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 gateau 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 en
dings. 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.
“Fuck me, Whitt. I need you inside me.”
He leaned around me to grab condoms and lube from his nightstand.
“Spread your legs. I want to see you, kiss you while we fuck.”
My balls were tight and my cock so stiff, I was afraid I was going to come before he could ever get me ready. As if he sensed my concern. Whitt braced himself over me and kissed me over and over.
“Easy, Reece,” he whispered against my lips.
“It’s been a while.”
He chuckled again. “For me too. If we hadn’t taken the edge off in the tack room earlier, I would never have lasted this long.”
I stroked my fingers along his cheek. “I want you so much. Get me ready for you.”
Another quick kiss, and then he covered himself and coated his cock and his fingers with lube. My dick leaped in response to his first touch. He teased, circling and pressing before finally entering with first one and then a second finger.
“Touch yourself,” Whitt said, his slumberous gaze locked on my cock.
With my lower lip between my teeth, I wrapped my hand around my shaft and began to slowly jerk, precum oozing from the tip.
“That’s it, baby,” Whitt muttered, adding a third finger and pumping inside my ass. I was so ready, shaking with the anticipation. I had waited for this moment my entire life. As soon as I relaxed, he pulled his fingers out and replaced them with his cock. I had imagined this, but it was so much better, feeling him fill me, watching him tremble with desire.
We both froze as he finished burying himself to his balls.
“You’re so sexy.” With his hands behind my knees, he began to rock back and forth, his silvery gaze roaming hungrily over me but returning again and again to where I fisted my rigid shaft. When our gazes locked, the raw emotion in his expression rocked something deep inside me. He wanted someone to see him for who he really was, but in this moment, we were both laid bare.
My hand tightened, and Whitt’s movements grew frantic. I needed to kiss him, needed to come, needed to see him shatter. Between my hand and the pressure of his dick inside me, I gasped his name and came. Whitt growled, lowering his body on top of mine so he could kiss me long and hard while he pumped into me. I stroked his upper arms and shoulders, touching him wherever I could. I wanted him to know that I did see him. Whitt, the man, not the banker, the billionaire, or the boss.
With his head thrown back, he gave himself over to his orgasm, both of us panting and staring at each other in the aftermath. His fingers feathered along my cheek in a touch so gentle it brought tears to my eyes.
“I’ll be right back,” he murmured and withdrew carefully before disappearing into the bathroom and reappearing a moment later with a warm rag that he used to clean me up.
“You don’t need…” I began, but he pressed a finger to my lips.
“I want to. Sleep with me?”
I nodded mutely, overcome by the hunger burning in his gaze. I was in uncharted territory, and I had the feeling Whitt was too.
15
Whitt
“That’s better,” Reece called from the middle of the ring two afternoons later. “Relax your hips and the small of your back so you can sit deep in the saddle and follow the horse’s movements.”
So hard to keep my mind on riding Bondage when all I could think about was riding Reece.
He waved me over to the middle of the ring. I slowed my rangy gelding to a walk and turned on a loose rein toward Reece, stopping when I reached his side. He looked at me with a grin.
“I can see you’ve been practicing.”
“Amazing how one type of riding translates to another,” I responded dryly.
Reece brushed some dust from my boot and arched a brow as he said, “Maybe I should give you a demonstration of some different techniques.”
The look in his eye made my entire body heat. Lord help me. If I got a hard-on right now, the breeches I had on would do absolutely nothing to hide every detail.
“What exactly did you have in mind?” I asked.
His hand smoothed along my thigh. “I guess that depends on how insistent you are on topping all the time.”
My heart pounded. We hadn’t discussed that, and the past couple of days since our dinner had been hands and mouths rather than full-on penetration. I swallowed a little nervously and had to clear my throat. “Not adamant. Just inexperienced at anything else.”
Reece’s baby blue eyes darkened, his gaze intense. “How inexperienced?”
“Totally.” Even mounted as I was on top of Bondage while Reece stood on the ground, I felt vulnerable, a little shy—a new feeling for me I wasn’t sure I was comfortable with. Reece ducked his head and blew out a breath. I shifted, wondering if I had turned him off with that.
Then he lifted his face to look at me. The naked hunger there nearly did me in. “God, Whitt,” he rasped, “It’s all I can do not to pull you off that horse this instant.”
Before I could respond, we both heard the rumble of a vehicle coming up the drive. From my vantage point on Bondage’s back, I studied the distinctive white delivery van. I also saw my neighbor, Sherry, walking along the grass lane between two of the pastures. She’d been MIA the past few days, which wasn’t all that unusual.
I couldn’t help remembering Reece’s suspicions that she had purposely flashed her phone to spook Bondage. I still couldn’t make it fit with the woman who had been so helpful to me. Hell, she’d even sold her hunt horses to me.
“Looks like the riding clothes I ordered are here.” I took my feet out of the stirrups and swung to the ground next to Reece. “Sherry’s headed this way too. Maybe we can put on a fashion show for her.”
Reece grimaced. “I’ll take a pass on that, but by all means, let’s make sure what you ordered is everything you need and fits right. Sherry will have an eye for that.”
I flashed him a grin, glad he was willing to put his suspicions about her behind him. When we led Bondage back to the barn, Sherry was approaching. My phone pinge
d with a text from Mrs. Knowles confirming that the boxes from Horse & Hound had arrived.
“You’re just in time,” I told Sherry. “The delivery guy dropped off what I ordered from the tack store. Would you like to join us at the house, so I can show off my new threads?”
“Sure. Is this a one-man fashion show or are you modeling as well, Reece?”
Before Reece could answer, I said, “You should. After all, you need to make sure what I bought for you fits too.”
Reece gave me a look. I’d backed him into a corner. Unfair of me, but I wanted to see him in custom-tailored clothing. I couldn’t deny the thrill of anticipation it gave me to know all of it was a gift from me. When the main thought that crossed my mind was how I was taking care of my man, I knew I had it bad.
“I can’t think of anything I’d rather do,” he said with an arch of his brow that told me clearly he would figure out some form of revenge. “Let’s not hold things up. Why don’t you head to the house? I’ll get Ricky to take care of Bondage and join you in a few minutes.”
“Sounds like a plan. Come on, Sherry.”
She was silent until we had walked a few yards from the barn.
“It looks like you and Reece are getting along pretty well.”
“He’s a fantastic teacher,” I said, keeping my personal feelings out of my voice. Those were between Reece and me, and not for public consumption.
She gave me a sidelong glance. “But you’re friends too, surely.”
I hooked my fingers in my breeches pockets as I walked. “Of course. I mean, he lives at the house with me. It would be weird if we hadn’t become friends, don’t you think?”
She seemed to consider that for a moment. “I suppose so. It must be nice to have friends who buy you custom-made riding apparel.”
I turned my head slightly but didn’t see anything in her expression that might lead me to think there was anything more to her comment. Still, I felt like I needed to say something, more in defense of Reece than anything else.
Dr. Perfect: A Contemporary Romance Bundle Page 46