Calgary Stampede, Alberta, July

“Damn, are you sure you can’t last a little longer, Jaxi?” Travis looked away, but not before she’d spotted the disappointment in his eyes. The annoyance.

Jaxi leant her head against the stall door. The familiar scent of animals did nothing to ease the swirling in her head. She felt like the bottom of a horse stall and there was no way she could fake her way through any more of the day. “I’m sorry. I have to go home now,” she pleaded.

“We bought tickets for the grandstand show tonight and--”

“Why are you two still here? I thought you headed back onto the fairgrounds. The showings for all our stock are already done.” Blake Coleman’s deep voice soothed her pain, stilling part of the pounding. She opened her eyes to peer up at him.

“Ahhh, Jaxi’s being a wuss and wants to cut out early,” Travis bitched.

“Jaxi? A wuss? Get real, Travis.” Blake tugged her arm gently and pulled her closer. People wandered past, admiring the animals on display in the Livestock Pavilion of the Stampede Grounds. Watching the rodeo and chuckwagon races kept many of the visitors entertained, but there was a good crowd here in the quiet of the barns, far away from the roar of the fairgrounds and carnival rides. A low murmur of voices and the contented sounds of animals filled the oversized building. Blake’s hand rose to her forehead and she caught her breath.

In spite of feeling like a mule had kicked her, his touch had its usual effect. She dropped her gaze and bit her lip. He wasn’t supposed to affect her this way. She was going out with Travis and big brother Blake was firmly off limits.

“Damn, you’re burning up. Jaxi, why didn’t you say you weren’t feeling well? You guys could have come another day. Stampede lasts until Sunday.” Blake’s face folded into a frown.

“Travis wanted to come today and so did his buddies. I was fine until after lunch. I guess I should have stayed home,” Jaxi said, wrapping her arms around herself to contain the shivers that threatened to surface. She drew farther from his body and the temptation to lean into him, let him hold her close.

“Travis can take you home in my truck and I’ll stay and drive the others,” Blake offered.

“I want to stay for the show. All my friends are here and I don’t want to leave...” Travis’ voice trailed off. Blake slipped him the head nod that meant he wanted to talk privately.

Jaxi sat on a nearby bale of hay, holding herself as still as possible in the hopes the room would stop spinning. Their voices were quiet but clear even as Blake dragged Travis away from her down the length of the main barn of the Exhibition Grounds.

“She’s your girlfriend and she’s sick. I’d think you’d want to get her home safely instead of taking off and hanging out with your friends. Come on, Travis, do the right thing for a frickin’ change.”

“Hell, Blake, it’s just ... it’s the first time in a long time some of my friends have made it to the Stampede. Things haven’t been so hot with Jaxi lately and...well, I planned on breaking up with her soon anyway. It’s a pain in the ass to leave when everyone else is sticking around having a good time and I have to go home with blue balls...”

Jaxi bit her lip. So, the other shoe dropped. Travis had enough of her not putting out for him, not playing his games.

The room spun.

Oh hell, she needed to lie down. She stumbled to the nearest empty stall, forced the door open and collapsed onto the clean straw. She closed her eyes but the ceiling kept turning in circles, the sound of their voices echoing strangely in her ears.

“Shit, she’s messing up my whole evening,” Travis whined.

A solid thump was followed by more complaining. “What the hell was that for Blake?”

The contempt in Blake’s voice was thick enough to cut. “I shoved you because if I slugged you Ma would give me hell. At least until I explained why, and I don’t want to have that conversation with her. Damn it, Travis, Jaxi’s sick and you’re bitching about not getting any? You’re an ass. I’ll take her home, I have to get some of the stock out of here anyway. You can drive the old pickup back after the show. There’s room for everyone who came with us to town, but Travis, I’m warning you. You’re the designated driver. You drink more than one beer between now and getting home, and I’ll take you apart for more than being a shit to Jaxi.”

