Out To Get You: An MM Contemporary Romance

by Oliver, J. P.

  Wow. I rubbed the warm spot that made in my chest. I leaned over and kissed him before dunking him. Reece came up laughing. We swam and splashed like a couple of kids before the air temperature dropped enough to drive us indoors to towel off.

  As Reece scrubbed the water from his hair, he said casually, “There’s a small warm-up show Saturday at my friend’s farm. I’m planning on taking Satin there so we can get some more experience under our belts before Maysburg. Would you like to come and watch?”

  I had a phone conference scheduled for Saturday with a prospective client, but the hopeful look on Reece’s face was enough for me to smile and say, “I’d love to.”

  I would move the meeting, come hell or high water.

  16

  Reece

  The rest of the week passed at lightning speed. I put in additional work on Satin, holding Whitt to his lessons, but seeing little of him until late in the evening. He apologized profusely, telling me he was working on a project in addition to the one with Maitland. Because of the time differences involved, it often meant scheduling teleconferences at odd hours.

  At night, though, we were in his bed and wrapped in each other’s arms. Even Ripper was now firmly ensconced at the end of the bed, staking his doggy claim on a proportionately much larger piece of the king-sized bed than he actually needed.

  The morning of the show, I slipped out of bed well before dawn. It was just a schooling show, but I wanted Whitt to be impressed. Where I might have made do with breeches, boots, and a sweater, I decided I would take the coat and tie with me. I had left him the address on the bureau next to his wallet before Ripper and I headed to the barn.

  The other three horses seemed relieved when the only one I took out was Satin. I had hitched the trailer to the truck the night before and loaded everything I would need except the horse. Steffy’s schooling shows were always well-attended. She kept the entry fees low, there was plenty of parking, and she always had a boatload of horse show moms who would handle concessions. So even if Satin had a rough day, I was at least assured of getting some decent homemade cookies.

  “You look unusually cheerful, even for you,” Steffy commented as she came up and gave me a hug. After leaning back a few inches, she studied my face as though searching for something. “Ha! You are totally in love, aren’t you?”

  I tried to protest, but heat flooded my cheeks.

  “It’s him,” she whispered. “The billionaire banker.”

  “I don’t think of him that way, Steffy.” My tone sounded reproving, but I couldn’t help it. She was voicing the very thing I worried about, that people—including Whitt—would think his money was why I was with him.

  She tapped my cheek. “I know you don’t, Reece. I said it because I knew you would confirm it was Dailey that’s given you this glow.”

  I blew out a breath as I checked to make sure Satin’s lead shank was securely tied. “Can I gush for five seconds?”

  She grinned. “I promise I won’t tell or call you girly for doing it.”

  “He’s incredible. Brilliant, handsome, a fantastic rider already…”

  “Thanks to you.”

  “Mostly to him. He works as hard at the lessons I’ve given him as he does at his business. And,” I grinned, “He’s coming to watch me ride today.”

  “Squee!” Steffy kissed my cheek. “I promise to be cool and not overreact, but you are going to introduce me, right?”

  “Don’t grill him. He’s kind of shy.”

  “Shy? The guy’s a barracuda of the banking world. How can he be shy?”

  “He is. Trust me.”

  Steffy rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Just so you know, Jordy is here with his trainer. Oh, and I have a program for a show tomorrow in Lexington. You should think about going. It will have a crowd similar to what Satin will encounter at the Maysburg show.”

  “I don’t know. Let me think about it. That’s a tight turnaround and it would mean a couple days away from the farm.”

  She shook her head. “You’ve got it bad. I’ll stick a copy of the show bill in the cab of your truck when I get a chance.”

  “Thanks, sweetie.” I gave her a peck on the cheek and headed for the show secretary’s booth so I could pay my entry fees. I didn’t see any sign of Whitt yet, but then I didn’t expect to. I had told him it would be close to lunch before I went into the ring. Beanie was showing this morning, and I had promised to coach her, so I went off to find her and see if I already needed to calm her mother’s nerves.

