Chapter 1

Nick swung out of his truck and took a moment to stretch. It had been a long day of hard work, and his lower back was aching from the hours of riding he'd put in. But it was Friday night, and he wasn't going to let being tired and sore keep him from visiting his girl.

Katie was a bartender at the Dusty Coyote. She was a handful with a mouth full of sass, and she took exactly zero bullshit from the patrons of the packed bar, most of them cowboys. The girl knew how to handle herself and he loved watching her.

Men who grabbed at her, soon found themselves regretting it. "Self-defense classes in college," she'd explained, the first time he'd watched her sweep the legs out from under a drunken ranch hand and send him crashing to the dirty floor.

She didn't need his help very often, but that didn't mean he was going to stand by when he saw a cowboy put his hands on her right in front of him. He was barely three steps through the door, when he saw her unloading a tray at a crowded table. From the way the men were nudging each other and smirking, he knew immediately there was going to be a problem.

Sure enough, as she leaned over to push a beer to the far side, one of men grabbed a generous handful of her ass and squeezed. She didn't react, but the way her hands gripped the empty tray, Nick knew she was about to clobber him with it. He was half-tempted to let her go on with it.

The man deserved it. Problem was that her manager had been getting on her back about the number of injuries. He'd threatened to cut her hours if she didn't behave. Katie couldn't afford to lose the money, and Nick didn't have the spare to help her if she did—not that she'd accept it from him.

But what he could do… was take the heat for it. As soon as he saw the grab, he was moving up behind her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and spun her around to face him, while not-so-incidentally, moving her out of range of the rowdy cowboys.

The look of shock and outrage dropped when she realized it was him. He caught her mouth with a quick kiss, interrupting the grin that had started to spread across her lips. She might even have thought Nick was the one who had squeezed her ass. He was, after all, the only one allowed to do that.

"Hey there, darlin'. Looks busy tonight. Think you can grab me a drink and leave it at the bar? I'll be right there."

The way he said it made her suspicious and her gaze slid back to the table. He saw the quick calculation in her eyes, and moved them a little further away. "Please? I'm parched." He affected a dramatically weak voice, which made her snort.

"Fine. It will be waiting… but if you don't claim it fast, I'll come looking for you." She gave him a pointed look and then swept a glare at the table before stalking away.

Nick let his expression drop back to neutral as he redirected his attention to the table. Most of them were grinning like kids who had gotten away with something. It was a small town and he recognized all of them, though he didn't know them well.

There were plenty of ranches around. Few were close enough to warrant a trip into town on a weekday, but on Friday night the place filled up with cowboys looking for a good time. Sometimes their idea of a good time was to cause trouble.

Nick grabbed an empty chair from a nearby table and spun it around. He dropped into it and rested his arms on the back as he looked the men over. There were five of them. He could probably take all of them individually, but not as a group, so he decided to try being nice.

Outwardly he was completely calm. The neutral expression he wore was practiced and unreadable. It was the same one he used when he was trying to trick people into underestimating him at the pool tables. Inwardly he was seething, but he clamped it down.

"That lady there—" Nick jerked his head toward the bar counter, before continuing, "is my girl. I'd appreciate it if you kept your hands to yourself when she's serving drinks," he said. His tone was deliberately mild, but the look he swept around the table was a warning.

The one who'd actually done the grabbing snickered. "Afraid she might prefer someone else's company to yours?" There was already a slurring to his words, so they'd probably been drinking for a while.

"Nope. I just don't like seeing her handled by assholes who don't know how to treat a lady." A harsh note crept into his tone.

The drunken cowboy leaned back in his seat, mouth curving up at one side. "That one? A lady? No lady is going to sling drinks in a place like this, buddy. She's here for a good time and I—" That was as far as he got before Nick's hand snapped out and grabbed him by the bolo tie.

The man's words turned into a strangled gasping sound. Nick tightened his grip and half-yanked him out of his chair. With their faces only an inch apart, he said, "I think you need to find someplace else to drink—now." The last word wasn't any louder than the rest, but the quiet intensity of it was enough to cut through the noise.

