by Danica Avery
As he drank her in, he could feel his dick spring to life again. His erection pressed tightly into the front of his jeans, and he suppressed the urge to sigh, as he turned his attention back to his task.
“Good morning,” Dove greeted him, coming to a stop at the opposite side of the wooden fence.
“Mornin’,” he replied. He continued to pick out the dirt and grime from Mac’s horseshoe.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Cleanin’ his foot.”
“Oh... How’s Violet and the baby? Still doing good?”
“Right as rain,” he said. “You can go see ‘em, if you like.”
Dove glanced at the stable, as if considering what he said, but then she looked back to Burley.
“I may. In a minute. But...” she paused, biting her lip. Burley stopped what he was doing with the hoof and looked at her. He had no idea what was going on inside her head.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she said.
“What is it? You need somethin’?”
“Yeah. Wait. No. I mean, I was actually just coming out to say hi,” she said. There was a grin on her face. It was contagious. It spread from her to him. To learn she had come over just for the sole reason to talk to him made him feel good.
“Yeah? Well I’m glad ya stopped by. You can help clean out Mac’s hoof, if you want,” he joked.
“What? Me? No way!” she said with a laugh. Burley laughed too. He could just see her trying to clean out Mac’s hoof. Now that would be a sight, wouldn’t it?
“You know, I bet you could do it, if ya tried.”
“Oh, gosh, Burley. What if he kicked me?”
“He wouldn’t. He’s a good old boy. Why don’t you come in here?”
Burley dropped Mac’s leg and walked over to the gate of the pen to unlatch it. Dove watched him, but she didn’t move from where she stood.
“Com’on. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise,” he spoke. He reached his hand out to her, and hesitantly, she approached him. She took a hold of his hand. Her fingers were small compared to his own. He gave her hand a squeeze, then gently pulled her into the horse pen.
“I don’t know about this...” There was fear in her tone. Actual fear. She was really afraid of the horses.
“Hey. Look at me,” he said, standing in front of her. “Mac wouldn’t hurt a fly. Especially not one as beautiful and perfect as you.”
“Stop,” Dove laughed.
“What? I know that ain’t the first time someone complimented you.”
“No. But it’s different coming from you...” Her eyes locked with his for a moment, and it took all the willpower he had to hold him back from planting a kiss on her gorgeous lips.
“Com’on. We gotta take care of this fear of horses you got.” He turned, still with her hand in his, and pulled her towards Mac.
“No! Burley! I can’t!” she protested. Burley didn’t budge. He pulled her along, and even though she was verbally disagreeing, she didn’t attempt to stop him. Mac’s tail swished as they approached, but the horse was completely calm.
“See? He’s not even battin’ an eye,” Burley said. He let go of her hand, and she hovered close to his body. She stood at an angle. Almost as if she was hiding behind him. She was secretly allowing him to be her protector, and he had no problems with that. He would protect her from here to the ends of the earth, if she let him.
“Why don’t ya touch him?” he suggested.
“What? No, I don’t think so. What if he bites me?”
“He won’t. Look.” He reached his hand out, and slid it down the side of Mac’s strong neck.
“Yeah, but he knows you! He doesn’t know me!” she exclaimed.
“Well how’s he supposed to get to know you, if you don’t say hello?” Burley took her hand once again, but this time she actually protested. Her arm went tight and tense. She looked at him with worry in those pretty blue eyes.
“Do you trust me?” he asked her.
“...Yes,” she answered, after a brief hesitation.
Burley gave her hand an affectionate squeeze, then moved it towards the horse.
9
Dove
Dove’s heart raced, and not in the good way, as Burley moved her hand closer to the horse. Her eyes locked on the creature’s face. The horse seemed calm enough... But what if it didn’t want to be touched?
Horses were huge and unpredictable. They were dangerous. Her entire hand could fit into that mouth! And she knew for a fact that horses kicked people! This horse could rear up right now and clock either one of them in the face with that hoof Burley had just been cleaning. Or it could knock her over and trample her with all that weight. So many things could go wrong.
When she first arrived on her grandpa’s property, nothing could’ve convinced her to touch one of the horses, much less to go into the same pen as one. She only dared it now because of Burley. It felt different now. With him.
She trusted him.
She truly did. She felt it deep within her heart. She hadn’t even known him all that long. But she had bared everything to him last night. She had put herself in his hands and he had made her feel like a queen. After what happened between them, she felt like she could trust him with anything.
She knew he was a good man. A one in a million kind of man. She didn’t know why he tried to tell her differently last night, but she saw the way he was with that pregnant horse and her new baby. She saw how he stepped up to help her ever since she arrived. She saw the way he treated her with respect last night even after he fucked the hell out of her. She thought he was rude when she first met him, but she was wrong. There was nothing not to like about Burley. He felt almost too good to be true.
What was she going to do when it came time to leave? She kept wondering that question, then kept pushing it away. She decided she would enjoy her time with him now while she had it. She’d figure out later when later came.
