Rodeo Queen by T. J. Kline Read Free Book Online

he was on my case all day.”
    “And I’m sure you’re an angel to deal with, right?”
    “Of course,” she answered innocently.
    “Tell you what,” Scott promised. “One last dance, and then I’ll take you home.”
    “I think I’ll take you up on that offer,” she agreed as the band opened with the first notes of “I Will Always Love You.”
    Scott pulled her close to him and he felt the now-familiar desire for her spreading as his fingers slid along her spine. She curled her fingers along his shoulders and he wished she didn’t have to wear the cowboy hat and crown so she could lay her head on his shoulder. He could feel her breath gently brushing his neck as he inhaled the musky scent of her perfume, trying to ignore the way her breasts brushed his chest. He could feel the heat radiating from her body and wondered if he wasn’t on fire himself.
    As their bodies moved in time with the music, the friction only served to fan the flame already threatening to blaze out of control. He sighed in pleasurable pain as her fingers tickled the curls at the base of his neck, brushing his already too-sensitive skin with her fingertips.
    “Sydney,” he whispered.
    “Hey! I thought you said I could have her back!” Scott looked up at the cowboy who’d taken his money and disappeared, furious at the interruption. He edged Sydney behind him, knowing that the guy was even more inebriated than he’d been earlier.
    “Where’s my beer?”
    “Wha . . .?” The cowboy looked confused in his stupor.
    “It’s okay, the lady and I were leaving anyway.” Scott placed a hand at Sydney’s back and started to walk with her toward the front gate.
    He’d half-expected the shove that came from behind, but it still made him stumble forward a few steps. “I think I’ll take her home.”
    Instantly, a crowd began to surround them at the prospect of a fight. Scott spun around and dodged the first awkward swing from the cowboy, which caused him to stumble into the crowd. As he righted himself, Scott saw that Sydney had realized what was happening and stood frozen. The cowboy came at him again, this time tackling him like a football player, knocking him backward. Luckily, Scott had sobriety on his side and was able to twist quickly enough to throw the drunk man to the ground.
    “Enough! Before security breaks this up, you idiot. I said, we’re leaving.”
    “Whatever,” the cowboy slurred from his seat in the dirt.
    Scott turned back to Sydney as the crowd began to disperse and head back onto the dance floor. “Let’s go before anything else . . .”
    His words were cut off as a hand on his shoulder jerked him around and a solid fist connected with his jaw, knocking him backwards a few steps.
    “That’s for my buddy!”
    Without hesitating, Scott rushed the assailant, grabbing him by the collar, and shoved the cowboy against the railing of the short fence of the exit gate. “We are leaving.” Scott recognized one of the approaching security guards as part of the rodeo committee he’d worked with and motioned him over. “Can you escort us to the truck. These guys don’t seem to want to let us leave.”
    The guard took one look at the situation and recognized the arena director and the newly crowned rodeo queen. “Sure thing. You”—he pointed at the cowboy Scott had just released—
    “You might want to get lost and hope he forgets what you look like if you plan to ride one of his bulls tomorrow.” The cowboy disappeared into the crowd as quickly as he had appeared.
    Scott led Sydney to his truck silently and unlocked her door. Walking around to the driver’s side, he lectured himself. It had been years since he’d gotten into a fight. As a matter of fact, the last fight had been over Liz, he recalled. So much for proving his theory wrong. If nothing else, this just proved how much Sydney Thomas was like Liz, including how easily and quickly he’d allowed her to get her hooks into him—enough that he would get