Buck (Rope 'n Ride #1) (8 page)

But he’d already fucked her the minute he’d come home. Hadn’t he given up on that slight? Apparently not.

He plunged two fingers deep into her channel. She screamed, but out here nobody could hear. He pulled his fingers out and slammed into her again as if it were his cock splitting her. She rose and fell, waves of bliss lifting her higher and higher. Pretty soon she’d break.

“Your pussy is so greedy. Clutching my fingers. Do you want to come, darlin’?”

“Yessss.”

“How close are you?”

“So close. You’re driving me crazy, Buck!” Her voice echoed her loss of control. He pulled his fingers out of her pussy and spanked her, stamping her own juices all over her ass. She felt a deep flush of heat crawl over her body.

“God, yes. I love when you get that sexy glow. Now show me what a good girl you are and come for me.”

As he thrust his fingers back into her pussy, deep and high, she cried out. He pounded them in and out until the first contractions fluttered through her lower belly. Then she was coming. Coming apart for him.

Ecstasy tossed her in its grip and she was helpless to do anything but feel. He held her as she thrashed. Then he let her down slowly against the truck bed again. She waited what felt like an eternity for his cock. When he didn’t push the fat head against her slick folds, she leaned upward to look at him.

He stayed her with a hand on her back. “You want this, but I wanted you back in that motel and I woke up without you.”

She’d wanted to stay. She wanted him worse now. How to merge her two selves?

Let go and give herself to Buck.

A breath left her. “I won’t do it again.”

“Damn right you won’t.” He fitted his cock at her opening and in one smooth glide filled her.

As he shoved balls-deep, they shared a moan. She tensed, on the precipice already. His strong body moving behind her—inside her. She focused on the rhythm of his breathing, her heart surging with happiness that he sounded as breathless and out of control as she felt. She reached back and grasped his hip, drawing him a scant inch deeper.

His balls slapped her body. He grunted, stiffened. She lost herself for a dizzying moment before her body took over and contracted madly around his length.

“Fucking hell, darlin’,” he grated out as the first hot splash of his release bathed her insides. Digging his fingers into her hips, he jerked his cock into her again and again. Her body had surrendered, as always with Buck. Maybe it was smarter than her brain because that seemed much more hesitant.

As he withdrew from her body and lifted her into his arms, cradling her against his sweat-damp chest, she wondered if she’d ever be able to walk away from him now. At the moment he didn’t seem to want to
let
her go.

But a cynical, hurt part of herself spoke up.
Until after the filming when he’s got his money.

* * * * *

Buck sensed Channing’s distance immediately. He hadn’t spoken so he couldn’t have stuffed his big foot in his mouth. But maybe that was the problem—he hadn’t
spoken.

Drawing her closer, he pivoted to lean against the tailgate with her in his arms. They were both as naked as the day they were born and somehow, being in the wide open this way made him feel closer to her.

“I have a blanket in the truck. Let me spread it out for us.”

“Okay,” she said quietly.

He released her and grabbed the blanket. After unfurling it in the back, he motioned for her to lie down. He followed, tugging her back into his arms. Her thick hair caressed his skin, and his cock twitched, readying for round two.

“I was happy to see you standing on my front porch when I pulled up to the ranch,” he rumbled, lips against her hair.

She squeezed him a little tighter, which was a good thing. The best response he could ask for, really. After she’d left, he’d had a lot to think about. Somehow while talking to Andrew he’d found his own meaning of life.

He had no idea what the future held for him and Channing, but right now they were thrown together, their lives entangled, and he planned to make the most of it. Not for the sake of the production schedule but for himself. She made him feel good, and he wanted to bring a smile to her face far more often.

When she didn’t respond to his statement, he used a knuckle beneath her chin to force her to meet his gaze. “You didn’t tell me why you moved back in. And it looks as if you brought more things.”

She pushed out a breath. “Everything, actually. I let my apartment go.”

Surprised, he arched a brow. “What prompted that?”

