Free Resisting Pressure (Rhinestone Cowgirls Book 5) by Rhonda Lee Carver Page A

reason for the frown?”
    “This look is because of the cold, dark reality. We live in two different worlds. He’s a rodeo star and I’m a nurse. He seems like the type who doesn’t feel manly unless he’s risking his life.”
    “You’re not planning to see him again?”
    “No. Yet I have some very erotic memories to keep me warm at night.” She forced a smile. She brought her hand up and threaded her fingers through her hair. A sharp, spicy scent swept across her nose—Keefer’s scent that made her hormones twist and shout.
    “Yeah, good reason why you shouldn’t see him again. Memories are so much better than the real thing.” Crystals snort made Violet look at her.
    “Just because something feels good doesn’t mean it’s meant to be.”
    “And just because you’ve had some lousy men in the past doesn’t mean you should lump them all together as turds.”
    “My past isn’t the reason why I’m not seeing Keefer again. Believe me, he doesn’t want to see me any more than I want to see him. We both went into this knowing it’d be a one night thing and one night only. I don’t have the time for a relationship. Remember, you were the one who advised me to lay off men and find myself.” She looked out the window watching the scenery go by in a blur. She closed her eyes a moment, relishing in thoughts of Keefer, storing them in a place inside of her that she wouldn’t forget. The hard planes of his chest, the patch of crisp hair in the center that had rubbed her breasts, scratching every nerve ending awake. Her nipples budded, aching and wishing for his lips again. His body stretching her, filling her, satisfying her unlike anything she’d ever known. The orgasms had been wonderful. Tremors that had spread through her, explosive and beguiling. She’d come completely apart in the cowboy’s arms.
    “Look, sis, I really respect the fact that you’re getting your life together, working hard and being the best that you can be. Yet, this is a lot like dieting. If you deny yourself from ever having dessert, you’re destined to fail. A little goody once in a while never hurt anyone. If you’re lucky enough to find an entire buffet of desserts without all of the bad calories, why not dive in?”
    “Are you dieting again?” Violet shifted her gaze on her sister’s profile.
    “Yes, always. But even I enjoy a snack on occasion.” She wagged her brows.
    “Crystal, you’re a voluptuous woman. You don’t need to lose.”
    “Says the sister that wears a size two,” Crystal huffed. “Besides, it’s not a diet. I’ve been working out and feeling better. Let me ask, what if you just happened to run into this cowboy again? Will you be able to deny yourself more pleasure?”
    “We don’t run in the same circles. There’s no way for us to accidently see each other.” Even as the words came out of her mouth, she knew they weren’t the answer to her sister’s question. There was an undeniable emotion wrapping around her, much like his arms had last night that left her questioning everything, especially the rules she’d placed upon herself. Emotions were dangerous, especially when they targeted a man like Keefer. She needed to snip these thoughts in the bud before they blossomed into a full blown idea that there was a future for her with Keefer.
    Crystal reached over and laid her hand on Violet’s arm. She jerked and turned her chin. “Sweetheart, you’re not allowing what happened years ago come back again, are you?”
    Every bit of warmth, every bit of positive emotion, disappeared from her body, taken over by an ice age freezing her insides. This happened every time the subject of that time, long ago, was mentioned.  Crystal was the only one who knew Violet’s secret. “Of course not. I don’t allow the past to rule my future anymore.” Why couldn’t she even convince herself of this?
    “You know I only worry about you.” Crystal’s soft voice almost chased away the demons in Violet. But