Cowboy 12 Pack
Page 123
“What is it with you two? Can you find a bed somewhere so the rest of us don’t keep stumbling over you?”
TJ heard Art’s voice and let Hank loose. Damn that cowboy! What the hell was he doing there anyway?
She could feel Hank’s hardness against her hip and longed to be where she could rip those ass-hugging jeans off and get some of it.
She turned to glare at Art. “Don’t you have someplace to be? Or some paperwork to get together for those ponies of yours?”
He narrowed his gaze. “I’m not the one standing on the street, going at it like bunnies.”
She humphed. “Don’t watch.”
“Hard not to. You’re standing right under the street light.”
She hadn’t realized that. Every car that passed by had gotten an eyeful of their groping. Well, not exactly what she wanted, but what’s done was done.
“Good work on the calf roping today, Hank. I guess old TJ finally gave in and lifted the disqualification, eh?”
Art’s casual words flung over his shoulder as he went into Monty’s hit TJ like a bucket of ice water. She turned her gaze to Hank’s and saw guilt in those blue depths.
“What did he mean by that?”
“I have no frigging clue. Yes, I did work roping calves today. I’ve got a good horse, but he needs regular practice.”
Her heart was pounding and her palms felt slick. She stepped back away from Hank.
“So how does Art know you wanted to change my mind?”
“It wasn’t a secret. Everyone knew how pissed off I was.”
“But why does he think I ‘gave in’?”
Hank threw up his hands in frustration. “How the hell do I know? I’m a cowboy, not a mind reader. Maybe he was trying to piss you off because you snapped at him and made a comment about his prize quarter horses. Some people bite back when you snap at them.”
That took TJ aback. She never thought of herself as someone who snapped at other people. Well, not much, anyway.
“Listen, darlin’, I like you. A lot. I’ve been missing you the last two days, and all I wanted was for us to spend time together. If you think this is about the disqualification, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
He leaned forward and kissed her. His mustache tickled her nose.
“I think this is goodnight, sweet Cinnamon Girl.”
With that, he turned and headed for his truck. As TJ watched him drive away, she realized he hadn’t given her his cell phone number again.
The sweet smell of the rose bud she had tucked behind her ear was a reminder that more was at stake than a rodeo. That man already owned a bigger part of her heart than she was willing to admit.
Chapter Eight
‡
TJ WAS SITTING at her desk the next afternoon staring at her laptop. She had so much to do in the next two days before the rodeo. Instead of doing it, she was sitting there like a lost puppy dog.
Whatever had happened last night with Art had put a halt to her evening’s plans, which included showing Hank that she hadn’t even been wearing panties. She shifted in her chair, still consumed with the thought of being with Hank. Of touching him, of kissing him, of licking him.
“TJ? Where the hell are you, girl?”
Her father’s gruff voice slammed her back into reality. She jumped in the chair. Daydreaming about Hank’s body, for God’s sake!
“Sorry, Daddy. Got a lot on my mind.”
Big Tom Maguire towered over her desk. He had the same shock of red hair as TJ, only he had a lot missing on top. His bushy eyebrows were sprinkled with gray, as were his temples. His eyes were as blue as sapphires and just as hard. He was as big and tall as a bear, with a round belly and hairy arms, and a great big booming voice that could be heard for miles.
Big Tom’s wife, Teresa, had left him a year after he started the rodeo. She had also left TJ, who refused to leave her father. Theirs was a physically close but emotionally distant relationship. TJ ran Big Tom’s business and Big Tom let her. If there was work to be done, he was never around. But when the celebrating began, he was sure to be first in line.
“You better have a lot on your mind. We only got two more days! What are you doing in here sitting on your fanny when there’s work to be done?”
TJ glared up at her father. “You have no idea what’s left to be done and don’t pretend you do. What are you really doing here, Daddy?”
