Lassoed By A Dom (2 page)

“Yes. I think it’s because there has been such an influx of competitors.”

“And they also want to show off the pretty females,” Liz teased.

Trish grinned. “How very sexist of you.”

“So dish,” Liz said, washing a mouthful of hamburger down with a swallow of beer. “I haven’t seen you since last year, so I hope you have plenty of gossip for me.”

“Actually,” Trish said, “it’s been a pretty quiet year on the circuit for trashy gossip.” She grinned. “Except for Lily and Donna, of course.”

“And you?” Liz studied her friend’s face. “Have you managed to find a man who can hogtie you without taming you?”

“I’m not sure I want to be hogtied, except in the bedroom.” Trish heaved a sigh. “I’ll tell you the damn truth, Liz. You are so lucky that you met Alex. You guys have it all—a real D/s partnership where he respects the strength of your position outside the bedroom and lets you run the Lucky L without interference.”

“If he didn’t,” Liz told her, “it would have been a deal breaker for me. We have the best of both worlds, I guess. Outside the house, I’m in charge of my part of the operation and inside the house it’s all him.” She winked. “Especially in the bedroom.”

Trish took a sip of her cold drink. “Sounds ideal.”

“I wish you could find the same thing. You have such a lot to give to the right man.”

“Yeah. If there’s such an animal out there.”

“You just took a two week vacation at a friend’s ranch, right? After winning in Waco and Forth Worth?” Liz took another sip of beer. “No interesting men around there? Did you get yourself a visitor’s pass to that club where we met in Dallas? Good place to work out the knots in your system while you were just hanging out.”

Trish shook her head. “CeCe isn’t into the life, and she’s not aware that I am. It would have shocked her out of her skin.”

Liz laughed. “Maybe not. People often surprise you. Look at us.”

“Too true.” She took a bite of her burger and chewed thoughtfully. “But I’m not sure I’m ready for a permanent relationship, although more and more I think it would be wonderful. But I’m at the peak of my rodeo career, Liz, and I don’t want to walk away from it. Still…”

“Still, it’s nice having that connection with someone, as long as it’s the right someone.”

“I know, I know.” She sighed again.

The unsettled feeling that had gripped her that morning brushed over her like a quick breeze. The little twinge that hit her earlier pinged her system. Like she was missing something, but she didn’t know what. Again, she wondered if she deliberately kept herself busy, only taking enough time between rodeos to give Misty the rest she needed, so she didn’t have to think about what might be missing in her life.

She had no plans to stop competing any time soon. At thirty-five she took care of herself as well as she did Misty. Lately though, now and then, she thought it might be nice to have someone to share her victories with, to celebrate the results of years of hard work. But a man who would be willing to give her independence outside the bedroom, the way Alex Wright did with Liz? Those men seemed to be damn hard to find.

In the meantime, she enjoyed the Doms she spent sessions with. Traveling the same circuit for a long time, visiting the same clubs, she had collected her favorites and always looked for them. She never would have thought of herself as a sub until she was invited to visit a private dungeon with a friend. There was a demonstration that night that captivated her. Now she’d come to realize her submission was the antidote to the rest of her life, the part where she had to be in control at all times of both herself and her horse. It was both erotic and a relief to give control freely to another person, one who respected the power exchange and respected her. And she’d been lucky enough to find those men she trusted.

Liz swallowed a bite of French fry, studying Trish. “Why don’t you call up and get a guest pass to Rawhide while you’re here? You’ll be around for two weeks, and I know you’ll need some playtime.”

“Already taken care of.” She had called Clint Chavez, one of the two owners, even before she hit San Antonio. She’d visited there during the last three rodeos, and intense sessions with a great Dom were always the best way to work off the nervous energy from the competition. She deliberately didn’t make her submissive needs known on the circuit. For one thing, even though she knew most everyone, knowing them and trusting them with your body when you were manacled and naked to their pleasure could attract some strange people. She only played in places and with people she trusted completely. For another, if Lily or someone like her picked up on it, they could make her life on the circuit a living hell. So she kept her private life and private personality just that—private.

“Great. Then maybe we’ll see you there while you’re in town.” She glanced up, and her mouth curved in a smile. “Uh oh.”

