Road to Victory (Dogs of Fire Book 5)

by Piper Davenport

  Grabbing a condom, he flipped me onto my back and slid into me. I wrapped my legs around him and arched for a deeper connection.

  “I love you, Kim,” he whispered then kissed me.

  “Love you too, honey.”

  “I don’t think you fully understand.” He stroked my cheek. “I love you.”

  I smiled and leaned into his palm. “I understand completely.”

  “Yeah?”

  Nodding, I arched my hips again. “I feel the same way.”

  He grinned. “Good.”

  “Now, can we please stop talking?”

  “I love it when you get bossy.”

  “Really?”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, sugar, really.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” I pushed him onto his back again and raised up, lowering myself to impale him deeper.

  “Fuck, sugar, that feels amazing.”

  He reached up and cupped my breasts as I rode him slowly. He let me do my thing for approximately ten seconds before he knifed up, flipped me off of him and onto my stomach, lifting my hips and slamming into me from behind. “Cheek to the mattress, sugar.”

  So much for me being in control, but I didn’t care as I did as he demanded and was richly rewarded for my efforts when he reached around my body, his finger connecting with my clit as he continued to surge into me. My orgasm came hard and fast, but I had no time to revel in my climax because he brought me to brink again. Knight lifted me so my back was to his chest and I stretched my arms to loop them behind his head as he cupped my breasts.

  “So fucking beautiful,” he rasped.

  I mewed as he worked my nipples and pretty much lost my mind when he focused on my clit, managing to hold off my orgasm until he came. Lowering me gently to the mattress, he kissed me and then headed to the bathroom to dispose of the condom, returning with a warm washcloth and settling it between my legs. “Thanks, honey.”

  “My pleasure.” He grinned, chucking the washcloth into the corner... again.

  Before he could pull me into his arms, I grabbed my phone and texted Buck.

  “Sugar, Fozzie’s fine.”

  “Hm-mm, I’m sure he is.”

  Buck texted back: All good.

  Knight glanced at my screen. “See?”

  “Well, considering I can read, yes, I see.”

  He chuckled, grabbing my phone and lobbing it on the pile of clothes he’d left in the corner opposite the washcloth. I could see a come to Jesus meeting about organization in our future.

  “I need my phone, Aidan.”

  “No you don’t,” he countered, tugging me onto his chest. “If there’s an issue, Buck will text me.”

  “He’s my horse... why would he text you?”

  “Are you going to be like this with our kids?”

  “I’ll be way worse,” I warned.

  Knight laughed. “Can’t wait.”

  “You’re insane.”

  “Just crazy for you, sugar.” He squeezed my bottom. “A little less crazy now that I know you’re gonna have my kids.”

  “Aidan,” I said with a sigh.

  He rolled so he could hover above me. “Not goin’ there, Kim.”

  “Not going where?”

  “Wherever your brain wants you to go in order to escape this.” He slid off the bed with a grin. “You hungry?”

  I craned my neck to look at the clock. “It’s like four a.m.”

  “So?”

  I leaned up on my arms and stared at all his naked glory. “I’d rather eat you.”

  I couldn’t stop a smile as he hardened. God, his cock was like a piece of art. I licked my lips and sat up, reaching for him and drawing him into my mouth. His hiss was all the encouragement I needed and I feasted on him.

  I whimpered when he pulled away from me, but before I could protest, he’d dragged me to the edge of the bed and slammed into me. I settled my ankles on his shoulders which drove him deeper and I cried out as an orgasm rushed through me.

  Knight fell on top of me (gently) and snapped, “Shit, sugar. I forgot a condom.”

  I smiled. “It’s okay, honey. We’re getting tested on Tuesday, but I trust you.”

  He slid out of me and kissed me. “Marry me.”

  A surprised giggle-snort escaped my mouth. “What?”

  “Marry me.”

  “No.”

  He frowned. “No?”

  “Yes. No.” I slid off the bed and headed for the bathroom.