She felt the touch of fur beneath her fingertips. With Burley’s hand guiding hers, her palm smoothed against the horse’s neck. She held her breath, bracing for the animal to react wildly, and... it didn’t happen.
Dove held her hand in place, sandwiched warmly between the horse and Burley’s hand.
“There, ya see? Nothin’ to fear,” Burley said.
“It... it doesn’t mind me touching it?” she replied, her voice still filled with worry.
“No, not at all. Mac here’s always been friendly. Go on, stroke him. Make friends.”
Burley’s hand pulled hers, dragging her fingers over the horse’s smooth coat. Dove felt a flutter in her stomach and it wasn’t from fear. She felt very aware of just how close Burley’s body was to hers.
The horse truly didn’t seem to mind.
“Wow...” she whispered. Burley let go of her hand and she slowly stroked her hand down the muscles of the horse’s powerful neck. The longer she kept touching Mac, the less scary he seemed to become.
“I never thought I’d be doing this. I’ve always been scared of horses,” she said, as her lips brightened into a grin. Burley gave a light chuckle beside her.
“Aren’t you glad you faced your fear?” he asked.
Dove pulled her hand back from the horse and finally dared take her eyes away, looking instead at Burley.
“You’re the reason I could. I... feel safe when I’m with you,” she said.
His expression was hard to read, as it always was, yet she saw something soften in his brown eyes. Then he looked away.
“I should probably get back to work,” Burley said, and the sudden change in his tone caught Dove off guard.
Why? What did she say wrong? She thought they were having a moment but then he was closing himself off from her. Pushing her away. She didn’t understand.
“I guess I should, too..." Her voice trailed off, as she glanced toward the house where plenty of work was still waiting for her. She just didn’t want to leave on this strange note.
/> Burley pet a hand down the horse’s nose and Mac took a small side step. The sudden movement made Dove jump and retreat back a couple steps. Okay, so maybe the horse was still a little scary.
“Hey, don’t worry,” Burley said gently. He stepped away from the horse and came close to her again, touching his hands to the sides of her arms.
“You did a brave thing, coming in to meet Mac. You wanna meet the other horses, you just let me know.”
Dove opened her mouth to refuse on instinct, then hesitated. Petting Mac actually hadn’t been that bad. It might be fun to pet the others. As long as Burley was there to keep her safe, that is. She definitely wouldn’t mind petting baby Bennett sometime. He was so freaking cute.
“Okay,” she ended up saying. Then she smiled. “You’re just introducing me to all sorts of new things, aren’t you?”
“Heh, I reckon you could say that,” he replied, sounding a little amused.
“Well, I love it.” She put her hands on his chest, and the feel of his muscles brought back heated memories of him shirtless and sweating. “I never expected all this when I got the call about my grandpa. I thought I’d come and be stuck out here all by myself. But instead I met you, and I’m so happy that I did.”
“I’m happy I met you, too,” he said back quietly. Dove stared into his eyes and she couldn’t quite put into words the connection she felt there. It was like something that reached deep within her. Something that went beyond physical attraction. Something special.
She pushed up on her toes and kissed him.
Unlike the wild and reckless kisses they shared last night, this one was deliberate. Soft. A slow caress of the lips. Burley’s hands tightened on her arms and Dove’s fingers curled around the fabric of his shirt. It felt like the rightest thing she had ever done. As if his lips were made perfectly to match hers.
She pulled away with a light exhale. She watched Burley’s eyes open slowly, and for a moment, it seemed as if both of them were without words. Dove ran her tongue over her lips and broke into a grin.
“How is it you can make me forget I’m standing five feet from a horse?”
“You’re thinking about the horse right now?” he scoffed. She laughed.
“No... I’m thinking about something much more wild than a horse.” She paused, letting him get the right mental image, then she pulled away from him. With a playful smirk, she said, “You know... you should come over again tonight.”
She turned away and left the horse pen, hoping he was wanting her again as badly as she was wanting another taste of him.
10
Burley
For the rest of the day, Burley couldn’t get Dove out of his head. The way she had invited him over, with that smirk and a suggestive gleam in her eye... It had taken a lot for him to let her walk away in that moment. He wanted to follow her into Bennett’s house, rip her clothes off and fuck her like his life depended on it.
It would have been so easy. She couldn’t have made her desire for him any more obvious. He didn’t follow her, though. Because he still had reservations about her. He knew she wasn’t going to stay. She had made that clear. If she wasn’t going to stay, there could be nothing between them. Nothing more than simply lust.
Was lust enough? Could he fuck her and let her leave, like it was nothing? His throbbing erection in his jeans told him, hell yeah, he could do that easy. His heart, on the other hand, was undecided. Because when he looked at that woman, he felt something. He felt something he didn’t think he’d ever be able to feel again.
He had felt so empty before she showed up. Lost in the sorrow he had created for himself. Dove made him feel alive again. She brought him happiness when he thought he’d never feel happy again. Being with her again, not simply fucking her, but making love to her was only going to give him a taste of something he knew he could never fully have.
A taste wasn’t enough.
