Kansas Heat Read online

  “What’s that smile for?”

  Amanda blinked. “What?”

  “I take it you do have an event you prefer.”

  Oh, yeah. “Barrel racing.”

  “Uh-huh.” Cody smirked in obvious disbelief. “Thinking about barrel racing is what put that gleam into your eye.”

  “Are you calling me a liar?”

  “No. I’m just a little amazed is all.”

  “Why? Don’t you like barrel racing?”

  “Sure I do, but I like watching the bull riders more.”

  There was no doubt he figured out her little secret, but how? Probably because his older brother used to ride bulls and had women throwing themselves at him left and right. “Well, we each have our own opinions.”

  “Hmm. I tell you what. There is a rodeo down in Dodge City tomorrow. I’ll pick you up around ten-thirty.”

  A rodeo? Tomorrow? He was asking her out on a date? Cody Reese was asking her, Amanda Johnson, on a date? What reality had she fallen into?

  Does it really matter? Do you need to drown to learn not to play in the deep end? “I don’t think so.”

  “I didn’t ask.”

  “Excuse me?” She planted her feet and refused to move.

  “I said I will pick you up at ten-thirty.”

  “Well, you will be standing at my door looking like a fool when nobody answers it.”

  “We’ll stop and get dinner afterwards.”

  Dinner afterwards? What the hell is going on here? Then, in a blinding flash, Amanda understood. This had to be a joke or a bet of some kind. She’d seen it in movies and TV shows where the popular kids picked on the unpopular by pretending to like them. It was always a set-up, and she wouldn’t be dumb enough to fall for it.

  “Okay, Cody, what is the deal? Did one of your friends dare you to pick up some random woman they chose for you? You going to wine and dine me, seduce me with your charm, and then after a quick screw in the bed of your pickup, go rushing off to tell all your friends you did it, so you can collect your bet money?”

  “I don’t do quick screws, Amanda.”

  His husky growl turned those words into a promise—a dark one. She swallowed in the face of his sudden seriousness and brazened ahead.

  “But this is a bet.”

  He responded instantly by using the hand still resting on her lower back to pull her flush with his pelvis. There could be no mistaking the seriousness of his interest. He’d make a horse jealous with the size of the erection poking her in the stomach.

  “I’m going to pick you up tomorrow at ten-thirty and take you to the rodeo. Then I am going to take you to dinner and bring you back to your house, and maybe, just maybe, if you are a good girl, I’ll kiss you good night.”

  It took her a moment to process what he’d said. It didn’t make sense. His cock was loaded with the safety off, but he didn’t intend to pull the trigger. What the hell was with that?

  Oh, I get it. He’s working it the other way, just like Will. Amanda felt her ears go red as the possibilities raced through her mind. She’d put money on the table Cody had something going on with a woman he shouldn’t be messing with. A married woman, perhaps, and what he needed now was a decoy woman. A proper, respectable woman to flash around town as if he wasn’t digging the ditch with some poor man’s wife.

  Well, he could go screw himself. She might be willing to overlook Will’s indiscretions, but they were friends, best friends. Besides, Will would never use her to help in his adulterous escapades. Cody, on the other hand, was a free-roaming pig.

  “I see.” Amanda jerked free of his hold. “I’m only worth a measly good night kiss.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Clearly confused, Cody obviously hadn’t expected her to see through his charm. Why would he? No woman had ever told Cody Reese ‘no’ as far as Amanda knew. It delighted her to be the first. She took to the honor with gusto.

  “I don’t understand exactly what the game is, Mr. Cody Reese, but I know you’re playing one. How is this supposed to go? You’re going to show up at my door and be the perfect gentleman, take me to the rodeo and buy me sodas and hotdogs, make sure everybody sees us together.

  “Then, just in case anybody missed the show, you’re going to bring me back to town, take me out to dinner for a second turn around the corral. Then you’re going to dump me at my doorstep at a respectable hour and speed off into the night, so you can go fuck whatever whore it is you really want to dip your dick into.”

  “What did you just—?”

