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  A huge round of applause and shouts went up.

  “We have the incredibly talented Pete Gonally here, the artist who designed and painted the bike for us.” She looked at him. “Pete, would you stand up so every biker here knows who to go to for a custom job like this?”

  He stood and waved while more applause and shouts filled the tent.

  “Now we have Miss Tandy Bottoms who’s been kind enough to autograph photos and put up with you grungy mutts all night.”

  Louder applause and hollering as she passed their table and stepped to the huge mesh barrel holding all the tickets.

  “Miss Tandy will choose the winner of the bike.” CJ took the mic and jumped off the stage as a bouncer spun the drum and Miss Tandy posed for photos in spike-heeled black boots, fishnet stockings, and a dress that barely covered everything important.

  “Mmm. Miss Tandy.” Huck grinned at her. She waved at him and winked.

  Of course, everyone at their table gave Huck shit about that.

  A drumroll sounded.

  She reached into the barrel pulled out one card and held it up toward CJ.

  The room went silent, everyone holding their ticket stubs and their breath.

  Taking the card from Tandy, CJ looked around the room. “The winning ticket number is 4723.”

  Groans sounded from every corner of the room. Shaw and Harper set their tickets on the table, and Huck tossed his. Dax stared at his.

  “Number 4723? Are you here tonight?”

  “Mother Mercy.” Dax stood. “That’s me.”

  Pete couldn’t get a breath. His smile broke out. “You’re shitting me.” He stood and looked at the ticket. “You won!”

  Harper stood, jumping up and down. Shaw and Huck got to their feet too, smacking Dax on the back.

  “Come on up here, cowboy.” CJ gestured to Dax, but looked at Pete. “Let’s get your picture with your new bike.”

  Applause sounded around the room as the sound level increased once again.

  Pete watched as Dax was photographed with the bike, with Miss Tandy and the bike, with CJ handing him the keys, then he called Pete up, and they got some pictures, too.

  Dax’s grin was bright as a solar flare.

  CJ let the band start again, and headed out the door toward the bar.

  Dax came and collapsed into his chair. “I can’t believe it.”

  “Lucky duck!” Harper rubbed his shoulder. “Rub off some luck for me.”

  He laughed. “I’m coming back tomorrow to sign papers and pick up the bike.”

  Pete shook his head. “That’s incredible.” He had to ask. “Do you like the artwork? I can change it if—”

  “The fuck you’ll change it!” Dax leveled a stare at Pete. “It’s incredible, a tribute to a great man. I wouldn’t let you change anything.”

  Shaw leaned in. “What about those buffalo and snakes and eagles. You don’t want them added?”

  Pete laughed, then sobered, sad, almost depressed that those wild times with CJ were gone. Forever.

  Chapter Thirteen

  After the Halloween revelers cleared out, CJ trudged up to her apartment. Alone. She loaded the memory chip on her computer. Almost a form of self-punishment, tonight had proven that, for romantic relationships, she was the worst human on the planet. How could Pete even consider asking for more than a few nights with her? She had no seductive skills, no flattery skills, no game at all.

  The photos came up and she clicked to enlarge the first one. Her on the bike, looking stiff and unsure. What did he see in her?

  Then the photos got better. The look in her eyes, the hungry set of her lips. That had to be when Pete was getting naked.

  When the shot of Pete kneeling between her legs popped up, his head bent in to her pussy, his naked body muscled and trim… CJ touched her belly, and almost ran her fingers down between her legs. This was hot stuff.

  She’d gotten a shot of Pete sitting on the bike, his big cock pointing toward the ceiling, red and swollen. Standing next to him in only her bikini top, her body looked long and toned.

  The next pictures showed her on him, riding him with her feet braced on the pegs, her head thrown back, her long fingers gripping his big shoulders. Next, his head at her breast, and finally, their embrace after they’d both come. Their bodies wrapped together so tightly, it looked like they’d never come apart. Deep desire in her core warred with the pain of loss in her heart.

