A Cowboy's Duty. Marin Thomas
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Название: A Cowboy's Duty
Автор: Marin Thomas
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Современные любовные романы
isbn: 9781408995778
isbn:
“Here.” Dixie sidled up to Gavin and slipped her arm through his. She stood close enough that her soft breast pressed against his biceps.
“You’re not his type.” Veronica sneered. “Besides, don’t girls like you have curfews?”
“She’s right, Gavin. We should leave. It’s past my bedtime.” Dixie batted her dark lashes and suddenly Gavin’s jeans felt a size too small.
Reminding himself that Dixie’s flirting was an act to help him out of a tight spot, he said, “Ready when you are.”
“Don’t you want a real woman, soldier?” Veronica thrust her bosom out, flaunting her attributes.
After a lengthy glare-down, Veronica stepped aside and Gavin led Dixie across the dance floor and out the door. It wasn’t until they were almost to his truck that he realized he still held her hand. He stopped and glanced over his shoulder. Veronica had followed them outside.
“She doesn’t give up easily, I’ll give her that,” Dixie said.
“How would you feel about leaving with me in my truck?”
“I don’t know. Can I trust you?”
“Sugar, if I harm one hair on your head, your brothers will hunt me down.”
“You’re right. I’ll go for a ride with you.”
Ten minutes later… “She’s still following us.” Gavin glanced between the road and the rearview mirror. Dixie’s stomach growled and he threw caution to the wind. “You up for Chinese takeout? We could eat at the motel. If Veronica sees us go into my room together maybe she’ll give up.”
“I don’t believe that woman knows the meaning of surrender, but I won’t turn down a free meal.”
Veronica trailed them to the restaurant and then the motel where she parked across the lot, facing Gavin’s room. Ignoring their stalker, he and Dixie sat on the king-size bed, ate chop suey and watched the old spaghetti Western, A Fistful of Dynamite.
Near the end of the movie, Gavin peeked out the window. Veronica’s Mustang was gone. The woman had finally left him alone. He checked his watch—half past one in the morning. Time to drive Dixie back to the Spittoon so she could be on her way home. “Coast is clear.” He turned from the window.
Dixie lay curled in a ball on the bed, her hands folded neatly beneath her cheek, her chest rising and falling in deep, even breaths. In sleep, she appeared innocent and cuddly and he wanted to lose himself in all her sweet goodness. But Gavin didn’t dare crawl onto the bed with Dixie and risk falling asleep. He couldn’t take the chance he’d experience the recurring nightmare that had followed him home from Afghanistan. He lowered the volume on the TV and made himself comfortable in the chair. He’d gone many nights without a wink of sleep, but the longer he watched Dixie’s slumbering body the more exhausted he became.
The sun streaming through a gap in the curtains woke Gavin at the crack of dawn. He wasn’t sitting in the chair—he was lying on the bed. Sometime in the middle of the night he’d crawled under the covers. He rolled away from the light and came face-to-face with a wide-awake Dixie.
He held his breath, waiting for her to make the first move—she did. Her lips brushed his, then came back for more. One kiss turned into two…three…then clothes started flying off.
Chapter One
“Hello, Gavin.”
The saccharine voice raised a warning flag inside Gavin Tucker’s head. Bracing himself, he stepped away from the bucking chute at the Piney Gorge Rodeo and faced Veronica Patriot with a groan. “Veronica.”
The woman took buckle bunnying to a whole new level. She’d been pursuing Gavin since he’d joined the circuit back in May after he’d left the army. The middle of August had arrived and the blonde piranha showed no signs of tiring.
Gavin adjusted the spurs on his boots, hoping she’d take his silence as a hint and mosey along. At first, he’d found Veronica’s infatuation amusing. He’d become accustomed to pretty women fawning over him whenever he’d worn his military uniform and the same held true for his cowboy getup—Wranglers, boots and a Stetson.
Gavin’s ability to attract the opposite sex had come in handy during his furloughs from the army. One look at his combat boots and women had fallen into his bed willingly. He’d honed his survival skills on the battlefield and used them to pick ladies who wanted nothing from him but a good time and a goodbye. A sixth sense told him that Veronica had more on her mind than a quickie.
“You don’t appear all that happy to see your biggest fan.” She puckered her glossy lips.
A weaker man might tuck tail and run, but Gavin wasn’t easily intimidated. “I’m not interested in hooking up.” Ever.
“Did you and Dixie have a spat?”
Dixie Cash. The petite brunette hadn’t crossed Gavin’s mind since the morning he’d dropped her off in the parking lot of the Spittoon bar last month. He fought a smile as he recalled the first time he’d caught a glimpse of her—climbing onto a bull named Listless at the Canyon City Rodeo back in June. For an instant he’d seen in her a kindred spirit when Listless had thrown her. Dixie had limped from the arena with a smile on her pixie face as if she’d had the time of her life wrestling fifteen-hundred pounds of orneriness, then she’d stumbled over his gear bag and right into his arms. Her face had burned red and he’d thought her embarrassment oddly sweet.
“Dixie’s a friend.” Friend sounded better than one-night stand.
“I can be that kind of friend, too.” Veronica’s gaze dropped to Gavin’s crotch.
His face heated—not because of Veronica’s lewd stare. He’d made a mistake when he’d crossed the line with Dixie, yet he’d had no choice but to move on and put that night behind him.
Short of being mean, Gavin said, “Pick another cowboy. I’m not interested in what you’re offering.”
“When you tire of your little bull rider and decide you want a real woman, I’ll be waiting.”
One of Gavin’s competitors let out a wolf whistle as Veronica strutted off. “I wouldn’t complain if she followed me through the copper state.”
“Careful what you wish for,” Gavin mumbled. Now that he was rid of the annoying buckle bunny he checked the arena for Dixie. He recognized Shannon Douglas mingling behind the chutes with a few of the lady bull riders from the Boot Hill Rodeo, but Dixie was nowhere in sight. She’d probably viewed their one-night stand as a mistake, too, and wanted to avoid running into him.
Turning his thoughts inward, Gavin focused on his ride as he secured his protective vest. After wearing bulletproof gear as part of his military uniform, he felt comfortable in the constricting rodeo garment.
“Welcome to the Piney Gorge Rodeo and Livestock Show!” A thunderous din reverberated through the small outdoor arena. Gavin loved rodeo fans. The men and women were die-hard loyalists to the sport much the way soldiers were dedicated to their units.
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