  Amanda went full steam ahead, riding the wave of her own bitterness and anger. “Has it ever crossed your little bitty mind I might be interested in more than just a little hand holding and a few chaste kisses? Hmm? Perhaps I want to be the whore for once? Did you ever think about that?”

  “Darlin’, I don’t—”

  “Obviously not.” Amanda poked him the chest. “Well, no thank you. I’d rather stay at home and play with myself than be dragged all around Saturday just so you can perpetrate some good-guy image. I’m not going to be your pawn. You ain’t that good looking, Cody Reese.”

  With her beautiful breakdown complete, Amanda swooshed her hair over her shoulder and stormed off the dance floor. She didn’t care if anybody heard her or gave her strange looks. Cody had it coming. Damn stupid men! They were always treating her like she had pigtails in her hair. Maybe she didn’t flaunt her assets like some corner-stop hussy. Maybe she didn’t flirt her way through life like some bubble-headed twit. Maybe she didn’t have a reputation for playing fast and loose with her favors. He still shouldn’t assume she wouldn’t enjoy it.

  No sooner than her butt hit the hard, wooden booth bench then three sets of disbelieving eyes pinned her in place.

  Chapter 2

  “What did you do?” Cindy leaned across the table in a threatening sweep of blonde curls.

  Embarrassment hardened Amanda’s defenses. “I didn’t do anything.”

  “Really?” Cindy cocked her head. “Because from over here it looked like you just told Cody Reese off, and then left him standing on the dance floor.”

  Amanda crossed her arms over her chest and tucked her chin down. “He deserved it.”

  “What did he do?”

  Amanda didn’t want to say. It did seem like she might have overreacted, just a little bit. That revelation wouldn’t shock her friends, but it would embolden them to take up their favorite topic of the night—how Amanda tended to scare men off.

  Cindy wouldn’t let her avoid answering though. “Amanda?”

  “He asked me out to a rodeo tomorrow, and I said no.”

  Rosy almost dropped her drink. “Are you insane?”

  Maybe, probably. “I didn’t like the way he asked.”

  “You told him a little more than no, Mandy,” Cindy corrected her.

  The censure in Cindy’s tone made Amanda squirm. “I told you I didn’t want to go out. I’m—”

  “Broken-hearted, we know.” Cindy rolled her eyes. “That’s no excuse for—”

  “Shut up!” Kathy snapped. “He’s coming.”

  Why the hell is he coming back here? His beer. Hopefully he’d take the pitcher and leave. She didn’t need any more reminders of what an ass she’d made of herself. This night already justified spending another week in bed, hiding under her blanket.

  “Ladies.” Cody towered over their table, and Amanda tucked her chin into her chest. “You’ll have to excuse us. I need to talk to this one.”

  She let out a squeal when an oversized hand latched onto her arm and yanked her out of the booth. Before she could think of struggling, he dragged her toward the back of the bar. When it did dawn on her to fight his hold, she became all too aware of the looks they were getting.

  Yeah, this is going to be all over town by morning. The real question now was how long the rumors would run. Another scene could add a whole month to the babbling sure to start with the rise of the morning sun. She couldn’t risk fighting him publicly
again. She’d have to wait until they had some privacy. It wouldn’t be long. With his long legs, he made fast work of herding her toward the back door. Her short little legs couldn’t keep up, and she found herself fuming as he dragged her across the floor.

  Cody shoved the dented metal door wide open. A second later, he yanked her out into the hot, dry heat of the summer night. His hold didn’t loosen or his steps slow as he hauled her around the corner of the dumpster and into the shadowed blackness of the old building.

  Finally he released her, shoving her up against the wooden wall. The rough, splintered surface cut into her back, and she bounced forward. Sucking in a deep breath, she prepared to give him the putdown of a lifetime. The words jammed in her throat when his mouth crashed against hers.

  * * * *

  Cody didn’t know what he was doing. In less than ten minutes, Amanda Johnson had driven him straight out of his mind. Obviously, her insanity was contagious, because he’d gone completely nuts.

