The Riding Master

by Alexandrea Weis

  Her pulse raced as she stared into his hypnotic gray eyes. He smelled of sweat, dust, and a hint of his sexy cologne. Rayne’s body began to ache with longing.

  He let his lips hover over hers. “All week I have been able to think of nothing else but you, and the first time we see each other, you’re jealous of a woman I cannot stand.” He smiled and placed his hands about her face. “You are a wonder.”

  “You really can’t stand Selene?”

  “Her laugh is as fake as the rest of her body. Forget about her.” Trent contemplated her lips. “Now what do you say to a proper hello?”

  He kissed her and Rayne instantly surrendered to him. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her so close that she feared she would not be able to draw a breath. His mouth teased her, encouraged her, and when she parted her lips, his tongue darted in and out, driving her mad.

  As his lips worked their way down her neck, his hand skimmed her right breast and then roamed over her abdomen until it curled into the crotch of her beige jodhpurs. “You know what I want to do to you right now?”

  Rayne giggled. “Yeah, I know.”

  “Turn around.”

  Rayne’s eyes flew open. “Here?”

  He kissed the tip of her nose. “Just do it.”

  With a pensive pout on her lips, she faced the racks of saddles on the wall.

  His hands came around her hips to the zipper on the side of her riding pants. “Ever since the other night on the phone, I’ve wanted to touch you.” He pushed the clingy fabric down her thighs.

  “Trent?” She wiggled in his hands.

  He crashed into her, shoving Rayne into the saddle before her. Grabbing at the saddle to steady herself, she tried to fight against him. “We can’t,” she protested.

  “Relax,” he murmured, placing his mouth against her ear as his hand slid along the elastic band of her beige panties. “You told me the other night you wished I could touch you. Well, I’m here now.” He lowered her hand from the saddle in front of her. He kissed the back of her neck and then lightly nipped at her skin, just as he took her hand in his and slid them both inside her underwear.

  Rayne trembled when he encouraged her fingers to caress her folds.

  His teeth grazed her earlobe. “Show me what you like.”

  “I…I’m not—”

  “Rayne, show me what you did the other night,” he demanded.

  With his hand on top of hers, urging her onward, she slowly began to stroke her wet flesh. His body pushed into her back as she closed her eyes and felt that burning hunger roar upward. Trent’s hot breath caressed her cheek and his hand became more insistent, forcing her to move faster.

  “Christ, Trent.”

  Rayne held on to the saddle before her as he took over her hand. She bent over as the need in her caused her gut to clamp down hard. Her orgasm spiraled up her back, tensing every inch of her being with the hope of release.

  “God, yes,” she moaned.

  “That’s it, baby. I want to hear you.” He shoved her fingers hard into her folds.

  When her body shuddered and her hips rocked against her hand, she bit down on her lower lip, trying not to scream. But just as she threw her head back, he shoved her hand out of the way and drove his fingers up into her, causing her climax to explode.

  Grunting loudly, she bucked as he slid his fingers ruthlessly in and out of her. Just when the pulsations of pleasure eased, he fondled her again, even more aggressively than before.

  She gripped the saddle in front of her with both hands, fighting to stay upright. “Trent, please,” she begged in a ragged voice.

  “We’re going to do this again, Rayne. But this time, I’m gonna make you scream.”

  His fingers were merciless as they pinched her tender nub and rammed up into her. She was defenseless against his assault, and when the second orgasm overtook her, she fought like hell to contain her reaction. But just as the shockwaves of electricity blasted through her, Trent bit down hard into the back of her neck, causing her to lose control and utter a savage scream.

  Seconds later, Rayne was clinging to the saddle with the last vestiges of strength she possessed as she tried to catch her breath.

  Trent gently eased her underwear and pants up her hips, and then turned her to face him. Rayne could not look him in the eyes; she was too embarrassed.

  He lifted her chin. “You’re blushing.”

  “I…I’ve never done that before.”

  He tilted his head to the side, still watching her reaction. “You’ve never fooled around in a tack room?”

