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All Rights Reserved

High-Stakes Cowboy

Box Set Novella

Copyright Em Petrova 2020

Ebook Edition

Electronic book publication 2020

All rights reserved. Any violation of this will be prosecuted by the law.

West Protection

RESCUED BY THE COWBOY

GUARDED BY THE COWBOY

COWBOY CONSPIRACY THEORY

COWBOY IN THE CROSSHAIRS

PROTECTED BY THE COWBOY

One hatched plan…and a whole lotta romance.

Maya Ray’s just been dumped. Noah Wynton’s just been dumped too. So while their exes bask in their new relationship, what do Maya Ray and Noah do? Hatch a plan, of course.

The checklist:

-Pretend to date.

-Show up everywhere their exes do.

-Get lovey-dovey as often as possible (shouldn’t be too difficult, with this chemistry!)

-Prove they’re over their exes (except things are starting to snowball, and maybe those kisses aren’t so fake after all…)

Maya Ray is convinced the best revenge is proving to her ex that she’s fine. With a plan like this in place, she’s sure to have more than her share of fun too. Now that Noah’s spending so much time with Maya Ray, he’s starting to realize things might not have been perfect with his ex. But how long can they possibly keep up this act? And with a whirlwind romance to fake, who has time for falling in love?

High-stakes

cowboy

by

Em Petrova

Chapter One

A rough, warm hand landed on Maya Ray’s lower back, in the cutout of her sexiest top. Then an equally warm pair of lips nestled at the curve of her ear.

“You look like my next big mistake,” the deep voice sent shivery goodness through her body.

Twisting, Maya Ray prepared to find just another cowboy-wannabe here at Jake’s annual rodeo kick-off party, but she stopped short of letting her jaw drop. This was no wannabe cowboy, the kind who wore hats and boots from the slick riders shop in Bose. This guy was rugged and worn in all the right ways, from the curled edge of his Stetson to his scuffed boots.

She took in the denim in between. Wranglers, nice and tight, the way every girl liked them. And a chambray shirt open at the collar to reveal the cowboy’s tanned neck.

The sight of him sure was welcome, after standing alone at this party pretending to enjoy herself when she really felt miserable.

At least while gawking at the hunk who claimed her to be his next big mistake, she’d lost sight of her ex-boyfriend Jake—and his brand-new perfectly blonde, perfectly manicured girlfriend. The one he’d dumped Maya Ray for, directly after their two-year anniversary.

The cowboy in front of her gave her a slow perusal, eyelids dipping. Either he couldn’t hold his liquor or he was one of those men who knew how to work a woman…which meant he’d know all the sweet spots on her body once they got between the sheets.

When the music changed to a fast beat, he planted his hand on her bare spine again and with a little tug, brought her flush against him. Gazing into her eyes, he said, “Dance with me.”

She barely had time to nod before he swept her onto the dance floor in the middle of the barn. The stomp of boots on floorboards raised the roof, and Maya Ray’s dance partner had all the moves. He shook his ass. Swung his hips. Rolled his broad shoulders in the line dance everybody in Stone Pass, Montana knew since the moment their momma slipped their first pair of boots onto their feet.

Through a slight haze of tequila, Maya Ray issued a laugh as the cowboy grabbed her hand in his and spun her around and around, whirling her through the other dancers like he possessed a radar for other couples flying their way. And his fingers probing the flesh of her lower back worked a new kind of pressure deep into her belly that had nothing to do with tequila.

As he spun her again, her gaze locked onto Jake. That bastard. He stood off to the side next to the buffet with her. Shana Peachtree. What kind of name was Shana Peachtree anyway? She sounded like a drink, and by the looks of her, one that would taste sweet going down but then turn sour in a man’s stomach after a few sips.

Oh yes, Maya Ray fully expected Jake to come running back to her after his little fling, but she had no plans to stick around for when he did. This was why attending the party was so important—it proved to the whole town of Stone Pass she was over him. She could slap a smile on her face, don her sexy red, backless top and kick up her boots to celebrate the annual rodeo.

The cowboy spun her out. Then back in. He pulled her tight against him and ground his hips in a way that had her pulse racing and the girls around him shooting her jealous glances.

Who was this mystery cowboy, anyhow? She’d lived here her entire life and never come across the likes of him. Tipping her head back, she studied his handsome face, noting the strong dark brows, straight nose with a slight bump revealing he probably broke it at some point like most cowboys did. But those lips…

Now she recognized him. Or at least knew him by his bloodline. He was a Wynton. Those wide, full, lover’s lips gave him away.

As did the deep dimple smack-dab in the middle of his cheek when he flashed a grin at her. Her lungs burned, and not from dancing. This might be the first attraction she’d felt since the day she ran into Jake at the tack shop two years before. Since then, pretty much every male of the species had been invisible to her.

Until now.

This man couldn’t go unnoticed if he tried. He shook his hard ass all over the dance floor, and Maya Ray took note of how Jake focused on them from across the room.

Good—let him see what he’s missin’ while he stands around with his arm candy.

The dance ended, and the cowboy took her firmly by the hand and led her to the drinks table. She noted how Jake and his woman both watched them now. Maybe all was not paradise in their relationship.

Not that Maya Ray cared. She was soooo over that chapter of her life.

“Tequila?” The cowboy raised the bottle.

She nodded. She expected him to pour the shots into plastic cups, but he wrapped his long fingers around the neck of the bottle, grabbed her by the hand again and led her outside.

The strains of music were hardly muffled out here, but the cool air dried the perspiration on her face and neck from their energetic dance.

Suddenly the cowboy whirled her to face him. “What’s your name, sugar?”

“Besides your next big mistake? It’s Maya Ray.”

“Ray your last name?”

“No, my full name is Maya Ray Spotts.”

His dimple appeared. “Betcha hated that last name as a kid.”

She pulled the tequila from his hand. “I did.” She swigged.

His grin widened. “I’m Noah. Noah Wynton, in case you need to know.”

“Why would I need to know your last name?”

“In case you wanna look me up again after tonight.” In the darkness, his eyes appeared darker green like the forest pines on the mountains.

She held out the bottle to him, and a knowing look passed over his face. He sipped the alcohol, and her gaze latched onto the gleam of wetness along his lower lip.

“You excited for the rodeo, Maya Ray?” How a Montana man could drawl out the syllables of her name until her toes curled she couldn’t guess. He must have practiced the drawl along with his swagger.

“As excited as any girl is to watch men in tight Wranglers.”

He tossed his head on a hearty chuckle.

“I like you, Maya Ray. Whattaya say we take this party into one of the rooms?” He waved the bottle in the direction of the main ranch house that belonged to Jake’s daddy. The one Jake promised her they’d move into once they married. Now Shana Peachtree would have that honor.

She stared at the long white ranch house with all the buttery yellow windows lit up, then back to Noah.

She had a little too much tequila.

She was feeling a little too reckless.

This time, she grabbed Noah by the hand and hauled him across the yard between barn and house. His deep chuckle threaded through her lower belly, and his rough fingers met her bare back again. This time she embraced the burn of the liquor coupled with a desire to see how far she could push herself.

Get back in the saddle, Maya Ray. Purging Jake from her system with a good, hard, sexy romp in the hay with a cowboy even hotter than her ex seemed like the only way to do that.

She marched him up the wide porch steps and opened the front door as if she owned the place. On the nights of the rodeo parties Jake threw, his parents went out of town. Said it was too loud for them. That meant the house was open, and Maya Ray knew which hallway led to the guest room.

With Noah’s hand cradling hers, she pulled him on through the big, expensive house. She threw a look over her shoulder, shooting him a wink. Her long hair swished over the cutout of her top, reminding her of his promise to make her his next big mistake.

Well, she would make Noah Wynton hers too.

She pointed to a closed door. Noah’s eyes glittered, and before she knew what his intentions were, he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her. He slammed his mouth over hers before they even burst through the door. With the bottle still in hand, he kicked the door shut and trapped her against the wall.

His mouth tasted of alcohol and the promise of the hottest night to come. Angling her head, she parted her lips. He slashed his tongue through her mouth, raising a soft moan from her.

He answered the sound with his own growl, and her body broke out in goosebumps. Suddenly, the alcohol hit her full force, ripping away any inhibitions she might have about sleeping with him at her ex’s party and in his own house.

She threw her arms around Noah’s neck, aware of how beefy his wide shoulders were, layered with muscle in a way she’d never had the honor to touch before. His mouth worked over hers with an expertise she hoped would continue to the good parts.

When he tore free and stared down at her, panting hard, his gaze burned into her. “You sure about this, sweet thing?”

She bobbed her head. “Absolutely.” His kisses, his body, and the dirty grind of his hips on that dance floor made her hornier than she’d been in too long.

Slowly, she rubbed against him. Up and down, like a kitten starved for affection. Which she was.

The corner of Noah’s mouth tipped upward, quirking all the way up to his eyes, where a sunburst of creases broke out. She could see this man smiled a lot. Just the kind of man she was looking for to be her own big mistake.

She tore off his hat and threaded her fingers through thick masses of dark hair. He swooped in and claimed her mouth again, this time taking the kiss to a whole new level by centering the hard bulge in his Wranglers against her pussy and applying pressure.

Breathless, aching, she kissed him back while gliding her fingers through his soft hair and down to those bulky shoulders. She needed to feel them without the chambray covering them. She slipped her hands down and started plucking open his buttons, one by one.

When she reached the last one, he raised his head. Pinning her in his stare, he lifted the tequila to his lips again. She watched him latch that full mouth around the glass rim and the strong pulls of his throat as he swallowed.

Then he held out the bottle to her. She took it and swigged the same way, matching him swallow for swallow, though he was so much bigger and she’d end up with a crushing hangover while he would probably jump up at daybreak and go about his day as if he hadn’t just found the worm at the bottom of the bottle.

She lowered the bottle from her lips and dropped it to the floor, leaving the last dribble and the worm. She skated her gaze over the tanned, chiseled lines of Noah’s chest. Damn, that was some fine cowboy right there. Prime Grade-A deliciousness, and she was about to put her mouth all over it.

Gliding her hands into the open front of his shirt, she ripped it off his wide shoulders. “Let’s do this!”

He didn’t need her to ask twice. He grabbed her ass in his firm hands and lifted her, spinning for the bed in the same move. They landed on the soft, springy mattress, mouths working in tandem, tongues exploring and Noah’s erection digging into her crotch.

Moans escaped her as he located the cutout on her spine yet again and splayed his fingers over it.

“Fuck, you’re sexy,” he ground out.

“So are you.” She pulled him back down for another kiss. Wrapping her thighs around his hips, she rocked. He rocked right back. She held onto his broad shoulders and lifted up when he drew her top over her head.

“Jeezus, you’re braless. I wondered.” He didn’t elaborate on that train of thought, only parted his lips over her nipple and sucked. She arched on a cry, an inferno sweeping through her whole body.

He skimmed a fingertip along her other bud, so it spiked up to match the one on his tongue. Need blasted her. With her eyes wide open so she didn’t miss a single minute of the beautiful man working her into a frenzy, she explored his muscled shoulders, pecs, down to the ridges of his abs. Jake didn’t have all this. As far as she was concerned, she’d upgraded.

When Noah lifted his head and stared into her eyes again, she caught a glimmer of lust in the depths of his eyes. “You taste damn good. Let’s see if the rest of ya does.”

Before she could even gasp, he shot down her body, shoving her skirt up her hips as he went. He shouldered his way between her legs, took a moment to hook his big finger into the strip of panties covering her wet pussy, and then opened his mouth over her slit.

A roughened cry left her, and her mind spun with more than alcohol. Passion and need mingled to create an even more lethal cocktail, but this one wouldn’t leave her with regrets. Oh no…she wouldn’t feel bad come morning when she felt the tingles of Noah’s touch tonight.

He centered the point of his tongue over her seam, drawing it from the soaking bottom, through her folds to the hard pearl of her clit. Looking up her body at her, he wiggled his tongue over her pleasure center. Her hips launched off the bed. Noah clasped onto her outer thighs and held her prisoner even as he trapped her in his heavy stare and beneath his dancing tongue.

When was the last time she’d experienced a moment like this with a man? She thought back to Jake, and then her mind skittered away from her ex. She squeezed her eyes shut as the first thick beads of juices slipped down her folds.

Noah’s rumble told her he liked what he found with his tongue as much as she did. He sucked her clean, but her body created more of the wetness as he teased and tormented her. She fisted handfuls of his hair. He lapped her clean once more. When he suctioned his mouth over her clit and began to suck, she dangled over a canyon. Bliss spread through her, rushing into her whole body as her orgasm broke over her.

She came on a scream, rocking her hips, driving up into Noah’s magical mouth as wave after wave controlled her every move. The bed seemed to vibrate on his sexy-as-hell growl. After her release, he knew exactly when to pull back, brushing his lips gently over her seam as little aftershocks jolted her.

With a grin—and flash of that dimple—he did one of those manly pushups that a girl could stand and watch all day with a dreamy sigh on her lips.

He was coming for her.

Boy did he.

Covering her body with his own huge one, he looked into her eyes. “I’m gonna take the chance and say you’re mighty satisfied right now, sweet thing.”

“Uhhhh.” If she knew any English, she couldn’t form any of the words. So she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss.

* * * * *

He’d just fallen into a lucky four-leaf clover field.

Finding such a sexy, beautiful gem at the party had been a stroke of luck. Having her just as eager to sleep with him as he was with her only rang all the prize-winning bells.

His cock throbbed with every beat of his heart, and the flavors of Maya Ray’s sweet heat on his tongue continued to torture him. He couldn’t even claim the tequila was driving him to want her—she started that back at the party with her sexy triangle of bare back. From clear across the room, Noah had seen it and wanted to put his fingers on that smooth, glowing skin.

When he had, and whispered that line about her being his big mistake, he hadn’t bothered to think about revenge or the fact that his ex-girlfriend Shana was standing across the room watching.

Sure, he might have showed off a bit on the dance floor with Maya Ray, but within a minute of dancing with her, he forgot about who was looking and why he cared. Maybe the tequila had been shouting in his veins a little bit by then.

He figured out how to get her skirt off—those teeny, tiny panties too. And the tequila cleared from his mind long enough for him to drink in the fact that he had a beautiful woman on his hands. Lightly curved, with small, perfect breasts he also noticed from across the room. As he kneaded them now, he kissed her with all the desire pounding through his core.

As she reached between his legs and literally grabbed him by the balls, he understood he’d let this little cowgirl lead him anywhere. She was still wearing her boots too.

He looked into her eyes, which were light blue and glazed with passion. “Whattaya think about the body part under your hand?” he drawled.

She molded her fingers around the bulge in his jeans, shaping the denim to the outline of his cock. When she reached the flared head, she ran the point of her little pink tongue over her plump lip. “I think you’re big. And I need you inside me.”

“Now we’re talkin’ about a party, sweet thing.” He braced himself on one arm planted beside her on the mattress and reached into his back pocket for his wallet with the other. Thankfully, locating a condom was a brainless activity, because Maya Ray was quickly stealing what brain cells he had left to think with tonight. Some of them the tequila had stolen—the rest were in his cock.

He rolled to the side of the bed and wavered a bit on his feet. Somehow he managed to shuck off his boots, and then Maya Ray helped him remove his jeans and boxers and get the condom over his rigid length.

When she looked up into his eyes, a weird little tug in the left corner of his chest distracted him. But not for long, because she grabbed his hands and planted them over her breasts again.

He started at the top, kissing her with deep passes while plucking at her small hard nipples. She encircled his cock with her hot hand, and he went dead still. Then he rocked his hips once.

Pulling his length through her hand.

With a groan, he settled over her, nudging between her golden-tanned legs and angling straight for the prize. His mushroomed head nestled in her folds. He captured her lips again and tunneled inside with one swift jerk of his hips.

She cried out and locked her ankles around his back. He slipped all the way in. His eyes slammed shut on the sensation of her scorching heat.

Damn, he really was with another woman who wasn’t Shana. They might have only been together a year, but he believed her to be the one he’d put a ring on. Then she’d gone off with that douchebag Jake.

As the vanilla-citrus scent of his new lover rattled his senses, he snapped to the present. He withdrew slowly, watching her face ripple in pleasure. She was more than striking. The prettiest woman at the party. Hell, maybe in all of Stone Pass.

With a throaty groan, he sank inside her again. Her pussy clutched at him, the walls tight. His need doubled. The sensation tripled. He ran his tongue around her delicate jaw to her earlobe. He’d noticed those too, not from across the room but once he bent his head to whisper to her.

“Oh God, Noah. Yesss…” The rush of Maya Ray’s words sent his hips churning, his cock burrowing deeper. Her inner muscles clamped down and squeezed. The cum boiled up from his balls and the first spurt escaped him.

A harsh growl mingled with her sweet coo, and they thundered toward a finish he hoped to hell he remembered come morning.

After they rolled apart, and he got up to discard the condom, one thought locked into his brain—this evening couldn’t be further from his norm.

He hadn’t planned to go to the party and hook up. He hadn’t looked at the beautiful woman in red with the long, brown hair caressing the cutout in her shirt and formulated a plan, a future or any goal. Tequila really had robbed him of his senses tonight, and he didn’t know if he should be grateful or annoyed with himself.

Chapter Two

Sunlight stabbed through Maya Ray’s eyelids and shattered shards of glass into her brain. Dear God, who was making that banging sound?

