Rough Stock, the Novel Read online

  Contents

  Alexandria Hunt Romance

  Foreword

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  51. Epilogue

  Chapter 52

  Also by Alexandria Hunt

  Alexandria Hunt Romance

  Copyright © 2018 Rough Stock

  by Alexandria Hunt

  PREVIOUSLY published as a ten part serial, this includes all instalments plus a bonus epilogue!

  Revisit your favorite cowboys and the woman they love!

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

  without the express written permission of the publisher

  except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Foreword

  About the Book

  Morgan Reid I'm the fiery red-headed reporter for the Daily Times and a confirmed city girl, through and through.

  Sent to cover a nearby rodeo, I intend to interview the Huntington Four, champion bull riders, and get out of there like my tail is on fire. I mean seriously, a rodeo! What was my boss thinking?

  Little do I know that nature is about to intervene and force me to spend the night.

  Little do I know the Huntington Four cowboys are all deliciously sexy, each in their own way, making it impossible to choose my favorite.

  And little do I know, none of them actually expect me to choose.

  As with all Alexandria's stories, this one is rated 18+ for adult situations, language and downright toe curling dirty bits. This is a reverse harem romance, where the ultimate fantasy comes true...not only do these hot hunks take care of their woman's sexual needs, they do dishes and laundry too! (Come on, it's fantasy.)

  PREVIOUSLY published as a ten part serial, this includes all instalments plus a bonus epilogue!

  Revisit your favorite cowboys and the woman they love!

  Chapter 1

  “You’re joking, right?” I blurted and tossed my project assignment back on the desk in front of my boss.

  “No, not joking. Reg is off sick and you know Mary is on maternity leave. You’re the only reporter who can cover this, Morgan, and if you can’t then you know I’ll have to find somebody who can,” he said, knitting his brows together in irritation. I could see beads of sweat gathering on his upper lip and that vein in his temple twitching. I knew I had to back off or Mr. Monty was going to lose his shit on me.

  Again. I couldn’t help it, though; I had the fiery temper associated with my red hair. Sometimes I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut and do my job without complaint. But I could tell I was pushing my limit, I was about to cross a line if I didn’t shut up.

  And that might mean I lose my job at the city’s last straggling independent newspaper. It was a daily and I was one of the feature reporters. I didn’t make a ton of money, but there was something addictive about seeing my name on the front page when I boarded the train to work in the morning.

  I sighed, picked up the assignment card and read it over again. “I guess it won’t be so bad,” I said quietly, flashed a pleasant smile that felt more like a grimace and left before Mr. Monty decided to freak out on me.

  I slumped at my desk and read it again. I was supposed to cover some stupid bull-riding event going on in a hick town a couple hours away. I was a city girl, born and bred, and this kind of thing was definitely not up my alley.

  I didn’t even have a pair of shoes I could wear; I didn’t want any of my precious babies to get covered in cow shit. So off to the shoe store it was — I guessed I could add a real pair of cowboy boots to my expansive collection.

  “Where are you going for lunch?”

  I stopped and turned around to find Selena, my best friend, trailing after me. She did bookkeeping for the paper, but she always managed to find herself near my desk when it got close to lunchtime.

  “Shopping for cowboy boots,” I grumbled and grabbed my purse. “Grouchy Boss Man is sending me out to Huntington to cover that stupid rodeo this weekend. I guess to some people it’s kind of a big deal.”

  “You? Rodeo? Seriously?” Her face broke into a wide grin and she couldn’t hide her amusement.

  “Thanks for taking so much pleasure in my pain,” I said and rolled my eyes at her. I wasn’t upset though, if anyone knew me, they would find humour in it too.

  “I’m sorry,” she replied. “Let me grab my bag and I’ll come with you. I’ll buy you a latte to make up for my laughter.”

  “You weren’t exactly laughing,” I said. “You don’t need to buy me anything.”

  “Oh, but I will be,” she said and winked at me. “I’ll be laughing the entire time you’re trying them on, so I might even buy you lunch to make up for it.”

  “Thanks for the warning.” I glowered but smiled at her back as she rushed to her desk to get her purse.

  It might be nice to have somebody to help out with the boots. When it came to cowboy boots, the only thing I knew was that they went on your feet.

  At least I hoped they did.

  Chapter 2

  The boots we picked out were not practical at all and by the time I made my way to Huntington, my feet were pinched and throbbing. I’d assumed the boots would spread out as I wore them, like my stylish knee high riding boots, but the leather had stubbornly stayed in place and my feet ached like nothing else.

