by Lita Lawson
“You were right. I’m too large to be a jockey.”
Noticing the husky tone of his voice, she replied haltingly, “You’re not too large, you’re too tall and too, ah, well-built.”
He laughed, and side by side, they walked the horses back to their respective stalls. They both made quick work of wiping the horses down, silently laboring together. When they finished, Cassi watched as Austin gave the horses fresh water to drink.
When done, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the office, closing the door behind them.
Cassi followed as Austin led her to a dark corner. When he stopped, he turned around to face her. His hands held her captive while his intense golden gaze held her in a trance. Involuntarily, she held her breath for a moment, wondering if he would kiss her. She wondered what thoughts hid behind those eyes?
“You still think we’re just business partners?” Austin queried softly.
Cassi couldn’t miss the desire that seemed to radiate from him. An electrical charge surrounded them. Saying they were only business partners would be denying her true feelings. But if she said she wanted it to be more than that, then she would be vulnerable. Vulnerable to his sophisticated charms, vulnerable to the fact that he might not want to admit his attraction to her, and vulnerable to those heady kisses that could twirl her world on a tilted axis.
His roughened thumb caressed her cheek. He stood so close to her she could feel his warm breath on her skin. If he kissed her again, she didn’t think she could resist. All her defenses seemed to disappear when he touched her. Like playing with fire, she knew that she’d get burned. But the desire to light the flame remained a temptation too pleasurable to resist.
“You tell me,” she replied lightly, hoping he’d say he wanted more, but praying he’d say they should only be partners. That way, she could remain safe.
Cassi stood still while Austin slowly lowered his head toward her. Suspended in time, her breathing became shallow in anticipation of his kiss. His lips against hers were soft and luxurious as velvet. Light and feathery, the kiss teased, making her yearn for a more satisfying one. A kiss so long and deep it would quench the burning desire she had for this enigmatic man.
His thumb slowly slid down from her cheek, grazing her throat. Cassi leaned further back into the office wall for support.
Austin stepped into her. Close. A combined sensation of agony and delight threatened to drive Cassi mad as their bodies pressed together. Her body warmed as the gentle kiss fueled the spark of desire into a flame. She wasn’t satisfied with his tender kiss, wanted to let the flames engulf her, burn her. Pressing into him, her breasts flattened against his hard chest. Boldly, she placed both her hands on his hips, and pulled him closer. His erection rose firmly against her, telling her all she needed to know. He desired her like she desired him.
Looking into his half-closed eyes, she saw his desire and it delighted her that she could have this effect on this experienced playboy.
Austin cupped her face in his hands, his lips recapturing hers, more demanding. Cassi opened her mouth, eager for him. She gave herself freely in response to his demands. As their kiss deepened, urgent and demanding, a soft moan escaped her.
His fingers fumbled with her braid. “Dammit, woman. Why do you insist on keeping your hair tied up?”
His ragged voice thrilled her. She giggled softly at his frustration, her hands joined his in undoing the ties. He raised her hands over her head and his lone free hand grazed her breast, causing her to gasp out loud at the sizzling contact. She closed her eyes not wanting him to see how much she wanted, needed his touch. His fingers threaded through the loose curls of her hair.
“Do you realize how beautiful you arewhat you do to me?”
His voice, husky in her ear, sent shivers of desire down her spine.
“You affect me like no other woman ever has.”
The confession delighted her, yet sent a fear through her. She sensed there would be no escape until he conquered her.
He trailed hot kisses along the side of her face, her ear, and finally her neck. With her hands still pinned above her, she couldn’t—wouldn’t resist anything he did. Paralyzed, like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming car, she was his. He could do anything to her right now. His magnetic aura had completely ensnared her in its charm.
Breaking the kiss, Austin lowered his head further. Her breathing quickened when his breath whispered against her chest at the button above her breasts. She knew what he had in mind and knew she was incapable of stopping it. With his other free hand, he flicked the top buttons open. Her exposed skin caused her to shiver at the coolness of the air.
Austin’s head dipped lower, and he scattered kisses along the top of her breasts. She could feel the moistness from his kisses dry from the contact of the cool spring air. He slid his hand underneath her bra, capturing her nipple, prompting it to harden at his touch. An aching desire bloomed, and she grew impatient.
“You’re teasing me.” Cassi didn’t recognize the husky sound of her voice.
“Oh, but it’s such sweet agony, isn’t it?”
His voice mocked her and she knew he would continue with the sweet torture. Ever so slowly, his tongue traced circles around the hard peak, weakening her knees. Cassi knew she would slide to the floor if the wall behind her wasn’t there, supporting her. Finally, his mouth covered her breast, lifting it from the protection of the bra.
“Please, Austin, oh, please,” Cassi writhed in sweet pleasure.
His free hand trailed to the area below the zipper of her jeans and began rocking back and forth between her legs while his tongue continued to flick across her taut nipple. She arched her back, pressing her breast deeper into his mouth, seeking, needing release. As he raised his head from her breast, Cassi almost cried out for him not to stop.
“Are we just business partners, Cassi?” His voice was low.