She pushed into a sitting position and immediately dropped back to the bed, softly. The pillow cradled her aching skull, and for long minutes she tried to piece together why her head hurt so damn much.

She opened her eyes and realized the drumming was her own blood rushing through her veins.

Tequila, she inwardly groaned.

She opened her eyes and spotted the bottle laying on its side in front of the guest room door, and everything flooded back.

The rodeo kickoff dance. Jake parading his new girl around. Maya Ray dolling herself up to prove that she was over him. She turned her gaze to her own feet. She still wore her boots but the rest of her didn’t have a stitch on it.

Neither did the man next to her.

Okay, now everything flooded back. The big mistake. Was she his mistake or he hers? She couldn’t even recall his name. Then she looked at his wide, full mouth and recalled the deep-set dimple in his cheek, a hallmark of the Wyntons of Stone Pass, Montana.

Oh God. They’d slept together. Had they taken precautions? She couldn’t remember much but the mind-searing pleasure of a couple orgasms.

She glared at the tequila bottle. Never again, she told it.

Now she had another man in Stone Pass to avoid too. Slowly, conscious of the jackhammer on autopilot in her head, she slipped out of bed. Her boots hit the floor. At least she wouldn’t need to go searching for them—her thong was another thing.

She clutched at her head as she bent to retrieve her underwear from the carpet and when she straightened, she froze as the big man in bed rolled over.

“Shana…come back to bed.”

Ice flooded her veins, replacing all the tequila. Shana? Jake’s new girlfriend Shana? How many Shanas could there be in this small town?

She stared at Noah. His thick, dark hair lay across his forehead, and his squared jaw boasted more than a spattering of black beard growth. Her insides flipped, but she ignored her body’s reactions to the big—gorgeous—man in the throes of morning slumber.

And morning wood.

She reached out and shook him by the muscled shoulder. “Wake up!” She didn’t bother being quiet, and they both suffered for it. She winced, and he threw a pillow over his face.

“Stop,” he groaned.

How to proceed? She needed more information about the name he just spoke. She shook him a second time. This time he tossed the pillow off his face and cracked a bloodshot green eye at her.

His face blanked even more when he realized she was not Shana.

“How do you know Shana?” she blasted out the question.

He blinked, clearly still tipsy and sleep drunk on top of it.

She reached out to shake him again, but he caught her hand in his tight grip, stopping her short of touching him.

“She’s my ex,” he grumbled. He sat up, heedless of the fact he was completely naked and his man parts waved between his splayed legs.

Maya Ray carefully avoided looking at the dark, thick love trail leading to the trim nest of hair that cradled his cock—the same cock she knew had been balls-deep inside her the night before.

She processed his statement, somewhat belatedly. “She’s your ex,” she said in a flat tone.

He tried to nod but discontinued that movement right away. “Yeah. She left me for some dickhead.”

“That dickhead’s name is?”

“Jake,” they said together.

They stared at each other. Was it possible? How could it be?

She dropped to the mattress and cradled her head in her hands. Surely there was a logical explanation for this. She could not have slept with the ex of the woman who was with her ex. Could she?

Noah shifted to sit next to her, head in his hands too. “How do you know Jake?” he asked after a long moment.

She raised her head and looked at him. “He’s my ex-boyfriend.”

Noah’s eyes cleared, and he was utterly sober in a blink. He shot to his feet as though he hadn’t imbibed most of the bottle of tequila the night before. He scooped his jeans with his boxers still scrunched inside them off the floor and yanked them on in one manly move.

Maya Ray was still recovering from this sight when he squared up in front of her. “You’re telling me…” He shook his head. “No.”

She nodded. “I think so.”

“No way. That shit only happens in movies.”

“Well…tell that to the producers of our lives, because it seems as if our exes left us for each other. And last night we hooked up.” She shot a look at his abs that appeared to be cut from granite and slowly eased his gaze up to his face.

In seconds, her brain engaged fully—okay, as fully as it could while staring at a hot man who she’d just spent the night with. A plan unfolded across the landscape of her mind.

She stood and paced across the room, which she now remembered was the guest room of Jake’s house. Right now, for all she knew, her ex was down the hall with Noah’s ex, tucked into bed too.

She stifled a groan.

But this was perfect. If Noah got on board with her idea, that was.

She pivoted to look at him. He pushed his arms into the sleeves of his shirt and she paused to watch him work the first button before her mouth engaged again.

“I have an idea.”

He cocked an eye at her. “Forget this ever happened?”

“The opposite.”

He stopped buttoning his shirt.

“We were both jilted. We’re both angry. I don’t know about you, but last night I came to the party just to prove to Jake that I’m fine and I’ve never been happier.”

“I came for the same reason,” he grumbled.

“So what if we get back at them…by being together? It’s bound to bug both of them.”

“How would it bug them if they’re through with us?”

“They won’t want to see us together…and that’s exactly what we’d do. We’ll show up in all the places they are and just be together.”

He stared at her. “You’re crazy.”

“Just for a few weeks.”

“And what? Follow them around the park and the grocery store?”

She nodded. “Something like that. I’ve already got tickets to the rodeo he’s competin’ in.”

Noah groaned. “I’m competin’ too.”

She stepped up to him. “Then I’ll sit in your box and cheer you on. What do you say?”

He studied her for a long heartbeat. She thought he’d call her crazy again and walk out the door. But he gave a slow nod.

Her grin spread.

“I say what do we got to lose?” He scrubbed a hand over his jaw, creating an enticing rasping noise.

“Certainly not self-respect,” she interjected.

“No. That’s already gone.”

“Right,” she agreed. A spark lit in her mind. “First order of business is coffee. Jake likes to drink coffee and have a Saturday morning cinnamon roll at the coffeeshop.”

“Son of a bitch!”

She coiled up at his outburst. “What?”

“I thought it was odd that Shana started liking coffee.”

“See? C’mon. Finish dressing and we’ll head to the coffeeshop. I bet they’re already there.”

“I’m mostly dressed. It’s you who needs to get your act together.” When he drawled this, his dimple flickered, as if it didn’t know if it wanted to make an appearance, either from the situation or because he didn’t have any caffeine in his system yet.

As she located her skirt and top, she threw looks at Noah’s sexy body. She wished she had a better memory of it, but the tequila did most of the talking the previous night.

When they faced each other, fully dressed, with an odd and weirdly satisfying plan in place, Noah nodded at her once. “I’m ready for that coffee.”

“So am I. In more ways than one.”

* * * * *

Son of a bitch. They were actually here, sitting in the corner table looking cozy over steaming coffee and the damn cinnamon rolls.

Noah couldn’t believe what he was seeing—or what he was planning to do by flaunting in front of the couple with Maya Ray. He must have left all his good sense at the bottom of that tequila bottle, because he never would have agreed to something like this before today.

He was a planner by nature. A solid guy. Ask anyone. He didn’t make rash decisions or bad choices. Since the age of ten, he knew exactly how he’d ask a girl to marry him, what words he’d say and which knee he’d bend.

All that had gone up in smoke the minute Maya Ray suggested they pretend to be together simply to bug their exes. Petty? Sure. But he could think of a few reasons he’d want to piss off Shana. He’d been days away from popping the question, and she up and left for…

He turned his head from the sight of them together.

Luckily, Maya Ray picked up whatever slack he let off. Clinging to his arm, she waltzed him up to the glass counter. “What will you have, baby?” she asked him.

“Coffee.”

“Yes, two coffees.” She eyed him and whispered from the corner of her lips, “They’re looking at us.”

Noah’s inner actor kicked in, and he wrapped an arm around Maya Ray’s waist, pulling her close. He bowed to her ear, same as the night before. This time, he whispered, “Do you take cream with your coffee?”

Her eyes went dewy. She braced a hand on his chest and gazed at him as if he was the most amazing, intriguing man on the planet.

“Yes, I do. How naughty of you to ask.” She booped him on the nose with her index finger.

From the corner of his eye, he saw the poor clerk roll her eyes at their antics but he also saw the two people at the back of the coffeeshop watching with jaws dropped.

He turned to the clerk with a smile he hoped made up for their disgusting display. “Just the coffee.”

She nodded and hurried off to fetch the tray. Maya Ray stepped aside but retained her grip on his hand. “Are they still looking at us?”

“Yes, they are.”

“Are they talking?”

“No. Their jaws are hanging open.”

She squealed and pressed a hand to his chest again. “Goody! It’s working. God, I need this coffee and half a bottle of painkillers. My head’s freakin’ killing me.”

He chuckled this time for real. After paying for their coffees, he gathered the tray in one hand, and leading her with the other, he settled them at a table within view of the happy couple. Or happy couple wearing shocked expressions.

He picked up his mug and brought it to his lips. “Okay, you’re right. This is actually satisfying.”

“Right?” Her eyes glimmered over the rim of her own mug. She took a sip and moaned. The sound throttled his memory, and half a dozen positions, kisses and the flavor of her pussy hit his brain.

He sipped his coffee too fast and scalded his tongue.

“Are you okay?” she asked as he hastily set his mug down and sloshed it onto the tray.

“Burned my tongue,” he grumbled.

She looked over his shoulder at the other table and then shifted her attention back to him. She leaned across the table and kissed him square on the mouth. “There. All better?”

Actually, way worse. Now he recalled all of the night before, and he was hard and throbbing on top of being burnt and ticked off to be in the same restaurant as his ex and her D-bag new man.

“He’s a fake cowboy. What did you ever see in him?” he asked Maya Ray.

She wore a wide, fake smile on her face to match his words. “I have no idea. I didn’t realize what a slicked up dick he is until…well, just until.” She dropped her gaze to his chest and then centered it on her coffee.

“What’s after this?” he asked, attempting another sip.

She had a cute way of angling her head when in thought. “Depends on if he needs supplies or wants to just browse on a Saturday morning.”

“So the tack shop or the feed store?”

“You got it.” She grinned, and this time it looked real. Her eyes lit, and the genuine look of joy on her face at torturing their exes brought a laugh to his lips. “We’ll try the feed store first, shall we?”

“Yup. I’ll pick up some feed for my momma’s chickens,” he said.

“So you’re a Wynton.”

“That’s right.” The coffee was kicking in.

“I didn’t recognize you at first. Then you smiled.”

His brain caught up to her statement. “Oh. The dimple.”

She reached out and poked a finger into it, looking pointedly over his shoulder at the couple. “Yes, it’s very notable. All the Wynton men have that dimple.”

“A family curse. Anyway, I don’t know if I really like them watching us.”

“Me either. But it’ll be worth it just knowing that their thoughts are consumed by us being together. Same as ours have been these past two weeks.”

“Hell, you’re right.” He could think of worse ways to spend his time than with a quirky and beautiful woman with a ready smile. As soon as the couple got up, he saw the shift in Maya Ray.

“They’re coming this way.”

Seeing how rattled she was that her ex was approaching, Noah reached out and enfolded her fingers with his. “Just look into my eyes, sweet thing. And ask me to stick out my boot and trip him so he falls on his face.”

His ploy worked—Maya Ray burst out in tinkling, free-spirited laughter as Jake and Shana rushed toward them.

Maya Ray stopped and gave them a shocked look. “Oh, I didn’t see you guys in here. Were you here the whole time?”

Shana looked about to puke, and Noah felt his own stomach hollowing out the longer she stood there with her new man. Maya Ray, though, made a show of looking them over. “Isn’t that cute? Noah,” she dragged him into the conversation, “aren’t they just the cutest? They’re wearing matching shorts!”

“Actually, they aren’t matching. We just—” Shana started.

Maya Ray cut her off with a wave of her hand and another laugh. “Anyway, we’re having our coffee and then running some errands. We’ll see you around!” With that, she turned her attention back to Noah.

Playing along, he shot her a wink and made sure to flash his dimple for good measure. Shana grabbed Jake’s arm, and they sailed out the door, with Maya Ray’s laughter chasing them.

The minute they left, she dropped the act and picked up her coffee. Looking miserable with her hangover, she snorted. “Freakin’ matching shorts.”

“Now she dresses like a douche-bag too.”

Maya Ray beamed a grin in his direction. “Definitely.”

Chapter Three

Maya Ray collapsed onto her sofa, exhausted by her day. Not only was she suffering from a banging headache but her stomach turned sour from seeing Jake with that fake woman on his arm.

First, the tack shop and then the feed store. Both places they ran into the couple, and true, this plan had been all her doing, but she wasn’t so sure if it was worth torturing herself.

The look on Jake’s face when he saw Noah curl his hand down around Maya Ray’s hip while in the aisle, though… Okay, it might be worth it. Jake’s glower and the abrupt way he turned away told Maya Ray that he wasn’t so immune to seeing her with another man.

Not that it mattered—she would sooner take a pig to bed than allow Jake back into her life. Keeping up the ruse hadn’t involved as much acting as she originally guessed, either. She and Noah seemed to play off each other pretty well, considering they hardly knew each other.

Of course, she knew him knew him. Which was different from knowing him.

She closed her eyes and drifted for a few minutes. As soon as the ache in her temples started to diminish, her phone rang. With a groan, she sat up and searched in her handbag for it.

The strange number and the name attached to it jolted her. She brought the phone to her ear. “Noah.”

“Hey, Maya Ray.” Damn. That drawl was the stuff women dropped like flies for. Suddenly, she could almost feel his fingers curling around her hip, the tips mere inches from the crease between her thigh and pussy. She had to admit in the moment, Jake’s dark thunderous look hardly mattered to her, because she was too busy battling tingles of desire from Noah’s touch.

“Um, hi. What’s up?”

“Somethin’ came up with my family. I can’t meet you tomorrow at noon as we planned. We’ll have to meet at the fairgrounds later.”

“That’s fine.” It gave her more Sunday to herself.

“Four?”

“I’ll be there.”

“Should we wear our matching shorts?”

She burst out laughing. “I can’t picture you wearing shorts let alone some plaid ones like Jake had on.”

“Douche bag.” Amusement tinged his deep tone.

“It’s not a half bad idea to plan our outfits, though. What color T-shirts do you have?” She pictured Noah’s wide expanse of chest with cotton stretched across it. Her stomach gave a little flurry of interest that reminded her how amazing the sex had been and how much better it would be without tequila.

“Got white and black.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes.”

“You really are a basics sort of guy, aren’t you?”

“Do I wear basics? Yeah. Am I basic? You’ll have to decide.”

She wasn’t sure by his tone if he was still amused or she’d offended him. “Wear the black. We’ll go Johnny Cash for the first day of the fair.”

“All right.” He paused, saying nothing more, and leaving her wondering what he wanted to say but wasn’t. After several seconds, he said, “Well, I’ll see ya tomorrow.”

“Yes. Tomorrow. Bye, Noah.” As soon as she ended the call, she stared at the screen, wondering if this really was a good idea to continue with their ruse. After all, their exes wouldn’t be the only people to believe they were a couple. They’d flaunted themselves all through Stone Pass’s busiest shops today, and tomorrow were bound to see every old friend, his uncle and his pet goat at the fair.

She stifled a giggle and tossed her phone aside, curled up on the sofa and closed her eyes again. When she massaged her sore eyes, she caught a hint of Noah’s cologne on her skin. Pressing her hand to her nose, she inhaled. Yes, Noah. Pure Noah.

Suddenly, she realized she hadn’t showered after the party and had done the walk of shame in the clothes she’d worn the night before. A fact she hoped wasn’t lost on her ex. But now, she needed to jump in the shower and get the smell of Noah Wynton off her. Soon enough, she’d be covered in that light, earthy sandalwood cologne again.

Shower. Now.

In the bathroom, she stripped off the sexy top and skirt. With the water running, she stood naked in front of the mirror and sucked in a gasp of shock. Why didn’t Noah tell her that he’d left a red scruff mark on her throat? Or her belly?

Oh my God. Not the thighs.

She’d been feeling the light burn on her inner thighs all day, but she just thought… thighs rub. Planting her hands on her legs, she parted them a bit and stared into the mirror.

“Hot damn, Wynton. You’re good.” The pink streaks of his rough loving the night before were evidence that she’d had a good time. Had she marked him too?

She strode naked into the living room to grab her phone. After one ring, he picked up. “What’s up?” he drawled.

“Did I leave any marks on you?” she demanded, hand on her bare hip.

“What?”

“Marks. Hickies. Bite marks. Do you have any marks on your body from last night?”

A beat of silence followed. Then he said, “I assume you do.”

“Yes!” Why did her stomach give that little thrill to accompany her answer?

“I’ve yet to shower, Maya Ray. If I have any, I’ll let ya know. Okay?”

Now she got the impression that she might not have given as eager a performance as he did. Damn her competitive spirit for wanting to match him. She never did things by halves. In school, if she studied, she studied until she knew every last word. If she was baking cookies, she baked two batches instead of one and handed out packets to the neighbors. And if she was getting into bed with a stranger, she wanted to give her all too.

“Damn,” she muttered.

“Is it the thighs?” His question had her pussy clenching.

“Yes.” She sounded breathless. “The thighs. Dammit. I’ll see you tomorrow, Noah.”

“Bye, Maya Ray.” The smile in his voice projected clear across town to her and embedded itself under her skin.

“Ugh!” She stormed back to the bathroom. The space was filled with steam, but that didn’t stop her from seeing the pink streaks from Noah’s rough beard on her inner thighs. And he knew he’d put them there too.

