Asha King

by Wild Horses

  She chanced a look over her shoulder at him. He stared at her almost warily, as if he half expected her not to go through with it. A flush of boldness ran through her, the idea of him being thrown off kilter giving her some strength.

  “You got a head start,” she said as she slipped off her sandals.

  “Next time it’s yours.”

  And there would be a next time. She’d just stepped off into the abyss and knew there was no going back.

  Her gaze scanned the room, taking it in for the first time. It was clean but untidy, the bed sheets messed and things strewn across the dresser. A tiny kitchen at the end, a couch and TV not far from it. He had a desk off to the side and a wingback chair, which she moved toward immediately. She wanted somewhere to sit but no way was she going near his bed or the couch. That would lead to trouble.

  She was acutely aware of him at her back, watching her, and tried to still the trembling in her fingertips as she reached her chair. Her hand ran over the back, then she lifted and pulled it back two feet, turning it around to face the center of the room. She eyed him next—still fully erect and impossibly huge. His body was a work of art, sculpted and hard—literally every inch of him. Half of her wanted to fall on her knees and take him in her mouth.

  Well, maybe all of her did.

  She swallowed and glanced back at his eyes. “No touching?”

  “No touching,” he agreed.

  That’ll be easier said than done.

  Dani dragged her fingers down her sides to clasp the edge of her tank top. In the quiet of the room, just their ragged breathing and the sounds of flesh on flesh, she heard the buzz of music downstairs—country. The music of mood-killers.

  “Can they hear us downstairs?” she asked as she rounded the chair.

  Adam cocked a brow. “You loud?”

  “I can be. When inspired.”

  He groaned and cleared his throat, and went for the old radio on the nightstand. It was tuned to country but he changed it before she could ask, settling on R&B.

  Dani took a deep breath and slowly dragged her tank top upward.

  The fabric skimmed her stomach, up, up, and over her breasts, giving her nipples a slight tingle as it passed. Already his gaze was on her chest, hands clenched as his sides. His cheeks flushed and breathing went ragged.

  She squeezed her thighs together. He was trying to hold off, but she’d take care of that.

  She wiggled out of her long skirt, letting it puddle at her feet before she kicked it aside. Her legs were long and shapely, curved in a way men liked—she knew, she’d had plenty of compliments on them. Her bra and panties were both cotton candy pink lace, matching. She dropped to sit on the chair, settling comfortably, and grazed her fingers up her thighs.

  His gaze followed everywhere her hands did and she decided to be a bitch and really push him. Her hands moved up, over her stomach, coming to grasp her breasts. She tilted her head back and moaned, rolling her pebbled nipples between her fingers and thumbs. Her flesh was fevered and swollen, craving touch—anyone’s touch—though she couldn’t help but imagine his rough, calloused hands rubbing her into a frenzy, just as she had last night.

  “Eyes open.” His voice cut through the haze and she glanced back at him. “New rule. No thinking about anyone not in this room.”

  Was that jealousy, perhaps? She grinned, still working her nipples. “That goes for you too.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that, princess.” He swallowed thickly, Adam’s apple bobbing as his gaze continued to follow her movements.

  “Then maybe you don’t, either.”

  He leaned back against the dresser, hand coming up to grasp his cock at last. “Tell me,” he said in a rough whisper.

  She shivered at the sound of his voice. “Just you. Your hands on my tits. That’s as far as I got...this time.”

  Adam raised a brow. “Meaning?”

  “Mmm...wouldn’t you like to know.”

  He groaned, hand moving faster.

  Her hips were undulating and she gave in; she pulled her feet up to rest on the edge of the seat, thigh splaying wide. She let her bra strap fall and left hand moved in to squeeze and touch her bare breast while her right drifted down. Down. Over her stomach. The edge of her panties. She bit her lip and dragged her index finger over her pussy, the lace adding friction against her clit. She moaned at the contact.

  “Be fair,” she said, her voice breathy. “What had you so worked up before I got in here?”

  “How about I show you when I win?”

