by Vanessa Vale
“We done here?” Randy asked, clearly impatient.
“I’m done,” I told him. I was. Cam was just as worthless as ever. He’d never change. I glanced at Emory and nodded. I didn’t need to see anything else. I didn’t need to watch as Randy took Cam away. I’d gotten what I’d come downstairs for. Closure.
We cut past Randy and went over to the doors to the lobby. I looked over my shoulder at Cam in the ring one last time then to Reed who stood beside him.
Reed’s body was tense, his muscles primed and ready, just like during his past fights I’d watched online. I gave him the smallest of smiles, hoping he understood why I had to go against what he’d asked me to do and stay upstairs.
“Harper! No! Get your fucking ass back here!” Cam yelled.
I ignored him, only had eyes for Reed.
While Cam continued to yell at me, Reed winked.
Cam lunged for Reed, probably trying to catch him when he was distracted, but Reed hopped back and swung out, blocking Cam, then countering with an uppercut to the stomach that lifted Cam off the ground before he fell to the floor, wheezing.
Reed looked my way again, his jaw clenched this time, but he grinned at me. He was enjoying this. Yeah, we were good.
I pushed through the door then and cut across the lobby. Pushed the button for the elevator and heard Cam yelling again.
The elevator doors opened, and I stepped on, Emory following. I left Randy and those guys behind. Even though they were less than fifty feet away and I was getting on an elevator just as I had when the whole mess began, I knew now they couldn’t touch me any longer. They were finally going after the right person. I was free.
“You good?” she asked, concern lacing her words.
As the doors slid closed, shutting out the last of Cam’s shouting, I looked to her. Smiled.
Reed would come to me, and we’d live happily ever after, or whatever our version of it was. MMA matches and medieval cathedral visits.
“I’m good. I’m so good.”
28
REED
“Harper!” I shouted as I pounded on her door.
This time, she opened right away. I didn’t say another word, just picked her up and kept on walking right to her bathroom.
“Reed, what—”
“Shh,” I replied, setting her on her feet, so I could reach into her shower and turn on the water. I rinsed my hands off under the warming spray.
My adrenaline was flowing. I was amped just like after a fight in the ring. This one was different. I didn’t have to go five rounds, and there had been no rules.
I’d won. Again.
This time, the prize was more than cash.
It was Harper’s freedom.
Reaching behind my neck, I tugged off my t-shirt, used it to wipe my hands dry. I checked my knuckles and saw that the little bit of Cam’s blood that had been on them was gone. Only then did I drop the shirt to the floor.
Harper eyed me, the look in those dark eyes a mixture of worry and heat.
“You don’t have an ounce of fat on you,” she said, her hand resting on my chest. While my dick got hard knowing she liked what she saw, I was surprised that was what she was thinking about right now.
I sucked in a breath, and I clenched my abs at the heat of her. Her fingertips were a fucking tease.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” I told her, tugging at her shirt and getting it off. Her bra was next, then I dropped to my knees on the tile and got her jeans and panties off at the same time.
“Reed,” she said again, this time a whisper as she set her hands on my shoulders for balance.
I looked up at her. Fuck, I needed this woman. I was filled with hatred for her brother, that fucker Randy. Those assholes of his who’d tried to hurt her…
I’d been so pissed.
I hadn’t let my need for revenge make me lose focus. I’d used all my skill as a fighter to keep my head on straight, to remember what was important. Cam dead. Harper off of Randy’s radar permanently. And if Quake did his thing, there’d be bullets in the back of Tweedledee’s and Tweedledum’s heads soon.
I hadn’t needed him, but Gray had been there as backup. It was his gym. His reputation if anyone found out what was going on. The Outlaw didn’t give a shit what anyone thought, especially if we were making things right. Settling a score that was over a decade old.
Everything led to this moment when she was finally free, and I needed to know she was whole. Safe.
Mine. No one else would touch her like this. Hear her. Feel her. I was suddenly frantic for her. “I need to make you come.”
Hooking my hands around the backs of her thighs, I held her in place as I put my mouth on her pussy. She stepped wide for me, and I licked her slit, got her taste on my tongue then found her clit.
“Reed!”
I worked her without any teasing, needing to get her off. Now. I built her up fast, her cries bouncing off the walls of the bathroom, her fingers tugging on my hair.
Those actions made me even more focused on getting her off. I loved those sounds. Loved her taste. Her need. She came the second I slid a finger into her tight heat, her body tensing, then going soft. I held her upright as I stood then carried her into the shower.
She was soft and pliant as I washed her and relearned every inch of her body.
As I ran my soapy hands over her shoulders and down her arms, I spoke, finally calm enough to do so. “When I saw you downstairs, I almost lost my shit,” I murmured.
Beneath my palms, I felt her stiffen. “I needed… closure.”
I kissed the long line of her neck, licked up a droplet of water.
“I know,” I breathed. “I understand. That’s why your ass isn’t pink.”