Big Tom sat down heavily in the chair in front of her desk. She couldn’t help but have a mental flashback to Hank sitting there, humming and staring at her last week.
“I heard some stuff.”
TJ rolled her eyes. “What stuff and from who?”
“I was talking to Art. He told me some stuff about you and some cowboy. I heard that he was sweet-talkin’ you into lifting a disqualification. Tell me that ain’t true, Tessa Jean.” He leaned forward and tried to look fierce.
“That’s none of your business.”
His eyebrows shot up. “None of my business? This is my business! If you are letting this yahoo lead you around by the nose, and putting aside the rules, that is definitely my business!”
TJ stood and threw down her pen, not that she was using it, and slammed her hands onto the desk.
“I would never compromise the integrity of Bar T Rodeos. And to think that you would even ask that pisses me off more than you can imagine!”
She was furious and, surprisingly, hurt that her father would even ask her that. He stood up and pointed at her.
“Don’t you get high and mighty with me, missy! You can just find yourself another job!”
TJ dropped back down in the chair. Her heart nearly stopped beating at his pronouncement. She had put her entire life, her heart, her soul, into this company and this job. Now, because of a rumor, her father was ready to kick her to the curb.
“I can’t believe you just said that.”
“I can’t believe you would be putting your personal life in front of your job.”
That was it. TJ never put herself in front of the job. It was always about Bar T or the current rodeo. Even during the off-season, she worked on ideas and promos constantly. There was no TJ. There was just the manager of Bar T.
“I need to get out of here, Daddy.”
Without another word, she grabbed her keys and her phone and bolted out of the trailer. She decided to go for a ride on her mare, Sandy, a beautiful palomino she had bought five years ago. Escape. That’s what she needed to do.
*
STANDING AT THE corral fence, Hank was taking a moment to catch his breath. He had just finished his practice time with the broncs. And damn, his ass was sore. He had landed wrong on that last run and bruised his tailbone. He unbuckled his chaps and slid them off. He hung them on the fence and leaned forward to stretch his tired muscles.
“Are you the cowboy sniffing around my daughter?”
Hank turned to look at the speaker and realized he was finally looking at Big Tom Maguire. If he hadn’t recognized the hair, he would have recognized the pugnacious jut of his chin. TJ had the same look when she had her feet planted in concrete.
“Pardon?”
Big Tom stepped a few feet closer and crowded Hank a bit. He wasn’t about to let this old cowboy win the pissing contest. Hank stepped closer and pushed his hat back.
“You got something to say?”
“You bet I do. Leave TJ alone. She don’t need a no-account cowboy messing with her head or her heart. She’s a good girl.”
Hank shook his head. “That’s your problem, Maguire. She’s not a girl. She’s a woman. And she can make her own choices.”
Big Tom frowned even harder. “She ain’t your woman. She ain’t gonna lift the disqualification on you. So you just get on your horse and ride outta her life.”
“Can’t do that.”
“You’d better.”
“It’s not your choice. And nobody, not you or any other son of a bitch here, is going to tell me who I can or can’t be with.”
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Hank grabbed his chaps and started to walk away. Maguire huffed out a breath.
“You listen to what I told you, boy.”
Hank turned and pointed at the older man. “No, you listen to me. Tessa is a great person. I like her and she likes me. Where it goes from there is our business.”
He slapped the chaps against his leg and stalked off.
Chapter Nine
‡
HANK WATCHED TJ run the curry brush down Sandy’s flank again. The horse was already well-groomed, but the motion was soothing for her mistress. There were many chaotic thoughts trying to push their way around in her brain. Being with her horse was enough to calm all of them for a bit.
“Hey, Cinnamon Girl.”
Hank’s voice was like a shot of whiskey. Her blood started pulsing and her stomach jumped. She had never had a reaction like that with any other man.
She turned to look at him. Dressed in a T-shirt and jeans with chaps thrown over his shoulder, he was dusty, sweaty and had obviously been working, but, oh, she breathed in the scent of him anyway. All man.
