Three for the Rodeo
Midnight Cowboys 3

Gabe hissed in an amused breath as Kyle nearly spat his mouthful of beer across the room. He wiped his face as he laughed quietly. ‘Do you really think this is the place for that kind of talk, Miss Perkins?’

‘Well, you were talking about it already,’ she said defensively, refusing to allow their amused gazes to make her feel even more stupid than she did already. ‘That’s what you were saying, wasn’t it? You asked if he thought that woman would go home with the both of you.’

The humor left Gabe’s face to be replaced with the quiet watchfulness that was always there whenever she caught him looking her way. He held her eyes for a moment longer before dropping his head as he answered. ‘Why do you care?’

‘I don’t,’ she said, picking up her beer and turning her back on them before the conversation became even more personal. Sadie wished she’d never opened her mouth. It had only been a few days since she’d turned them down on their outrageous offer, and she guessed she’d just gotten her answer as to whether it was too early to test out if they were all still friends or not. They’d given her a wide berth since that night. Both guys seemed polite enough, but the camaraderie they’d shared seemed to have gone.

Sadie gave up trying to make friends with them for the time being and moved away to the other end of the bar. Not that either of them seemed to care. Their eyes had fixed firmly on the pretty little brunette who’d just noticed the two sexy cowboys watching her. The last thing Sadie needed was to watch Kyle and Gabe seduce someone right under her nose.

Sadie took a seat, determined to focus on the band playing that night and ignore the pair until they’d at least apologized for being so mean to her. She didn’t have to wait too long before she felt a strong, heavy hand on her shoulder.

‘Aw, don’t be sore, honey. We’re sorry.’ Kyle sounded sincere.

‘Ok.’ She sighed, making room for them as they sat on either side of her. They fell into an awkward silence that lasted about as long as it took Gabe to swallow down the rest of his beer.

‘What are you doing here anyway?’ he asked. Sadie scanned the cowboy’s green eyes for signs of the irritation she could hear in his voice yet he wore the expression of a guy simply asking a polite question. But with Gabe, nothing was simple.

‘I missed you guys,’ she said, trying to make her answer less revealing with a carefree shrug. ‘I hadn’t seen you since the night you…you know.’

‘Yeah, we know.’ Gabe smiled dryly. With his light brown, sun-streaked hair and sparkling green eyes, he looked nothing like the hard, sexy man she knew him to be. Gabriel P. Miles was one hell of a rodeo rider and one horny son-of-a-bitch when you got him fired up. Leading him on for fun wouldn’t be a mistake she’d make again anytime soon.

Working at the permanent rodeo in Hurley, Colorado kept them all so busy that they only really saw each other if they made the effort. Her job involved grooming and taking care of the horses. It wasn’t what she wanted, but she’d been lured into it by the promise of an opening for a woman rodeo rider eventually. The boss, Adie Phipps, had been evasive so far about when he actually intended to introduce the new event and the season was almost half over. But Sadie didn’t mind too much. She loved her job and the town she worked in. Besides, she’d stretched the truth a little when they’d spoken for the first time. She’d never actually taken part in anything but the usual cowgirl events such as barrel racing or calf roping. Bull or bronco riding was something she’d planned to ask Gabe and Kyle to teach her about sometime soon, but she hoped she hadn’t blown her only chance to get them to help her by acting crazy a few days earlier. Sadie doubted they’d be feeling very charitable towards her yet.

‘It wasn’t entirely our fault, you know,’ Kyle said, cutting through her thoughts. ‘I know we pissed you off by treating you like our kid sister, but it was your decision to up the stakes.’

‘And we saved you from that guy,’ Gabe reminded her gently. ‘So we’re not all bad.’

Sadie dropped her gaze. ‘I know. I owe you both an apology, too.’

The guy he’d been referring to had pinned her against the wall as she tried to pass him on her way back from the bathroom. He’d stopped short of managing to kiss her but only because Kyle and Gabe had shown up.

‘Are you sure you want another beer?’ Gabe asked a little later when the conversation had finally moved on to safer ground. ‘You’ve had a few.’