  “No, I’ve never had a…with a man before.”

  He stared into her eyes for several seconds, knitting his brow. “But you were married?”

  “Yeah, well, Foster never really asked if I ever did…you know. I guess he just assumed I did.”

  “You never told him?”

  “When we were first together, I figured it was me.” She shook her head. “Maybe I was doing something wrong…I didn’t know. I only had one lover before my husband and that was,” she grimaced, “really uncomfortable.”

  “You should have told him. You need to tell a man what you want. From now on, if I do something you don’t like, tell me. I want to please you, Rayne.”

  She rested her forehead against his wide chest. “You just pleased me, very much.”

  He hugged her. “There’s a lot more of that to come.”

  With her body satisfied, and her heart beginning to open up to the possibility of Trent Newbury, Rayne felt an unusual sense of comfort. All the novels she had read as a young girl had described lurid details of sexual encounters between the hero and heroine. But the reality of her experience with Trent was nothing like what she had read about; it was better.

  She backed out of his embrace and zipped up her jodhpurs. “You’d better get out of here, before someone wonders what we’re up to.”

  He kept his arms loosely about her sides. “Let them wonder.”

  “Aren’t you worried people will find out about us?”

  “No. Let them find out. I know Rebecca could care less.”

  “And what about Selene?” Rayne stepped out of his arms. “I know how that woman’s mind works, and I’m sure she will be pretty pissed to hear about us.”

  He studied her face, trying to discern her thoughts. “Why is what Selene thinks so important to you? I know you two don’t like each other, but is there something I’m missing?”

  She tucked her T-shirt into her riding pants. “I’ve been on the receiving end of Selene’s threats and gossip before. She loves to ruin lives, especially the lives of people she thinks are interfering with her plans.”

  “What happened, Rayne?”

  She sighed and frowned at him. “A few years after I married Foster, there was this pathologist who came to work with Greer Laboratories…his name was Aiden Hudson. He was divorced but closer to Foster’s age than mine. Whenever we would meet he was always very friendly with me, but it never occurred to me that….” Rayne was unsure how to go on.

  “He was interested in you?” Trent surmised.

  She nodded. “One night Foster invited Aiden to the house without telling me. We were supposed to attend a party for one of the numerous charities Foster supported, but he decided at the last minute not to go, and told me Aiden was taking me. I argued I didn’t want to go, but Foster insisted. He really insisted on it.” She ran her hands up and down her bare arms. “I remember thinking at the time it was odd how he pushed us together, but I went to the party with Aiden anyway. We were having a pretty good time until Selene arrived. When she saw Aiden, she was all over him. I told her to go back to her husband and leave Aiden alone because he was with me. She got mad, created a scene, and started calling me a whore in the middle of the party, and claimed I was having an affair with Aiden. It got so bad we had to leave.”

  “What did Foster say?”

  Rayne vacillated, apprehensive about telling Trent the truth. “He was furious,” she re
vealed in a tremulous voice. “Rumors flew about town that I was sleeping around, probably started by Selene. Things were never the same between Foster and me after that. I wonder sometimes if it wasn’t some kind of test. Foster was always asking me if I was faithful. A week after that party, he fired Aiden. A month later I heard Aiden had to transfer his medical license to another state because no one would hire him in Texas. Foster knows everyone in the medical field, and I’m sure he used his influence to destroy Aiden.”

  Trent was quiet for a moment. “Sounds like you were married to a real piece of shit, Rayne,” he finally commented.

  “Just be careful with Selene, Trent. She and Foster are cut out of the same mold. They both have a habit of destroying people.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ve tangled with Selene’s kind before.”

  “She has a bone to pick with me, and you could get caught in the middle.”

  He slid his arms about her. “I won’t.”

  She balled her hand up and tapped it against his chest. “You sure you want to get involved with me?”

  “Most definitely.” He then smacked her behind. “Now get out there and see to your horse. You have a lesson in thirty minutes.”

  She stepped back and sarcastically saluted. “Yes, sir.”

