Rode Hard
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 bul
ls.”
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.
Denise jumped up and grabbed Kat’s arm. “Come on, let’s go down and talk to Justin.” When Kat stood she glanced over at Duncan and Kasey, both men were staring at her and she shivered beneath their heated scrutiny. As if he was fully aware of the effect they both had on her, Kasey winked.
Chapter Two
Kat followed Denise and the guys through the crowd as they pushed their way past the mass of women and cowboys waiting to talk to the competitors. A cowboy strutted by and tipped his hat at them. Kat took in the tight jeans and the worn Skoal mark on his back pocket. It would have made a great shot for the magazine but somehow snapping a picture of a stranger’s butt just didn’t seem like the best idea.
Laughing to herself, Kat continued to follow the group. An excited squeal off to her right drew her attention to a group of women. Kat glanced over at them then followed the line to see what had snagged their attention. A long, lean cowboy was walking toward them. The man had barely taken four steps when the young miniskirt-clad girls ran past them and swarmed around the man.
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