by Ashlee Price
“Yes.”
Trent slowed down, thinking it was because of the ride, but it had nothing to do with that. She wasn’t even paying attention, though she knew she should have. Foster was more worried about the feel of him behind her and the strength of the arms encircling her. How could she worry about anything else?
“Do you want to stop for a while?”
She nodded, opening her eyes finally. They were farther off than she had thought they would be, knowing that the walk back would help cool her ardor so she didn’t do something that she may regret later. “If you don’t mind. Maybe we could walk back for a bit. I need to feel the ground underneath me.”
Trent brought the horse to a slow stop and she was thankful for the break of contact when he got off behind her. She slid her leg over and moved to his waiting arms to help her down. She got to feel the front of him with her descent and the need that had been stirred by the ride. Foster was thankful that she was not the only one having a hard time of it. She smiled up at him, thanking him.
“We can get back on when you are ready. For now we can just walk though. It feels different the longer you ride too. Sometimes the ground will feel unsolid for the first few minutes.”
“Good, I was thinking my legs were going to go out.”
“Well that could happen too.”
He moved to help her steady herself and she pulled away after a moment. “I got it.”
Trent pulled away almost reluctantly. They walked back to his house and found themselves falling in step with each other. Trent tried to break the silence, talking about the beautiful sky, but neither one of them was really thinking about the weather.
When they got back to the training grounds, he helped her back on and let her walk around the ring by herself. Foster wasn’t the only one that needed a break from the contact between them and she seemed to be a lot more comfortable on her own. It was well past noon before she got off of the horse and her knees did almost buckle. She stopped herself with a hand on his shoulder.
“Why don’t we take a break? I haven’t seen someone pick up riding as fast as you have.”
“I’m a pretty quick learner.”
“I see that.”
Foster smiled and then looked down. “Well I had a great time Trent. Thanks.”
“Where are you going off to so quickly?”
“Oh, I just figured you had things to do. I don’t want to keep you.”
“You aren’t. I was hoping you would stay for lunch. Are you always so skittish?”
Foster was around him, but she didn’t want to tell him the real reason. He was the real reason. “I just don’t want to intrude. It’s your only day off and you were already nice enough to give me a lesson.”
“I got more out of it than you did I’m sure. It was just an excuse to get next to you and have you here with me.”
She bit her lip and looked back over at him. It was when he said things like that, that Foster became skittish. Trent was the type of man to make her wish that she was ready for a relationship. Not even sure if that was what he wanted, it was what she wanted. A romp in the sack once or twice would not be enough. There was something about him that drove her to think of her non-existent sex life and actually want to change it. But was she actually ready? Foster didn’t know if she could ever really be ready for a man like Trent. He was different than every other guy she had dated before. He was a real man.
“You don’t need an excuse Trent. I would have come if you had asked me over for tea.”
Chapter 8
Foster stayed for lunch, but she left confused and slightly shaking. He had been a perfect gentleman, none of the earlier flirting. She almost wished that he had kissed her and made good on the promise in his eyes, but he hadn’t. Not even in the smallest way. So, as she drove away, her mind and body were at odds and she found herself utterly in a lurch.
She was confused that he had not acted the same. Had he changed his mind as she had changed hers so suddenly? Foster had known that she wasn’t ready for a relationship, but she was ready for something physical. Now it seemed as if he had changed his mind on wanting to ravish her. It was a pity to say the least.
He offered her another lesson in the late afternoon, but Foster was finished for the day. She told him that she had a couple of errands to run, bowing out of the offer. When he tried to tie her down for the next weekend she agreed. Foster wasn’t sure what had happened, but it was suddenly not going to be him making her feel better. She throbbed when she left his ranch and Foster had to take care of her own needs when she got home. It was not how she thought the day would end.
Lying in bed, she was satisfied, but not in the way she should have been. Foster was still thinking of the man that made her weak in the knees and all she wanted was to feel his touch. She went to sleep still wondering what had gone wrong. After the ride he had been talkative and very needy through the eyes and then it was over.
***
Trent didn’t know what happened. She was ripe for him. He had seen it in her eyes and the way Foster leaned in when they were talking. He thought that it was the perfect time, but then something had stopped him. It was the look of vulnerability that had skirted across her face for a moment before the smile covered it up. She wasn’t ready yet and he had to respect that. There was a reason why she was there and it wasn’t to be taken advantage of.
But that evening his cursed his thoughts. Maybe she was just as horny as he was and needed some relief? That thought came later in the night and he almost called her. Picking up the phone, he stared at it for several moments. Finding her number in the call log, he read the number over and over again. He was trying to build up courage, more than making a decision and it showed. Pushing the call button and dragging the phone to his ear, he almost hung up with the first ring.
She wasn’t going to answer. It was too late, he was sure of it.
“Hello?”
Trent cursed himself silently and answered her. “Hey Foster.”
