His voice strangled in his throat and she had no intention of waiting for anything.
She kissed him, and caressed him through his jeans and he pushed into her hand in rhythm with her strokes.
“Good?” she murmured, breaking the kiss slightly.
“God, yes.” His voice shook. “Perfect,” he said. “But we have to stop. I have to tell you something.”
“Later.” She angled his head down to hers and with one hand deftly popped his buckle and was started on the buttons of his jeans. She sank to her knees in search of treasure.
“Tanner.” He caught her under her elbows and pulled her back up, held her against his chest. “I want to make love to you, but we need to talk first.”
“Talk?” She blinked at him and then felt like the water went cold. Or was that her? “What about?” Men never wanted to talk. Not about anything good. And men never wanted to talk before sex and usually not after, although she wasn’t anything close to an expert.
Her heart galloped and her breathing was fractured. What had she done wrong this time? She was naked and he was partially clothed, half undressed by her frantic and clumsy hands. She took a step back and he let her. Tanner felt it like a blow. Humiliating. But she hadn’t made imagined the signs, had she?
“I’ll let you finish up,” he said. “And then we can talk.”
Chapter Eleven
Tanner was up as usual at dawn despite the fact that there had been precious little sleep last night. She had been so embarrassed and then angry about Luke putting her off that if his trailer had had a back door or large enough window, she would have climbed out. Instead she’d finished her shower, dressed, and then walked back out into the main room to find Luke, Kane and his mother deep in conversation.
Silence and three pair of eyes had tracked her progress, and it had taken all of her willpower to not flush or bend under the scrutiny.
No classes on escaping awkward moments in college.
“Thanks for the shower,” she said channeling an equal dose of perky and cavalier from a well she didn’t know she’d dug.
Luke stood up and walked toward her. His golden gaze. His walk. Deadly to her restraint.
“I’ll walk you out.”
“I’m good,” she said.
“I’m not,” he said low in her ear.
Tired of feeling rejected, Tanner had turned around and stuck out her hand. “Tanner McTavish,” she’d said to Luke’s mother.
His mom had stood up, well, flowed really, all slim, graceful elegance with the same eyes as Kane, which was a bit spooky. She’d looked Tanner up and down, and Tanner felt lacking in all areas. Samara might have three grown sons, but she was beautiful and ethereal. Then she looked at Luke, clearly puzzled.
Great. Obvious much?
“Samara Wilder,” she’d said her name, her intense gaze sweeping Tanner up and down. “You don’t have to leave. You know Talon. You could help us get Colt to talk to me.”
“Mom,” Luke said.
Just the one word had shown so much, Tanner marveled. His exasperation. His love. His regret. His steel.
“I do have to leave,” Tanner had said. On impulse she’d turned back to Luke and kissed him on his cheek. “See you tomorrow, cowboy. Hopefully you can hang on a bit better then.”
Just to piss him off she’d winked at Kane, who’d openly laughed at his brother.
Tanner was trying to take the approach that Luke’s sudden desire for a conversation instead of blood pumping frantic sex in his shower and hopefully other places in his trailer last night was for the best. Emphasis on trying. Still, today the rodeo opened and nothing, not even Luke Wilder, who was either the biggest tease or the most challenging man to read in her experience, could get her down for long.
The day of prelims was always busy, and since the Triple T was providing more than forty percent of the stock for this rodeo and two of the barrel racers boarded their horses with the ranch, Tanner was busy, but not so busy she hadn’t had time to catch up with Luke when he brought her a latte as she worked.
She felt giddy, seeing him again.
“You found the Java Café.” She breathed in the fragrance of an almond milk latte with a dash of cinnamon.
“Absolutely.” He smiled, and Tanner had to restrain herself from kissing him because they had a major audience and she didn’t trust his signals.
“And you brought my favorite.”
“Small towns. I just said your name and the barista knew what you liked.”
“Love my hometown.” Tanner felt her tension from yesterday ease.