  Of all things, Cody prided himself on his control, but she’d ripped it away from him. Left at the mercy of primitive male hormones, he felt driven to corner her and bend her to his will. She tried to hold firm against his assault, but folded in seconds. With a whimper, she gave over control of the moment to him.

  Cody growled, reveling in her surrender as it fueled his desire to make her submit. Drunk on the taste of her kiss, she drove him further into the delirium of arousal when her velvety tongue dueled with his.

  The small defiant gesture fed his aggressiveness even as her body began hypnotic rubbing motions against him. All her soft curves molded into his body just as they had on the dance floor, caressing him from chest to knee with slow, sensual invitation. Beneath the bitch there was a hot, little vixen waiting for a man strong enough to take control and master her desires.

  Cody flexed against her, silently assuring her he was the man for her. She rewarded his show of strength with another grind of her body into his. The hard points of her nipples pressed through her shirt to leave trails of fire across his chest as they circled over the ridged planes of his pecs.

  Little, hungry moans tempted his ears, telling him how much she teased herself as she did him. The sexy little sounds grew as her rubbing picked up speed. Her motions became less controlled and she ground her breasts harder into his chest.

  Cody lost it when her hips lifted, bringing her pussy to grind against his thigh. Gripping her hips, he pulled her tighter against his aching cock. It wasn’t enough. Silently, he damned the jeans for being in the way of feeling her liquid heat against his hardened length.

  Primitive instinct had him moving into her, forcing her back against the wall of the bar and pinning her into place with his weight.

  Free of the obligation to hold her against him, his hands went to work, ripping her shirt free of her waistband and filling his hands with the delightful weight of her breasts, soft, plump and so responsive. He had to touch her, taste her. But Cody didn’t have the will to pull away from the sultry excitement of her kiss.

  Amanda made the choice for him. Breaking free of his kiss, she gasped for breath the moment he started rolling her puckered nipples between his fingers.

  “Oh, God.”

  “It’s Cody.”

  He corrected her before shoving her shirt up. Pausing only to push the lacy cup of her bra out of his way, his head dipped. Nothing stopped him from tasting the sweet flesh of flushed breast. She tasted like vanilla, his favorite flavor, and felt like satin, his favorite fabric.

  He trapped her nipple between his teeth and bit, making her cry out and arch into him. She returned the tiny assault with one of her own, raking her fingers through his hair and letting him feel the sharp edges of her fingernails. The stinging pain sent shivers of pleasure down his spine, but her words excited him even more.

  “Again. Please.”

  He wanted to tell her the same thing but wasn’t about to give up his mouthful of luscious flesh. Instead, he taunted her by taking another nibble of her tit, but this time he brought his tongue into play. Giving her puckered little bud a quick flick, he rolled the pebbled nipple with his tongue, speared on by the husky moans and groans falling from her lips as her hands pressed him even farther into her soft globe.

  The tantalizing scent of feminine desire thickened in the air around them. The alluring odor drew his attention south. He sent his hands to discover the hidden well of her arousal. Fumbling with the snap of her jeans, he made faster work of her zipper. Then nothing stopped him from plunging his hand beneath the lacy edge of her panties and touching the liquid proof of her heat.

  Finding her hot and wet was no surprise, but feeling the soft, smooth skin of a naked cunt had him moaning with need. It had been too long since he had played with a bare pussy. It was the most delectable treat on the planet as far as Cody was concerned, perfect for eating, better for fucking.

  There was nothing he liked more than watching the pink folds of a woman, swollen and wet, being parted as a thick, blood-darkened cock filled her. Just the memory of the image had him pushing his fingers deep into Amanda, imagining it was his own hardened length.

  She was tight, tighter than anything he had filled before. The slick, velvety walls of her cunt clamped around his fingers, pulsing and sucking him in deeper. The ache in his dick to replace his fingers grew painful. Without a thought to their location, he began tugging his own jeans open.

  It was only the honking of a car and the sound of voices calling out ‘hey’ to each other that pulled him back from the edge.

  What the hell am I doing? He was about to fuck Amanda Johnson behind the bar. The reality of how he had completely lost control sent anger racing through Cody. He never lost control. It was his most prized possession and little Miss Johnson wasn’t about to take it from him.

