by A. L. Loire
“I think we can spare a few minutes,” Nate said. “We strive to keep all of our Getaway guests satisfied, after all.”
“You must be kept very busy, then,” she said.
“Well, some of our guests are a little more demanding than others,” Spencer said.
“I can’t help it if I’m a city girl with no notion of cowgirl ways,” Jess said innocently. Nate and Spencer laughed.
“Alright, girl, enough talk,” Nate said. “Let’s get you back on the saddle.”
He hopped the fence and Spencer followed suit, helping Jess over. Nate jogged to the barn to get a saddle, lead rope, and bridle, while Spencer corralled two jet-black mares.
“These are our two favorite horses, Midnight and Jesso,” Spencer said. Two cowboys on two black stallions—it was a dream come true.
Spencer and Nate helped her onto the horse, then mounted their own effortlessly. Jess felt a little nervous as they began to move in sync, bobbing up and down a little with each step. She tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach and tune in to the animal’s movements as she kept a light grip on the reins, as Nate had instructed her. “That’s it. Keep those heels pointed down in the stirrups,” he said.
“You’re doing great, Jess!” Spencer exclaimed as they rounded a corner. “You’re a natural.”
“Nonsense,” Jess said, but she flushed with pleasure nonetheless.
They made a slow loop around the pasture, Nate and Spencer flanking her. She couldn’t help but feel thrilled, especially as she remembered the strange dream she’d had a few nights ago in which she had been riding a horse sandwiched between Spencer and Nate. It had been a warm, sensual experience. Whoa, girl, she told herself. This was not the time to let her mind wander.
“Got plans tonight?” Nate asked casually.
She laughed. “Look where we are,” she said. She wanted to gesture at the pasture around her—grass, sky, mountains in the distance—but didn’t quite trust herself. “What kind of plans would I have?”
“You’re free, then?” Spencer said.
“Completely,” she said.
“What would you say to a night on the town?” Nate said.
“What town?” she said.
“Hey, now,” Spencer said. “This may not be New York City, but Big Horn has its attractions, too.”
“Yeah,” Nate said. “What we lack in fussy cocktail bars, we make up for in saloons.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Are you proposing to take me out on a date?” she asked. “Both of you?”
“That’s exactly what we’re proposing,” Spencer said. “What do you say?”
It was one thing to spend time with Nate and Spencer when there was no one around—out here in nature or behind closed barn doors. The idea of being escorted by two men out on a date in public was another consideration entirely.
“But…what if people see us?” she asked.
Nate laughed. “Well, of course people are going to see us. Unless you have invisibility super powers you haven’t told us about.”
“I mean people you know,” she said. “Couldn’t that be…I don’t know…dangerous?”
Spencer waved his hand dismissively. “This town is full of gossips. Let them say what they like. Why should we pay them any mind?”
She carefully turned her head to look from Spencer to Nate. They were both looking back at her with wide-eyed expectance. Could they really be fine with the idea of people they knew—maybe even guests—catching wind of their three-way relationship? And more importantly—was she fine with it?
“That sounds like fun,” she said, managing a smile. “Let’s do it.”
“Great!” Nate said, beaming. “We’ll swing by your cabin at seven.”
A three-way date? It sounded like fun, but what if it went horribly wrong? What if people stared at them and made comments? Of course, they didn’t have to be totally obvious about their romance. They could just be three friends out together. Right?
Her mind flipped through a half dozen disastrous scenarios. What if she accidentally showed one man more attention than the other, and the other got jealous? She remembered how close to blows they’d gotten when Spencer had discovered Nate making love to her.
They finished their loop and the men helped her dismount Oreo. She touched the ground with slightly shaky legs. “That was better, wasn’t it?” she asked Nate, her first riding instructor.
“You managed to stay on her back this time, so I’d say so,” Nate said with a grin.