  He trusted her with the photos. He hadn’t forced her to go through with the bet and expose her bikini-clad body to the whole world. He’d shown her compassion like no one else had. Why was she pushing him away?

  She shoved back and looked out her window, down at the garage and the huge tent that wouldn’t come down until tomorrow. The need for air sent her out the door without a jacket. The cool night startled her, woke her from her thoughts.

  Heading down the stairs, she tried to sort out a direction. Where was she going? And wasn’t that a loaded question? Stepping through the gate, she headed into the bar. Keying in the passcode, she yanked open the door to find Dolby standing in front of her, gun pointed.

  “Jeez, you scared the crap out of me.” Her heart thudded.

  “You usually call if you’re coming down.” He holstered the gun and switched on the light. “What’s happening?”

  “I don’t know. I need a drink, I guess.” She wandered past him to the bar.

  “Sit. Let me bartend.” Dolby walked behind the bar and switched on the low lights. “What’ll it be, stranger?”

  She let out a quick laugh. “You’re a natural.” She perused the bottles lined up and shiny. “Give me a shot of tequila.”

  One of his brows went up. “Ah ha. Serious drinking tonight.” He set a shot glass on the bar and chose a very expensive brand. “What’s going on with you?”

  “Dad.” She picked up the shot glass.

  Dolby poured himself a lowball of coke and held it up. “To Harry Overton.”

  They tapped glasses and downed their respective drinks, then thumped the empty glasses on the bar.

  “I never realized how much he meant to people.” She tapped her fingernail on her glass and Dolby refilled it.

  “That’s because you never let people tell you before.” He leaned on the bar. “You didn’t want to hear the stories until recently.” He smirked. “Why is that, do you think?”

  She pursed her lips. Pete. He opened her up with his drawing, the bike and the picture of her he’d given to Harry. “Maybe I’m just getting old and wise.” She batted her eyes. “Like you.”

  “Ha.” He pointed to a poster of the motorcycle. “He’s a good man, CJ. I could tell right off the bat, and the more I got to know him, the more I saw something in him.” Dolby gave her the fatherly stare he’d perfected with his own family. “Why aren’t you trying with him?”

  “It’s better this way. I can’t get involved with a rancher. He’d want me to cook and clean and pop out a baby every year.” Why didn’t that scare her as much as it once had? Fuck, she had a plan for her life. “I want to sell this heap and travel when Dad…doesn’t need me anymore.” Her voice seemed to whine, and she took a shot, feeling the burn all the way down to her belly. “Dolby, you know I want to see the US, Mexico, Europe, maybe other places. That ain’t gonna happen if I settle in with a hayseed.”

  “Girl, the US, Mexico, Europe, and maybe other places, are gonna be there for a long time.” He took her empty shot glass and set it in the dishwasher along with his glass. “The hayseed…he ain’t.” He knocked twice on the bar and walked away.

  CJ stared at her reflection in the mirror behind the bottles. She’d have money from the sale of the bar. She could pay Pete’s way, if he was interested in seeing the world with her. She’d pay for him to hire someone to run the ranch when they traveled.

  “Goddamn stubborn man.” He probably wouldn’t. Too proud, too set in his ways. Too perfect. She set her arms on the bar and dropped her forehead onto her forearm. “Why
couldn’t he just be a landless drifter looking for a sugar momma?”

  ****

  Saturday afternoon, Pete pushed an industrial-size broom around the floor of his framed-in house. The workers had just left, and a chill settled on the air. Buttoning his denim jacket, he looked up through the roof trusses at the sunny afternoon sky. Next week, they’d get exterior walls and hopefully, the roof on. Snow season wasn’t too far off, and he’d like to have the shell in place before Mother Nature dumped on them.

  He swept a pile into a bucket shovel and heard a vehicle approaching. His parents liked to come and inspect every so often, but when he turned to look, he didn’t recognize the small red car that pulled up behind his truck.

  The sun reflected off the windshield as the driver pulled to a stop. The door opened and…

  “CJ?” He set down the broom and shovel and jumped off the floor onto where the front porch would be. “Hi.” His chest swelled with excitement, but he hammered down the emotion. She could be here for any number of reasons.

