by Erin Snihur
Poking his large head over the stall door, Zeus nickered at her and Teresa held up her palm flat so that he might sniff her. While she’d seen a few foremen rushing about the outside of the stables, the inside was quiet save for the munching of hay and occasional whinny from an occupied stall.
When Zeus’ nose bumped against her hand, Teresa laughed softly and laid her palm flat over his nose, rubbing up and down to his forehead for a few minutes. As her hand rose up, she scratched the delightful horse behind the ears. Teresa laughed when Zeus shook out his braided mane and stared down at her with the most exquisite dark eyes.
“Perhaps I should have given you a horse instead of the flowers,” a deep rumbling voice filled with humor spoke up behind Teresa.
Whirling around in fright, Teresa laid her hand on her chest to calm her beating heart. Standing behind her, leaning casually against the opposite stall to Zeus was that infernal man with the pale brown eyes. Clenching her fists at the sight of him, Teresa glared with all her might. He would not intimidate her this time.
“Are you stalking me?” Teresa asked, outraged.
The man shrugged and grinned amusedly as he nodded toward Zeus. “I could say you have been the one stalking me, ya helo. Zeus, after all, is my horse.”
Staring from the infuriating man and back at Zeus, who stretched his big long neck toward Teresa as if to seek more attention, Teresa seethed at the thought of this magnificent creature belonging to the sexist pig.
Turning back to the man, Teresa stuck her head up high. “I had no idea.”
The man nodded and for a moment they both stared at each other as if gaging one another’s patience. Finally, the man’s grin softened and he stepped forward with his hand outstretched.
“We got off on the wrong foot last night. My name is Amoz,” the man murmured and when he smiled a small scar that appeared hidden in the dimple of his cheek stretched into the light.
Staring at his outstretched hand, Teresa pursed her lips. “I have no interest in getting on the right foot with you, Amoz.”
Turning her back on that note, Teresa walked back down the stable lane, her hand lightly tracing the stale doors and peeking in on the horses who were quietly munching on their hay.
The infuriating man, Amoz, approached as she walked outside of the stables to the open paddock where a mare and her young colt were turned out. Ignoring him, Teresa approached the fence quietly and watched as the young colt pranced instinctively around the paddock’s perimeter. Sometimes his mother joined him and other times he pranced alone. At one point, Teresa was so close to being able to coo and entice the young colt closer, but he grew startled when Amoz approached.
Sighing in frustration, Teresa ignored the man as he set his bare arms on the fence post. Out of the corner of her eye, she observed the man who wished to know her.
Instead of a simple business shirt and dark slacks, he was dressed in a typical tank top with a beach styled print on the front and his strong, bare harms tensed in anticipation. Though, of what she wasn’t sure. His dark hair taunted her. She so wished to touch the soft locks and run her fingers through them. His eyes were not focused on her and instead were focused on the mare and her startled colt who hid behind her flank, while she munched away on green grass.
With calm ease, Amoz lifted his hands toward his mouth. With two fingers in his mouth, he inhaled and exhaled a harsh sounding whistle. The mare’s head straightened and her ears cocked in their direction. When another sharp whistle left Amoz’ mouth, the mare nickered back and began trotting in their direction, her colt in reluctant tow.
Teresa watched in amazement as the mare’s head leaned over the fence and pushed her nose against Amoz’ bare shoulder. The colt, curious as ever, marched over to inspect Amoz as the mysterious man gave his mother some obviously enjoyable attention.
Completely enraptured by the sight of Amoz as he caressed the mare’s face and crooned to her in mumbled Arabic, Teresa didn’t even realize until it was too late when the colt began nibbling at her fingers. Letting out a squeak of surprise, Teresa pulled her hand back, startling the colt, but only slightly when the colt’s ears pulled back and he let out his own nicker of protest.
Amoz laughed and grinned at her from the side of the fence, still caressing the mare with obvious affection. “He is a feisty one, ya helo. Like his father.”