  “I’ll see you later.” He kissed her quickly on the mouth and then headed for her tack room door. After he opened the door, a gust of cool air enveloped her. Trent gave her one last devastating smile and walked out of the tack room.

  Rayne went to the shelf with her horse brushes and once again picked up the soft white-bristled brush. While running her fingers over the bristles, snapshots of their brief interlude rolled through her mind.

  “Don’t lose your head. Just keep it together.”

  As Rayne exited her tack room, she desperately prayed she could stick to those words. The last thing she needed was another Foster Greer in her life. One was about all she could handle.

  Chapter 9

  Later that morning, after she had finished with her last riding class, Rayne was making her way back to the stables from the schooling ring as two of her students rode alongside her, asking a flurry of questions.

  “How old where you when you first showed?” a tiny redhead with glasses interrogated as she sat astride her dapple gray pony. “My dad said I can’t show until I’m thirteen, but that is two whole years away and I think I’m ready to show now. What do you think, Ms. Greer?”

  “I think you should discuss it with your father, Kimberly,” Rayne advised. “He is your father and wants only what is best for you.”

  “Yeah, right.” Kimberly rolled her big green eyes beneath her thick-rimmed glasses. “He also told me I couldn’t date until I was thirty, and my mom called him an idiot.”

  “At least you can date,” a gangly, blue-eyed blonde, mounted on a slender brown mare, griped beside Rayne. “Mine told me I couldn’t date until after I got married. Now how’s that gonna happen?”

  “Don’t worry girls. Your fathers will come around, eventually,” Rayne told them as she noticed Selene sashaying their way.

  Selene’s black riding breeches appeared unusually snug and her long black hair was down, flowing in the soft breeze. As she came closer, Rayne spied the liberal application of makeup on her face and suspected the additional touches were for Trent’s benefit.

  “Oh, it’s her,” Kimberly groaned next to Rayne. “My mom says she’s a real slut. Is she a slut, Ms. Greer?”

  “Girls,” Rayne patted Kimberly’s black boot next to her, “why don’t you two go on ahead and take care of your horses? I’ll see you back at the stables.”

  “Okay, Ms. Greer,” the two girls spoke almost in unison, and walked ahead on their mounts.

  Rayne waited patiently as Selene approached, smiling cordially at the girls as they rode past.

  “You got a minute, Rayne?” Selene sounded way too friendly, immediately making Rayne suspicious.

  “What do you want, Selene?”

  Selene gazed about the open field around them before returning her black eyes to Rayne. “I wanted to talk to you about Trent.”

  Oh, this should be good, Rayne mused. “What about Trent?” she inquired, playing dumb.

  Selene superficial giggle grated against Rayne’s nerves. “Aw, come on Rayne. Girl-to-girl, is it serious between you two?”

  Rayne folded her arms over her chest and glared at Selene. “Is that really any of your business? I seem to recall the last time you believed I was ‘interested’ in someone, it damn near ruined my marriage.”

  Selene showed her pearly white fangs. “We both know you and the good doctor had a thing for each other. It was so obvious to everyone. But I don’t blame you. Pity Aiden had to leave town so quickly.”

  “Selene, you really have got….” But instead of getting angry, Rayne decided to go in for the kill. “Trent and I are seeing each other. In fact, we have another date tonight.”

  A fleeting look of surprise registered on her face, and then Selene regained her sinister composure. “But, Rayne, what do you really know about the man?”

  “What’s your point Selene, or do you even have one?”

  “Did Trent happen to mention why he left Shelby Stables?” Selene cocked a black eyebrow at her.

  “Does it matter?”

  With a crafty grin on her red-painted lips, Selene kicked the dirt with her shiny black boot. “He and Lisa Shelby were well-known around Shelby Stables as being real into each other, if you know what I mean.”

  Rayne weighed Selene’s disclosure. “How did you hear about this?”

  “A girlfriend teaches over at Shelby. Apparently, it was common knowledge about the two of them. Then one day, Trent up and quits. No explanation, not even a good-bye to his instructors.”