  The morning passed quickly. Beanie and Buttercup managed to take third place in their division. I saw Mary Maitland and spoke to her briefly, mentioning that Whitt might be stopping by later to watch me ride.

  “That’s wonderful. He needs to get out more. Quinn is always telling me he thinks Whitt works too hard. Quinn’s really looking forward to having him join us for a hunt.”

  “Whitt is about ready.”

  She patted me on the arm. “Well, I know you’ll take care of him.” She gave me an enigmatic smile before heading over to a group of pony club members. I stared after her, my brows slightly drawn together before shaking off the feeling that Mary saw a lot more than she let on.

  I needed to get Satin tacked and ready to go. As I did so, I was keeping an eye out for Whitt. I had already navigated the craziness of the warm-up ring when I finally saw him pull in. I felt a little breathless as I watched him get out of his car and was half-tempted to raise my hand and wave to him, but something held me back.

  Whitt spotted Mary Maitland first, going over to talk with her for a few minutes before I finally saw her point in my direction. My heartbeat thudded as Whitt headed my way. He was dressed in khakis and paddock boots, a lightweight fleece vest thrown on top of a light blue dress shirt, his hair lifting slightly in the breeze. He looked good, as though he had been showing up at places like this his entire life.

  I grinned at him as he drew closer.

  “Hey,” I called out. “Thanks for coming.” What I wanted to do was jump off Satin so I could give him a hug and let him know how much it meant that he had taken time out of his schedule to be here. So when Whitt stopped by Satin’s head, giving her a stroke on the cheek but staying out of touching distance of me, I was caught a little off guard.

  “Everything okay? Did you find the place all right?” I shook my head with a smile before he could answer. “That’s stupid. You’re here.”

  “Yeah.” He glanced at his watch. “How much longer do you think it will be before your ride?”

  I glanced around the showgrounds, seeing a few people turned our way. Mary Maitland, Jordy, Beanie’s mom. As far as I knew, Whitt only knew Mary Maitland. Was that the cause of the return of the Whitt I had first met? I wasn’t going to jump to stupid conclusions, though, and this wasn’t the time to discuss it. I needed to keep in mind that he was busy. He had a lot of different business deals working.

  “Fifteen minutes, max. There’s a concession stand over there if you want something to eat or drink. Steffy’s moms stock it, so there’s usually some homemade goodies.”

  Whitt rolled his shoulders as if he was tired and tense. From where I was sitting, getting ready to go in the ring, there wasn’t a lot I could do to help him.

  “I think I’ll get some coffee. You want anything?” For a second, he looked like the man I had been sleeping with every night for more than a week now.

  “No. They’re getting ready to call my class.”

  With a faint smile and a wave, he headed for the concession stand. For some reason I couldn’t quite pin down, that wave made my heart hurt. Whitt hadn’t come to watch me. Mr. Dailey had.

  I ended up toward the end of the jumping order. Not always my favorite place to be, but it would give me a chance to study the course and maybe learn something from other people’s mistakes. Whitt had found a spot by himself on the far side of the ring, not far from the judge’s stand. When my number was finally announced, I trotted into the ring, halted, and saluted t
he judge.

  Satin was all business today, not letting anything disturb her focus as she negotiated the course quickly and cleanly. This was what I had been working toward, the type of performance I was hoping to be able to get out of her. As we trotted out of the ring, I knew I was grinning from ear to ear. Instinctively, I headed around the ring to where Whitt was standing and jumped down to give Satin a few minutes rest. It looked like there would have to be a jump-off.

  “Did you see?” I asked as I walked toward him, ready to give him a hug.

  “It was a great round. Congratulations.” Whitt backed up a step and put his hands in the pockets of his vest. I halted in mid-stride, reins in one hand and my helmet in the other. I opened my mouth to ask him what the fuck was going on, when I heard someone behind me.

  “Great round, Reece!” Steffy gushed and stepped up to give me a hug. “You going to introduce me?”

