Unridden: A Studs in Spurs novel Read Online Free Page A

tell you I’m writing a cowboy romance now?”
    Astrid nearly choked on her light beer. “Really? How are you going to do that? The closest you’ve come to a cowboy was the guy in the big hat that bumped into you in Grand Central Station last December. Remember, when we went to see the Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center?”
    Jenna shrugged as she watched the rider on the television get thrown off the bull, cowboy hat and all, and miss getting stepped on by the deadly looking animal by mere inches. “I just started the book, but I figure it can’t be that hard. I mean, really, how complicated can cowboys be? I’ll just have him ride around on a horse a lot.”
    Astrid eyed her suspiciously. “You don’t even own a house pet. What in the world do you know about horses?”
    “At least I know they don’t have horns.”
    Astrid shot Jenna a nasty look.
    Truth be told, Jenna couldn’t even keep her houseplants alive, much less an animal, but that wasn’t the point. “Besides, I’ll research,” Jenna continued.
    “Research cowboys and horses? How?”
    “The Internet. The library. And I watched some equestrian competition on ESPN the other day. Cute outfits, by the way. Very vintage Ralph Lauren with the slim pants, high boots, and velvet coats. I hope that style comes back in fashion. I really liked it the first time around.”
    Astrid frowned. “That all doesn’t sound very western.”
    “I was watching to learn about horses. I mean horses are horses. Right? It doesn’t matter whether you ride them while you’re wearing denim or velvet. It’s not the horse part I’m worried about. The problem is that I’m having trouble coming up with a good plot for the storyline. My hero keeps sounding too ‘Aw shucks, ma’am’ for me. If I don’t even like the hero, how can I expect my reader to?”
    Eyes never straying from the action on the television, Astrid slowly traced the tip of one finger through the condensation on her bottle. “You should have your hero be a rodeo cowboy. These guys are sexy. Risking death by riding that big, nasty bull. And mmm mmm, look at those leather chaps. I bet they’d look good with no jeans underneath.”
    Astrid’s bawdy observations aside, Jenna considered the suggestion.
    “Hmm. A rodeo cowboy. You might be on to something. All that risk would add to the tension in the story.” Jenna searched for a pen in her cluttered purse and then grabbed a cocktail napkin from the stack on the bar to take notes. “Ooo! What about this? His name could be Buck Wild. Get it? Because he rides bucking bulls, and that could be the name of the book too. What do you think?”
    Astrid laughed. “I think it sounds like a typical trashy romance novel. So yeah, it’s perfect.”
    Ignoring the “trashy” comment, Jenna wrote the title idea down then glanced back at the television as another man hit the ground hard and still jumped up smiling. These guys were obviously all insane, but Astrid was right, they were also sexy as hell.
    Behind the bar, the bartender’s smirk and the steady sway of his head drew Jenna’s attention away from the television screen. She frowned at him. “Something wrong?”
    “No, ma’am. Not a thing.” His voice oozed out as slow and smooth as molasses. And his “ma’am”… The dialogue from her book was coming to life before her very eyes.
    Eyes wide, Jenna leaned forward at the sound of his deep drawl and what it meant to her and the possible future of this book. She saw Astrid raise an interested brow as she also noted his accent.
    “Where are you from?” It came out sounding more like an accusation than a question as Jenna took in his western style shirt, denim jeans and cowboy boots. Before she’d heard him talk, she had assumed it was some sort of costume required by the bar for the staff or something.
    “Not from here.” He grabbed another dripping glass from the rack and dried it with a tattered, white towel.
    Jenna wasn’t about to be