Smiles disappeared around the table and one of the man's friends started to get up. "Hey!"

"Shut up," Nick said, not breaking eye contact with his new ‘friend'. "You wanna get your posse and hit the road, or we're going to have a problem. And I should warn you that Katie is well liked here. So, if you're thinking you can all jump on me at once… I wouldn't."

"Man, relax. We were just messing around. No one was going to hurt her," one of them said, trying to placate Nick.

It didn't work. Nick twisted the braided leather cord another notch. The cowboy's face was turning strange colors and he kept gurgling. His hands scrabbled uselessly against Nick's arms, trying to break loose.

But Nick had been a rodeo rider for years. His hands were strong and his grip nearly unbreakable, especially with the man being half-sprawled across the table as he was. "I'm going to let you breathe, and you're probably going to want to take a swing at me when I do. It would be a mistake."

He let go of the ranch hand so abruptly that the man had to grab at the table to avoid landing on the floor. Panting, wheezing, and clutching at his throat, he looked like he was regretting all his decisions. He ripped the tie off, tossing it away, as if it had been responsible for his humiliation, but as soon as it was off he fixed a glare on Nick.

Nick wasn't concerned but he stood anyway. It was a better position in case he was attacked. He was almost disappointed when the man straightened, dropping his eyes to the side. "C'mon, this place is a shithole anyway," he said to his friends.

His voice was raw, and it sounded like each word hurt. That was probably why he wasn't willing to challenge Nick, but his friends… hadn't had the same experience. A movement at the corner of his eye warned Nick they weren't all ready to leave peacefully.

He blocked the swing almost automatically with his right arm, as he turned and swung his left fist. The cowboy hadn't been expecting that and Nick clocked him hard across the cheek. It wasn't Nick's best punch, but the man had been off-balance and unprepared.

The cowboy staggered back into another table and a chorus of protests rang through the room when the force of it spilled drinks. Chairs scraped loudly across the wooden floor and those angry patrons jumped to their feet. For a second it looked like a full-on brawl was about to break out.

Nick didn't want to be involved in a mess like that. The police showing up wasn't going to be good for anyone. Someone would end up in jail if they did, and he didn't want it to be him.

He fixed the troublemakers with a look. "You get on out of here. Find another place to drink and try keeping your hands to yourself," he said. He hoped the authority in his tone would send them on their way.

It wasn't quite that easy. Having damaged two of the crew, the other three seemed willing to take a turn, and they stalked around the table with purpose, but Nick was no longer the only man standing.

"Hey, we're trying to relax here. Take that shit outside," a cowboy in a beer-soaked shirt snapped. He was an older man, nearing sixty at least, judging by the white hair. But he was still burly, and he wasn't happy to be wearing his drink.

"This asshole started it," came from the man he'd punched. The protest didn't get him anywhere with the disgruntled patron.

"Bullshit. I saw you try to attack him from behind." His blue eyes narrowed until they were almost lost in a sea of wrinkles. "That cowardly crap ain't gonna fly around here."

"That was because he choked Bill!"

Bill wasn't saying anything; he was still massaging his throat with one hand.

"Didn't see any of that. All I know is you're ruining our night. Now get the fuck out before I mop up the drinks with your face." The older man moved forward with a menacing gait and Nick had to hide a grin when all five cowboys suddenly decided they had better places to be. In seconds, they'd grabbed their things and headed for the door.

Nick watched them vanish and then turned back to apologize. "Sorry about the drinks. I'll buy the next round," he offered.

The older man snorted. "Not your fault, or your job to make amends. I saw them grab that girl. I should have said something myself, but that one usually handles them fine." He grinned. "Not sayin' I never grabbed an ass in my time, but if I was dumb enough to do it in front of her man, I'd expect to get my can kicked over it. And five against one… that's bully odds."

Nick laughed. "They were lucky I didn't let Katie at them. She'd have been less nice."