Spencer excused himself to go lead some guests on a nature walk. Jess stayed to watch Nate as he led Oreo into the stable to remove her saddle and bride. He showed such care for the creature, murmuring soft words to her and stroking her muzzle.
“Want to help me groom her?” Nate asked.
“I’d love to!” she exclaimed.
He grabbed a pail full of brushes from the shelf at one end of the stable and brought it over. “This one’s called the curry comb,” he said, taking out a hand-sized rubber brush with stiff bristles. “You attach it to your hand like this, and then you use it to loosen the dirt in her coat.” He demonstrated, swiping Oreo’s side with short, swift strokes.
“Can I try?” she asked.
“All yours,” he said, unstrapping the curry comb and handing it to her.
She strapped it to her hand and began brushing Oreo’s other side. Soon her arm muscles were aching. “Wow! This is harder than it looks.”
“This is the tough part,” he said. “But you’re doing a great job.” He looked Oreo’s coat over approvingly. She glowed with pride.
“Next is soft brushing,” he said, taking a wooden brush with soft-looking bristles from the pail. “Same idea. This is what removes all the dust and dirt we just loosened.”
They took turns using the brush on Oreo, who seemed to be enjoying the treatment. Then Nate showed her how to use a smaller brush to groom Oreo’s face, mane, and tail. She found it satisfying to brush out the horse’s black tail until all the bits of grass and twigs were gone and the hair was lustrous.
“The last part is picking the hooves,” Nate said, when she had finished. “But you can leave that one to me. It can be dangerous if you aren’t experienced.”
She watched Nate take a sharp-looking pick and, after draping a rope over his arm, coaxed the horse’s leg up and switched his grip so he was holding the hoof from underneath. With his other hand, he began to scrape at the thick layer of dirt that was packed there.
“Doesn’t that hurt her?” she asked, grimacing.
“Not a bit!” he said, continuing to scrape. “She can’t feel a thing. Her feet are literally as tough as nails. If we didn’t do this, her hooves would rot.”
She watched him pick each of Oreo’s four hooves. He continued to murmur under his breath as he moved with practiced grace, words that Jess couldn’t pick up. A smile lingered on her face.
“All done!” he said, straightening up and wiping his brow.
“I could use a shower,” she said. She felt like she was covered in a layer of dust and dirt from Oreo, along with a thin sheet of sweat. The horse was probably cleaner and sweeter smelling than her.
“It’s not the cleanest work in the world,” Nate said. “But you seem like a girl who likes to get her hands dirty.”
“I guess I do,” she said with a smile. “I have to say that it feels really good, being out here in nature, spending so much more time out of doors than inside.”
“You sure don’t get that in the city,” Nate said. “Just those stupid carriage rides in Central Park. My heart always broke for those poor creatures.”
Nate really was a sensitive soul. “I know what you mean,” she said. “I always feel the same thing.”
Without warning, Nate dropped the comb he was holding and approached Jess with intensity. He grabbed her and pulled her close, the warmth of his body flooding into hers, and kissed her.
“Mmmm,” he moaned, pulling away. “I’ve been fighting the urg
e to do that all day.”
Slowly she opened her eyes, gazing up at him. She was weak at the knees. “More,” she whispered.
He pulled away, smiling mischievously. His hands on her shoulders, he turned her around and gave her butt a playful slap. “I’ve got to take care of the rest of the horses,” he said. “Move along, partner.”
***
As she made her way back to her cabin, a smile pasted to her face, she noticed a sign she hadn’t seen before—an arrow labeled “Pool” pointing down the path. Surely she had time for a quick swim.
She followed the path, which wended a short way around before leading to a small pool, its perimeter laid with tiles and scattered with long chairs. Set against the backdrop of a flat-topped mountain in the distance, it glittered like a jewel.
She removed her shoes and dipped her feet in. She looked around her. How was it possible that no one was around on such a pleasant day? She stripped out of her mud-streaked jeans and tee shirt and dove in.
