Learning the Ropes

by T. J. Kline

  Tears began to well in her eyes. She had to get away before they saw. The last thing she wanted was for Delilah to see her comments hit their mark. Alicia stood up and brushed past the group. “Excuse me.”

  “Oh, and there is nothing sexier than a guy with tattoos. He has this one . . . Oh, hello Alicia.” Delilah acted surprised to see her but grabbed her wrist, demanding her attention. “There’s nothing like a man in bed who knows what he’s doing, is there?”

  Alicia could see the hatred in Delilah’s eyes, the intent to inflict as much pain as possible. She was like a lioness stalking prey and was watching for any weakness in her victim. Alicia wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction.

  “You ought to know, you’ve had enough of them there.” She jerked her wrist away and Delilah laughed.

  “Aw, don’t be such a bad loser. You’ve had enough practice coming second to me that you should be used to it by now. Did you really think he’d pick you over someone like me?” She adjusted her shirt to show off her ample, medically enhanced cleavage. She looked Alicia up and down. “I mean, come on. What man in his right mind would pick you . . .” She waved her hand at Alicia dramatically before turning it toward herself and snickered. “Over this? I certainly don’t know any.”

  “Well, congratulations, Delilah. I hope the two of you are very happy together. Maybe he can help you celebrate your twelfth place run today.” She turned to leave the group of catty women on the stands.

  “Just because you won today doesn’t mean you’re anything special.”

  “No,” Alicia called, praying luck would be kind and remain on her side in spite of what she was about to say. “But yesterday’s win and last weekend’s win does. Maybe you should concentrate more on riding your horse than you do riding cowboys.”

  She heard the gasp of surprise from several of Delilah’s friends and couldn’t help squaring her shoulders with satisfaction. She was tired of being bullied and she wasn’t going to let Delilah or her friends do it anymore. She was done being nice, letting their comments roll off her back, pretending she didn’t care, trying to prove her worth so they would stop. No matter how hard she tried, it would never be enough for Delilah to accept her.

  She was sick of rolling over and letting people take advantage of her. That included the man tying his horse to their trailer. She stormed over, ready to make sure he knew she’d had her fill of being abused.

  “How could you do that to me?” The anger she’d been so determined to hide from him earlier erupted with full force. “How could you want to be with someone like me and someone like her?”

  “Ali, I didn’t—”

  She didn’t give him a chance to say anything. She didn’t want to hear any more words, because that’s all they were to him. Words, excuses, justifications, and apologies. It was a merry-go-round of tolerance and it was breaking her down. She was losing herself in weakness and refused to give into it any longer.

  “I don’t want to hear anything, Chris. I’ve heard enough and it means nothing anymore because I can’t trust you.”

  She saw his jaw clench and knew he was barely restraining his own temper. “You’ve always been able to trust me, Ali. I promised not to hurt you and—”

  “And yet you did.” She could see the defeat in his eyes. She wanted him to fight back, to prove he hadn’t slept with Delilah, to make her believe she was the only woman he wanted. But he said nothing and that said it all. “You don’t love me, Chris. You don’t love anyone but yourself. I don’t even think you know how.”

  She moved toward the trailer door. “I’m getting my things and staying somewhere else. Anywhere else.”

  Chris followed her inside, shutting the door behind him. “What can I say, Ali? Nothing is going to change your mind since you won’t believe the truth.”

  She looked back at him as she threw her clothes into her duffel bag. “I saw you leaving her trailer, with no shirt on, before six-thirty in the morning. What other reason could you possibly come up with?”

  Chris reached for her hand and dragged her against him. Her softness cradled him as he buried his hands into her hair and his mouth covered hers, cutting off any protest she might offer. His tongue swept into her mouth, stealing her breath and her resistance. She wanted to hate him, fight him, push him away, but her heart couldn’t deny this last kiss, one last touch.