"I've seen her knock a few guys upside the head. She's feisty that one. A real spitfire."

"She is and thanks for the backup. I appreciate it. Things might have gotten a bit hairy if they all piled on," Nick said. It wasn't hard to admit. He knew he'd have put up a good fight even with those odds.

The older man shrugged, a grin might have been tilting his mouth, but it was hard to tell under the bushy white mustache. "It was nothing. The spilled drinks were enough reason to boot them."

"Still… I'd like to replace the drinks," Nick said.

"Well, if you insist. We wouldn't mind. Would we boys?" He turned back to the table where two friends waited.

They were enthusiastically unopposed to someone else paying. When Nick came back with a loaded tray full of cold beer straight from the tap, they all cheered him with an old cowboy toast. That seemed to clear up all the last of the tension in the room. Everyone went back to having a good time.

He was invited to sit with them, but he shook his head. "Might catch you later. Right now I'm going to sit up at the bar so I can chat my girl up when she isn't busy." Nick flashed a broad grin at them and left them to drink in peace.

As he settled onto a barstool, Katie slid a shot and a beer in front of him. "Thought you could use a bit extra after your hard work in saving my honor," she said.

The way she rolled her eyes showed a lack of appreciation for his heroism, and he snorted. "I'm sure you'd rather have handled it yourself, but you'd have gotten in trouble."

She shrugged. "Only if the manager found out. Besides, he's all bluff. He doesn't have anyone to take extra shifts right now, and he's too lazy to go through the hiring process. As long as I don't have to call an ambulance it'll be fine."

"You hope." He snorted and shook his head. "Give him a reason to hire someone new and he'll get off his lazy ass and do it."

"Yeah well…" She trailed off, probably because she didn't have an argument for that. "Thanks though, really. You didn't have to, but I have to admit…um, it's probably not the most feminist thing, but it was kind of nice having you step in like that." Two spots of red appeared on her cheeks and her eyes shifted away from him.

Nick tossed back the shot, chased it with a swallow of beer and then leaned in so only she could hear him. "I know you could have handled it yourself, but it pissed me off seeing his hands on your ass. That ass is mine, darlin'."

Her gaze snapped back to meet his. "Oh, is it?" There was a challenge there.

"Oh, yeah. All mine, and don't you forget it." In point of fact, they hadn't actually agreed to anything official, beyond dating. The ball was in her court on that one, but that wasn't going to stop him from staking a claim and making sure she knew it. He flashed her a nice bright grin after, letting her take it as teasing, if she chose.

She didn't.

She settled her elbows on the polished bar top and leaned in until her nose was an inch from his. "Maybe you need to show me what that means. Erase the feel of that asshole's hands from my ass and replace it with yours."

"That so?" He closed the distance between them, brushing his lips lightly across hers. "What time you off tonight, darlin'?"

"Midnight. Sally's closing tonight. Think you can stay awake that long?"

It was a semi-serious question. Getting up at four or five in the morning tended to make the late nights hard, and waiting until she got off wasn't always easy. "I think I can manage. If I need to, I'll duck out to my truck for a power nap." The rest of his beer went down in one smooth gulp, and he pushed the mug towards her for a refill.

She grinned, "Don't load up too fast, cowboy. I need you in good shape for tonight," she said, teasing as she hit the tap and filled his glass.

"Don't you worry about that, sweetheart. I'll be more than a match for whatever you bring." The retort made her laugh, and she blew him a kiss, while moving on to the next customer.

On the weekends she rarely had time to stand around and talk, but he didn't mind. He liked watching her work. The professional smile that never reached her eyes shifted when she looked at him—becoming more real.

With the other patrons, she was always pleasant, but she never let them engage her, and he knew why. Katie knew if she gave them an inch they'd try to take a mile. Just like the troublemakers at the table had assumed a friendly smile meant they could put their hands on her. A few drinks in and some men lost track of their manners.

Well, not when he was around. He'd have stepped in no matter who the woman was. The fact that she was his girl just made it more personal.