  She grinned and plunged her fingers past the leg band, sinking into her own damp heat. She was slick, fingertips gliding easily. Her hips bucked and breath came in a whimper.

  His cock strained toward his navel and a pearl of pre-come rose on the tip of the flushed head. She imagined it parting her labia, thrusting into her, and her pussy ached with want. His free hand came down to caress his sac while the other wove up and down his hard length.

  She couldn’t take it. She grasped the waistband of her panties and dragged them down her thighs, over her knees, and cast them on the floor. The air was heavy with the scent of their joint arousal, noise from downstairs long gone under the sound of music from his radio and the hitching breaths between them.

  When she slid her ass to the edge of the seat and let her thighs fall wide apart, he crossed the four feet between them. Her heart hammered—if he touched her now, she’d let him. Forget the rules.

  But he stopped short by the chair and dropped onto his knees, fist a blurred frenzy over his cock. Sweat brought a sheen to his brow and dampened his thick dark hair. He’d been clean-shaven earlier but now there was just enough rough hair started to make him rugged and impossibly sexy—she imagined the feel of his face against her thighs as his tongue would lap at her wetness.

  “Hold your pussy open,” he whispered in a voice that seemed to go right into her marrow.

  Oh God, she couldn’t take much more.

  She didn’t care who won, who lost. Forgot all about the game. Both hands moved between her legs now, one holding back her folds, the other thrusting two fingers in and out. It was a poor substitute for what she wanted there, but in a moment she wouldn’t care.

  She felt his panting breath there, inches from her thighs, brushing her skin. Fingers still thrusting inside her, her other hand rose to trace her clit and her body jolted with the feeling. Sensitive, ready to burst, she rubbed her clit more firmly this time and her hips rocked.

  His dark gaze lifted, smoldering eyes meeting hers.

  Shivers danced over her and a ball of warmth burst in her belly, blasting ecstasy through her veins. Her lips parted and she cried out, hips lifting off the chair, fingers working swiftly at her clit and wringing one long, unraveling orgasm out of her overheated body.

  Just as she slumped in the chair, stars still playing behind her eyes, Adam groaned and a jet of white come shot across his stomach and chest. He leaned forward heavily, panting, head tilted down for a moment before gazing up at her with self-satisfied eyes. Then he moved up her body, bracing his hands on the arms of the chair to lift himself, and his lips at last touched hers.

  The kiss was long and hot, tongues warring almost as soon as their mouths made contact. She moaned against him, her lips feeling like they’d been aching all this time just waiting for his. Their noses brushed and she inhaled, breathing him in, enjoying the feel of his possessive kiss.

  They parted, panting anew, and if he’d asked her right then to hop in his bed, she would’ve raced him there. Instead he dropped back down, sitting in front of the chair where her legs were rather obscenely spread, and pressed a kiss to her inner thigh, setting her nerves alight.

  Adam grinned. “I win.”

  Saturday

  NEW POST: Draft Mode

  The last few days have been a perfect example why it’s probably best I haven’t had access to social networks, because it would’ve been TMI. There has been good. Bad. And VERY good.


  What I’ve been doing, well, I can’t say if that falls into good or bad.

  Maybe somewhere in between.

  Chapter Ten

  The rain hit hard Sunday morning, much needed after several days of sunshine. Despite the gloom, Dani woke in a good, albeit nervous mood. She stretched in bed, grinning to herself, body sated sexually but with a ghost of craving still there. Rain hammered her window as she yawned and crawled out of bed.

  She’d discreetly slipped out of Adam’s place the night before, expecting everyone downstairs to somehow know what was going on, but no one had glanced in her direction. People were pleasantly buzzed on alcohol, engaged either in dancing or in conversations about horses, and paid no notice to her.

  Dani dressed in her work clothes, stopping to brush her teeth and wash her face, but not bothering with a shower—she’d found it best to shower in the afternoon after most chores were done, so she could get all the sweat and horse smells off of her. The kitchen already boasted a tantalizing aroma of coffee and sizzle of cooking pancakes, and she padded toward—

  Wait. Breakfast already?

