AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Oy vey.
* * *
By the time Shep had finished his second beer, the bar was in full swing. The crowd was a mix, from twenty-somethings who attended the university to people in their early thirties. Shep sat upon the same stool, with Nash and Chase next to him. He told Megan he wouldn’t distract Emma, but she was a distraction to him. He couldn’t stop staring at her, while she handled the crowd at the bar like a pro. She looked like she had that first night he’d seen her, being sexy and sweet, and everything he liked in a woman. Yet now he saw something he hadn’t seen before. A slight spark brightened her expression. There was a definite bounce to her step, and he thought he knew what that little excitement was all about. It appeared she liked being the center of his attention. She’d bend over more than necessary, always aiming her ass in his direction for a good look. When she’d walk, she’d wiggle her hips more than he’d seen before, all to tease him, of that he was certain.
Chase’s sudden laughter snapped him away from the reason for his raging hard-on. “You better stop gawking at her like that,” his brother said. “She’s going to think you’re in love with her.”
Nash snorted and added, “Blackshaw men don’t fall in love with a woman only days after meeting them.”
Shep chuckled against the rim of his beer bottle, took the swig he’d been waiting for, and glanced Nash’s way. “Now if I were you, I would be concerned about my reputation, but I’m not you, am I?” Shep didn’t care one bit how he was perceived. He wanted to gawk at Emma, and he didn’t give a shit what anyone thought about it.
Nash ignored the dig. Instead, he regarded Shep thoughtfully. “You like this one, hmm?”
Shep slid his gaze to Emma, who was serving a customer at the end of the bar. He was drawn to her in ways he couldn’t completely control and really didn’t want to explain. Even to him, it all seemed like a whirlwind. A week ago, he wasn’t even thinking about having a relationship, but then there she was, right in front of him. “Yeah, I like this one.”
“Shep,” Megan called, bringing his attention toward the stage.
One look at Emma’s blushing cheeks while she stood with Megan told him it was game time. He finished the final swig of his beer then moved to Emma, who waited for him at the side of the stage, wringing her hands in front of her, barely able to stand still.
“Ah, darlin, why are you looking so nervous?” he asked when her reached her.
She heaved a long sigh. “Because I know exactly what is going to happen to me on this stage.”
He arched a brow, bringing himself into her warmth. “What’s that?”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, nothing much, except for the fact that you’re going to turn me into a puddle of goo for all to see.”
He chuckled, taking her hand.
Once they reached the others on the stage, one of whom was Harper, Emma muttered, “God, how familiar this is.”
Shep barked a loud laugh, enjoying himself immensely. He had plans tonight. Big plans.
The three cowboys next to him began backing up. Shep gestured Emma back with a flick of his chin. “Go on, I must prepare to catch myself a sexy filly.”
“Oh, dear God.” Her cheeks flushed with that same pretty pinkish hue he’d seen the very first night. It had tempted him then, and damn, did it tempt him now. Already hard, his dick twitched in his jeans when he reached down for the rope on the ground, tying the knot, making the lasso. He placed the smaller rope he would use on her wrists between his teeth, and grinned at her. The obvious tremble of her hands was his reward.
While the cowboys next to Shep settled into place, the crowd erupted with cheers and applause. The men next to him were younger, in their early twenties, for sure. Shep stayed focused on Emma, on the heat building in her dilated pupils. He dragged the rope through his fingers, watching her gaze following his every move, her teeth working her bottom lip. Damn right, he teased her, punishing her for the way she’d teased him for the last hour.
When they were all in position, the ropes ready to catch the waiting women, Megan yelled into the microphone, “Cowboys, rope your ladies.”
Shep hesitated, and in that hesitation, Emma’s brows came together, head cocked. He gave her a smile, showing her that he had a plan. When he saw the rope slide over the woman to Emma’s right, he sent his rope soaring toward Emma. In the second the rope grazed over her shoulders, he yanked it tight, pulling it into him. Now he acted swiftly, using the rope from his mouth to bind her wrists behind her until he had her trapped. He inhaled her flowery perfume, groaning against how good she smelled, how amazing she felt against him.
Within the tight binding, he sensed Emma soften, becoming further aroused. She leaned against him, her bottom rubbing against his cock. It became increasingly hard to focus, but he paused again, waiting until the guy next to him threw his hands up, declaring himself the winner before Shep finished tying the knot on her wrist.
Emma turned her head slightly and said, “You just threw the game. I thought you said you hate to lose.”
“I do,” he said against her ear. “I also don’t plan on losing tonight.”
The crowd exploded around them, moving closer to the stage, while Megan began talking into the microphone, declaring the other couple the winner. In that moment of distraction, Shep acted, putting his plan into motion. He grasped Emma’s bound wrists, leading her backward off the stage toward the men’s single bathroom. He had her inside, the door locked and her chest pressed against the door, in a few short seconds. Maybe some people might have noticed; he didn’t care, and he knew they wouldn’t say a word to him about it.
“Like I said, I have no intention on losing. While they’re all busy out there,” he told Emma, reaching around to the front of her shorts, “paying attention to the game, I’m scoring huge.” He wiggled her shorts and panties down to her knees, baring her perfect ass to him. “You’ve been teasing me tonight.” He reached for the condom he’d placed in his back pocket for easy access. Once he sent his jeans and boxer briefs to his boots, he applied the condom. “You’ve spent the last hour tempting me. Haven’t you, Emma?”
“Yes,” she rasped.
“Then let this be your lesson about what happens when you play with me.” He threaded his fingers into her hair and growled in her ear, “I will not wait.” He turned her head so she could see herself in the bathroom mirror above the sink, along with the bindings at her back. He pressed against her head, pinning her to the door, showing her that he was in control, and that she was all his for the taking. “Tell me you want this.”
“I want you.”