  “Dammit, now where is this place?” I was talking to myself under my breath as I drove my little sports car across a bumpy dirt parking lot. The moment I got back to the city I’d have to get it detailed.

  I read the address again and decided to follow the line up of big pickup trucks to the building in the distance. My GPS map basically showed me a red bubble in the middle of an expanse of green, so that wasn't exactly useful.

  I realized the building was some sort of massive indoor arena and it all made sense. I’d been expecting to come out here and find a ranch or something, not a modern looking building.

  I parked my car close to the entrance and got out, brushed myself off and went to meet Charlie Mitchell, one of the famous four Huntington bull riders who would be competing today. He’d agreed to take me on a tour and answer any questions I had for my story.

  I was late and hoped he hadn’t completely given up on me. I wouldn’t want some old cowboy having a hea
rt attack because I made him wait an hour. I wasn’t sure how old fashioned he would be, but one could assume that an old dude who lived on a ranch with three other guys wasn’t exactly into equal rights.

  I walked through the wide double doors and let my eyes adjust to the light. Behind me I heard a crack just before a flash of lightning exploded, making me jump forward with a scream.

  I ran smack dab into a wall of what felt like solid muscle and I braced myself for the thunder that would follow.

  Sure enough as it ripped through the skies above, I cowered in the huge, bulging arms of a stranger.

  When I calmed my heart a little I was able to look up…way up into the bright green eyes of a dead sexy man with a smirk and a cowboy hat.

  “Oh jeez, I’m sorry!” I blurted and jumped back, our eyes still locked.

  He chuckled and tipped his hat. “Ain’t no big thang, ma'am. It’s just a little noise from the heavens. Rain is coming and we need that for our fields.”

  “I don’t think it’s supposed to rain, I checked my weather app—“

  With that, the skies did open up and hard rain began to pelt the earth behind me, making the sexy cowboy smirk even harder.

  I’d normally want to wipe that smug look off somebody’s face if they’d just proven me wrong, but damn, he was too fine to do much but stare and try not to drool.

  “You can’t always rely on technology to predict the weather, darlin’,” he said in a smooth, low voice. “Out here we have to know what’s coming up.”

  “I suppose so,” I replied. “In the city my weather app works just fine.”

  “I’m sure it does,” he said and pushed his hat a little farther up his head. His thick, black hair tumbled down, making him even more attractive, if that was possible. “Is there any reason you’re here? Did you make a wrong turn at the outlet mall or something?”

  Behind him I could see the arena, the stands around it packed solid as the crowd cheered. A bull was thrashing around, trying to unseat a cowboy who looked remarkably like the one I was talking with. “I’m here to write a story. In fact, I’m supposed to meet Charlie Mitchell. If you would be so kind as to let him know that I’m here.”

  “Oh I suspect he already knows,” the cowboy replied and gave me a lopsided grin.

  “How does he know? I just got here.” I was irritated by his cocky confidence.

  “You’re Morgan Reid, from the Daily Times, right?”

  “Yes, how did you know?” I bristled.

  “I’m Charlie Mitchell. And I’m pleased to meet you,” he said and stuck out his hand.

  I did my best to keep my mouth closed as I shook his hand. It was huge and rough, the hand of a man who did work outside and made an honest living. My jaw wanted to drop as I had to reconcile the fact that this incredible piece of man flesh was not an old cowboy. He was young, and gorgeous, and I couldn’t wait for him to show me around. He offered, so I trailed behind him, taking in the sights.

  The view of him walking in his tight Wranglers was worth the drive out here, even if it was temporary. I was driving back to the city in an hour so I had to make this quick, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t ogle the livestock.

  We walked past a pen full of angry looking bulls, past a group of young cowboys, each one packed into tight jeans like Charlie, and made our way to the announcer’s booth.

  “I thought you could get a good view from up here. You’re a bit late, so there’s only about half an hour left of the show,” Charlie told me.

  “Sounds good, then I can interview you and your friends afterwards and head back to the city.”

  “Yes ma’am,” he said with a smile, “don’t want your new boots to get too dirty.”

  I blushed that he had noticed I was wearing brand new boots, and here I’d thought I was fitting in so well.

  “Earl here will treat you well and answer questions when he can,” Charlie said and indicated a scrawny old guy in a pressed suit and cowboy hat. “He used to be a national champion, and now he’s the announcer. It’s like the circle of cowboy life.”

