Wild Cowboy Nights Read online

  “You have no idea.”

  Next to them, Daniel made a sound suspiciously like a growl, but neither of them looked over. Adam’s hand pulsed on her hip, the heat of it shocking despite the warmth of the night. His calluses dragged over the sensitive skin bared by her T-shirt, and she shivered. Maybe this was a terrible idea.

  She didn’t have time to really reconsider, though, because he set down his beer, cupped the back of her neck, and dealt her the single most devastating kiss of her life. No, not a kiss. He took possession of her mouth, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips and then delving inside. He tasted of beer and something darker, something that hinted at exactly what she’d asked for—like he wanted to do filthy things to her in the bed of his truck.

  She closed her eyes, giving his tongue a tentative stroke, and had to fight down a moan at the way the move made her entire body go tight.

  More.

  He lifted his head, breaking the kiss and slamming her back into the real world. She blinked up at him, all too aware of her body pressed against the entirety of his, of how he was hard in all the places she was soft, of how goddamn good he smelled. “Wow.”

  There went that eyebrow again. “You think it was believable?”

  She’d almost forgotten she was kissing Adam Meyers because he was supposed to be her boyfriend to prove a point to her real ex-boyfriend. Liar. You 100 percent forgot that this was pretend, and if he’d offered to drive you out into a field to get down and dirty, you wouldn’t even hesitate.

  He hadn’t offered, and this was pretend. Remembering that was important if she wanted to avoid compounding one potentially humiliating situation with another even more potentially humiliating situation.

  She licked her lips. “Um, yes. Totally believable. Thank you.”

  He still didn’t let her go. Instead he turned and lifted her onto the tailgate as if she weighed no more than a paper doll. “You want something to drink?”

  “Uh, sure.” She should get down and walk away…which she absolutely would do as soon as she got control of her shaking legs. It would have taken a stronger woman than she was to not stare at Adam’s ass in those tight jeans as he ambled over to the cooler.

  She turned to find Aubry doing a silent slow clap. “Don’t judge me.”

  “Oh, I’m judging.”

  Chapter Two

  Adam Meyers had been back in Devil’s Falls all of two days, and he was already going out of his mind.

  He hadn’t wanted to come to this goddamn bonfire. He wasn’t back in Devil’s Falls for a good time—he wasn’t even back at all. Once he figured out what was going on with his mama, he was on the road again. Hell, it had only been a few days, and the restlessness in his blood was already snapping for a change of scenery.

  Or it had been until Jules Rodriguez sidled up to him and proceeded to rock his world. That’d been a distraction he couldn’t afford to pass up.

  He opened the cooler and fished out a pair of beers, using the move to get his physical reaction under control. He hadn’t expected to be affected like that, but she was so soft and sweet and the panic in her dark eyes had called to him.

  You were doing her a favor, jackass.

  Right. He glanced over his shoulder to where she was talking to the redhead. I’d like to do her another favor. Maybe two.

  “Damn it, what are you doing?”

  He’d known this was coming the second he walked away from the women. He couldn’t even blame Daniel. His friend had always had been overprotective of Jules.

  Adam used his boot to shut the cooler lid. “She asked me for a favor. I’d be a dick to ignore her cry for help.”

  “That’s my baby cousin.”

  Cousin or not, the soft, sexy woman he’d just held in his arms was not a baby. Not even close. He snorted. “It’s not like I’m robbing the cradle here. And it was just a kiss.”

  “You know damn well it was a bad idea.” When Adam just stared, Daniel cursed. “Damn it, Adam. It better stop at just a kiss.” He stalked away, snagging a beer as he did.

  He didn’t blame his friend for getting up in arms. Jules had always been a good girl, and Adam was many things, but good wasn’t on the list. Which was most likely why she’d chosen him to act as her pretend boyfriend.