  He was going to fuck her. One day in the very near future, he’d sink balls deep into her tight little pussy. Then he’d ride her harder than any man ever had. When he finished with Amanda, the memory of his cock would be burned permanently into the soft walls of her sheath.

  It would happen, but it would be on his terms, not something her smart mouth had pushed him into doing. His control fortified, he released her breast.

  With one last thrust of his fingers, he pressed upward, intentionally stroking her G-spot and bringing her as close as he dared to an orgasm. With a promise the next time he played with her pussy he’d bury his face between her soft thighs and drive her insane, he released her molten paradise.

  * * * *

  Amanda didn’t comprehend the change in Cody’s attitude. Her lust-dazed mind still struggled to climb the mountain of ecstasy, convinced he’d be returning to torment her body to its pinnacle.

  He can’t leave me like this. He just can’t.

  Amanda blinked to take in a world gone hazy. The only clear thing was the strong, determined look on Cody’s face. Even in the darkness of night, she could see the dangerous will of steel glittering in his pale blue eyes. They’d gone almost gray with an intent that made her shiver as cold awareness started to flood through her inflamed senses.

  He isn’t going to continue.

  “I could fuck you right here, right now. Tell me to do it.”

  Her body screamed “do it!” The idea of doing it behind the club where anybody could see them excited her. The lust flooding her system thickened with an exotic spice, making every pulse of her heart pump out a new, darker, more forbidden fantasy.

  Still a voice whispered it would be wrong, perverted and wrong. Finally, sanity won out. “No.”

  “Good. Then I’m going to pick you up at ten-thirty tomorrow, take you to the rodeo and to dinner after. I’m going to open doors, pull out chairs, hold your hand and pay for everything. I’ll take you home, give you a kiss and wait until you are safely in your house. None of this is open for argument or compromise. Is that understood, Amanda?”

  God, he is so damn arrogant. Why the hell was it turning her on so damn much? She’d never g
otten this hot for a man before. His words should have cooled those flames, dousing them with rotten reality. They didn’t. They fed the fire inside her.

  Maybe he wouldn’t be such a bad fuck. Maybe I should take his hard-ass for a ride. Two seconds after he finished, she’d kick his cocky butt right out the door. Maybe, just maybe if he satisfied her, she’d let him put his pants on before she threw him out into the street. Telling him wouldn’t be wise. For now, she’d have to play the good girl, or as good as she could manage to play with both her desire and her temper ignited to dangerous levels.

  “Yeah, I got it, but don’t think I’m going to let you get away with bossing me around like this, though. In the future, remember you’re supposed to ask a woman out, not tell her you’re taking her out.”

  “I’ll try to remember.”

  He stepped back, and even that small motion came with a heightened sensitivity. The heat and strength of his body branded her. As his soft-cotton shirt slid across the sensitive tips of her breasts, she groaned. The motion in itself was a new kind of caress.

  The air fragranced with the scent of man and almost-sex made her loopy. She pushed him farther back, trying to get at least one breath that didn’t have her body humming with regret over her decision.

  There was no hope for it, not with so many long years without sex. Cindy was right. She needed to get laid. Then maybe she could start acting like a sane person and not almost screwing the first guy to kiss her in five years.

  I’m just horny, and she could do a hell of a lot worse than Cody Reese. Assured her wanton break-down had a reasonable explanation, Amanda straightened her spine and righted her clothes. With each jerk of her hands, every inch of skin she covered back up, her plans for Cody Reese began to sharpen. After he’d satisfied her more desperate cravings, maybe she’d be the one to work him back into a frenzy. She’d get him all hot and bothered then bring him to his humble knees to kiss her ass before she turned and walked away.

  For now, she let him play the gentleman and take her by the elbow as he began to lead her toward the dim light strung over the back door. God, she’d almost fucked a man she’d known for less than twenty minutes beside a dumpster, against a greasy back wall of a kitchen. No matter Cody was a Reese brother, she’d taken a step down in life tonight. Strangely, it kind of made her feel a little giddy.