Naked at the Rodeo

Summary:

Sometimes when Josie Patterson gets an idea in her head, it won't quit out of it until it's been seen through. The more she talks about it, the more determined she becomes. Josie wants to ride rough on a bronco, just once. But when she goes to see the man who can make it happen, he says the only opportunity will come at his annual county rodeo in front of hundreds of people, and that the only way he'll put her in it is in an outfit that will turn heads, whether or not she can wow the crowd with her riding technique. So the fun begins, and before it ends Josie will have racked up a lot more life firsts than she ever set out for.

Excerpt:

He shrugged. "Well, I got to go get ready, and you probably need to go talk to the man checking people in at the table there."

"Oh, I suppose I should. Well, I'll see you later, then. Good luck."

"Yeah, thanks," he said. "You, too."

I flashed him a smile and moved towards the tent, noticing over my shoulder how his eyes stayed absolutely locked on me as I walked away. Whatever else I was feeling, the way I seemed to drive him crazy made me feel a bit better. It put the tiniest spring in my step and the confidence to approach the competitors tent with an outwardly calm face.

I rode that confidence as far as I could, but it was already about run out by the time I was drawing abreast of the outer circles of milling riders, all in their leather chaps and boots and stiff hats. There was a noticeable decline in the noise level as people broke off their conversations to watch me pass. The men watched me with a mixture of incredulity and open admiration, and the women just with an incredulity that bordered on the hostile. I probably would be doing the same thing myself, I had to admit.

I did everything I could to pretend I couldn't notice their reactions, but I could feel heat rising to my cheeks in a slow blush that told everyone who looked at me just how aware of myself and embarrassed I was.

A surprised voice came to me from my left. "Josie?"

I turned, looking for the origin of the voice. My heart stopped just as my eyes did, landing on the painfully handsome face of Casey Rutgers, with that jaw line and them eyes of his. Boy, did he look good in that brushed hide jacket that fit just the right way over his athletic frame. His grey eyes were taking me in with slight surprise and his eyebrows were threatening to disappear into his rough, almost black hair.

"Oh, heya, Casey," I said, turning to him and feeling my blush deepen to somewhere near crimson. "You're ah - you're riding tonight?"

"I am," he said, staring at me openly.

With difficulty I managed to stand in a way that resembled casual.

He gestured at my front. "I take it you're part of the action, as well."

"Oh, this thing?" I lifted a leaden arm up and plucked at the front of the outfit. The friction from my wrist lead me to a horrifying realization. My nipples had stiffened in the chill of the early evening. I glanced down in spite of myself and saw them poking out within the thin fabric, almost painfully obvious on my otherwise unadorned front.

I froze, staring in mute horror at myself and then the ground and then at Casey's politely inquiring face. I was paralyzed between the two equally powerful urges to acknowledge it and cover myself or to try to ignore it and will this whole situation away. My cheeks were on fire.

"Josie?"

"Uh - yeah."

"So you're performing or something?"

"Right," I said, not really hearing him. It was utterly humiliating that I was standing here for all intents and purposes with everything showing. And yet, it was also extremely arousing in a way I could never have expected. It was as though I could actually feel Casey's eyes roving over my body. With pleasurable horror I felt myself becoming wet. That transitioned quickly into genuine horror as it occurred to me that this was just the sort of fabric that would display any wetness that came into it.