Katie valued her independence. She wanted to take care of her own problems, and he appreciated that, but he could tell she liked it when he stood up for her too. He expected there had been too many times in life when there'd been no one there to defend her.

He aimed to fix that if he could.

After his second beer, Nick took a break from drinking. He had a decent tolerance for alcohol, but he had the whole night ahead of him. He put in an order for food and wandered over to the pool tables to wait for his chance to play.

The Dusty Coyote didn't have a full restaurant, but on the busier nights the small kitchen was open for business. As long as you liked fried foods and cold sandwiches, you could find something to cushion the booze.

Nick munched wings and fried cheese sticks while he played a few games of pool. He'd been around long enough that it was no longer easy to trick people into putting down large bets on the outcome, but he still made enough off his wins to cover his drinks and food for the night.

He even ended up playing a round against the grizzled older man whose drinks he'd replaced. As they bantered back and forth over the table, having a good time, they got to know each other. Rico turned out to own a little spread of his own. The two other men at his table worked the ranch for him.

"It's a small place, but I love it. My grandfather started it on a homestead back in the day and it's been in the family since," he explained.

Nick wondered what it would be like to have roots like that. He'd never felt like he fit in anywhere well enough to stay for long. "What's it like owning your own place?"

The man didn't look up from his cue. He centered the tip on the white ball and with one smooth motion sent it shooting across the table. It narrowly missed and he straightened, nodding for Nick to take his turn. "It's a hell of a lot of work for very little profit, but I love it. Something about being your own boss that fits right."

"Yeah? Worrisome though, I expect." Nick wouldn't know. He'd only ever worked for other people, and he wasn't actually sure he'd want his own spread. That kind of responsibility seemed like it would be a lot to take on. He liked being able to pick up and move on when the urge struck him—although he was a lot less motivated to travel now that Katie was in the picture.

"It is. Always worrying about something. Right now I'm thinking about hiring on a third man to lighten the workload. I don't suppose you're looking for a job…" He trailed off leaving the offer there.

Nick was quiet as he made his shot, then moved around to line up the next. "I'm always open to considering. The place I'm at pays decent, but there's no telling how long they'll keep me on."

"Well, you find yourself looking…you let me know. I like a man with integrity. My son set up a website not long ago, so you can find us online." The way his mouth twisted made it clear how he felt about that. "I'm told if ya search up Copper Bell Ranch you'll find us, and there's directions and maps and all. Or just ask around. I'm sure someone can point the way."

Nick appreciated the compliment, and a standing job offer was never a bad thing. He grinned. "Thanks, I'll do that. Always nice to have options."

"The pay's not all that great. Can't afford much more than minimum, but you'd have your own place to live. No bunkhouses or roommates. I believe a man needs his own space to feel like a man." He paused, "Besides, most of my hands have been married. Married men tend to stick around." His eyes slid over to the bar where Katie was smiling and passing out drinks, and then came back to Nick with a grin.

"Well, we're not married. We've only been dating about six-seven months now," Nick said, with a laugh. Not that he hadn't considered the future more than once, but that was a long way off.

"I hear ya. Still, seems like you've got a reason to stick around a while, and I prefer steady folks. You just let me know if you decide you're interested."

It was tempting and Nick actually considered it while they finished the game. Having his own place instead of sharing a bunkhouse with a bunch of other men would be a huge bonus.

The pay drop would hurt though. He'd just recently gotten a bump to fifteen an hour, when he told them he was sticking around permanently. It meant he was finally able to put some money into his old truck. But ranching work was never steady, and if the work dried up there, he would need something, since he had no intention of leaving town while things were working so well with Katie.

Neither of them was the long-distance type. It felt like they barely saw each other enough now, though he tried to spend every weekend he could with her. And some of that time was spent like this, sharing a space, but both busy doing other things.

Once Nick had dropped the eight-ball, finishing with a win, he said goodnight to his new friend, and moseyed over to the bar to claim a stool that had just opened up. Playing had eaten up some time, but now he was ready for another beer.

