High Horse Bastard

by Smart, Kit

  * * * * *

  Outside the restaurant, Hastings led me to edge of the sidewalk where he hailed us a taxi.

  Surprisingly, a bare moment after he’s raised his hand one appeared as if from thin air.

  “It’s the crutches.” He answered my unspoken question as he shifted said crutches into one hand and pulled open the rear door of the taxi with the other.

  Bemused, I ducked around the car door and gathered my skirt in preparation for the slightly awkward slide across to the other side of the seat that I would have to execute once I was in. I paused as it occurred to me that we hadn’t decided on a destination. “My place or yours?” I asked so that I would have something to tell the driver.

  Wry brown eyes gazed down at me over the top of the door. “You to your place; me to mine.”

  “What?!” Startled, I lost my balance and grabbed awkwardly at the roof of the car to steady myself.

  “I don’t just want to fuck you Sinclair.” Hastings murmured as he stepped back from the taxi door.

  “But—”

  “Get in the taxi.” He said firmly. “This will wait.”

  Not quite sure what was happening, I collapsed into the taxi. “Hastings—” I looked up at him my mind blank with confusion.

  “I will see you tomorrow Pippa.” He smiled a rueful half smile and shut the taxi door on me. “At the sex shop.”

  I stared at him through the glass of the window as the taxi pulled away from the restaurant and headed in the direction of home.

  9

  From the outside it looked more like an upscale cafe than a sex shop. In fact—I squinted through the partially closed wooden blinds to the interior—from the tables and chairs clustered near the windows, and—is that an espresso maker?—It kind of seemed like the sex shop might also do a double business in coffee. Interesting. The glint of light off glass caught my eye and peering closer I saw that the sex shop in question also appeared to serve something resembling cocktails. This might be an excellent setting for a scene.

  I was still half bent over, peering into the cafe, and musing over the possibilities of this when I became aware of a presence at my left shoulder. Glancing back to see who was invading my personal space I found myself caught in the amused gaze of my collaborator. “I’d never figured you for a peeping tom Sinclair.”

  Caught. Straightening with as much dignity as I could muster under the circumstances, I stepped forward into the awkwardness of our first post kiss face-to-face encounter and countered the speculative look in his eyes with a light kiss to the corner of his lips. “There are lots of things you don’t know about me.” I told him with, if I do say so myself, impressive brazenness. “You smell nice.” I added.

  “Is that it?”

  “You look nice too.” I added.

  He laughed. “I mean come a bit closer and give me a proper kiss Sinclair.”

  “We have work to do Hastings.” I shook my head at him and stepped back. “Don’t try to distract me with your kisses.”

  “You didn’t seem to mind being distracted last night.”

  “We didn’t have stuff to do last night.” I replied with mock severity. I like this side of him. This lighter side. I was severely tempted to step a bit closer.

  “Slave driver.”

  “Absolutely.” I nodded in the direction of the door. “Shall we?”

  * * * * *

  We hadn’t taken more than a few steps into the store before we were approached by a young red-headed woman dressed neatly in black slacks and a t-shirt with the store logo and the inscription I’m Just Here for the Sex.

  “May I help you?” She asked cheerfully.

  “Yes we’d like to see some assistive positioning devices please.”

  Assistive positioning devices? I made a mental note. Actually, I thought about whipping out the notebook and pen in my bag but didn’t want to look like the nerd I was in the face of cool t-shirt woman and Mister-I-frequent-sex-shops-so-often-that-I-know-all-of-the-terminology. Get it together Sinclair.

  “Of course. This way please.”

  “After you.” Hastings opened his hand to indicate that I should precede him after the saleswoman. “Is there a problem?”

  “No. It just sounds so much more technical than I expected.”

  “It can be.” He acknowledged. “First time in a sex shop Sinclair?”

  I flushed. “I’ve done the online thing.” I defended myself.

  “Are you embarrassed?”

