“Of course.” I extended my hand to Mary, “Thank you for the company and the encouragement.”
She smiled. “It’s my pleasure to see you so relaxed for a change.”
After they trotted away, Reece regarded me with a somewhat distant smile. “You did well. We have one last jump coming in. That small coop in the fence. There is a gate next to it, but I think you should try leading over this one.”
“Okay.”
As we dismounted next to the trailer, I studied Reece surreptitiously. His expression was downright remote.
“Is something the matter?” I asked quietly.
Reece put both saddles on racks in the small tack area at the front of the trailer. “I overheard your conversation with Mary Maitland.”
I leaned against the truck fender, crossing my arms over my chest. “And?”
Reece’s blue eyes were clouded, his jaw tight. “I’m confused. Last night you were all over me, as though you couldn’t get enough of me. Today, you’re telling Mary Maitland that we’re just friends and what a professional I am.”
He smacked the Nationals cap he had in his hand against the side of the trailer. “What the fuck do you want from me, Whitt?”
Behind the surface anger, he couldn’t quite hide his hurt.
“I’m sorry.” I didn’t want to cause him pain. “This is all new to me, and I feel as though I’m in a tough spot. Quinn Maitland has a conservative reputation. Going public with the two of us right now could be problematic.”
Reece slumped, his back against the trailer. “For your business deal.”
“Yes.” I scuffed the toe of my boot in the gravel. “It won’t be much longer, and then I promise things will change. I’ll have more time for us.”
The look Reece gave me wasn’t quite as gloomy as before. I could see he was trying to compromise. Finally, he shrugged. “Your business deal. My preoccupation with Satin. I guess we’re both in the same boat…or riding ring.”
Relief made me laugh. “Exactly. Let’s go home.”
The day had warmed, and we drove the country roads with the windows open and the early fall breeze flowing through the truck cab.
“Thanks for doing this today, Reece,” I said as he turned into the drive to the house. “It was awesome.”
He glanced sideways flashing me a half grin. “You were awesome.”
I smiled as I stared out the windshield. “I was, wasn’t I? Awesome equestrian Whitt Dailey.”
“Brilliant banker and jumping genius.”
We both laughed.
He maneuvered the trailer and backed it to the barn aisle. I jumped from the truck. “What can I do to help?”
“Untie their heads but hold the leads until I lower the ramp.”
In a few minutes, we had horses unloaded and hosed off before letting them spend some time turned out on pasture.
“Help me with the tack,” Reece said over his shoulder. I followed behind him, my eyes riveted to the easy swing of his lean hips and the roll of his shoulders. He moved with the grace of an athlete rather than any deliberate attempt to seduce me. I blew out a puff of air. He was definitely a man to take my breath away. Whether he intended to didn’t matter. My body was on fire. The entire ride today had made Reece even more appealing professionally, personally, and definitely sexually.
Aaanndd, he totally busted me staring at him. His brow arched. “See anything interesting?”
“Very interesting.”
He handed me my saddle and bridle with a smirk. “Take these.”
He was right on my heels as we entered the tack room. As I slipped the saddle onto its rack, I heard the snick of the door shutting behind me. I hung the bridle on its hook and turned slowly. Reece had taken off his ball cap and was running his fingers through his hair.
“Could the consummate professional horse trainer get a kiss from the awesome equestrian and brilliant banker?”
So exactly what I needed. I sucked in a deep breath. “Hell, yes.”
We met in the middle of the room, our arms going around each other and our mouths meshing together in a kiss that was as hot and demanding as anything I could have ever wanted.
“You have no idea,” I grated between kisses, “how it turned me on to watch your ass on that horse while you went over fences in front of me.”
Reece kissed along my jaw. “Does it make you horny now, thinking about it?”
For my answer, I yanked his hips into mine and rotated my pelvis against him. The ridge of his cock was as hard against me as mine must have been against him. I kissed him again, yanking his shirt free of his jeans, desperate to get my hand in his pants. When I grabbed his belt, I pulled back enough to look into his face.