The water felt like heaven. She almost moaned underwater. She swam several strokes, then broke through the surface and took a deep breath. She flopped onto her back and took a few strokes, looking up at the fluffy white clouds that rolled past the blue.
Her mind began to wander back to the night before. It barely felt like reality. Her body went lax as she remembered the way Spencer and Nate had rendered her powerless with every kiss and every touch until she was quaking with need. She thought of lying against Spencer, his powerful legs holding her in place as he drove her wild playing with her breasts, while Nate teased her bare body with his mouth until he finally separated her with his tongue and dove in. By the time Spencer had turned her around to face him, she was still dizzy with the orgasm Nate had given her, and he had slid into her effortlessly. He had been so hard, his length and girth making her gasp, giving way to a pleasure that was like floodgates opening within herself. She had been panting, gasping, yelling by the time her second climax hit her, as Nate stood behind her, raking her hair back and diving his tongue into her mouth with passion while she and Spencer shook with the tremors of their shared orgasm.
She was suddenly overcome with the memory. Her abdomen was heating up and below that, she was getting wetter and wetter in a way that had nothing to do with the chlorinated pool water. She had never felt so desirous in her life, nor more desired. Nate and Spencer had tapped into something deep within her—an awareness of her own beauty and sensuality. She had always felt self-conscious of her curves, preferring to make love in the dark or when she was a little tipsy. But Spencer and Nate made her feel like a goddess to be worshipped. They had tapped into a wellspring of desire that she hadn’t known she possessed.
And she wanted to give them pleasure in kind. If she could make Spencer and Nate feel an ounce of the satisfaction that she had that night, she felt that her own enjoyment would deepen a hundred times. How can I do it? Her mind began to race with the possibilities. She imagined both men taking turns entering her, the feeling of their hard, swollen members inside her from different angles. She imagined taking each into her mouth, how full and smooth they would be. She was surprised to find her mind going there—she had never really enjoyed going down on her previous boyfriends—but the idea of doing it to Nate and Spencer was exciting her beyond belief.
“Look at this bathing beauty,” came a voice from not far away, shattering her reverie.
Startled, she turned her head, breaking her float. A group of familiar faces was approaching, led by Spencer. So that’s where all the guests were—on the nature walk. Of course.
The guests started putting down towels and bags, stripping off outer layers. The owner of the voice was gray-haired Bill, who was walking up next to his wife Nancy. The couple were two of Jess’s resort chums. He peered at her from the edge of the pool with a smile. “You should have joined us on our nature walk today, Jess. Spencer is the best guide I’ve ever had.”
“I’m sure it was lovely,” she said, treading water and trying to hide her embarrassment—and her breasts, which were all but popping out of her lacy bra.
“But you’re not much for the group activities, it seems. You modern girls prefer to do your own thing,” he said.
“Something like that,” she said, while she was thinking, if you only knew.
Spencer came up to the side of the pool. “Would you like a towel, Jess?” he asked gently, holding one out to her. She swam to him gratefully.
“I didn’t have my bathing suit on me, and the pool just looked so tempting,” she muttered with embarrassment as she climbed onto the ladder and out of the pool.
“You look so beautiful,” he murmured to her softly as he wrapped the towel around her, pulling her close as he did so for one brief, tantalizing moment. Her heart stuttered in her chest as her body yelled, Take me right here.
“I want to show you something,” Spencer said. “Come this way.”
He led her away from the pool, where a small path led down a slope into some trees. She followed him, wrapping the towel around her, barefoot over soft pine needles. The path led to an open field where a shallow creek glistened in the sunlight.
“We saw moose here earlier today,” he said, then stopped and pointed. “Look!”
Sure enough, a moose with antlers, another without antlers and one that looked like a baby were standing in the shallow waters of the creek, their necks bent over into the water. He continued towards them, and she followed cautiously. He stopped not ten yards away from the animals, who seemed to pay them no mind.
