Wasn’t there some kind of etiquette that dictated you waited until you knew each other before you did this? But maybe that was her problem with women. She was too old-fashioned, too vanilla. Enough thinking. It was making her dizzy. Her inhibitions dissolved by the alcohol, Tory took the prosthesis and strapped it to her narrow hips. She could be a stud if that’s what Bridgette wanted.
She lay back on the bed and guided Bridgette to straddle her hips. The dildo easily slid into place and Bridgette’s full breasts danced across Tory’s chest as she began to move. They kissed deep, tongues battling, until Bridgette pulled back, panting as her arousal climbed. Tory flipped them over and began to pump in earnest.
“Oh, God, yes,” Bridgette moaned. “Harder.”
Tory pushed Bridgette’s knees up toward her chest and thrust in long, forceful strokes, flesh slapping against flesh. Bridgette arched and again screamed with her release, but Tory kept thrusting. Her own climax remained frustratingly elusive until she closed her eyes and it was Leah underneath her, dark head thrown back, moaning out Tory’s name as she opened and offered herself. Suddenly, Tory’s orgasm swarmed in her belly and exploded through her body until everything went black and she collapsed, limp and sweaty, pinning Bridgette to the bed.
Well, all that thrusting would explain her sore back, but that was the last thing she remembered. She didn’t recall withdrawing from between Bridgette’s legs, or divesting herself of the dildo, or crawling under the covers. Did she pass out? How could she face Bridgette after behaving like a cad and promptly falling asleep? Maybe she had left.
Tory cautiously opened one eye. Thankfully, the blinds had been closed so the sun’s glare was no longer a knife stabbing into her brain. A weight settled on the other side of the bed and she slowly rolled over, the sheet twisting around her waist. Bridgette was smiling, fully dressed, and handing her several pills and a bottle of water.
“An antacid for your stomach and a pain reliever for your head,” she said. “And I brought two bottles of water. You need to drink them both.”
“Thanks.” Tory accepted the medicines and guzzled the entire bottle of water to wash them down. She offered Bridgette a weak smile. “Did I embarrass myself last night?”
“You were spectacular, right up until the moment you passed out.”
“God, I’m sorry.”
“I took it as a compliment, and maybe a little admonishment for pouring so much of that tea into you.” Bridgette chuckled. “It’s probably a good thing you passed out before I could beg for another round. If I had, I’d be even sorer than I am today.”
Tory covered her face with her hands. “I am so sorry.”
Bridgette pulled Tory’s hands down and kissed her. “Don’t be. You were incredible.”
Tory blushed and glanced over at the clock. “Christ. I’ve got to get moving. I have appointments this morning.”
“Would you mind if I came along again?”
“After landing in that pile of manure last time, you sure you want to?”
Bridgette laughed. “I think I learned my lesson about grabbing foals. Classes start next week, then I won’t be free to do it again until after the semester. I brought my sketch pad and was hoping to draw a little at some of the farms you visit.”
“You’re more than welcome. I need to grab a shower first.”
“Go ahead. I saw you have some bagels. I’ll toast us a few while you get ready. You need something in your stomach.”
“Yes, Doctor.”
“It doesn’t take a medical degree to know how to cure a hangover, just a little experience,” Bridgette said over her shoulder as she headed toward the kitchen.
“If you mix that tea up very often, then I’m betting you have lots of experience with hangovers,” Tory muttered.
Her thoughts were jumbled as she stood under the hot spray of the shower. Bridgette was pretty, and damn hot. Better yet, she was obviously interested. So why did Leah pop into her head when she was naked with Bridgette? Leah is opinionated and stubborn and lost…and cute and so sexy…and so lost. Tory sighed. She turned off the shower and her thoughts. She had to just let it go and let things happen with Bridgette.
*
Her schedule was fairly light that morning, so they had time to dawdle and give Bridgette a chance to sketch a few scenes she planned to paint later: a barn cat sitting atop a fence post and batting at the nose of an inquisitive horse friend, a young equestrian hugging her favorite pony. Bridgette was fast at sketching and an instant hit with Tory’s clients. She promised them the original sketches once she had transferred the scenes onto canvas.