As she began to pluck at his chest hair, he saw—and felt—her frustration. Gently he stilled her hand, flattening it to his skin. “What’s going on, darlin’?”

She pushed away from him and flopped onto her back, staring up at the expansive sky. A few clouds scudded overhead. The wind was kicking up and before long it would be raining. That meant working in the mud tomorrow, but he’d have Channing beside him. And being in the mud with her was infinitely more fun.

He brought himself back to the present. “Something’s wrong.”

She curled onto her side again, elbows tucked close over her breasts and her eyes shining with tears. The sight pierced him right in the heart. “Do you ever wonder what we’re doing here on earth? Why situations are put before us even when we didn’t want them?”

“Are you talking about the show?”

She gave a slight nod. “That and other things.”

When she didn’t continue, he brought her into his hold again. With her wrapped in his arms, he hoped to get to the bottom of her troubles. And there were some—he sensed it.

The wildlife had picked up its song again after they’d silenced it with their screams of ecstasy. He listened to the chirping of birds and buzz of insects for long minutes before she finally relaxed against him. Extreme tenderness rose up inside him. She’d been there for him and whatever she was going through now, he was there for her.

Cupping her head, he said, “Are you ready to tell me now?”

“It’s my brother.”

He jerked. He hadn’t been expecting that. She rarely spoke of Luke. “Is everything okay?”

“No, everything is very much
not
okay. I’m trying to help fix it, though.”

“Okay, I give up on trying to decode your meaning. Just tell me, darlin’.” He smoothed her hair down to her nape before returning to the top and doing it again.

“He’s got a…gambling problem.”

Hell. He’d heard of people getting too deep and losing everything. Obviously things were that bad, and—

“Wait. Is this the reason you gave up your apartment?”

“And car.”

“Jesus.” He let out a low whistle. “It’s that bad?”

“Yeah.” Her voice sounded thick with tears. “He’s being threatened. So I helped him the best I could. For now.”

Buck latched on to the
for now
part. Maybe the two of them had more in common right now than ever—they both needed cold hard cash to get their families out of a bind. But he didn’t like the idea of her dealing with people who were demanding cash. They could be dangerous. Especially Oklahoma rednecks.

“Who are these people Luke’s dealing with? How did he meet them?”

“No idea. All I know is he came to me begging and... Well what was I supposed to do? You help your family, right?”

“Yes, we do.” He looked into her eyes. “I can give him the winnings from my last event if you think it will help.”

She was shaking her head before the words fully left his lips. “I couldn’t let you do that. Besides, with Asher in the state he’s in, who knows if you’ll even be competing the rest of the season.”

“Hell. You’re right. How did everything become such a fucking mess?”

It was her turn to stroke his hair. He closed his eyes and allowed her soothing touch to sink into him.

“Have you spoken to Ash?” she asked.

“Yeah, on the drive home I called him. Andrew got some of it on film but I made him turn the camera off.”

“Probably best. Asher didn’t sign up for this crazy like we did.”

Buck stared into her eyes. “Do you feel it’s a real invasion of privacy?”

“Sometimes. I could hardly eat breakfast for fear I’d miss my mouth and it would go into an episode.”

He chuckled. “You do have a way of missing your mouth.”

One of their first dates had ended with an ice cream stain on Channing’s shirt. But he’d fallen so hard for her that day.

She pinched his upper arm, and he laughed harder. “What? It’s cute. Okay, so besides fear of being shown as the messy Calhoun, is it too bad to live with?”

“No. I learned a lot about your mom and dad’s relationship today. How she’d been so involved in the rodeo but when she found your pa, she didn’t need that in her life anymore and she turned to being a wife and mother.”

Buck gave a slow nod. “Seems we can all learn from this experience and use the stories to bring us all closer. We’re gonna need it to get through tomorrow.”

“What’s tomorrow?” Her eyes were clear and bright, without a hint of the tears from earlier.

“Ennis.”

She groaned.

