Rodeo King (Dustin Lovers Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Rosemary, and for him.
    Pointless.
    Easing off the barstool, he fished
in his pocket for a twenty, tossing it on the counter. Over the drunken
protests of the women he’d pushed away, Caleb took the side ‘Bar Only’ entrance
and slipped out. In those damned sexy high-heeled boots, Rosemary wouldn’t have
gotten halfway across the parking lot yet.
    Sure enough, he spotted her a short
distance away, near the floodlight over DeeDee’s fancy new sign. Rosemary’s
head was bent and all that gorgeous red hair sheltered her face from his view.
She dug through her purse, probably searching for her keys.
    Aside from the need for
confrontation, he worried to think she’d walk around Dustin with her head down
after evening set in. Not paying attention to anyone who could just step up and
grab her arm.
    Yeah, like me. His mouth set into a grim line at her careless regard for her own safety.
    Not breaking his stride, Caleb
reached her in under five seconds, taking her arm in a firm grip. With a
feminine squeak of protest, she spun toward him.
    He caught a brief flash of her lacy
black bra as the deep vee of her sleeveless blouse gapped revealingly. For a
second he had a chance to admire the way her skin looked like cream against the
lace.
    With an irritated huff, she started
squirming and pulling at his hand. “Damn it, let go, Caleb. What the hell do
you think you’re doing?”
    “We gotta talk.” Wanting some
privacy from nosy townsfolks, he maneuvered her away from the floodlight and
off the sidewalk, stopping just inside the alley where empty boxes had been
stacked for trash pickup.
    She tugged harder. “Nothing to talk
about. Let go.”
    “Nope.” He’d sucked down enough
beer to take the sensible edge off his brain. “I’ve got some things to say to
you.” He backed her into the nearest brick wall and slapped his hands on her
shoulders to prevent her from bolting. “You’re damned well gonna listen.”
    Rosemary shoved her hair out of her
face and gave him one hell of a stink eye. “You’re drunk and an asswipe. Want
to talk about that?” Under his palms, the set of her shoulders tightened like a
cocked bow.
    “I want to know what Jamison is to
you,” Caleb growled.
    She stiffened even more. “None of
your business. Now get your hands off me!”
    Releasing her shoulders, he slammed
his palms onto the wall behind her, not touching her, but still blocking her
exit. “Better?” he growled.
    She stared up at him silently. In
the dim alley lighting he could see how anger lit her up, more than likely making
her too furious to speak. Well, tough, because they had a thing or two to get
straight.
    “And it is my damned
business, Rosie. The man’s a skirt chaser and if he’s hanging around my son—”
    Caleb got no further because
Rosemary was suddenly in his face, one slender finger drilling into his chest.
“You don’t get to say who hangs out with my son. You sure as hell don’t
get a vote in who chases my frigging skirt.”
    She poked his chest harder. “You
don’t know a thing about me, or Dave, or what’s gone on in this town since
you’ve been goddamned gone.”
    “Knock it off.” Beyond irritated,
he grabbed for her hand, yanking her closer. Until every inch of the denim and
cotton she wore was plastered against him. Her breath hitched, and the rapid
rise and fall of her breasts made Caleb break out in a sudden sweat.
    The jealousy and anger roaring
through him switched off like a light bulb. All he could concentrate on was
Rosemary.
    God, he could smell her, some kind
of flowery stuff he remembered she always used on her hair. Her lips parted and
he caught a tang of the margaritas she’d had. The feel of her body brought back
memories of hot nights, damp bedsheets twisted on the floor, long, tangled
curls; fingernails digging into his bare shoulders.
    He stared down into her beautiful
face. She’d been a pretty kid, an adorable teenager. And almost too much woman
for him at nineteen, in