by Rina Kent
Indigo snatches it when I toss it at her and glares at me.
She looks around, her glare slowly fading. “Where’s the—?”
“Changing room?” I cut in with a smirk. “There isn’t one. But I promise, I won’t look.” I turn around, crossing my arms over my chest, and wait.
Indi makes an angry sound, but sure as shit, there’s the sound of rustling fabric a moment later.
When I look over my shoulder, I catch a glimpse of one ass cheek before she sees me looking.
“Briar!”
I chuckle and straighten again. “Hurry up, virgin. There’s a fuck load of shit to see.”
She grumbles something under her breath, and walks down the stalls, touching the noses of the horses who are looking over their doors. She takes her time, and I couldn’t be gladder.
For some reason, my cock decided that glimpse of her ass was good enough to rouse it from sleep. I shift my weight, willing my dick to stop being so full of itself.
The only way I get that right is by forcing the thought of Indi’s smooth skin out of my mind.
Christ. Soon, one of us is going to break. I was convinced it would be her…but I’m starting to think I overestimated my self-control.
Indi
I fidget on my saddle, trying to hook my underwear out of my ass crack.
Leggings suck. Not only does this pair cling like nobody’s fucking business, but they’re causing serious tension between the two halves of my ass. Peace talks broke down as soon as I hoisted myself onto my gelding’s back, ignoring Briar’s suspiciously gentleman-like stirrup he made with his hands.
Now? A minute into our ride and my ass crack is the fucking Gaza strip.
“Show jumping, right?”
I pluck away my hand out from under my skirt, fully aware that Briar caught me trying to adjust my panties, and tighten my grip on the reins. “Please,” I mutter, for a moment too flustered to be snarky.
“Dressage?”
When I look across at him, I can’t help but laugh at the disgusted look on his face. I pat the side of my horse’s neck. “This,” I say. “Just this.”
“Leisure rides?”
I shrug a little and squint into the distance. “They said I was too big to be a jockey.”
This time, Briar lets out a snorting laugh, and looks half-surprised at himself when I glance at him. “You? Really?”
“Turns out they only employ midgets and dwarves,” I say.
I never applied to be a jockey, of course. I like galloping, but for me it’s more about spending time with horses. I’ve always loved them — whipping them into a frenzy just to win a fucking trophy? Hard pass.
“I didn’t think you’d come,” Briar says quietly.
I frown a little, and peek at him from the corner of my eyes. He insisted I put on a helmet, which I’m glad I did because it’s doing a good job of shielding my eyes. He left his blazer back at the stable, as had I, but he still looks every inch a natural with his blond hair sticking out from under his helmet.
“Why’d you think that?”
“Because you hate everything and everyone,” he says deadpan. He turns to me with an eyebrow cocked. “Am I wrong?”
“I don’t hate everyone.” I lift one side of my mouth. “I just hate jocks suffering with Short Dick Syndrome.”
He lets out a rough laugh. “Yeah, that’s not it, Angel” he says, but more to himself than me.
“So you’re not an asshole because your pinkie’s bigger than your penis?” I ask, blinking innocently at him.
Another laugh, but this time he deigns not to answer me. Instead, he glances behind us and then ahead, squinting like a cowboy in one of those spaghetti Westerns.
I must admit, I’m kinda glad I wussed out and came. Initially, it was just to tell Briar off — using my lack of pants as an excuse — but now that I’m here?
That same feeling of strange familiarity flows over me. I lose myself to my gelding’s rhythm, letting my hips melt into the saddle.
The breathtaking scenery helps, of course. Lavish Prep is built on a rise, and as soon as we crest it, the suburbs of Lavish spread out in front of us. Everything is so neat, so tiny and tidy, that it feels like I’m looking at a built-to-scale replica instead of the real thing. There’s a mid-morning haze over the town, and the sun’s warm light suffuses everything with amber.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
I purse my lips, pissed that Briar dared to break me out of my blissful moment. But when I turn to him, he’s staring at me, not the view.