  “Steffy, this is Whitt Dailey…my boss. Whitt, Steffy Burke.”

  Whitt held out his hand, smiled politely, and looked like what he was—rich and remote.

  “Excuse me,” I said. “I need to get back to the ring for the jump off.”

  Whitt nodded, that small cool smile I hated still in place. After adjusting my helmet, I put my foot in the stirrup and sprang lightly onto Satin’s back. This should be a fantastic moment. My horse had qualified for the jump-off, and my lover was here to see it. Why did I feel like such shit then?

  As I turned to ride toward the entrance, Whitt called out, “Good luck.”

  We had anything but that. The breeze that had been mild only moments before we entered the ring suddenly kicked up. Going into the triple combination, never an easy series of jumps for us, a plastic bag blew across the far end of the ring, distracting Satin so she misread the first obstacle, taking the top rail. I tried to make the adjustment to get her to the next fence, but it was all wrong. Instead of letting her crash through it, I pulled her up, tipped my hat to the judge and retired.

  Hurt and now angry on top of it, I swung off her back and led her straight back to where I had the truck and trailer parked. I stripped off my helmet and then my jacket. No matter my frustration, I made myself carefully store both items so they were protected from dirt. Unlike some people, I couldn’t afford to replace things whenever.

  “You okay?”

  It was Whitt behind me. I continued to keep my back to him. Childish, but that was how I was feeling at the moment. I wanted to spin on him and demand to know why the fuck he cared.

  “The bag distracted her. Rather than turn the entire round into a disaster, I pulled her out.”

  “Reece—” he began, but I cut him off.

  “Not now, Whitt. I’m sure you have someplace else you need to be. You’ve made that pretty obvious. I guess I’ll see you back at your place.”

  I sensed he was still behind me, but I didn’t turn around, afraid he would see how hurt I felt, and I couldn’t let him. I couldn’t let him know how much power he had to hurt me. The silence stretched, and then I heard the fading crunch of gravel as he left. My eyes and throat ached.

  I was hurt all right, but I was also angry.

  By the time I had returned to the farm and put Satin back in her stall, I had worked that anger pretty high. I found Whitt in his office, glued to something on his laptop. Without waiting, I stomped over to his desk and braced my arms on the top.

  “Exactly why the hell did you even bother to come to the show today?” I demanded.

  He leaned back in his chair, his expression shuttered. “I came to watch you ride. Is there a problem?”

  “Hell yes, there’s a problem. I’m sleeping in your fucking bed, Whitt. We’re lovers, but you can’t even treat me as if I’m anything more than the shit shoveler in your barn out in public? What’s with that? I could have used a little bit of support, a feeling that you actually gave a rat’s ass about what I was doing.”

  “I’ve told you I have reasons to keep our relationship private. I thought you understood, thought you agreed with that. I need to close this deal with Maitland. You’ve heard his reputation.”

  “He’s a bright man. You think the fact you like to fuck men would make a difference to him when it comes to business? Well, I think you’re wrong.”

  “I can’t afford to take that risk. People’s jobs depend on my being able to convince him to do this deal.” Whitt ran shaky fingers through his hair. Faint circles darkened the area below his eyes, and I realized how tired he was, but I couldn’t let it go.

  “You think he’ll be impressed that you’re not being open and above board with him? Because that’s what you’re really doing.”

  “I have my reasons.”

  I leaned toward him. “I think you’re chicken.”

  Whitt shook his head. “At the moment, I don’t care what you think. I have to trust my instincts.”

  I made a snap decision. “Then it shouldn’t bother you that I’ll be gone a couple of days.”

  His gaze shot back to mine. “Where? The deadline for me to go hunting with Maitland is getting too close for you to just take off.”

  “Don’t be so insecure,” I snapped. “I’m leaving in a couple hours. I’ll be back by Monday afternoon.”

  “We have an agreement.”