  “I already know about Lisa Shelby.” Rayne spun around and was about to walk away when Selene’s irritating voice caught her.

  “And did Trent tell you why he walked out on her?”

  “Selene, that’s none of my concern. It’s his past.”

  Selene came slowly up to her, smirking. “I’d make it my concern, if I were you. You don’t want to make another mistake like you did with Foster.”

  Having had enough of Selene’s conniving, Rayne stomped toward the stables. Once beneath the shaded shed row, an infuriated Rayne marched straight to Rebecca’s office. After arriving at a door painted with the black silhouette of a horse jumping a fence, Rayne knocked.

  “Enter,” Rebecca bellowed.

  Pushing the door open, Rayne hurried inside and a cool blast of air-conditioning chilled her skin. Spotting Rebecca at her old wooden desk, with a pile of receipts and bills sitting on top, Rayne stood by the door, hyperventilating.

  “Should I call 911?” Rebecca questioned, looking over the top of her reading glasses at Rayne.

  While catching her breath, Rayne let her eyes take a turn of the numerous show ribbons on display on the white walls. “Can we talk?” she finally got out.

  “Sure.” Rebecca sat back in her worn chair and frowned up at her. “What is it?” She dragged her reading glasses further down her nose.

  Rayne waved to the office door. “Selene just told me something and I need…I need to know if it’s true.”

  Rebecca tossed the reading glasses to her desk. “You do know that Selene is a lying bitch, right?”

  “I know,” Rayne conceded. “But what she told me—”

  “Let me guess.” Rebecca held up her hand, silencing her. “It was about my new riding master.”

  Rayne walked over to a row of shelves, cluttered with a selection of family photos and reference books on horses.

  “I think I understand what this is about.” Rebecca’s throaty chuckle saturated the air. “She’s jealous of you and Trent.”

  Rayne stepped over to Rebecca. “You know about us?”

  “Your tack room is only three doors down from my office. So yeah, I know. I heard you two this morning.”

 
Rayne blushed and covered her face with her hands. “Dammit!” She raised her head. “Do you think anybody else heard us?”

  “Perhaps not anyone east of the Mississippi,” Rebecca ribbed with a cocky grin.

  “Rebecca!”

  “Well, sweetie, you spooked quite a few of the horses with all of that commotion. But I think that was what your man intended. Me and two other people watched him deliberately walk into your tack room and shut the door. If you ask me, he wanted us to see him. I think it was his way of telling everyone what you were up to.”

  An idea occurred to Rayne. “Do you think Selene heard us?”

  “She was one of the two people I mentioned.”

  “Son of a bitch.” Rayne punched the air. “So that’s why she told me that bullshit about Trent having an affair with Lisa Shelby.”

  “Well, that’s not surprising. Lisa Shelby likes them good-looking and loaded. She’s a real gold digger.”

  Rayne’s heart sputtered at the prospect, and then she remembered Trent’s comments about dating such women. “So it’s true.”

  “So what if it is?” Rebecca shrugged. “Lisa never let on to me that anything happened. In fact, she gave him a glowing recommendation.”

  Rayne twisted her hands together as doubts about Trent’s intentions gnawed at her. “But if it is true…what do I do?”

  “Nothing. Just be thankful you found a man who knows how to give a woman a great orgasm.”

  “Christ, Rebecca.” Rayne rubbed her hand against her brow as her cheeks turned red.

  “What? We can say orgasm these days, can’t we? Or is it no longer PC? What do the college kids call them now…refreshers?”

  “What?” Rayne half-laughed more out of embarrassment than surprise. “Where in the hell did you hear that?”

  “I picked it up from my youngest daughter. She’s into all the new slang.”

  Rayne went to the desk and slid into a wooden chair to the side. “I don’t think I’m cut out for this dating crap.”

  Rebecca waved off her comment with her pudgy hand. “It’s only just beginning for you two. When you’ve been with him a while and settled into the couple mode, all of this newbie stuff will fade. You’ll see.” She picked up her glasses from her desk.