“Tell me about it. I’d rather be dragged behind a stampeding bull than face my cousin. But it has to be done, and probably on film if he’ll sign the waiver. But we need to discuss the ranch changing hands and I have a feeling Ennis is going to see bigger dollar signs once he finds out about
Rope ‘n Ride.
”

“Me too. I guess we face him as a united front. Eight Calhouns versus him.”

Buck couldn’t stop the grin from spreading over his face if he tried.

She blinked at him, a puzzled expression on her pretty features. “You’re smiling about this?”

“No. I’m smiling because you called yourself a Calhoun.”

Chapter Five

“Our dad was taught by his dad, and he taught us all to be cattlemen and horsemen,” Buck said as the camera followed him across the yard. Ridge had several horses saddled, and Buck looped a thumb in his belt as he surveyed the stock.

“Which is best for my man Andrew here?” he asked Ridge. Then added, “Isn’t a better man with horses than my brother.”

Ridge gave a single nod that was so much like Buck’s that Channing smiled.

Wynonna sauntered from the barn leading her own impressive mare. “Maybe not a better man, but there’s a better woman.”

The film crew all sniggered. Wynonna had them wrapped around her little finger, and she’d probably leave a string of broken hearts after filming ended. They all seemed smitten with her. But why not? She was a bombshell with her red hair streaming down her back. When she swung into her saddle, several cameras snapped to follow her action.

Channing giggled, and Buck threw her a look. The laugh died on her lips and suddenly her throat was parched. He hadn’t paid attention to her this way in ages. What had changed?

He returned his attention to his brothers.

Maybe nothing changed.

As he hitched his boot into the stirrup and whipped his leg over the back of his horse, Channing’s body did somersaults of lust. “You ridin’ along, darlin’?”

Crap, his low drawl made her instantly wet. Too easily she imagined him instructing her as he bent her over his tailgate.

She managed a nod and accepted the reins from Ridge with a word of thanks. When they were all on horseback, including the film crew, she looked around with surprise.

“Three years of lessons in high school,” Andrew said with a sheepish smile. “The network only wanted accomplished horsemen, figuring we’d be filming from the saddle.”

“Smart call,” Channing said and spurred her mount after Buck’s. As she sidled alongside him, he slowed to keep abreast. Again, something he’d never done before. Was this all an act for the show?

As they rode, he started to explain more about the ranch. “We’ve got about eight hundred acres here. We have plenty of good horses we sell. One line even made it to show horse status.”

“And we run cattle. Today we’ll be moving them to another part of the ranch where they can graze new land, but also because we’re separating the ones that aren’t yet branded,” Ryder added.

A cameraman asked if they could explain the term “branding.”

“We mark ’em,” Ryder responded, his black hat lower than Channing had seen him wear it. Maybe he wasn’t feeling comfortable with the cameras either. “Trust your neighbor, brand your cattle.”

West gave one of his shrill whistles that left Channing’s ears ringing, but one of the cattle dogs shot forward. While the film crew was distracted, she dropped back a little. When Buck did too, she shook her head at the sheer madness of it all. To anyone else, it would seem like a small courtesy but to her it was huge. For months, she’d been feeling the loss of this exact point. He’d stopped caring.

But now it seemed he’d started again.

One of the brothers was talking about dealing with cattle and how much patience was needed. Steers were ornery and they wouldn’t get anywhere if they didn’t listen to the beasts as well as heed their own common sense and training.

“Daddy trained them all to be men and for his daughter to accept nothing less,” Wynonna said, once again stealing the spotlight even if she hadn’t meant to.

Channing peeked at Buck from the corner of her eye. Straight spine, hands relaxed around the reins, rolling in the saddle like the horseman he was. And other things affected her—like the dark hair sprouting on his jaw though he’d just shaved this morning. She’d watched him while lying in the bed they’d shared.

“When is Ennis coming?” she asked, low.

“After lunch.”

“You know I’ll be there for you.”

His eyes gleamed from under the brim of his hat. “I’m counting on it, darlin’.”

West’s whistle pierced the air again, and they all looked up to see a cow jumping the fence.