Did he…was he talking about me?
“Come on,” he says, before I have time to process the thought. “I’ll race you to the tree line.”
The tree line? I look ahead, narrowing my eyes a second before Briar lets out a loud, “Ha!”
His white mare — Princess Snow — lunges forward and breaks into an astonishingly smooth gallop. For a moment, sunlight washes him in a warm glow as he races down the incline. His shirt whips against his hard body, and he glances at me over his shoulder, a fat grin on his face.
My heart feels like it wants to explode from my chest. He’s a fucking good rider. It’s like he was born on horseback. He’s standing in his stirrups, ass a few inches from the saddle as he urges his horse to pick up speed, his entire body moving in time to the creature’s rocking gait.
My gelding tenses between my legs as if it wants to run after its friend.
“Ha!” I dig my heels into my gelding’s ribs. It whinnies at me and, when I loosen up the reins and urge him forward with my knees, he leaps into action.
Hooves thunder over the grass. The wind runs cool fingers over my skin and tugs at my shirt, flattening it against my breasts and tummy as I lean forward.
“Come on!” I yell. I slap the horse’s rump with my hand. “Ha!”
My gelding snorts, ducks its head, and speeds up. Briar made a good start, but since he obviously thought he was in the lead, he didn’t bother to push his mare. But he must have heard my gelding’s hooves eating up the distance between us because he glances behind him — still wearing that smug grin — and does a double take when he sees how close we are.
I grin to myself, and give my gelding another smack on the rump. “Ha!” Prince Charming flicks his head, and I give him even more rein. He rewards me by gaining another two noses on Briar’s mare.
I can almost reach out and touch Briar’s leg. But instead I give the two horses enough room so they don’t feel crowded, while keeping them close enough that they’d have to be wearing blinkers not to see each other.
And boy does the sight of Prince Charming so close on her heels give Princess Snow a kick up the rear. She tosses her head until Briar gives her some slack and then the little bitch puts a yard between us.
But she’s starting to lather, and I have a feeling Prince Charming’s just about reached the end of his gallop too.
I lean down, my hips sinking and rising with every stretch of the gelding’s legs, and yell out, “Come on, Prince! We can beat them! Faster! Ha!”
Briar glares at me, and I laugh as Prince Charming gains a little.
But then Briar looks ahead, and his face goes blank in shock.
“Indi, stop!” he yells, his reins tightening instantly.
I’m a little slower to react, because I think he’s pulling my fucking leg. So when I do face forward and realize Prince Charming is galloping straight for the fence that surrounds the massive stretch of grassy knolls we’ve been riding around on, jerking back on my reins isn’t good enough.
I dig my knees into his ribs, but even that only seems to encourage him. When I pull on the reins, but he pulls right back.
Fuck! He’s got the bit in his teeth!
How the fuck did I manage to piss off this Prince too?
“Indi, stop!”
“Can’t!” I yell back. “He’s got the fucking bit.”
And just like that, Briar’s not in my line of sight anymore. It’s just me racing
for a very high, very intimidating fence.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
I hunker down, throw my arms around Prince Charming’s neck and cling to him with aching thighs as I wait for impact.
Briar
Slowing down is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. In a second, Indi is yards away, her chestnut gelding galloping straight for the fence.
I shouldn’t have made such a pretend fuss when she’d chosen that horse. Then she wouldn’t have been so stubborn and stuck with her choice.
All because of his name?
Prince Charming is a show horse. He’s been teaching the kids at Lavish how to show jump for the past two years, if not longer.
And he’s a competitive prick. You know all that shit about short dick syndrome? Well, they cut his dick off. Imagine how that shit messes with your personality?
But if I don’t stop, if I keep pace, he’ll keep accelerating. As it is, he seems to be slowing down a little, but I can sense he has no notion of missing that jump.
It’s a fucking high jump. Not so much for Prince fucking Charming, but for a little thing like Indi, who’s never jumped before…?
Fuck this. I can’t just sit here.
