To Tame a Cowboy. Jules Bennett

on the door and Ryan pushed away from the sink, which he had to grab on to again because quick motions like that weren’t the smartest move to make.

      “I’m fine,” he called back. “Be right there.”

      After I get my libido and dizziness in check.

      He took a deep breath, wincing at the pain in his side from his damn bruised ribs. He opened the door and turned the corner, only to find himself tilting. Or was the hallway moving? Either way, before he could get a hand to the wall, he went down. Flat on his face.

      “Damn it.”

      Piper came rushing around the corner. “Oh, Ryan. What happened?”

      She squatted to take his arm and humiliation set in. Really? Was this necessary? Did he have to be coddled by the woman he’d rather be seducing?

      Surely the sight of sexy lingerie hadn’t caused all the blood to rush south.

      “This damn concussion made me dizzy,” he told her, coming to his feet. Slowly. “The last time I had a concussion, I was laid up in bed for two days.”

      Piper wrapped her delicate arm around his waist and smiled up at him. “And I’m sure you had some cute little buckle bunny keeping you company and playing nurse.”

      Ryan laughed as she led him back to the living room and into the recliner. “Nope. Just my partner, Joe, and he complained the entire time.”

      Above him, Piper propped her hands on her flared hips and lifted one perfectly arched brow. “I know how those hoochie mamas are. Not only are you a big name, you’re smokin’ hot. You should’ve demanded someone who looked better in a skirt.”

      Ryan laughed so hard, he had both hands on his side trying to suppress the pain. “Smokin’ hot? You think it’s wise to call me that after what almost happened in your kitchen?”

      Piper shrugged. “You’ve seen yourself, Ryan. Don’t deny it. I can admit when I think someone is sexy and there’s nothing wrong with stating the truth. As for what didn’t happen in the kitchen, I already told you, it was just adrenaline.”

      Ryan held her gaze, waiting on her to look away because they both knew she was lying. Adrenaline had nothing to do with the near kiss. A kiss he could practically taste.

      “Stay right there,” she ordered. “I’ll bring you a tray with your food on it. Do you need another pain pill?”

      “I’m good,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ll tell you if I want one later.”

      Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t try to be macho. If it hurts, no one has to know you needed something to take the edge off.”

      Ryan leaned his head back against the cushiony chair and laughed. He knew exactly what would take the edge off. Unfortunately he feared she’d give him a black eye if he mentioned it.

      “Whatever that smirk is, I know your mind has wandered into the gutter.” Piper bent down, pointing in his face. “Don’t think I don’t know how your dirty little brain works.”

      Grinning at her, he shrugged. “And that’s why you’re my best friend. You know and you still love me for it.”

      Piper rolled her eyes and went back into the kitchen. Ryan didn’t even try to look away from those swinging hips. The woman was going to be the death of him.

      Unless he actually got her into bed. Because if that day ever came, Ryan knew they’d set each other on fire with all this chemistry suddenly simmering between them.

      Four

      Okay, so sleeping naked wasn’t an option, but damn it was hot in here. Ryan had gone all the way down to his black boxer briefs, put the large box fan blowing right toward the bed and he’d kicked off all the covers. Even the ceiling fan on high wasn’t helping.

      Of course, it wasn’t just the heat that was bothering him; it was the damn woman who insisted on pampering him. While he loved a little bedside manner now and again, he’d prefer it with a little more petting and kissing and a hell of a lot more naked skin than his nurse had showed.

      Ryan tried to get comfortable, but his damn side was killing him and that embarrassing fall he’d taken earlier in the hallway hadn’t helped. But he wasn’t about to mention that to Piper. She’d rush him back to the E.R. for more X-rays. Surely she had some over-the-counter pain meds. Maybe that and an ice pack would help.

      If she only knew half the injuries he’d had over the years, she wouldn’t be so worried about a few bruised ribs and a concussion.

      He glanced at the bedside clock. Nearly midnight and he hadn’t heard anything in the house for a while. More than likely Piper was sleeping in something satiny, sans sheets and blankets to stay cool, with all that silky red hair spread across her pillow.

      When she tapped on his door, Ryan jerked up in bed. Damn ribs had him wincing and clutching at the sheet like a baby. Obviously she wasn’t resting.

      “Come on in.”

      He had no idea what he expected her to be wearing when she stepped in, but booty shorts and a skimpy tank both in the color of a pale blue was not it. Would he have welcomed her in had he known she was wearing so little? Hell, yeah. Even if he didn’t have permission to touch, he would look and capture mental picture after mental picture to use for future fantasies.

      How pathetic could he be? In his defense, he usually only saw her in that ugly work uniform or denim and boots. Though he did admire her in a nice pair of fitted jeans and those sexy cowgirl boots she wore. Now if he could just get her to wear them with a little skirt or something to show off those long legs. And her pajamas did cover more than a bathing suit, but still...

      “I brought you an ice pack and some ibuprofen.”

      With all his fantasizing, he hadn’t even noticed she carried a bottle of water and ice pack in one hand and three pills in the other.

      “I assumed you wouldn’t come ask for anything.” She set the water on the bedside table and handed him the pills. “So here they are and we can pretend you’re still macho and repel pain, but humor me, take the pills and use the ice pack.”

      Ryan laughed, popped the pills into his mouth and took a long swig of water. He needed it to replace the saliva that had all dried up when his best friend and her smokin’ hot body had sauntered in.

      “To be honest, I was just thinking of getting something for the pain.”

      “Let me look at your ribs,” she told him, easing down on the side of the bed. “I’ll try not to poke too much.”

      While most women who wanted to get up in his business tended to tick him off, he found Piper’s gentle hands and caring nature sexy and appealing. She was certainly no buckle bunny with blatant sexual advances. Piper wasn’t a woman who needed to throw herself at a man to gain attention, nor did she need a man to complete her.

      But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try like hell to get her attention. This was new territory for him, but after seeing passion flare in her eyes in the kitchen earlier, he was confident in his quest.

      Piper Kindred had been independent since she’d bopped him in the eye in the third grade and as the years had moved on, he’d respected her more and more.

      But now his feelings were growing beyond respect, beyond friendship. And now that he’d retired from the circuit and was closer to opening his own rodeo school, the thought of settling down appealed to him more and more. Piper appealed to him more and more. He’d have to be damn sure he wanted to cross over that friendship line and take her along for the ride.

      As she slid her hands over the tattoos covering his torso and side, Ryan resisted the urge to reach out and move a wayward curl that had slid down over her eye. Instead he allowed his gaze to journey down to the vee of her cami. The thin material did nothing to hide the outline of her nipples. And those dainty straps could