by Rachel Angel
“So, where does that leave us? I mean, I don’t usually meet a man and have an orgasm with him in the same day—clothed none-the-less.”
“I’m not sure, but I hope I remember,” Ryland offered. The sexy grin was back on his face and he looked more relaxed, more lively. “As for now…it’s time to go eat dinner. I’m pretty sure I already had my dessert.”
Savannah laughed and followed him out to go eat. She looked down at her t-shirt and boxers, wondering if she should change. Then she thought, what does it matter now? It’s not like he hasn’t seen me in these.
Chapter 7
With the skies windy and the trees whipping around under the weight of the pelting rain, Savannah and Ryland sat at a small table that was just inside the back porch of his home. Even in the dark skies that only lit up with the flash of lightning, the coziness and intimacy of the table setting was wonderful. Savannah couldn’t help but wonder if it had been painful for the obviously annoyed Miss Mandy Baker to prepare this table, knowing that someone beside her would be there.
“So, do you and Miss Baker usually dine together?”
“No, I usually eat while working in my office. There’s always so much going on that needs my immediate attention.” Savannah felt a bit bad for Miss Baker at that moment, thinking she probably was pretty lonely when she was out here on the island if that was the case.
“It seems like I’m usually dining alone myself, working on something or another while I eat.”
“It’s better than thinking about being alone at meal time,” Ryland offered. His voice was matter-of-factly and he didn’t seem fazed by it at all.
Savannah, on the other hand, didn’t like the thought of feeling lonely like that. She loved to be around good company, not needing a lot of friends, but only some quality ones to laugh the days away with.
“So, you said you became a vet just to show people you could do it. Why wouldn’t they have seen that you’re highly capable all on their own? It’s quite evident to me.”
“Thanks, that’s very kind, Ryland. I guess it had more to do with the interests I had growing up and probably the family of my fiancé.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, leaning in, wanting to know more immediately. He didn’t hide his look, one that was disturbed about the thought of his vet being engaged to someone. After all, they’d just crossed a boundary. It had been awesome, but it was definitely a boundary crossing none-the-less.
“Well, I was a champion equestrian rider in high school and college, enjoying that tremendously. It really helped me to understand not only the physical aspects of horses better, but also their spirit. You know…what they really respond to. However, after receiving my undergraduate degree in biology, my fiancé wanted me to quit school and prepare to be the wife of an accomplished man. Arm candy, trophy wife…where I come from. Needless to say, I broke the engagement. I guess I just couldn’t do it; it felt like it would smother me more than help me grow. I suppose that sounds silly to you.”
“No, not at all. What sounds ridiculous is that this fiancé would not go chasing after you to win you back. That’s what I don’t understand.”
Savannah was taken aback by the direct compliment. Part of her wanted to be offended, thinking that he was hinting that she was just a prize to possess, but the other part of her was flattered that he thought she was someone worth pursuing that vigorously. “It just wasn’t meant to be.”
“Who is this ex-fiancé? Is he someone I’d know?”
“Maybe. Robert Blackworth.”
“Blackworth…as in the Blackworth Stables family?”
“Yes, that’s him. You know the family?”
“From many a battles at auctions for purchasing thoroughbreds.” Savannah nodded. That made sense. As an afterthought, Ryland added, “Naturally I always won.”
“I have a feeling that you definitely like to win, don’t you?”
“Absolutely, but enough about me and my dismal qualities. Tell me a bit more about you and your relationship.”
“Why would you want to know that?” Savannah asked.
“Merely curious,” Ryland replied. Then he was quiet, expecting her to talk.
It felt awkward talking about her ex in front of him, but she decided that it couldn’t hurt to tell him why it didn’t work either. In essence, it was the very core of her personality and what she liked and didn’t like. Why not be honest about it? Then she thought, because you want to see what he looks like underneath that t-shirt and those tight fitting jeans.
“So, any relationships since?” Ryland asked at the end.
“No. It ended just over a year ago and I need to focus on my career and building my business now. There’s really no time to think about those things. That can come later.”
Savannah looked at Ryland and the expression in his eyes was stunning. He clearly admired her and her directness, but he also looked a bit sad about what she’d said. She wondered why that was. He was so sexy, confident, and assured, yet seemed to be broken and have dark secrets that he struggled to keep buried. His intensity seemed to conflict with his heart of gold, but they had to meet somewhere inside him. Perhaps that’s where his darkest secrets lied.
By dinner’s end, Savannah and Ryland were both exhausted. They went to visit the colt one more time before bed, ensuring that it was doing okay. Ryland touched her heart so much when he said that he was going to set up a cot in the room with Street Smarts so he could keep an eye on his cherished colt that night. Savannah added that he should get her if he thought something was wrong. With that, he walked her to the room and thanked her for a wonderful evening, giving her a kiss on the cheek that was nice, but surprisingly disappointing compared to an orgasm achieved through some wet and wild dry humping just a few hours before.