  Adam turned around to find Grant standing just out of reach. He hadn’t had much interaction with the guy—by the time Grant graduated seven years behind him, Adam had already blown out of town for the rodeo circuit. His mama told him stories, though. It was one of her favorite things to do on their weekly calls while he was traveling around and getting into trouble. The tidbits of Devil’s Falls gossip had always grounded him. No matter how crazy his life got, or how free he felt on the back of a bull for those precious seconds before he was thrown, nothing much changed back home.

  That was how he knew Grant and Jules had dated through high school and that he’d dumped her before he went off to that fancy school his daddy had paid out the nose for. It wasn’t something Adam had put much thought into all those years ago, but now he had to stop and wonder what the hell Jules had seen in this guy.

  Grant was too polished, too put together. Even his teeth were perfect, white and straight and screaming money. It made sense. His daddy was a big fish in Devil’s Falls, and he’d never let anyone forget it. Stood to reason that his son inherited his shitty, entitled attitude.

  And he was obviously chewing on something he wanted to say.

  Adam stopped, aware of Quinn at his back. He doubted this preppy man was going to cause problems, but if he got a wild hair, he’d find that it was two on one. “Can I help you?”

  “You’re Adam Meyers.”

  “Guilty.”

  Grant shot a look over his shoulder to where Jules sat on Adam’s tailgate, her long legs swinging as she chatted with her redhead friend. There was nothing over the top sexy about the way she was dressed—shorts and a plaid long-sleeved shirt that she’d rolled up to her elbows—but she drew Adam’s gaze despite that. There was just something so alive about her.

  He needed to feel alive right about now.

  Adam started moving forward again, tired of the game and surprisingly eager to get back to Jules. Maybe he should kiss her again. You know, for believability’s sake. “Excuse me.”

  “Wait.” Grant grabbed his shoulder and smiled. There was nothing overtly wrong with the expression, but the fact he was touching him—holding him back—left Adam wanting to punch some of those too-perfect teeth out.

  “I suggest removing your hand before I remove it for you.”

  Grant’s smile didn’t waver, but he did drop his hand. “I know the score.”

  What the fuck was he talking about? “Good for you.”

  “I mean, it’s cute that you’re helping Jules make me jealous, but it’s not going to work.”

  He knew that kiss had been a desperate Hail Mary pass at saving face, but that didn’t mean he was going to sell her out. It didn’t hurt Adam none to play along—and, yeah, he wouldn’t mind another chance to taste Jules again. She was dynamite, and he’d never been able to resist playing with matches. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Oh, please.” Grant rolled his eyes. “A few years might have passed, but that doesn’t change the fact that I know Jules. There’s no way in hell she’s dating you.”

  “How do you figure?”

  He knew where this was going. Despite his mama’s best efforts, he’d been hell on wheels while he was growing up. He had too much anger, too much energy, and a chip on his shoulder a mile wide. All that combined into giving him a reputation that kept his mama up at night.

  So he’d left, needing to see more of the world than this hole-in-the-wall little town. The world was too big, too full of life, to stay in one place too long. He’d hit the jackpot when he decided to try the rodeo, and that first time riding
a bull had ignited something in him he couldn’t resist. The second he’d picked himself up after being thrown, he’d craved another ride.

  That craving hadn’t disappeared over the years.

  If anything, it’d only gotten stronger.

  He’d put all that aside the second Lenora called him to tell him his mama was in a bad way. It hadn’t been comfortable driving back into Devil’s Falls—like sliding into a suit that was two sizes too small—but it didn’t matter. His mama needed him, so here he was.

  Grant shifted, as if just now realizing he could be getting himself into the kind of trouble that wasn’t easy to get out of. “Nothing against you, of course. It’s just that she’s…Jules. She takes the safe road. She’s a sweet girl, but she’s, well, you know.” He waved a hand in her direction. “A bit boring.”

  Adam focused on controlling the rushing in his ears. Fifteen years ago, he would have punched Grant’s lights out just for saying something so goddamn stupid. He was different now.

  More or less.

  He moved forward, getting into the man’s space. “That’s my girlfriend you’re talking about.”

