Free Ryder (Rope 'n Ride Series Book 2) by Em Petrova

He’d barely thought of anything but her since they’d met.
    She lay still, eyes closed. Her pulse hammered in her throat, and he knew he hadn’t killed her.
    A chuckle burst from him, and she cracked an eye. “You’re laughing at me?”
    “That sound, Princess, is pure relief that we don’t have a camera guy in here with us.”
    “Or my father.” At that, she giggled. The sound was like champagne, fizzing over inside him. He captured her lips and gave her a sound kissing.
    “Good thing you have a trailer to hide in,” she said.
    “This isn’t my trailer. It’s Ridge’s. He bought it last season after two of his motel rooms had bedbugs.” And for more privacy. He loved the cameras just as much, and he’d had someone special a few months back.
    She gave a shudder, and he set about kissing away the goose bumps that had risen on her throat and breasts. When he lapped her nipple, it hardened instantly.
    “This isn’t over,” he said.
    “I thought you said a one-night stand. You got it.”
    He leaned on his elbows to stare down at her. “It’s not night.”
    “So you’ll be satisfied by tomorrow.”
    He bit off a growl of irritation, but her soft touch on his chest made him forget why he didn’t like what she said.
    “If my dad catches us together, he’ll end your career.”
    Now that got his attention. He sat up and pulled her with him. “What the hell? You’re serious?”
    She bit into her lower lip, making the flesh plump out in such an inviting way that he was hard all over again. “I’m sorry to say, yes. He hates the thought of me with a cowboy let alone a rodeo man.”
    Ryder pushed out a harsh breath. Then he scuffed his hand over his jaw. She followed the action, looking way more absorbed than a woman just looking for a one-time deal.
    Reaching for her, he pulled her into his lap. She curled against him, and his heart flexed so hard that he knew he wanted more than one night.
    “What’s he got against a rodeo man?”
    “He’s seen a few in his time. Knows how they’re all players.”
    “Not all. Was he a player?”
    She lifted a shoulder in a shrug, making him feel as if he was holding a fragile bird. “I was a child. I hardly knew what was going on in his adult life. Besides, my mom was gone.”
    “I’m sorry.” He’d read articles about Thunder’s hardship—his wife taking off and leaving him to raise their daughter. Actually, she’d run off with—
    A rodeo man.
    No wonder he had a chip on his shoulder against them. Ryder would just need to prove him wrong.
    Compared to the reality show filming, Joy’s father was a small mountain to scale. Ryder refused to put her into the camera lens. She deserved better than this mess he was in.
    He rested his nose on the fragrant part of dark hair and inhaled. “If your old man tries to stop me from seeing you, I’ll have to take him out.”
    She laughed. The sound high and clear and true. Damn, she was such a breath of fresh air in his smoggy world. For a year he’d fought with lawyers over the will his father hadn’t changed before dying, and then being bombarded with a fame he didn’t welcome.
    “He’s got a bum shoulder. If you’re going to take him down, go for the shoulder.” Her tone teased.
    He caught her smile and it spread through his whole system. “It’s good to know a man’s weaknesses.”
    “What’s yours?”
    He thumbed her cheeks and gazed into her gray eyes. “You.”
    A pretty flush coated her face, spreading over her breasts. He made a sound she recognized as wanting.
    “We’re going to be missed. We’d better get back to our lives.” She stood, and he watched with fascination as she dressed.
    Finally, he got up and dealt with his condom and dressed too. When she turned to him with bright eyes, he grabbed her and held her. Nose buried in her hair, he said, “This isn’t finished.”
    She withdrew from his embrace and let herself out of the trailer. As soon as she stepped out, a camera loomed up at