Corralled (Blacktop Cowboys 1)

It bothered her, not knowing Hank’s future plans.

That’s because it’s just sex between you two, remember?

Except now, it’d be sex between the three of them.

Lainie wasn’t exactly sure how to proceed. Did she just saunter up to them tonight and say, “Ride me hard, boys”?

The way things looked right now, this would be a one-time-only threesome. As Hank and Kyle traveled from rodeo to rodeo during Cowboy Christmas, she’d be holed up in her apartment. Maybe she’d head up into the mountains, see if her buddy Mara could snag time off and hop a flight to Vegas. Or visit the beach.

“Now up, a name we haven’t seen on the CRA circuit, but that might be familiar to those of you who follow the EBS.”

A few boos echoed. Her attention snapped back to the chutes.

“Kyle Gilchrist comes to us from Rawlins, Wyoming. Let’s make Kyle feel welcome in his CRA debut.”

She peered at the figure behind the bars but couldn’t discern whether he wore a safety helmet or a cowboy hat. Whenever he’d come into the sports medicine room he’d already stripped out of his chaps and riding gear. She’d never watched Kyle ride, but many people in the rodeo world compared Kyle’s fluid, graceful riding style to her late father’s technique.

Lainie’s breath stalled when the chute opened and the bull jumped so high all four hooves were off the ground at the same time. Landing hard, the speckled body spun to the left. Spun to the right. Twice. Jerked its rear around. Kyle held on. His body flowed with the angry bull’s every twist and turn, his free arm up in the air, his feet spurring.

The momentum of the crowd grew. The clapping and whistling nearly drowned out the buzz of the timer.

Kyle pulled the release from the hand wrap and bailed off the bull, landing right square on his ass. He clambered to his feet, immediately making a beeline for the fence surrounding the stands, when the bull gave chase.

But the bull didn’t get far before Hank slapped it on the rear flank. The ornery beast spun toward the new potential conquest. Hank raced to the livestock gate and the bull trotted in without looking back.

“You ready for this, Lamar? We’ve got a new high score. How about an . . . eighty-nine-point-five debut for the cowboy from Wyoming?”

Thunderous applause echoed from the stands and Lainie clapped along, laughing as Hank and Kyle did a jumping chest bump on the arena floor, much to the delight of the crowd. Then Kyle picked up his flank strap and tipped his hat to the fans.

Only four riders remained and chances were good none would knock Kyle off the leaderboard. Lainie returned to the medical room and busied herself stacking towels. When she heard the shuffle of boots and the muffled clank of spurs, she turned and saw Kyle wearing a sexy grin a mile wide.

She couldn’t help but smile back and give him a once-over. It ought to be illegal to look that damn good in a pair of dusty chaps.

“Nice ride,” she said.

His eyebrows rose. “You watched it?”

“Yeah. Been pretty boring in here tonight.”

“I can’t say I’m unhappy about that.”

Her gaze dropped to where he was cupping his right elbow. “What happened?”

“Nothin’—just jerked my riding arm a little hard on my dismount.”

“Where?”

He pointed to the outside of his forearm.

“Think it might be fractured?” Most bull riders had broken so many bones they knew the difference between a sprain, a bruised muscle, a fracture, and a break.

“No. I’m fine. That’s not why I—”

“Sit. Let me look at it.”

“Lainie—”

“Now.”

Kyle grumbled. But he sat.

Lainie rolled his shirt cuff up as far as it would go. She poked the skin surrounding the bone. Just slightly swollen. She let her fingers trace the bend in his elbow and move up his beefy biceps. When Kyle sucked in a breath, she finally looked at him. The desire she saw made her mouth dry.

“Every damn time you touch me, Lainie. Whether it’s in a professional capacity or when we’re alone—”

“Kyle—”

“There’s no one here but us. Let me speak my piece while I’ve got the chance.”

She nodded.

“I like bein’ with you. A lot. It probably seems weird, what Hank and me have proposed, but neither one of us wants to walk away from you.”

“I get that. But I won’t pit you guys against each other.”

Kyle reached out to touch her face, but let his hand fall back to his leg at the last second. “We both know that.”

“Are you here speaking on Hank’s behalf?”

“Yes. We figured it’d be easier if we didn’t come blazing in here together. So I am here to ask if you’ve made a decision.”

“You want my answer right now?”

“The rodeo is almost over. People are gonna be heading out, and me ’n’ Hank wanna know which direction we’ll be goin’.”

Lainie searched his eyes. No smugness. Just curiosity. And an underlying hint of cautiousness. Kyle wasn’t looking at her like a sure thing, a done deal. Would her answer be any different if Hank had asked?

No. It’d be exactly the same: a resounding yes.

She rolled his sleeve down and snapped the buttons before she met his gaze again. “I’ll see you both at my room in an hour.”

Chapter Five

Kyle and Hank sat in Hank’s truck in front of Lainie’s hotel. The allotted hour was nearly up. They’d rushed back to their room, The allotted hour was nearly up. They’d rushed back to their room, showered, changed, and counted up the condoms between the two of them. Nine. Enough for one night.