Tory’s hangover had disappeared after a few hours and she was enjoying how easy it was to hang out with Bridgette. It was midafternoon, as they were leaving her last appointment, that Tory’s cell phone rang.
“You want to tell me what I’m supposed to do with this runt of a mare that was delivered here last week?”
Tory laughed. Now she knew what it sounded like when she called Joyce and began talking without the proper preliminary pleasantries. “Good afternoon, Skyler. I’m fine, thank you for asking.”
“I didn’t ask.”
“I thought Jess was working on improving your social skills.”
“I’m hopeless.”
“Obviously. The mare is a long story, but I’m done for the day, so we’ll head over. I want to check her out.”
“We? Sounds like Chincoteague went well.”
“Bridgette’s with me.”
There was a moment of silence as Skyler digested that information. “Okay. The mare’s at Creek Barn.”
“On our way.”
*
Long Shot, still wearing her halter for the trip from Chincoteague, was pacing in a round pen next to the barn while Jessica and Skyler watched. Jessica greeted Bridgette warmly, but Skyler grabbed the long lunge whip propped against the barn and nodded toward the pen. “You ready to check her out?”
“You in a hurry?” Tory was irritated that Skyler didn’t acknowledge Bridgette’s presence. She glanced back to see Bridgette grabbing her sketch pad and climbing with Jessica onto the bed of the large pickup parked next to the round pen. They settled into two lawn chairs Jessica had placed there earlier so they could watch Skyler and Tory work with the mare.
“I just want to know what the story is here.”
They both studied the mare. She’d stopped pacing and was staring out at the other horses grazing in the adjacent pasture.
“Not a lot to tell. Leah and I went to the track and bet on a long shot named Leah’s Pride. We won a chunk of money and ended up spending it at the auction to save this mare from the pony-ride man. Thus the name, Long Shot.”
Having assisted more than a few times at the pony swim, Skyler detested the pony-ride man. “That’s it?”
“I had her shipped here because I thought maybe you could turn her into a schooling pony. I’ll swap you vet services in exchange for her board. I don’t want to keep her at the clinic because I don’t have the kind of pasture space she’s accustomed to. She needs a herd she can belong to, Sky, not the endless rotation of client horses that come through the clinic.”
“Why’d you cull her from the herd? She’s a dead ringer for Misty.”
“Bad genes. Her right front is club,” Tory said, pointing toward the mare.
Skyler nodded after squinting at the indicated foot for a moment. She held out the whip.
But Tory shook her head. “If you don’t mind, I’ll just watch. I had a little too much to drink last night and I don’t think my stomach could take turning around in circles. It makes me sick just to think about it.”
Skyler looked like she wanted to ask more, but Jessica and Bridgette were within earshot now, so instead she opened the gate and moved to the center of the pen.
The little mare laid her ears back and turned her rump toward Skyler, horse-speak for “I’ll kick you good if you mess with me.” Undaunted, Skyler moved so Long Shot could see her fr
om the right side. She flicked the long whip against the ground and stepped forward to encourage the mare to move off to the left against the fence.
Tory watched Long Shot closely for signs of lameness from her trip as she moved around the pen.
Skyler continued to walk in a small circle as Long Shot ran along the larger outer circle around her. She occasionally flicked the whip against the ground when the mare slowed.
Long Shot galloped around the ring ten or twelve times before Tory nodded and Skyler stepped back to allow the mare to slow to a trot, then a walk. When Long Shot finally stopped, snorting and shaking her head, she turned toward Skyler and waited. Skyler stepped backward a bit, but Long Shot stood still against the fence. Skyler again stepped forward, this time to the left, and flicked the whip to move Long Shot in the opposite direction.
Bridgette had been drawing furiously on her sketch pad, but stopped, flipped to a clean sheet, and watched for a while. “Why are they running her around a ring? Shouldn’t she be resting in the pasture with the other horses after a long trip from the coast?”