God, that was hot…

* * * * *

Noah thrust a hand out from under the tractor he was working on. “Hand me the wrench. The big one.”

His brother Ross placed the tool in his hand, and Noah grunted in thanks. While fixing things around the ranch, all the Wynton family members communicated in a series of grunts. The women of the family often made fun of them for it, but he’d been in the kitchen with his mother, sisters and aunts enough to hear their own language, usually half-finished sentences or frantic gestures to tell someone to stir a pot on the stove.

Noah set the wrench onto the bolt and cranked it to loosen. Rust and other crud from underneath the tractor flaked off in his face, and he cussed.

“All good, bro?” Ross’s face appeared to the side of the tire.

“Yeah, it’s stuck and crap’s gettin’ in my face.”

“I’m sure there’s some cow shit under there too.”

“No doubt.” He set his teeth into his lower lip and wrenched harder on the bolt. It loosened, and he grunted with relief.

“You were supposed to work on this the other night. I waited for you in the garage. What happened?”

A sexy woman with wavy brown hair and a pair of thighs that hugged a man to perfection happened.

He only made a humming noise in his throat in response.

“It’s not like you to skip out on plans. You’re usually the guy making the plans. In fact, pretty sure you did.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. Something came up.”

“What kinda something?” Ross crouched at the big tire, and there was no escaping his brother’s stare.

“Got caught at a party.”

“Party? Only party I know of was that dingus Jake Robinson’s rodeo kickoff party. You went to that?”

He grunted.

“Thought your ex was datin’ that guy.”

“She is.”

“So you went to the party to what? Stir up trouble?”

“Somethin’ like that.” He wished Ross would stop talking and put himself to good use—by leaving him alone to fix the tractor.

“So what’s your excuse for not showing up this morning?” Ross pressured.

“Had a date.”

“Looks like you had a date with the worm at the bottom of a bottle.”

“That too.”

“So my perfect, honorable, studious little brother went to a party, got drunk and then got laid.”

He inwardly groaned. The last thing he wanted to discuss was Maya Ray. Things were beyond complicated there, starting with the fact they’d slept together—great sex, by the way—and then spent the day stalking their exes’ every move around town just to be assholes. Nobody in his family would equate those actions with Noah.

“That right, bro?” Ross’s teasing drawl got on his nerves.

He dropped the wrench, nearly bashing himself in the teeth. “Yes, dammit. Now leave me alone.”

“Wow.” Ross bounced on his haunches like a little kid who just heard Santa Claus was coming. “Wait till I tell our brothers. Actually, pretty sure Silas attended that party too. Maybe he can give me some more dirt on you.”

“You’re a”—he forced the next bolt off—“dick, ya know that?”

“Been told that a time or two. But I’ll let it drop—if you’ll do somethin’ for me.”

He grunted. “What do you want?”

“Need an extra security guard on duty at the fair. The rodeo bigwigs arrive tonight, and contract states we need to provide security.”

More than worth his time if Ross let it drop.

“Fine. You got guys positioned at the east gate? You know people always try to sneak in that way without payin’. Could pose a problem to the big stars too, if someone wants to give them trouble.”

“Yeah, it’s covered.”

“’Kay.”

“So about this girl you slept with—”

He issued a low growl of warning. “You’re about to lose a security guard, brother.” The rusty tractor part dropped into his palm, and he set it aside to fit the new piece into place.

“Kiddin’.”

The low country music that always seemed to be playing in the garage filled the silence as he worked and Ross passed him tools. His brother could do this himself, but he hated working on tractors, and since Noah was good with his hands, he typically took the job.

After a few minutes, Noah slid out from beneath the tractor, gained his feet and set his hands on his hips. “Try the engine.”

Ross mounted the big machine in order to twist the key. The engine roared to life.

He and Ross traded a look. “Runnin’ a little rich. I’ll have to adjust the carburetor now that the new piece is on. It’s more efficient.”

Ross shut off the engine, and they both circled to the front to lean over the open hood. When Ross pointed to a cracked hose, Noah grunted. Ross went to the workbench littered with junk and spare pieces and parts, locating a clamp. He brought this back, and Noah took it wordlessly to clamp around the cracked hose to hold it in place until they got a replacement for it.

“Thing’s fallin’ apart,” Ross said.

“It’s old enough.” He shot his brother a look. Did his own face really look so much like Ross’s, Boone’s and the rest of the Wynton men that Maya Ray had recognized him simply by his appearance? The dimple gave it away, sure. But plenty of men had dimples. Maybe not in Stone Pass, but it wasn’t such a small town that everybody knew everybody. Before that night at the party, he’d never set eyes on Maya Ray in his life.

“What’s happening with the pre-rodeo festivities?” he asked Ross. “We always have a big chicken roast and everyone comes up. That still on?”

“Dunno. Ma said something about some of the aunts and uncles not being able to make it this year.”

Noah removed his hat to rub at his hair. “Whattaya mean? We can’t just forget about the chicken roast. It’s tradition.”

“Take it up with Ma.”

“What about the cornhole competition?”

“Dude, I don’t know. I just show up where and when I’m told.”

What a screwed up month. He was already feeling like a cow tipped on its side after Shana ditched him and now his family wasn’t even putting importance into the rodeo festivities. Rodeo week was everything in Stone Pass. They looked forward to celebrating all year, and family came from all over Montana to sleep in the bunkhouse, camp out on the living room floor and even pitch tents in the back pasture to join in the fun.

He let the heavy steel hood of the tractor drop shut with a bang.

Ross eyed him. “Look, I’m sure you’ll get your fun, Noah.”

“Forget it. Nothin’s the same anyway.”

Without saying another word, he strode out of the garage. What did he give a damn about the festivities anyway? Tradition only meant something to the people participating, but he couldn’t even claim that to be a fact anymore. He and Shana had joined in together and none of those moments counted toward their lifetime bank of memories. She’d pulled the plug on that piggy bank and let everything flow out, leaving him empty.

He reached the house and whipped open the screen door. Hell with traditions. Shana didn’t have fun in the cornhole competition, which he always thought got better the more beer they drank, but maybe he was wrong. She was vegan and didn’t eat the roast chicken either. In the grand scheme of things, none of it had made any difference to their relationship. They were minutes that amounted to nothing.

He stomped into the bathroom and slammed the door. He needed a shower so he wasn’t covered in engine grease and rust flakes when he did security duty at the fair.

As soon as he stripped down, he remembered his fake girlfriend’s call earlier to tell him he’d left red marks on her. He sure didn’t mean to—guess he got a little enthusiastic last night. He could blame it on the tequila, but fact was, she was worth getting excited over.

After kicking his jeans into a wad on the floor and whipping his shirt off, he took a moment to check his reflection. He hadn’t checked his body for marks the way she asked him to. He didn’t think he bore any. What were the chances—

Twisting to the side, he froze. There, on his flank, was a light pink score. From a fingernail? Couldn’t be. He must have scraped it sliding under the tractor.

Leaning over the bathroom vanity toward the mirror, he peered closer. Damn. Might be a fingernail scratch.

Was he really planning to report to her? What did it matter anyway? They meant nothing to each other—were only acting in order to rile their exes and give them a noxious dose of their own medicine.

He switched on the shower and waited for the hot water to reach full temperature. Now that he knew where the pink scratch was, he could almost feel the sting. He would not look in the mirror again, though.

When he stepped toward the shower door, he stopped, turned and stood in front of the mirror. That light line shouldn’t be making his cock hard, but dammit, he couldn’t deny the twinge. Hell, now he was stiffening rapidly. Another five seconds he’d be fully hard.

Son of a bitch. Didn’t even take two.

Seeing her fingernail score on his side fucking turned him on, and surely that was wrong when only weeks ago he’d been hoping to get down on one knee and ask Shana to marry him.

With a low growl of annoyance, he jumped into the shower. He’d be smart to stick to basics, like they talked about. Jeans, T-shirts, boots and hat. That was what he wore on the surface. Inside, his life was full of family and traditions and hard work—basics that kept him going.

Right now, he didn’t know jack about what he was doing with his life. He wasn’t getting married anytime soon, and it wouldn’t be to Shana. Hell, he didn’t even know if he’d be eatin’ roast chicken or throwing cornhole with family before the big rodeo days. All he knew was he planned to wear a black T-shirt—like Johnny Cash, Maya Ray said—and hit the fair at four o’clock tomorrow evening to walk around with a beautiful woman he was pretending to like.

But he also wore her scratches from a crazy-hot night of sex.

Chapter Four

Maya Ray put a hand to her eyes to peer into the sun. She hated being kept waiting, but of course her new fake boyfriend didn’t know that about her.

She shifted from boot to boot, aware of a group of guys staring at her as they entered through the fair gates. One’s gaze latched onto her legs in her miniskirt, and she hoped like crazy he didn’t make any overtures to talk to her. After her long relationship—and breakup—she wasn’t really interested in dating. Besides, things were complicated enough with faking a new love and learning all the places to show up and bug their exes.

When a tall drink of water appeared through the crowd, she rolled onto her tiptoes to look closer. The black Stetson caught her attention first, and then someone stepped out from in front of him, and she saw black cotton stretched perfectly tight across a broad chest she was all too familiar with using as a pillow.

Her stomach picked up and set down again, like a dog flapping its tail in interest. Over the heads of the people surrounding him, he spotted her. A slow smile crept across his face, as if he was reluctant to let anyone see it, and he excused himself to a woman as he stepped around her to reach Maya Ray.

She craned her neck to look up at his face. Shadowed by the brim of his hat, his eyes appeared darker.

“Sorry I’m late.” His lips hitched higher, carving a crease into the corner.

For a second, she forgot her purpose. Then remembering she was supposed to hang all over this cowboy, she hooked her arms around his neck. His grin broadened as he ducked his head to plant a kiss smack on her lips.

She poked her finger into his dimple. “So cute. C’mon. They aren’t here yet.”

When she turned from him, she was surprised to feel his big hand envelop hers. She tossed him a smile over her shoulder and led him up to the concession stand to purchase tickets.

“I’ll get them.” His deep voice reached her over all the high-pitched cries of kids in the crowd. He handed some bills to the teen selling tickets and tipped his hat to her when she gave him change.

“You know how to charm women of every age. How is it that you weren’t snatched up as soon as Shana dumped you?”

He cocked a brow at her. “You could put it a little nicer.”

“Sorry.” She actually was. “Thank you for the ticket. You didn’t need to pay.”

“I know. I’m countin’ on you to buy me a corndog later.”

“Count on it. And some o’ those fresh-cut fries too.”

“Hold that thought. First, I’ve gotta meet up with my brother and get a few things. Want to walk with me?”

“Sure.” As soon as they started moving through the crowd, she noticed how many stares they were receiving. A couple cowboys gave Noah the chin-raise of universal male acknowledgement, and he did the same, only hotter. More than a few women were eyeing him and then shooting Maya Ray dirty looks.

“Well, we’re making some people jealous anyway. We just need to find the two people we’re here to bother,” she said.

He didn’t respond, and she looked up at his face in time to see the glare he was throwing at a guy standing in line to ride the electric bull.

Maya Ray’s brows crinkled. “What was that about? You know that dude?”

“He was starin’ at your legs too long.” The flat statement, delivered as though he had all the reason in the world to be irritated by such a thing as a man staring at her, shook her enough that she didn’t know what to say.

With confident strides, he led her around the bleachers surrounding the rodeo stadium and clear to the back where the animals were kept.

“What are we doing here again?”

At that moment, she saw a guy appear, as tall, dark and ruggedly handsome as Noah. A single glance told her this was his brother, and she didn’t even need to see a dimple to know he was a Wynton.

The man’s attention fell over her, and she felt a prickle of being sized up. As they approached him, Noah tipped his head toward her. “This is Maya Ray.”

“Hi, Maya Ray.” The man also wore a black hat, black T-shirt and the same belt buckle with a star surrounding a W, just like Noah’s.

“Hi there.” She offered him her best smile.

He slid his gaze to his brother and cocked a brow at him, but Noah ignored the silent question. Of course his brother would question him being with a new woman. His family would know about his big breakup and was probably happy to see Noah moving on. Only it was all a ruse.

“Thanks for agreeing to do this, Noah.”

“Don’t even go there, Ross.”

He flashed a huge grin, complete with Wynton dimple. “I’ll just show you around so you know where to watch for security issues.”

Maya Ray’s ears perked up. “Security issues?”

Ross threw her a look. “Didn’t my brother tell you he’s running security for me all week?”

“No, he didn’t.”

Noah gave a low groan that sounded like a first warning from a vicious animal before it struck.

Ross shot her a wink and continued to circle the animal pens and to the back gates where the rodeo trailers would park. “This will be your post, brother.”

“Pretty sure I’m the one who told you this is a prime example of a security risk.” Noah’s tone only seemed to widen the smile on Ross’s face.

“Whatever. You’ll be armed, of course, and you’ll have an earpiece for communication with the rest of security.”

“Fine. That all?” Noah eyed his brother.

“No. I’m supposed to tell ya that the chicken roast and cornhole are on.”

Some of the tenseness seemed to ooze from the set of Noah’s shoulders. “Ma told you?”

“Yes. So stop poutin’ about lack of traditions and all that. Bring your girl here.” He nodded to Maya Ray.

She didn’t know how to respond. Her agreement with Noah didn’t extend to personal affairs—they were only together to “run into” Jake and Shana.

“Anything else?” Noah waited for Ross’s answer.

“One more thing.”

Noah stopped short of rolling his eyes. “What now?”

“We could use someone to sell raffle tickets.”

“We can do it,” Maya Ray spoke up.

Noah looked down at her. She lifted her brows, trying to communicate that it was the best way to be in a prominent spot where their exes would see them. As if he understood her telepathy, he nodded.

“We’ll work the booth. But not all evening. We got a date with some corndogs and fresh-cut fries.”

Why did his grumbling sound so hot?

“Let’s go, Maya Ray.” He caught her by the elbow and steered her quickly away.

“Nice meeting you,” she called back to Ross. His brother waved.

After they were out of earshot, she nudged him with her elbow. “You’re a little grumpy with your brother.”

“He’s being a pain.”

“I didn’t know you were working security.”

“Ross just asked me. He’s been in charge of it here at the fair for the last few years, but this is his first contract with the rodeo.”

“I see.”

“It was a good call to say we’ll work the raffle. Everybody buys tickets. We’re sure to see our exes.”

She bobbed her head. “My thoughts exactly. Let me buy you a lemonade before we head to the booth. It’ll be hot working in the sun.”

She steered him to a lemonade stand and bought two. Then they set up at the raffle table to sell tickets. Turned out Noah knew everybody, and everybody liked him. So many people stopped to chat with him, and he had a way about him that put people at ease and made them smile. Several times, she watched him nonchalantly hand the person the pen and a packet of tickets to fill out his name, chatting away the whole time so she wondered if the poor person ever realized he was agreeing to dole out twenty bucks for the tickets.

After it happened one more time, she shook her head at him.

“What’s that for?” he asked.

“I’ve just learned you’re a salesman too.” A familiar face appeared at the next booth, and her heart juddered in her chest. “Time for action. Kiss me, Noah.”

His brows wrinkled in question and then it dawned on him that their exes were nearby and it was time to put on their performance.

He closed the gap between them. When he clamped his hands on her hips and tugged her flush to his hard body, all the while staring deeply into her eyes, she felt her breath come faster. Were their exes seeing this? She sure hoped so.

Slowly, he leaned down and brushed his lips across hers. The slightest hint of pressure sent a tingle along her nerve endings, awakening the ones that remembered his past kisses far too well. What he did next caught her off-guard.

With his thumb on her chin, he opened her mouth for him to sweep inside. This was no gentle kiss—he plundered her. Ravished her. Stole all thoughts about where she was and what she was doing here as he demanded she respond to the caress.

She threw her arms around him, clinging. He lifted her off her feet, and she brought one boot up into the air in that all-time pose of the happy female half of a couple. He angled deeper, taking her lips and tongue for what felt like endless moments.

Someone whistled at them, and Noah lifted his head. Over his shoulder, she spotted Jake and Shana rushing away.

“Wait! You didn’t buy any tickets!” she called out.

Noah slanted a grin at her, but his eyes still glinted with what she thought might be the burning affects of that kiss. She felt a full flock of butterflies in her stomach for the same reason and hoped she didn’t wear a dopey look on her face too.

As he stared down at her, he narrowed his eyes. “You’re getting a sunburn.”

Her eyes rounded. “Crap. I forgot sunscreen.”

“I know where to get some. Be right back.”

She watched him swing away from the table for a moment and then she held out her arms to look at her red forearms. Touching her fingertips to her cheeks, she found them hot and stinging slightly. Great—she must look like a tomato.

When he returned to the table with a bottle of lotion in his big hand, his stare locked on her face. He winced.

“Oh no. Is it that bad?” she whispered.

“Pretty bad.”

“Well why didn’t you say something before?”

“I didn’t notice before.” He popped the top of the sunscreen and squirted an ample amount in his palm.

“You can’t use that much on me—I’ll look like a ghost.”

“Better than a tomato.”

She groaned.

He dimpled up, damn him, as he smoothed sunscreen down her forearms. “Gonna have a farmer’s tan too.”

“Fantastic.”

He flashed his pearly whites too, double damn him. “Here, tip your face up.”

She did as he asked. His fingers didn’t feel so callused sliding over her face. She watched him as he slathered her in sunscreen, and his expression of total absorption in his job only helped when Jake and Shana hurried past the table.