At first the storm made it hard for Savannah to fall into sleep, jolting her with the loud bangs that the thunder created. Then, as the storm settled and she started to drift off to sleep, Savannah found herself going into wild sexual fantasies that explored all parts of Ryland Roth that she hadn’t seen yet. She definitely enjoyed each and every one of those parts too. The dreams were so vivid that she’d wake up from her own groaning, longing to feel a release from the longing that existed in between her legs for Ryland’s hard cock. Eventually she surrendered to the need and relieved herself before drifting off into sleep. That was at about 3 a.m.
Chapter 8
Morning came and Savannah slowly opened her eyes to greet bright morning sunlight streaming into her bedroom. She stretched out, thinking it was far too early to get up. Her body ached and she was exhausted.
Knock. Knock.
Savannah looked around, trying to figure out which door the knock was coming from. The door to Ryland’s room slowly opened up and he peaked around the corner.
“Can I come in?”
“Of course, Savannah said. She was still sleepy, but as the words escaped her lips she realized that she was still naked from the night before, having stripped off the boxers and t-shirt in order to help alleviate the tensions that were stirring within her from Mr. Hot and Sexy Ryland Roth.
She was too late. Savannah’s breasts were hanging out in all their luscious glory, jiggling about, and her nipples were erect from the chilliness of the morning air in the room. Ryland stared at her like she was a piece of art, not an actual human being half sitting up and feeling vulnerable.
Well, this is embarrassing, she thought. Once again, he’s staring at me naked and won’t turn around. Why won’t he turn around?
“I had Miss Baker collect your clothes last night and take them to be washed. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No, I…um…”
Ryland took over, relieving Savannah of trying to collect her thoughts, not to mention her composure. “It’s cold in here. I fear that the heat wasn’t on all night because we lost some electricity. Let me find you something warm to wear.”
“That’s okay. I’m fine. When will my clothes be done?”
“In awhile, unf
ortunately the laundry room was one of the places that lost some power. But please, let me find you something. It’s really too cold in here.”
“I don’t want to inconvenience you.”
“No inconvenience. There’s a drawer full of t-shirts and jeans over here—nothing fancy like what’s in the closet.”
Savannah blushed, feeling foolish for not having looked around more and just invading Ryland’s bedroom, even if she didn’t know it at the time. She did love the feel of his t-shirt on her though. It made her feel sexy and good, more connected to him. But still. “Why didn’t you tell me that yesterday to look there? I’m so sorry. I would have never invaded another room to look for something more comfortable. I just assumed…”
“…Just assumed that all of my lady guests always dress up in fancy designer clothes,” Ryland finished.
“Well yes. Guilty as charged,” Savannah said.
Ryland busted out into laughter. “No, I assure you that isn’t the case. All of those fake things tend to drive me rather crazy. Give me horses, my jeans, and a t-shirt, and I’m much better off.”
Savannah couldn’t argue with that. He looked so hot in his jeans and t-shirt that morning. It made her think of Street Smarts.
“How is the colt this morning?”
“He had a good night. I woke up to his muzzle on me, trying to wake me up about an hour ago.”
I’d have loved to wake you up that way, Savannah thought.
“Hey listen, you’ve distracted me with how great you look in the morning when you wake up,” Ryland said. “The main reason that I came in here is to let you know that I need to check out the island to make sure the storm didn’t damage the stables, or any of the housing for the island staff. Plus, I know that a coroner will be doing an autopsy on Star today since the storm set in so fast yesterday and he couldn’t fly out. I want to do some exploration as to why she got sick myself. I’m worried that it was something in the stables or around them. I cannot risk any of my other horses getting sick. I just couldn’t handle it. Will you help me?”
“Sure, I can help,” Savannah said.
“Excellent. I’ll need you to stay here for a few days until we can sort this out. Is that okay?”
Savannah nodded her head yes. She’d do anything to protect the horses and help Ryland. However, she didn’t know what she was going to do to protect her own interests and desires. She just wanted to jump his sexy bones and ride him like he was a horse himself.
“Your knowledge in biology should be helpful in determining how environmentally safe and clean the island is for the horses.”
“And if there is something wrong with the island?”
“I would address it,” Ryland said. He went back toward his door and said that he’d meet Savannah out front in twenty minutes if that was okay. There’d be food in the Jeep for her to eat for breakfast, along with some wonderfully piping hot coffee.