“Ha!” I urge my mare into another gallop, despite her whinny of complaint. She’s one of Lavish’s best racers, but even she has her limits. She needs a cool down right now, not more galloping. But if Indi doesn’t make that jump…if she does something to unbalance Prince Charming…
“Ha!”
Faster.
Faster!
Chapter Twelve
Indi
I’m holding onto my gelding so tight I can barely breathe. I wish I could close my eyes but they just keep popping open, fixating on the hooves flashing under me.
I guess I fucked with the universe’s plan for me; I should have been home that night Mom was killed. Karma’s decided to right a wrong, and tax me for my stolen days on this earth. I get that. I understand. But it can’t expect me to like it, for fuck’s sake.
Everyone fights in their last moment of clarity. Even those that decide they’ve been dealt a shit hand and fold. Goes to show how much of the animal is still left in us.
Prince Charming’s gait changes. His steps shorten.
Beneath me, the horse’s muscles bunch and it’s like I’m gripping a rock between my thighs.
No more thundering hooves.
No impact.
We’re flying.
If I could breathe, I’d be screaming. But all I can do is stare wide-eyed as the fence flashes beneath us.
The air is knocked from my lungs by the impact of Prince Charming’s landing. He takes a few lunging steps and then slows into a canter, a walk.
My face is wet. My arms and thighs are trembling so much I can’t even think about pushing up into a sit. Prince tosses his mane and snorts as if he’s getting pissed off with my fierce hug. I think I peed myself a little.
“Fuck y-you, Prince. You alm-most killed me,” I say, my trembling jaw chopping up my words.
“I can’t believe you expect me to shoulder the blame for this,” a voice behind me announces.
I glance over my shoulder as Briar jumps down the last foot of the fence and lands with a spring in his step. He swaggers up to me, shaking his head and making tut-tut noises. His helmet is off, his sandy hair utterly mussed.
“You gonna get off him now?” he asks.
“I’m good.”
“You’ll have to get down sometime, Indi.” Briar ducks his head a little, and squeezes my shoulder. “You did good though, kid. Though I think if you held on any tighter, Prince Charming would have choked to death before he took the jump.”
I push the words, “Fuck you,” through my teeth.
Briar’s smile melts away. He trails a knuckle down my cheek. “Hey,” he murmurs, frowning hard. “You’re okay, Indi. You made it.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck! In the comedown from that massive adrenaline spike, my body’s gone all PMS on me. Tears leak from my eyes unbidden, and my lips start trembling.
No, please. I can’t start sobbing in front of Briar.
“It’s r-relief,” I stutter. “Just relieved I didn’t fucking die.”
He grabs my waist and hoists me up off the saddle as if I was nothing more than a bag of potatoes.
But he sets me down carefully, almost gently, takes off my helmet, and hangs it from Prince Charming’s pommel. When he wipes at my cheek with his fingers, I flinch away, my heart hammering in expectation of some cruel joke.
Instead, Briar’s eyes narrow, and a crease forms between his wild eyebrows. He studies me like he’s never seen me before.
The uncertainty in his eyes holds me captive.
He slides a hand around the back of my neck and draws me closer. I move stiffly, my thighs still aching from their grip on Prince Charming, but he keeps urging me forward until there’s no space left between our bodies.
“Where’d you learn to be so brave?” he murmurs down to me. “Any other girl would be bawling her fucking eyes out.”
“Any other girl wouldn’t have made the jump,” I say, trying desperately to inject my melting brain with a little indifference.
It doesn’t help, because my comment just puts a spark of a smile in Briar’s eyes. He grabs my chin, tilts my head back, and brushes his lips over mine.
That gentle caress sends alarm bells clanging through my body.
No, Indi. No! This is the worst idea you’ve had since you decided to steal your mother’s jewelry and go partying!
But instead of pushing him away, my body sags against his like my spine’s turned into a piece of wet string.
His breath butterflies over my lips, sending a tingle rushing through every inch of me. It converges between my legs and burrows deep.