  Her hands slipped around the back of his neck, drawing him closer, begging for more of him. If she couldn’t have his heart, she would take what he was willing to give and hate herself for her weakness later. Her fingers clutched at him, desperate to touch him and be touched by him. He slid a hand to her low back and pressed her against him, his fingers sliding up the back of her shirt and releasing the clasp of her bra. Her shirt disappeared over her head, followed by his, and his hands were at the waistband of her pants.

  Clothing was shed quickly while his lips seemed to be everywhere at once. She was on fire with need, his mouth and hands burning a path over her flesh until she felt like she was going to explode. Chris laid her on the bed. The weight of his body over her, his skin scorching every inch of her, was sensual, making her tremble in anticipation.

  With him poised at the core of her desire, inching himself forward, the love she felt for him, the need, the aching torment—all of it outweighed the pain he caused and she couldn’t turn him away. She couldn’t stop herself from loving him any more than she could stop the sun from rising. If she was going to give in to this weakness, she was going to do it on her terms.

  Alicia rolled so that she was straddling Chris, her hands against his chest, holding him down. “Say it,” she whispered.

  Chris circled his hands at her waist and stared up at her. “You said it didn’t matter.”

  She bent and kissed him, taking his lower lip between her teeth. “I lied,” she whispered against his mouth. “Tell me, even if you don’t mean it.” She slid down the length of him slowly, wrapping him with the sheath of her heat, and he groaned against her mouth.

  It was torture, sweet and painful, but she stilled. “Chris?”

  He cupped his hands around her face, forcing her to look into his smoldering blue eyes. “I love you, Ali. I promise you can trust me. This is the real thing.” He pressed himself farther into her, sending her over the edge, no longer able to hold back as she dropped her head backward, crying out his name.

  It was primal, raw desire, needy, demanding an answering passion from him. Her nails dug into his sides as his hands cupped her breasts, driving into her as she held on. His thumbs stroked over the tight buds and her body quaked against him, clutching him as she rode the waves of ecstasy. Unable to wait for his release, she arched her back, her body exploding into thousands of points of light.

  It was the only encouragement he needed and he thrust into her. Alicia realized he’d been holding back his own release, waiting for her, and felt herself cresting the wave again as he took her breast into his mouth, drawing every ounce of passion from her. She shook against him, unable to control her body’s response to him, feeling her body contract around him. He nibbled and sucked at the flesh as she trembled against him.

  Chris swirled his tongue around the nipple and she fell over the edge, her body convulsing as she felt herself lose control. He groaned against her and gave himself over to his release. Alicia knew she’d regret this moment soon enough but for right now, she was going to savor the moment of ignorant bliss. She would allow herself this one respite to pretend they were happy and that they could move forward. Even if it was only for tonight.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  * * *

  CHRIS WOKE UP the next morning and reached his arms out to circle the soft woman in the small bed with him but his hands found nothing but cold sheets. He opened his eyes but knew exactly what he’d find. The trailer had no trace of Alicia left other than her scent left clinging to his skin and the pillow.

  “Damn it.” He rolled onto his back and covered his eyes with his arm. He’d prayed af
ter last night, she believed him.

  He swung his legs over the edge of the bed. She couldn’t have gotten far. He knew she wouldn’t leave this close to winning the overall average purse. He still had twenty-four hours to convince her. Pulling on his jeans and slipping his arms into a t-shirt, he headed out to feed the horses, only to find his horses already munching on alfalfa and her animals nowhere in sight. That wasn’t a good sign.

  He opened the tack compartment and saw only his tack and dread balled in his stomach. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought. She wasn’t just planning on staying somewhere else tonight. It looked like she was trying to avoid him completely.

  “What’s wrong, cowboy? You look like you just lost your best friend.”

  Chris turned and saw the last woman he ever wanted to set eyes on again. “You’re going to clear up this mess right now.” He reached for her arm but she jerked it away from his fingers.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She clutched at her arm as if afraid of him. “I can’t help it if you didn’t tell your girlfriend about us.” She deliberately raised her voice, looking around for an audience.