  “Hi.” In a fluffy blue winter coat over tight bluejeans and black cowgirl boots, she looked good enough to eat. “I’m not interrupting?” She gazed around the house frame.

  “No, not at all. How did you find me?” He held back the urge to run to her and instead strolled casually over to where she stood next to the car.

  “I stopped by your parents’ house, thinking you’d be there.” She gestured. “But here you are, building your own place.”

  “Yeah. You met my parents. Living with them at my age is…getting old.”

  She curved her lips up a little.

  “Your car?” The red late-model sports car looked expensive.

  “Dad’s.” She touched the hood. “He bought it just months before he lost the ability to drive. I used to drive him around in it.” She shook her head. “But that’s not why I’m here.”

  “Okay.” He tipped his head toward the house frame. “Want to come in?”

  A short laugh came from her chest. “Sure.”

  He helped her up the makeshift steps onto the plywood floor.

  “Is it all on one-level?”

  “There’s a loft above, but mostly one level. Easier to live, in my opinion. Want a tour?”

  “Yes, please.”

  He showed her the huge kitchen with windows facing the best view of the buttes and the sunrise, the living room, fireplace rough-in, dining room, man cave, even the bathrooms. She loved the four-car garage and big studio where he’d do his painting. They wandered past four smaller bedrooms sharing two bathrooms between them, but the main bedroom suite got her attention.

  “It’s huge.” She wandered into one of the roughed-in space. “Is this the bathroom?” She spread her arms.

  “That’s the closet.” He guided her to a room twice that big. “Bathroom. Glass shower here. Big whirlpool tub with a sunset view over there.” The sun was moving close to the horizon.

  She frowned. “What, did you win the lottery?”

  He shook his head. “Why are you here, CJ?”

  Her eyes shifted and her breathing quickened. “I’m here to tell you…” She sucked in an uneven breath, then looked right into his eyes. In the direct sunlight, her green eyes glowed like jewels. “I made a mistake, and if it’s not too late, I’d like to change my mind.”

  He smiled. “Oh yeah? Just exactly what are you talking about?” He lifted his hands. “I mean, is this about my expense report? Or about giving me a reference on my work on the—”

  “Shut up, Pete.” She stepped closer and grabbed his jacket in both fists. “I’m sorry I was so nearsighted. I don’t want to be just casual sex for you, and you for me. I want to go for it all.”

  “Really?” He lifted a brow. This seemed too quick to be real. “Why’s that?”

  She let go of his jacket with a growl, but he pulled her back with his hands on her hips. She held onto his shoulders. “You’re gonna make me say this, huh?”

  “If you don’t mind.” He needed to know this was real.

  “Pete Gonally, you’ve gotten yourself lodged in my heart, and I can’t shake you loose.”

  He smiled. “Okay. I feel like a giant splinter, but go on.”

  “You’re fascinating to me. I can’t stop thinking about you. You are the perfect man for me, and I hope I can learn to…or somehow become…become someone you’d be willing to fall for.”

  He nearly choked on that last bit. Didn’t she know how much he loved her already? No, probably not. He’d never said it, and barely had time to show it before she’d shoved him away and ran. “You feel something for me?”

  “I do.” She blinked a few times. “I feel something I’ve never felt before. And I want to give this a go, Pete.”

  He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

  She responded, wrapping her arms around his waist, opening her mouth, and touching her tongue to his. She was hungry today, and he was going to give her everything she craved.

  As their tongues explored each other’s mouths, his hand came up under her coat, under her shirt, and found her bare breast. Damn, no bra? He pinched her nipple, warming his cool hand on her skin.

  She ground her hips against his, the swell of desire heating his groin. She looked around. “Is there someplace we can go to, um, talk?”

  He thought for a moment. Parents were home, the barn wasn’t sexy at all. “Hold on.” He jumped off the foundation and ran to his truck. Pulling out three plastic trash bags, he raced back to the bedroom. “This is gonna sound strange, but sometimes I sleep here, just because it’s mine, you know?” He unfolded the air mattress and pressed the start-button on the battery-fill. It whined as it pumped air into the bed.