  “Why the fuck not?” he snapped, and followed me.

  “It’s been two days.”

  “It’s been almost two years.”

  “I need to pee.”

  “Then pee.”

  “Romantic,” I ground out.

  “You’re gonna have to get used to me in your space, sugar.” He grinned. “Especially when we get married.”

  “Aidan,” I admonished. I did my thing and then washed my hands, surprisingly unconcerned with the fact he was ‘in my space.’”

  He slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me against him. “Wrap your mind around it, sugar.”

  “I’m never getting married, Knight, so wrap your mind around that.”

  “Why aren’t you getting married?”

  “Because it doesn’t work.”

  His hand gave my bottom a gentle squeeze. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’ll work with us.”

  “You’re delusional.” I tried to pull away but he held firm.

  “You figure out your dress, sugar, I’ll handle the rest.”

  “You are not planning our wedding,” I snapped.

  Knight laughed. “Okay, sugar, you wanna plan it, I get it.”

  “You should talk to Dr. Grace. You need some serious medication.”

  He smiled down at me as he stroked my cheek. “Lean in, Kim.”

  “I don’t want to lean in.”

  “Pickin’ up on that. But the sooner you lean in, the easier your life will be.”

  Despite the fact my hands couldn’t stop stroking his chest and abs, I said, “I’m not marrying you, Aidan.”

  “I like the idea of a fall wedding,” he mused.

  “Stop it.”

  “No?” He pulled me closer, running his fingers down my side. “Okay, how about winter? Summer’s not really my jam, so spring might be good... kinda soon, though. You might need more time to plan.”

  “Stop.”

  “’Course, we could just head down to the courthouse. I don’t need a big shindig.” He smiled. “How about you?”

  “I don’t want anything big—” I groaned at his laugh. “Stop it. We’re not getting married.”

  He shifted so he could kiss my collarbone. “I’m gonna make somethin’ to eat. You in?”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “Not even for Chunky Monkey?”

  How the hell he knew my favorite ice cream flavor was more than somewhat disconcerting. “How did you know...? Never mind.” I wrinkled my nose. “Regardless, I don’t have any Chunky Monkey.”

  “Yeah you do.”

  “I do?”

  “I bought some.” He kissed me gently. “Naked ice cream, sugar. It’s the best.”

  “You bought me ice cream?” I whispered.

  “And wine.”

  “You bought me ice cream and wine?”

  “Yeah, baby, I did.”

  “I love you,” I admitted, adding quickly, “But I’m not marrying you.”

  Knight laughed again. “We’ll see.”

  “Am I allowed panties?”

  “Fuck, no.” He took my hand. “Naked means naked, sugar, and it will give me an opportunity to eat ice cream and you at the same time.”

  I shivered at the thought. “Sounds sticky.”

  He grinned. “Let’s test that.”

  I bit my lip and followed him into the kitchen. “I’m in.”

  * * *

  One week later, I walked a very healthy and well-guarded Fozzie to the mounting b
lock outside the covered arena, settled myself in the saddle, and then guided him inside. Knight stood in the middle of the arena, his arms crossed, studying me.

  “Posting trot, Kim,” he directed. “Pull your feet out of the stirrups first.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Just do it.”

  “I’m not six, Knight.”

  He smiled. “I know, sugar, but I want to see how many bad habits you’ve collected since you were.”

  I rolled my eyes, slipped my feet out of the stirrups, and crossed them over the saddle. “Why are we doing this again?”

  “Humor me.” He closed the distance between us and ran his hand up my leg. “I’ll make it worth your while tonight.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Definitely.”

  Because he was so tall, I was able to lean down for a quick kiss before he made his way back to the center of the arena and I guided Fozzie into a posting trot. Good God, I forgot how hard this was.

  “Heels down, Kim.”

  “I know, Aidan. I’m working on it.” I gripped the saddle harder with my thighs, relaxed my calves and lowered my heels.

