Page 13 of Head Over Spurs

8

JULES

“Keep the boots on.” He flashed her a devilish grin as he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her down onto the bed. A giggle escaped Jules as she laid on her back and watched him roll up into a kneeling position above her. His hair was messy from the way she had dragged her hands through it, and paired with the full, classic, mustache, he looked downright roguish.

The tanned planes of his chiseled chest rose and fell with powerful, steady breaths. He had a presence, not so much commanding as a laid-back confidence. And as her eyes continued to move down his strong frame, she admired the generous package between his legs. It seemed he had plenty to feel confident about based on that sight.

Gently, he reached out and brushed aside her own wild strands of hair that had fallen over her face and neck. “You are so fucking gorgeous,” he rasped, dragging his fingers down her throat. She caught his wrist in her hand and yanked, pulling him down atop her. His naked, hard length pressed against her own bare skin, sending a fresh wave of desire through her.

“Fucking ruin me, Sundance,” she moaned as his free handgrasped her hip and slid her further up on the bed. Dropping his mouth to her inner thigh, he pressed teasing kisses along the stretch of skin leading to her center.

Finally.Finally, she was getting what she wanted. And it felt better than she hoped. She threw her hands above her head, pressing her palms against the headboard as she writhed under his skilled mouth.

“Oh my god,” she purred, riding his face greedily. He was sending her into pure bliss, hitting just the right spot as if they’d done this a hundred times before. As if he already knew her body.

“Are you going to come for me this way, you wild thing?”

“Yes,” her voice rose an octave as his mustache worked against her skin, his mouth licking her up, savoring. “Yes, fuck.”

She threw her head back, a strangled cry escaping her as an alarm began to sound.

Her eyes flew open, registering the alarm. Except, she wasn’t in a hotel room in Texas any longer. She was in the apartment she was borrowing from Maddie. And the alarm was coming from her phone on the nightstand. It was time for her first day of work with the near stranger she was just having a sex dream about.

Sweat caused the sheets to cling to her and she kicked them off in frustration. The last thing she needed was a fresh reminder of their night together. She had already struggled to act indifferent to his presence at the ranch yesterday. After sticking her tongue down his throat upon arrival, of course. It was as if there was a pull between them, something as natural as gravity causing her attention to drift his way inherently.

And each time Jules had snuck a glance, Riley was already watching her. It was dizzying to have his undivided attention, completely thought paralyzing.

She needed a cold shower and a heaping dose of reality. Shewas sure Maddie could provide the reality for her, if she was willing to tell her friend the truth. There was one rule her friend’s mother had tried to impart on them from an early age:Don’t chase cowboys.

“Especially don’t chase cowboys with swoon-worthy mustaches, heart stopping looks, and rodeo won buckles,” she added aloud, swinging her legs off the bed and heading towards that cold shower.

She heard him approaching a moment before Riley came to rest on the fence at her side. Keeping her arms folded on the rounded wood rail, she shifted her eyes over to him. He wore a denim shirt today, a shade darker than his jeans, and the taupe-colored cowboy hat she was quickly growing accustomed to looking for.

There was a shadow of a new mustache coming in, even more so than yesterday it seemed. He must have just shaved it for the bet recently. But the feel of that mustache still lingered, imprinted on her skin. Or maybe it was just her dirty dream clinging to the edge of her thoughts as he tipped the brim of his hat in greeting, a warm smile on his face.

“Juliette.” He said her name as if it tasted sweet on his lips.

She had told him what Jules was short for that night in Texas. She had told him about plenty of little things in that hole-in-the-wall bar, things that now made it feel like she was alreadyseenby the wrangler she should have met just yesterday.

And while she preferred that people didn’t use her full name, she had to admit, he made it sound good. Anything in that velvety timbre would sound good, she suspected, recalling her dream and the way he asked if she would come for him.Frustrated by her inability to control herself, she desperately shoved the memory to the side once again, her face flushing.

“You’re late,” she grumbled, desperate to unravel the tension in the air between them. “You said to meet you here fifteen minutes ago.”

“Not a morning person?” He laughed in response. “And I’ve been here for far longer than fifteen minutes. But I didn’t know you were so eager to see me. I woulda happily asked you to come earlier.” A playful twinkle sparkled in his eyes as he turned to face her fully. She mirrored the movement, keeping one elbow on the fence and lifting her hand to tuck it under her jaw. The instant she turned; his gaze dropped to her chest.

“I understand that you’ve seen my tits?—”

“I’ve more than seen them.” He grinned, clearly enjoying her annoyance.

“But could you be less obvious about staring at them?”

“I wasn’t staring at your tits, Jules. I was reading your shirt,” he offered with an amused tone. “I like it.”

She quickly glanced down, having forgotten what tee she had thrown on this morning. It was a vintage pin-up cowgirl straddling a bucking bronco with the words—buck around and find out—scrawled out in rope-like cursive across the top. It was one of her favorite shirts, actually.

“Well… thank you.”

“What do you think of our herd?” he asked, tilting his chin towards the horses before them.

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