  “There is no us, Delilah. You know damn well nothing happened and you’re going to tell Ali.” Memories began to piece together in his mind. “I helped you last night. That cowboy . . .”

  Delilah took a step closer, forgetting the pretense of lying, and sneered at him. “Was a friend of mine. I’m not clearing anything up for you. You and that tramp deserve this.” She turned to leave and stopped, throwing him a glance over her shoulder. “You know, I might be persuaded to tell her the truth if you convince her to stop competing.”

  “Why? Because you can’t beat her on your own?” Chris narrowed his eyes. Ali wouldn’t quit this close to winning, and he wouldn’t ask. “You’re so far behind her right now, she’s got this average in the bag.”

  Delilah laughed bitterly. “You’re really are an idiot,” she scoffed. “Or did we just hit you in the head too hard last night. I mean she quit altogether. No more rodeos. At all.”

  That explained the headache that wouldn’t go away.

  Ali had never been closer to competing in the National Finals. He couldn’t ask her to give that up. There had to be another way to prove himself to Ali. Delilah wasn’t that clever so it shouldn’t be too difficult.

  “Sorry, Delilah, but it’s going to be far too much fun watching Ali leave you in the dust. I wouldn’t miss that for anything.” He wasn’t about to bow to her conniving ways.

  She arched a perfectly waxed brow at him. “Suit yourself. It’s too bad, though. You two made a cute couple.” She pouted at him. “It’s kinda funny that you were the one who introduced her to David. I guess it’s sort of fitting that he gets the girl in the end.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  She pointed to David’s trailer where Boogie was tied. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was playing you two against each other.” She pressed one hand against her ample bosom in mock outrage. “What a slut!”

  Chris had never hit a woman but, if he ever did, this would be the one he’d make the exception for. “You ever mention her name again and I promise you’ll be sorry, Delilah,” he growled through clenched teeth.

  “Don’t you get pissy when you don’t get your way?” She laughed as if she didn’t care what he threatened. She looked around make sure she had witnesses. “Too bad you didn’t just keep it in your pants the other night. You weren’t that great anyway.”

  “Well, thanks for the warning, Delilah,” he countered. “I’ll be sure to get myself checked out now that I know which STD you’re passing around.” It wasn’t going to make his case to Ali look any better but he wasn’t sure anything was going to make him look worse than he already did.

  She narrowed her eyes as the girls began whispering behind their hands and one pointed at Delilah. “You’ll be sorry for that, you bastard,” she hissed.

  “Trust me. I’ve never been sorrier than I am that I tried to help you last night.”

  He turned on a heel, leaving her staring after him, and headed for David’s trailer. He wasn’t going to cave to Delilah’s threats. He would get the truth about this situation and his best friend was just the person to help. Even if they were barely speaking right now.

  DAVID CLEANED HIS gelding’s hoof out again but he could see the horse was coming up lame on his front foot. He could ride his mare, it was the reason he brought two horses to every rodeo, but this gelding was the better of the two—far better. This rodeo was leaving him more frustrated every hour. First the fight with Chris, then Ali moving into his trailer, now this? What was next? Chris wasn’t going to be happy about him changing horses but he couldn’t figure out what caused the gelding to go lame for no apparent reason.

  “Need help?”

  David glanced up in time to see a pretty blond with a rhinestone crown on her hat looking down at him expectantly. Her rhinestone-studded, red Western shirt made him close one eye as the sun glinted off it, blinding him. The crown and sash were dead giveaways and he knew who he was looking at—the rodeo queen.

  “You think you can help me?”

  She cocked her head at him, her long, curled hair tipping to one side. “Yes. Does that seem so unheard of? Or are you usually rude enough to make people not want to help you?”

  Setting his gelding’s hoof on the ground, David dusted off his hands on his pants and eyed her. “You’re kinda feisty for a queen, aren’t you?”