He continued rubbing the juncture of her jeans and his intense gaze did not leave hers. Each movement sent a new shiver of desire and need through her. She turned her head to one side, not wanting to face him, to admit her need for him. She didn’t want to say the words she knew he wanted to hear.
Trying to change the subject, she asked, “Do you think we should lock the door? Someone might walk in.”
“You don’t like to live dangerously?” His desire-roughened voice taunted her.
Silence hung palpable in the air.
“Apparently I need to interrogate you further before you’ll give me a reply. So what are we, Cassi?”
Cassi couldn’t answer, left mute by his continued touch between her legs. Waves of sensations began to wash over her. Austin’s mouth recaptured her breast, sucking on her nipple, sending her near the edge of release.
Flicking his tongue across the taut peak several more times, he raised his head. “What are we Cassi? Just partners, or are we more than that?”
Quaking under his touch, she could feel the moisture between her legs, hot and pulsing.
“Say it, Cassi,” he demanded. “Say what we are.”
“We’re—we’re just partners,” the words were strangled from her. She couldn’t admit how he made her feel—how she wanted him.
He quickly unzipped her jeans and slid his hand between her panties and skin, finding her moistness.
“You’re a terrible liar, Cassi,” he whispered seductively. “I’m going to prove it.” He slid a finger inside her while he continued massaging the point between her legs.
In a matter of a moment, Cassi gasped, and her world spun all around her while a kaleidoscope of feelings washed over her. The desire to cry, to laugh, to love this man forever washed over her like a tidal wave. His hand rocked her to the edge of reality and back. She heard herself moaning in a voice that seemed removed from her own. And then euphoria washed over her, relaxing her taut muscles.
“Open your eyes, Cassi.” His voice was like a velvet caress. “Look at me.”
She did as he commanded.
Her drowsy eyes looked into his darkened ones, seeing his own desire reflecting hers.
He placed a deep kiss on her lips, branding his possession of her. “Now that we got things straight, I think we better get back to business.”
His smile radiated charm and cockiness, and Cassi despised him for making her feel the way she did about him.
“Anything you say, partner,” she tossed back at him as he slid his hand from her panties. While she re-buttoned her blouse, Austin zipped up her jeans. When she went to re-braid her hair, a firm grip stopped her.
“Leave it like that. I want to see what you look like after being loved by me.” His gaze traveled from her face and lower, to her breasts still swollen from their arousal.
He took hold of her hand and they slowly walked back to the house. She reveled in the possessive hold, enjoying the man, so strong and lean, walking next to her. If only this could continue, but being a realist, she was sure once Austin made love to her, he’d move on to someone else. Cassi wasn’t going to let that happen to her, regardless of how his kisses and touch made her melt.
The sun seemed brighter and the sky seemed bluer. Her feeling of contentment soared with the sound of the birds singing and the sight of horses grazing in the fields. All because of Austin.
She wanted to capture the feelings inside a jar so she could feel them again anytime she desired. Austin had set her free. She was amazed and shocked at how unabashedly she’d reacted to his touch. She hadn’t been too concerned about someone entering the office and seeing them. At the time, she’d been heedless of such things. All she had cared about was Austin touching her. Wanting her.
Walking beside Cassi, Austin wrestled with conflicting emotions. He had never so desired a woman before, and tried to analyze why it had been so important for him to hear her say she wanted him. He couldn’t help touching her, hadn’t planned on doing that. But she had looked so good atop Chief, windswept from the ride. His earlier resolve to remain aloof from her had vanished in a manner of minutes.
But guilt ran through him. Guilt at his plan to rig the races so he could gain control of her farm gnawed at him and for thinking she was a manipulator.
The way she responded to him today, free of any feigned desire, told him her reactions to his touch were honest. He’d had her captured there in the palm of his hand. He wouldn’t release her from her agony until she confessed they were more than partners. She never said it, but her response to his touch told him everything.
Walking with her now, her small hand in his, a feeling of protectiveness toward her washed over him. That feeling had never been there with Annie Mae or any of the other countless women he had been with. None of them seemed to need protecting. But somehow, Cassi did.
Austin began doubting his earlier thoughts about her using him as a chance to keep her farm. Could it be she wasn’t lying? Perhaps she had sought his help because he had kept badgering her about repaying her for giving back Bella Donna. Maybe she truly liked him—not his money, not his farm, not his image. The thought was so foreign to him that he didn’t know how to handle it. What if this woman sincerely liked him for himself?
When they entered the rear yard of the house, Austin stopped, turning with Cassi to survey the land.
“It’s magnificent,” she murmured beside him.
“Yes, it is,” he replied softly. His thoughts turned melancholy, thinking about the years he grew up here, especially time spent with his father. It pained him to think, one day soon, he’d never be able to look out at this view again. Once the farm was run into the ground, there’d be no way he’d be able save it or be able to visit.
Pulling himself from his thoughts, he held Cassi by her elbow and led her into the house to his den.
“Would you like something to drink?” Austin asked her as he poured himself a bourbon and water.
“I’ll just have some iced water.” She moved beside him at the credenza reaching for a glass.