Teresa stared at the dark-skinned colt and, in her mind, Amoz’ words clicked into place in her brain.
“Zeus is his father, isn’t he?” Teresa asked, though she knew the answer.
Nodding, Amoz patted the mare once more. “This is his mate, Shiny.”
Teresa’s giggle burst forth at the funny name. “Shiny?”
Laughing softly, Amoz murmured sheepishly, “My friend’s cousin, Leelah, named her when Leelah was a toddler. After Shiny’s coat.”
Teresa stared at the mare, Shiny, in a new light. The mare’s bright coat was the exact opposite of Zeus and the colt’s dark coats. Even her dark eyes appeared brighter.
“It suits her,” Teresa murmured when Shiny shook out her mane and pushed her nose into Teresa’s palm.
Scratching the mares soft, downy nose, Teresa smiled when the horse let out a harsh breath. At his mother’s chuff, the colt nickered and pushed through the lower rail of the fence to get Teresa’s attention. Kneeling down, Teresa wove her hand through the fence and scratched behind the feisty colt’s ears.
Giggling when the colt attempted to gum her arm, Teresa scolded the colt, “Naughty boy.”
“Like I said, he takes after his father,” Amoz murmured and Teresa nearly jumped at the realization that he was still here, watching her every move.
“His owner too, I think,” Teresa muttered under her breath and inwardly cursed when Amoz laughed, obviously hearing her blatant statement.
“Very true,” was all Amoz said before going back to patting Shiny and crooning to her in Arabic.
Watching him interact with the horse for a few minutes, Teresa felt herself smiling softly before turning back to the colt who stared at her with his curious black eyes.
“So, what is his name?” Teresa finally asked after a few moments of silence.
Amoz sighed, as if the question was a loaded one. “He doesn’t have a name yet. He was only born a week ago and I’ve yet to decide what to name him.”
“So, you decide? Not Leelah?” Teresa asked, intrigued.
Pushing away from the fence, Amoz stepped close to her and held out his hand wanting to help her stand from the ground. Letting him take her hand, Teresa stood to full height and watched as the mare and colt grew bored without attention and trotted off to a grassy patch of the paddock area.
“Leelah hasn’t visited in a while and I’d hoped to give him a strong name, like his father,” Amoz said as he watched the mare and colt prance around the paddock.
“Hercules,” Teresa murmured back as she watched the colt buck and prance ahead of his mother.
Both of them remained silent and it wasn’t until a golf cart approached with a few stable hands that Teresa realized she was still holding Amoz’ hand. Pulling it quickly from his, Teresa blushed brightly and turned away from the paddock, nodding to the stable hands who called out greetings to them.
Both stable hands seemed to stare with wide eyes as Amoz turned away from the paddock and joined Teresa at her side. Peeking up at him herself, Teresa confusedly looked Amoz over. He didn’t appear as scary to her as he must appear to these men. Why they were so stunned to see him, she would never know.
Ignoring the stable hands as they scurried into the stables with their tools and supplies, Teresa clasped her hands in front of her, seeming to realize the sun was getting high in the sky.
“Well, I’ve got to go. Good day,” Teresa murmured and tried to leave Amoz’ presence, but the man’s hand shot out and grasped her gently by the elbow.
“What if I don’t want you to leave, ya helo?” Amoz asked as Teresa stared, eyes wide, into the man's pale, brown orb
s.
Clenching her fists, Teresa tensed, ready for a fight. She had already dealt with Gerry’s abuse. She wouldn’t be another man’s punching bag.
“Try keeping me here. I know how to defend myself and I’ve taken classes. I wouldn’t want to ruin your handsome face,” Teresa threatened back.
Amoz paused for a moment, his face serene before morphing into a cat-caught-the-canary grin.
Teresa felt her insides quivering as he spoke, “You think I’m handsome?”
