Yeah.
Well, it wouldn’t hurt Bondage to have a little schooling work put in on him. I grabbed my half chaps and my helmet, put them on and headed for the pasture. Like a lot of the farms in this area, most of the line fences were connected either with panel jumps or coops. I’d take an easy hack through, taking fences as I needed. Maybe it would get my mind off a certain tall, dark, and handsome man who didn’t appear to notice I even existed.
By the time I returned to the barn, Sherry Rowland was inside talking to Ricky while she visited with Trixie. Bondage nickered in recognition when he saw her.
“Hey Sherry,” I greeted her as I swung to the ground. “I’d ask what brings you here, but that’s pretty obvious.”
She smiled. “It’s a habit, I guess.”
“If you’re that attached to them, why on earth did you sell?”
She shrugged. “Trying to downsize. I’ll find another mount. Those two are so attached to each other, though, I hated to separate them.”
I began untacking Bondage before leading him to the wash stall. As I hosed him, Sherry continued. “I ran into Quinn Maitland in town and told him how well Whitt was doing. Maitland’s looking forward to hunting with him.”
“At the rate he’s going, he should be more than ready.”
“It’s a shame Quinn’s so conservative about some things. I’m surprised he hasn’t said anything to Whitt about you living at the house.”
I turned to stare at her. “Why would he? Whitt and I have a business arrangement. I work for him. He offered room and board in addition to a salary.”
“I know, I know. It’s just…you know…some people talk about how that looks.”
This time I faced her completely, my hands loosely at my hips. “No, I don’t know, Sherry. How does that look?”
“Some people might believe you’re living with him. I mean, there is an apartment here in the barn.”
“Which Ricky uses, again, if that’s anyone else’s concern.”
“That’s exactly what I explained to Maitland. Whitt is such an amazing businessman. He certainly wouldn’t do anything that might jeopardize a deal.” She stepped over to give Bondage a little kiss on the nose. “Well, I better be on my way.”
After she left, I stared along the aisle toward the house. I didn’t know Maitland well, but I couldn’t believe he’d be narrow-minded enough to tank a business deal over someone’s sexual orientation. That wasn’t good business practice. Not in this day and age.
Still, I couldn’t completely shake my doubts. One thing I knew for certain, for both our sakes, I needed to keep everything with Whitt strictly on a business footing. No more slip-ups. In the past, I would have said screw it, loaded my horses, and headed to Steffy’s. But this was my best shot. Right now was the time to start campaigning Satin.
If I didn’t want to follow in my father’s footsteps, living the rest of my life as though I were a failure, I had to keep Whitt as a boss, and keep my desires tamped down. And if Whitt was going to clinch this deal with Maitland, he needed to be riding.
The thought re-occurred as the time for his afternoon lesson arrived, and Whitt once again didn’t show. I knew he hadn’t left. His car was still there, and no limo had arrived to take him anywhere else.
I’d had enough of his avoiding me, sulking, whatever the hell it was. I needed him riding. I marched to the house, greeted Mrs. Knowles in the kitchen, and verified Whitt was in his office. I walked in without knocking.
As I suspected, he was sitting in his chair staring out the French doors. With that view, he had to have seen me.
“Sulking?” I asked.
He spun around, his brows drawn together. “Why would I be sulking, Reece? I told you I had business.”
“That was this morning. It’s now past time for your afternoon ride.”
“I’m busy.”
“You need to get your butt in the saddle if you have any chance at all of being ready to foxhunt with Quinn Maitland.”
“Since when do you tell me what to do?”
This was going not at all the way I wanted it to. Whitt looked stressed out. I needed to dial things back. I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I don’t tell you what to do. Maybe it would be better if we started fresh in the morning.”
Whitt rose from his chair and walked around the desk, running his fingers through his thick hair. “Don’t apologize, Reece. I’m being a dick. I have to admit, though, I’m not in the best of moods.”
This was an opportunity to get things back on an even keel. “Anything I can do to help?”
Whitt smiled. “No, but thanks. I’ve been on the phone most of the day trying to get some figures Maitland wants to look at without much luck.”
I thought back to Sherry’s comments in the barn, but I sure as hell wasn’t sharing any of our conversation. All I could hope was that she was misreading Maitland. It wasn’t hard to see how important this deal was to Whitt.
“Starting fresh is probably a good idea. I worked Bondage today over part of the hunt territory. He’s as steady as they come. I think you’re going to be pleased with him when you get on him tomorrow.”
Whitt nodded. “I’ll look forward to it.”
I took that as my cue to go and returned to the barn, Ripper trotting happily at my side. I could make this work. We could both achieve our goals and keep things on a business only footing. It would be easy enough to do, and I would make sure we avoided any contact outside the barn.
10
Whitt
I was determined to get things off to a fresh start the next morning, like Reece suggested—a fresh business-like start. When I walked into the barn, the reality hit that I wouldn’t be riding Mac, my steady, babysitter horse.
Reece stepped out of the tack room, his smile tentative. I couldn’t blame him. After the past couple of days, it felt as though we were stumbling through brand new territory. It was up to me to make the first move. And when it dealt with personal relationships rather than purely business, I was way out of my comfort zone.