  “That’s it, sugar,” he encouraged. “Canter, right lead.”

  Fozzie slid seamlessly into the canter and we moved as one. I always believe he was the greatest horse on the planet and right then it was confirmed.

  “Cross through the center on the diagonal and switch leads,” Aidan continued.

  This was where things got a little hairy. Fozzie did not like his left lead and, as much as he loved me and worked hard for me, he tended to get a little stubborn when he was on that side.

  “Kim, bring him to a stop.”

  I sat back, exhaled, and Fozzie stopped immediately. Knight walked toward us and lowered the stirrups. “I get those back now, huh?” I said.

  He smiled and helped me slide my feet in. “I want you to approach those two jumps on his left lead, then we’ll do it again on his right, okay?”

  “Do I get to ask why now?” I challenged.

  “Nope.”

  I cocked my head. “What are you up to?”

  “I’ll tell you after you take those jumps,” he promised.

  I rolled my eyes and did as he demanded, then walked Fozzie for a few minutes since Knight was on his phone. I couldn’t imagine who he’d be talking to, considering this whole exercise had been for him, but whatever. I was just happy my horse was back to fighting form.

  “You’re such a good boy,” I crooned as I continued to walk Fozzie around the arena.

  “Kim?”

  I turned toward Knight who was now off the phone. “Yeah?”

  “You can be done now.”

  “I thought we were going to ride.”

  “We can if you still want to.” Knight had moved one of his horses to my barn so that we could spend more time together.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Can you keep up with us?”

  “You haven’t met Apollo yet... I’ll let you figure that out on your own.”

  “You’re on.”

  “I’ll meet you back here in five minutes,” he said.

  “I’m timing you.”

  I continued to walk Fozzie until Knight rode in on a huge black Friesian. Admittedly, I was a snob, considering I rode English and felt Western was somewhat barbaric, but to see my man riding in on the beautiful horse in understated Western tack, I was figuratively brought to my knees. “Wow.”

  “Yeah, he’s a good boy,” Knight said.

  “Is he your stallion?”

  Knight owned a stallion and two geldings. He’d left two of his horses in Wilsonville with two of his students, and if this was the level of his horses, he was an excellent judge of equine flesh.

  “Yeah.”

  “He’s so chill,” I mused.

  “Yeah, he is... not so much near a mare in heat, but right now, he’s good.”

  “Is he going to be okay on an unfamiliar trail?”

  Knight chuckled. “Yeah, sugar, he’ll be great.”

  “Follow me.” I led him out of the arena and to the entrance of the protected greenspace that bordered the barn. Knight pulled Apollo up beside me and I studied him for a second or two. “Are you going to tell me who was on the phone?”

  “Depends. Do you want to try out for the Olympic team?”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “We need an alternate for the Olympic team. You and Fozzie would be perfect.”

  I pulled to a stop. “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah. It would require focus and training, you’d have to quit your job, but—”

  “Why would I have to quit my job?” I challenged.

  “Because you’d burn yourself out.”

  “You obviously don’t know me.”

  He chuckled. “Baby, you don’t have to work. I get why you want to, sort of, but you have more money than you can spend in a lifetime, so why don’t you use it to focus on riding for a while. You can get a dead-end waitressing job anytime.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I get that I’ve competed a lot, but I haven’t competed at Rolex or Badminton. Those are generally the competitions that help decide the team. How would we get around that?”

  “You can compete in Rolex in April and if you do well, we’ll hit the Badminton in May.”

  “Aidan, I don’t know if any of this is even possible.”

  He smiled. “Sugar, you are, by far, the most gifted rider I’ve ever worked with. You have some bad habits, granted, and your horse isn’t considered a pedigree, but I don’t actually give a shit, because he’ll work harder for you than any of these million dollar horses the Team’s riders are on. Once I correct your vices, I think you could win the whole fucking thing.”

  I bit my lip. “Am I that bad?”

  He shook his head. “You’re amazing, Kim. You just have a couple of issues, which are easy to fix.”