“Please tell me her name isn’t Buttercup.” He smiled.
TJ laughed and tossed the curry brush into the bucket by her feet.
“Nope. Even I wouldn’t be that cruel. Her name is Sandy. Kinda boring, I know, but I’m not too imaginative.”
He stepped into the stall and stood in front of her. Running a callused finger down her cheek, he murmured, “Oh, I don’t know about that. I’ve seen you do some pretty imaginative things.”
Unbelievably, she felt herself blush. He reached up to cup her cheeks and smiled. Then he leaned down and kissed her. It started as a soft kiss, just a touch, but together they were like oil on a fire. With a moan, he dropped the chaps on the floor and wrapped his arms around her.
“You’re like an addictive drug. They’ll need to put warning labels on cinnamon.”
She tried to laugh, but he swallowed it up when his mouth settled on hers again and he began kissing her in earnest.
As the kiss went on, her nipples rose to slide against his chest, begging for his mouth. Her jeans were suddenly too tight around her pussy, which begged for its own attention.
After what seemed like five solid minutes of dueling tongues and sliding lips, he finally pulled himself away and sucked in a ragged breath.
“I lose my head around you. I only meant to say hello and here I am practically fucking you in the stall in front of your mare.”
TJ chuckled against his neck. “I’m not complaining.”
He let his arms drop away and stepped back. TJ couldn’t help but eye the hard cock in his jeans. Damn, but she wished there were more privacy so she could get her hands on him.
“I’ve got another practice session in ten minutes.”
“And I really need to get back to work.”
Hank’s blue eyes stared hard into hers. “You hear what people are saying? About us?”
She nodded.
“Does it bother you? All you need to do is say the word and I’ll do my damnedest to leave you alone. I don’t want you hurt because of these rumors.”
TJ had to try twice before she could swallow the lump in her throat. Hank was always surprising her. Instead of laughing off the rumors, he wanted to protect her. Something shifted and slid inside her, and she realized it was the door to her heart. Miraculously, Hank had apparently found the key that had been missing all her life.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll get through it.”
He reached out and touched his finger to her nose. “You mean we’ll get through it. We are a team, aren’t we Tessa?”
Her answer seemed to be extremely important. There was anticipation in his gaze that almost scared her.
“Yeah, we’re a team.” She reached up and kissed him quickly. Grabbing her bucket, she walked out of the stall. “Meet me in the trailer after practice.”
Hank grinned and saluted.
TJ turned to head back to work, ignoring the fact that she was humming under her breath. She was trying to accept the fact that she was in love in Hank.
HANK WATCHED THE sway of those jean-clad hips, and his balls tightened with need. He wanted to hang on and bury himself in her. He was absolutely obsessed with TJ Maguire. He thought about her all the time. When he was showering, walking, talking with other people. Hell, he even had dreams about her.
Was this love? More than likely, but he’d never been in love before so he wasn’t completely sure. Who knew a disqualification would turn his life so completely around?
He turned and headed back to the practice arena. The bulls were likely to stomp him to bits if he didn’t keep his mind on them and not on being a lovesick calf.
TJ RAN INTO Pablo on the way to the trailer. His normally laughing brown eyes were serious and troubled. She had a feeling she wasn’t going to like what he had to say.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
Pablo fell in step beside her. As they walked down past the corral fence toward the parking lot, he sighed and ran his hand down his face.
“Lots of rumors flying with the cowboys today.”
She knew she wasn’t going to like it now.
“And?”
“There is talk that you are trading sex for favors with that big blond cowboy.”
Her anger bit her then. “That’s bullshit and you know it, Pablo. I would never do that.”
He shrugged. “Someone saw you on the street in Santa Estrella, and someone else saw him leaving your hotel room in the middle of the night.”
She threw the bucket on the ground. “So? I can’t have a personal life?”