  Grant went pale, his mouth opening and closing like a fish’s out of water. “You’re joking.”

  “Get out of my sight, boy.”

  Under different circumstances, it would have been funny to see how fast Grant hightailed it around the bonfire, but Adam was too busy trying to get a handle on the anger whipping through him. It was like a live thing in his chest, demanding physical action. He took a deep breath, and then another, wrestling it back under control. “I hate that guy.”

  “Man, chill.” Quinn took one of the beers out of Adam’s hand and popped the top, then repeated the process with the other. “Remember what the sheriff said about fighting—you promised to behave.”

  “That was when we were teenagers.”

  “Same rule applies. Sheriff Taylor is getting old and has high blood pressure. You don’t want to be going and giving him a heart attack, now do you?”

  Adam shot Quinn a look, but he took the beer back. “You’re an idiot.”

  “Nah, I’m the smart one.” He gave a lazy grin. “Though if we stand here any longer while there are two gorgeous girls waiting for us, then someone might have a legit argument about the idiot thing.”

  He glanced at the girls…and his cock jumped to attention. Jules was now leaning against the tailgate. The frayed edges of her shorts teased a peek of the lower curve of her ass. He was sure they’d started as something closer to modest, but they’d been washed so many times, they taunted him as she walked away, as if they’d fray just a bit more and give him the show of his life. “Those shorts should be illegal,” he muttered.

  “What’s that?” Quinn asked.

  “Nothing.” Just past the girls, Adam spotted Daniel heading toward the line of trucks disappearing into the darkness. Back when they were kids, Daniel had been the straitlaced one. The one who got them out of as much trouble as Adam and John got them into. John. It had all changed that night on the rain-slicked road. “How’s he doing? Really doing?”

  “Hell, man, I don’t know. It all changed when you left.” There was no accusation in Quinn’s voice, but Adam felt it all the same.

  After John died, he should have stayed to help pick up the pieces. He knew Daniel blamed himself for the car crash, but he’d been so desperate to get out of town, he’d barely paused long enough to fill up his truck before he headed for the horizon. He hadn’t even made the funeral. And he hadn’t come back much in the intervening years—definitely not long enough to get past the nights of drunken partying with his buddies.

  I’m back now, at least for a couple weeks, and I’m going to set shit right.

  That started with the woman now watching him across the clearing with dark eyes. He had no business sniffing around Jules Rodriguez, if only because she was Daniel’s cousin, and he’d failed his friend enough without adding this to the list. But Adam couldn’t get the image of her desperate expression out of his head.

  He couldn’t hang her out to dry. Not tonight, at least.

  He walked over and passed over a beer before he joined her against the tailgate. There was a respectable distance between them, but he still was acutely aware of every move she made. When she lifted the beer to sip it, Adam damn near groaned.

  Jules’s gaze fell to the bottle in her hands. “He didn’t believe the kiss, did he?”

  Adam took a long pull on his beer bottle, more to calm himself down than because he was thirsty. “He had his doubts.”

  “Damn.” She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “Thanks for trying. A-plus for effort.”

  There wasn’t going to be a clearer opening. That kiss had been the sole moment since he’d been back in town where he wasn’t ready to climb the walls. She was right there, the perfect distraction all wrapped up in a package that seemed designed to make him sit up and take notice.

  It would be a shitty thing to do. No.

  But when he opened his mouth, different words came out. “I guess we’ll just have to be more convincing.”

  The redhead on the other side of Jules made a choking sound. “Oh my God, you’re crazier than she is.”

  Jules’s mouth opened into a little O, and her eyes went wide. “I’m sorry, what?”

  This was his chance to take it all back—all he had to do was let her down easy—but apparently Adam was too much of a selfish bastard for that. He leaned in, almost close enough to touch. “You up to giving him a little show? I can do this all night.”

  She bit her lip, her gaze dropping to his mouth. “That’s really sweet, but I can’t ask you to do that. I’ve already sexually assaulted you once tonight. I doubt my conscience can handle more.”

