Her Bareback Cowboys Read Online Free

pulling him some distance away from the vehicle. “She’s a looker, isn’t she?”
    “That she is, my friend.”
    “What are we going to do about it?”
    Maverick stared silently at Wade for a few seconds. Was he the only one so severely affected by Adrian’s presence? From watching the interaction in the car, he’d assumed Maverick was interested. Adrian hadn’t removed Maverick’s hand from her body like she had with his. Wade shut the lid on the unfamiliar jealousy threatening to bubble over.
    “Let’s wait and see,” Maverick answered finally. “If I’m not mistaken, the lady’s been burned and she’s men-shy.”
    “She does seem reluctant to act on the attraction, doesn’t she?” Wade sighed and nodded. “Fine, let’s see where this leads.” He glanced around the still partially frozen countryside. “In its own way, this is beautiful.”
    Maverick grinned and returned his mug to the basket. “Stop the presses. A true Texan who finds another place on earth to his liking?”
    Wade shrugged, dropped his mug into the container and closed the rear door of the car. Maverick’s playful punch to Wade’s shoulder alleviated the tension simmering between them and Wade relaxed. They were here to make money, but also to have some fun. It wouldn’t do any of them any good to stress over what might never be.

Chapter Three
     
     
     
    Adrian waited until the road had leveled out slightly before she risked a glance at Wade. “So, you never answered my question. What made you decide to earn your living on the rodeo circuit?”
    Wade lifted his left foot onto his right knee and she forgot to watch the road as the muscles bulged under his jeans. She drove through a rut and the steering jerked, snapping her attention back to her driving.
    “ We grew up together and I think we knew how to ride a horse before we could walk. Over the years, just riding became boring and we tried different things until we found that we were very good at roping stubborn bulls.”
    Maverick chuckled and Adrian met his gaze in the mirror. “We were in constant competition with each other. After a while, the ranch hands came to fetch us to help with roping the mavericks that broke from the herds.”
    “Mavericks? Is that where you got your name from?”
    “Might as well be,” Wade drawled. “He showed a remarkable likeness to the wild steers that gave us a run for our money.”
    “Aawh, you’re just jealous because I’m better at taming those steers than you are.” Maverick swiped at an imaginary strand of hair on his forehead and arched his eyebrow.
    Adrian giggled. “So I gather your parents took one look at you and thought you’d be a wild one?”
    “Hey, I’m nothing like those stubborn bulls.” Maverick winked at her in the mirror. “I like to think I’m a very accommodating fellow.”
    “Anyway, we participated in our first rodeo when we were fifteen and hit the professional circuit at eighteen. Since then we’ve been ridin’ high.” Wade shifted to a more comfortable position and opened the window a little.
    “Are you related?”
    Maverick laughed. “Thank Heavens we’re not.” He tapped Wade on the shoulder. “Ole Wade here is much too serious to be any relation of mine. Besides, you can tell a friend to butt out of your life, but family is a completely different matter. They just assume they have the right to tell you exactly what your faults are.”
    “Maverick can’t even handle the family he’s got. Adding another member would only complicate his life,” Wade interjected.
    “And you? Do you have a big family, Wade?”
    “Just my parents.”
    Something in the way he expressed those three words pulled the emergency brake on Adrian’s questions. Her curiosity was piqued, but she knew when a subject was off-limits. And discussing Wade’s parents was definitely a no-fly zone.
    “What type of photos are you looking for?”
    Wade’s abrupt change of subject didn’t surprise her and she respected