“I want your cock in my hand. You okay with that?”
He nodded. “But only if I can return the favor.”
Belt buckles jangled, and zippers rasped open. In seconds that lasted an eternity, our hands found what we both craved. As I wrapped my hand around the silkiness of his rigid cock, his fingers closed around me with a delicious pressure that made me ache.
“Where’s Ricky?” I whispered against his lips.
“Not coming back until afternoon feeding.” He moved his hand up and down my length, making my cock jerk and my balls tighten. Why did all of this feel so right with Reece in a way it never had with anyone else?
I skated my thumb across his slit, feeling the moisture already leaking. I wanted him in my mouth but was afraid to push for too much. The limo had spooked him. While he seemed much more comfortable in the stable, I still didn’t want to scare him away, so I moved my hand with an easy rhythm, using the moisture of his precum for lubrication.
Reece panted in my ear, his hand mimicking my movements until we were both gasping. I grabbed the back of his neck with my free hand and pulled him in for another ravenous, open-mouthed kiss. There would be no backing out now. We were both too committed. Whatever doubts he might have, being on his own turf seemed to diminish them. Was it wrong to take advantage of that?
“Fuck,” he cried out, leaning more weight on me as his orgasm exploded. The feel of him all over my hand sent me over the edge and I came in several strong spurts. We leaned our foreheads together while our breathing returned to normal.
Reece began to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” I asked pulling a handkerchief from my back pocket and offering it to him.
“I turned you down in a limo only to end up doing it in a stable.”
14
Reece
Whitt stared at me, looking well and truly fucked, before he burst out laughing. “I see your point, but it’s not exactly like we’ve done the deed.”
We cleaned up and righted our clothing. I was relieved to feel the tension had dissipated. Whitt was more relaxed right now than I had ever seen him, and all I could think about was how very much I wanted him.
He pushed his dark hair off his forehead. “I have some business to take care of this afternoon, but I would like you to join me for drinks and dinner later.”
“All right. Are we going out?”
Whitt stepped in and touched his lips to mine. “I thought we could relax at home.”
He gave me a long look before leaving the barn to return to the house. I watched him go, my gaze glued to the easy way he moved, almost catlike in its grace. I was more attracted to Whitt Dailey than I could ever remember being to another man. It wasn’t the money or power. It was the man who looked at me with those clear gray eyes and asked me if I had any idea how few people he’d been able to count on as friends.
It touched me—he touched me—in ways that made my heart swell. Ripper stood on his hind legs, bracing against my knee and drawing my attention away from Whitt. I grinned into his bright, intelligent gaze.
“You’re still my best fur buddy,” I told him. His short tail wagged furiously. “Let’s have a fantastic rest of the day.”
I scooped him up and crossed the aisle to the small office where I kept track
of the barn’s accounts. I did it the old-fashioned way, the way my dad had taught me, with a ledger and a calculator. I never wanted there to be any questions about how I spent Whitt’s money, not that I thought there would be.
Somehow, I got through the afternoon, even managing a ride on Satin and a lesson with Beanie. But in the back of my mind, Whitt lurked. Even memories of his scent teased me. I couldn’t wait until dinner. I think Ricky suspected something, judging by his shit-eating grin when I said I needed to leave early.
He looked over his shoulder on the way to the loft. “Have a nice evening, boss.”
I showered and shaved, dressing carefully in gray dress slacks and loafers. I wanted Whitt to see that this mattered enough to me that I wasn’t going to show up in barn clothes. Didn’t matter that we weren’t going anywhere.
He was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. I smiled.
“This is getting to be a habit.”
His mouth quirked on one side. “A nice one, I hope. It is for me.”
His hand went to the back of my waist as he guided me along the hall to a comfortably furnished room overlooking the pool. In a small alcove in the corner, a dinner table for two had been set, complete with white cloth and candles. I slid Whitt a surprised glance.