“Good morning, Reece,” I greeted him. “Am I riding Bondage today?” I tried to smile, a little alarmed by how nervous I felt around him.
“Yeah,” he replied. “You need to get used to him. We’ll start in the ring, so you can get comfortable, but we’re going to have to start practicing through the hunt country.”
I pictured some of the big jumps built into the fence lines around my property. Now my nerves were jangling for another reason. “Um, Reece, are we going to have to jump those really tall things?”
He turned from where he was getting a lead shank and regarded me soberly. “If you truly want to hunt with Quinn Maitland? Then yes.”
The first real niggling of fear crawled through me. What the hell had I gotten myself into? As if he sensed my head was in a bad place, Reece set the lead back on the wall hook and walked over to me. Putting a hand on my shoulder, he gave me a little squeeze.
“I’m not going to let you do anything you’re not ready to do. Remember that. Trust me. Now shake it off. If you get on this gelding with your head in the wrong place, he’s horse enough to recognize that, and sensible enough not to do whatever you’re hesitant to do.”
I nodded. “I’m okay, really. I guess it all started to hit me. How little time there is.”
“We’ll work in the ring and see how things go.”
While I used the same saddle I had for Mac, Bondage required a different bridle, which Reece showed me how to adjust. As soon as I was on the horse’s back and moving around the ring, I noticed a tremendous difference in the way the horse moved. As the lesson progressed, I relaxed more, and the horse responded to that. On the next trip around the ring, I spotted Sherry leaning against the top rail watching our progress.
I nodded as we passed. Her smile seemed a bit tight, but I had to keep my focus on Bondage. From the center of the ring, Reece called, “Take him through the two jumps on the outside line that we practiced wit
h Mac. Remember to close your hip and let your hands slide along his neck. Don’t brace.”
As I headed toward the jumps, I realized he had simplified them. Good. Bondage moved easily, but his rhythm was enough different from Mac that I was slightly behind him over the first jump. The second one was perfect.
“Try it again. You’ve got the feel of him, so this should be smoother.”
It was. My confidence grew. Reece raised the bars slightly on the first fence and added another bar to the second jump to give it a spread. As I circled around the ring, I sat deep in the saddle, remembering to keep my eyes up. We turned toward the first jump, and everything was going smoothly until we were a stride or two away from Bondage jumping. A bright flash temporarily blinded me, interrupting my concentration.
Bondage swerved, and I lost my balance, tumbling in what seemed like slow motion until I hit the ground. Rubberized footing or not, it was still hard, and it hurt. Bondage, well-trained as he was, stood a few feet away, ears twitching back and forth but otherwise quiet.
I was already sitting when Reece jogged over and squatted next to me. “Don’t move yet. I want to check you out before you stand.”
He asked a series of questions to find out where I had hit, if I was having any problems with my vision or anything else. As I answered him, Sherry jogged toward us, a concerned look on her face.
“Are you all right, Whitt?”
Before I could respond, Reece’s gaze swiveled toward her. “Catch Bondage please and hold him while Whitt dusts himself off.” As he looked at me his gaze softened. “Are you absolutely sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine. You want me to get back on and do it again?”
His face creased in a smile. “That’s my guy. Yeah. If you’re able, it’s best to get right back on after a fall.”
“I’d prefer my hot tub and a bourbon.”
Reece laughed. “Later. Here. Let me give you a hand.”
Once I was on my feet, Reece took Bondage’s reins from Sherry. “I think it might be better if you weren’t here watching while Whitt’s putting in his first ride. It must be too much of a distraction for Bondage to realize you’re on the ground and someone new is on him.”
It looked as though Sherry was about to say something, but Reece gave her a stare that made her shift her gaze. “I do have some errands I need to run. I’ll see you all later.”
After she had departed, Reece threw the reins back over the horse’s head. “Okay, let’s get you over those jumps.”
Once I was back on board, everything went smoothly. By the end of the lesson, we were negotiating the two original jumps plus a small, solid jump that Reece called a coop, I guess because it looked like a chicken coop. I gave Bondage a pat on the neck as we slowed to a walk.
I glanced at Reece, but he was looking off toward Sherry’s farm with a slight frown on his face. Hands in his pockets, he worried his lower lip and scuffed his boot through the dirt. After a moment, he shook his head and turned my way, his expression relaxing as he walked toward us.
“I know the fall kind of took some of the luster off, but this was a great ride, Whitt. Hop down, we’ll walk this guy in. I’m going to have Ricky take care of cooling him and putting him back in his stall.”
I jumped to the ground, feeling the faintest twinge in my right hip. Some time in the hot tub was probably not a bad idea. The bourbon would have to wait. I had more business to take care of today before our afternoon ride.
“You sure you’re all right?” Reece asked, stopping me with a hand on my bare forearm. Feeling his work-roughened palm against me was sensory overload. I shifted out of his grip and laughed.
“Worried you’ll be out of a job if I get spooked or injured?”
Reece stopped dead in his tracks. From the wounded expression in his blue eyes, I was left with no doubt that my mouth had landed me in another awkward situation.