  “It’s no trouble.” Why was he pushing this? He couldn’t force Jules into it, though, so he just toasted her with his beer. “Think about it.”

  “Oh, she’s going to think about it, all right.” The redhead dodged the elbow aimed her way this time. “I’m just going to, ah, mosey on over there and find myself a drink that’s more of the vodka variety.”

  Quinn appeared at her shoulder like some kind of magician. “I got it.” He presented her a red Solo cup with a flourish. “Tell me, sweet cheeks, did it hurt when you fell from heaven?”

  “Nope, but I scraped my knees when I crawled up from hell.” The woman rattled off her response without looking at him or sounding the least bit interested.

  Quinn, on the other hand, only seemed more intrigued. “Witty. I like that. Maybe you and me should go get a drink sometime.”

  Jules coughed, and Adam had to use every ounce of willpower under his control to keep his grin off his face when the redhead turned to his friend, made a show of looking him up and down, and shook her head. “Sorry, cowboy, but judging from the assets you’re far too proud of displaying”—she waved at his crotch area—“I’ve had better. Not interested.”

  She turned to Jules. “Can we please leave? Much more of this and I’m going to develop a sudden infatuation with my cousin.”

  “God forbid.” Jules shifted away from the tailgate and shot a smile at Adam. “Thanks for the beer and, well, for everything else, too. You’re sweet.” Then she was gone, being towed by her friend through the crowd back toward the line of trucks.

  Adam sipped his beer, watching her pivot her hips to avoid a drunk guy. The move made his cock perk up—again—and take notice. As if he hadn’t been interested before.

  He didn’t look over when his friend took her place, even when Quinn said, “I love me some redheads—so snarky and full of rage.”

  “You’re a sick, sick man.”

  “No doubt.” He drained his beer and set it aside. “So what’s your next step?”

  He glanced over. “What do you mean?”

  “Come on, man. I know you, and I’ve seen t
hat look on your face before—usually when you’re about to get me into a whole world of trouble. You’re not done with that woman.”

  “She said she wasn’t interested.” His gaze tracked back to the trucks, craving another look at the way she filled out those damn shorts.

  “Right.” Quinn snorted. “Whatever you say.”

  Chapter Three

  Jules stepped over Mr. Winkles and made her way to the table where Mrs. Peterson was petting Cujo while she read the morning paper. “I hear that boyfriend of yours is back in town, dear.”

  “Ex-boyfriend.” She dodged Cujo’s clawed swipe and topped off the old woman’s coffee.

  “I also hear that his daddy is planning on grooming him to take over the family business. Very prestigious, that.” She still didn’t look up from her paper.

  Jules gritted her teeth and made an effort to keep the smile on her face. “I really wouldn’t know.” You know she’s just poking for gossip. There’s no malice behind it.

  It didn’t make it sting any less, though.

  She’d known everyone would start with the questions the second Grant got back into town. It might have been nearly a decade, but the Devil’s Falls residents weren’t much a fan of change. They’d liked it when Jules and Grant were Jules-and-Grant, the town’s golden couple, and most would be tickled pink if the two of them picked up where they left off.

  Obviously kissing Adam hasn’t hit the grapevine yet.

  Jules cleared her throat at the thought. “Would you like a blueberry muffin?” she asked. “They just came out of the oven.”

  “Oh, I really shouldn’t.”

  They went through this same song and dance every day. Jules smiled. There was comfort in knowing what to expect, no matter what Grant believed. “If you’re sure. There’s banana nut, too.”

  Mrs. Peterson froze like a hound catching a scent. “Banana nut, you say? Well, maybe just this once.”

  “Be right back.” She turned around, pausing to pet Loki and Rick where they were sunning themselves in a beam of light coming through the big windows in the front of the shop. They rewarded her with rumbling purrs, and Loki even managed to rouse himself to bump his head against her leg. She scratched behind his ears the way he liked.