  “I can appreciate that.” CJ wandered to stand next to him. “This is your very own space.”

  “It is. Do you…like it?” Would she be able to live here?

  “I really love it. But I have a proposition for you.”

  The air mattress stopped its whining and Pete capped it off. Opening the other bags, he tossed out pillows and blankets. “Come and sit. Let’s talk.”

  They got comfortable, his back against a heavy beam, her leaning against his shoulder.

  “What’s your proposition, boss lady?”

  She choked a quick laugh. “About that. I don’t want to be the boss anymore. I mean, I want to sell the bar soon. As soon as…Dad doesn’t have long.”

  He hugged her tight. “I’m sorry. He’s been your whole life.”

  “He has.” She looked up at him. “But it’s time I make a new life. With someone I can see a future with.”

  Kissing her temple, he rubbed his hand along her ribs. “I want that too. I think we’ve got a good chance.”

  Her hand stroked along his chest and stomach.

  Inside, he heated, things turned needy, and he felt a rise in his jeans that she had to notice.

  “First off.” Her fingers worked at his belt buckle. “You make me hot and horny just by being in the same room. Or even just in my thoughts.”

  He shifted, giving her better access to his zipper. “That’s important.” The loss of blood in his brain would soon turn his side of the conversation to blabbering.

  “When I sell the bar, I’ll have money.” She unzipped and reached for him, pulling his cock through the slit in his briefs.

  The cool air hit him, but her hand, sliding up and down his length, heated his entire body.

  “Money. Okay.” He couldn’t concentrate.

  She leaned down and kissed the tip of his cock.

  His hips jerked.

  “Pete, I want to travel.” She licked his head, tickling it with her tongue. “I’ve never been further than Wyoming. And that ain’t right.”

  He chuckled, but when she took his knob into her hot mouth, he choked on the sound.

  Swooping her tongue around as she sucked, CJ paralyzed him with the lust raging inside him.

  “I want you to travel with me. And maybe…” She sucked some more,
taking him deeper this time. “Maybe we can hire someone to look after the ranch, and we can go wherever we want, just a few times a year. Not all the time, okay?”

  He started to nod, but she took him deep, halfway down her throat, and sucked her way back up.

  “I want to do this for us, Pete. Before we settle down, let’s spend every penny I have and see as much as we can.” She latched on to him again.

  Before he lost all cohesive thought, he pulled her head from his cock. “I have a confession to make to you, CJ. But promise you’ll listen to everything I have to say before you rip into me.”

  She frowned. “Promise.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  CJ looked into Pete’s beautiful brown eyes. She’d never guessed she’d be making love to him on an air mattress in the bedroom of his half-built house. But what a perfect place to make a new life. “Tell me your secret.” She wanted to hear it, but wanted to feel him inside her even more. She pulled a condom out of her pocket and held it up. “But tell me when you’re pressing me down onto our bed.”

  He grinned. “My pleasure.” He wiggled until he had his jeans down to his knees.

  She spread a blanket on the mattress, pulled a boot and her jeans off one leg, and lay back, holding her arms out to him.

  He was sheathed and on top of her in seconds. With her help, he pulled a couple thick quilts on top of them, creating their own cocoon.

  Pulling her shirt up, he tasted her nipples, the sensation sending pinpoints of lust down into her belly, swelling the flesh between her legs. She wriggled, wanting him now. Desperately.

  He reached a hand between their bodies, looked into her eyes, and slid his cock along her wet pussy lips. “You’re slick and hot, CJ. Are you ready for me?”

  She nodded. “Yes, Pete. I’ve been ready, been waiting for you, for so long.” Her heart thudded, knowing she was falling fast and deep.

  His eyes darkened, and he pressed his hips forward, sliding into her slowly, but thoroughly.

  The fullness in her belly, the stretch at her nether lips, swirled like hot chocolate along her spine and into her brain, making everything muzzy and tingly.