“Dad told me they’re standing behind him, ready to give him more time if necessary. But I have a feeling the rodeo is going to be huge.”
“You do, huh?”
“Yeah, I do. The tickets are all sold out.”
His eyes opened wide. “I’m glad to hear it. Incidentally, I corralled the smokejumpers to pose for pictures.”
“Including the local hero?”
Groaning, he rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’ll be there with bells on.”
“Just a cowboy hat and a tight pair of jeans will do. But no flirting.”
When I rolled my finger around his lips, he pulled it into his mouth, sucking with a wild look in his eyes. All I could do was sigh. He was friends with Wade again. My father adored him, especially considering he’d saved my life.
And he loved me.
What more could a girl ask for?
When he popped my finger free, he narrowed his eyes. “You could have gotten yourself killed. You know that.”
“But I didn’t. I had to push to see who was involved.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Hey, I heard through the grapevine that the first thing on the new council’s agenda after another special election will be funding the firefighters.”
“Good news. Along with the Forestry Service promising new smokejumper recruits, maybe we’ll finally be able to fully fund and equip our departments. I have you to thank for a lot of that.”
“Yes, you do,” I cooed.
“However, that doesn’t make up for you almost getting yourself killed.” He gave me one of his stern looks.
“But I didn’t.”
“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be punished.”
“Oh, please. I’m a big girl. I handled myself very well.”
“Nope. You’re not getting away with it.”
When he yanked me over his lap, I was laughing at first. Until he pulled my skirt up over my hips, yanking down my thong. “What are you doing?”
“Teaching you to obey rules. My rules.”
I hadn’t been certain what to expect when returning to Missoula. What I hadn’t anticipated was falling in love all over again. Axe was everything a girl could want.
Even if he was a little rough around the edges.
As he brought his hand down, moving rapidly from side to side, I squirmed in his hold. As expected, his cock was rock hard, throbbing against my naked stomach. My mouth watered even as pain washed through me.
I struggled for fun, fighting to free myself even though all I was doing was driving him crazy. He refused to stop, the brutal smacks matching the sharp sounds.
Hot and wet, I fell into a lull seconds later. I’d never thought I’d hunger for a man who took full control over me. But this was Axe, the Axe Man Beckett.
Rodeo star.
Smokejumper.
