His Sexy Smile

by Jessica Mills

  I waved her off. “No, I have to get back to Renegade so I can race,” I said. “I just had to come vent to someone. They made me so damn mad.”

  “I know, honey. Like I said, they have nothing better to do. Colt is beating the tar out of them in the competitions and they don’t handle being embarrassed well. Even Will is getting his rear end handed to him, and he’s been surlier than usual about it. Eventually, Colt will be either gone or old news anyway, and they will lay off him. Besides, everybody’s pay gets bumped the higher the attendance, and Colt brings people in. One of these days, they are going to notice having Colt around is good for them.”

  “But that day isn’t today, and I feel like smacking the hell out of them today,” I said.

  “That’s fair,” she said. “They might could use a smack.”

  There was a moment where she looked side-eye at me and then laughed. As angry as I was, it deflated me. Macy always knew just the right facial expression to make to bring me out of an angry haze.

  “You’re right,” I said.

  “About them leaving Colt alone eventually or the smack?” she asked, sipping her wine from the goblet she always had at the ready. It read “Princess” on the side and had a measurement in white that had markers like “Good day” near the bottom and “Screw Everybody” near the top.

  “Both,” I said with a slight grin. “Maybe one then the other.”

  “That’s a girl,” she said. “Now get out there and win some races. I’ll come with you to watch.”

  Chapter 13

  Colt

  The stallion they had me on today was going to be a rough ride. It was huge and muscular and mean as hell. I had seen him buck a few boys off almost instantly earlier, and when it was nearly my time to ride, I found myself getting the butterflies I normally didn’t get anymore. It was half the reason I had gone into semi-retirement. I loved the crowd and the whole atmosphere, but the actual riding wasn’t as much of a challenge anymore.

  This time, though, that was not going to be the case.

  I could hear the snickering of some of the other cowboys when I walked into the pen, heading up the ramp to the area where the broncs were waiting. They had been snickering and muttering to each other while I taped up my joints, while I put on my chaps and cinched them in, and while I oiled my gloves and slipped them on. They were going to make their comments. I didn’t particularly care.

  Their comments would likely be a lot different when I whipped their asses with my score.

  Most of the talk around the bronc I was assigned was in reverence or fear. They would never cop to it being fear, but that was what it was. It was damn good stock and would likely be bought off the rodeo before the end of its run but was the pride and joy of the promoter while they were on the tour. The other boys knew that the potential for a mind-blowing score was there, but so was the chance for embarrassment. A bronc like that needed someone who knew what the hell they were doing.

  From my perspective, outside of me, there didn’t seem to be anyone else there that could handle it.

  A week before, I had walked on to the rodeo as a guest and bested the boys easily. This day, however, there was intent behind the booking. The test was to see if I was as good as advertised, since the word had spread about who I was. It also wasn’t lost on them that I had been shacking up with Leah either. While they didn’t know that we had been sleeping together and only fooling around a bit, they did seem to know that we were pretty inseparable. The big mug named Will was surly about it, though I had a feeling he was surly all the time anyway.

  The gated area where the broncs were held was out in the open, and the crowd was buzzing from the last rider. I knew that once they announced my name and the fact that I was a Montana boy, the home-state crowd was going to light up for me. Which meant it might spook the bronc a bit more and make him jumpier. It was all the same to me. Either I’d be in control or I wouldn’t and I was in control more often than not. I was determined not to embarrass myself that day, and when I climbed up on the metal barriers to cross over to the main gate, I grinned at the handlers.

  “Good and ready?” one of them called out to me as I made it over.

  “Ready as ever,” I responded. It was how I always responded to that question. It was always true.

  I climbed over the railing and waited on the edge while the last rider before me took his run. Just over eight seconds and he was on the ground, rolling away and cussing himself. I would be too. I was determined to get ten, hook or crook, on this guy. I had seen how he bucked, and if I could get past ten seconds, I had a shot at the win. Eleven and it was in the bag. Twelve and they might think I was a god.

  So, the goal was thirteen.

  I dropped on and felt him tense under me. If it weren’t for the gate, he’d already be trying to buck me off, which was a good sign for my score. Half my score was determined by how ornery he was. The other half was how well and how long I held on to the bastard. With my hand cinched into the riggin’ and the other raised high, I waited for my name to get called.

  The swell of the crowd when they said “Montana born” was enough to make me grin, and the explosion when a bunch of them recognized my last name was enough to fill every meter inside of me to maximum. My eyes were sharp. My senses were alert. I imagined that this was what illicit drugs must feel like, and I wondered if my addiction was any worse than theirs. The only difference seemed to be mine was legal.

  “Three… two… one… get it!” the gatekeeper said and yanked the gate open.

  The bronc bucked under me hard and nearly flipped me off on the first jump. It was by sheer will and muscles in my thighs that kept me on as he damn near went vertical right out of the gate. I crashed down on his back, feeling the compression in my spine and silently thinking I might need a stretch afterward. The clock was a blur, as was the crowd, since every half second the bronc was leaping into the air, making another wild kick to throw me off.

