, despite him needing sleep and having to get up early to prepare for the rodeo. Adeline let me sleep in as late as I could before waking me up to get ready to drive to Belton. We take our time getting ourselves ready, wanting to make sure we look our best since we’re heading straight to the arena to meet the guys. Nervous butterflies enter my stomach as I pack my overnight bag, wondering if tonight is going to be the night that Rhett and I have sex. He said I’m in charge of that decision and while my heart is screaming yes, my brain is telling me it’s too soon.

  When we’re packed up and ready to go, we start our journey north. While Adeline drives, I type away on my laptop, utilizing every minute I have to work on my latest book. With Rhett taking up my nights, my writing has fallen off to the side, which is exactly what I didn’t want to happen. I already have my next book outlined and plotted, it’s just a matter of writing it. Him being gone will be good for me since I plan on focusing all my remaining time and energy into writing. This is the book that is going to seal our fate to Austin, so I need it done before Rhett and Ryan come back to Bear Creek Rodeo to compete.

  What happens with Rhett after Bear Creek?

  The thought has me jerking up my head and inhaling sharply. My sudden movement catches Adeline’s attention. “What’s wrong?” she asks with concern.

  “Nothing, I just thought of something,” I mumble, not knowing whether or not I want to have this kind of conversation with her now. I glance at her profile and notice a certain smile on her lips, a smile that comes only when she thinks about Ryan.

  “Have you considered what’s going to happen when the guys aren’t in Texas anymore?” I ask cautiously, trying not to sound like it’s a big deal.

  “Not really. I’m just trying to take it one day at a time with Ryan and not think too far ahead into the future. If I do, it will make me sad.”

  “Why would it make you sad?” I question, dreading to hear her answer.

  “C’mon, Tessa. I know you googled Ryan when you were investigating Rhett. You’ve read those articles too.” There were numerous articles on Ryan and his playboy status back in Ireland. Images of him with different women, none of them being a steady girlfriend.

  “Maybe he’s changed? Did you ever notice how long ago those articles were written?”

  “The latest article was almost a year ago. It’s okay, Tessa. I know I’m just a stateside fling.” She tries to hide the sadness in her voice, but fails. She’s starting to care for Ryan more than she wants to.

  “You don’t know that. Have you talked to him about it?” She looks at me as if I’m crazy before turning her attention back to the road.

  “We’re not like you and Rhett. You two are like magnets, glued to each
other whenever you’re together. Every time he leaves you, you can see it physically tortures him. Ryan isn’t built that way. At this point, I just hope he will look back at me with fond memories.”

  Her words anger me, making me want to punch some sense into Ryan. Maybe this is all in Adeline’s head though. If she hasn’t talked to him about the future, then she has no idea what he’s really thinking.

  “If you want Ryan, then fight for him, Adeline.” I punch the air, drawing a smile out of her.

  “I’m not going to fight for someone who isn’t interested in having an ‘us’,” she says and I completely understand her meaning as that was exactly how Ty was. I was just a fling, there was no “us” to him. I was a challenge that he wanted to conquer. The thought of him puts bile in my throat. Even if Rhett and I don’t work out, he’s more of a man than Ty George will ever be.

  I push away the negative thoughts of not having Rhett in my future and concentrate back on my writing. Before long, we are getting off the highway. Belton is larger than Bear Creek, located close to the city of Temple. The facility that houses the rodeo is a large, circular dome arena that can seat almost 7,000 people. Belton Rodeo is the closest other rodeo to Bear Creek, making it our competitor. Mr. George was happy to hear I was attending so I can be his “spy”.

  I text Rhett our arrival and we pick up our VIP passes and tickets at the box office. He texts me back, instructing us to go to our seats and someone will come to escort us to the dressing room. Not two minutes after we sit, a staff member comes and escorts us downstairs. The moment I see Rhett, my eyes widen and my mouth goes dry.