his erection against her ass and his fingers teasing the hem of her shorts. Anyone looking at her would know she was aroused.
Fingers gently brushed over her scar and she watched him follow the familiar lines of a dream-ending injury. He cupped her hips then caressed up her back. Against her chest she felt the twisted strands of the copper necklace slide free. He caught it while his lips pressed against her shoulder. As the crowd on one side of the street gave a boisterous “yah” and their side shouted back a “hoo” until the rhythm was smooth, melding into “yahoo”, Mike wove the necklace through her bracelets.
He removed her hat and she settled against his chest, his thumbs caressing the copper and silver bangles. Against her ass, his erection still pressed and over the pulse points of her wrists, he caressed. “At the next hoo,” he said against her ear, “come for me, little love.”
His hands slid to the insides of her thighs and need tightened deep in her belly. “Yah,” he murmured as he rocked her over his straining cock.
“Hoo.”
The shout of the crowd muffled her cry as she arched against him, seeking the release he allowed her. She gasped for breath, her face turned to his neck so she could smell the subtle blend of skin and cologne. There was a sense of loss when he removed his impromptu cuffs.
“Let’s go,” he said as he lifted her off his lap and held her hips as she tried to find her balance. Her orgasm left her feeling a little wobbly on her feet and his smug grin said he knew why she wasn’t so steady.
Once more he slipped her hat in place, then he took her hand and they returned to the hotel.
It was, by far, the best parade of her life.
Chapter Three
She did not get the rules of the rodeo. The chuck wagon races were easy to grasp. Whoever gets over the line first wins. But everything else?
“It’s points,” Mike said without looking up from the notebook resting on his thigh. “Think of it like figure skating. You get points for your routine. Certain things get you higher points. A triple for instance. That horse,” he pointed his pen toward a man getting his brains rattled, “is a triple.”
He was scouting. On every line of the book was a name of the participants, and beside each name was their score. Already through the various events, names had lines drawn through them. Watching Mike work was almost as confusing as the rodeo. How could he figure out, on the first day out of ten, who sucked hard enough to earn a scratching out in his notebook?
The candy apple was forgotten as she studied her lover. “How do you know all this?”
“I read. I ask questions. Plus I grew up around this.” He lifted the white plastic cup filled with beer and took a sip.
“I thought it was cows.”
“Cows.” He said the word like it was disgusting. His lip curled and his nose twitched as if he smelled manure nearby. “Fucking cows.” Mike leaned forward, watching the cowboy on the bucking horse. Within seconds a cloud of dirt exploded up when the man landed and a line went through his name. “Guy on the neighboring ranch worked the broncs. He had a hot daughter.”
“Ahhh, and it all comes together.”
His lips curled in a grin. “And she had a pretty, submissive best friend.”
“Really.” She rested her elbow on his shoulder. “Did she now?”
“She did. Robin Mathers.” He said the name slowly and she half expected angels to let out a chorus of hallelujahs. “Little pain slut. Those are always fun.” He caressed her cheek as he looked at her. “Aren’t you?”
Meri stuck her tongue out at him and was rewarded when he pinched her ear lobe. Hard. Her nipples tightened as if he had given those a little tweak. His hand settled on her hip and he wrote down a new name.
“You breaking into the rodeo representing?”
“This year’s winner gets a hundred thousand dollars. That’s a big jackpot. Half of these guys live rodeo win by rodeo win. You