Pablo picked up the bucket and kept walking. She took a deep breath and followed him.
“No, amiga, that’s not it. What I heard was that the Pro Rodeo Circuit was investigating.”
Her stomach dropped literally to her knees. Investigating? Her?
“Tell me that you are kidding, Pablo.”
They reached the Bar T trailer and he held out the bucket to her. His brown eyes were now full of worry.
“This is what I heard. I don’t know that it’s true. Be careful. You don’t need me to tell you that this affects you and Bar T.”
Holy shit. This could not be happening. How could anyone even think it? There was only one way the rumors were even flying. Someone was spreading them, but she sure as hell didn’t know who.
Unfortunately, what she needed to do was to stop seeing Hank and put an end to the rumors before she ended her career and her father’s company. Because if the rumors were true about the circuit investigating, she would be up shit’s creek without a paddle.
*
TJ WORKED LIKE a madwoman to get all her work completed for the day since she’d lost so much time. She had just finished the schedule for the rodeo when the door opened and Hank walked in.
Her heart started beating harder and actually ached for what she had to do.
He had showered and put on clean clothes. His blond hair was still damp and the ends of the ponytail were stuck together like he’d forgotten to comb them.
“Hey, darlin’,” he said as he stepped in and closed the door.
She rose from her chair and started to speak, but he held up a hand to stop her.
“No talking. Not now. I need you so bad even my teeth are erect.”
He was so big and so hard and so hers. She had to be with him at least this last time. Then she could tell him it was over. The biting feeling of tears in her eyes was a bittersweet reminder of what was at stake. Her heart.
She walked toward him with her arms open. They fell onto each other like desert wanderers finding water. Greedily kissing and lapping at each other’s mouths, while hands roamed up and down bodies, squeezing, caressing and teasing.
Hank had one hand on her ass and one on a nipple, tweaking gently. TJ had both hands on his ass, pulling him toward her. Wanting, needing him.
“Lord, woman, in a minute I’m gonna have your pants down around your ank
les and you spread-eagle on the desk.”
Just the image of that had her wet in a second.
“Lock the door,” she murmured as she stepped back and started pulling up her shirt. After a moment of surprised hesitation, Hank stumbled to the door and locked it. He briefly looked at the windows. The blinds always stayed closed to keep the hot sunshine from TJ’s domain.
TJ pulled off her shirt and unbuttoned her jeans. Hank stood there watching, his eyes full of hunger and restrained passion.
“Now the bra,” he said huskily.
Feeling like a striptease artist, she gave him her back and slowly unhooked her bra, then dragged it down her erect nipples. The cool air conditioning made them perk up even higher. When she turned back to him, his eyes were burning brighter than the center of a propane flame.
“I want to bite them, Tessa.” She tried hard not to jerk at his words as her arousal grew to new heights.
She unzipped her jeans and shimmied them off. When Hank realized she wasn’t wearing any panties, his pupils practically took over. His hand grabbed his Levis and unbuttoned them in record time. He pulled off his shirt and threw it.
As she was pulling off her jeans, socks and boots, Hank made record time divesting himself of his. When she was finished, he was cocked and ready, with a condom on and a hard-on that would rival any tree limb.
“God you’re beautiful,” he said.
“Funny, I was thinking the same thing.”
Her eyes wandered over the slabs of honey-brown flesh, the absolute spectacle of maleness presented in front of her like an oversized present.
He smiled and his gaze flickered to the desk. “Sit on there for me, Cinnamon Girl.”
With a jolt of anticipation, she did as he bade and sat on the cool metal desk. She yelped in surprise at how cold it was, eliciting a chuckle from her lover.
“Don’t worry. It won’t be cold for long.”
He used his hands to push her legs farther apart, then kissed her thoroughly before turning his attention to her breasts. He laved and nibbled at one, while tweaking and rolling the other nipple with his hand. She felt a little embarrassed at the way she wiggled and moaned under his skills.