Noah flicked his gaze after them and then grinned. “Perfect timing.” He dropped his hands. “There—you’re good.”

“Did you get it all rubbed in? I don’t want white squirts left on my face.”

His brows rocketed up, and she realized how that sounded. She shoved him in the shoulder. “Stop! I’m red enough without blushing.”

He chuckled. “I say we make our escape in a few minutes and saddle some other poor bastard with selling tickets while we grab some food.”

“I’m up for it. I think I’ve had enough sun for one day.”

When his stare lit on her face again, and the corner of his mouth quirked up, she knew what he was seeing must be bad.

Later, when they were standing in the long line waiting for their fresh-cut fries, Noah slid his hand tenderly under her hair, leaned down and kissed her without warning. The soft brushing of his mouth almost made her forget how much her skin hurt, and she hardly processed that thought before he pulled away in time for her to see Jake staring straight at them.

Did she even care about continuing with this act? After all, if Jake wanted Shana, Maya Ray couldn’t stop him. And running into him so often in the past few days had started to make her feel a bit immune to him. This time, she didn’t even experience that sharp dip of her stomach she experienced from looking into his eyes.

The confusion crisscrossing her system left her a bit slow, so when it was her turn to order, she forgot what to say.

“Two large orders of fries,” Noah ordered for them.

The guy who took their order slid his gaze to her face and then he cringed.

“Sunstroke,” Noah said in a loud whisper to the guy and pointed to his temple.

Oh Lordy. As if Maya Ray wasn’t a hot mess without half the fairgrounds thinking the sun had boiled her brain and it ran out of her ear.

When they walked away with big cups of fries in hand and a corndog on a stick each, she sent Noah a glare.

“What?”

“Do I really look that horrible?”

He slid his stare over her face, from stinging forehead to the hot, tight point of her chin. “No. You look beautiful.”

* * * * *

After that scorching kiss back at the raffle ticket booth and the tender one waiting in line for fries, compounded with the knowledge that Maya Ray wore his pink beard burns on her inner thighs, Noah had been sporting an erection all afternoon.

She just had to wear that tight little miniskirt too, didn’t she? All part of the act, he was certain, but now their ruse was beginning to affect him probably more than their exes.

He threw Maya Ray a look. Her poor face and arms. Who scorched in the early evening sunshine in Montana? Apparently a pale, freckled woman like Maya Ray. If her cheeks were this much on fire, he’d like to see those marks on her thighs.

He ground his teeth on the thought. Their evening together was coming to an end. They didn’t really need to keep trying to run into their exes once the fireworks started, did they?

What if he wanted to watch the display, though? It was one of the best shows in three counties.

While she stood talking to an old friend, she shifted her weight from hip to hip. Noah’s gut burned at the view of her ass in tight, short denim.

Before he knew his own mind, he stepped up behind her, putting a palm to her lower back. She went dead still. “Excuse me for interrupting. I just wondered if you want to catch the fireworks.”

Her eyes looked so white against her beet-red face that the blue seemed amplified to a whole other spectrum of color.

“Sure. Fireworks sounds great. I’ll see you soon, Abby.”

As he led her away to where his truck was parked in the field, she was silent. “We’ll have a great view from the field. How’s that sound?”

“Great, actually.” When they reached his truck and he lowered the tailgate, she put a hand on his arm. “Noah, we don’t need to watch fireworks together. I don’t think our exes will see us out here.”

He turned his head and met her gaze. “I know. It’s only fireworks, Maya Ray.” He located a blanket and spread it over the tailgate so her bare legs weren’t touching the cool metal of the truck.

Before she could hitch herself onto the edge, he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her. Her jaw dropped before he released her to take a seat beside her.

“Oh, almost forgot.” He hopped off again and rooted around in the front of the truck. He returned with a bottle of green aloe.

She gaped at him.

“For your sunburn.”

“Thank you.” She opened the lid and squirted some in her palms. She first smoothed it over her arms and then did the same to her face. Afterward, she released a sigh of relief.

“Better?” he asked.

“Much. Thanks.” She leaned back on her palms, looking at the still dark sky. She swung her booted feet, and the action caused her skirt to ride up her thighs more.

He stifled a groan. All day long he’d burned to shimmy that tight skirt up and look at the marks he made on her. Then show off his own cat scratch.

What was wrong with him?

She turns me on.

And not for revenge, either.

He wanted to touch her more, like they had that first night when they hadn’t struck a deal to try to drive their exes crazy—just them. Tangled up. In bed.

He didn’t realize he sighed until she pivoted her head to look at him. “Long evening, huh?”

Seeing how he’d been hard as steel for most of it, yeah. “It was all right.”

She stole a peek at him. “I had a good time. I didn’t expect that.”

Staring at her, inches away, her lips full and beckoning him, he threw away all good sense. He reached out and yanked her into his lap. Her round ass hit his groin, and he groaned as she gasped.

He slammed his mouth over hers, stealing any other sounds she might make. When he angled his head, thrusting his tongue between her lips, she shoved his hat off his head and plunged her fingers into his hair.

He couldn’t help it—he ran a hand up her bare leg from knee to crotch, thinking of beard burn and how easy it’d be to put more there. She cried out as he stroked his thumb over the crotch of her panties.

She let her legs fall apart, giving him complete access. He rolled her back into the truck bed, covering her with his body to keep all eyes off her as he wiggled his hand inside the cloth of her panties and nestled a fingertip over her slick seam.

“Oh God!” She wiggled against his hand. He captured her lips again, holding her body prisoner with his tongue and a single fingertip, which he slipped up and down her folds, finally coming to rest on her clit.

The scrape of her fingernails over his scalp had his cock ready to burst. He tunneled his finger into her pussy, twisting it to work himself inside her body. Liquid heat penetrated his skin, and he battled for control. While kissing her with long, deep passes, he began to finger-fuck her nice and slow.

Each squeaking noise she made, he trapped with his mouth. Passion flared up. What he wouldn’t give to drop his jeans and claim her right here. Feeling her writhe in pleasure was the next best thing.

She pushed her hips up, working herself on his finger. Fuck, could she be any hotter? Wetter? He sank two fingers in all the way and the heel of his hand brushed over her clit.

“Yessss,” she moaned out. “Don’t stop!”

He’d like to see the person who tried to make him. Staring down at her beautiful face contorted with pleasure had him about to blow. He bit off a growl and took her lips again, fucking her with his fingers and her mouth with his tongue until her insides clenched and he felt her mouth go slack under his.

She came with a hard pulsing shudder just as the first firework hit the sky. Pastel colors lit up her face as her release continued for several seconds. When she collapsed, breathing hard, her hand fisted in his hair, their eyes met.

Her eyes cleared of the sexual haze faster than he expected, and she released her grip on his hair. Slowly, he eased his fingers free. He wanted to lick them clean, but something about her tense pose kept him from doing so.

She closed her legs and shoved her skirt down. She started to sit up, and he rested a hand on her stomach to hold her.

“Easy. Just watch the fireworks.” He spoke as if he was soothing a horse, but right now, she acted just as skittish.

Another huge firework shot into the sky and exploded above them in a flower shape light display. Two more accompanied it. After five more, he felt Maya Ray relax a bit. He was far from it, though. With her scent hanging in the night air and his fingers still damp from her release, he didn’t think he could be more worked up.

No doubt she was sexy as hell, but he’d never acted this bold before. When courting a woman, he did things in order. A first date—maybe dinner. Holding hands. A parting kiss goodnight, chaste with no tongue to show respect. Then seeing each other a few more times before acting on his physical desires.

With Maya Ray, everything was back-asswards, and he didn’t know what to think about that. They slept together right out of the gate, and all those intimate touches and looks were feigned.

Are they?

Turning his gaze from the sky, he centered on her face. If she didn’t want him just a little bit, she wouldn’t have allowed him to bring her to release. Hell, she wouldn’t be able to get off at all if she didn’t trust him.

A kernel of warmth bloomed in his chest at that thought. A series of loud blasts turned his attention to the lights flashing in the sky. He chuckled at the percussion that seemed to drive straight into his body.

Maya Ray looped her arm around his neck, burying her face against his chest as she laughed through the loud ones too. Then she peeked out at the increasingly bigger light displays until the finale.

Watching fireworks with his ex had never been so fun. Actually, last year, she hadn’t wanted to sit in the bed of his truck, and making out would have been strictly off-limits.

Wonder lit on Maya Ray’s face, and colors washed over her skin, making it glow like a rainbow.

When the final firework exploded, she issued a long, loud hoot along with every other person in the field—except him. He was too busy enjoying her response.

Cheers sounded, and then engines revved as people in the field drove out. He didn’t move, and neither did she.

“I should get going.” She sat up and started to scoot to the edge of the tailgate in order to jump down.

“Where’s your car parked? I’ll drive you to it.”

“I can walk.”

“Well, wait a few at least. It’s dark and pedestrians around all these big trucks don’t mix.”

To his relief, she stopped. He sat next to her and they watched the trucks and headlights. One truck hit a muddy patch, and true to the nature of any boy in Stone Pass, the driver set the vehicle into a donut spin. A bunch of other drivers honked their horns on every rotation he made.

When Noah looked at Maya Ray, he saw her smiling at the antics. Shana would have shook her head and declared them to be immature.

What was up with him comparing the two women now?

He wanted to bring up the fact he’d just pleasured her. He felt the moment hanging between them. But without any clue how to broach the topic, he said, “How’s the sunburn feeling?”

“It’s okay. Stings a little, but the aloe helped.”

“Good.”

Silence hovered between them.

“You know, I don’t even know where you work,” he said. The truck came out of the donut and the driver honked the entire way off the field, rendering it impossible to speak until he drove away.

“I work for my uncle’s water testing company.”

“The Water Guru’s your uncle?”

“Yes.”

“You got roped into the family business?”

“I went to college for environmental science. There’s a lot of fracking around here, and that affects the water table. I like helping to keep an eye on the safety of people’s water.”

He nodded.

“What about you?”

He reached for his hat and settled it firmly on his head. “Ranchin’ family, remember? I train horses all day.”

“Sounds awesome.”

“That’s the glamorous term for fighting stubborn yearlings and shovelin’ shit.”

She smiled. He studied her for a minute before deciding that while their conversation seemed easygoing, she still appeared tense. He probably messed things up by making a move on her, and his cock was still battering his fly with no hope of release unless by his own hand. At this point, he wouldn’t have a choice but to ease himself.

“I bet training horses means you’ll be waking up early tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

She hopped off the tailgate and smoothed her skirt down her thighs. “It’s late. You’d best get home. I’ll see you later, Noah.”

He watched her walk away from the truck and disappear into the darkness. Why did watching her walk away leave him feeling empty?

Chapter Five

Maya Ray’s face really did resemble a tomato.

Not one of those barely red, pale ones seen on a supermarket shelf but a big, fat heirloom variety her grandma grew in her garden. The ones that made the best, richest tomato sauce and made for the yummiest sandwiches.

For the color of her complexion, she wasn’t feeling it so much.

She groaned and turned away from the mirror. After five days the burn wasn’t showing signs of fading. At least it hadn’t peeled as of yet—she credited Noah’s aloe for that small blessing.

Noah…he was becoming a problem. He’d texted her several days in a row asking her when they were going to stalk their exes with a big LOL at the end of the message. But she’d ignored the texts and didn’t reply.

And for days she’d been asking herself why.

She didn’t want to stalk their exes anymore. The idea grew stale after only a few days. She’d still like to see Jake’s eyeballs bug out of his head when he saw Noah kiss her or whisper into her ear. The things he whispered always made her laugh too, being as far from sexy as a whisper could get.

Catching herself smiling now, she pressed her lips together to change her expression.

Okay, maybe she did still want to drive her ex crazy for a few more days.

Her bright red face had kept her indoors, and she didn’t want to be seen with such a gross discoloration of her skin. Yeah, that was it.

Except it wasn’t. It was Noah.

She had to admit it—her momma taught her never to lie, especially to herself, since it was the most dangerous kind of lie. Truth was, she didn’t know how to act around Noah now.

Now that he’d kissed her in the dark without their exes around to see.

Now that he’d shimmied his hand under her skirt, inside her panties, slipped his fingers into her body…and she’d ridden the thick, callused digits like she never wanted to stop.

Her face burned as she added a blush to her already hot skin. Confusion flooded into her brain, filling it with a dense fog she couldn’t manage to see through no matter which direction she looked.

Why had she let Noah put his hands on her? Bring her to orgasm?

Because she wanted it, pure and simple. Being kissed by a gorgeous hot cowboy and made to feel beautiful and desirable was the best ego boost a girl could ever need after getting dumped by a jerk like Jake. Problem was, next time she and Noah got together, would he try to kiss her and shimmy his hand into her panties?

God, she hoped so.

She swatted away that thought like a pesky bee coming at her. No—she did not hope Noah tried to touch her in that way again.

If they continued with their act of pretending to be in a relationship for the sake of their exes, he would touch her.

And she’d like it too much.

Once again, she arrived at the real root of her problem. She liked Noah’s kisses. The cowboy knew exactly how to drive her craziest, and she needed to avoid him for that reason.

She also couldn’t continue ignoring him.

She pulled on her boots and swung back to glance at her reflection in the bedroom mirror. Did she look so bad now? She prodded her cheeks. They weren’t nearly as red as they’d been a few days before. She could show her face in public.

Why could she hear Noah teasing her for the brutal sunburn? She bit down on her lip to keep the smile off her face, despite nobody being around to witness it.

Spinning from the mirror, she swiped her phone to reply to Noah. For a heartbeat, she didn’t know what to say.

Thanks for the crazy-good orgasm in the bed of your truck. I’m still tingling when I think about it.

Definitely not.

Her thumbs worked over the keyboard. Sorry I’ve been busy lately. Do you want to meet?

Several seconds passed where she wondered if he gave up on their odd, days-old friendship. Who could blame him? She didn’t know how to make sense of what they were to each other…or if she was even pretending anymore.

She started to rub at her face and then remembered how painful it would be to do that. She dropped her hand, and just then her phone vibrated with a text.

Yes, let’s meet.

Coffeeshop? Feed store?

Fishin’ hole. Derby’s on.

The fishing derby was a big part of the summer festivities surrounding the rodeo. Though water sports had nothing to do with bucking broncs and bulls, tradition in Stone Pass saw half the townspeople at the fishing hole to see who snagged the biggest fish of the day. With prizes going to longest fish, heaviest fish, prettiest fish and even youngest fisherman to catch a fish, everybody had reason to get in on the fun.

I’ll be there.

Make it quick, Maya Ray.

Her stomach dipped at the text and how easily she conjured Noah’s deep, rough voice as though he spoke those words aloud. Also, why did it turn her on when he gave a simple command like that?

Easy. Just watch the fireworks. When he pressed his big palm down on her belly, anchoring her to the bed of the truck instead of allowing her to get up and flee in embarrassment for just having orgasmed all over his fingers, she’d experienced the same leap in her stomach.

Pocketing her phone, she reached for her cowgirl hat. No way would she go without sun protection this time. She checked herself out in the mirror one more time and groaned as she realized she was primping.

To show that rotten ex of mine what he’s missing out on.

Then why did a vision of Noah appear in her mind?

Going would probably be a mistake, but on the way out to her car, she grabbed her fishing rod from the corner of the mudroom.

Driving across Stone Pass toward the river, she didn’t find herself searching the streets for Jake’s car. She must be getting over him, but she didn’t know how to feel about it. Did it make her shallow to feel less of a pang of pain so soon? Another knot of confusion to heap onto her current state….more fog to swim through.

She sighed and shook herself. The derby always proved to be fun. She hadn’t attended in several years, but she and her uncle discussed it with several customers this morning at work. The prizes this year seemed to be more on the extravagant side—such as a brand new rod and reel instead of a certificate for a roast beef dinner at the Stone Pass Family Restaurant.

When she arrived at the river, she struggled to find a place to park along the road. She slipped her small car between two Chevy trucks and then her heart gave a wild flip as she spotted Noah’s truck parked a few vehicles away.

Her stare slid over the bed—where he’d laid her down on the blanket and taken her to new levels of pleasure with his fingers. And the way his hand bumped her clit rhythmically as he delivered, long, deep strokes…

She shivered and swung her gaze back to the truck bed. The goosebumps on her neck and the way her nipples pinched told her she was far from immune to Noah Wynton. Better to face him now than continue to avoid him and run into him in town. Just because they seemed to never be in the same place at the same time before now didn’t mean it wouldn’t happen. Stone Pass was far from huge.

As she gathered her fishing rod, she found herself taking fast strides. Fish didn’t drive her as much as a certain dimple did.

Okay, more confusion. Thicker fog. Maybe seeing Noah would clear some of it away and she’d understand her feelings and thoughts.

The fishing hole was lined on both sides with people of all ages. When she spotted a group of men, all wearing black Stetsons, her step faltered. Noah hadn’t mentioned being with his family.

“Hi, Maya Ray,” a friend of her father’s called out as she passed him.

“Hi, Mike. Planning on winning that rod and reel combo this year?”

“Darn tootin’.”

She smiled at his enthusiastic and countrified response and continued to pick her way toward Noah. The broad set of his shoulders shouldn’t bombard her mind with memories of times she either clung to them or buried her face against them, but there was no escaping now—he’d spotted her.