“Hey…” She didn’t sound too excited to hear from him, but it could have had something to do with the time of night that it was. Her voice was sleepy and Foster was still stinging from what had happened between them earlier in the day. It was embarrassing how needy he got her and then left her out to dry. “What’s up?”
Trent’s mind raced. He had no idea what he was supposed to say to her. He shouldn’t have called and when he couldn’t think of a good reason for being there, he floundered for the words. “I um…”
“Trent it is really late. Did you need something?”
He needed her, but that was not something that could be said out loud. “I was wondering…”
The sure man was suddenly not so sure. Foster’s voice seemed to lighten up and she gave him time to say what he was going to say. “Yes?”
Her prompting made his brain clear. She was not going to have patience with him much longer and Trent really believed that she should already be in his arms. He would never be considered a shy man, but all of a sudden he was more afraid that she would say no than the act of even asking. “I’m sorry. I will see you later. I don’t know what I am doing.”
He said goodbye softly and quickly hung up. Trent was cursing himself out loud now that he could and Foster was looking at her phone in utter disbelief. Whatever he was going to ask hadn’t come out and now she was left to lie in her bed and wonder. There had been something in his tone that she hadn’t heard before.
***
“What is with you today, Foster? I haven’t gotten a real answer out of you all morning.”
Foster looked up from the cow that she was holding to the side for Karen to work on. “Sorry. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Oh?” Her older wrinkled face smiled and she looked at Foster as if there was a naughty reason why she was so tired.
“It’s nothing like that.”
Karen’s face fell. “Oh. I guess I was just hoping since you had seen Trent yesterday.”
&nbs
p; Foster could feel her face getting red. She had thought about him all night after he called. She wanted to know what he wanted, but there had been something holding him back. What had he wanted? Did he want her as much as she was dying for him? Foster hoped so. It was all she could think about was their kiss and the possibilities of what could happen.
“He is a complicate man.”
Karen didn’t like the sound of that, but she didn’t say anything, waiting to see if Foster would say more. She had seen the two of them together and Karen knew that there was something there. “All men are complicated, but a woman can always change that.”
Foster didn’t know what secret ways she was talking about, but she wished she had known them the day before. Her body was still on edge, as much as her mind was. She wanted him so bad and he had just shut down. The late night call was the most confusing part and she replayed it in her head so many times throughout the day. What was he going to say?
“I don’t know Karen. He is different.”
Karen finished her work, stitching up the young cow and moving back to take her gloves off. Foster let her go and the cow moved away to feed no longer bothered by being held back. Foster wished that she could be so carefree afterwards. It was driving her crazy, his flirtatious ways and then cold disregard.
“Just give it some time. We are all going through something and I think Trent is just out of practice. I haven’t heard of him dating someone in a very long time. He likes you, so just give him time. Trust me when I say that he is worth it.”
Foster nodded, but she wasn’t sure if he was. Moreover, she didn’t know if she wanted to be with anyone. It was hard enough trying to start her life over, but adding in half the feelings she felt over the course of the night, may be a bit more than she had bargained for. “I don’t know if I am ready for all of that. Trent is a great guy, but it has been a long time for me as well.”
“You two will be together. I can just tell. You are too perfect not to be.”
Foster didn’t agree or disagree. It was hard to as Karen was so sure of herself. “Maybe, but I don’t think he is worried about that right now. There was a moment…where I thought he was going to make a move, but then it was gone and I was left looking like an idiot.”
Karen smiled knowingly, but it didn’t help the way Foster felt about it. It was the first time that she had put herself out there and he had left her feeling an idiot. Foster was starting to wonder if she had lost her mojo.
“Don’t worry about that Foster. You are a pretty girl. I doubt many men could tell you no. From what I hear, you are the one telling the gentlemen callers no.”
Foster couldn’t disagree, but it was the one man she wanted that had clammed up and left her hanging. She wouldn’t say that to Karen, but it made her wonder why. “I don’t know what to think of him. I can’t deny that I like him, but I don’t think either one of us is ready.”
Karen waved her off. She didn’t believe that there was a perfect time for anything. “You have to make yourself ready and if I had a face like that Foster, I wouldn’t have to worry about a thing.”
Chapter 9
Trent was distracted, but he picked up the phone when he heard it ringing next to him. “Yeah?”
“Trent?”
Trent sat up a little straighter and pulled the phone away to make sure that it was her and he wasn’t just hearing things. “Foster. I wasn’t expecting to hear from you today.”
“Well I know we don’t have a lesson until this weekend, but I was hoping that maybe you would like to stop by. I am making dinner and didn’t want to eat alone. Since you have cooked for me, I figure I could return the favor.” She had said it so fast that she wondered if he had even understood her. Every time Foster got nervous she talked like an auctioneer. As the silence drug out, it made her even more nervous. “I mean, that is if you aren’t busy.”
“No, I’m not busy at all. I just didn’t figure I would hear from you, after the way I had acted the last time we talked.”