“They like to feed off of the fronds in the warmer months,” he said softly.
She was awed by the animals’ calm majesty as they stood close enough to see their ears twitch. She wasn’t used to seeing animals outside of a zoo—unless you counted the raccoons in Central Park or the rats running around the subway tracks.
“Mr. Johnston said something about shooting one and taking the antlers home as a trophy,” he said, rolling his eyes. He looked at Jess. His gaze flooded her with warmth from the inside even as the sun dried the droplets of water on her bare skin.
“Thank you for taking me here,” she said softly. “This is truly special.”
“You are truly special,” he said, putting a hand to her hair and letting the long, wet strands fall through his fingers. She melted into his touch.
“I’m so happy you came, Jess,” he said. “I felt something the first time we spoke on the phone. There was something about your voice.”
“I felt the same thing,” she said. She paused, remembering that evening at her apartment in New York, which now felt so far away. “This strange connection.”
He put his hands gently on her hips. She moved towards him, pressing her body to his and tilting her head up. He placed his lips on hers, filling her with a simmering heat. Quickly she lost herself in the kiss, the warmth of Spencer’s lips pulling her further and further in.
“I better get back,” he said, gently pulling away. “They’ll be asking after me soon.”
She nodded. “Me too,” she said. “I have a date to get ready for.”
Chapter 3
At seven o’clock sharp, there was a knock at her door. Jess smacked her lips, closed her tube of lip gloss, and surveyed herself in the water. She was wearing a short white eyelet dress—a particularly flirty flock. She went to the door and threw it open.
“Ready to go, boys?” she said she with a smile.
Spencer went wide-eyed while Nate whistled. “You’ll be turning heads tonight, girl,” he said.
Let’s hope it’s for the right reasons, she thought as she followed them out the door.
They got in the car and drove into town. They parked and got out to walk around the main drag. It turned out that Big Horn was quaint and charming, with an all-American, old Western feel. People milled around in the warm summer night, too many for Jess to register any strange looks. She found herself relaxing and easing into it, even linking elbows with Spencer and Nate. It was fun
being out on the arms of two handsome men.
They stopped to gaze into the shop windows. Jess’s eye was immediately caught by a boutique selling cowboy boots.
She looked down at her feet, which were clad in strappy sandals. She realized she was shivering slightly. She’d forgotten how cold it got out here in the evenings.
“I think the lady might need to be outfitted for some new footwear,” Spencer said.
“Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly—” she began.
“Come on, let’s go inside!” Nate said eagerly, cutting her off. He pulled open the door and held it for Jess. She walked in, curious despite herself, and Nate and Spencer followed.
“How can I help you?” the saleswoman asked brightly.
“This pretty young thing is looking for a pair of cowboy boots,” Nate said.
“Just browsing,” Jess interjected. The rows of boots on the wooden shelves looked beautiful—and expensive. She had already blown most of what she had in her bank account on this vacation, and there was no way she could afford to spend any more.
“Take a look and see what you like,” Spencer urged.
She approached the shelf of women’s boots. They were undoubtedly beautiful. Her eyes ran over the rows of rich black, brown, and red leather until it settled on one pair. The design was understated but elegant, with a low but shapely heel, brown leather with deep red detailing. She picked one up. The leather was soft and supple, the stitches tiny and neat.
She put it on and looked in the mirror. The boots looked perfect with the flouncy white skirt of her dress.
“Very sexy,” Nate said approvingly, approaching her from behind and putting an arm around her hips.
“Those boots were made for you,” Spencer said, his eyes glued to Jess’s image in the mirror as approached her from the other side, his hand sliding dangerously low on her back. She flushed and swallowed hard.
The saleswoman cleared her throat behind them. All three of them turned their heads.
“Will that be all?” she said coldly.
“That’s all we need, thank you,” Spencer said crisply. “I’m sure you won’t mind giving the lady a bag for her sandals, so she can wear her new boots out of the store?”