Luke was here smiling at her, and today was the prelims of rodeo competition and Marietta was getting a chance to shine for locals and tourists. Even the weather was cooperating.
“Will you get a bit of a break later?” he’d asked, leaning against the pens and watching her with his golden gaze that had permanently curled her toes.
“Don’t you need to concentrate on your events?”
He didn’t still want to have that talk, did he? Tanner didn’t want to know. It was probably a deal-breaker like a girl friend or the let’s-be-friends or I’m-not-ready-for-a-relationship talk. She’d heard it so many times before she could quote it. She so did not want to talk to Luke Wilder.
“I’m good.” He made the move to her by sliding his arm around her waist and pulling her in for a gentle hug that left her in no doubt that he was ready. Instantly she felt her core heat. “Better than good.”
Yes he was. Superb was a better adjective, but she was not falling into that trap again. Except she almost did as his eyes heated as they met hers.
His smile practically scorched her skin off.
“Maybe a walk?” His smile dimmed, and his eyes looked a bit sad.
She almost capitulated. Just get it over with. Pull the band aid. She ignored her higher self.
“You’ve only got a couple of hours before your roping events,” she said, marveling at her cool professionalism. “And I’ve got bulls and horses to prep. I’ll watch you ride. Hope you can stick it.”
“Tanner McTavish.” He straightened away from her. “I’m sticking the ride. I’m dancing with you tonight. I’m winning that buckle and the prize money. Don’t doubt me.”
“Talk’s cheap. Show me,” she said as he sauntered away. She could watch him walk for hours, but definitely the view walking towards was better than away.
Tanner watched at least some of each event in between work, but now that the bull riding preliminary rides were closing in, Tanner’s tummy began to churn. What if Luke were tired? Distracted from his family’s drama? She felt so anxious and sexually frustrated she was having a hard time holding on to her usual tools, ropes, pitch fork, shovels, everything. Her watch seemed to be ticking extra loudly, but she still kept looking at it, the time dragging when all she wanted to do was run off to find Luke.
“Hey, Tanner, Luke had his draw yet?” Kane was there, back stage pass clipped to a belt loop on his jeans.
She didn’t bother to ask how he got back here. No one associated with the rodeo in several countries didn’t know who Kane Wilder was. Nor would they deny him access to anything, any place, anywhere. She looked at her watch. Again.
“In half an hour,” she said.
“Great.” He leaned against one of the pen’s posts, crossed his arms, and smiled at her.
Tanner blinked and looked away. Charm and charisma oozed from his pores. He wore confidence like she wore Wranglers.
“I hope you let him get a little rest last night.” He teased.
Tanner’s mouth opened and closed. “I have no say in his sleeping patterns,” she said.
“Boy’s losing his touch then.”
And then like the mature scientist and businesswoman she was, she blushed fire engine red.
He laughed, cleft dimple on his chin prominent.
Oh, boy. He was lethal, piercing blue-grey eyes, killer smile with a dimple, thick, midnight black hair, long and wavy and casually
caught back in a low pony tail, but he didn’t move her the way Luke did. Too smooth, practiced. Calculating. She couldn’t get a real read on him, whereas Luke had seemed genuine out of the chute. Self-contained, modest, kind. She practically sighed. Perfect. Luke was perfect. Not polished.
“You gonna give him riding tips?” She found herself irritated by the thought.
Kane laughed. “Hell, no. He’s still my big brother. He might play nice, but he’s kicked my ass too many times growing up for me to give him another excuse.”
“Kept you in line, huh.”
“Not enough, probably.” Kane shot back, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“You close?”
Something flashed across Kane’s face, but it was so fleeting she may have imagined it.
“We’re brothers.”
“You watch him ride a lot?” She asked curiously.
“Only after,” he said.
“Why? Your schedules don’t match?”
He was quiet a moment, looking down at his black cowboy boots that looked hand stitched, and for that split second, in the silence, Tanner felt that was the most honest glimpse of Kane she was ever going to get.