“You had Mrs. Knowles do this?”
“She was overjoyed too.”
It was a first step that I didn’t take for granted. Maybe a relationship between the two of us could work. In that same spirit, I wasn’t going to look too far into the future. I wanted to enjoy what was happening with Whitt right now. Whatever doubts lingered, I was setting them aside for tonight.
I raised his hand to my lips. “Twice now, you’ve surprised me with things no one else has ever done for me.”
Whitt stepped in closer, cupping the back of my neck. “I want to do all sorts of things for you…with you.”
The deep timbre of his voice sent a shiver of awareness through me.
“Maybe we should have a before dinner drink,” I suggested, my voice slightly shaky. Whitt went to the built-in bar on the far side of the room.
“Bourbon?”
“Up. A couple of fingers.”
His dark hair gleamed in the overhead lighting. When he returned with our glasses, I took the one he handed me with a smile, not surprised when he chose to sit next to me on the couch. I held my glass out. “To spending time with people we enjoy.”
His silvery gaze met mine, his eyes slightly wider as though I had surprised him.
“I do enjoy your company, Whitt. I hope you know that.”
“I thought maybe I amused you with my attempts to become a competent rider.”
After taking a small sip of the smooth liquor, I set the glass on the coffee table and put my hand on his knee. “You are a competent rider. Don’t minimize what you’ve achieved.”
“Is that Reece, the trainer, or Reece, the hot guy from the tack room?”
I couldn’t help laughing. “Maybe both? I mean, I’d be tearing down my own abilities if I was blowing smoke at you. Seriously, you’re good. If I didn’t know, I would never guess you hadn’t ridden before I started working with you.”
“It helps you have some great horses for me to ride. You have a gift, and I think sometimes you don’t appreciate how precious it is. The horses, Ripper, everyone seems to respond to you—to want to be with you. I want to be with you.”
I thought about the casual relationships I’d had, about the clients I had angered over the years. “I feel the same way about you. I don’t know about everyone else. I can think of a few people who probably don’t have me at the top of their holiday shopping lists.”
“Fuck ‘em,” Whitt said and laughed when I raised my brows. “Not literally.” He tossed back the rest of his drink. “Ready to eat?”
“Sure.”
Rather than seating us across a table, the chairs had been arranged so I was at Whitt’s left hand. I wondered if that was his or Mrs. Knowles doing, but what did it matter? It gave us an opportunity to brush our legs against each other or touch as we talked during dinner. More than once, I caught Whitt watching me with a hunger in his gaze that I knew was just as strong in my own eyes.
The intimacy we had already shared was simply an appetizer, whetting my desire for more. I hadn’t been ready for him the other night in the limo, but I was now.
“There’s coffee and chocolate gateau,” Whitt said. “We can eat now or take a walk and come back to it.”
“I think I’d prefer the walk.” A walk in the moonlight with Whitt—just romantic enough to make me shaky. I glanced at Ripper who was still living in hope of more tidbits coming his way. “Besides, Ripper needs to stretch his legs.”
Whitt laughed and grabbed my hand to pull me to my feet. “By all means, then, let’s go.”
We used the French doors to step out onto the stone deck surrounding the pool. With the lights on, the water looked inviting. Whitt took my hand and laced our fingers, making my breath catch.
“It’s heated.”
“What?” I asked still absorbing the feel of our joined hands.
“The pool. So, if you don’t mind the cold air, you can use it for all but the coldest months of the year. I prefer the whirlpool in the master bath. You should try it some time.”
The invitation was clear. I smiled at how relaxed and open he was tonight.
“I’d like that. Let’s walk near the barn. I still have Ricky turning the horses back out at night, so they have a chance to move.”
“And we have a chance to watch them in the moonlight.”
I’d never thought of myself as a romantic, but tonight with this man at my side, my heart pounded. We didn’t talk much as we followed the drive, Ripper dashing back and forth in front of us, his nose to the ground. I stopped far enough away from the barn where I knew we wouldn’t be in Ricky’s line of sight if he decided to look out his apartment window.