  “Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Earl said and turned back to the mic. He began to rattle off the names of the rider and the bull and about a hundred other statistics on both. It was very impressive; he didn’t even have a cheat sheet in front of him but seemed to work all from memory.

  Charlie left and I watched Earl do his job. I asked him questions when I could, found out they had to stay on for eight seconds, but they were also scored on things like their posture, how many kicks they got in, and would be disqualified if their hand touched the animal.

  It was much more involved than I’d ever imagined and I begrudgingly admitted to myself that it was more than entertaining. It was thrilling and heart stopping at times, like nothing else I’d seen.

  I heard Earl announce the score from the judges down below, and then moved onto the next athlete as the two clowns in the arena got the bull back in the pen we’d passed earlier.

  I gasped when I heard Charlie’s name and jumped to my feet to watch him ride the bull.

  I was terrified and so engaged it felt like eight seconds lasted eight minutes. I watched Charlie roll and twist with the bull’s movements, his muscular body tense and rippling with intense energy.

  I couldn’t help myself; I couldn’t stop my mind from going there…and imagining what he would look like naked with that kind of focus and movement on top of me.

  I imagined it would be insanely hot, and better than any of the careful, preppy guys I’d ever been with.

  If only I had enough time to find out.

  Chapter 3

  “Oh my god that was amazing!” I exclaimed when I finally saw Charlie after the event. He even took first place while two of the Huntington Four came in second and third. The last cowboy in the group, Clive, had been thrown from the bull and almost gored until the clowns had done their jobs and distracted it long enough for Clive to leap from the arena.

  Surprisingly watching rodeo had been some of the most intense and exciting times I’d ever had watching sports. Not that I really watched a lot of sports, and not that I was going to gush over these four guys. They were probably used to it and I couldn’t let myself lose my professional demeanor as I asked them questions.

  Although that might prove difficult with Charlie, Clive, Harley and Ty…four of the sexiest men I’d ever seen, and so completely different than anyone I knew, it was like speaking a different language.

  “It ain’t no big thang.” Charlie smiled and shrugged it off as I fell into step beside him. He seemed bashful about his win and that endeared me to him even more.

  “So how many of these things do you win every year?” I asked, pulling out my phone to record the conversation.

  “It depends,” he replied.

  “On what?” I asked.

  “On how many I enter,” he said, matter of fact.

  “So you win everything you do? That’s pretty impressive.”

  “Not really, I just have a way with the livestock. It’s not so impressive when it’s just basic physics and getting into their heads.”

  “Is that how you do it? You get into the head of the bull?” I asked eagerly. This was good stuff, homey and down to earth, that kind of thing city people ate up.

  “Naw, he’s just bull-headed in general. They’re his people,” one of his friends said and joined us as we walked through the barns and pens behind the arena. It was Clive, the one who had tumbled off the bull.

  “He’s just jealous because he lost,” Charlie chuckled and slapped Clive on the shoulder.

  I could still hear the rain drumming on the tin roof, it hadn’t gotten any better since I’d arrived, in fact it seemed like it had gotten worse. I wanted to wrap this up before it got too dark and my drive back was horrible.

  “Can we find somewhere to sit and talk for just a few minutes?” I asked the two hot cowboys.

  “Sure, darlin’, whatever you’d like,” Clive said and flashed me a killer sm
ile. He had perfect white teeth, thick black hair like Charlie, and sparkling green eyes. His face was narrower than Charlie’s, but just as handsome. He had more of a five o’clock shadow on the angled planes of his cheeks.

  “I’ll get the other two if you want,” Charlie said and opened the door to a small office. I walked in, sat down at a little table and smiled.

  “Sounds good, but can we all fit in here at the same time?”

  “We’ll go one at a time if that’s easier on you,” Clive said with a suggestive tone and a cheeky wink.

  I blushed red again and looked down. “It’s fine, however it works out. I need to get back to the city really soon though. That rain isn’t letting up and I hate driving in the dark.”

  “I don’t know if you’ll make it back in this storm,” Charlie said. “Do you have a hotel room booked? With the rodeo in town, places fill up fast.”

  “I’ll get back, I’m a good driver,” I replied, confident I could knock this interview off and head back in time for a late dinner at my favorite restaurant.

  “Well, how do we do this?” Clive asked, turning a chair around and stretching his leg up to straddle it backwards. My eyes caught the long, thick bulge in his form-fitting jeans and I almost gaped like a slack jawed yokel.