  She stopped just outside the kitchen, gaze darting for the clock, lips parted when Adam barked out, “You’re late.”

  Shit.

  He sat on a stool at the breakfast bar drinking coffee, glowering. Dewey flipped a pancake high in the air and caught it in the cast iron pan.

  “I’m sor—”

  “Six o’clock, you turn out the horses with him. Is that so hard to remember?”

  “I must’ve forgotten to set—”

  “That’s no excuse—you have responsibilities.”

  Wait, was this really the same guy she saw naked the night before? A blush touched her cheeks at the memory—she definitely hadn’t just imagined it. And he looked just as good this morning despite being clothed, in another white T-shirt and old blue jeans, hair looking smooth and silky to the touch, and dark blue eyes smoldering.

  With effort, she picked her jaw off the floor and closed her mouth, grinding her teeth. “Is there any particular reason you’re being such a dick this morning?”

  “Is there any particular reason you think you suddenly no longer have to work around here?”

  “Okay!” Dewey declared, turning around to place a stack of pancakes on the breakfast bar. He ran his hand back through his straight blond hair and seemed to force a smile. “It’s not a big deal, as Carlee was up and gave me a hand, and now I’m tired of the yelling so I am going to see if there’s anything else she needs, then get Gus into Stirling so we can run some errands before church. He’s already waiting in the truck for me.” He bowed deeply. “Have fun, clean up the blood when you’re done, bye.” Dewey skirted the table breakfast bar, scooped his hat off the dining room table, and exited out the front door.

  Dani glared at Adam, fury threading through her veins. “What the hell was that about?”

  “You have to carry your weight around here, princess, just like the rest of us.”

  “Once. I have slept in once. I’m sorry. I’m sure everyone does it once in a while so please try to untwist your panties and chill the hell out.”

  He rose, his eyes darkening.

  She planted her hands on her hips, undaunted. “Do you really think I did it on—” Suddenly the connections started forming in her brain and she couldn’t help but grin. “Oh my God. What, you thought I was going to lounge about doing nothing because I all but got in bed with the boss man’s second in command? Oh please.”

  Adam said nothing, and the longer he stayed silent, the more her brain started spinning.

  “Were you sitting here thinking I didn’t show up to do chores because I just decided to slack off due to last night, or were you sitting here thinking last night even happened so that I could slack off on stuff?” Her heart was thudding hard, face flushing, hurt and anger welling, and she started to back up. “You know what? Just don’t even answer that. If you think I’m a whore as well as a princess—”

  He was moving around the breakfast bar and caught her in the doorway, his large, strong arms trapping her against him. When his lips came down, she met them with her own, still angry but completely forgetting why. Her arms circled around his neck and she leaned into him, losing the sense of everything around her except him and his exquisite mouth. His face was soft against hers, freshly shaven, and he smelled like the coffee he’d been drinking.

  “I didn’t mean to imply anything.” He pulled his face back but didn’t let her go, and she might’ve remained clinging to him if he’d tried. “I’m sorry.”

  Dani blinked. “Did you just apologize? For real? Again?”

  Adam rolled his eyes and tried to disentangle himself from her but she wouldn’t let go. “I don’t intend to make it a habit.”

  “Of course not. That would be adult of you.”

  This time he succeeded in removing himself from her embrace but not without dropping another heart-stopping kiss on her lips. He sat at the breakfast bar and moved a stack of pancakes onto his plate.

  Dani went for the coffee pot. “So what chores are there to do in the rain and mud?”

  “Still stalls to be shoveled—the usual.”

  She made a face but didn’t grumble. Much.

  “And you’re to be at my place at one.”

  Dani glanced sharply over her shoulder. “Excuse me?”

  He held her gaze as he lifted a cup of coffee to his lips. “I won, remember.”

  That, he did. Heat rolled over her cheeks, down her neck. A deal was a deal, after all, and she was not-so-secretly thrilled at the prospect of finding out what he had in mind.