  “Not yet. Are you?” I tried to sound arch about it in order to cover the fact that I was embarrassed about having reached the ripe old age of thirty-two without ever having set a foot in a sex shop. Where was that pirate teabag when I was twenty?

  “Not yet.” He gestured again with his hand and I started to scurry after the rapidly disappearing saleswoman and then stopped when I remembered I was with a man on crutches.

  Catching both my sudden increase and decrease in pace, Hastings nodded after the sales woman with a smile and started forward with some speed. “Pick up the pace woman before we lose our guide.”

  We caught up with the saleswoman at the far back corner of the store which contained a bed, several ‘sofa-esque’ pieces of furniture, along with display racks devoted to cushions of all shapes and sizes.

  “Now, are you looking for anything specific?” The woman asked. “Free-standing furniture,” She gestured at the collection of sofa type things. “Or assistive devices for use in bed or elsewhere?”

  “Ummm…” I tried to think about the characters in the manuscript. Are they sex in bed kind of people or sex all over kind of people or possibly a combination of the two?

  “We’d like to see both.” Hastings filled in for me smoothly.

  “Of course.” The woman nodded understandingly. “And do you have any positional preferences?” Not a flinch, blush or tremor in her voice to indicate any sort of discomfort. I marveled. Maybe she already received the pirate tea bag.

  “Yes.” Hastings replied just a cool, calm and collected. “I am looking for something to support my legs and back in a seated position. Female superior.”

  “What kind of mobility do you have in your legs?”

  “I have spastic, diplegic cerebral palsy. The muscles in my legs and hips are generally pretty tight.”

  “So ideally your partner would be more active during penetrative sex?”

  “Ideally yes.” Hastings agreed.

  My hand itched to grab my notepad. How am I going to be able to remember all of this? I wailed internally before it occurred to me that I would simply be able to ask Hastings about it later. The beauty of collaborations.

  “Do you require back support?”

  “Yes.”

  “Hmmm…” The woman began to pull cushions from the display and organize them on the bed. “How does that look so far?” She consulted Hastings. “Do you want to add something for your knees?”

  He nodded.

  She positioned a wedge shaped pillow on the bed where his knees would go. “How’s that?”

  “Looks good.”

  “Feel free to try it out.” The woman included me in her motion. “See how this feels.” She stepped back slightly. “Then you can adjust accordingly.”

  Hastings turned to me. “What do you say Sinclair? Are you up for a little test drive?”

  Still slightly bemused by the very technical turn of the conversation I blinked myself back to awareness. “That is what we’re here for.” I found myself very impressed with the nonchalance of my tone. Very nice Sinclair. I wondered when I had started referring to myself as Sinclair as I followed Hastings to the bed.

  Busy taking mental notes as Hastings eased himself into position, I failed to notice the way he didn’t look at me throughout the process until, settled in position he finally did. It was such a severe, set expression that I was taken aback for a moment until I caught the way he had his arms crossed over his torso. Guarding. You’re feeling exposed on your back like that maybe?
One hand twitched palm open and although it struck me as an invitation I hesitated; wondering if I were wrong, and checking his face for confirmation. He gave me nothing. Not a single indication that what I was reading into his hand was correct.

  “Feel free to join him.” The saleslady touched my elbow lightly. “We encourage that here.” She smiled and tilted her head to indicate our surroundings. “We like to get it right in store so as to avoid returns.”

  “Oh—okay.” I took a small step forward waiting to see how Hastings would react. I was stunned when he lifted his hands off of his torso to offer them to me. Talk about a rapid turn around. I thought with relief as I took his hands and, bracing my left knee on the bed and swung my right leg over him. Once I had a knee on either side of his hips I hesitated. “Your back?” I asked in response to his inquiring expression.

  “Is fine.” He smiled as he released my hands and cupping my hips guided me down against him.

  Because of the way his back was propped up, we were face to face in a way that was surprisingly intimate particularly for such a public place and I found myself casting around for something to say to mitigate that. “I was worried.” I blurted and immediately wanted to kick myself.