“A lot of reasons,” Jessica replied. “First of all, we board a lot of high-dollar horses here, so we have to isolate her for a few days until we’re sure she didn’t pick up some contagious bug while traveling. She was in a trailer for several days, visiting different farms as the other horses in the trailer were delivered to their new owners. They would have had to board at some of those farms overnight, where she could have picked up a lot of germs.”
“So why is Skyler making her run around the pen?”
“Tory isn’t just watching. She’s looking for signs of lameness that could indicate she was injured during the trip. Also, Skyler’s establishing dominance over the new mare. Horses are social creatures and establish definite hierarchies within their herds. They need to know where they fit in the herd for them to feel secure. By making her move in the direction Skyler dictates, Long Shot is learning that Skyler is the boss of this farm’s herd.”
Tory nodded again, and Skyler let the mare slow to a stop. This time, Skyler turned her back to the mare and walked to the opposite side of the pen. Long Shot hesitated, her head held high and her sides heaving from her exertion, and then she lowered her head and followed.
“Skyler turning her back and walking away in a non-threatening manner is an invitation in horse language. Long Shot recognizes she’s alone and that there’s safety in numbers. She’s following,” Jessica explained, “because she now sees Skyler as a capable leader and is accepting the invitation to be part of her herd.”
“That’s really interesting,” Bridgette murmured, starting a new sketch. “I had no idea they were such complicated animals.”
“Actually, they’re very simple compared to people. Their body language, if you understand it, speaks loudly and always truthfully. They don’t understand the concept of deception.”
Tory had stepped into the pen and was running her hands down Long Shot’s legs, feeling for signs of inflammation while Skyler kept her uninjured hand on the mare’s halter to hold her steady.
“Looks like they’re finishing up,” Jessica said. “Let’s join them.”
They hopped down from the truck and walked over to the pen where Bridgette propped her pad on the top rail and continued to sketch. She looked up at Tory and Skyler when they released Long Shot and exited the pen.
“Everything check out okay?”
“No problems I could find,” Tory said. “Can I see what you’re drawing?”
Jessica chimed in. “I’ve been dying to ask, but didn’t know if I should.”
“They’re just rough sketches at this point, but you’re welcome to look,” Bridgette said, handing the sketch pad to Tory.
Jessica and Skyler shifted so they could look over Tory’s shoulders at the sketch Bridgette had been working on. It was a portrait of Long Shot, the moment she hesitated before accepting Skyler’s invitation to follow.
“Wow,” Skyler said, looking up at Bridgette with a new respect.
She had captured that moment of indecision—eyes wide, nostrils flared, one ear forward and the other flicked back—with chilling accuracy.
Tory had glanced over Bridgette’s shoulder as she sketched earlier that day, but this one was breathtaking. She looked up for permission, then flipped to the previous page.
“Oh my God,” Jessica breathed. It was a lifelike sketch of Skyler and Tory, forearms resting on the top rail of the round pen, discussing Long Shot. “I’ve got to have a copy of that.”
Bridgette nodded. “I’ll make you one after I’ve polished it.”
Tory flipped the page again to reveal the picture of the young client and her horse from earlier. She had already seen those sketches, so she handed the book to Jessica.
“These are so good, Bridgette,” Jessica said. “I don’t know what you’re doing teaching at a small college here in Virginia. You should be selling paintings in New York.”
“Actually, I have a friend who owns galleries in New York, Boston, and Provincetown. She’s managed to sell enough of my work that I’m financially comfortable. I’ll never be really famous, though, because I hate the schmoozing required to move in the top art circles.” She shrugged. “I teach because I love it. It’s a life choice. Not everybody, including my friend, understands that.”
Jessica flipped another page. “Oh, my.”
Skyler looked down and her hands came up quickly to cover Jessica’s eyes.
Jessica laughed. “Skyler, stop that.”
“What? Let me see,” Tory said.