His eyes seemed to burn out from under the brim of his hat as she approached. He didn’t smile, and she didn’t get a glimpse of the dimple. In fact, his dark brows crinkled in the center.

Drawing on her inner actor, she smiled and threw a wave. He broke free of his group and met her along the shore. As he looked into her eyes, she found herself smiling for real.

Then he returned it, dimple and all.

Relief swept her. They were okay—well, as okay as possible in their situation.

He gestured toward her hand. “You brought a rod.”

“Um…” she looked around, “isn’t that the point?”

“Yeah. C’mon. You’re on my team.”

She didn’t have a chance to ask about the team before he grabbed her hand, engulfing it with deliciously rough fingers and leading her toward his family.

They all turned to look at her. Ross arched his brows in a smug manner.

“Everyone, this is Maya Ray. Maya Ray, you met Ross. This is Boone, second born of the Wynton boys. And Josiah came third. I’m the youngest.”

She nodded at the three men who shared various features with Noah.

“And this is Silas Shanie. Still don’t know why he hangs out with us Wyntons, but stick around and you’ll see a lot of his ugly face.”

The man with bright green eyes tossed her a ready grin and tugged the brim of his hat with the most gentlemanly of country boy manners.

“Hello,” she said to all.

Finished with introductions, Noah grabbed the end of her rod where the fly was hooked into the eye. “Pretty good fly. Where’d you get it?” he asked.

“I tied it myself.”

Brows shot up as the men traded looks. Ross cleared his throat loudly, and Noah twisted from his menfolk to bend his head over the fly. He poked the feather.

“Ring-necked pheasant?”

She nodded. “Some deer hair too. Here.” She pointed.

“Real nice. Who taught you how to tie flies?”

“I taught myself. From a book I got for Christmas when I was twelve.”

Ross made another noise in his throat.

“Someone smack Ross on the back,” Noah drawled. “He seems to be choking.”

Boone made a show of hammering the brother between the shoulder blades while Josiah and Silas laughed.

“C’mon, they’re making so much commotion, they’ll scare away the fish.” Noah grabbed his own rod and led her a few feet away from his team. “You know how to…”

She already had her line in motion, whipping her rod back and forth and then releasing the line for a perfect cast. The fly landed on top of the sparkling water, and she shot him a grin.

“I see you can handle yourself.”

She liked the note of pride in his voice. Grinning, she said, “Got it covered.”

He made a cast too, and they stood side by side, working their lines as the water carried their flies downriver.

* * * * *

Noah swore if his brothers cleared their throats one more time, he wouldn’t be responsible for dunkin’ them in the river.

The minute Noah told them Maya Ray would be joining their team, they started in on him, pummeling him with questions. And Silas had been at Jake’s party that night and remembered seeing her wearing the cutout red top.

Apparently, a lot of guys noticed how sexy she looked in that top, according to Silas, at which point Noah threatened to undo all the hard work his orthodontist did on his smile when he was fifteen.

The threat only set his buddy and brothers off again. He didn’t need more questions, especially in front of Maya Ray.

“Your sunburn’s fading.”

She looked up, pure joy written across her beautiful face. “Really? That’s sweet of you to say. I was thinking how terrible I still look.”

He wanted to ask if the burn was her reason behind ignoring him the past few days. Of course, his logical mind attached all kinds of reasons to the slight—like them having a finger-banging make-out session in the back of his truck during the fireworks.

Hell, now he couldn’t stop thinking of those soft, sweet moans she made or the way she shook at the last.

He scrubbed a hand over his face to clear his thoughts. “You don’t look terrible.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m glad you joined us. Even if my brothers and Silas are pains in the ass.”

“They’re fine. I know what family can be like. So…have you seen Jake and Shana recently?”

“No.” He hadn’t really been looking, if he was honest. He’d spent more time looking out for a head of thick, wavy brown hair. He’d even taken a drive by the water testing office where she worked, but they happened to be closed for lunch and Noah hadn’t seen any sign of Maya Ray.

“Neither have I. I haven’t gone out much the past few days, though.” She dipped her head.

“Have you competed in the derby before?” he asked as he drew his line and made another cast.

“Not in a few years, no. My dad used to bring me when I was little. You?”

“Family tradition for twenty years. I can’t let down Team Wynton. Last year…” He cut off, about to tell her about how his ex refused to come. Meanwhile, Maya Ray not only put in an appearance, looking adorable with her fading sunburn and wearing a Stone Pass Girls Do It Better T-shirt from the local souvenir shop, but she brought her own rod. And not only her own rod but her own tackle, which she tied herself with instruction from a book she received as a gift as a child.

Damn, he wanted to put his hands on her again just for being so awesome. But that would be a very bad idea. Without cover of darkness to conceal her from view, he couldn’t answer for what might happen.

After about half an hour in the same spot, they edged down the bank. He noticed how his brother kept shooting them looks. Ross had already reported to their momma that Noah had a new friend in his life, and Noah had spent most of breakfast deflecting questions he didn’t know how to answer and vowing to break his oldest brother’s neck.

Maya Ray let out a sudden gasp. She jerked on her line and then cried out. “I got one!”

Team Wynton rushed over, crowding in as she reeled the fish to shore. As soon as the fish popped out of the water, Noah gaped in shock. She didn’t just have a fish on the line—she had a whopper.

“Dannng. That’s gotta win longest fish,” Boone drawled.

“Or heaviest. Look at how that line sags,” Josiah cut in.

“Makes the one you caught look about the size of your dick, Ross.” Silas was always ready with deep strikes against his best friend.

“Guess you’d know. You stare at it enough.” Ross’s dry humor broke across everyone, and they all laughed just as Maya Ray landed the fish on shore.

Noah scooped it up and held it out on his palm. Any fish that dwarfed his big hand was a keeper. He extended the fish toward Maya Ray. Beaming, she took it from him.

“We’d better enter it right away so we can get it back into the water.” She set off toward the table set up for the derby where all the fish were recorded. Noah tagged along behind. When she entered the fish for Team Wynton, he felt a warm twitch in his chest in the area where his heart sat.

The judge wrote down the information and looked at her with a smile. “You’re leadin’ the pack, Maya Ray. Congrats.”

“Thanks!” She seemed as enthusiastic about her catch as he or any of his brothers would be. Again, Noah couldn’t help but compare her behavior to Shana’s. He couldn’t get his ex within ten paces of the river, and her hand didn’t seem to be the right size and shape to hold a rod. Touch a fish? Never.

After Maya Ray released the fish into the river again, she turned, beaming up at him. His stare landed on hers, and then dropped to her lips. Those sweet, plump lips had given him more than one hard-on since he met her, and even made several appearances in his dreams.

When he lifted his gaze again, he found her staring at his mouth too. A hard jerk of desire hooked his groin, and he dragged in a deep breath to keep himself from lunging at her.

“I hope you like catfish,” he said.

She met his eyes. “What?”

“Team Wynton has our own prize. Biggest catch of the day gets treated to a catfish dinner.”

“Oh. I love catfish.”

“Then you’ll love my momma’s even more. She fries up one channel cat every year, and the rest of us get fish sticks.”

She tossed her head on a laugh. The tinkling sound hit him right below the navel. “I hope I win it then. I’d like to gloat over my catfish while y’all have to eat fish sticks.”

He couldn’t help but grin at her.

After a couple more hours, the derby ended, and they all gathered to listen to the winners be announced. When the judge looked straight at Maya Ray, Noah knew she’d be gorging on catfish tonight, and he couldn’t be happier to hear her name as the heaviest and the longest fish.

She blinked at Noah, eyes round with surprise, and then launched herself into his arms. He ignored the noises his brothers and friend made, because he couldn’t think of anything besides how amazing Maya Ray felt against him.

* * * * *

Gramma Wynton was beaming.

The smile on her face couldn’t get wider, and even her wrinkles wore smiles as she watched Maya Ray practically lick her plate clean of the good catfish, potato salad, cornbread and her special baked beans made with loads of brown sugar.

“You’re aware that nobody ever smiled at your last girlfriend like that.” Ross, standing with arms folded, couldn’t look more smug.

Noah wanted to tell him she wasn’t his girlfriend, but he snapped his mouth shut on that tidbit of information. The last thing he needed was more flack from his brothers about how he’d come to know Maya Ray. That party had clearly been legendary, at least among the Wyntons.

“You’ve definitely upgraded, l’il bro.” Ross gave him an approving glance.

Noah studied Maya Ray as Gramma Wynton placed a big slice of homemade cherry pie before her. Of course the scoop of vanilla ice cream couldn’t be left out. Maya Ray smiled, thanked her and received a pat on the shoulder from the matriarch.

“Are you seein’ this?” Boone appeared next to him and Ross.

Josiah seemed to materialize from the Montana air. “Dude, Gramma Wynton has found a new favorite in the family. A girl who can pack away a dinner like that? She’s getting a good Christmas present this year.”

Noah internally groaned. He didn’t need the entire family planning out Christmas when Maya Ray probably would be out of his life by the time the holiday rolled around.

“Much better than that Shana girl,” Josiah said.

He’d been prepared to marry that Shana girl. Looking at Maya Ray, he started to wonder why. What had he seen in Shana? She had lofty airs about her and didn’t like being around his family. For Noah, nothing was more important. He needed a woman who’d join Team Wynton at the fishing derby—and win two prizes. And who could out-eat any male relation to earn a huge grin of approval from Gramma Wynton.

Someone like Maya Ray.

Well, why not Maya Ray? They had enough chemistry to start blazing wildfires. Just because they got their start by sleeping together in rebound at a party their exes were throwing didn’t mean something more couldn’t come out of all this.

Maya Ray looked up, caught him staring, and he swore her cheeks grew pinker. Hard to tell since she was still burnt to a crisp.

He pulled away from the porch and crossed to the table of honor set up in the yard. The card table had a lone chair pulled up for the winner of the catfish dinner. Everybody else ate at long tables of plywood stretched between sawhorses and covered in white cloths. The lousy fish sticks didn’t seem so hard to swallow this year for Noah. Watching Maya Ray enjoy her food had been equal to winning the prize himself.

He grabbed a lawn chair and drew it up to her card table. “Want some company?”

“Sure.”

He gave her a crooked smile. “You don’t mind this one bit, do you? Eating alone? Being the center of attention.”

She paused with her fork loaded with cherry pie and vanilla ice cream in the air. “Are you kidding? For a meal like this? I don’t care who’s staring at me.”

He grew mesmerized as she slipped the bite into her mouth. A bit of cherry pie filling and ice cream rode along the corner of her lip. He couldn’t look away from it as she chewed and swallowed.

Without thinking about his action, he swiped his thumb over the goodness and sucked it clean.

She went dead still.

He stared back at her unapologetically. Let her deduct what she wanted from the moment. If she wanted to dwell over the fact he’d willingly lick cherries and ice cream off her entire body, then so be it.

Now he was getting hard again. As if he needed any encouragement.

He was about to comment on the flavors he’d just shared off her upper lip, when his momma stopped by the table. “How was everything, dear?” she asked Maya Ray.

She sat back with a groan and rubbed her stomach. “Delicious. I’m stuffed. Best meal I’ve had in months—but don’t tell my momma. Her Sunday dinners are good, but I’ve never had catfish quite that tasty before.”

His mother beamed, adding another layer to the Wynton family’s approval. “You did get a bad sunburn, didn’t you, dear? Weren’t you wearing a hat out there today?”

Maya Ray shot him a dirty look.

“Glad you’re enjoying your prize, Maya Ray. You’re welcome back any time!”

When his momma walked away, Maya Ray punched him in the arm. “You told me my face looks better!”

It didn’t. It also didn’t stop her from being the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

Damn, this was getting deep. A week hadn’t even passed since meeting her, and he was supposed to be pining over Shana.

But why? As his brothers were so eager to remind him, Shana had been all wrong not only for him, but for their family. Thinking now, he wasn’t as much upset about losing her as he was about losing his dream. He thought he had life all worked out. He’d marry, start a family and have traditions of his own.

“Why are you looking at me that way?” Maya Ray wiped her mouth with a cloth napkin. “Do I have more pie on my face?”

“If you did, I’d lick it off.” He leaned in and swiped up her cheek with one long flick of his tongue.

“Ew! Gross!” She scrubbed at his spit with her napkin while giggles burst out of her.

“I hope you’ll come back on Friday for the roast chicken dinner and cornhole tournament, Maya Ray,” Gramma Wynton said as she bustled by carrying a platter with the last remaining, cold fish stick.

“Oh.” Maya Ray looked down as if she didn’t know how to respond to the invitation.

“Maybe she’s no good at cornhole, Gramma.”

That snapped Maya Ray’s head up. She took his bait like that fish in the river had gulped down her hand-tied fly. “Yes, I’ll be here. And for your information, I am good at cornhole.”

He scoffed. “Guess we’ll see, won’t we?”

A couple of his cousin’s little girls ran up to the table. Six-year-old Jeanette tugged on Maya Ray’s long hair. “You have pretty hair.”

“Can we braid it?” Gwen jumped up and down, her own braids bouncing.

Maya Ray looked to Noah. “Only if he gets his braided too.”

The girls giggled. “He doesn’t have enough hair for braids!” Jeanette cried out.

Maya Ray pretended to contemplate him. “That’s true. But I do have a tube of strawberry lip gloss you girls could put on him.”

Their eyes flew open wide at the suggestion. “Yes! C’mon, Cousin Noah.” Gwen grabbed his hand and tugged until he stood and followed her to the porch, where both girls pressed him down on a step. Maya Ray provided the lip gloss she promised. As soon as Jeanette smeared it over his bottom lip, he almost groaned at the taste.

He never noticed before, but Maya Ray tasted like strawberries. Now with the flavor filling his head, he wanted to taste it on her. To get her naked and stretched out on his bed, where he could lick her every inch. Or get her a little tipsy like that first night and have his way with her again and again, with neither of them thinking of what they were to each other or that horrible deal they made to torment their exes.

He didn’t want more bargains that would end up hurting her or both of them. He had to figure out how to back out of their deal and start fresh with her. But how? She planned to cheer him on during the rodeo in order to tick off her ex, and Noah didn’t want her doing it for Jake anymore. He wanted her cheering him on because she liked him.

He had until Saturday night to find a way to change the foundation of their entire relationship. He didn’t give a damn anymore about Jake or Shana. Let them have each other. As far as he was concerned, Jake was the dumbest guy on Earth for giving up such an amazing woman.

Noah planned to fight for her himself.

Chapter Six

As Maya Ray entered the coffeeshop and spotted the black Stetson, she didn’t even think about pretend-smiling—she just did.

Noah saw her and stood from the booth where he sat waiting for her and his long legs carried him to her. He didn’t hesitate to grab her hand and thread their fingers and then led her to the counter to buy her a coffee.

With her hand in his warm grip, she chanced a look around. When Noah called her to tell her to meet him at the coffeeshop, she assumed he saw their exes in there. But glancing along each wall and every table in between, she didn’t see them.

“What will you have?” he asked her.

“A mocha cappuccino please,” she told the clerk.

A minute of looking later, she was certain their exes weren’t in the shop. Had they already left?

If so, what reason would Noah have for holding her hand?

Shooting a glance at his profile, she fought down the butterflies practicing takeoff in her stomach. One or two divebombed south too, leaving flutterings much lower in her body.

With the tray in one hand, Noah carried it to the booth he’d vacated when she entered. He placed the tray on the table and they both slid in across from each other.

“Did they leave?” she asked him, looking around again in case she’d missed them.

“Oh. Yes. Right after I invited you over. Sorry.” He didn’t look sorry at all as he raised his black coffee to his lips with a warm smile over the rim for her.

What was going on between them? She really needed to figure this out once and for all. She’d met with him several times outside of their deal. He held her hand when they didn’t need to put on an act.

She stared at his ruggedly handsome face and felt her heart pick up the pace. Could he want to see her because he liked her? Had she agreed to attend his family’s traditional dinner and cornhole tournament tonight because she liked him too?

To cover her confusion, she sipped her cappuccino. The sweetness gave her a head rush. Or maybe that was the way Noah looked at her, as if he had some secret he’d yet to share.

“Did they look for me when you saw them?” she asked him.

“What?” That cute crinkle appeared in one brow.

“Jake and Shana. They had to have seen you too. Were they looking for me?”

“Couldn’t tell ya what they were doing.” Why did his lips shift into that annoyed twist?

“What are you doing in town today? I figured you’d have plenty to keep you busy on the ranch.”

He set down his mug. “Ross needed me to pick up some things. He’s been too busy organizing the security for the rodeo and running it for the fair.”

“And you’re helping on rodeo day too. How will that work? I thought you mentioned you’re entered for amateur bronc riding.”

“That’s right.” He cut a smile her way, and she sucked in sharply at the flash of his dimple. “One of my brothers will take a shift for me while I compete.”

“You guys are close, huh?”

He nodded. “Family means a lot to me. I guess the other day I realized how Shana never really fit in.”

She gaped at him. “Really?”

“Yeah.” He picked up his mug in an offhanded manner that said he wasn’t fussed by the epiphany.

“And you’re…okay with it all?”

He shrugged, which showcased his hunky, broad shoulders made for gripping. “Don’t have much choice, since she’s with your ex.” He threw her an easy grin in total opposition to his words.

She sipped her warm drink, mind pattering through what she’d learned from their conversation. He seemed to be getting over his ex very quickly, and she had to acknowledge the fact that she’d relaxed the instant she learned Jake wasn’t in the coffeeshop.

