by S. E. Kloos
Chapter 28
About half hour later, Xander had checked them into a hotel room. His girl was on the phone with her daddy, trying to diffuse the situation, but not doing a very good job in his opinion. He was leaning on the dresser with his arms and ankles crossed, listening to her side of the conversation.
“You SHOT at him, Dad. Did you expect him to just stand there and take it?... So fucking what... In case it escaped your notice while you were being an asshole, I was also in the truck you shot at... You’re being completely unreasonable, Kenny... No, you were the one that did that shit, not him. Xander ain’t ever done nothin’ to put me in danger. YOU were the one shooting a fucking shotgun at his truck. I think you owe him a fuckin’ apology for that shit, by the way... If that’s the case, then you need to get over what Brandon did, and see that Xander is NOTHIN’ like him; I did. If I can get past that shit, you certainly can... Oh, fuck you. You’re tryin’ to compare consensual sex between two adults, and abuse at the hands of a stupid little prick that has a death wish. News flash, NOT the same thing... No, it was mine... yeah, mine, not his... I figured as much, ya dumbass... well, ya wanna treat me like a rebellious teenager, I’ll act like one... Save a horse... I highly fuckin’ doubt it... Yeah...”
With that, Elizabeth hung up the phone, tossing it on the bed. She fell back and scrubbed her face with her hands, a hard growl rumbling her throat.
Xander cocked his head to the side. “That didn’t sound like it went real well, Sugar Britches.”
Elizabeth dropped her arms to her sides before glaring at the ceiling. “He said sorry about your truck. He was aiming for your head.”
Xander puckered his lips while nodding slowly once. “I figured as much... but, Little Darlin’, you gotta try to see this from his perspective. You his baby girl, and you comin’ off a nasty situation. I would be more concerned if he wasn’t out to kill me than the fact he is.”
She was quick to turn that glare on him. “Don’t defend him.”
Xander held up a hand. “I ain’t. I’m only tryin’ to get you to see that he has your best interests at heart. Let me tell ya somethin’; if my little angel ever got mixed up in somethin’ like you did, I gotta say it would snow in hell before I ever gave a fella the benefit of the doubt again. I ain’t defendin’ ‘im, I’m just sayin’ I get it... and I’m pretty sure once you calm down, you’ll get it, too.”
Elizabeth sat up, leaned back on her hands, and cocked a brow. “He liked you until he found out we were havin’ sex. THAT’S what I’m pissed off about. Then there is the little matter that he SHOT at us.”
Xander scratched his temple, giving that a once tumble through his head. She had a point, but he wasn’t gonna tell her that. Instead, he pushed off the dresser, moving over to the bed his girl was lounging on. He crawled up her body, forcing her to fall back as he got nose to nose with her. “Let’s just let it go for now, alright? You’re pissed off, he pissed off. Nothin’ gonna come from talkin’ right now.” Once he saw her consent in her eyes, he smirked at her. “I got a question for ya, Little Darlin’.” When she cocked a brow at him in question, he asked, “What were you respondin’ to when you said ‘Save a horse’?”
At that, Elizabeth smirked and twisted over, knocking Xander on his back before straddling his hips. She gave him a vixen grin. “He asked what I was gonna do. I said I was gonna save a horse.” She pulled her shirt off, grabbed her stolen hat off the bed, put it on, then looked at him from under the brim as she began to unbuckle his belt. “Saddle up, Cowboy. You’re in for a ride tonight.”
“Holy shit...” Xander swallowed hard. It took every last ounce of self control he had to grab her wrists and stop her from continuing. There was a clear whine in his voice as he -and he would not admit this to anyone later- whimpered. “Can’t, Sugar Britches.” She cocked her head to the side in question, making him whimper again. “We out of condoms, Doll.”
Elizabeth snorted a bit as she pulled her hands out of his, then ripped his belt from the loops with a ‘crack’. “I’ve been on the pill since I was fifteen.” There was slight spark of something in her eyes as she leaned up to butt her nose on his chin, sliding it along his jaw to nuzzle just below his ear, her voice low, “I’m gonna take your bareback title tonight, Steele.”