Skyler took the sketch book from Jessica and handed it over.
Bridgette covered her smile with her hand, obviously waiting for her reaction.
Tory looked down at the sketch of her in bed. She was lying on her back, nude, the sheet barely pulled up enough to cover her thighs. Her eyes were dreamy and her hand outstretched across the bed as if beckoning the artist to come lie with her.
Bridgette smiled. “That’s part of my private collection, not intended for public viewing.”
Tory glanced at her before she flipped the page. It was a sketch of her sleeping on her stomach, the sheet draped across the back of her thighs. She jumped at the sound of Skyler’s voice right next to her ear.
“What’s that on your butt?”
“Nothing.” Her scowl couldn’t hide the blush she felt creeping up her neck.
Skyler stared at her for a moment, then held up her bandaged hand and jerked her head toward the barn. “I need a hand getting some hay and water for your mare.” She turned abruptly. Tory handed the sketchbook to Bridgette without looking at her and followed.
*
Skyler dragged an empty twenty-gallon rubber water tub from the storage room. She pointed toward a bale of hay resting at the bottom of the hay chute, but put her hand out to stop Tory before she picked it up.
“So what’s the story here, T? And I’m not talking about the horse.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Skyler gave her an amused smile. “Let’s review. Last time I saw you, a very hot little firecracker was hanging on your arm and flirting her Texas ass off with you. She leaves the party, and you get all warm with Picasso there and leave with her. Then you spend the weekend with the firecracker. And a week later, you turn up here with pretty Miss Picasso again, who obviously has had the opportunity to see you naked.”
“Bridgette and I are dating. Leah and I are just friends.”
“Try again, and remember who you’re talking to. You were practically drooling when the firecracker was hanging on your arm.”
“Stop calling her that. Christ. Okay. I slept with Leah in Chincoteague. Then she got up the next morning, said she wouldn’t be hanging around town much longer and just wanted to be friends. Well, I’m sick of being ‘just friends.’ So when Bridgette came over last night, I got a little drunk and slept with her. She wants me and Leah doesn’t. It’s just that simple.”
Skyler nodded th
oughtfully. “So what’s on your butt?”
“Nothing, I told you.”
“It looks like something to me, but I can’t quite make it out.”
“It’s a tattoo.”
Skyler punched Tory lightly on the arm. “You have a tattoo on your butt and you didn’t tell me?”
“Why would I do that?”
“I told you when I got one.”
“You got a phoenix tattooed on your leg. Big deal. It’s not like everybody who saw you wearing shorts didn’t already know about it.” Tory separated the bale of hay and picked up half of it, and they headed back out to the round pen with Skyler dragging the empty water tub behind them.
“So? Come on. What do you have tattooed on your butt?”
Tory knew Skyler wouldn’t drop the issue. If she didn’t answer, they were likely to end up in a wrestling match with Skyler trying to yank her pants down to see for herself. That’s what she’d do if she thought Skyler was hiding a tattoo there.
“I got it while I was a student, when I was drunk one night. It’s the college mascot, okay?”
“You went to that Catholic place. Their mascot is…” Skyler laughed. “You have a leprechaun tattooed on your ass? A leprechaun? Oh, that’s sexy.”
“Shut up. Tell me again why you’re my best friend?” Tory growled. She threw the hay into the round pen and headed to retrieve the water hose that was hooked to an outdoor spigot. She was seriously contemplating turning the hose on Skyler instead of filling the tub. Skyler was saved by the buzzing of the pager clipped to Tory’s waist. She sucked in her breath when she checked the number. It was Leah.
Tory hurried over to Bridgette and Jessica.
“Hey,” Bridgette said. “Jessica has invited us to stick around for dinner.”
“Jess, thanks, but sorry. I just got beeped for an emergency.” Tory looked at Bridgette. “I don’t want to spoil your evening, though. You could stay. I’m sure someone could run you home later if I don’t get back.”
“No, I’d rather go with you.”
Long Shot Page 13