  ****

  Danyiah couldn’t tell any longer if she still smelled like a barn or clean—she’d all but given up worrying about it. After showering and freshly moisturizing her hair, she called Therese and left a message. What she really needed was some stereotypical girl talk but her friend didn’t answer, so she gushed excitedly about Needing to Talk About Boys, and left it at that.

  It wasn’t that she thought, realistically, anything would come of them. She had a life in the city. A job. A persona to return to when any threats were taken care of—she wasn’t a ranch girl permanently. He probably thought it was a fling as well. But she loved the nervous turn to her stomach and giddy giggle threatening to leave her lips as she walked toward the house’s exit—those bubbly, exciting feelings were familiar yet foreign, gone too long from her life. Sure, she’d dated here and there, some long term and usually quite fun, but this... This felt like a high school first crush and she loved it.

  She slipped on a hoodie hung just inside the door, pulled the hood over her head, and jogged out onto the porch, down the steps, and along the path toward Adam’s building. Water sloshed around her feet, thankfully not leaking into her boots, and rain pelted her head hard. She ducked fat drops falling from the awning, skirted puddles, and raced for the sanctity of the building. Gus and Dewey were in the office discussing camp for the week, so she didn’t worry about them seeing her. And Carlee—

  “Dani!”

  Damn it.

  Dani paused, squinting and holding the hoodie closed over her chest as she glanced around. Soon she spotted Carlee waving over by the indoor arena, apparently needing help with something.

  Dani wasn’t wearing a watch but she already knew it was almost one. She muttered under her breath and jogged over.

  Carlee had her horse on a lead, both of them a bit damp after coming from the barn. “He gets antsy when it rains—would you mind holding him while I get on?”

  “Um, sure.” Dani tried not to sound irritated. There really wasn’t anything particularly bad about Carlee—nothing that deserved her ire. But she was pretty and perfect and a horse person and got googly-eyed with Adam.

  Which, come to think of it, maybe was reason enough to be bitchy with her.

  Rain struck the metal roof loudly, hammering a steady beat. Sand dusted Dani’s boots, clinging to their dampness, as she walked in the aren
a. Pylons were bright spots of color in an otherwise drab setting, set up to mark the positions of barrels for racing.

  Sweet Pea stood off to the side, and Dani went to stand in front of him. She’d seen others do it the day before—stand in front of a horse while a rider hopped on—but she hadn’t done it yet herself. Her fingers grasped the sides of the bridle gently, holding on while Carlee checked the saddle.

  “I hope the rain’s done by tomorrow,” she said as she moved to the right side, flipped up the stirrup to check the cinch. “I’ll feel bad for the kids if they’re stuck inside the first day.”

  “Yep.” Just get on your horse. I have a sexy appointment with a hot guy and don’t have time for idle chat.

  She circled the horse, patting his nose lovingly, and smiled at Dani. “I’m really glad you’re here. I think we’ll have a lot of fun tomorrow. Gus has the usual camp instructor coming but it’ll be nice to have someone to talk to.”

  Great. They were going to talk. Fun times.

  Carlee moved to check the cinch on the left. “Last year it was just me, Adam, and Dewey when I stayed here after the show. And Gus. Never a chance to talk to another girl.”

  Girl talk. With Carlee. Not precisely what she’d been hoping for when she called Therese earlier. I just am not making friendship bracelets with her. “Sure.”

  “Maybe tomorrow,” she gave the saddle another tug and seemed satisfied with its placement, “we can go out, the four of us. Like...a group date.”

  “That sounds”—like a nightmare—“great.”

  Carlee grinned brightly. “Awesome.” She turned back to Sweet Pea and grasped the horn, put her foot in the stirrup. Dani held onto the bridle as the horse shifted, then Carlee heaved herself up onto the saddle. She got her right foot into the other stirrup, took the reins, and nodded. Dani stepped back and left her to trot about the arena.

  A group date. So...was she dating Adam? Or sort of angling for him still? He had a bit of a temper and could be a jackass now and then, but she had no doubt otherwise of his integrity. He wouldn’t actually have something going on with her and Carlee.