Xander’s eyes rolled up into the back of his head at the seduction in her voice, and there was no stopping the groan when she ground herself hard against him. He still had his jeans on, but was about to bust a nut with just the promise in the air.
Elizabeth popped the button on Xander’s jeans. She waited only a second to see if he was gonna stop her again before sliding the zipper down. She lifted her body up and began to back up, taking his pants with her. Once his boots and jeans were gone, Elizabeth unzipped her skirt, slipped it and her panties over her hips, then let them slide down her legs to the floor.
Not taking off her boots, Elizabeth lightly kicked her clothes away before crawling back up Xander’s body. Once again straddling his hips, she settled right behind his very engorged piece of perfection.
Drawing her bottom lip between her teeth, she looked up at him from under the brim of the hat on her head as she lightly ran her fingers from tip to base, a slight smirk coming to her lips when she felt him twitch from her touch. That little action never failed to give her an ego a boost, while at the same time, kinda freaking her out.
Tapping her fingers against his member, she wrapped her hand around it as much as she could before rising up on her knees to position herself over the head. Locking her eyes on his, Elizabeth let her own weight pull her down, every little bit lifting herself up to make the descent easier as she coated him with her juices.
Once they were hip to hip, she paused for a moment before giving herself a test roll, to get used to the intrusion again after the couple of days break. Still dealing with a little tightness, she lifted herself up again, then dropped back down with a twist of her hips, erasing the last of the slight discomfort.
Once she was sufficiently stretched out, she leaned back, setting one hand on Xander’s thigh, the other on top of the hat she still wore. Then she began to bounce, twist, and roll her hips.
Xander was just about to lose his fucking mind. This was heart stopping, throat closing, toe curling bliss. For as long as he had been having sex, this was the first time he’d ever done it without protection, and dear GOD...
His mind went blank of thought, only able to focus on the pure pleasurable ecstasy that was the feeling of his girl’s walls squeezing the fuck out of his cock.
His body took over for his mind, his hands grabbing her waist as he started thrusting up against her, pulling her roughly down before grinding hard. Opening his eyes and sitting up, Xander wrapped one arm around her waist and cupped the back of her head with the other, crashing his lips to hers. Moaning in his throat, he bit her bottom lip to get her to open up. His eyes slid closed again when her tongue came out to play with his, her arms wrapping around his neck.
Moving the hand on the back of her head, he grabbed the brim of his hat. After taking it off her, he tossed to across the room. Not giving the slightly bit of a fuck where it landed, he rolled them over, taking over the dominant position without missing a beat.
Wrapping her leg around Xander’s hips, Elizabeth broke the kiss, throwing her head back as a very unladylike moan fell from her lips. Her breath got caught in her throat, and she was almost certain she was choking on the head of Xander’s dick he was so deep inside her.
Not one to waste an opportunity, Xander latched onto her neck, scraping his teeth across her flesh before sealing his lips and giving a hard suck. His hips began to speed up as he felt that knot in his stomach begin to tighten. Arching his back more, he slid a hand between them, his thumb finding what he was after with absolutely no difficulty.
With the speed and force of Xander’s hips, as well as the attention to her clit, Elizabeth didn’t stand a chance. There were four more thrusts, and she was thrown over the edge
of euphoria into orgasmic retardation. She wrapped her body tightly around his, squeezing with everything she had... the walls of her passage included. She was so far gone in pleasure that she couldn’t even scream, her throat tight and constricted.
It was only a few pumps of his hips afterward that Xander followed her over the cliff, his seed shooting in powerful spurts deep into her body. The aftermath of his own orgasm left him twitching and breathless.
Forehead to forehead, they panted hard and deep as they stared into each other’s eyes.
Chapter 29
“So, where that girl of yours, Steele?”