How to tell him she didn’t want to act anymore, though? What if he wanted to keep up the ruse?

“Well, I’d better head back to the ranch.” His statement made her look up.

“You finished your coffee?”

“Yes. I can sit with you while you finish if you’d like.”

“No. No, that’s okay.” Having a bit of time to herself might be best.

He stood and took a step to her bench. Then he braced a big hand on the table, leaned over and pecked her on the forehead, between her brows. “See ya tonight. Dinner’s at six.”

With a lungful of his masculine scent, and reeling from the warm press of a kiss he didn’t need to give her in order to show off for someone else, she could only nod in a dazed way.

He walked out of the coffeeshop, leaving her to mull things over.

What the heck just happened?

* * * * *

“Whooooeee!” The collective cheer of the Wynton men went up as Noah sank the third beanbag in a row into the wooden cutout.

He doffed his hat and tossed it into the air, did a three-sixty and bobbed his head so the Stetson landed back on his head when it came down.

“Beat that, ladies.” He dropped a wink right at Maya Ray.

Between the trick he’d just performed with his hat, his ass in those tight Wranglers and the deep dimple flashing her way, she couldn’t remember what a beanbag was let alone how to throw one.

She lined up with the cornhole game, with his momma, two Wynton sisters, cousins and aunts to take their turn against the boys.

“Do us proud, Maya Ray,” his momma called out.

She threw Noah a glance from the corner of her eye, aware of his hot stare locked on every twitch of her pinky finger. She cupped the beanbag. Held it up to aim. She swung her arm back and released on the forward motion.

The bag sailed through the air, hit the wood and slid off the side, away from the hole.

Every single onlooker groaned at her miss.

“It’s all right, Maya Ray. You’ve got two more beanbags,” his momma encouraged.

Her second and third try missed as well. The fourth landed with a fat plop on the wood and didn’t even skid close to the hole.

“Ohhh! You were robbed!” Gramma Wynton’s exclamation had the family in stitches of laughter, and Maya Ray plastered her hand over her face and peeked through her fingers at Noah.

His broad grin and the twinkle in his eyes did something to her insides—leaving her feeling hot and tight—and like slipping off with him and having her way with him.

She dropped her hand. That thought had nothing to do with their deal—it was all her. A hundred percent her libido talking and the attraction between them making her think crazy things.

When he started toward her, her insides gave a shiver and a bellyflop at the same time. Noah stepped up in front of her, grinning down into her eyes. “Better luck next time, sweet thing.”

Her jaw dropped. He’d called her that the night they met. The night they did crazy-hot things after sneaking into a guest room.

The night they fell into each other’s arms for their own reasons.

She wanted to be his next big mistake again.

But what if this time it wasn’t a mistake? What if they’d already made them with their exes and this time around…

She halted that train of thought. A relationship couldn’t be built on a rebound, revenge or anything in between.

Looking back at Noah, she wondered if it could be built on friendship, camaraderie, things in common…traditions.

And delicious passes of his tongue across hers.

She bit down on her lower lip. “I embarrassed myself with those throws.”

He tipped his head, reminding her of how he ducked it to kiss her so many times. “Don’t worry—my momma’s a champ. She’ll carry the team.”

When several cheers went up, Maya Ray knew he wasn’t fibbing.

She found him staring at her.

“You look beautiful in that shade of blue. Goes with your eyes.”

His words tugged at her insides, pulling them tight and leaving her with ripples of awareness running through her.

He knew how to treat a lady, she’d give him that.

She did something totally unexpected, shocking Noah if his expression was anything to go by, and herself even more.

She reached out, grabbed his hand and threaded their fingers together.

* * * * *

The big rodeo day, and Maya Ray knew exactly what she was going to wear. Since the day Jake dumped her, she had started planning her outfit for this event.

He always loved her in red—her reason for wearing it to the party that night what felt like months ago. And she adored wearing the rich, bold color too. In addition to bugging Jake, her red top would be eye-catching in the front stands. She definitely wanted him looking her way rather than concentrating on that bronc ride.

Didn’t she?

She held up the top and examined her reflection.

She loved this top, especially with her tightest skinny jeans, boots and a tan hat.

Her gaze slid to the blue top she’d worn the night before to the Wyntons’ crumpled on top of her laundry basket. Noah told her it went with her eyes…that she looked beautiful in it.

Dropping the red, she rummaged in her closet for another top. Dark blue. Deep blue. Baby blue.

A-ha.

She tugged the blouse off the hanger and slipped it on. When she faced the mirror, a smile spread across her face. Perfect blue.

She fluffed her hair, positioned her tan hat on her head and strutted out of the house. The drive to the fairgrounds didn’t take very long, thankfully. At least she didn’t have much time to dwell on why she’d chosen a blue that Noah liked on her.

Her insides wobbled when she walked up to the gates and spotted the man in black leaning there waiting for her. Could Noah get any hotter? Every woman walking in almost tripped on her tongue when she saw the cowboy, but he didn’t look away from her face.

He straightened from the tall wooden post and came toward her. She nudged her hat up to meet his stare.

A flutter rose up from her stomach to her chest and then lodged in her throat even as it headed south to linger between her thighs.

“Hi, Maya Ray.”

“Hi, Noah.”

They smiled at each other.

“I thought you had to be at the back gate,” she said.

“I do. I wanted to make sure I said hi to you before I got trapped working all night.”

Touched in a new way she wanted to explore more when she was alone, she nodded. “I’m glad you did.”

“Walk with me?” He angled his head, and she nodded. They meandered through the thick throngs of people coming to enjoy the professional rodeo stars and cheer on their own hometown amateurs.

She hardly gave a thought to seeing Jake and Shana until they were standing right in front of her and Noah.

“Oh. Hi.”

Shana looked her over. Jake looked her over in a different way. And Noah slipped his arm around her waist and tugged her into his side. She pressed her hip against his and offered a big old grin to their exes.

She couldn’t help but notice the cozy couple didn’t appear as cozy as they were at the beginning of the week. Could trouble already be brewing in paradise?

“Good luck on your ride,” Noah said to Jake.

“Saw your name on the list too. Good luck.”

Noah stretched his finger over her waist, splaying them low, just underneath her bellybutton. She saw Shana track the movement.

“Well, we’ve got places to be. See you around.” Having enough of being faced with their exes, Maya Ray took them away from the situation.

It definitely seemed as if they’d gotten to the couple. So why didn’t she give a damn anymore?

Noah led her toward the gate and then turned to her. “I’ll be here if you want to sneak back and see me.”

She looked up into his eyes. “I just might. Maybe I’ll bring ya a corndog.”

He wagged his brows. “I love a woman who talks food.”

She chuckled. “My seat’s right up front. You’ll see me when you get into the arena.”

“I’ll be lookin’ for you.” His gaze never left her face.

Awkward silence stretched between them. She wanted to kiss him good luck. Was that off-limits? Outside the rules of the deal? Did the deal even matter anymore?

In the end, she tossed him a wave and walked back through the crowd to find her seat, which not surprisingly, was two away from Shana. She paid no attention to the woman, who only a few days before had made her want to spit nails simply for existing, and devoted her energy to cheering for the amateur events.

When the bronc riders stepped out into the arena, she leaped to her feet, jumping up and down and screaming. Not for Jake. Jake who?

She cheered for Noah.

* * * * *

Noah scanned the stands for Maya Ray’s blue shirt. He spotted Shana and then a couple seats to her right…Maya Ray.

He felt his chest swell. Suddenly, his shirt felt too tight—the buttons about to burst, actually.

Maya Ray was jumping up and down, clapping, hollering and then she stuck two fingers into her mouth and issued a shrill whistle. And she wasn’t looking at Jake the D-bag at the far end of the lineup of amateur riders. She was staring straight at Noah.

Had he ever seen something so damn amazing in his life? Nobody had ever pretended to be so happy to see him.

His gut clenched, and all the air left his lungs. Was she pretending? Hell.

She stopped bouncing long enough to pull her hat off and wave it in the air.

“Meet our amateur competitors tonight, folks! These ten men from right here in Stone Pass will be tryin’ for the big belt buckle and that win. Give them all a round of applause,” the announcer boomed over the loudspeaker.

The crowd cheered louder, and Maya Ray bounced up and down again, jiggling in all the right spots. She placed her hat back on, cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, “Noah!”

His heart gave a hard thud, but he didn’t have much time to dwell on it, because they all drew numbers to see who would go first.

He held his number up. “That’s me.”

The guy running the show gave a nod. “Hop in the chute, son. Hold onto your ass. Try not to bust out any teeth. Good luck!”

When he settled on the back of the bronc, wrapping his gloved fist tight in the rope and then adjusting it again to make it fit to his liking, he blocked out everything but his ride.

He wasn’t the first Wynton brother to enter the amateur categories. Two years before, Ross had taken on a bull. Managed to stay on for six seconds instead of the necessary eight, but his act had made him a celebrity in Stone Pass, at least with the ladies.

Noah wasn’t in this for the buckle bunnies. He just wanted to prove himself the way his brothers had, and some of his cousins before that. It was tradition.

Squeezing his thighs, he tensed for the horse’s initial jerk forward as he burst out of the chute. When he jolted into the arena, the scent of dirt under hooves clouded the air. He whipped around, clinging to the rope, jerking up and down and riding it out.

Using his abs, he steeled himself, but the next buck of the horse launched him to the side. He almost hit the dirt. All at once, his hearing seemed to return. The crowd went nuts. A horn blared to call the end of his ride.

Noah flipped his leg off the horse and hit the ground running to escape flying hooves. He tore his hat off, held it up and then dropped to one knee to say a quick prayer of thanksgiving that he hadn’t busted his skull or knocked out any teeth.

He’d done the Wynton name proud.

Sending another glance at the crowd, he saw Maya Ray with her hand to her lips. As their gazes met, she swept her arm out, releasing her kiss for him to catch.

He never spared a glance at Shana as he caught the invisible kiss and pressed it to his heart. He could see Maya Ray’s grin from all the way over here.

After he stepped into the sidelines with the other riders, he received several words of congrats. Jake didn’t look his direction or acknowledge that he’d done well.

Noah was fine with not winning the buckle, but he sure as hell wanted to beat Jake. Not because of Shana—let him have the high-maintenance, difficult-to-please woman. He wanted to win for Maya Ray.

The second and third riders hit the dirt fast, but both came jogging out of the arena wearing good-natured smiles and a fair share of dust on their clothes. The fourth rider made a solid ride—he might give Noah a run for his money. When Jake’s turn came to ride, Noah leaned over the gate, attention fixed on the man.

He swung his gaze toward Maya Ray. She wasn’t bouncing for the man. She didn’t take off her hat or blow him any kisses.

He glanced at Shana. Neither did she, but unsurprising. None of the best things in Stone Pass seemed to impress her or interest her in any way.

Jake shot out of the chute, his horse already in a spin. He clung to the bronc, somehow managing to keep his seat. Then the bronco whipped the other direction. Jake tipped hard, managed to remain on the horse that time. But the next, he wasn’t so lucky. He started to slip, his boot reaching toward the ground.

The horn blared to end the ride. Had he done as well as Noah? Pressing his lips into a firm line, he thought back on his own ride to compare. Since he wasn’t a judge, he couldn’t guess the outcome.

After every amateur took his chance with the broncs, the guys were all called out into the arena again. Loud applause thundered across the stands for them. He suddenly didn’t care as much about winning for the Wynton name—in his heart, he rode for Maya Ray. If he won, it’d be for her.

There were a lot of things he wanted to say to her and had held back. It was too soon. Their pact needed to be dissolved first. And he’d spent more than a few days confused as hell about his own feelings.

Not anymore. He knew without a doubt he was over Shana. He didn’t give a cow’s behind about making her jealous. The woman who held all his interest at the moment wore a blue top that made her eyes glow like a deep afternoon Montana sky and could fish with the best of them. She was also cute as hell when packing away a catfish dinner, and the sexiest while coming on his fingers under a display of fireworks.

“The scores are in,” the announcer said into the mic as he paced in front of the line of riders. Stone Pass didn’t boast a big electronic scoreboard, so he recited the numbers while young kids ran around carrying number boards. They organized themselves into each score’s order, and the crowd got as much of a kick out of the children’s antics as they did reading the scores.

“And top score is contestant number one, Noah Wynton!”

Pride socked him in the chest, and the shouts of the crowd brought a wide grin to his face. But when he strutted past Jake, he tossed the guy a smug look.

“That was for Maya Ray,” he said to him.

“Noahhhh!” The feminine yell brought his head up. His gaze landed on the stands where Maya Ray had been sitting, but she was no longer in her seat—she clambered out and ran toward the fence separating them.

He grabbed the buckle from the judge. “Thank you.” He didn’t wait to have his photo taken and jogged across the arena to Maya Ray.

She placed the toes of her boots in the spaces of the chain-link fence, her smile all for him as he closed the gap separating them. When he stepped up to her, he found her face on the same level as his.

“I’m so proud of you!” Her eyes glittered.

“I did it for you.” He kissed her through the chain-link, and the crowd exploded at the romantic display.

He pulled back, dropped her a wink and then jogged back to the podium. Tonight they’d be celebrating, and he didn’t only mean his family’s annual party following rodeo night. Something about the expression on Maya Ray’s face made him think more might be blooming between them. He wasn’t only imagining it.

* * * * *

Noah folded his arms across his chest and nodded to the two men approaching the gate he guarded.

“You wanna buy tickets, you go around to the front entrance,” he called out to them.

“Don’t wanna watch the rodeo.” The bigger of the two sauntered up to the gate. He stood a half a head taller than Noah, but Noah carried all his weight in the right places to add the ability to wrestle a man to the ground and gain the advantage.

“Then go on home.” He leveled his stare at one and then the other.

The sidekick wavered a bit on his feet, as if he’d had one too many.

“Take your drunk buddy here on home and tuck him into bed, why don’t ya? This gate isn’t for the public.”

“It’s for the rodeo stars. Those bigwig assholes who travel around sleeping with other men’s wives.” The taller of the pair reached behind his back and pulled out a gun.

Noah had a second to react and draw the taser. He hoped to hell it’d be enough even as he vaulted over the gate and aimed the electric current at the man.

He swung a fist at the same time, attempting to knock the weapon from the guy’s hand. Pain and numbness bolted through his arm and shoulder—he’d underestimated the man’s strength and size, but that didn’t mean he would ever be bested.

“East gate! Armed attacker!” he shouted into the communication device he wore that was synced to his brothers’ and a couple of their friends’ acting as security tonight.

The drunk buddy made a lunge at him, tripped and ended up wrapped around Noah’s shins. He lowered the taser and struck him in the flank. The man released him and curled up like a beetle, twitching and screaming.

Not sparing a second’s thought to him, Noah swung at the tall man again. His fist connected with his jaw, rocking him. While he was still rattled, Noah delivered a sharp blow to his throat, but the weapon was still in play, and he needed to get control of it.

Launching himself at the man, he struck him in the chest, sending him careening backward. Noah used his weight to pin his legs in an old high school wrestling move while they battled for the weapon.

“Jesus!” Ross’s voice clipped in his ear, and a second later, his brother ran out of the darkness. He jerked back his leg and kicked the man’s arm with his steel-toed boots, probably breaking bones as he sent the weapon skidding across the ground.

Boone rushed forward to pick it up, while Josiah, Silas and their other friend Mathias Trace quickly ended the altercation with their ropin’ skills born from years of ranching to hogtie the man who’d been tasered, and then bound the tall dude’s wrists and ankles.

“You can get up, Noah.” Ross gained his feet and placed a hand on Noah’s shoulder.

“Son of a bitch.” He rolled to his feet and stood glaring at the man. “I ought to taser you in the balls.” He launched a glob of spit on him instead.

“Boone, take him away,” Ross ordered.

His brother grabbed Noah’s shoulder and propelled him away from the scene. Josiah held out a bottle of water, and Noah shook his head. Panting hard from exertion and adrenaline, he locked his hands on his hips and worked to gain his breath and not stomp over there and beat that man senseless.

“What the hell happened?” Josiah asked.

“They approached the gate. One was clearly drunk. The other spouted something about rodeo guys sleeping with other men’s wives and then pulled his weapon.”

“You couldn’t get a chance to tase him?” Boone questioned.

He stared at his brother. “Think I would have ended up sprawled on top of him if I could? I needed to get the weapon out of his hand.”

“Damn, that sounds too close for comfort.” Josiah swiped his hand over his face, and Boone doffed his hat.

When he shot a look across the grounds to where the other guys stood over the two men, he saw Ross on his phone, probably calling the cops.

“Hell,” Noah ground out. Then he realized the rodeo’s closing ceremonies would take place in a few minutes. “We need to get these assholes out of here before people start going home.”

Ross lowered his hand from his ear. “Troopers on their way.”

The next half hour sped by as the troopers arrived and bundled the big men into the back of their cars. “I’d like to see all you boys down at the barracks as soon as you can get away from your duties here,” one trooper told them.

After the men were taken, Noah looked to his friends and family. “Guess you’d better get back to your posts and relieve the others. I got this for the rest of the night.”

“You sure, man?” Ross cocked a brow.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” He realized he didn’t want Maya Ray coming back here to meet up with him. He withdrew his phone and texted her, telling her to go on home and he’d come for her as soon as he was finished.