“Here we go,” Wynonna said wryly.

All five brothers shot off after the animal. Lane reached the fence first and his horse sailed over it as if it were inches off the ground. The brothers whooped. The camera crew hung back, using their zoom lenses, she supposed, while a couple guys went ahead to try to record what happened with the brothers.

Wynonna trotted back to Channing’s side with a grin. “I swear at times like this I can almost hear my daddy giving my brothers hell. Saying they need to corral the runner in a different way—that they’re doing it wrong.” Wynonna sniffed.

“Ohh.” Channing reached across and touched her arm. They shared a sad smile. Though Channing hadn’t known Buck Sr., she’d come to know so much about him through his family. And she felt a small pang of loss too every time they spoke of him.

Buck had been particularly broken up after his father’s death, and Channing had grown close to him very fast because he’d needed someone to understand, to listen. In fact…

Her throat closing off, she stared out at the men lassoing the steer and leading it back to where it needed to be.

What if she and Buck’s relationship was never going to be forever? They’d met at a time in his life when he’d needed someone, and she’d been there. But now that time had begun to fade his grief, they’d fallen apart.

“Look at them,” Wynonna said with laughter in her voice. She shook her head at their antics—Ryder chasing Ridge on foot and Lane lassoing his heels, ripping him off his feet. He face-planted into the earth. Buck was off to the side on horseback just as he’d been when she’d first set eyes on him. But they were both very different people now.

Falling into bed hadn’t healed the rift between them. And at the end of the filming, she was walking away from Buck for good.

* * * * *

Though Ma had made Buck’s favorite meal of fried chicken and home fries, he could barely eat. The pit of his stomach had a dull ache as if he’d swallowed a huge gob of bubble gum like he often had as a kid.

They were all on edge, waiting for Ennis to show his face. They sat in various poses around the kitchen table—Ryder perched on the corner, Ridge with his elbows on the table and his face in his hands, West irritatingly tapping a spoon he’d used to stir his iced tea. Lane had gone outside, unable to stand the tension, and Buck was about to make his exit too.

Only Wynonna seemed nonplussed as she chatted with their mother about entry fees for the next barrel race.

Buck pushed out a sigh and got up. As he passed Channing, he touched her shoulder. She pivoted her head and met his gaze. The worry he saw there bothered him. He didn’t want her facing this mess with them. She had her own bullshit with her brother.

God, Buck wanted to rough up Luke for taking advantage of Channing that way.

She covered Buck’s fingers with her own, and then one of the dogs barked. Lane’s step on the porch sounded next, followed by the creak of the screen door opening. “Fuck-face is here.”

At their favorite nickname for Ennis, Ryder gave a crooked smile and got off the table. They all stood as one, including Channing. Buck grasped her shoulder, and she stopped. “You don’t need to be present for this.”

“I want to.”

He searched her eyes and finding what he needed, he gave a dip of his head. “Let’s go.”

A funny look crossed her face, but he grabbed her by the hand and led her outside onto the porch to greet the one man who was making their lives hell. The minute Ennis Calhoun had learned he was the rightful heir of the ranch, he’d done nothing but try to get them off it.

They were digging in, though, and pulling up every word of the law that would aid them in their cause. Right behind Ennis was his attorney, and luckily the Calhouns’ lawyer had just pulled into the driveway.

Buck gave Channing’s fingers a squeeze before towing her with him down the porch steps and across the yard. First they greeted their attorney before turning to Ennis.

“Nice to see you, Future Mrs. Buck,” the man said to Channing, ignoring Buck’s extended hand. He curled his fist at his side and tried to keep from punching the dirt bag. Thing was, Ennis might be the bad guy in their family but he looked like one of them. Same chiseled chin and straight nose.

He didn’t act like them—not by a longshot.

Channing managed to say hello in a cool tone that made Buck want to dance a two-step. At least she wasn’t sucked in by his suave ways.

“What’s all this?” Ennis waved in the air at the large group surrounding them. The film crew stood at the ready, cameras already flashing and brand new SD cards in place.