As relieved as she felt to be spending time with them again, Sadie just couldn’t let them get away with treating her that way. If the price of admission back into their precious circle of friendship was that she had to allow them to monitor her every move, they could forget it. Kyle had been almost as bad as Gabe, looking at her with concern every time she lifted her beer bottle to her lips. Ok, so she’d been drinking a little fast, but she felt incredibly nervous.

‘I’m not a kid,’ she said with as much indignation as she could muster. ‘And I don’t need anyone watching out for me.’

‘You’re not a kid, huh?’ Gabe said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. ‘Could have fooled me.’

‘What do you mean?’

He dropped her gaze. ‘Forget it.’

‘No, I won’t forget it. What do you mean?’

His bottle hit the bar hard, splashing beer over his wrist. ‘You really don’t want to hear it, lady.’

ADULT EXCERPT

‘Calm down,’ Kyle warned him.

Gabe looked at her again. ‘Maybe you’d better go.’

‘Why?’ Kyle said, saving her from asking the same question.

‘Because I couldn’t handle it if you changed your mind. I’ve spent so much time fantasizing about that night and, now you’re here, all I want to do is pin you to the wall and ram my cock into you over and over again.’ The words came out in an angry rush until he paused for breath, running his hands through his light brown hair as his chest heaved. ‘But despite all that, if I can’t be sure you are agreeing to this for the right reasons, then I think you’d better leave.’

He sank to the bed, flopping back onto it as he fought to calm himself. Sadie sat in shock, fire coursing through her as she stared at his body until Kyle’s words to Gabe reached through her fog.

‘Buddy, I feel the same way but you gotta take it easy.’ His eyes found hers. ‘It’s all up to Sadie now.’ He kept his composure better than his friend but she didn’t doubt his feelings ran as deeply. His body sank back against the counter and his groin got hard under her gaze, as if she’d really touched him. The challenge in his eyes darkened them to an inky black, and she heard a hiss as he sucked in a breath and bit down into his bottom lip while he waited for her to make a move.

Sadie did move, but not in his direction. She shrugged off the jogging suit she wore and got down to her nightshirt before she dared another look at either of them. Kyle’s eyes began to glitter possessively, but he wasn’t her priority at that moment.

Gabe had her full attention. He seemed to be in torment and she wanted, or rather needed, to make it better. Kyle would take care of himself.

Gabe’s body lurched upwards as he felt the first touch of her nails scraping up the denim of his thighs. His shocked expression disappeared as Sadie massaged the powerful muscles beneath her palms, shushing him when he began to speak so she could concentrate on inching nearer and nearer to his penis swelling at the crotch of his jeans.

Sliding over his body to put her full weight on him, Sadie cupped his face in her hands and looked deeply into his eyes before kissing him, so that he would know this was what she wanted. His reaction was all she could hope for. His hands came up to crush her head closer as his hot tongue forced its way between her lips.

Sadie dragged her mouth from his to sit back across his thighs and she tore the shirt from his jeans, ripping open the buttons and dragging it from his shoulders. Job done, her hands dropped to the buckle at his waist and she worked quickly to free his cock. Gabe hissed and lurched forward again as she pulled him free of his clothing. His penis was hard and thick and she felt him jerk as she ran her hand up the length of it, flicking her thumb over the top.

‘Baby, slow down,’ he gasped, smiling to take the edge off his words.

She laughed, feeling no embarrassment. Her sudden and drastic change of heart had surprised her almost as much as it did Gabe. ‘Sorry. I kind of got carried away.’

‘Don’t you dare apologize,’ she heard Kyle say behind her. Sadie turned to find him naked and standing at her side. In her rush to get at Gabe, she hadn’t heard him move.

‘Take your hat off, idiot.’ Kyle didn’t take offense at Gabe’s words, turning to throw his hat across the room with a silly grin. Gabe took the opportunity to shrug his jeans down his legs and off his feet before pulling her back across his lap.

Kyle leaned forward to grab her nightshirt at the hem and rip it clean up over her head. She felt a moment’s shyness as two sets of eyes raced over her skin but forgot it as soon as Kyle pushed her forward over Gabe’s body.