The Bad Boys Of Molly Riot: The Complete Hard Rock Star Series

by Jade Allen

  He cleared his throat awkwardly as his dick swelled even more insistently against his thighs, “Perhaps we should get dressed; I’m sure we both look a tad ridiculous standing around naked with a gun waving this way and that between us.”

  Wry humor flashed in her green eyes and Cade knew immediately that he liked her. She had not squealed and morphed into some shy miss desperately reaching for a blanket or something which was exactly what he had expected.

  She stared at him coolly, her eyes for the first time noticeably flicking down the length of him. Her eyes assessed his face, which he had been told had character. He had a long aristocratic nose, firm thin lips, chiseled chin, firm granite jaw, and high bushy eye brows that lent him an air of raw masculinity that ladies seemed to love. Her gaze descended to his naked, hairless chest, past his small budded nipples, down his flat, washboard abs, and straight to his hard, erect rigid member. He expected her to flick her gaze up to his or look away modestly, instead she stared long and hard at junior before dropping her gaze the rest of the way to his hard, masculine legs.

  When she finally looked up at him, her eyes were carefully blank but she had a slight pink tinge on her cheeks. He realized then that she was not as unaffected as she had made out. Good, he thought as a trickle of sweat worked its way down the middle of his back.

  Slowly, he turned to reach for his clothes and she immediately barked, “Hold it right there, buster!”

  “Just gonna reach for my clothes,” he said, his hands still raised comically in the surrender position.

  “Guess again. Step over towards the bed,” she ordered briskly, waving the gun at him.

  So, she wanted to search out his clothes before he reached for them, in case he had a weapon? Smart girl!

  “You got it, ma’am,” he said mildly as he moved to obey her.

  Her eyes still trained on him, she reached for his jeans; dabbed, dabbed. Nothing. She threw them over to him and he caught them on the fly, grinning. Next, she flung his tee-shirt to him. She didn’t send over his knapsack, he noticed.

  She looked around the room, as though searching for something.

  “Aren’t you going to get dressed, Sweetheart?” he drawled in a deliberately thick Texas twang.

  Her eyes flashed green fire at him even as her cheeks heated up. He realized with an inward chuckle that her clothes were probably what he had stumbled over at the door.

  He let the chuckle bubble to the surface unable to hide his mirth at her predicament.

  “Well, the way I see it, Honey—” he said, flopping deliberately onto the bed, “you can either head on out to get your clothes, in which case I might arm myself before you return. Or you can send me to go get them in which case…” he trailed off, with a shrug and an insouciant grin.

  She eyed him for a bit, then she slowly picked up his trench coat from the chair and wriggled into it with absolutely nothing else underneath. It was the singular most erotic thing he had ever witnessed and the top of his head almost came off, even as his dick pressed all the more insistently against his fly.

  He swallowed.

  “At this point, I’m gonna want to know your name. I don’t know about the fellas you’re used to honey, but I usually like to know who is sleeping in my bed.”

  “Your bed?” she scoffed. “Of all the— This is my room.”

  “Not according to my buddy, it isn’t. This here text says Room 15F.”

  “Well unless your buddy is Wade Tyler, this isn’t your room!” she informed him, disbelievingly. Of all the nerve!

  He paused, “My buddy actually is Wade Tyler. How the hell do you know him?”

  Callie’s eyes narrowed as she thought about it. Wade had seemed especially accommodating and strangely acquiescing of her intention to attend the rodeo alone. What were the odds he hadn’t in fact sent this man after her to keep an eye on her? She had been waiting for the other shoe to drop since Wade honored to her request to go without him, hadn’t she? But to send this man to her room?

  “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “Cade Gallagher. Yours?”

  “Callie Tyler.”

  “Callie? That’s a pretty name…I like it,” he said with a sudden smile that made her breath catch in her throat.

  If she had thought he was handsome before, when he smiled, he was an absolute knockout. And what was he babbling on about her name anyway?

  “Listen Cade, my brother never told me about anyone coming here. Plus, he would never send you to my room. He’s way too protective. Are you sure you’re not talking about a different Wade?”

  “I know he’s a seven-time champion in bronco riding and team roping. Plus, he just had a baby girl, Laila, which he’s absolutely crazy about.”

  That was her brother alright. Slowly, she lowered the gun, feeling drained without explanation. He made to rise from the bed, but she immediately trained the gun on him.

  “Stay where you are,” she ordered.

  She edged around the other side of the bed, away from him, and grabbed her phone. She dialed Wade’s number from memory and listened to the ringing. Wade picked up almost immediately.

  “Did you send a man to my room?” she demanded the moment he said hello.

  “We’re all fine over here, Callie; thanks for asking,” he muttered sarcastically.

  “Well, did you?” she repeated, impatiently.

  “Yes. His name is Cade Gallagher,” Wade said wearily.

  “You sent him to my room?” she shouted, lowering her voice at the last moment.

  “No. No. A different room. But it’s all booked so he’ll stay with you. He’s a perfect gentleman, don’t worry. He fell on some hard times so I set him up to compete with you in the rodeo. He could use his half of the prize money real bad.”

  “I don’t believe this!”