Twenty minutes later, Savannah was sitting in the Jeep with Ryland, sipping some coffee and eating an apple. He hooked his telephone up into a bracket and put his Bluetooth in his ear, and then he was off to the races. People were calling him. He was calling others. It was time to take care of business. It was odd for Savannah to see because up until that moment, Ryland had been the sensitive horse lover. The gorgeous house aside, it had been easy to forget that he was an aggressive, intelligent, and no nonsense billionaire who made deals happen each and every day.
Ryland Roth was one amazing multi-tasker, Savannah quickly discovered. Between statements in which she could only hear his words he’d point out various caves on the island, different features, and things that may be of interest to her in regards to horses. Thankfully the storm didn’t appear to do too much damage to the natural beauty of the island.
“I’ve got to go,” Ryland announced to whomever he was on the telephone with and that was it. He hung up without room for an additional word.
The Jeep came to a stop and he pointed off to the right. “Savannah, I found an interesting growth in that cave over there once. I didn’t really think much about it, but now I am curious about it because my employees who observe the wild horses see some of them hanging out by these caves, taking shelter during stormy nights and grazing on some of the greens around. Let’s go check it out.”
Savannah hopped out of the Jeep and the two made their way the short distance to the cave. The land was so beautiful and for a moment she felt like she was on some exotic foreign exploration with the hottest explorer in the world. She snapped out of her silly fantasies quickly though, knowing that Ryland’s horses were the reason she was here and she had to do her best to help solve this for him. Anything short of success would be a failure and she didn’t accept failure.
“It’s over there,” Ryland said. He walked over to some moss that was growing along the cave walls.
“Has this been here the entire time you’ve owned the island?” Savannah asked.
“I’m not sure. I know it has gotten bigger since I first saw it. Does moss typically grow that fast?”
“It depends on the moisture level. Being on an island, it would probably grow pretty fast.”
“Do you know what kind it is?”
“Not off the top of my head.”
“I’ll go grab the kit so you can take a sample,” Ryland said.
He ran back to the Jeep, showing how confident he was in his body and that he was definitely athletic.
Savannah took a few samples of the moss, along with a few pictures on her iPhone, and the two were on their way. They continued driving around, observing the terrain and looking for anything that was notable in regards to the horses and their health. There were some beautiful box elder trees on the island too.
“How did you acquire Star?”
Ryland’s eyes lit up at Savannah’s question. “She wasn’t like the other winning horses I’ve owned. She was actually born on this island and was a wild horse. I tamed her myself. It was one of the most fascinating experiences of my life; took me such a long time to do, but it was so worth it. Her determination was equal to mine. I guess you could say we eventually came to a compromise.”
“That’s incredible,” Savannah said.
“That place we were at was one of her most favorite places to go always; there was something about it that she seemed to really love.”
Once again, Ryland stopped the Jeep abruptly. “I have to show you something.”
The two walked straight ahead and Savannah found herself standing on a tall cliff that overlooked the ocean. It was so beautiful and the sight was breathtaking. They were both silent, taking in the beauty.
“I can see why you fell in love with this place,” Savannah said. “It’s so beautiful…so perfect.”
“Sometimes I wish I could stay here on the island and run free, just like the wild horses. However, that’s not the case. I have to go into San Francisco far too often to take care of the businesses. Running Roth Enterprises is a demanding job.” He picked up a rock and tossed it off the cliff, watching it fall down into the waves below that were gently pushing into the cliffs.
“Why don’t you try to stay here more?” Savannah asked. He could obviously do his work from anywhere. She’d seen that all morning long.
“Too many people depend on me for their livelihood. I cannot take that responsibility lightly.”
“But you’re here now; taking care of people, horses, and your island. That’s very admirable.”
“It works for right now because it has to. I cannot rest until I find out what happened to Star and what may be wrong with Street Smarts. I couldn’t stand it if anything bad happened to any other horse on this island.”
Savannah listened to his passionate words, knowing that he had the means to back them up. Ryland turned to her, fiery sparks in his eyes and said, “This is why I am glad you are here. I need you and know that you will help me get to the bottom of this – no matter how long it takes. Life is too precious and I cannot lose another horse.”
“I’ll stay as long as I can,” Savannah offered, touching his arm.
“Good. Let’s go and get to the lab.”
Savannah was quiet on the way back to the stables, where the lab was located. She thought about Ryland’s words and how she wanted to help him. Obviously he’d moved her. Still, she didn’t have the luxury of dropping her practice to stay there forever. But you wouldn’t mind being in a place like this forever, she thought.
Chapter 9
The pressure was on Savannah, desiring to find whatever it was that had taken Star and still lingered within Street Smarts. Blood work hard turned up nothing and none of the samples taken thus far showed anything that was alarming or even suspect. Her attachment to the horses had grown at a very rapid pace, just as her attachment to their owners had. She couldn’t get Ryland out of her mind, but it wasn’t just for his rocking sexy body, it was also for his passionate connection to the horses.
