Long Hard Ride (Rough Riders 1)

Her breath stalled as those slippery fingers twisted and plunged.

Colby brought his hand to his mouth and loudly sucked his fingers clean. Then he angled his head to capture Channing’s lips as he kissed her hard, sharing her taste in the most hedonistic, consuming kiss of her life.

With Trevor’s fingers still f**king her, and his teeth clamped on her nipple, another orgasm rocketed her body and she whimpered in Colby’s mouth.

Finally, Colby broke the kiss and a huge grin spread across his gorgeous face. “Oh, yeah, this is definitely gonna be one fun week.”

Colby loaded Channing’s suitcases in the horse trailer as Trevor and Edgard performed last minute checks on the horses. He tamped down the strange need to hold Channing’s hand or to constantly touch her in some manner. Talk about acting like a lovesick fool…but there was just something about the woman that brought out his protective instincts.

Edgard ambled to the truck cab. “Horses are loaded. We’re ready to roll.”

“Who’s drivin’?”

“Trevor. I’ll navigate if that’s okay. I figured you and Channing could sit in the back cab. If she’s sharing responsibilities, you’ll need to bring her up to speed on what she’ll be doing besides warming your bed, amigo.”

Colby nodded. “What’s our next stop?”

“Limon, Colorado. About six hundred miles. Good thing there ain’t no rodeo tonight, or we’d already be late for check-in.”

“Then let’s get on the road.” Colby glanced over and saw Channing leaning her elbows on the wooden railing separating the parking lot from the exercise arena, wearing a dreamy expression. He shouted, “Hey, Chan, time to load up.”

She turned and tucked the notebook in her hand into the gigantic camouflage messenger bag slung over her shoulder. Her turquoise boots kicked up dust as she hustled toward him, a secret smile tilting the corners of her full mouth.

Colby couldn’t help but grin at her and offer his hand when she finally reached him. He brought her knuckles to his mouth and rubbed his lips over them. “Ready?”

“Yeah.”

He swept a tendril of hair from her cheek. “You sure about this, darlin’ girl?”

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his chin. “As sure as I’ve been about anything in my life. But one thing, Colby, I’m not a girl.”

“My mistake. You sure enough proved you’re all woman.”

Channing blushed attractively, captivating Colby completely. “Let’s start this adventure, cowboy.”

An enormous, beat-up, red Ford pickup pulled around the back end of the horse trailer and stopped parallel to the cab.

Colby smiled and tugged Channing closer to the rig.

The woman in the truck—Gemma Jansen—was a rough stock contractor from outside of Sheridan. Her husband had died a few years back and instead of selling off the livestock business, she’d taken over and was trying her hand at becoming a rough stock contractor for the Mountain and Plains Rodeo circuit.

Gemma was a true Westerner, a fourth generation Wyomingite, tough, gruff and knowledgeable about everything from land to horse bloodlines. Beneath her salt-of-the-earth persona, sometimes it was easy to forget she wasn’t an old grizzled woman. Somewhere in her forties, she was still a damn attractive woman. It was weird seeing her without her husband Steve. They’d been married forever. For the first time, Colby wondered if she got as lonely on the road as the rest of them did.

Gemma leaned over and rolled down the dirt-covered passenger window. “Where you boys headed?”

Edgard tipped back his hat and rested his forearm on the oversized mirror. “Limon. How about you?”

“Back home first. There’s a shortage of bucking horse stock in Cody so I’ve gotta get my foreman up there, see if they’re willing to look at any of ours.”

“They’d be damn foolish not to.”

“That’s what I said. My foreman ain’t so sure. And I ain’t so sure his reluctance ain’t borne out of laziness. So I gotta make sure he ain’t letting my business go to hell while I’m out workin’ this summer. He’s the third foreman I’ve been through in the last eighteen months.”

Colby said, “Too bad you can’t take Cash with you. He’d convince them guys in Cody to give you a shot. That man could sell wind in Wyoming.”

“Like we need more of that.” She scowled. “Shoot. One of them crazy tourist traps would kidnap that blowhard Indian, color his face with war paint, put him in buckskin and a feather headdress, trying to pass him off as ‘heap big chief’. Cash would surely like that.”

“Now, Gemma, that ain’t fair. I know you and Cash have your differences, but you cain’t argue that he don’t know his stock.”

A sly smile lit up her face. “My stock sure as shootin’ tossed old Cash on his bony ass last night, didn’t it?”

Colby laughed.

The driver’s side door on Trevor’s truck opened and Trevor hopped out. “Hey, my beautiful Gem-stone. How’s tricks?”

She snorted. “You’re as smooth as a baby’s ass, ain’t ya, Trev?”

“I try.”

“Wasted breath on me. I ain’t nearly as tricky as I used to be in my younger years. But I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you I had my fair share of lovesick cowboys trailing behind me.”

Gemma focused on Colby. “What’d you think of that four-year-old bull, Big Time, last night? You looked damn good on him. Too good.

Makes me wonder if I oughta pull him out of rough stock rotation for a while.”

“He’s gotta good spin. He got all four legs off the ground right out of the chute so you’re wrong if you think he’s a gimme. He weren’t easy at all. Shoot, it’s not like I scored a ninety on him, Gem. A couple of the guys said they’d like a chance to test him out. Where’s the next place you’re bringin’ him?”

“Valentine, probably.” Gemma’s shrewd gaze finally landed on Channing. “Since these boys forgot their manners, I’ll just go ahead and introduce myself. Gemma Jansen.”

Channing thrust her hand through the open window and clasped Gemma’s. “Channing Kinkaid.”

“Who’re you here with?”

Colby said, “She’s with me now.”

“Before I was traveling with Jared. It ended when I found out about Jared’s marital status last night.”