Seeing her reply that she would sent relief skittering through him. The last thing he wanted was her getting involved in the crap that had gone down here tonight.

Two hours later, the groundskeepers closed and locked the gates after everybody left. The rodeo stars were already loaded and pulled out on their way to the next venue. And Noah and the rest of Ross’s security detail headed down to the state police barracks to give their side of the story.

When they walked out to the parking lot, Ross called, “Hold up, guys. I wanna talk to you.”

Noah turned and walked back over to meet his brother. After he had all their attention, Ross fell silent. Noah wondered what was coming next but knew better than to pressure his brother for an answer. Ross always took time to gather his thoughts before speaking.

“Okay, I’ve been sitting on this idea forever now, and it’s time to put it in place,” he finally said.

They all looked at him. “Put what in place?” Noah asked following another beat of silence.

“A security company.” He looked to Silas and Landon. “We’ve discussed this before.”

They both nodded.

“It’s time. All over the state, there are places like this that hire security companies, and they’re made up of untrained people,” Ross went on.

“We’re untrained too, bro,” Noah reminded him.

“Exactly. It’s why I’m prepared to get us the training we need. There’s an academy out in eastern Montana run by a retired Navy SEAL. I’ve spent a lot of time talking to him. I even visited the training facility a few months back.”

Boone, Josiah and Noah all stared at their brother. “You’re serious, Ross?” Noah asked.

“As a heart attack. We could fill a big hole by providing security teams wherever we’re needed. But Landon and Silas have been discussing other branches of security—online accounts, firewalls and such.”

Looking at the two buddies who’d earned degrees in computers, coding and program design, it was no wonder they’d already thought through all this.

Noah shook his head. “You’ve kept us in the dark about this?”

“Not in the dark. The entire idea’s been percolating, and you know me, I won’t talk about something until I’m sure of it. Tonight I’m sure of it.” Ross met Noah’s eyes. “You want in?”

“What about the ranch, man?”

“We’ve got enough hands to take up the slack if we’re away on a job. I know six businesses right now who are prepared to hire us.”

Boone held out a fist. “Count me in. If I get to use my ropin’ skills on idiots, I don’t want to miss out.”

Chuckling, Josiah extended his fist too. They bumped knuckles.

“Guys?” Ross added his, and so did Silas and Landon. When Noah edged in last and completed the circle, he felt a weight lift from his shoulders. If he was trained, he could protect his loved ones. He’d never have to worry about Maya Ray.

“Fill me in about everything later. Right now, I got a woman waitin’ on me.” He shot Ross a grin and pulled away from the group. He strode to his truck and hopped behind the wheel, his mind shifting gears from what just went down and a new future on the horizon for the Wyntons…to the woman he was falling in love with.

Chapter Seven

Before Maya Ray even opened the door to Noah, she knew that something was wrong.

With part excitement and part trepidation, she answered his knock. Cool night air blasted her face, but the sight of the cowboy standing on her front steps left her feeling a bit too warm.

“Hi.” Why did she also sound breathless? This is Noah—your pretend boyfriend, remember?

His hat was tugged so low over his eyes, making it impossible for her to see them in the combined shadow and darkness.

“Can I come in?” His rumble edged through all her defenses, leaving her hotter, more breathless.

She stepped back with as much casualness as she could muster. “Of course.”

He crowded into her mudroom. Was he always this big? Maybe her apartment was small.

He looked around, his stare latching onto the fishing rod in the corner. His dimple flickered but vanished again, along with whatever smile he almost gave her.

“What’s going on?” Had he come to tell her he didn’t want to do this anymore? Relief started to trickle in—she didn’t want to either. But she didn’t want to stop seeing him.

“You must be wonderin’ why I asked you to wait to meet with you. And why it’s so late.”

She nodded. “I thought you would celebrate your ride—and win—with your family.”

“We do. We will. It got too late, because something happened tonight.”

She searched his eyes. “Come in and sit down, Noah. This doesn’t seem like a talk to have standing up.”

He dipped his head. “That’s true.”

She led him into her humble living room. He perched on the edge of the sofa, and she realized this might be heavier than she expected.

“What happened? Was it Jake?”

He blinked at her. “Jake? No.” She could tell his mind was far from her ex.

She folded her hands in her lap and waited for him to speak.

When he started by telling her about the men who approached the gate, her gut clenched. And after he added the part about the man carrying a weapon and how he had to tase one and wrestle with the other to get the gun away from him, she stopped breathing.

“Maya Ray. Are you okay?” Concern lit in his eyes, and he latched onto her shoulder as if to hold her up.

She sucked in a big breath. “Noah, that’s crazy!”

He nodded. “Surprised the hell outta me. When Ross asked me to run security, I thought I might catch a few people trying to enter without paying.”

She studied his handsome face. “Things could have gone so terribly.”

“That’s true, but I guess we know how to handle ourselves well enough. Anyway, that’s why it’s so late and the celebration’s postponed. I didn’t want you to sit awake wondering, and it wasn’t something I could share over a text.”

“No.” The urge to touch him and make sure he was safe flared strong, like a flame hit by oxygen. To hell with the pact—they were friends, when it came down to facts. She reached out and took hold of his hand.

He made a soft sound in his throat and folded her fingers into his palm. They stared at each other for a moment. Her heart throbbed. Should she bring up the topic of their deal?

It was late—after midnight. Talks at this time of night rarely went as planned, so she simply squeezed his hand. “I’m glad you’re all right. And I’m glad you came by to tell me.”

“Will you still come celebrate with us tomorrow afternoon?”

“Of course.” She smiled.

“Want me to pick you up?”

“I’ll drive.”

“Okay, come around noon. Momma’s got a big lunch planned.”

“Can’t wait.”

He sat there a second longer, looking at her. The warmth in his eyes created knots in her core, and she found it hard to breathe again. After several more heartbeats, he stood.

Still holding his hand, they walked to the door. Before he opened it to leave, he gathered her in as if to wrap her in his arms. He stopped short, holding her by the upper arms, hovering over her.

Insides fluttering, she tipped her head to meet his gaze. Very slowly, he leaned in and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. She closed her eyes at the caress.

He straightened. She squeezed his hand once, and then he walked out.

She didn’t know how to feel about that goodbye. On one hand, the kiss had been the sweetest act. But maybe it was meant as a parting? They couldn’t keep up this ruse of dating forever.

Why did it feel like the beginning of an end?

* * * * *

“Get out there and show us your buckle, Noah.” His momma flapped a hand toward the yard.

Shaking his head with amusement, he strode out a short distance for the entire family gathered for the celebration to see the big gold trophy he wore on his belt. Applause broke out. Standing at the edge of the group, Maya Ray clapped along with them all—as if she had no doubt of her place here and that she belonged.

His stomach hollowed. She did belong, dammit. She just didn’t know it yet. But he planned to tell her as soon as he could get her alone.

Ross led a saddled horse over to Noah. “You know the drill, brother.”

Feeling more ridiculous than ever, Noah mounted the horse. Ross took the lead rope and began walking them around the yard while all the little kids trailed behind on ponies in the Wynton family parade that seemed much funnier when it was one of his brothers at the center of attention.

As he passed the line of family members, Boone wore a big old grin and Josiah doffed his hat in mock salute to the person of honor today.

“This is a ridiculous tradition,” Noah called to Ross.

“Yes, it is. But it’s what we Wyntons do.”

“Embarrass the hell out of a family member?”

“That’s right. You get double honors today since you won the buckle, bro. Suck it all in. Wave to your fans now and smile pretty.” Ross’s sarcastic tone pulled a groan from Noah, but he waved to his momma, his aunt Meredith and his three female cousins of various awkward teenage years grouped together watching him go by like he was a celebrity on a parade float.

His cousin’s daughter, Gwen, clattered along in a little wooden cart drawn by Bixby the miniature horse at the rear of the parade, and she got the most applause. When they passed, Noah saw Maya Ray clap the hardest for her and giggle until her cheeks flushed pinker.

Hell, he really didn’t want to lose Maya Ray. She’d made this one of the most interesting and fun weeks that he could remember having in his whole life.

But he was afraid to tell her. What if she didn’t feel the same about him? She still brought up Jake. Maybe her feelings for her ex hadn’t vanished as quickly as his did for Shana.

Ross changed the course of the parade, widening the loop so the kids on ponies got more riding time, but little Bixby got too excited and took off in the wrong direction, dragging the cart with little Gwen bumping along behind at a fast pace.

“Help! Someone help!” she cried out, which had the onlookers doubled over with laughter.

Ross released his lead rope to run after the cart and rescue Gwen. Noah glanced toward Maya Ray, and then made a snap decision.

He grabbed up the lead rope and then whirled his mount. As he trotted toward her, her jaw dropped. When he reached down for her hand, she didn’t hesitate to slip hers into his grasp.

He pulled her up into the saddle behind him, and she wrapped her arms around his waist as he kicked his mount into action and galloped away from his own parade.

Shouts sounded behind them, and he felt Maya Ray vibrate with laughter.

Grinning, he directed the mount across the field and then to his favorite trail that led through the valley and by the creek. The sun cast the world in a golden glow.

With Maya Ray’s arms around him and her cheek pressed against his spine, he didn’t want this to ever end. Maybe it didn’t have to.

If he got up enough guts to tell her how he felt.

He slowed the horse to a walk and then reined her in. He dismounted and looked up at Maya Ray. Damn, the woman was so beautiful she made his heart ache. With her long brown hair waving to her waist and rippling in the breeze, she almost stopped his heart.

Their gazes locked. He reached up for her, and she slid out of the saddle into his arms. He held her a beat too long before he drew away to look at her again.

“Maya Ray. We need to talk.” He smoothed a lock of hair off her cheek and then tangled his fingers into the thick mass, holding her in the perfect place for kissing. As he settled his other hand on her hip, a dozen ways to tell her how he felt paraded through his head like the Wyntons had across the yard a little bit ago.

He lightly kneaded her hip, tugging her inch by inch across the ground until she was pressed up against him.

“Maya Ray,” he whispered, skating a fingertip down the silk of her cheek to the point of her chin. She didn’t pull away, so he took it a step further by rubbing his thumb back and forth over her plump lower lip. Her eyes burned up into his, and his guts clenched with desire. Out here, they were alone. He could lay her down on the thick grass and make love to her.

“Noah?”

“I like you,” he said before she could say anything to stain the moment. “Really like you. Not actin’, Maya Ray.”

She searched his eyes as if to find some hidden lies there.

“It’s true. I’m an open book with you. You make it so easy to be with you. Touching you felt right from the start and the more I did it, the more I want it.”

“Noah…”

He cut off whatever she was about to say by slamming his mouth over hers. The sweet crush of her plump lips under his had him hard and aching at the first touch. He deepened it, angling her head with his fingers knotted in her long hair to swish his tongue across hers.

She issued a low hum and gave in to him for a dizzying, ball-tightening moment. She brought her hand up to his chest and let it slide down, down his abs nearly to his belt buckle before she dropped it to her side and stepped back.

“Noah, we do need to talk.”

His guts clutched hard. From the expression she wore, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to hear what she had to say. He rushed on, “Maya Ray, what I’m trying to tell you is I feel more for you in a week than I did for Shana in a year. I need you to know this isn’t an act. You make me laugh. You keep me guessing. You kiss better than any woman I’ve ever kissed and fish better than most men I know.”

Her eyelids fluttered. She stared down at her hands. “I-I don’t know if it will work, Noah. We started off all wrong, and that’s my fault. I’m the one who devised that plan to make our exes crazy by seeing us together.”

“I don’t give a damn about our exes.” Then it hit him that she really might still be clinging to some hope of a future with Jake the D-bag. “Do you?” he grated out.

She shook her head. “No. I’m done with Jake. It’s only that…where do you and I stand now? We met at a party. We slept together within minutes of knowing each other. We woke up to discover our exes left us for each other. Then we pretended to be in a relationship all week long.”

“So we just stop pretending.”

She shook her head. “It’s not that easy to flip a switch on our thinking.”

“It is for me. Maya Ray, I didn’t pretend I wanted you at that party. I wanted you more than any other woman I’ve ever wanted in my life. When you touched me, kissed me…orgasmed for me in the bed of my truck that night, that was all real to me. Are you saying it wasn’t for you?”

She dragged in a breath so deep the force seemed to sway her. “I don’t know, Noah.”

He bowed his head. She didn’t feel the same about him. He couldn’t push his emotions onto her and hope they were equal.

“All right,” he said quietly. “I’ll back off. Give you some time.”

She didn’t look at him when she bobbed her head in agreement. His guts sank to the soles of his boots. If there was any hope of changing her mind, he would have fought for it. But the flat expression in her eyes left him no question about it. Maya Ray didn’t want him.

* * * * *

Maya Ray locked the office door and waved goodbye to her uncle. “See you tomorrow.”

“Have a good evening, Maya Ray.” He walked to his truck, got in and drove out of the small parking lot of his water testing business.

She stared after him for a minute, considered unlocking the door and going back inside to do some work. Not that they were backlogged—but the thought of going home alone with nothing to look forward to but a lonely frozen dinner and a night of boring TV made her cringe.

Three weeks had passed since she saw Noah. Three long, heart-wrenching weeks where she racked her brain for answers.

When he told her how he felt down by the creek, she didn’t know how to react. Part of her felt he was jumping the gun—on the rebound. And the last thing she wanted to be was Noah’s rebound.

The only answer was to gain some distance from him. But three weeks later, he was all she could think about.

With a sigh, she climbed into her car and drove to the closest market to grab another frozen dinner. What would Noah be doing these past weeks? Had he gotten over her?

She heard from her uncle that the Wynton boys and some of their buddies had formed a company to provide security services and would soon be training with a former Navy SEAL at his academy out east. She’d taken in this gossip without so much as a flinch at the mention of Noah’s name, and she didn’t let on to her uncle that she knew him as well as she did. Well enough to know that altercation at the rodeo with the armed man had affected Noah deeply—and must be the driving force behind his agreeing to form the security company.

She knew how Noah’s eyes gleamed when he looked down at her. How perfectly rough his hands were on her body. How thorough his kisses.

How much he loved his momma and respected his family traditions so much that he let them put him on a horse and parade him around in such a silly fashion while the whole family laughed at him.

She roamed the aisles of the market, looking for something new to get away from her usual frozen dinner. As she stopped in front of a canned soup display, a deep voice sounded.

“Maya Ray.”

She looked up at Jake. He offered her a million-watt smile that would have once curled her toes. “Hi, Jake.”

“How are you?” He stepped closer.

“Fine.”

“You here alone?” He glanced around as if waiting for Noah to walk into the aisle.

She nodded.

“Me too. Shana and I broke up.”

Her gaze flashed to his. She should feel smug, but she just felt sorry for all four of them too much.

“Sorry to hear that,” she said.

He shrugged. “Some things aren’t meant to be, huh?” His statement insinuated that her relationship with Noah was on the same level as his with Shana.

Her brow crumpled. Was that true?

“Wanna go grab some dinner instead of having a can of soup?” Jake eyed her with his bright smile in place.

She reached out to skim her fingers over the label of a can. Then she retracted her hand. “Actually, no. Thanks anyway. I have someplace to go. Bye, Jake.” She hurried away, lengthening her strides until she was running to jump behind the wheel of her car and zooming off through Stone Pass to the outskirts of town where the Wyntons’ ranch sat.

Jake had offered her another chance with him, but she didn’t want that. Not one bit. She was in love with another man.

She bumped down the lane leading to the ranch as fast as she could safely go. When she slammed the car into park and ran up to the house, the door opened. Mrs. Wynton swung it wide and greeted her with a smile.

“Maya Ray! How good to see you.”

“Hi, Mrs. Wynton. I wondered if Noah’s around.” Please say yes. Please say yes.

She didn’t know what she’d do if he wasn’t home or worse, already went off to that training her uncle told her about.

The woman’s smile widened. “Sure is. He just came in for supper.” She ducked her head back inside and hollered out, “Noah! Someone here to see you!”

“Come inside and wait for him,” Mrs. Wynton said to her.

“Thanks, I’ll wait here on the porch.” Maya Ray smiled at her, and the woman gave her a knowing look before vanishing inside the house.

Maya Ray twisted her fingers. She considered sitting down on one of the porch rockers but decided she had too much energy for—

A big cowboy appeared in the doorway. His gaze settled on her through the screen door. Then he put up a hand and pushed it open. “Maya Ray.”

His deep voice felt like a caress. God, she’d missed it.

He stepped outside, and she didn’t move back even a single step. “Noah, we need to talk.”

He went still.

She met his stare. “It’s been three weeks, and all I can think about is you. When I wake up, I wonder what you’re doing with your day. When I lie down at night, I wish you were curled up against me. I—”

He grabbed her by the waist, pulling her onto tiptoe and leaning in so his mouth was a breath away from hers. “What are you sayin’?”

“I miss you. I want to be with you. I’m stupid for turning you—”

He captured her lips, cutting off her words. The hard pressure of his mouth stopped more words from flowing out, and she threw her arms around his neck, pulling him in for more. As he swooped his tongue through her mouth, over hers, she moaned, and he answered with a low growl.

He tore free, breathing hard as she stared at her. “You wanna give us a try?”

“Yes. If you want to.”

“Hell, woman, I’ve been goin’ crazy for weeks trying to stay away from you. Want to? Maya Ray, I never wanted anything so much in my life as I want you.”

