She wiggled and pushed until she worked her way out of his arms as he reluctantly let her go setting her on her feet. The feeling of loss almost overwhelmed him as did the wonder of why he felt that way. Travis crammed his hands into his pockets to keep himself from grabbing her back.

His reactions to this woman were confusing and shocking as much as it was thrilling. His heart still throbbed painfully in his chest, but in a good way. He felt more alive from one kiss with this little temptress than he had in this entire lifetime of passionate embraces he shared with other women. It was a caffeine overload to his system and he found himself craving more.

Harley walked over to her dogs and knelt down to calm their over protective anxiety. Having her sweet pups surround her in their warmth, helped her to get her blood pressure back under control. As she whispered and cooed to her beloved pets, her mind raced a mile a minute.

Had she really just made out under a tree in her back yard like an overly zealous teenager? In front of another complete stranger no less! Woo-boy! She buried her hot and flushed face into the thick muscled neck of King trying to squelch her embarrassment. What was it about Adonis that made her act so outrageously out of control? Was it pheromones? Chemistry? Or was it the simple fact she longed for male human contact so badly she lost her utter mind? Her biological clock had been ticking so loudly the last couple of years; it rivaled the clanging of Big Ben.

Very few knew the one thing Harley dreamed and longed for most, was a family of her own. She adored children. She was an only child, daddy's little rather rambunctious princess. Watching her friends interact with their siblings had made her feel the void in her own life as she got older, especially since she had never known her mother.

It was one of the reasons she immersed herself into the rodeo circuit. Traveling from town to town for all those years, she'd forged a many close relationships with the other riders. A handful of them still traveled with her and they became a very large, although unusual, family. But nothing could totally fill the void and in the last few years, she finally realized what she wanted was more. She wanted a family in the traditional sense, which included a husband and a passel of kids.

She wanted to put an end to her wandering ways, settle down, find the right man and make a real life for herself. After her father had died and she discovered this piece of property he'd left her, it was as if fate gave her a chance to fulfill her dreams. So, she sold everything in Colorado, erasing the slate completely and moved here to start her life anew.

Sadly, she would have to forge on alone without the man who had always stood beside her. Since her father's passing, she felt more alone than ever, not to mention vulnerable. Harley was never a damsel in distress type. She was full blown tomboy who could not only keep up with the big boys, but was able to look damn good in heels while she did it. So this sense of vulnerability didn't really sit well with her.

Harley sighed. She missed her father. He'd been the one person she could always talk to whenever she got confused or felt like she'd stepped too far into the mud and sunk down past her boots. Even when all these sudden urges to nest started to become more than a passing fancy, she'd been able to talk to him about it.

Of course, no man would ever be good enough for her in her father's eyes, Harley smiled at the thought, but he at least did his best to be understanding. The last time they had spoken about it, he'd put his arm around her shoulders and told her, "Harley my girl, you will know when the right man stumbles across your path, because you won't be able to charge over him and he will stop you right in your tracks. He won't try to rope you or cage you because he will appreciate the free beautiful spirit you are. He will want to always run with you. Not in front, not behind, but right alongside you. You will know when to follow your heart." He tapped her on the nose with the tip of his work roughened finger. "You're a pretty smart cookie, darling. Between what you got going on upstairs and that big ole heart of yours, the poor man doesn't stand a chance."

She squeezed her eyes tighter together to end the memory. Is this what dad had meant? Could all these new found feelings be her heart trying to tell her something? Was Adonis the ONE?

For crying out loud girl, you don't even know the man, except that he is an over bearing, loudmouthed, cantankerous curmudgeon, Harley berated herself, and you're ready to turn him into your babies daddy! Who looked like pure heaven in pair of Wranglers, her rebellious brain added.

Lowering her lashes, she chanced a glance at Travis and nibbled on her bottom lip. The only saving grace to this whole fiasco was he was just as confused and turned on as she was. If that bulge in his pants was any indicator, he was as aroused as her soaked panties said she was. Misery did love company after all.

Besides, making out with a totally hunky cowboy wasn't the worst thing she could do, Harley rationalized. She could think of a million really naughty and bad things she could do with this particular boy toy. Of course, most of those things she'd only read about, but wouldn't it be fun to try them out on Adonis? Aw, crap...my mind is so far in the gutter there may be no return, Harley giggled to herself.

Not feeling particularly sure of herself, but at least over the worst of her embarrassment, Harley gave one last affectionate stroke to each of her dogs and stood up. Thrilled most of the trembling had finally subsided and they held. Dang, you would think she'd never been kissed before. Okay, so yeah, she had tongue tangoed with a few boys, but never had she had her mouth ravaged by a real man.

Even though he was a chowder head, there was no denying the fact Mr. Asshole was one hundred percent man and then some. None of those other so called man-boys had left her aching or made her feel that much desire. For the first time in her life, she'd come very close to losing all restraint. Harley reached up and touched her still tingling and swollen lips. His skill with his tongue was so thorough, he could get a doctrine in French kissing. Her traitor of a body started to get heated up all over again just thinking about his lusty lips.

"Those are the biggest damn dogs I think I have ever seen. Scarier than shit too," Brady, who finally mustered the courage to dismount, interrupted Harley's wicked thoughts and she sighed in relief to have something else to focus her wayward brain on.

"They're Great Danes," she said lovingly stroking the top of King's head. His massive tail thumped the dirt like a drum. "Come over and meet them. I promise they won't...ahem...nibble on anything," she giggled and looked over at Travis who had unconsciously put his hands over his zipper in a silent bid for protection.

"Awe, come on fellas, they're just puppies, really." Both cowboys sent her an unsure glance, before hitching their pants up and walking over.