Xander turned to glance over her shoulder when he heard Andrew’s voice behind him. Unhooking Rocky’s bridal from the trailer hooks, Xander finished getting his horse un-trailered. Once Rocky was led over to the water trough, Xander hopped into the bed of his truck to unload his riding gear while answering. “She wasn’t feelin’ well, so she decided to stay at the hotel and get some sleep.” Pulling his keys out of his pocket to unlock the steel storage box, he opened the lid and crouched, draping his arms over his thighs, “She been runnin’ a fever for a few days, high one too. She keep insistin’ that it just a bug, but fuck... she should’ve been showin’ signs of it passin’ by now.”
Andrew leaned on the truck bed with a nod. “Whatcha gonna do?”
Xander sighed and scratched his eyebrow with his thumbnail. “Well Hoss, iffin that fever of hers still there by the time I get back to the hotel, I'ma take her little ass to the hospital, kickin’ and screamin’ if necessary. It been damn near a week since she first said she was feelin’ bad, and it only been gettin’ worse from what I can tell. I honestly been thinkin’ she thinks I’m an idiot or somethin’... that I can’t hear her gettin’ sick. Been two days since that shit started up.”
“Maybe she just don’t want ya to worry ‘bout her.”
Xander gave him a flat look at that. “Like that shit gonna happen. That girl means the world to me, and she knows it.”
A slow smirk pulled at Andrew’s lips as he watched Xander go back to unloading his gear. He then let out an incredulous chuckle of, “Well, I’ll be God damned.”
Xander glanced up at him. “What?”
Andrew cocked a brow back at him. “Don’t ‘what’ me, Boy. You know what. I just never thought I’d live to see it.”
Xander blinked. “See what?”
Andrew rolled his eyes. “Ain’t no way you that thick headed, Steele. You in love with that little Betty.”
Xander snorted. “No shit, Hoss.” Pulling his saddle out of the box, Xander hoisted it up on his shoulder and grabbed the leather reins. With his foot, closed the lid before hopping down from the bed.
Andrew walked with him to the stable Rocky was assigned to. “Tell her yet?”
Dropping the leather straps on the ground and tossing his saddle on a wooden horse, Xander turned to lean against it with his arms crossed. He shook his head. “Nope. She knows, I’m sure, but she ain’t ready to hear it yet. We only been together a few months, Hoss.”
Andrew nodded slowly. Sometimes he forgot that, having seen the way they were together for the last four months. You would think they have been an item for that many years, instead. Cocking his head to the side, he asked, “You got a break comin’ up right?”
Xander nodded. “Yes, Sir. My little Darlin’s birthday comin’ up and I promised that we could spend it outside the arena. Next weekend is my last competition till the last one of September.” With that, Xander pushed off to go get Rocky, with Andrew following after him again.
“Ain’t your birthday comin’ up?”
Xander nodded as he grabbed Rocky’s harness, giving it a slight tug to get the big baby moving again. “It’s today.”
Andrew blinked a few times before smiling at him. “Well, happy birthday, Xander. How old are ya now, 14?”
Xander gave him a light glare. “Twenty-six asshole. Just because you an ol’ fuck don’t mean the rest of us is a bunch of babes.”
Andrew chuckled. “‘Course it don’t, Youngin.”
Xander’s glare darkened. “I will hit you.”
Andrew snorted before sobering. “Well, I am awful sorry your lady ain’t up to bein’ here, Son.”
Xander just shrugged. “Shit happens. She sick, and this ain’t really the place for her to be not feelin’ well. We’ll see how she is tonight and go from there. Tell ya this much, if she real bad, I ain’t gonna be here tomorrow.”
Chapter 30
It was after dark by the time Xander got Rocky to the borders and returned to the hotel that night. He did well for the circumstances, but he had been so completely preoccupied with how his girl was, that he was noticeably off his game today.
As quietly as he could, he slipped through the door, giving the room a sweep. Closing the door behind him, his face drew a bit. He sighed while heading straight to the bathroom door, tapping on it lightly before opening it.
Leaning on the door jam, he shook his head. “Oh, Sugar Britches.” Moving into the room, he knelt down to pick up his sleeping girlfriend from the bathroom floor. Xander carried her back into the main room, laid her on the bed, and hurried back into the bathroom to grab the thermometer.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he moved her hair out of the way, put the bud in her ear, waited for it to beep, then checked to see if she was at least not worse than she was when he left.