Foster wasn’t sure if he was talking about the conversation they had had or the one where he had stuttered a few times on the phone before hanging up. Pick one, she thought to herself. But she was the one that had called. Her boss’s words were rolling around in her mind and it was hard not to feel a bit out on a ledge.
“Well I just want to repay your kindness. You are one of the only guys that hadn’t tried to get in my pants since I have been here. The first one to befriend me besides Karen, and I was hoping you would like some stroganoff.”
“I don’t know what that is, but it sounds good. What time would you like me to come over?”
“Anytime. Now is good.” She blushed when she heard the way it had come across. It sounded different in her mind, but there was a sound of desperation in her voice. Clearing her throat, she kind of giggled. “Just whenever, Trent. I am going to get off of here, so I don’t burn the onions. The door is open, just come on in.”
Foster didn’t wait for him to respond, but ended the call. She couldn’t believe she had just done that and her hands and body were trembling. What if he did come? Would it be the time? She pushed the thoughts away and went to the fridge to grab the onions.
When she heard the knock ten minutes later, Foster jumped at the sound. She had told him it was open, but he still waited for her to come to the door and let him in. “Smells good.”
Foster smiled and then remembered the onion cooking in the pan. She really was going to burn the onions if she didn’t go back in there. “Hey, want a drink in here? I am still cooking. I didn’t think you would be so quick.”
“When a beautiful woman invites me over, agrees to cook for me, I am not going to say no.”
“Good to know.”
She turned back and went towards the kitchen, trying to slow down her breathing from him being there so suddenly, his eyes on her. “How was your day?”
“Long.”
Foster could relate, but once again, she couldn’t say what was really on her mind. “I can relate. It liked to have never ended. I swear Karen books appointments like there is two of her.”
He chuckled and relaxed with the safe subject. Trent took his jacket off and asked her where to put it. “Anywhere. I don’t really have an official place. Mine is on the couch.”
Trent set his jacket on top of hers and followed the sound of her voice and the smell into the kitchen. “This is a nice place.”
“Yeah, not my décor. I could never pull this off, so I was thankful to find something furnished already.”
Trent could feel a different vibe in the air and Foster was feeling far better about him that evening. All she really wanted was for him to kiss her again, but she was prepared to play it out if she had to. She had already made up her mind that she was going to have him. Foster just had to convince Trent that he wanted her just as badly as she wanted him.
“It looks good. Suits you somehow.”
Foster kind of laughed. “It was the first place that we found that didn’t have cow skulls on the wall.”
Trent looked uncomfortable for a minute. “Not that I don’t like yours of course. It’s okay for a man, but as a woman, it is not really that stylish.” She was putting her foot in her mouth. It was hard for them to see their ways from someone else’s eyes. Trent had lived there his whole life and he actually thought they classed the place up. By the way she had said that, it was clear where she fell on the issue.
“You’re right. I really need a female touch in there.”
“Don’t look at me. I have no eye for that sort of thing. My last apartment back east had white walls because I could never think of the right color.”
“I beg to differ. Your dress is quite becoming.” His eyes took in the tight red dress that made him feel like a bull in heat. She had never really been so fancy before and with the earlier comments, he was starting to wonder if he was the one out of his league. Foster had her mind set on something.
“Thank you. I never really get to dres
s up anymore. You look good, as always.”
His tight jeans were just close enough to the skin to show off all of his muscles in his thighs. They flexed as he moved around in the kitchen, stirring and tasting everything while she watched him.
“So what happened with you and that call last night? Did you need something?”
Her words reminded him that he was not being very suave about the whole situation. Usually Trent was the one that could take what he needed and move on. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been with women, just never more than once or twice. But what was different was the giddy feeling he felt every time he was around her. Trent didn’t feel as in control as he would have liked to have been.
“I wanted something, but then thought against it. Sorry about that.”
“No big deal, it’s just you seem to change your mind a lot. Hot one minute and then ice cold the next.”
He nodded his head. “Yes, that happens sometimes.”
“Does it?”
“Well it does now I guess.”
“So what are you now?”
Trent wasn’t sure what she was talking about. Her face was so innocent looking and her smile was disarming to his senses. “Are you hot or cold?”
“Definitely hot.”
He was so close all of a sudden and she couldn’t help the smile that spread over her lips. There was just something about him and with him there with her, it fooled her mind into thinking he was going to kiss her. She sighed against him as he leaned in, her eyes closing as her lips searched out his.
It was as perfect of a time as any to get over his nervousness. Foster had made the decision for both of them, making the first move because she was tired of waiting for him to do it. His lips were soft against hers, surprised when they were talking one minute and then kissing the next.
Trent didn’t take long to take over, his grip becoming tighter on her arms and his tongue more insistent. Foster had been waiting for that moment and she couldn’t help the moan that escaped her lips. He just felt too good and his body crushed against her softness. Pulling back, Trent watched her eyes slowly open.