He let her leave and went back to his chores. It was now almost five in the afternoon, and the sun was already setting against the beautiful mountain backdrop that was their backyard. A bright orange hue washed over the land as he made his way to his house. He didn’t look back at Bennett’s house.
He washed up, made himself dinner, fed the dog and went about his evening as usual. He didn’t allow himself to think about her. Honestly, it was for the best. Dove said he was a good man, but she didn’t know the truth. She didn’t know what he had done. He was hated for a reason. She would hate him too, if she knew. It was only a matter of time.
Telling himself that made it easier for him to get his mind off of her. He sat down in his living room to watch some TV. BD rested beside him with his head on his leg. He stroked the dog’s head, as he used the remote to channel surf.
He didn’t know how long he had been watching TV when he finally shut it off. He couldn’t focus on it. He knew it was a mistake even as he was putting on his boots. He could never have a happy ending with Dove. They weren’t destined to be together. But dammit, this could be his one chance to have some happiness in his life. Even if it didn’t last, he was going to enjoy it while he could.
He walked with quickness and determination from his house to Bennett’s. He climbed the rickety steps of the worn down porch and knocked on the door. Three loud knocks. It only took Dove seconds to open it. The two of them stared at each other for a long moment, then he closed the gap and brought his lips to hers.
There was a fire in his kiss. All the longing and pent up sexual frustration he had felt today flowed through his lips to hers. She kissed him back with that same heated passion.
His hand was on her neck, moving to her shoulder and then down her arm. The cold wind of the autumn air wooshed into the doorway, and then he was picking her up.
She let out a startled gasp of a sound as he hoisted her upwards with a firm grip on her butt. He stepped inside the house and used his foot to kick the old door closed behind him.
She was wrapped around him. Touching and kissing. He felt her lips go to his ear. Her hot breath and then the wetness of her warm tongue. It sent a rush straight to his dick. He felt like he could explode in his pants just from sweet sensations of her tongue caressing his ear.
With a heavy breath, he tried to get a grip on himself. Just enough to clear his head, so he could take her to the bedroom. He knew Bennett’s house well but suddenly it was as if he had forgotten the layout completely.
Her thighs tightened around his waist and she whispered into his ear, “I need you inside me...”
With those words, he suddenly remembered where he was. He carried her through the old house, the floor creaking under his footsteps. He turned left into the bedroom and went straight to the bed, where he moved to lay her back.
Once on the bed, Dove was already starting to strip out of her clothes. Her shirt came off, then her bra. Her hands went to her jeans, but he reached to stop her.
“Let me,” he said. Dove grinned but didn’t object. She moved to lay back on the bed, and his hands worked to unbutton and unzip her jeans. He peeled the denim down her long legs. That left her in a sexy, black lace number. He had seen her in all her glory last night, but that didn’t make her any less enticing right now.
“You are damn sexy, you know that?” he breathed out. His eyes trailed over her body, taking in every inch of her from her perfect breasts to those sexy panties. He leaned over her, placing a kiss on her hip to go along with his words.
“Mmm, sexy for you, Mr. Johnson,” Dove moaned. Her fingers slid into his long hair, then down the back of his neck and gripped at the fabric of his shirt. He got the hint.
He pushed up onto his knees and pulled his shirt off over his head. He tossed it aside without a care in the world, and he was leaning over her again. He felt her hands on his torso, tracing the lines of his defined abs, as he took his lips to her erect nipple. A plump pink button just begging him to have a taste.
Dove took in a sharp intake of breath before letting out a sensual moan. Her back arched
as he took her nipple fully into his mouth and sucked. His tongue wrapped around the little bud, then loosened up to give it a flick.
Dove’s chest heaved with quick and heavy breaths. Burley touched his hand to the side of her face. He began to kiss his way from her breasts to her stomach. Last night had been incredible. A night he’d never forget. But there was still so much of her for him to explore. He had tasted her lips, he had tasted her breasts and now he wanted to taste something else...
His teeth found the trim of her panties. He gave them a slight tug with his mouth before he took his hands to the fabric. It was only a few seconds and the panties were down her legs and out of the picture.
Burley didn’t waste any time. He moved his head in between her legs and found her heated mound dripping with arousal. The scent of her was intoxicating.
A deep moan of satisfaction escaped him as he moved his tongue to have a taste of her. She tasted as good as he imagined, and her reaction was even better. At just the feel of his tongue washing over her damp folds, her body jerked and her legs spread open wider, practically begging him to continue. How could he refuse her?
He used his tongue to explore every inch of her sensitive slit. Delving into her folds, washing over her pink pearl. He sucked on her clit, flicked his tongue against it, then shoved his tongue deep inside her sweet caverns.
Dove moaned and writhed with every new exploration of his tongue. Her breaths came out in gasps, her moans were high pitched squeaks of pure pleasure. Burley could feel the heat washing over her body as his tongue lapped at her.
He worked his tongue in and out of her, as if it were his dick. Each time his tongue came up for air, he used it to tease her sensitive nub. It was no surprise when he felt her core begin to tighten and convulse around his tongue.