He looked up at her, and his blue-grey gaze seared through her as if trying to read her. Her chin notched up. Whatever he saw, it meant nothing to her. What she and Luke were, and it might, she thought with a painful twinge to her heart, be nothing, was between her and Luke, not his famous and wealthy brother.
“Luke’s honest to the bone,” he said, startling her.
“Non sequitur much?”
“Just saying.”
He pushed himself away from the stock pen. “From what I’ve read about your breeding program and what I’ve seen on your ranch and here, the IBR would be lucky to have your bulls.”
She couldn’t stifle the rush of pleasure, and even though Luke was the stock rep, Kane Wilder’s word would carry a lot of weight.
“That’s Luke’s call, but thank you. Wait. How did you see the ranch?”
“Your dad was quite happy to show me around. He talked at length about the bloodlines and pretty much let me look my fill.”
His words were casual, but Tanner paused. “I would have shown you around after the rodeo,” she said quickly, trying to keep her voice and breathing calm.
No. She was being paranoid. It would be too much of a coincidence that Kane had looked around her ranch and her father started talking about selling, wouldn’t it?
“That’s when Luke’s going to spend a couple of days there.”
“Oh. Is that what he’ll be doing? Looking at the bulls?”
“Yes, the bulls,” she said shortly. “And why are you trying to yank my chain? Why’d you go out to the Triple T without asking me?”
“Bruce McTavish is still listed as owner. Tanner McTavish is listed as a horse trainer and part-time animal husbandry assistant.”
Tanner fought the urge to snort and roll her eyes like one of her horses. “That was years ago.” She’d still been in school. “There’s nothing part-time about me now,” she said forcefully. “And why are you looking at my athletes anyway?”
He crossed his arms and looked down at her. She wasn’t short at five-foot-eight in her boots, but Kane Wilder was tall for a bull rider, who usually tended to be built smaller as the lower center of gravity made it easier to stick their seat on the bull.
“Curious,” he said, maddeningly vague.
She would have questioned him further, but he reached out with one finger and touched a wispy curl that had long ago strayed from her braid.
“You should wear your hair down more. I bet it’s beautiful, like fire.”
She jerked away from his touch.
His lips tilted in a smile. “Don’t stress Luke out during a rodeo weekend.”
How could she possibly stress him out? He was stressing her out.
“We just met,” she said as casually as she could. It was true although it didn’t feel like that at all.
“Sometimes time and people don’t work like that.”
What the heck? Was he was a mind reader as well as international bull-riding super star? Fabulous.
She fought her blush. He could not read her mind. He could not read her heart. He was fishing. Nosy brother with terrible timing. Prettier brother, her ass.
“I like the freckles. They suit.” He leaned in a bit closer, which forced Tanner to take a step back, which she hated.
Hated! But no way was she touching Luke’s brother. That would be weird, and she didn’t like his game and was about to tell him so when his whole demeanor changed and went from playful to serious.
“Ah, here’s Luke. Let’s rock and roll.”
Luke moved toward them, holding his gloves, custom bull ropes, and already wearing his chaps. She’d seen hundreds of cowboys wear chaps, but Luke in chaps stole her breath. His face was taut, his walk quick, purposefully eating up the distance.
“Hey,” she said softly and was completely stunned when he spanned one hand high between her shoulders blades and dragged her up against him and kissed her assertively.
Tanner stiffened momentarily, but the hard heat of his body and the insistence of his kiss had her forgetting Kane stood a few feet away and other cowboys and the stock teams were starting to gather in the area. She stood up on tiptoe and kissed him back letting her fingers caress his neck.
“Still here,” Kane said behind them.
“And I’m wondering why,” Luke said, slowly breaking the kiss.
He touched Tanner’s cheek.
“Now that you’ve peed on a bush…” Kane said.