Tugging him down, she brushed her lips against his. “You don’t really want supper, do you?”

His eyes burned and then a wide smile crossed his handsome face, and she was rewarded with the flash of his deep dimple.

* * * * *

Maya Ray twisted the doorknob, and they fell through the door into her tiny mudroom. Noah had barely restrained himself on the ride over, and he wasn’t about to hold back another second.

He lifted her against him, grinding his thick erection into her crotch as he carried her through her living room.

She bit into his earlobe and lightly worked it between her teeth. “Bedroom’s on the right, cowboy.”

He grunted at the hot feel of her lips wrapped around his ear and burst into her bedroom as if he did this every day of his life. Honestly, he hoped to hell this was the beginning of a daily habit.

In five steps, he came up against her double bed. “We need a bigger bed as soon as we can manage.” He claimed her mouth, sinking his tongue in and out in a mimicry of what he was going to do to her just as soon as he got her clothes off.

She yanked off his shirt, and he pushed hers up her stomach to reveal the fact she wasn’t wearing a bra again. He groaned.

“I hate to think how many times I missed the chance to suck these beautiful nipples these past weeks.” He ducked his head to one, trapping the tight bud between his lips and flicking the tip with his tongue. She arched and scraped her fingers over his shoulders.

He froze. “You marked me before, you know.”

She looked at him. “I did?”

“At the party. A pink scratch on my side. It drove me crazy seeing it.”

“Oh God…when I saw those beard burns on my inner thighs…” She shoved him downward, and he took the hint that she wanted more. By the time he let up on her, she’d be lucky to walk straight.

He unbuttoned her jeans and slid the zipper down. When he spotted the tiny silk triangle of silk covering her pussy, he damn near came in his Wranglers. He grasped the denim and whipped her jeans down and off, and her panties followed.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he settled his shoulders between her thighs, spreading them wide, and delivered a long, slow lap from bottom to top. She cried out and anchored her nails in his shoulders. Passion flowed up as he sucked and licked her sweet, wet pussy.

Three weeks without seeing her, talking to her—hell, tormenting their exes together—had been pure agony. He woke up depressed and fell into bed each night aching to storm up to her door and beg for her to give him a chance.

Then she showed up at his house to do that very thing. The woman had all the guts to survive him and his family both. He sucked on her stiff little pearl until her hips bucked wildly and a throaty cry escaped her.

He thrust his fingers into her pulsating pussy and fucked her nice and slow, thinking of fireworks in the bed of his truck as she came all over his fingers. Pushing to his knees, he watched her face twist in pleasure.

Her inner walls clenched at his digits, and wet sounds filled the air. Need gripped his balls. He needed inside her. He wanted to lose himself in Maya Ray and never come up for air. In one week, he knew he wanted more with her. After a month, he knew he couldn’t live without her.

“Noah! I want you!”

He plunged his fingers inside her one more time, holding the tips against her G-spot until he felt her juices soak his hand. Then he slowly withdrew, watching her face shudder with pleasure.

In a quick flick of his wrist, he loosened his belt and opened his fly. When he shucked his jeans, boots and the remainder of his clothing, she looked on, panting, pink-faced and running her tongue over her lower lip.

“Do you have any damn idea how freakin’ hot you are?”

Her gaze traveled over him. “Do you? Get that condom on. I need you inside me.”

Stomach dipping at her words, he took a condom from his wallet and jerked it over his stiff cock. Then guiding the tip to her entrance, he held her stare.

“I’m done pretending I don’t love you, Maya Ray.”

Her eyelids fluttered shut and then she opened them again. “I’m so in love with you, Noah.” She wrapped her legs around his back and pulled him inside her.

He sank in by degrees, holding her stare as he filled her completely. She gasped when he nudged her inner spot with the mushroomed head of his cock. His balls tightened, and he swung his hips back, easing out to the tip.

When he sank in again, balls-deep, they shared a moan. Need blasted up from the base of his spine. She kissed him, delivering strokes of her tongue and nibbling bites that drove him to the brink. His brain hazed over with passion, and he took her over and over, tunneling into her with jerks of his hips that grew choppier by the minute.

“Noah…I…” She bit down on her plump lip, and he slipped his hand between their bodies to strum her hard clit.

She trembled and cried out, spiking high with her release. He took one look at her coming apart for him and lost control. Cum burst from his tip and he threw his head back, churning his hips as the knot of his pent-up weeks unraveled.

“Come for me, sweet thing.”

“Kiss me.”

She didn’t wait for him to take charge—she yanked him down to plant her lips over his. He slowed their rhythm until she gave a final shiver. Braced on his elbows, he stared into her eyes.

“I missed the hell outta you,” he said.

She lifted a hand to trace the line of his jaw. “I shouldn’t have turned you away that day.”

He shook his head. “You needed time to think. It was too soon.”

“This feels right, though.”

“So right.” He brushed a kiss over her mouth and lightly scraped his beard over the tops of her breasts.

“Marking your territory?” Her eyes gleamed.

“Damn straight. I’m not letting you go now.”

She tightened her arms and legs around him. “I’d like to see you try it.”

“My family’s going to be happy to see you around the house again. They’ve been asking about you so often that I thought I might need to move out.”

She chuckled. “I’ll come by and spend some time with everyone soon.”

“You’re the first girl I’ve ever brought home they approve of, you know. Especially my brothers.”

“I’m glad. I love them all too. But…” She fished her fingers through his hair, tugging him down again. “I love you more.”

“Wait until our exes find out we’re together.”

She latched onto his earlobe again. “Who cares about them?” She rolled on top of him and showed him just how much she didn’t give a damn about anything but making this the very best reunion.

KEEP READING THE SERIES WITH RESCUED BY THE COWBOY

Ross raised the glass of whiskey to his lips, but he never got to take a sip because a sexy woman wearing only a red, sheer thong shoved his drink aside.

She grabbed him by the western string tie he wore and leaned in close. “You want a piece of this, sugar?” She lifted one dainty foot sporting a red stiletto with feathers and planted it on the chair between his thighs, an inch from his balls.

His brothers, a couple cousins and his lifelong buddies at the table hooted and started tossing dollar bills his direction. Music pulsed and the women dancing onstage looked like disco balls with colored lights hitting their scanty costumes. Two were completely naked.

“Who picked this place for our weekly meeting anyway?” He snagged a handful of crumpled bills off the table. The dancer swished around to present her ass. With a coy glance over her shoulder, she bent over for him.

“Stick the bills in her thong!” his brother called when Ross sat immobile for a heartbeat too long.

He pulled the string out of the crack of her ass and wedged the bills under it. When he let it snap back in place, she whipped to face him with a glare.

She sashayed to the next table and straddled a businessman who was three sheets to the wind and probably had more money to waste.

Ross took his whiskey in hand and relished the slow burn slipping into his stomach. Christ, what a week. The guys who made up WEST Protection probably thought that holding their weekly meeting at a strip club would be a good way to unwind. But he didn’t need a silk-covered ass waving her goods in his face to let loose.

Hell, he partied at least once a…

He thought long and hard about the last time he knocked down more than a drink or two or took a beautiful woman up against a wall. His brows scrunched, and he caught his little brother, Boone, looking at him.

“What are you starin’ at?” He slugged down his whiskey and breathed through the flames.

“You didn’t even look twice at that woman. She was waving her ass in your face! Did you even notice her clit was pierced?” Boone’s white Stetson flashed with rainbow lights from the nearby stage.

“She had her clit pierced? How did I miss that?” His other little brother jumped to his feet and waved at the dancer to come back, but she simply blew him a kiss and moved on to another table.

“Shiiiiieeet, Ross. Running a company’s making you old before your time.” Boone motioned to a waitress to bring the table another round of Jameson. They’d shoved together four tables to make enough room for all ten of them working for WEST Protection security company.

Wynton, Shanie and Trace made up three of the letters of WEST. A short year ago, Ross, his cousin and his best buddy had formed the company that served the Western part of the US, and Ross’s brothers jumped on board.

But only he seemed to be on task tonight. The guys  were all either drinking, eyeing up beautiful women or both.

Maybe Boone was right—he was getting old before his time. But that happened to men who were driven to reach goals, right? His plan to scale up in the course of a year had exploded them onto the map, and now they couldn’t even handle the calls they were receiving for security details, requests for personal protection officers and even help with guarding identities over the internet with their tech branch.

Wait until he told the guys about putting his next plan into action in order to take over the western US before spreading south.

Boone said something to him, and he blinked away his thoughts. “What was that?”

“You got too much manure in your ears, brother! If you’re not on the ranch, you’ve got your head in a business plan or a case file. I said that dancer was waving at you from across the room.”

He didn’t bother to look. He wasn’t interested in a woman who would wiggle her ass in the face of any man waving a buck. He sipped his whiskey and kicked back instead, watching his employees’ interest in the scheduled meeting fade fast.

A dancer with big, perky tits headed their way, and all nine of his men whipped off their white Stetsons in her honor. Ross grunted, watching their antics as they plied her with money in trade for a peek at those big, hard nipples up close.

They needed to discuss so many things. The agenda he’d memorized floated away as he realized they weren’t going to talk about protecting the governor from death threats, or even how to reduce the hundreds he received a day to a dozen. There wasn’t an opportunity to go over details about security at the banks being hit with armed robberies or the countless security systems they were being paid to plug holes in.

The dancer moved on, and the guys placed their hats on their heads.

He tugged the brim of his own white Stetson, a trademark of WEST Protection, and raised his voice. “I have an announcement.”

They all stopped talking and focused on him.

“I received a call from a woman who heads the planning team for the Grammys.”

Nobody spoke.

“As in Grammy Wynton?”

Ross’s lips twisted. “Not that type o’ Grammy. I mean the Grammys. The big awards that happen annually.”

Everyone blinked at him. All except for Boone, who stared at Ross as though he’d lost the ability to close his eyelids.

“You got…us a job…working security…for…the…Grammys?” Boone spaced out the words in a slow drawl.

He shook his head. “Nothing’s finalized. No contracts signed.”

“But they’ll offer,” Boone put in with stone-cold conviction.

Ross ducked his head in the Wynton nod handed down through the men of his family, along with a deep dimple in each of their cheeks. “Looks like it might happen. And if it does, we need more men. The best of the best, ya hear?” He pointed to his youngest brother Noah.

“Damn, brother, I admit I never believed you when you said WEST would be the biggest security company in the US.” His middle brother Josiah pinned a stare on him.

“Not yet we aren’t. And if we do reach the top—”

“Which we will,” interjected Boone.

Ross went on, “Then we can’t get lazy. We have to actually be the best. We haven’t invested in all this training, infrastructure, top-of-the-line computer systems and other high-priced gear only to let it all go with laziness.”

“Look around you, Ross. Is there a single man here you’d call lazy?” Josiah spoke up.

If their determined expressions and muscled shoulders didn’t say enough, he’d witnessed firsthand how damn lethal every man seated at this table was. Upon inception of the company, the first thing he did was fly everyone to Michigan to a top facility for training with elite soldiers from all over the world. At this point, they could handle everything including hostage rescues, reconnaissance, military combative techniques and could even treat trauma patients. And that was only the bodyguard division. The tech team had their own top training.

He started to answer Josiah, but his phone vibrated on the table next to his hand. He glanced at the number and didn’t recognize it.

But he never let a call go. As a result, he listened to a lot of spam calls about his car’s extended warranty. Often, the people who contacted him were clients sent to him by word of mouth.

“That the girl you were twirling around the dancefloor the other night, Ross?” his brother teased.

“Don’t you guys know I’m older than my years and my personal life’s in the shitter?” His comment had them all laughing. He snatched the phone on the second buzz and brought it to his ear.

“Ross Wynton.”

“Uh…Ross?” The feminine voice came off as breathy, but maybe it was the music drowning her out.

“Yes, who is this?”

“It’s Pippa.”

He froze. He only knew one woman named Pippa.

“Pippa Hamlin.”

His brain threw up a mental file of her containing her image and description. Pippa, daughter of his father’s best friend. Last he’d heard, she graduated Yale or some other Ivy League school with magna cum laude and a degree in molecular something or other. He hadn’t seen her since a big family barbecue when her family came from Seattle to visit his in Stone Pass, Montana. He couldn’t recall much about that last gathering besides her being in that colt-like stage of her teens where guys didn’t take notice.

That and she’d taken a fall off a horse, despite convincing him and his brothers that she could ride.

“Pippa?” He stood and wove his way through the club to the exit so he could hear her better. Passing several dancers who stopped to wink at him, he listened to the silence projecting into his ear on the other end of the line.

Once he burst outside into the cold, pine-scented Montana air, he said, “Can you hear me?”

“Yes.”

Her voice still came out too soft.

“Is everything all right?”

A beat of silence followed. Then she said, “No. All wrong. I’m boarding flight 68 to Montana right now. I need you to pick me up at the airport.”

His protective senses kicked in. “Pippa, where are you? What’s going on?”

Another long pause and then her whisper sent shivers through him. “I’m being followed, Ross.”

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Em Petrova

Em Petrova was raised by hippies in the wilds of Pennsylvania but told her parents at the age of four she wanted to be a gypsy when she grew up. She has a soft spot for babies, puppies and 90s Grunge music and believes in Bigfoot and aliens. She started writing at the age of twelve and prides herself on making her characters larger than life and her sex scenes hotter than hot.

She burst into the world of publishing in 2010 after having five beautiful bambinos and figuring they were old enough to get their own snacks while she pounds away at the keys. In her not-so-spare time, she is fur-mommy to a Labradoodle named Daisy Hasselhoff.

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Other Titles by Em Petrova

Xtreme Ops

HITTING XTREMES

TO THE XTREME

XTREME BEHAVIOR

XTREME AFFAIRS

XTREME MEASURES

Xtreme Ops Alaska Search and Rescue

NORTH OF LOVE

West Protection

RESCUED BY THE COWBOY

GUARDED BY THE COWBOY

COWBOY CONSPIRACY THEORY

COWBOY IN THE CROSSHAIRS

PROTECTED BY THE COWBOY

The Guard

HIS TO SHELTER

HIS TO DEFEND

HIS TO PROTECT

Crossroads

BAD IN BOOTS

CONFIDENT IN CHAPS

COCKY IN A COWBOY HAT

SAVAGE IN A STETSON

SHOW-OFF IN SPURS

Dark Falcons MC

DIXON

TANK

PATRIOT

DIESEL

BLADE

Moon Ranch

TOUGH AND TAMED

SCREWED AND SATISFIED

CHISELED AND CHERISHED

Ranger Ops

AT CLOSE RANGE

WITHIN RANGE

POINT BLANK RANGE

RANGE OF MOTION

TARGET IN RANGE

OUT OF RANGE

Knight Ops Series

ALL KNIGHTER

HEAT OF THE KNIGHT

HOT LOUISIANA KNIGHT

AFTER MIDKNIGHT

KNIGHT SHIFT

O’ CHRISTMAS KNIGHT

ANGEL OF THE KNIGHT

6-Pack Cowboys Series

6-PACK RANCHER

6-PACK WRANGLER

Wild West Series

SOMETHING ABOUT A LAWMAN

SOMETHING ABOUT A SHERIFF

SOMETHING ABOUT A BOUNTY HUNTER

SOMETHING ABOUT A MOUNTAIN MAN

Operation Cowboy Series

KICKIN’ UP DUST

SPURS & SURRENDER

The Boot Knockers Ranch Series

PUSHIN’ BUTTONS

BODY LANGUAGE

REINING MEN

ROPIN’ HEARTS

ROPE BURN

COWBOY NOT INCLUDED

CUPID COWBOYS

COWBOY BY CANDLELIGHT

THE BOOT KNOCKER’S BABY

ROPIN’ A ROMEO

WINNING WYOMING

Ménage à Trouble Series

WRANGLED UP

UP FOR GRABS

HOOKING UP

ALL WOUND UP

DOUBLED UP novella duet

STIRRED UP

GETTING WARMED UP

Another Shot at Love Series

GRIFFIN

BRANT

AXEL

Rope ‘n Ride Series

BUCK

RYDER

RIDGE

WEST

LANE

WYNONNA

The Dalton Boys

COWBOY CRAZY Hank’s story

COWBOY BARGAIN Cash’s story

COWBOY CRUSHIN’ Witt’s story

COWBOY SECRET Beck’s story

COWBOY RUSH Kade’s Story

COWBOY MISTLETOE a Christmas novella

COWBOY FLIRTATION Ford’s Story

COWBOY TEMPTATION Easton’s Story

COWBOY SURPRISE Justus’s Story

COWGIRL DREAMER Gracie’s Story

COWGIRL MIRACLE Jessamine’s Story

COWGIRL HEART Kezziah’s Story

Single Titles and Boxes

THE DALTON BOYS BOX SET BOOKS 1-5

BOOT KNOCKERS RANCH SERIES BOOKS 1-6 PLUS BONUS

SINFUL HEARTS

JINGLE BOOTS

A COWBOY FOR CHRISTMAS

FULL RIDE

Firehouse 5 Series

ONE FIERY NIGHT

CONTROLLED BURN

SMOLDERING HEARTS

Club Ties Series

LOVE TIES

HEART TIES

MARKED AS HIS

SOUL TIES

ACE’S WILD

Hardworking Heroes Novellas

STRANDED AND STRADDLED

DALLAS NIGHTS

SLICK RIDER

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