5
“You think I’m handsome?” Amoz asked, his words causing Teresa to blush so prettily against her pale face. When Teresa’s top teeth bit down on her bottom lip, Amoz had to bite back his own groan of arousal at the sight.
“That’s not…I mean, that isn’t what I…meant…,” Teresa stammered out a response.
Stepping closer, his hand still gently grasping her elbow, Amoz muttered, “Then what did you mean, ya helo?”
“I just want to go back to my room,” Teresa finally murmured, her eyes wildly moving from him to the area around them, as if she wished to try and escape.
She was frightened, obviously, when Amoz shifted and her face morphed into a harsh wince as if she was bracing for his hit. Inside, his arousal diminished and was replaced with anger. She reacted as though she expected him to hit her. He was not the type of man to abuse anyone, especially a woman. That meant she’d experienced something much more serious in her past.
Releasing her elbow, Amoz took a step back and motioned to the path that would lead back to the resort rooms, “Let me escort you back, Teresa.”
She hesitated, staring up at him as if he was somehow going to jump her and he was merely tricking her into ease.
Finally, she nodded and merely said, “Just to the lobby.”
Agreeing with a nod, Amoz motioned to the path and Teresa walked ahead first down the cobbled path, arms crossed and head held high. Matching her steps at her side, Amoz scanned the area as they walked. If his woman was this scared just from a simple touch, he couldn’t imagine what she’d actually experienced.
Turning his gaze away from the tropical resort with blooming flowers and green foliage, Amoz cleared his throat, gaining Teresa’s attention, “How long were you with the man who abused you?”
Silence.
They had just left the horse stable when Amoz blurted out the question she’d been dreading since the incident outside the stables. She knew she hadn’t handled her fear well. It had been a knee-jerk reaction. Even though she’d been through intense therapy over the last year, Teresa had never been good at explaining her past situation on the few blind dates and to the few friends she had made over the last year.
Why did he have to ask that question? How did he know the reason for her immediate flinching reaction?
“It’s okay, Teresa. I get it, you’re scared because of the vulnerable position some bastard put you in. You have to understand and believe me when I say that if we were to come across that man today, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from hurting him for hurting you. I never want to see that look on your face again,” Amoz said, his voice clearly strained, as though he was trying to reign himself in.
Staring up at him in shock, Teresa only barely managed to mumble, “Violence never solves anything.”
He stared down at Teresa for a moment before his serious stony face morphed into a laughing grin. “No, you’re right, it doesn’t. Though, if it would make you feel safer to know the bastard couldn’t hurt you again, I would suffer willingly through any consequences.”
Tilting her head slightly, Teresa curiously asked, “Why do you care? I mean, I appreciate what you did in the club the other night, but we hardly know each other, other than our first names.”
Amoz sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Why shouldn’t I care, Teresa? This issue is quite common in our society and despicably so. I care about people and frankly, my friend’s wife was abused by someone she trusted and, when I found out, it took a few of us to keep her husband from killing her abuser. If I have the power to stop someone from hurting you or anyone, I will do whatever I can to stop it.”
Teresa laughed softly and shook her head before continuing on the path. “Those are some pretty words, Amoz, but again, we hardly know one another.”
“Then let's change that,” Amoz said, his words final as he jogged to where she was walking so that he could keep up with her. “How long are you staying in Elish?”
Amoz already knew everything he could about her after gleaning some information from the front desk. Teresa would only be gracing Elish for a week and a half more until she had to fly back to America.
Why was he so concerned?
Because she was the first woman in almost a year to get your pulse pounding in a way that feels like something different and more, an inner voice hissed at him, but Amoz promptly pushed it aside to listen to Teresa as she bit her bottom lip before answering.
“We arrived three days ago, so about 11 days,” Teresa answered and then protested, “But, I’m here with my sister, Samantha, I can’t abandon her. Besides, Amoz, you're being very sweet and kind for wanting to make me feel comfortable in getting to know you, but I’m just not in that place where I’m even interested in being in a relationship with another man.”