"They don't look like puppies to me," Brady shook his head and raised his eyebrows. The tone of his voice caused Harley to laugh.

Her tinkling laughter sent shock waves up and down Travis's spine. He adored her laugh. It was soft, breathy, warm and sexy as hell. It made him want to do things to hear it again, over and over. It was like he couldn't get enough of the pleasing sound, not to mention her smile warmed him up deep down inside. He shook his head to rattle up some common sense. Come on man, get a grip. You just met the girl and you're already starting to sound like a damn Lifetime movie.

"Well, by all means, let's get on with some introductions so we can put all these little misunderstandings behind us and become friendly." Travis looked down at the dog she called King who gave him another glare. "Oh yeah...we need to become friends real quick Cujo," he muttered under his breath. The great beast still looked at him as if he would like to gnaw on his spine.

"This is King; he is the leader of the gang." The dog sniffed and sat straighter. His menacing gaze never wavering from Travis's for second. In fear of losing a few digits, Travis kept his hands in his pockets.

Harley continued with introductions. "And this pretty girl is Queen," she said stroking the dog to her right. "Next to her is Ace and that fella behind you is Jack. Together we make a royal flush," she chuckled and smiled at Travis leaving him speechless.

"A royal flush? Don't you need a ten for that?" Brady asked as he bravely reached out to pet the one called Ace next to him.

"Yup. Ace, King, Queen, Jack and I'm the perfect ten, of course," she giggled and struck a pose vogue enough to make Madonna proud. Both cowboys broke out in hearty laughter at her hijinks. Brady's loud and clear; Travis's deep and gruff, if not a little rusty.

"That you most definitely are sunshine." Travis gave her a wicked wink and slowly let his eyes take a leisurely tour of her sweet body.

Her blush bloomed across her face and made its way down. His eyes never wavered as he watched her lovely skin turn a warm pink and followed its path until it disappeared to hide behind her tank top. What he wouldn't give to be able to follow it the rest of the journey south.

Just as his cock was beginning to behave, it suddenly jerked fully awake and ready for action. Unfortunately for Travis, his pants decided to come to attention at the exact same time the behemoth named Jack decided to demand some of his own.

The large animal rushed over and rammed his huge head straight into Travis's package crushing not only his dick but his balls as well. Despite his best effort, a groan of pain escaped his lips and his hands curled up around his busted balls. He couldn't help it, most of his effort was in trying to remain standing up when all he really wanted to do was drop down to the ground and assume the fetal position.

"Uh-oh, Jack! Bad dog, come here baby." Harley grabbed his collar and pulled him back.

Yes, bad dog. Very, very bad, bad dog Travis thought as he tried to catch his breath.

"Are you alright?" Harley bent down to look at him. Travis leaned over breathing like he had just finished the 100 yard dash. Other than his pecker and two best buddies taking a low blow, he was just dandy.

"Give me a second," he huffed.

Harley started to giggle and seemed to not be able to stop herself, because eventually she was laughing so hard, tears streamed down her face. Brady gave her a disapproving look, but even though Travis knew Brady felt his pain through the manly brotherhood bond of having crushed cojones, he could still see a ghost of a smile hiding behind his lips and he was struggling to keep his chuckles to himself.

"I'm so glad my pain brings you such amusement," he snapped. Though he was perturbed at her laughter, the sound of it made his battered equipment try to painfully rise to the occasion. The movement caused him to issue another groan.

"Awe, poor baby, do you need me to kiss and make it feel better?" Harley whispered in his ear after she managed to get a grip on her hysterics, which made his cock make a miraculous, if not rather achy, recovery.

"It couldn't hurt," he responded with a flirtatious wink.

He watched as her eyes flew open in surprise and the vivid color burst forth in a magnitude of sparks, like watching a prism catching the sunlight. Travis felt himself getting lost in their depths. As quickly as her astonishment registered, they swiftly began to smolder and the violet deepened. His question was answered, her eyes where absolutely radiant when filled with passion. The fact he was the reason the passion was there, made him want to stand up, beat his chest, throw her over his shoulders and show her how much of a caveman he really could be. The urges to possess and protect his woman damn near made him howl.

His woman? Where the devil did that come from? He didn't know this woman beyond the effects she had on his body and the ability she possessed to keep him in a sexual stupor. He couldn't be having possessive feelings for this sizzling diversion in boots. It wasn't possible. Oh yeah buddy, then why is your heart hammering fast enough to keep a cardiologist nervous, his mind argued with him. Travis closed his eyes and took a steadying breath trying to get his pulse rate back to some semblance of normality.

Every response he had when it came to this woman was far from normal. She provoked feelings in him he didn't even know he possessed and was far from comfortable with. How could his whole world be turned upside down in such a short period of time?

He liked his life; he liked feeling in control of the circumstances surrounding his little bubble of the universe. The pull he felt from her captivating gaze all but swallowed him up and that troubled him. After so long of being somewhat immune to the opposite sexes wiles, this forceful pull he had towards her crippled his common sense.

In other words, which brain was he thinking with? Beings most of his blood had been flowing south since he met the saucy little tidbit, he imagined it was the wrong one to be making any kind of decisions with. It was time to rectify the problem and start thinking with the head which contained actual brain cells. He reopened his eyes and scowled at this antagonizing conundrum of a female.

"Who the hell are you?" he all but growled at her.

I wanted to take this time to thank you for reading! I really hope you enjoyed this     installment of When Roses Collide, and that you'll consider giving it a vote. I can't tell you how much your support means to me and how much it motivates me to keep going.

If you find any errors along the way, don't be afraid to point them out and I always     enjoy any recommendations or critiques you may have. As always, I will try and update once a week, but if you don't see an update here, check out my other story Bending Steele. Thanks again!