I've roped wild mustangs that bucked harder than she does. But this lone rider, with her scarred fire and unyielding grit, she's the one who threw me. Dust chokes the arena. Leather creaks under merciless sun. Our eyes lock across the churned earth, rivals in a cutthroat rodeo where glory means everything. I tell myself it's just the contest. Beat her. Win the purse. Ride away untouched. Then her callused hand brushes mine during the lineup. Electric denial surges through me. I want to lasso that defiant waist, drag her into the hay-scented shadows, and claim her deep where no one can see.

She fights it like a cornered wildcat. Breathless barbs. Fierce ambition masking the ache for anchor. I see it in her rope-burned wrists, slick with sweat, trembling under the glare. My stoic mask cracks. That devouring hunger I've chained since the war breaks free. She's my peril and my salvation, this woman who could shatter my control with one unguarded glance.

We clash in secret. Sweat-sheened bodies tangle in the barn's dim heat, her gasps muffled against my chest. I pin her down, ropes biting tender skin, and drive home the forbidden seed. Breeding a rival under watchful eyes defies every code of this dustbowl life. Her hard-won solitude unravels. My jealous thunder roars. What if she swells with my child, belly curving against my rough denim at dawn? Glory slips. Hearts fracture.

One impulsive thrust too far, and we're bound beyond the arena. Victory or ruin hangs on whether I can possess her without breaking us both.

A full-length breeding western erotic romance featuring a rugged cowboy and a defiant contest rider. Includes themes of breeding and lasso restraint.