He got antsy just sitting there all night and was prone to drinking too much when he did. Racking up a few games was great for breaking up the evening. And the fact that he was damn good and usually collected some money out of it was a bonus, but he was mostly there to see Katie, and he couldn't do that from the back of the room.

"The crowd isn't too bad tonight," he commented, when she paused to push a beer his way. "Quiet."

She snorted. "Now that the troublemakers are gone." Her mouth tilted into a smirk, and she shot him a look. "Most of them anyway."

"Now, darlin', you know I'm not the trouble starting type."

"Uh-huh. I suppose you're going to say you just like to finish it." She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Well, it's the truth. Besides, you already admitted you liked me stepping in. Can't take it back now." His lips split into a wide smile that flashed teeth.

"Watch me! You have no proof I said that." She spun around and flounced away with her ponytail bobbing behind her.

His loud laugh followed her to the other end of the bar, and without even looking back, she raised her middle finger high so he could see it. It only made him laugh harder.

He knew there were Doms who would have been pissed, seeing it as disrespectful, but Nick didn't take himself that seriously most of the time. He liked a girl with fire. Katie might be a handful, but she was also a lot of fun.

And aside from all of that, they didn't have any official rules for behavior.

Katie had committed to a relationship with him, to them dating, and had fully embraced kink in the bedroom, but she was still waffling over a lifestyle situation that went beyond that. As much as he wanted more, he was willing to wait. And even when—if—they entered a whole D/s relationship, he had no intention of trying to change her base personality. The sassiness was a big part of what he loved.

Which didn't mean he wouldn't spank her later for getting uppity with him. It just meant it would be fun and not a punishment. He was a big fan of the grab and spank kind of game, and she loved to stir him up. They were well-matched that way.

They continued the banter as she worked, but she was constantly on the move. The servers took care of the tables for the most part, leaving her and one other bartender to pour the drinks, fill the trays, and keep the people sitting at the bar happy, but every now and then she'd duck out into the crowd to take orders so the servers could have a break.

That's usually when trouble would hit, so when she was moving through the room, he kept a careful eye out. There weren't any more problems though. At least, nothing she couldn't handle with a sharp retort and a glare.

At quarter to twelve he couldn't sit there anymore. He needed to go out and get some air. Night breezes ruffled through his hair, and the cool air brushing against his skin was a relief after hours packed in with so many people. He leaned back against his truck, parking his butt on the bumper to wait for her.

Noise and light spilled into the parking lot every time the door opened, but it was still much more peaceful out there. Sometimes, with so much going on, he started to feel like a trapped animal. The need to run away could hit hard and he just needed a break from the chaos.

Katie knew him well enough to know where to find him. Shortly after midnight she pushed through the doors and stopped, throwing her arms out to the side dramatically. Her face tipped skyward, and she let out a long sigh. "It feels so good out here. I thought I was going to melt."

He'd felt the same. The air conditioner had been running full blast, but with so many people it was bound to get warm. And the warmth always seemed to add to the feeling of tightness that rose after a while. Knowing the heat was coming off all those bodies was a constant reminder of just how many were packed around him.

"Clear night too," he commented, as he straightened. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the stars sparkled like a bag of spilled diamonds. He loved being outside on nights like this; it eased a need for peace and solitude.

Though since Katie had come into his life he no longer wanted to be entirely alone. She didn't seem to count as ‘people' and he never had an urge to distance himself from her.

Katie sighed again and then she shook her arms out, as if shaking the stress from her body, before she made her way to his side. "Hey, Cowboy. What's a sexy fella like you doing in a place like this? Shouldn't you be off riding a horse somewhere?" she teased.

Nick fell into the game immediately, flashing her a sultry grin. "Naw. I've got my sights set on a different kind of ride tonight. You interested?"

Her tongue slid across her bottom lip. "Hmm. I don't know… my boyfriend might get upset. You know, he's a pretty rough character. He's been known to kick the ass of any man who hits on me…" She let the words trail off as she stepped into his arms.