Luke’s eyes narrowed and he swung around. “You can say whatever dumb ass thing you want to say to me. I’ve heard it all before, and I don’t care, but not to Tanner. You can be polite and respectful or you can shut the hell up. Choose.”
“Wait. What?” Tanner tangled her fingers into the fabric of Luke’s shirt and looked from Luke to Kane. “Why are you trying to wind him up?” She demanded. “After your earlier stupid speech about me not stressing him out. Hypocrite. And you”—she looked away from Kane’s grin to Luke, who looked tense and pissed—“what was that? Territory? Me? You’re not… you don’t think… We’re not even…” She couldn’t even get the words out.
He wasn’t jealous was he? Please. That was dumber than dumb.
As if!
“Luke,” she said, her fingers still gripping his shirt. It was a beautiful black silky western-style shirt that had a sheen and snaps with a bucking bull on them.
There was so much she wanted to say, wanted to ask, but when she looked into his eyes, shimmering with something that made her tummy flip and her heart beat ridiculously fast, like she was a young teen at her first professional rodeo again, she couldn’t think coherently.
“I like when you say my name,” he said softly, brushing his lips again over her mouth. “Don’t forget, you promised to go with me to the steak dinner tonight.”
“Yes.” It was embarrassing how much having the date pleased her.
She traced his silver buckle, inlaid with turquoise and red coral. The buckle was engraved with mountains. He was going to ride in less than an hour where anything could happen. It was so stupid that she was so nervous she was totally losing it. She bred bulls to try to buck off men like Luke Wilder, and now she was terrified that he’d get thrown off—yeah, she who’d cheered each time her bulls had tossed a rider like a rag, even popped champagne with Josh and Jorge when their bulls maintained their one hundred percent standings.
“And you’re going to dance with me?” He twirled one of her flyaway wispy curls around one finger.
“I love to dance.”
“I know, I’ve seen you two-step with a rake and a shovel.”
“I’m high in demand for dancing with barn tools.”
“I want to see those skills later. Privately.” He shot a dark look at his brother.
She heard the call for the cowboys to draw their bulls
for the first round of competition.
Kane rubbed his hands together. “Hope you get a fuckin’ fierce ride,” he said.
And now she was a pervert who couldn’t stop thinking about missing out on the fierce ride she’d wanted to give Luke last night. Talk her ass. There was nothing Luke could have said that would have changed her mind. Just thinking of touching him in the shower, having his hot, drenched heat grinding against her made Tanner bite the inside of her cheek and press her legs tightly together. She felt warm down there, damp.
This was ridiculous. She was a professional. She couldn’t melt every time Luke walked up, picture him, beautiful and strong, thrusting into her body each time he walked by. And in the chaps. She was going to lose it. She was going to become the biggest buckle bunny ever after sneering at them for years. Only the only buckle she was interested in grabbing was Luke Wilder’s. And if he were wearing chaps she would just die of pleasure at his feet.
“Catch you after,” he said and kissed her cheek and looked at her, as if gauging her mood.
Like she’d be running away if he were anywhere close by.
“Yeah,” she said, resisting the urge to grab his hand and hold on.
He headed away and Tanner was seized with dread. What if something bad happened? Even skilled riders could make a mistake, anticipate a move incorrectly, take an unlucky fall, get tangled in the grip. For a moment it was hard to breathe.
“Luke,” she called out and ran toward him impulsively.
“What?” He looked so calm and focused she felt stupid.
She wanted to say what? Don’t go? That was so dumb. The rodeo was a big chunk of his life as it was hers. If cowboys started being careful and staying home, she’d be out of business.
“Have a good ride,” she said anticlimactically. “Stick it.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be rooting for the bull, cowgirl?”
“I just want that dance,” she said cheekily.
“You’ll get it. Glad you have your priorities straight.”
“Always,” she said, wishing it were true because she was definitely having a shift in her priorities, and she didn’t think there was anything straight or smart about it.
Want Me, Cowboy Page 13
