Tucker was on a horse, swinging and tossing a lasso which hooked the metal animal’s neck. The ATV came to a stop.
“I didn’t know he competed,” I said, putting my forearms on the top of the split rail fence and watching as Tucker swung down from the saddle and landed on his feet in the dirt, tugging on the rope. If he were competing, he’d still have to hook the animal’s head and tip him over for the clock to stop. I’d never competed personally. I wasn’t the least bit strong enough to wrangle a steer to the ground, but that hadn’t stopped me from learning how to lasso an animal.
Colton stood beside me, propped one dusty boot on the lower rail of the fence. The position made his jeans go taut on his thigh.
“He’ll compete now and again, for the fun of it,” he said. “But not like Duke or even Jed. They were champion steer ropers, bull riding, too. There’s a competition in Missoula in a few weeks. Some of the men are competing in a few events. Tucker’s just having some fun.”
“What about you? Do you compete?” I asked him.
He turned his head, glanced at me. “Nah, those guys are all crazy. I like staying on my horse, so I did barrel racing.”
Tucker caught sight of us and led his horse over.
“Ava,” Tucker murmured, coming to stand right in front of me, the fence separating us. He stroked a hand over my hair, studied my face, his gaze settling on my lips. He seemed surprised, yet pleased to see me. I liked this look of him, a true cowboy. With him just climbing off a horse, hat on, dusty boots, whiskered jaw.
“She delivered the cattle chute,” Colton explained my presence.
“Thanks for that. Welcome to my ranch.”
I glanced around, although I couldn’t see too much with him right in front of me, Colton on one side. “It’s lovely.”
It really was. Besides the pretty setting in the valley, it appeared well-run. I knew from the Seed and Feed gossip mill—standing behind the counter had me learning quite a bit—the Duke ranch was one of the largest in the area, their Hereford cattle all grass-fed and considered Prime.
“I’m glad you like it. Your opinion matters.” Before I could get my mind around that, he asked, “Ever ridden a horse before?”
I bit my lip, then said, “Sure.”
“Want to try out Simon?” Tucker angled his head toward the quarter horse. “He’ll give you a gentle ride.”
He followed that with a wink.
“I don’t like a gentle ride. I prefer a long, hard one, where we’re breathing hard and all sweaty when done,” I replied. The words came out with my usual dry humor, but they hung in the air. All of a sudden I was nervous. Had I read them wrong? Was I too bold? Until now, they’d been playing the game all by themselves, riling me up. I felt like fighting back this time. Tit for tat. Or tit for dick, perhaps?
They’d been tossing innuendos and blatant statements about their interest in me for weeks. It wasn’t as if they were going to jump me here in the practice ring with a bunch of ranch hands around. The one thing I knew about Colton and Tucker was that while they weren’t shy about what they wanted with me, they were possessive and had no intention of sharing anything we did.
Tucker’s nostrils flared right before his eyes narrowed. Heated, as if he thought about my words, what we’d be like after a sweaty bout of wild fucking. “Like I told you, Colton. Our tiger’s got some claws.”
Inwardly, I grinned. One point, Ava.
Good, they were right there with me. My boldness had worked, although it made me even wetter, especially with Tucker standing so close I could breathe in his clean, dark scent. The idea of what it would be like had me all worked up, too.
I wasn’t immune to either of them. They… they drew me in.
“Sugar,” Colton growled. He moved to stand directly behind me, a hand settling on my waist. I felt the hard line of his cock pressing into my lower back. The wild ride wouldn’t be with just one stallion, but two. “What do you want then?”
The heat of him seeped into me and all I wanted to do was lean back against him, feel every hard inch of him, give over. Rub against him from behind, perhaps reach down into my jeans, beneath my panties and play with myself.
But no.
No!
They’d been working at this, at me, for a long time. I wasn’t going to just give in now. Oh, I was going to give in, and soon. Kaitlyn was right. I should jump them. While I hadn’t exactly admitted it to myself before, I’d always really known. Their ongoing, well… stalking, proved they really were interested, and not for just a quick, fun romp.
Guys like Roscoe Barnes could try, but I wasn’t one to easily fall into bed with anyone. Sure, a woman could have a one-night stand if she wanted one—sweet and mild Kaitlyn had had one without even knowing Duke or Jed’s names, but that had turned into forever.
A quickie in a bar bathroom or even in a random guy’s bed? That wasn’t me. It also wasn’t Tucker or Colton, at least it seemed with me.
Distracted by Colton’s closeness, I stumbled out, “Right now I want, I’m… more interested in lassoing that fake steer.”