  “Relax, Callie. You’re safe with him.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Silence.

  “Go on, Wade, why didn’t you tell me you were sending a perfect stranger to bed down with me?”

  “He won’t do that. He’s a gentleman. Grew up right here in Texas.”

  “So, you trust him because he’s got a Texas twang and good ol’ boy charm?” she asked.

  It was a barb, but it seemed to sail right over Wade’s head.

  “There are precious few things I won’t trust Cade with,” Wade assured her earnestly.

  “Obviously, I am not one of them!” she spat bitterly, and then she hung up on him.

  “So?” Cade asked, obviously haven eavesdropped shamelessly.

  “You’re staying. But ground rules, cowboy, you sleep on the couch in the outer room. And just so we’re clear, if you ever attempt to touch me, I’ll cut off both your hands and any other part that sticks out!” she spat and then she disappeared into the little washroom and slammed the door behind her.

  Silence.

  Then, “Hey, what about my coat?”

  Callie gritted her teeth. He was the most infuriating man alive; next to Wade!

  ****

  “Alright, listen up people. The competition is in three stages, and we have twelve different teams. Winner of each stage faces winners on the other side until we have our finalists. Our prize remains five hundred thousand dollars. Every team has a color; register yours and let’s get this show on the road,” the bald-headed announcer crooned importantly over the microphone looking more than a little pleased with himself.

  Callie tried not to roll her eyes overly-much as she placed her cowboy hat atop her head.

  “So, Sweetheart, ready to ride him hard?” Cade whispered from behind her.

  Callie didn’t bother dignifying that with a response. The man had to be the most aggravating person alive; he always managed to make every word out of his mouth a double entendre. Why, even his ‘good morning’ was suspect.

  Just this morning, when she had appeared from her room, dressed in her tee-shirt, jeans and cowboy boots with her hat clutched in her hand, he had
given her a bold, deliberately assessing look from head to toe. When he was done, she was almost certain she was naked. His eyes had lingered on her chest, her waist, and her hips, as though he was measuring them against what he had seen last night. Her cheeks had, predictably, heated and she had fled after a mumbled greeting. His chuckle still rang in her ear.

  Her brother was a dead man, she decided. The moment she set eyes on him, she was going to slowly, carefully and cheerfully decapitate him and she was going to enjoy every minute of it!

  Her long blonde hair was done up in a bun at the nape of her neck. Hesitantly, she reached up and touched it. Perhaps she should have let it fall down her back in a softer, more feminine style?

  “That trainer has not been able to take his eyes off of you for more’n five minutes. Trust me, you look great, hair and all,” Cade murmured, leaning so close that his breath wafted against her ear.

  He smelled clean and fresh like fresh pines mixed with mint; then there was this underlying clean scent that was all him. She wanted to lean back and take in more of his masculine scent.

  Get a grip, her subconscious screamed at her.

  She adjusted the peach-colored bandanna at her throat; that was their team color. Cade had a similar colored bandanna knotted right beneath his Adam’s apple, while his white shirt was open a few buttons to reveal a hint of that smooth, tantalizing hard chest she remembered from last night. He looked disturbingly handsome, rakish, and more than a little attractive in the bright light of day. She had made him sleep on the couch, and when she had seen him this morning, she’d realized for the first time that he was absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. The man had eyes the color of clear summer skies, dark hair which he had allowed to grow to his nape and tied off with a small band, and a tiny diamond earring twinkling in one ear. She didn’t know much about jewelry but she would bet an arm and a leg that that small piece of jewelry had to have cost… well, an arm and a leg.

  At six-three, he was easily taller than her height of five-nine which was a relief because there weren’t many men around who were taller than her.

  The game started with a petite brunette and a large hulking man who looked old enough to be her father leading their horses into the circle. The crowd of spectators cheered wildly.

  The timing started and the steer was let loose in the box. Callie craned her neck to watch, right along with everyone else. The first set ended fast with the header and heeler roping the steer in ten seconds; just a little under the allotted time of twelve seconds.

  The second team didn’t manage to rope their steer until the time ran out. The first team was consequently declared the winner.

  And on it went, until Callie was so eager to ride out Lateefah that she could taste it.

  “My, you seem to be positively chomping at the bit,” someone commented with a laugh.

  Callie looked around, a woman wearing a rather tight pair of jeans with her tee-shirt tucked in. She was voluptuous without being over-blown.

  “My, it is hot out here today, isn’t it?” the woman continued, fanning herself with her hands.

  Callie looked down at the woman’s hands in surprise. She had fixed some artificial nails which were admittedly short enough that they shouldn’t affect her overly much, but were still surprising, nonetheless. It seemed wrong somehow.

  The woman noticed her gaze and tucked her hands into her jeans.

  “I’m Madeline Glenmore, by the way. Who are you?”

  “Callie Tyler.”

  The woman’s eyes flicked to a spot behind Callie’s shoulder. Callie didn’t need to turn around to know who she was looking at with that speculative gleam in her eyes. “And who’s the cutie?” Madeline asked.

  “No one,” she said dismissively.

  “Oh honey, that is definitely someone,” the woman assured, grinning wickedly. Callie fought back an irrational surge of jealousy.