  “Worried?” He moved his hands off my hips to rest on my lower back and I automatically raised my own hands to his shoulders to compensate.

  “You wouldn’t look at me and then you looked so serious—” Really? Do you want to do this now? You could just leave it alone.

  “Ah.” He looked slightly sheepish. “I was worried actually.”

  “Why were you worried?” Almost of their own initiative my hands began to explore his shoulders.

  “It uh…suddenly occurred to me that you might… think less of my body or of me if you saw…” He trailed off with a shrug.

  That set me back. I frowned as something occurred to me. “Have I ever given you a reason to think that I would—”

  “No.” He interrupted me. “I just had a moment—” He sucked in a breath. “I mean it isn’t very sexy is it? Kind of kills the mood…” He dropped his gaze momentarily and when he looked up his expression was rueful.

  “You don’t think this is sexy?” I asked incredulously and then immediately wished I hadn’t when the skin around his eyes tightened in reaction. What’s wrong with you Sinclair?

  “I just wondered if you felt a little—” He began tightly. He closed his eyes. “—cheated.”

  Cheated? I wasn’t certain what I had expected him to say but it wasn’t that. “Cheated?”

  “Because of all this—” He opened one of the hands on my back to indicate, I assume, our position in particular and the store in general. “Look—” He said after a moment. “It was just me feeling a bit self-conscious for a moment.” He opened his eyes. “It happens.”

  I took in the slightly defiant edge to his tone. “I see.”

  That earned me a slight smile. “Do you?”

  “I think so.” Determined to move past this, I dropped my gaze to his lips and slid forward until I was able to access them. “For the record,” I dipped my head and caught his bottom lip lightly between my teeth for a bare instant before releasing it and pressing my lips to his. I pulled back a hairsbreadth. “I find you particularly sexy when you have what you need to be relaxed and comfortable and able to focus entirely on the moment at hand.”

  I felt more than saw his lips curve into a smile. “Is that so?”

  “Yeah.” I pressed another kiss to his lips. “That is so.” Turning to the saleswoman who was discretely giving us our space by straightening a wall display. “Do you deliver?” I felt Hastings suck in a breath.

  “We do.” The woman confirmed with a smile.

  “I’ll take these then.” I rattled off my address while the woman wrote the details of my order in her notebook. I handed her my credit card and she went off to complete my order.

  “What’s next?” I turned back to Hastings.

  “You didn’t have to do that.” He told me studying my face. “I have these at my place.”

  “So we can only make love at your place? Do you have something against my house Hastings?” I peered down at him. “Do I need to redecorate?”

  He gave me a peculiar look. “No. It’s just rather a large investment.”

  I started as I realized what I had done. Very presumptuous of you Sinclair. “Oh—I didn’t mean that I—you—uh we are a couple or anything…” I stammered apologetically before the sensation of a blush crawling up my neck brought me to a halt. Pirates don’t stammer, and they certainly don’t apologize. Pirates own their shit. I forced the blush down. “I just want to have some good sex.”

  “Good sex?”

  “Mutually satisfying sex.” I clarified raising my eyebrows at him.

  “I see.” He said slowly. “Then I suppose you had better tell me what you like so that I can get it right.”

  * * * * *

  “So would our hero have this gear in his house?” Shifting my weight to my left knee and left hand I swung my right leg over and managed with more or less grace to regain my feet.

  Hastings shot me a slightly wolfish smile. “He would if he enjoys sex, and is comfortable with his body.” Following my lead he swung his own legs over the edge of the bed and reached for his crutches.

  Huh. “And if he weren’t comfortable?”

  “Then he wouldn’t bother to make any concessions to it.” He said simply and pushed himself to his feet.

  I tried to imagine what that meant—tried to imagine kissing Hastings without the lean—tried to imagine myself naked under him as he moved inside of me. “That sounds painful.”

  “It is.” He replied nonchalantly.