Trish frowned. “Uh oh, what?”

“I swear that husband of mine is like a hunting dog. He can find me wherever I am.”

Trish watched as a tall, muscular man with short dark hair, high cheekbones, and the shadow of a beard came up to their booth.

“Ladies.” He bent down to kiss his wife, the kiss so scorching Trish swore she could feel the heat from where she was.

When he lifted his head, heat flared in Liz’s eyes and a faint tinge of pink painted her cheeks. The look the two of them exchanged…a look so personal Trish had to glance away. She wondered if anyone would ever feel that way about her.

“Trish?” Liz’s amused voice jerked her back to the moment.

“Oh, sorry. Yes?”

“Alex asked if we minded if they joined us. That a problem for you?”

“No, no, of course not. Hi, Reece. Nice to see you again.”

Reece Halliday was Clint Chavez’s partner in Rawhide. He often spent the evening there with his wife, Katie, which was where she’d met them.

“Good to see you, too. Clint tells me he’s got you all fixed up for while you’re here.”

“He has. I appreciate it. Liz and I were—”

Her words stuck in her throat as she realized there was a third man standing with them. She blinked her eyes, sure she was seeing things. But no, there he was, the man from Oklahoma City. Here in Texas. At the rodeo. Or was she just imagining things? What was going on?

He literally took her breath away. There was something so commanding about his presence, so in control. An electric aura surrounded him that zapped through the air straight to her, directly to her nipples, and that now pounding pulse between her thighs. The air touching her skin sizzled with the invisible current that ran between them.

Holy crap!

She wet her lips as she ran her eyes over all six feet of him. His Stetson covered most of his hair, but what she could see of it was straight ebony, just below the top of his collar. He had pushed the hat back slightly, exposing a face so masculine it took away what breath she had left. Square jaw, prominent cheekbones, skin a weathered tan. Lines she thought were from squinting at the sun bracketed eyes even blacker than his hair, eyes that seemed to see directly inside her. He was much leaner than either Alex or Reece—what she’d call a runner’s body—long legs encased in worn jeans that clung to solid muscle. The sleeves of his plaid shirt were rolled up to exposed forearms with defined muscle structure and skin as tan as his face. He could have posed for the cover of
American Cowboy.

Or the iconic cowboy Dom.

Oh, right, Trish. Don’t you just wish.

His gaze washed over her like the sweep of a scorching flame, his eyes seeming to undress her and see right through to the heart of her. Embarrassingly, she realized her panties were suddenly drenched and the thin tank top she wore did little to hide the fact her nipples were suddenly as big as gum drops. Without looking too obvious about it, she leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest.

One corner of Mr. Sexy’s mouth quirked up, and his eyes, which by now had finished virtually peeling away her clothes, had a knowing look in them.

Damn!

“Oh, hey.” Reece cleared his throat. “I think I left my manners back in the barn. Liz, you’ve met, Jake Keenan. Jake this is Trish Barton, championship barrel racer.”

Jake Keenan’s grin should be classified as a lethal weapon. If there was one nerve in her body left unsinged, there wasn’t anymore.

“I’ve seen the lady compete before. She does a damn fine job.” He dipped his head. “Pleasure to meet you.”

So it
was
him. Good lord!

“Same goes,” she told him. “And thanks for the compliment. So do you follow the circuit?”

Was he a bull rider? Roper? Did he ride broncs? He certainly had the muscles for any of it. But she didn’t remember seeing him at any of the shows where she’d competed. Maybe he traveled in a different part of the country. She didn’t know if she was happy about that or not.

“No.” Reece answered her. “Jake’s my new foreman. Been with me a month now.”

“Oh.” So she wasn’t likely to bump into him at any of the events. She ignored the little wiggle of disappointment. “Well. Nice to meet you. Did you all come here with Alex and Liz?”

Reece shook his head. “We had a bull to deliver. Part of our new program.”

Last year the Hallidays had added to their ranching operation by deciding to breed bulls for the rodeo circuit. It was a mark of who he was that Reece chose to deliver the animal himself rather than just letting his foreman and one of the hands do it. Despite the size of his operation, he was hands-on with everything. That attention to detail was also what made Rawhide a premier bondage club.