Amoz nodded and held up his hand for her to stop walking and smiled softly. “So, friends then. You're here in my beautiful land and I can show both you and your sister the beauty Elish has to offer. My friend, Tariq, can join us, he’s visiting the resort as well.”
Teresa stared at Amoz for what seemed like an hour, but really was only a few minutes. Staring into his soft brown eyes reminded her of what Samantha had said only this morning when they’d fought over the card.
I just want you to live a little crazy for once in your life, Samantha’s words echoed in her mind. It was only for a few more days. A week at most. Once Amoz realized he wasn’t getting anywhere with Teresa, he would move on.
You don’t want that, a voice hissed in her mind.
Teresa shook herself to focus on the matters at hand. She forced herself to smile up at Amoz in what she hoped wasn’t a grimace.
Teresa nodded. “Okay. You can be our unofficial tour guide of Elish. Though, I hope you know that just because you are showing us around there won’t be any funny business.”
Amoz grinned, his rugged eyes and beard growth reminding Teresa of a pirate from one of her favorite romance novels. “Is that a challenge?”
Teresa rolled her eyes, “I knew I was right when I saw you that first day by the pool. Your ego is much bigger than your…”
Teresa had never flirted with another man other than Gerry before. She’d always felt awkward doing it back home and never comfortable enough with any other man.
Now, with Amoz, she found her voice trailing off and her eyes sliding down over his chest and to his lower area where she could see the faint outline of a hardening cock beneath his swim trunks.
Grinning in delight when she raised her gaze away from Amoz’ area to his pale eyes, she merely shrugged and continued along the path. She never stopped, not even when Amoz yelled in protest, and she merely giggled in delight and ran down the path.
Catch me if you can, my sexy pirate.
6
“So, the sexist pig from the night before is really taking us out to dinner to one of the restaurants on the resort?” Samantha asked for what must have been the fifth time already since Teresa returned to her room to apologize to her sister.
Both sisters sat out on their room’s terrace, sipping on their fruity cocktails as they watched the sun beginning to set in the distance. Their view overlooking the white sandy beaches were breathtaking enough without the orangish orb sinking beneath the horizon.
“Yes,” Teresa answered and rolled her eyes when her sister continued.
“And this is the same man who sent you flowers and apparently stalked you around the resort resulting in you both running around the resort,
playing some game of tag or something?” Samantha asked again.
Sighing, Teresa stared down at her drink, her straw between two fingers as she slowly spun it around the glass. “It wasn’t like that. I may have flirted a little bit with him and said something that he deemed necessary for the chase.”
“Well, what did you say?” Samantha asks.
Shaking her head, Teresa turns her gaze from her glass to the horizon. “Not going to tell you. Anyway, he and his friend, Tariq, are going to take us to that fancy five-star restaurant you were drooling about when we first checked in and they gave us that tour of the resort.”
Samantha scoffed, “I wasn’t the only one drooling. You and food go together like this...” She held up her fingers entwined in a knotted gesture and laughed when Teresa snorted at the sight.
“Well, I’m glad you are getting out and doing something reckless for a change,” Samantha said softly.
Sighing in frustration at the thought of her sister bringing this up again, Teresa leveled her with a look. “There is nothing wrong with being cautious. I dove head first into a relationship with Gerry and I came away with more than a few scrapes. Amoz just wants to be friends and show us Elish. There’s nothing more going on.”
Rolling her eyes at Teresa, Samantha snorted sarcastically. “Right. So, when he eventually caught you outside our building after your game of chase, he wasn’t staring at you like he wanted to drag you off into his cave and do sexually wonderful things to you.”
Choking on her drink, Teresa coughed harshly before standing to full height, wanting to escape this conversation. “No, he wasn’t!”
Samantha rolled her eyes again. “I was there. You could feel the sexual tension between you two. If I didn’t know you very well, I would have thought you both had just been rolling around in the grass doing it gopher style.”
