Cord dips his head to coast his mouth across mine. “Like hell, babe. If I have to deal with the crowd watching my every move, you’re suffering right alongside me,” he rasps. He leans in to kiss me again, the world dropping away.
“You’re so sweet.” I grin against his smile.
His mouth crashes back onto mine in what has to be an indecent display, and when he finally draws back, I know my eyes are heavy. My heart settles into a slow rhythm, and my lips tingle with the roughness of his kisses that I never want to stop. Those arctic eyes are fathomless and unyielding as though he’s memorizing every inch of me.
A cleared throat and a second voice swearing that doesn’t match the first shatters our moment.
“Good to see you’re still the same old you, playing with thebunnies.” Jed loiters on one side of the ring, far too close for comfort.
When I glance around, safe in the circle of Cord’s arms, Tripp hangs a few paces behind him. Billy turns from his place at the gate, one boot up on the rail, chatting with the cowboy West pointed out before. A crease forms between his eyebrows as his gaze slides between his boss and his neighbor.
Cord tucks me firmly into his side, creating a physical barrier between us and the man who threatens his world. He squeezes me gently and I reward his tenderness by wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing my cheek to his chest.
His heart beats slow and steady.
Not once in the time I’ve known Cordell Rand has his heart rate increased unless it’s during sex. My cheeks heat at the reminder of how rough he can be, and I bury my face against his shirt, trying to block the wave of arousal that slams into me, but it refuses to fade.
“Always up for a thrill. I’m sure you remember Lanie.” Cord’s voice holds an element of laughter, but he fixes the overindulgent rancher with a hard gaze when I dare raise my head.
“I’m surprised she’s lasted this long.” Jed slips his hands into his pockets.
On his other side, West presses his fists against his thighs. I reach for his shoulder, and he gives me a tight nod.
“And looks like she’s got a backup for when her current situation falls through. Though you’d be welcome in my bed, sweetheart.”
I recoil, disgust seeding bitter acid at the back of my tongue. Cord stiffens, his arms too tight around me, though I don’t object. West actually lunges forward and Cord shoots out an arm to hold him back.
“Jesse Duke’s up!” Billy yells from somewhere to our left.
Cord spins around, his arms still locked around me, putting our backs squarely to Jed. Every instinct screams at me that this is a bad idea as my eyes water beneath the giant spotlights. West joinsus at the rail, Billy giving me a wink. Cord releases me as a young cowboy taps his arm, speaking softly into his ear.
I smirk when I realize I’m not the only one who has to get up on my toes for him. In the chute, Coyote Falls’ youngest cowboy, Jesse, clings to the metal fencing. His bull is announced as Dust Devil, a name I’ve heard circulate around the yard more than once. I wrap my hands around the rail, the thought of Cord’s own ride ahead weighing on me.
“Reckon he’ll last longer than he did last year?” West leans on the railing next to us.
Billy snorts. “One second. But he bounced back and hasn’t stopped since. And Cord offered him a job that day, or so legend has it.” Longing coats the back of his voice.
Cord’s fingers coil through my hair, massaging my nape unconsciously, as he watches the riders with narrowed eyes, though I know he listens.
“Yeah, and he hired you when you asked to work for him just as fast. Don’t think you don’t belong with us any less.” West claps a hand on Billy’s shoulder that rocks the large man forward a step, but the smile that breaks out on Billy’s face says everything.
“Jesse’ll do just fine.” Cord thumps the cowboy still chattering away on the back and grins down at me, his fingers still circling on my skin in their tantalizing rhythm. “That little bull is gonna give the kid a hell of a time, but it’s good for him to taste the dust in front of the crowd that’s bigger than just these folk a few times.” He gestures to the familiar faces crowding the fence to watch Jesse’s ride.
Another familiar voice booms over the loudspeakers, a flamboyant twang slicing through the night air. “Next up is Coyote Falls’ own green little thing. This cowboy hails from the South, but don’t let that fool you. He and this bull refuse to stay together for more than two seconds at a time. Can they make it three tonight? Grab your snacks and plant your behinds to find out in just a moment.”
I huff softly and lean over to Billy. “Is Levithe emcee?”
He grins, his eyes never leaving the young rider already battling the bull in the chute as some of the other cowboys settle him with a quiet word. “Every year. He won’t give up the spotlight or that podium.”
I finally manage a laugh, looking around. Levi waves his mic from his perch on top of the far gate and never stops speaking as he wraps up Jesse’s and Dust Devil’s bios and rolls seamlessly into an advertising spiel.
“He’s perfect.”
“Don’t let him hear you say that.” Cord’s lips graze a patch behind my ear where he lifts my hair for the privilege. Goose bumps erupt along my arms. I cling to the fence with a death grip, my knees liquifying at his touch. “Damn, wolf girl. I want to see you do that beneath me.”
I whimper. Actually freaking whimper. In public. Billy groans low beside me, turning away to focus on the bulls. Cord laughs softly in my ear.
“You can’t say things like that!” I hiss, scandalized, knowing at least one of Coyote Falls boys overheard our whole exchange.