She turned and looked up at me, her hair slicked back, her skin glistening with the hot water.
“Is he… it’s over?” she asked. I felt ten feet tall knowing she trusted me to take care of it.
“Yeah. Randy took him.” I never thought I’d ever have any kind of alliance with that asshole, but he’d stood back and waited while I beat the shit out of Cam, then I’d happily handed the loser off.
“Without a fight?” she asked, a little V forming in her brow.
“When I finished with Cam, he wasn’t conscious. Made it easy for Randy.”
A little gasp escaped her lips, and her dark gaze met mine.
“Easy, princess. I didn’t kill him, no matter how much I wanted to. All my fighting was in the ring.”
She studied me, nibbled at her lower lip. I couldn’t help but kiss that plump flesh. When I was done, she said, “You kept your hands clean.”
I lifted them, looked at my battered knuckles from years of punches. For the first time ever, I didn’t see my past. As I cupped her face, I realized those hands could also be for good. They held Harper when she needed me to be strong. They touched her reverently when she needed to know how beautiful she was. They worked her to orgasm. They were for good now.
“I did. I won’t risk us for anything. But Cam had to know what he did to you wouldn’t go unpunished.”
“Randy will see to it,” she said.
When she blinked water from her eyes, I turned us, so she was pressed against the wall, and the spray was at my back.
“No. I don’t know what Randy will do to him. Not our problem. But whatever he does, it’s because of the shit Cam got into with him not what he did to you. Two years ago and when you were thirteen. If he survives—” I didn’t think he was going to come out of this alive, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. “—then he’ll know not to get near you.”
Her hands roamed over my body before she took my dick into a snug grip. Stroked me from root to tip. “Fuck, princess.”
“Thank you.”
I took her wrist and tugged her hand from me. My dick wasn’t happy, but that was too fucking bad. “Hang on. I don’t want you thanking me through my dick, yeah? We’re not going back to that shit.”
Her eyes fl
ared at my insinuation, and then she glanced away. Finally, she lifted her chin and looked up at me. Held my gaze. “I… I didn’t mean it that way. Really. Thank you for helping me with Cam. With Randy. All of it.”
“You’re mine, and I—”
“Protect what’s mine,” she finished for me.
“I’ll always take care of you,” I promised.
She blinked, then gave me a small smile. “I know. You take good care of me.” She took my dick in hand again. “Now can I take care of you?”
I reached blindly for the faucet and turned it off then tugged Harper out of the shower. Grabbing a towel, I dried her body, then tried to sop as much water from her hair before quickly drying myself.
“Bed. Now.”
She turned and ran from the small room.
“You can run, princess,” I called. “You can run faster than me. Farther, too. But I’ll always catch you.”
I stalked after her then, knowing my words were true. Harper was mine. I might be rough. But I was ready for her to be mine. Forever.
Thanks for reading Rough and Ready! It’s time for more hot cowboys in the Bachelor Auction series. Read Teach Me The Ropes!
Meet the Manning brothers in this steamy small town cowboy series from USA Today Bestselling author Vanessa Vale!
A bachelor auction. I was in a f-ing bachelor auction.
I wasn't a cow. A bull, definitely. When the ladies started to bid, it was looking rough.
Until she placed the winning bid.
The one I wanted. The woman who'd kneed me in the balls the other day.
Yeah, I was hot for a woman who wanted nothing to do with me. I was a guy obsessed.
She might be the teacher, but she was going to learn she was all mine and I wasn't letting her go.
If being a cowboy isn't enough, Sawyer's the town's fire chief. This book might burn up your ereader, but don't worry, he'll be there to put out the flames!
Read Teach Me The Ropes!
Note From Vanessa
Guess what? I’ve got some bonus content for you! Sign up for my mailing list. There will be special bonus content for some of my books, just for my subscribers. Signing up will let you hear about my next release as soon as it is out, too (and you get a free book…wow!)
As always…thanks for loving my books and the wild ride!
Join the Wagon Train!
If you’re on Facebook, please join my closed group, the Wagon Train! Don’t miss out on the giveaways and hot cowboys!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/vanessavalewagontrain/
Get A Free Book!
Join my mailing list to be the first to know of new releases, free books, special prices and other author giveaways.
http://freeromanceread.com
Also By Vanessa Vale
For the most up-to-date listing of my books:
vanessavalebooks.com
All Vanessa Vale titles are available at Apple, Google, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and other retailers worldwide.
About Vanessa Vale
Vanessa Vale is the USA Today bestselling author of sexy romance novels, including her popular Bridgewater historical series and hot contemporary romances. With over one million books sold, Vanessa writes about unapologetic bad boys who don't just fall in love, they fall hard. Her books are available worldwide in multiple languages in e-book, print, audio and even as an online game. When she's not writing, Vanessa savors the insanity of raising two boys and figuring out how many meals she can make with a pressure cooker. While she's not as skilled at social media as her kids, she loves to interact with readers.