“I’m worried about you as I would worry about any of my students…any person who fell, but especially when it’s a friend.”
“Friend? Don’t you mean boss?”
We had reached the barn. Ricky was standing there as though he had been watching for a while. Reece handed Bondage’s reins to him. “Take care of getting him untacked and cooled please. I need to speak with Mr. Dailey.”
Reece waited until Ricky and the horse had rounded the corner into the wash stall before he took my arm and pulled me into the shade of a tree out of sight of anyone. This time, when our gazes clashed, I saw heat in his he made no effort to hide, at least right now. Reece’s hand cupped the back of my neck.
“Damn it, Whitt. My concern for you is as a friend. Fuck. I know you’re my boss. You tell me often enough, but I can’t help it if I don’t exactly see you that way.”
“So, you see me as a friend?” It might have been stupid to repeat that, as if I needed clarification—which I did—but I could readily admit I was a bit blown away. People saw me as their boss, as the banker, the billionaire, the guy to pay the tab in whatever superficial relationship I managed to fit around travel and business deals. But not as a friend.
Reece’s hand remained cupped, warm and strong, around my neck. Yes, I wanted his friendship. I wanted someone who would see me as just another guy, without attaching all those labels. Reece had always treated me as if I were no different than anyone else.
But I did want to be different. I wanted to feel him touch me like he was now. I wanted to be able to touch him.
“What if I want it to be more than friendship?” I asked, my voice like gravel as my mouth immediately forgot everything my brain had said about keeping things business-like.
11
Reece
More than friendship? I craved everything about this man and seeing him fall off Bondage had scared the shit out of me. Before I had time to tell him that, Whitt’s mouth was on mine, his hands framing my face. Holy shit. The feel of his firm lips on mine, the slight brush of our beards against each other, made me nearly weak in the knees.
I grabbed his hips and pulled him closer. I needed to feel him pressed against me, needed to feel his heart pounding in time with mine. More than friendship? It was everything I wanted and the opposite of what I should let myself have, but how could I resist him like this?
His tongue stroked along my lips, asking for entrance I gladly gave. There was no hiding what we wanted. Oh God, could this man kiss. Where did he hide all that passion on a day-to-day basis? Like this, the heat of his body searing mine and his spicy scent filling my nostrils, he was impossible to resist. The intensity of it scared me a bit—and made me cautious.
What was I thinking? Whitt Dailey was the man bankrolling what I hoped would be a successful show future with Satin. If I screwed that up by falling for him and things went south, I could be out on the street…and worse—nursing a broken heart. Sure, Steffy had promised I would always have a place to go, but there was a huge difference between providing my horses and I shelter and providing a salary that enabled me to pay the bills associated with showing the biggest shows. And friend she might be, but Steffy was hardly the cure to a broken heart.
I eased away, trying to be careful how I handled this when every part of me screamed to keep going, keep figuring out exactly who was behind the public face Whitt showed the world. I wanted to know who he was under that veneer.
“I thought you were straight!” was the only thing I could think to say.
Whitt laughed. “I like to keep my private life private, but you make me rethink that.”
“I saw pictures on the internet of you out with women,” I protested, still trying to find some way to make my heart quit reaching for something that seemed so unattainable.
“You googled me?” Whitt looked flattered, even touched. He took a step toward me as if he wanted to kiss me again.
I stepped back. “Wait.”
“You’re not on board with this?” Whitt asked. I detected a hint of hurt, a shadow of wariness.
There was no doub
t in my mind Whitt made my heart pound and my mind go to mush. And now that we’d kissed, it made me want another taste…and another.
“I don’t know,” I told him. “I’m not even sure what this is.”
At that moment, Ricky stepped around the corner, dusting his palms off on his jeans. “It looks like two hot guys who are really into each other to me.” He put a hand over his heart. “Just my humble opinion.”
Whitt gave him a hard stare while still staying close to me. “Don’t you have stalls to clean?”
“I’m done.”
“Horses to feed?”
“Too early.”
“I know…dragging the ring.”
Ricky grinned. “Now that, I was going to do, but you two are kind of in the way and a bit of a distraction.”
“Shit.” Whitt dragged me back toward the barn aisle. “Why don’t we continue this discussion at the house? I’m hungry and thirsty.”
I couldn’t think of a logical protest, although I was pretty damn sure I should be making one. As we entered the house through the kitchen, Whitt greeted Mrs. Knowles with a wide smile. “Would you mind bringing Reece and me a tray with some sandwiches and a couple bottles of water? We have some business to discuss.”
“Not at all, Mr. Dailey. I’ll have everything there for you in a few minutes.”
We walked along the hallway toward his office and…again… I said, “You have a whole big mansion. Why is it we always seem to have discussions in your office? What about the terrace, the pool, or maybe that man -cave thing with the ginormous television in the basement?”
Whitt glanced at me, his gray eyes twinkling. “Cleaning crew’s here. They never touch my office, so I know if we’re in there, we won’t be disturbed.”
“We don’t need privacy. There is nothing private going on, Whitt. We’re having sandwiches and talking business because we have a business relationship.” Maybe if I kept telling myself that, I might actually believe it.
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