  My arm snapped back and forth on the side as I tried to keep balance. The other hand was cinched in tight, and even when I was pitched forward, I kept the grip. My internal clock was rolling, and I knew I was halfway through my goal. Suddenly, he turned in midair and yanked me to one side, and I felt myself slip a little.

  “Fuck,” I muttered as I held on tight with my legs.

  It was going to cost me a point or two if they noticed. I tried sitting up a little, which would cost me more, but it would keep me on the bronc better. I got back in position on the next buck and lay back flat on him. It was showy but it worked. A few more seconds ticked by, and I could feel my grip lessen. With each buck my arm wore out, my fingers tired, and my body started to slide again.

  Another wild buck and I felt the back of my head slam into his backside as it kicked up, and my hat went flying. Hair went in my face as I gritted my teeth and held on for dear life. This guy was a son of a bitch, but I had ridden worse. The crowd had died away, and all that was left was the sound of the horse’s hooves slamming into the earth, the rush of its breath, and the sound of my own hammering heart.

  I felt alive. This was who I was. Any other time, I was a person pretending to be me, but this was when I was really authentically myself. There was nothing like the adrenaline that pumped through my body and made me grip again, like my hand was made of iron. There was nowhere else on earth that I would rather be.

  Except maybe naked in Leah’s bed.

  Time passed, and my clock stopped ticking. Suddenly, I was pitched forward in a manner that made me leave the back and then he pulled away. I was left to fall, flat backed, several feet to the ground below. I hit with a thump and the wind knocked out of me. I should have known better. A friend of the families had taught me the secret years ago when he started wrestling professionally. Always get the air out of your lungs on the way down, he taught me. That way when you hit, you can breathe in.

  Instead, I rolled to the side, the rope with the bell dangling off his back, waiting for someone else to guide him
to the gate. I got to my knees and the roar of the crowd returned to my ears. They were chanting my name, and I stood to wave at them, making my way over to where my hat lay in the soft mud. I picked it up and brushed it off before waving it at the crowd. I turned toward the judges and waved at them too for good measure and saw the time.

  Twelve point eight seconds. Not quite god-like, but damn good. Better than I needed.

  I made my way back down the ramp to the pen to the adulation of the crowd. A few of the other workers from the more carnival aspects of the traveling show came to congratulate me as well. So did some of the lady barrel runners. Leah’s friend Georgia seemed nice and she made it a point to high-five me as I walked past.

  “Seen Leah?” I asked as I clapped hands with her.

  “She went out to the audience to watch,” she said. “She will make it around in just a minute.”

  I nodded and tipped my hat at her as I continued down the ramp. As I got into the pen, I saw Leah running toward me, a big grin on her face. I could feel the resentment from the group of cowboys beside me as she ran toward me. Will stood at the front of them and sneered as I made my way past him.

  Leah embraced me in a big hug and I wrapped her up, picking her up to spin her around once. She was already dressed for her races, and I realized she was going first on the barrel runs. She barely had time to do anything but warm up her horse and had taken the time to come watch me instead. Somewhere behind me, I heard one of the men say my name and a bit of laughter coming from them.

  “That was a killer ride,” she said. “You were fantastic.”

  “Thank you, darlin’,” I said. “I am sure you’re going to kick ass out there as well today.”

  “I hope so,” she said. “I don’t have a bunch of time to warm up.”

  “Here, let me help you,” I said, holding her horse’s guiding rope so she could slip on her chaps. She looked up at me with a twinkle in her eye as she did, meeting my gaze. There was something sexual about putting on her riding gear and both of us felt it.

  “Thank you,” she said, finally ready and taking the guiding rope from me.

  “Good luck out there tonight,” I said, opening my arms for another hug. “I’ll be watching from the stands.”

  “I’ll be looking for you,” she said, grinning and then wrapped her arms around my waist as I pulled her tight.

  I leaned my head down low so it was just by her ear and whispered to her. “Find me after your ride,” I said. “I want to take you somewhere that’s just the two of us. No distractions.”

  “I’d like that,” she said, smiling wide and then mounting her horse. “I’d like that a whole lot.”

  “Get ‘em,” I said as she began to trot away, warming up quickly.

  “I always do,” she said. I loved that. She was as confident and as spunky as she could be, and it was such a far cry from most of the women who had passed through my life. They always seemed so timid or starstruck, willing to sit back and let me be the star while they danced on the edge. I had never loved them, but they kept me company.

  Leah, though, she was tough and she was charismatic and she was intoxicating. And as I watched her ride away, I knew exactly where I wanted to take her. And exactly what I wanted to do with her when I got there.

  Chapter 14

  Leah

  The race felt incredible. I always enjoyed being out there in the ring on my horse, but this one felt different. Like both of us had an extra spark that day. My time was fantastic and the cheering of the crowd gave me an adrenaline rush that had me buzzing when I climbed down off Renegade.

  I couldn’t get the smile off my face even if I wanted to. I remembered what Colt asked before I went out into the ring, but I had to take care of my horse before I could meet up with him. Renegade worked hard and deserved to be pampered a bit after a race like that, so I took my time with him. Removing the tack, I washed him down and brushed him before bringing him to his stall for a much-deserved rest.