“I…can’t…” I mumble, but while I’m still leaning into his feathery attempt at a kiss.
“Why do you keep fighting me?”
Fighting him? Him? It’s not him I’m fighting. It’s fucking temptation.
This man is a monster. I can’t allow him to worm his way through my defenses. This is some kind of prank. A trick. And it won’t work on me. I’m not a fucking idiot.
In the distance, the school bell rings.
I summon every ounce of strength I have and shove against Briar’s chest. He steps back, a tiny smile on his mouth as if he’s expecting some more banter to pass between us. But as soon as he sees my determined expression, his face sets like marble.
Swallowing hard, I clear my throat. I have to get out of here, away from his hypnotic eyes, that incredible smell of fresh earth and pine that envelops me whenever he’s close.
In a rush, I hoist myself onto Prince Charming’s saddle. I glance around, my eyes traveling down the never-ending span of fence between me and Lavish Prep.
“How do I—?” I gesture at the fence. “Is there a gate, or—?”
Briar watches me without expression, but his eyes are as stormy as an approaching hurricane. The side of his mouth quirks up in a most familiar smirk. He takes a few steps back and flourishes an arm. “I dunno, Indigo.” He shrugs theatrically and takes his phone from his pocket. “But you’re gonna be late for next period if you don’t find it soon.”
Icy hatred washes over me, leaving my fingertips tingling and my throat too tight to answer him. I glare at him and nudge Prince Charming into a trot. My eyes are cast ahead, studying the fence for a gate or opening of some kind, but I can see Briar climbing over the fence to get back to his mare.
Briar’s already heading back to the stables, sitting on his horse like his fucking namesake, when I finally spot the fence. I let out a dry laugh. It was so close to where we were standing, Briar must have known it was there all along.
I fume all the way back up the hill and into the stables. Briar’s not there, but one of the stable hands is giving Princess Snow a cool down, a damp towel draped over her back as she walks in a nearby paddock.
I don’t see another person until I
slip into the main hallway where my locker is. It’s the period before lunch, so almost everyone’s in the hallway by their lockers or heading for the restrooms.
Addison’s on the far side of the hall, and I wave to her. She spots me and waves back, smiling as she hurries over to meet up with me.
I head for my locker, but a hand catches hold of my arm and spins me around.
Briar.
His blue eyes could have been chips of ice, his face carved from stone. His grip is so tight, I’m certain I couldn’t pull loose even if I wanted to.
I swallow down a cry of surprise, but I shouldn’t have bothered. A second later, he plants his lips on mine and kisses me with such fierce determination that my knees buckle. He slaps a hand on my back, keeping me up, and then breaks our kiss with an animalistic growl.
Sliding a hand over his mouth, he shoves me out of the way and strides down the hallway, stopping beside his locker like nothing’s happened.
The entire hallway comes to a stop. For a long moment, everyone’s either staring at me or at Briar. I hear footsteps and whirl around, expecting a teacher, but instead one of Briar’s lackeys — the guy who always wears a white cap — is standing in front of me.
“Don’t mind if I do,” he says, grinning.
“What?” I manage, but in a voice that barely resembles my own.
The guy slides a hand around my waist and tugs me closer. I’m so shocked, I don’t even struggle when he ducks his head and kisses me.
What. The. Fuck?
“Indi!” Addison yells from the other side of the hall.
Yeah, fuck, Addy, no time to chat, girl. Apparently I’m a little fucking busy.
I shove against the guy’s chest, and he falls back with a laugh.
My heart’s in my throat. My legs are still shaky from the intense horse ride, and they threaten to deposit me on the floor any minute. All around me, the hall erupts into laughter.
What the fuck is happening?
“Yeah, me too!”
I turn to the sound of a voice, and a girl who’d been standing nearby grabs my face and kisses me. I shove her away, but a second later someone else grabs me and plants a kiss on my mouth. I’ve barely shoved the stranger away before a hand slides around my throat and I’m drawn back against a warm, hard body.