  “And I’m fulfilling it. But like you have your business, I have mine. And being able to prepare my horse for the Maysburg show was part of it. After the disaster this afternoon, I need another shot to boost her confidence.”

  His clear gray gaze held mine until I heard the vibration of his phone on the desk. We both looked at it.

  “You should answer it,” I told him and turned away, more discouraged than I could ever remember being.

  From behind me, I heard him say, “Drive carefully.”

  17

  Whitt

  I awoke early, before the sun was even up. Habit had me reaching for Reece’s warm, solid body, but the bed was cold. Empty. I closed my eyes, not wanting to think about how things were getting so screwed up. I tried to grab onto the indignation I’d felt yesterday afternoon when Reece accused me of being a coward.

  He didn’t understand.

  I needed the focus of my deal with Maitland to be on business, on the inherent advantages of taking over the recycling company and adding it to his paper empire. It was a first step in getting Maitland to take his holdings green, a way to position his business for a future that worked aggressively at conserving natural resources rather than depleting them.

  If news of my relationship with Reece became fodder for the press and the public, the attention would be on me, not on the deal.

  One thing Reece said, though, had struck a chord. I didn’t want Maitland to feel like I was keeping things from him in any way. But damn it, didn’t I have a right to a private life?

  I kept that anger and indignation wrapped around me like a cloak as I started my day. In keeping with my routine, I went to the barn in the morning. Ricky was there cleaning stalls when I arrived. Would this be what it was like when Reece’s job was done? I didn’t want to think about that.

  “You riding this morning, Mr. Dailey?”

  “Yeah. Since I’m going out on my own, I think I’ll take Mac.”

  “That’s probably a smart idea. You want me to get him ready for you?”

  “I’ll do it. It’s relaxing.”

  Ricky laughed. “If you say so.”

  The way most of the pasture fences were constructed around the area, it was possible to travel a network of grassy lanes and farm roads without having to jump or open and shut all but a few gates. That suited me perfectly. I wanted a long, lazy ride.

  I made almost a complete circle and headed back toward my farm at an easy, ground-covering walk when I spotted Sherry Rowland doing some work outside. Reece had mentioned the place had a neglected look to it, and he was right. I wondered if I should offer to get my landscaping crew to do some work for her, but I wasn’t sure how well that would be received.

  I
waved to her, surprised when she left off what she was doing to walk to the fence. I halted Mac and dismounted to be polite.

  “Good morning,” she said cheerfully, her gaze looking back along the lane. “Did you leave Reece behind somewhere?”

  “No, it’s only me. Reece has taken his mare to a show in Lexington.”

  Sherry studied the gelding I was riding. “Isn’t that Reece’s lesson horse? Is Bondage lame?”

  And there it was, the problem I truly faced without Reece here. I might have fooled myself at the stable, but the fact was I didn’t yet have the confidence I needed to take my own horse out by myself.

  I walked over to the fence, and leaned on the top rail, Mac standing placidly by my side. “No. But since this is the first time I’ve ridden on my own, I thought Mac would be an appropriate babysitter.”

  Sherry laughed. “I suppose, but if I were you, I’d make sure you get comfortable riding Bondage on your own.”

  Something in her tone made me do a double take. “What do you mean?”

  “This is the same kind of stunt Reece has pulled with other clients, taking off to look after his own horses, disappearing for one or two days at a time.”

  Although her words touched a sore spot, I felt as though I needed to defend him. “Wouldn’t it be a bit unfair to expect him to be on the job twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week?”

  “Talk to Jordy Edgerton, the latest one Reece ditched.”

  None of this jived with what I had seen and experienced with Reece. Sherry painted a picture of a man who was irresponsible and uncaring, but Reece had been anything but that. Still, he had taken off at the last minute, dismissing my concerns about how close we were to Maitland’s invitation to hunt.

  “I don’t see him doing that to me, Sherry,” I protested. Some of what I was feeling had to be showing in my expression.

  She tilted her head and studied me with an intensity that made me want to squirm.