Soft footsteps approached. The door of the stall swung open and Jaxi swayed as she sat up. Blake stared at her from his six-foot plus height, anger tingeing his face, but she wasn’t the one who’d put it there.

He’d care for her, just like always.

“Ah hell, girl. You’re a strong one, aren’t you? In spite of Travis giving you shit. Come on, Slick, let’s get you home.”

* * * *

It took far too long to hitch the trailer and load the animals that were headed back to the ranch. Blake checked Jaxi a couple of times; she did nothing more than lift a finger to indicate she was still alive--although miserable--as she waited in the cab of the truck. She didn’t seem nauseous, just dizzy. Blake shoveled down a quick burger as he forced the trailer doors shut. He didn’t want to eat in front of her, just in case, but it had been a long time since dinner and they still had a good two and a half hour drive to get home.

He opened the door to find her asleep on the bench. She’d hauled an old blanket from behind the seat and wrapped it around herself but it hadn’t stopped the shaking.

“Slick, what have you done to yourself this time?”

Blake lifted her slightly and managed to seat himself, lowering her head to rest in his lap. She muttered something before shivering from head to toe. He got them on the highway headed north out of town before he gave her much more attention.

She’d braided her blonde hair into two pigtails and she looked twelve instead of eighteen. At twelve she’d still been Jax and her best friends were his youngest brothers, twins Joel and Jesse. The three of them had forever been running wild in the horse stables and building castles amongst the bales in the hayloft of the Coleman’s ranch. An only child, Jaxi had come calling at the ranch on a regular basis, longing for companionship. Whenever her ma and daddy had gotten busy, she’d walk the field between their properties and jump whole-heartedly into whatever mischief the Coleman’s were cooking up.

At fourteen she’d asked them to call her Jaxi, and that’s when the trouble started. All of a sudden she wasn’t only a great fishing and riding buddy, she was someone with hips and breasts and all the interesting parts that went along with being a girl.

Blake pushed a loose strand of hair from her face. She was burning hot and the shakes continued to rack her body. Her slim form fit on the seat with difficulty because of her long legs, now curled up tight as she lay in his lap.

And wasn’t that the most damning part of it all. Here she was in his lap, and he had no right to want her. He was twenty-eight years old, old enough to know better.

But young enough to still be stupid.

Damn, even burning with fever she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He’d fought the attraction for years, feeling dirty for even thinking about her that way. He was ten years older than her. For heaven’s sake, he’d been the one to hold the reins the first time she rode a horse. He was the one who’d carried her home the time she’d fallen off and gotten the wind knocked out of her. He’d become a big brother to the lonely little girl, and he had no right to admire her changing body, her bright eyes or her quick wit.

And his fool of a brother was going to break up with her? At nineteen Travis thought he was God’s gift to women but at times like this Blake wondered if Travis was one shovel short of a full load.

Why was Jaxi going out with the ass? Why not one of the twins, even if they were a year younger than her? Hell, why not Daniel? Of the six brothers on the ranch, why did she have to pick the one with the biggest ego and the least brains?

Blake took the off ramp and got onto the secondary highway leading to the town of Rocky Mountain House. The small settlement near their homes was nestled in the rolling foothills up against the towering Alberta Rockies. The traffic was nonexistent at this time of the day; everyone headed to the city already long gone. His was the only vehicle on the road and behind him dust rose to the bright blue sky, a trail of gunpowder toward the barrel.

He was in so much trouble when it came to this sweet girl, and from what he knew she still was sweet, in spite of his asshole of a brother’s attempts to change the situation.

He’d overheard them in the barn a few weeks ago...

* * * *

Jaxi and Travis were necking in the tack room and from the sounds of it, things were getting hot and heavy. He didn’t deliberately step closer to eavesdrop.

Hell, yes, he did. He didn’t trust Travis as far as he could throw him.

The kissing and the rustling noises built his curiosity to a peak before Jaxi muttered ‘uh-uh, cool it’ and someone knocked something over.