"We better not tell him then." His mouth came down hard on hers, and his tongue pushed aggressively between her lips, parting them so he could explore. His arms slid around her, hands sliding down to cup her ass cheeks possessively.

When he broke off to catch his breath, she laughed and stepped back, putting a little space between them. "Yeah, definitely won't be telling him about this. He'd probably spank me for letting you put your hands on his property."

Nick chuckled. "Oh, yeah? What makes you think I won't spank you even harder for teasing me when you're already taken?"

"It's only a tease if I don't intend to follow through." She tossed her ponytail back and grinned. "Besides, maybe I want to be spanked hard."

"You do seem the type to need it. Looks like I'll have my work cut out for me tonight." He snagged her wrist, giving her a hard yank so she stumbled forward and crashed into his chest. His arms immediately went around her, trapping her against him.

"Only one thing, darlin'… you're not his property now. You're mine." His mouth came down over hers again, devouring whatever words she'd been about to say.

His body stirred. Heart began to race. His cock hardened and pressed against the front of his tight jeans. They turned in place, and he wasn't sure which had started the motion, but it ended with her pressed up against the side of his truck.

He moved from her mouth, but only to trail kisses across her jaw, working his way to her neck. When he licked his tongue across her pulse point, she shivered and pressed against him. Something about that helpless reaction drew an animal's response from him.

The low growl, right against her neck, brought a soft moan from her and she tilted her head to give him better access. He brushed her hair back and let his teeth graze across the soft skin, and then he nipped her, just hard enough to sting. There was a slight flavor of salt, from her hard work.

Her hand slipped between them and stroked the hard bulge that ached to claim her. Time and place were forgotten, and he honestly couldn't have said how far things would have gone if the door to the Coyote hadn't crashed open.

A bright shaft of light splashed across the gravel, and a burst of loud country music and laughter came with it. Two couples stumbled out into the parking lot arguing, and Katie sighed and pulled back. "Maybe we should head back to my place, before things get a little too heated."

"I think we'd better unless you have a thing for exhibition. If we go too much further, I'm not going to be able to stop." It was hard enough to let her go as it was.

"Why don't you drive me home. We can pick up my car tomorrow and—"

"I think we better drive separately," he said, cutting her off.

She looked surprised, but before she could ask, he added, "Darlin' I don't think either of us need to end up in a ditch because we couldn't keep our hands off each other. Take your car. I'll be right behind you, and once we get to your place… well, then all bets are off."

Katie laughed. "Okay, that's fair, but don't take too long… otherwise I might start without you.' She turned, shooting him a sassy look over her shoulder. "Or I could always find another cowboy. There's plenty of them around."

Nick landed a hard swat on the seat of her jeans, and she yelped. "You better not," he warned her in a low growling tone.

She stuck her tongue out, and then quickly hurried out of his reach before he could retaliate.

Brat. You'll pay for that later, but he couldn't help laughing.

Nick watched to make sure she got in her car okay, but once she pulled out of the parking lot, he hopped in his truck and followed. The ride felt longer than it actually was. His cock was painfully hard, and he had to adjust himself a couple of times on the way there to ease the ache.

She always did this to him. Just being around her was enough to drive him crazy sometimes, but when he touched her, when she pressed against him, it was like a slot machine hitting jackpots across the screen. He was a lusty guy, but no woman had ever had such an extreme effect on him.

What he'd said to Rico had been true, they'd only been together six or seven months, but Nick wasn't used to being in one place for so long. Usually it wasn't more than a few months before his feet got itchy and he would start thinking about moving on. For the first time, he was seriously considering putting down roots.

A little house with him and Katie… he could see that. He could see them building a life together and it was scary to the wandering side of his soul, but every day he spent with her made the idea more attractive. He wanted her. Wanted to claim her in all ways, not just physically.

Still, he decided as he pulled the parking brake in front of her house, claiming her body will be good enough for tonight. The rest will come when I'm ready.

But he knew damn well it was going to happen when she was ready, because he was there, and had been for a while. He just couldn't admit it to himself yet.