She was.
Tossing the device onto the bed, he went to Elizabeth’s bag to find her some clothes. She woke up slightly as he was dressing her, asking in slurred words what was going on, but went right back to sleep when he told her he was taking her to the hospital.
He took that as consent.
Once she was dressed, he picked her up again, grabbed her purse off the dresser, and took her to his truck. After getting her in and buckled up, Xander kissed her templeand shut the door before getting in the driver’s seat. Starting the truck up, he looked over to Elizabeth as she moaned lightly and pulled her feet onto the seat, curling into the smallest ball she could before setting her head on her knees.
The drive wasn’t all that long, but the noises coming from beside him made it feel like an eternity to Xander. Pulling into the emergency room parking lot and coming to a stop, Xander dug around in Elizabeth’s purse for her wallet. He slipped it into his back pocket and he got out, left his door open and engine running, pausing only to grab the valet slip before going to open Elizabeth’s door. Reaching over her to unbuckle her belt, Xander slid an arm under her knees and behind her back. When she wouldn’t uncurl from the ball she was in, Xander whispered in her ear. “Hold on, Little Darlin’.”
Elizabeth opened blurry eyes and looked at him, not wanting to even move, much less anything else. After a moment, she wrapped one arm around his neck and the other around her stomach. All she could think about right at that moment, when she could think though the pain, was this was a lot like the day they met... her concerned about throwing up on the hot ass cowboy. She was pretty sure he wouldn’t mind, but she also really didn’t want to test that, since he was still wearing his riding gear.
After his girl was lifted into his arms, Xander carried her inside, setting his chin on the top of her head when she laid it against his chest. He took her to the waiting area and sat her down before going to sign her in. Since this was the closest hospital to the arena, they were a little busy with injuries and such that the riders got from hitting the ground. He knew the answers to the most important questions, and what he didn’t he left blank. The way he saw it, as long as they knew her name and what she couldn’t have medication wise, they didn’t really need the rest anyhow.
Going back to the waiting room, he sat down next to Elizabeth, who wasted no time turning to cuddle into his side. Xander wrapped his arm around her, placed his hat on his bent knee, then laid his head on top of hers. When she whimpered, he tightened his hold on her for only a moment before she ripped herself out of his arms, running as fast as
she could the closest trash can.
Dropping to her knees, Elizabeth gagged and choked, but couldn’t dislodge whatever was in her throat. She felt someone crouch behind her to pull her hair out of her face, but before she could turn to make sure it was Xander, the dam broke and her stomach rolled.
Xander just stayed crouched behind her, holding her hair and rubbing her back, trying to let her know he was there. He heard Elizabeth’s name called, so he turned. The nurse was standing at the doorway, looking around. He lifted a hand, calling out, “Over here.” Looking back at his girl as she got sick again, he bit his lip. “She might be a minute.” Seeing the nurse nod to him, he turned his attention back to his girl.
Elizabeth tried to get her stomach to settle down but every time she thought it would listen, it just seemed to get worse. It took her over five minutes before she felt confident enough to try getting up again.
Noticing her trying to get up, Xander wrapped an arm under her chest, gently lifted her up to a standing position, slowly moving her to the wheelchair that the nurse went to get.
Once Elizabeth was seated, the nurse looked at Xander. “Why don’t you have a seat, Sir? Once she’s situated, I’ll come back to get you.”
Xander glanced up at her. He nodded before turning to his girl, kissing her temple. “See ya in a bit, Baby Doll.” He stood there watching as she was rolled away, praying that it wasn’t anything serious.
It was about an hour later that the nurse came back, apologizing for how long it took, then escorted him back to the room his girl was in. She didn’t tell him much, just that they were running different tests and waiting on the results. Chances were, the doctor was going to want to keep her at least overnight.
Nodding his understanding, Xander went into the room she pointed out, pausing just inside the door to take in the sight of his girl. It might have just been the circumstances, but she looked really small at the moment. She was hooked up to different shit and curled around a pink plastic bucket.