  Fresh hay and alfalfa waited for him, but I also slipped him a few chunks of an apple and a carrot as an extra reward. When I was confident Renegade was comfortable, I went to my trailer to clean up a bit. It wasn’t like Colt hadn’t seen me right out of the ring before, but I wanted to freshen up a little before seeing him. Tonight seemed different.

  It wasn’t just that he wanted to see me after my race. And we weren’t just getting together with the rest of the group to go out to a local bar the way we usually did after a rodeo. Colt specifically said he wanted to bring me somewhere we could be just the two of us, and I couldn’t wait.

  He smiled at me when I finally walked toward him a little later. He looked like he had taken a minute to freshen up himself, and when he wrapped his arms around me to give me a hug, I breathed in the smell of him. That was something I’d never had the compulsion to do before. I never wanted to just breathe in a man. But with Colt, none of my senses could get enough of him.

  “What are we doing tonight?” I asked.

  “Well,” he said, wrapping his arms around my waist and looking down into my face. “First, are you sure you don’t want to go with the rest of the guys? I know that’s how you usually celebrate and I don’t want to take that away from you if you want to go.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “No. Hanging out with them is the last thing on my mind tonight. I want to be with you.”

  I stopped short of saying I had no interest in going to some local bar with those assholes. I figured he got the picture.

  Colt smiled. “Good. Then I want to bring you somewhere that will definitely be just the two of us.”

  I was intrigued, but he wasn’t giving me any more details than that.

  “That’s it?” I asked. “You’re not going to tell me where we’re going?”

  Colt shook his head. “You’re just going to have to wait and see.”

  He took my hand and led me to the truck. Opening the door for me, he waited until I climbed up into the passenger seat, then closed the door behind him and walked around to get in. We drove away from the carnival grounds and out into the growing darkness. The farther we drove away from the bright lights of the grounds, the darker everything around us seemed.

  Finally, Colt drove out onto a lookout point and stopped the truck. He stared in front of us through the windshield and let out a breath.

  “That,” he said matter-of-factly, “is Montana.”

  I looked out over the landscape and was taken aback by how beautiful it really was. Even with only moonlight to illuminate the area, I could see just how gorgeous everything around us was and immediately wondered how this exact spot would look during the day.

  He took off his seatbelt and climbed out of the truck. I followed his lead and we met in front of the truck to walk out closer to the edge and look out over the landscape together. Colt’s arm slipped around my waist and I let out a sigh as I rested my head on the side of his shoulder.

  For a few moments, we just stood there together, enjoying how beautiful everything was.

  “Can we see your family’s ranch from up here?” I asked, only partially joking.

  Colt shook his head. “Not quite. I’m not home yet. But close enough.” He looked out over everything again for a few more long, silent seconds. “It’s been a long time since I saw my home state in all its glory. It really is a pretty sight.”

  “It sure is,” I said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like this. I can see why your family loves it so much.”

  I was cautious about the way I said that. Colt was so sensitive about Montana and his level of attachment to the ranch. I didn’t want to throw him off or somehow disrupt the moment we were having. He didn’t give much of a reaction, only nodded.

  A few moments later, a bit of wind blew up and I shivered. Colt pulled me closer and kissed the side of my head.

  “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get back in the truck.”

  We climbed back in and went back to gazing through the windshield.
But it wasn’t the view that had my attention anymore. My focus was completely on Colt and I wanted nothing more than to be close to him. It was fully night now, with no more lingering signs of the sun, and bright, glittering stars were overhead as I slid over to the middle of the seats and leaned over to kiss him.

  Our lips touched gently at first, as if we were exploring each other for the first time again. It was tender, but yearning drove that kiss beyond and into passion quickly. Soon his hands filled with my hair and our tongues wrapped around one another, stroking each other and tasting each other. His breath was hot and heavy as he moved down my jaw to my neck, letting his tongue trace my thick vein before nibbling on the soft spot just under my ear. I moaned and giggled at the same time at the ticklishness of his five o’clock shadow.

  One hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me into his lap so I straddled him in the driver’s seat. I began to rock on him, and he groaned as we kissed again. I began to unbutton my shirt, and when it was open, I slid it down my arms, still gently riding him. I could feel his hard cock through his jeans and my own, and I longed to feel it once again. Only this time, there would be no sense of urgency, no need to just fool around to make sure we weren’t so engaged in each other that too much time would pass. I had all night if I wanted it, right there in his truck, and I aimed to spend every second I could pressing my naked body against his.

  Colt reached up and unhooked my bra, and I let it fall down over my arms, revealing my heavy breasts to him. He took one hungrily into his mouth and I moaned at the sensation of his tongue on my sensitive nipple. He flicked it with the tip before sliding it around in a circle and then taking it into his mouth, sucking on it and bringing it to a stiff peak. Then, trailing his tongue across my chest, he swept under my breast and then up to the nipple, repeating the action there and making me throw my head back and clench my eyes at the sensation.