“Oh, damn, Jaxi, you’re killing me here. I need you. I really need you, baby.”

Jaxi snorted. “I’m not stupid, Travis. You won’t die if we don’t have sex. Get over it already. I’m not willing--”

“You don’t love me.”

“Damn right, I don’t. You don’t love me either. We’re friends, that’s all.”

You tell him, girl. Blake snuck to the far end of the hall where he could still hear but remained hidden in case either of them decided to bust out of the room without warning.

“You like it when I touch you, you know I get your motor running. It’s another thing I can do to make you feel real good. Make us both feel real good. Come on, sweetheart, it’ll be special.”

“In a barn? Travis Coleman, you may be considered the hottest thing around by the rest of the girls in town but you need a little work on your romancing.”

The sound of creaking floorboards warned Blake to fade back into the corner more.

“Don’t leave me hurting here, sweetheart. Come on back and help me a little. You know I like it when you touch me.”

The door squeaked as she opened it. “Travis, I was enjoying myself, but you pushing it every time we fool around kills the mood. I’ve told you I’m not having sex. Not with you or anyone until I’m older, no matter what kinky games you like to play. It’s something special and I want to save it.”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Then why do you keep trying to convince me to go farther than I want?”

“Because I... Oh hell, Jaxi, are you going to help me here or what?”

The door slammed and Jaxi’s strong voice rang out. “Talk to the hand, Travis, talk to the hand.”

* * * *

Blake had waited in the shadows until Travis, cussing a fair bit, hauled his ass back to the house. It had probably been another step in the beginning of the end for the two of them.

He looked at Jaxi again, lying in his lap so innocently. He was such an ass. Even while he wanted to break his brother’s head for trying to touch her, he had to force himself to stop from reaching to see if her skin was as soft as it looked.

She moaned and her limbs jerked, arms flailing. She struck the dash with one hand, the wheel with the other.

“Whoa, Jaxi, take it easy, hon.” He laid a restraining hand on her shoulder.

“Travis?”

“No, Slick, it’s Blake. Remember?”

Jaxi rolled over to stare at him. Her eyes were glazed and she seemed to focus on something beyond his head. Her face flushed hotter and anger flared across her face.

“Damn it, Travis, I told you I wouldn’t give you head while you drive. Pull over right now.”

Holy shit!

“Jaxi, it’s Blake... you’re sick, hon--”

“Pull the truck over now, you son of a bitch.” She forced herself to a sitting position, body weaving from side to side. “I swear, Travis Coleman, you’re going to be the death of me. Stop now or I’ll tell him.”

Tell who? Tell what?

She was yelling at him now, smacking her fists into his arm. She wasn’t hitting him hard enough to cause any pain but she was knocking herself around. Blake grabbed her with one hand, pinned her arms against him, and steered the truck and trailer off to the side of the road as quickly as possible.

“Jaxi, you’ve got to relax. It’s not Travis, it’s Blake. Ah, damn it, Slick, you are one sick little girl.”

“Yeah, well, you’re pretty sick yourself. You want to break up with me but you want one final farewell, is that it? Fine by me.”

Hell, she must have heard Travis back at the fairgrounds. Now what did he do? Try to calm her down or let Travis drown in the hole he’d dug for himself?

She threw her leg across his lap like she was jumping on a calf in the roping contest.

“This is it. You hear me? As of tomorrow we’re not a couple anymore and you can go fuck whoever you want without me around as a decoy. I’ve had enough of the pretending.” While she spoke her hands slipped loose the buckle on his belt in one smooth motion. Blake jerked. He scrambled for her wrists, trying to catch her, trying to stop her as she dragged down his zipper and dipped her hands into his jeans.

They were pinned between the back of the bench and the steering wheel. It was the only reason she got her fingers into the fly of his boxer briefs where, against his will, his erection rose to meet her.