“Anyway,” Reece went on. “Jake’s taken on a lot of responsibility for that part of the ranch operation, so I wanted to make sure the rodeo people got to meet him.”

She glanced at Jake from beneath lowered lids. Her skin heated when she realized his gaze was still fixed on her, a dark ravenous look in his eyes. She had the feeling he was undressing her piece by piece and wanted to tear her eyes away from his, but she seemed unable to. And damn it, she was sure he could tell that.

What was with her? All that maudlin analysis of her life, that was what. Right? Right.

“You gals going to make room for us here, or do we have to eat standing up?” Alex looked at his wife.

“Oh. Sorry, sorry, sorry.” Liz hitched herself over, and Alex slid in beside her, draping his arm over her shoulder.

It amazed Trish that whenever she saw them, he took every opportunity to touch his wife, to connect with her. To show his ownership of her. An ownership she apparently thrived on. For the second time that day, an unsettled feeling wiggled its way through Trish’s body. It would be great if she could find something like that, something that was maybe the missing piece of her life. But she had no doubt that person would want her to quit the circuit, and she wasn’t anywhere near ready for that yet.

So what was she ready for? More nights at Rawhide and places like that, where she could enjoy domination for a few hours before stepping back into her regular life? She didn’t understand why she was suddenly so mixed up about everything. For a brief moment, an image flashed across her brain of Jake Keenan standing over her, her hair wrapped around his fingers while he cracked the air next to her with a single tail whip. Reece was an expert at it. Was Jake also a—

“Trish?”

Reece’s amused voice shook her back to the present.

“Yes?” She blinked, embarrassed that her mind had wandered again, especially considering the direction it had taken.

“I said, how about sliding over and making room for Jake. I’ll pull up a chair at the end here.”

Sit next to Jake Keenan? Holy hell! She was fumbling around for a way to ask Reece to take the seat next to her when Jake hung his Stetson on the peg at the top of the booth and eased himself down beside her. The moment his thigh touched hers, the heat in her body went from scorching to inferno level. And she’d thought her panties were damp before?

Trish prided herself on maintaining control, except in the bedroom or the dungeon. She needed that control to compete at the top level of barrel racing. So how was it possible that in seconds this man had literally shredded it?

“So.” Alex’s voice pierced her erotic trance. “We’ve been reading good things about you this season, Trish.”

She took a sip of her beer, hoping to shock her brain back on the track and cool down her blood at the same time. “I’ve been lucky,” she admitted.

“Luck has only a little to do with it,” Liz disagreed. “It’s the skill that matters every time.”

“Heard you left your competitors in the dust at Waco,” Reece put in, grinning.

“I’d have expected no less from her.” Liz looked at her husband, then at the other two men. “You know, Trish’s first competition for this rodeo is tonight. How about if we all show up to cheer her on? Reece, you think Katie’s up to it?” She glanced over at Trish. “She’s seven months pregnant.”

Trish looked at Reece, who was glowing.

“Yeah, I think she can handle it. We’re season ticket holders so she gets to sit in the comfortable seats.”

“Good.” Liz nodded. “I’ll call her later to make plans.”

When the men went to place their orders, Trish asked for a glass of ice water. The men brought their food back to the booth, Alex easily sliding in next to his wife while Jake automatically sat on the bench seat next to Trish. Reece pulled a chair up to the open end of the booth. Then Jake shifted slightly in his seat, the muscle in his thigh flexed, and the pulse between her thighs began sending her messages.

Trish wondered if she should just dump the icy liquid in her glass onto the spot where her thigh rested against Jake’s. Maybe that would do the trick. If she tried to move any farther away from him, she’d either fall onto the floor or into Reece’s lap where he sat at the end of the booth.

“So that work for you, Trish?”

“What?” She blinked. Damn it, she’d been caught drifting off again.

Alex grinned at her, as if he knew exactly what was wrong with her. “We thought we’d all go out for a bite after the events tonight. You good with that?”

“Um, yeah. Sure.” It beat sitting alone in a motel room, and she felt comfortable with these people. “That would be great.”