“We’ll need you to sign a contract, Mr. Calhoun,” the production manager said, holding out a clipboard.

“For what?”

“Allowing us to film you. All footage can be put into the reality show.”

Ennis’s eyes popped out. “Well isn’t that special? The cousins have finally found a way to earn big besides rodeoing.” He reached for the clipboard and began to read the small print.

Buck ground his molars. The squeak of tooth on tooth brought Channing’s head up and she wrapped her fingers more tightly with his in a show of solidarity. They both knew Ennis had just taken a cheap shot at their skills.

Five minutes later, with Ennis’s signature scrawled on the page and the entire group stuffed into the normally spacious-feeling kitchen, the meeting commenced.

“There is a clause where the widow may dissent to the claims of the will,” their lawyer said. “Meaning Margaret—or Peg—Calhoun is protesting that the land belongs to Ennis Calhoun.”

The lawyers shared a minute or two of legal-speak that Buck had no desire to follow. He stared at his cousin, who was staring at his fiancée. Channing shifted from boot to boot next to him.

“Let’s get this all out in the open now.” Ennis spread his hands on the table, playing to the cameras by looking directly at them. “The ranch is worth a lot of money—”

“Which we plan to pay,” Lane interrupted.

“I have no doubts,” Ennis drawled. His meaning the exact opposite—the fuck-face was totally mocking them. Buck didn’t realize he was moving toward his cousin until he felt Channing’s restraining hand on his biceps.

Ennis grinned at her, and Buck growled, low in his throat.

“Why do you want this land anyway, Ennis? You don’t give a damn about ranching,” Buck said.

“I do have a vested interest in other things to do with this land.”

“Like mining it. Drilling for oil. And wiping off every tree,” Ryder muttered.

“I could never run this ranch as well as y’all.” Ennis folded his hands with a grin. Buck snorted a breath through his nose and tried to let that insult pass. For months he’d been giving them every passive-aggressive insult he could come up with. It was time to put the asshole in his place.

“We’ll have the money to you in two months,” Buck stated.

Ennis looked up. Tapped the pen he was holding. “The price has gone up since we last spoke.” Ennis’s lawyer nodded.

“You son of a bitch! You fucking fuck-face!” Wynonna flew across the room, hands out in a way that screamed “choke hold.” Every one of the brothers had felt her claws gripping his neck at least one time in his youth. Once she got hold of you, she didn’t let go. And Buck was more than willing to sit back and watch his cousin be strangled.

Ryder caught her around the waist before she reached Ennis. But at six-feet tall, she was a powerhouse. Still, Ryder was stronger. He wrenched her around and carried her bodily outside.

Lane gave a laugh.

Ennis slid back his chair and stood. “The asking price went up by twenty grand.”

“We’ll have it,” Buck ground out.

“I’m certain you will. But I could always change my mind.” With a tip of his hat in Channing’s direction, he started toward the door with his lawyer dogging his heels.

“Motherfucker,” Ma whispered, but they all heard her.

They gaped at their ma, sitting so primly with her hands clasped atop the table where she’d made them pray over every meal since the time they had teeth. Channing was the first to giggle, and then they all burst out laughing.

Wynonna beamed. “I have taught you well, Mother.”

Ryder had a fit of wheezes that just made them all carry on more.

Buck was still coiled too tightly. “C’mon.” He clutched Channing’s arm and led her through the kitchen and down the hall. She was still laughing in that soft, breathless way that made him achingly hard. As soon as he pulled her into their bedroom and closed the door, he trapped her against the wall. “You’re mine, darlin’.”

“Buck—” Her blue eyes shifted from side to side as she searched his gaze.

“I didn’t like fuck-face looking at you. Now put your arms around my neck because I’m about to kiss you until you can’t remember anything but my name.”

* * * * *

Buck wasn’t kidding. She was nothing but a melted puddle of desire with boots. But she couldn’t even use her boots because her legs no longer worked and he’d lifted her into his arms, her thighs around his waist as he kissed and kissed her.