We leaned against the top rail of the wooden fence, watching the four horses grazing by the silvery light of a full moon. Whitt moved closer, putting his arm around my waist.
“When Jack, my doctor, first suggested I try riding as a way to relax, I thought he was crazy.”
“And now?” We gazed at each other, so close again that his scent warmed my insides as smoothly as the bourbon had earlier.
Whitt leaned in until our lips were mere inches apart. “Now I think his idea was genius. But then you know it’s not just the horses I’m interested in.”
I turned to face him completely, my pulse beating heavily as I ran my hand up his chest and over the smooth, sculpted muscles of his shoulder. Lust mingled with the pure, heady emotion of being with someone who clearly wanted more than sex from me. And I wanted it all—anything, everything—any way he wanted it.
Whitt pressed kisses along my jaw and tugged at my earlobe. “I want more than my hand on you tonight. You get that, right?”
Our mouths met, as hungrily as if we hadn’t just enjoyed a superb dinner. My hesitation was gone. “Anything, Whitt.”
He cupped my ass and brought my hips into the cradle of his. “Come to bed with me. Let me make love to you.”
“I thought you’d never ask.” My doubts disappeared.
His hands framed my face as he kissed me again, our bodies naturally moving closer and rocking together in an easy, sensuous rhythm. Through our slacks, the hard ridge of his erection pushed into me.
Whitt broke the kiss. “Jesus, Reece, let’s go back to the house before I end up fucking you right here against the fence.”
Part of me screamed for him to just do it. But not this first time, I reminded myself. This needed to be special. He grabbed my hand again, his chuckle deep and gravelly as he tugged me toward the house. I needed no urging. I was in as much of a hurry as he was.
Ripper picked up on the excitement, running and barking ahead of us while Whitt and I laughed our asses off. We reached the room where we’d dined, and Whitt arched a brow. “Coffee and gatea
u or sex?”
“Sex.”
His hands tugged at my shirt, his fingers rushing to release the buttons. Every touch of his hands against my skin sent a frisson of excitement racing along my nerve endings. When he was finished, he slid his hands beneath the gaping material, slowly stroking my skin while his gaze lingered on what he’d revealed. Finally, he pushed the shirt off my shoulders, baring my torso. I shivered, and he sucked his breath in on a hiss.
“Damn. You’re beautiful.”
He started in on my belt, but I put my hand over his. “Upstairs. Your room or mine?”
“Mine.”
“I need to put Ripper in his crate.”
Whitt’s gaze bored into me. “Hurry.”
When I returned to his room, he had shed his shirt and his shoes. A lock of his dark hair fell across his forehead making him look younger and more vulnerable. As I crossed the room, I couldn’t help remembering him talking about having few friends, few people who accepted him just for him.
I kicked off my shoes and flicked open my belt. I was so ready, I ached with it.
“Let me,” he whispered, moving my hands out of the way so he could open my fly. In one slow, smooth movement, he stripped my slacks and underwear down my thighs, following them until he knelt in front of my rigid cock.
I stepped out of my clothes and pushed my fingers through his dark hair, biting my lower lip in anticipation of where this was going. I was desperate for him. When his hand wrapped around me, I groaned, but that was nothing compared to feeling him take me into his mouth.
“Whitt,” I whispered, feeling as though I might shatter at any moment.
He worked me with his lips and his hands until it was all I could do to stay on my feet. At the point I thought I would explode, he released me and surged to his feet giving me a kiss that demanded surrender, a surrender I was more than willing to give.
“Come on,” he urged, pulling me to the bed. He pushed me on my back, pausing only to strip off the rest of his clothes before following me down. The brush of his cock against mine was nearly painful, I was so turned on. Our bodies surged against each other, hands stroking and teasing until we were both panting.
Out To Get You: An MM Contemporary Romance Page 9