  “I’m really the most gifted rider you’ve worked with? You’re not just saying that because I like to suck you off?”

  Knight roared with laughter, spooking our horses a bit, but we got them under control even as he continued to laugh.

  “God, I love you,” he said as we began our ride again. “And, no... you sucking me off just happens to be a bonus.”

  I grinned. “Good to know.”

  “I really do think you can make it all the way, sugar. The powers that be are on board as well.”

  “That’s who was on the phone,” I deduced.

  “Yep.”

  “Can I think about it?”

  “Yeah.” He smiled. “But ask questions, Kim. I’ll answer any I can, but I don’t want you decidin’ you’re not doin’ it because you have questions you’ve answered, incorrectly, in your head.”

  “Don’t talk to me like you know me.” He pulled Apollo to a stop and I did as well, turning in my saddle to face him. “What?”

  He reached out and pulled me close. “Love you.” He kissed me gently and smiled.

  “Love you too,” I whispered.

  “Ready to show me what Fozzie can do?”

  “Ready to keep up?” I challenged.

  “Bring it, sugar.”

  I grinned and guided Fozzie away from Apollo, setting him toward the most open part of the trail. As soon as we cleared the trees, we took off. I could almost feel Fozzie’s smile as we ran at a controlled gallop through the trail, rounding trees and jumping anything that might have been in our way.

  We’d been going for nearly fifteen minutes by the time I pulled Fozzie into a trot, then a walk. I glanced behind me and found Knight and Apollo pulling to a walk. “You kept up. I’m impressed.”

  Knight smiled. “I was enjoying the view.”

  I giggled. “Yeah?”

  “You got a great ass, sugar. Not gonna lie.”

  “You can tap it later,” I promised.

  “Countin’ on it.”

  We walked the horses back to the barn, enjoying the rare warm, dry day and talking about everything but the pos
sible Olympics.

  I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better day.

  Kim

  TWO WEEKS LATER, I dragged my seriously tired butt into work and immediately wished I’d called in sick. We were slammed. We were one server down because Jenny had called in sick, which meant, I had to do double duty with helping Pauley with pouring, and running myself ragged serving.

  I’d made the decision to go for the Olympics... it was simply an opportunity I couldn’t ignore, and Fozzie and I had been training almost seven hours a day. On top of long days at the barn, I had been working my normal shifts, only having one night off a week and, as Knight had warned, it was killing me.

  By the time my man walked in to say hi, I thought I might collapse with either relief at seeing him, or exhaustion. I set my tray on the bar and accepted a quick kiss.

  “You look wiped,” he said.

  “Completely.”

  “You quit yet?”

  “No.” I frowned. “I can’t leave Pauley in the lurch, honey. Look what happens when just one person calls in sick. I can’t leave her to the mercy of Doug.”

  Doug Long was our boss and, admittedly, he was kind of a dick, but he paid well, even better than Blush, so most of the staff couldn’t afford to leave.

  I called out drink orders to Pauley while Knight grabbed an open stool and sat down, pulling me between his legs. “I’ll talk to Doug,” he said.

  “You will not talk to Doug,” I countered. “Let me work it out.”

  “You’re gonna burn out, Kim.”

  I took a deep breath and looped one arm around his neck. “It’s been two weeks, honey. I’m not going to burn out.”

  His arm slid around my waist... his hand settling on my bottom. “Your body’s not used to training all day and then working all night, sugar.”

  I smiled, running my fingers through his hair. “It won’t be forever. I just need to find Doug a replacement.”

  “I can help.”

  “Shhh.” I glanced over my shoulder, I’m not really sure why, but if Doug heard him (from his office), he’d blow a gasket. “He’ll lose his shit if you... or any of the Dogs have anything to do with this.”

  “We won’t tell him.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Give me a couple of days. I’ll figure something out.”

  “Why the hell is he not out here pitchin’ in?”

  I sighed. “Because it’s beneath him.”