  “This is Moore,” Madeline said, introducing an unremarkable man with mop-water colored hair, dull brown eyes and a weak chin that made her think he must not be very firm. When Madeline added that he was her husband, Callie tried not to let her jaw drop in amazement. How? It was a classic tale of two unsuited persons.

  Moore shook Callie’s hand a bit too roughly before falling back behind his wife. Was this the Moore Glenmore who, according to Wade, was so good he gave even Wade a run for his money? He didn’t look like much of a cowboy, but apparently, he had a lot of prizes and awards to his name.

  Callie soon lost interest in the odd couple and focused once more on the match. The next announcement, though, made her look over at them because it was for their team. They stepped away and began to prepare to ride. Soon they were mounted and in mere seconds, were chasing their steer around the circle with Moore as the header and his wife the heeler. They caught it in nine seconds.

  Then, when their opponents for that stage of the competition came on, things started to get interesting. The team consisted of two men; as soon as they mounted, the header’s stallion refused to stay on course, bucking wildly to get at the heeler’s mare. The header tried desperately to control it, but the animal almost went wild, bucking and panting as it strained to reach the heeler’s mare. In mere seconds, the competition was over and they hadn’t managed to chase the steer, never mind catching it.

  They left the field quarreling with the header accusing his partner of collecting some damn mare in heat.

  Callie thought it was funny, but she saw Cade watching them with narrowed, intense eyes as they left, a thoughtful expression on his face.

  Soon it was their turn and Cade was so good, he managed to toss his rope over the steer’s head in just three seconds; Callie managed to also heel the steer at about the same time. They moved so well as though they had been practicing together for months.

  Callie stroked Lateefah proudly as they left the arena. The horse had moved like what she was; drinker of the wind, which was the name for Arabian thoroughbreds because they generally moved at lightning speed. Lateefah was an Arabian horse given to her father as a gift when his health was declining. He had handed her over to Callie immediately and Callie had loved the horse since that day.

  “That is some horse,” Cade commented, grinning at her as they signed off for the day.

  She wished he wouldn’t do that; he looked irresistible when he smiled.

  “Right back at ya,” she said, smiling back at him from the sheer exhilaration of their race. She didn’t notice him suck in a breath as he looked at her smile. They had been the fastest team that day and that was quite encouraging.

  She noticed Madeline looking over at them and waved gaily at the other woman; she just jerked her gaze away.

  Callie entered her cabin so tired she could barely stand straight. She flopped onto her bed, clothes and all, and shut her eyes, glad she could finally have some peace.

  “Aren’t you gonna take off those clothes and air ‘em?” Cade asked from the doorway.

  She flicked open one eye. He was leaning against the doorjamb, watching her with an amused expression on his face.

  Callie shut her eyes again. “So tired… go away.”

  He chuckled, the sound rich and warm and flowing over her like hot chocolate. She felt, rather than heard him leave his position by the door. She felt the bed depress as he sat down and she tried not to let her excitement at his nearness show too much.

  “What now?” she asked.

  “I’m hungry. I’ve been hungry all day, and it hasn’t helped that every time I looked over at you, the same hunger is in your eyes,” he said slowly, softly, reaching out a hand to trace the soft curve of her cheek.

  Callie forgot her tiredness in a fit of righteous indignation as she sputtered angrily, springing to her feet.

  “How dare you presume to know—” she trailed off. He was holding a plate of macaroons in one hand, a wicked grin on his face.

  “You did that on purpose,” she accused, flushing hotly.

  His eyes laughed at her. Then he proffe
red the plate in his hand. Callie immediately reached for one cookie and bit into it, sighing with pleasure even as her stomach rumbled with gastronomic delight.

  She shut her eyes, groaning with pleasure and it was all Cade could do to keep from hauling her onto the bed to make her moan and groan for good.

  She sank onto the bed beside him, “It was weird the way Ian and Mike were so careless with their mare. How could they not have known it was in heat? It’s like clockwork, isn’t it?”

  “Not if someone gives it a simple F2 alpha prostaglandin,” he said.

  “Huh?”

  “Never mind. Just thinking aloud. Listen, you were amazing out there on the field. You’ve got to be the best horsewoman I have ever seen,” he said, yanking her hair playfully.

  He stood to leave, needing to put as much distance as possible between them.

  Callie rose to her feet too, wringing her hands in discomfort as he headed towards the door. Suddenly she didn’t want him to leave.

  “Stay,” she shouted, before she even knew what she was going to say.

  He froze, then turned to face her, his blue eyes going so hot they instantly became darker.

  ****

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Um, I meant stay and finish the macaroons with me. They are too much for just me,” she lied desperately. What had she been about to do? Ask him to spend the night?

  Cade’s amused blue eyes flicked tellingly to the plate of macaroons lying on the bedside table; only two macaroons were left on it.

  His gaze when he returned to her face was so telling that she blushed, ducking her head to hide the tell-tale pink color spreading from her neck to her cheeks.

  “Baby, you don’t know what you do to me when you turn pink so charmingly,” Cade groaned as he crossed the space between them in three quick strides and cupped her head in his hands.