He wasn’t getting excited because it was Jaxi, it was just because it was a female wrapping her fingers around his thickening girth and pulling him free into the warm afternoon air. That’s what he tried to tell himself. It wasn’t because this was Jaxi and Blake had dreamed of this for longer than he wanted to admit.

No, it was strictly an automatic male reaction. He wasn’t the kind of asshole to sit and let his brother’s feverish, soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend give him a hand job at the side of the road. He wasn’t such a jerk he’d actually try to justify letting her keep touching him for a couple more seconds because it was the best thing he’d ever felt in his life, her soft hands running up and down the length of his now fully engaged cock.

And then he realized he didn’t quite know how to stop her. He didn’t want to talk and have her suddenly become aware of what she was doing to him, Blake, and not Travis as she imagined. He couldn’t reach to open the door and every time he tried to grab her wrists she swore and jerked harder, sending jolts of fire up his already sensitized nerve-endings. Stopping her that way might have a permanent impact on his ability to ever have sex again.

He was going to burn in hell forever for this one.

Blake’s powers of concentration were seriously challenged as Jaxi continued her assault on his erection. Her firm fingers stroked him from base to tip, taking the time to caress her thumb over the head on each pass. His body didn’t seem to care this wasn’t supposed to be happening and a happy amount of pre-come rose to the surface, making her fingers slip easier and easier the longer she tormented him.

If there were a little more room to maneuver he’d open the door and get them both out. It might be enough to force her to snap out of it without ripping off his penis.

He reached around to disengage the wheel lock and she leaned into his neck, her hot face pressing into him. One breast compressed against his chest as she tilted her body to the side to keep her hands free and yet snuggle closer. Her tongue slipped along his sweating neck and she made a satisfied noise.

He was such a bastard. He stopped for a split second, savoring the sensations rippling through his body, then forced himself to continue to swing the wheel out of the way. Finally he had room to shift. Blake leaned forward and reached for the door release.

No longer pinned in place by the wheel Jaxi slipped off his lap, onto the floor and replaced her hands with her mouth. Blake shouted as moist heat surrounded him. His heart was in his throat. How this had gone from insane to totally fucked up he had no idea.

Forget going to hell, he was already there. Being tormented by Satan himself as the old boy directed the little fever-induced drama happening on the side of the 766 Secondary Highway.

Jaxi slid her tongue around him and pressed her lips down his shaft a little farther each time. The sight of her blonde head as it rose and fell in his lap made him even harder, all the blood in his body pooling in his groin, heating him to past boiling.

If Blake had been afraid Jaxi would cause permanent damage before, he was shitting bricks now. When she dragged her teeth up his length, in spite of all his good intentions, Blake knew he had little chance of convincing his body to agree with his mind about trying to stop her. He was seconds away from blowing up completely.

She sucked hard and the lights of the distant farmhouse blurred. His balls fled into his body, snugging up into little time bombs waiting for the lit fuse to reach them.

Then Jaxi slid him to the back of her throat and hummed and all hell broke loose. His whole body tightened and jerked, his cock blasting semen in hot spurts down her throat, filling her mouth as he continued to pulse in wave after wave. She swallowed and sucked and swallowed some more until he was clean before releasing him from her mouth to drop her burning forehead against the inside of his thigh.

Blake leaned his head back against the window, his heart pumping like an oil derrick. There was no way to explain this. All he could hope was that Jaxi was still feverish enough to think he was Travis. As long as she didn’t talk to Travis about it.

Oh hell, he was dead.

He managed to replace himself in his jeans, only after he’d untangled a handful of Jaxi’s blonde hair from his cock and zipper, smoothing the wisps away carefully in the hopes she wouldn’t wake from her stupor. Blake opened the door and somehow wrangled himself free without kicking her. She knelt on the floorboards, legs tangled in the pedals, her flushed face resting on the seat.

“Oh, Slick, what a mess we’re in.”

He reached in and hauled her into his arms, her feverish cheek burning a hole into his chest while her still wet lips burned a hole in his conscience.