  I glanced at him sharply. “You’ve done this? But you seem so—?”

  “I have and I am.” He glanced down at me briefly. “—I wasn’t always.”

  “Why?”

  “I was mad. I wanted to punish myself for being broken—” He paused slightly. “I didn’t think my body deserved pleasure.”

  “Okay.” I said the one thing that I was certain could get him to look at me and was pleased when that earned me both a look and a crooked grin. “What changed?” I asked when I could see his eyes.

  “I did.” The skin around his eyes crinkled as his smile turned into something deeper and more rueful. “Years of therapy.” He lifted one shoulder in a small shrug. “I came to the not so scintillating realization that it wasn’t my body’s fault either, and that punishing it wasn’t productive.”

  “I’m glad.” I stepped in front of him and looped my arms around his neck.

  “Yeah?” Heat flared in his eyes as he gazed down at me.

  “Yeah.” I tilted my head back and glanced at his lips. “I’ve grown rather fond of your body.” I told him as I moved in for the kill. “Particularly,” I took his bottom lip between mine and gave it a little nip. “That gorgeous ass that you insist on parading in front of me.” I felt his soft chuff of laughter against my mouth just before his lips descended on mine. “With all of the attention you pay to my ass,” He murmured as he nibbled along my bottom lip. “Other parts of my anatomy—” He ran his tongue along the seam of my lips in a move that set my cheekbones to tingling and heat pulsing straight to my clit. “Are starting—” He continued to nibble and stroke my lips with his as he spoke. “To feel neglected.”

  “Yeah?” I caught his lower lip between my teeth, bit down lightly and released.

  “Yeah.” He exhaled.

  “Well we can’t have that.” Lifting my right hand from his neck, I found his ear and ran my index finger along the sensitive rim. I was gratified to see his face slacken in pleasure in response to the caress. “Is this part feeling neglected?” I asked repeating the caress. “Shall I put it on the list for future attention?”

  “Yessssss.”His eyes were all but closed now and I felt a certain smugness when I felt him shiver as I moved my fingers from his ear to the nape of his neck and feathered my finger tips ou
t lightly against the acutely sensitive skin there. “What about this part? Does it need to go on the list?”

  “Uhh.”

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes.” It was all but a whisper.

  “Hmmm…” I tapped my index on his neck as I mimed thinking. “Where else?” I slid my hand down along his neck and under his jacket and across the warm muscled expanse of his chest until I reached his nipple. “Here?” I asked circling the sensitive area lightly with a gentle finger. Encouraged by the way he pushed his chest out into the caress I ran my thumb directly across the nipple. “Is this part feeling neglected?”

  His head fell forward against mine and he stared at me from behind heated eyes. “Smug—” He started and I cut him off by running my palm down across his now erect nipple, and then across to his flank where I smoothed a path to his hip. The maneuver elicited an almost inaudible groan, and I made a mental note to revisit his flanks in detail at a future date. “How about here?” I traced my fingers along his abdomen using the upper line of his belt as a guide. “Does it need to go on the list?”

  He sucked in a breath, and I could see in his face that he was momentarily, at least, beyond words. Pleased with myself, I dropped my hand lower until I could feel his erection beneath my finger tips. “And this part?” I traced him lightly. “Does this part need to go on the list for future attention?” He stopped breathing and I felt myself swell as my fingertips gave me an idea of his size. Just to be certain I palmed him, and felt my body begin to throb in earnest at the length and breadth beneath my hand. “Let’s go home. I want you in me.” I squeezed him lightly to emphasize my point. “Now.”

  He froze, exhaled. “There’s nowhere I would rather be…”

  “But?” Firmly I held my emotions in check.

  “It’s late. I have to work tomorrow and you have to write.” He paused. “We have more ground to cover Pippa.” He stared down at me intently. “And I don’t want our first time to be… rushed.” I watched the heat in his chocolate brown eyes intensify. “If you let me in Pippa, I’m not going to want to leave.”