  “And you’re awfully cocky for a roper with a lame horse.”

  He swung his hand toward the horse, not bothering to hide his sarcasm. “I’m so sorry. Please, be my guest.”

  She bent over and picked up the foot, pressing with her thumb against several areas of the inside, watching for the animal’s reaction. The gelding twitched as she pushed on the middle. “Looks like he bruised the frog.” She showed him a tender area and pressed against it, pointing out when the horse tried to draw his foot from her. “You’ll need to get your farrier to put some pads on him until it heals. I wouldn’t ride him today though.”

  David eyed her speculatively as she carefully released the hoof and patted his horse’s shoulder. “He’ll be fine in a week or so.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the trailer. At least it wasn’t a major injury. “Not bad for a rodeo queen.”

  “Yeah? Maybe that’s because I’m a vet first.” She gave him a dazzling smile. “Well, almost a vet. I still have another year to finish.”

  “That explains it. So, what do I owe you, Doc?” He wasn’t sure why he was antagonizing this woman when she’d helped him but she seemed to take it in stride. Her pretty blue eyes were mischievous and filled with humor, making him relax a bit.

  “I guess I can let you off with a freebie this time, especially since I don’t have my license yet.”

  She started to leave and he found himself looking for a reason to keep her lingering. “You gonna be around later, Doc? Just in case he needs you to check up on him again?”

  She turned around and flashed him that brilliant smile again. “Are you asking for your horse or yourself?”

  “Does it matter?” The door to his trailer opened.

  “Hey, David, I hope you don’t mind but I . . . oh! Sorry, I was just—”

  David saw the pretty vet narrow her eyes before they clouded over with guarded irritation. “Alicia Kanani, this is . . .” David paused, realizing he didn’t even know her name.

  “Summer Williams,” she finished for him, holding her hand out to Alicia. “I was just checking out his gelding’s hoof.”

  Alicia looked between the two of them, obviously sensing the tension, and a broad smile spread over her lips. “Miss West Hills Rodeo, right?”

  Summer nodded and wiggled the white sash over her chest. “Only until the weekend’s over. I decided to do one last queen’s run. It was nice to meet you, Alicia.” She glanced at David. “You too, David.�
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  David frowned as she turned to leave. He hadn’t introduced himself.

  “Wait a second,” he called after her, jogging to catch up. “How’d you know who I was?”

  “I’m the rodeo queen and it’s part of the gig that I stay up on rodeo standings. You and your partner are back up to number four right now.”

  If she knew who he was, then she certainly knew Chris. Just the thought of her falling for Chris’s charms soured him.

  Why do you even care?

  The question took him by surprise and he pushed it aside, not wanting to open that can of worms right now. He had enough trouble at this rodeo for one man to handle.

  She glanced back at Alicia. “You’d better get back. I don’t want to make your girlfriend mad and I’m not into flirting with another girl’s cowboy.”

  His brows dropped and David shook his head. “Ali’s not my girlfriend. I mean, at one time she was,” he clarified. “But we’re just friends now.”

  Summer shook her head, doubtful and laughed. “I’ve heard that one before. I’ll see you around.”

  David watched her walk away, feeling disappointed and irritated with himself but unsure as to why, which only frustrated him more. He didn’t like feeling off-balance.

  “David, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

  “Don’t worry, Ali. It was nothing. She was just taking a look at his foot for me.”

  She cocked a brow and eyed him. “It didn’t look like nothing.”

  He didn’t want to argue with her, or think about the situation too closely. He didn’t need any more female complications in his life right now. Between losing the family ranch, dealing with Ali and Chris, and trying to stay in the top standings, he didn’t have a second to waste on any sort of relationship. Especially with someone as high maintenance as a rodeo queen.

  She gave him a half-hearted shrug and her eyes grew serious. “David, I need you to do something for me.”

  “Anything.” It was an open invitation and he meant it but found his thoughts straying back to the woman who’d just walked away from his trailer.