“No you don’t,” Austin admonished her. “You’re my guest here. I’ll get it for you.”
Cassi hadn’t considered he’d fix her a glass, half expecting him to call a butler to do it. Then she remembered his callused hands, the way their roughened touch had aroused her earlier. She reminded herself that he wasn’t a spoiled rich man, but one who physically worked on the farm. She respected him for that. If she had grown up with all this wealth, she might have turned out like Annie Mae. That sent a shudder through her.
“Here you go.” Austin held the drink out to her.
His hand held the glass a moment longer than necessary and Cassi enjoyed the connection between them.
Instead of sitting behind the desk, he picked up a pad and pen and sat on the massive leather couch under a window. Cassi followed his lead, sitting next to him. He balanced his drink on the arm of the couch, and placed the pad of paper between them.
“We only have a few months to be able to race Foolish Gamble before the fall stakes at Keeneland. I want at least a month to train with him. I know you’ve worked with him, but I have more experience than you.”
Cassi nodded her head in agreement.
“I have a jockey lined up to ride him.”
Jerking her head up, Cassi replied, “I planned to ride him.”
Arching his eyebrows, Austin looked skeptically at her. “You aren’t qualified. We need an experienced jockey to do that.”
“I’ve ridden him. I know every nuance about him. I’d be better than any jockey you hire.”
Austin chuckled. “You can’t be serious. All the big farms hire jockeys for their entrants. Rarely does the owner, or trainer, ride the horse in the race. It’s one thing to work closely with them, but to ride them?”
Now he wished he hadn’t hired Garrison; he could have let Cassi ride. With no jockey experience, Foolish Gamble would surely lose. And then he would be free of any guilt. If he hadn’t already paid Garrison an advance, he’d cancel the deal with the jockey and let Cassi race to lose her farm herself, keeping his hands clean.
“Cassi,” he offered, squeezing her hand sympathetically, “I understand you have a connection with Foolish Gamble, but you have no jockey experience. I can’t, in good judgment, let you ride him.” He washed the lie down with his drink and added, “I need to protect my investment as well.” Liar.
“The jockey better be good,” Cassi conceded. “If Foolish Gamble doesn’t take to him, then we reconsider me racing him.”
“Good enough,” Austin agreed, knowing even if it came to her riding Foolish Gamble, it would most likely produce the same results—losing. And that would result in Austin gaining control of her farm. Either way, the outcome would be the same.
“This month, we’ll focus on training Foolish Gamble, putting him through his paces. Then we’ll take him to the local racetracks, do a few maiden races. Hopefully we’ll win or at least, place. That will return our needed capital, as well as prepare him for the big race in the fall.”
“I agree,” Cassi said excitedly. She couldn’t imagine that her horse would be racing soon. Foolish Gamble would be pitted against other horses from larger, established training facilities. She couldn’t wait for the first race.
In the meantime, she didn’t know how she’d be able to work side by side with Austin. His touches scorched her with desire and she knew it would only be a matter of time until things would get out of hand. This afternoon was a good example of that. Then there’d be no turning back. Confident she would win the races with Foolish Gamble, she feared she’d lose her heart on a bigger gamble—Austin Keller.
“Okay.” Austin clarified. “Are you going to bring Foolish Gamble over here soon? I’d like us to start working with him as soon as possible.”
“What did you say?” Cassi asked Austin, thinking she had misunderstood him.
“When are you going to bring Foolish Gamble over here?” He replied. “You mean—did you think we’d keep him at your farm?”<
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Cassi didn’t miss the tone of incredulity in his voice. “Of course I planned on keeping him at my place. It’s what he’s used to.” She crossed her arms against her chest, frustrated at yet another snarl in their new partnership.
“Cassi,” Austin said softly, “I have everything he could possibly need here. I’ve got a regulation size track. I’ve got the veterinarian, the extra stable-hands, and a swimming therapy room. There is nothing he could want for here.”
But I want him to be with me. She couldn’t let Foolish Gamble be apart from her. He was her best friend. They wouldn’t be able to take their long rides together, nor could she visit him anytime she needed her spirits lifted. And Austin certainly didn’t intend for her to move in along with her horse.
“But,” Cassi hesitated, not knowing exactly how to express this to Austin without appearing silly, “I never imagined moving him over here.”
“Cassi, I have other horses that I’m training here. I need to be able to have him close to me so I can work with him. You’re not training any other horses at your place, are you?”
“No,” she replied.
“Well, then, it’s easier for him to be stabled here.” Austin shifted his position on the couch. “Besides, he needs to get used to traveling. What better way to have him adjust to that than by the short trip here?”
She could only nod silently in agreement. Everything he said was logical.
“Plus,” he continued, “Foolish Gamble needs to get used to being around other horses of his racehorse caliber, like the ones he’s going to compete with soon.”
Why did she have a small lump of emotion forming in her throat?
“I’ve got Bella Donna, Chief and Skeeter here. He can race him with them.”
“Everything you say makes sense. But won’t that cost more, keeping him here? I didn’t think about having to pay hands here to help train him.” Cassi saw her winnings get smaller thinking about the cost of renting a stall from the Keller Farm facilities.
