by Jade Allen
Gabe shook his head. “I don’t know what’s with him today. He’s not usually that rude and he certainly doesn’t often come in on his days off.” He shifted and smiled. “I have an idea, and hear me out before you rip into me.”
Vanessa narrowed her eyes but nodded.
“Why don’t you stay here while you’re testing the horses? That way, if something happens to one of them, you’ll be close by. I have a guest room.”
She nibbled her lip. “I could stay in the stables with the horses. I like the idea of being close to them, but I need to check with Hank; he might need me on another case.”
He waved a hand. “Go and check, I don’t mind.” He liked the idea of having her in his home, but most of all, he hoped she’d be in his bed.
“Okay, if you’re sure. Give me a minute.” Vanessa went back to her medical bag, fished out a phone and started dialing.
This was going to be a win-win: he’d get time with her, and hopefully she’d be able to help the horses, too. He didn’t like thinking about losing any of them; he spent more time with his horses than he did with humans.
Vanessa came back smiling. “My boss actually thinks it’s a good idea if I’m on site. He also said, ‘Be sure to tell Gabe I’m charging him extra for stealing my new vet.’ I don’t know about that...I think he was joking, but I can’t be sure.”
Gabe chuckled; he didn’t care if Hank wanted to charge him more. He’d be more than happy to pay the extra price to have her close.
Staying with Gabe might not have been the greatest idea in the world, but it made sense.
“Okay, I’ll get you set up in the guest room and be right out to help. Do you need anything else?”
“Thank you, I…don’t think so,” she replied, although a few things came to mind that made her blush. Yes, she wanted him, and by the look in his eyes, he wanted her too. Gabe strode off to the house, leaving Vanessa smiling to herself. Never before had she been so forward. This was totally out of her comfort zone, but it was about time she did something more adventurous.
****
With Gabe gone, Vanessa decided she could take Jezzy’s blood by herself. She grabbed a headcollar, lead-rope, syringe and Jezzy’s set of labeled test tubes. Opening the stall, Vanessa cooed to the dozy mare, “It’s alright, Jezzy, I’m going to find out what’s wrong with you, baby girl.” She gently slid the headcollar onto the horse’s head, fastened the catch and slung the attached rope over her shoulder. Finding the vein in the neck took some time; she prepped the syringe and slid the needle beneath the skin, allowing the warm blood to gurgle into the sample tube. Vanessa deftly changed tubes during the pulling so she had four substantial samples. “Good girl, Jezzy.” Vanessa pulled out and recapped the needle, placing it with the rest of the samples on the side of the chest-high kick-board that ran around the edge of the stable.
Just as she turned her back, she heard a deep groan and a scrabbling of hooves. Vanessa leapt from the noise and spun around to see Jezzy’s chestnut body spasm and collapse. Vanessa rushed to the horse’s side and took a hold of the rope, “Come on, girl! Get up, get up, get up!” but the mare just trembled on the ground while twitching her legs, trying to gain footing in the sawdust. “Gabe! Gabe, come quick!” Vanessa yanked on the rope, but there was no use; Jezzy was in her final throes of death. With a final quiver, Jezzy gave a deep grunt and her body stilled.
“Jezzy?” Vanessa rubbed the mare. There was nothing; the mare couldn’t fight it anymore. Tears slid down Vanessa’s cheeks, and she used the back of her hand to wipe them away.
Vanessa dropped the rope and grabbed the samples. In a daze, she stepped out of the stall and floated to her sample set-up; she hoped Jezzy’s loss would not be in vain.
Gabe must still be in the house, she thought; he hadn’t responded to her call. She’d hardly made it down to the end of the stable area before she smacked into a wall of hard muscle; Gabe grabbed her shoulders, stabilizing her.
“Whoa, are you okay?”
She looked up at him with tear-streaked cheeks and shook her head. “She’s gone.”
Gabe froze. “Wait—who’s gone?”
“Jezzy. She waited until I took the samples before she collapsed and passed away. She just couldn’t hold on any longer.” Vanessa sobbed and wrapped her arms around Gabe’s solid middle. “I’m so sorry I didn’t save her. I failed.”
He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed circles on her lower back. “It’s not your fault, Vanessa. You said you got her samples, right?”
She nodded against his chest.
“Then there’s still time to help the others. I don’t want to hear you call yourself a failure.” He reached down and lifted her chin, using his thumb to wipe her tears away. “At least you were with her when she passed.” He leaned down and kissed her softly.
It was a sweet kiss tainted with the salt of her tears. His mouth was less domineering and almost pillowy.
“You want to come inside for a bit?”
Vanessa nodded and entwined her fingers with his, letting him lead her into the house.
****
Gabe laced their fingers together, and led her into his kitchen. Sitting her down at the pine table, he grabbed the brewing pot and fixed her a thick, delicious coffee. He set the mug down in front of her and made her wrap her hands around it, “Drink this; it’ll make you feel better.”
Vanessa looked around the house; his walls were filled with images of horses and ribbons. “Wow,” she mumbled into her mug, “you’ve achieved a lot.”
Gabe followed her gaze and smiled. “Yup. This makes it all worthwhile.”
There were stacks of images of horses and riders and families in various states of happiness. Mostly, there were pictures of kids wrapping their arms around their newest friends and holding up bright rosettes. Gathering strength, Vanessa stood up and walked around the room, her eyes following a mini history trail.
“This,” Gabe steered her toward a thick, awkward frame, “was my first successful attempt at retraining a racehorse.” The image was washed out. Focusing on the picture, she picked out a now familiar smile. “Is that you?”
Gabe laughed, “Yeah, between 12 and 19 I was learning to re-educate ex racehorses. Didn’t matter what happened in my life with school or work; I always came back to horses.” He then led her across the room, steering her with gentle touches, to his favorite successes. He seemed to have dealt with it all; it was obvious he was a good trainer. Vanessa’s shock from before was slowly ebbing as she saw dozens of healthy horses immortalized in the photographs. Feeling Gabe’s heat on her back, she gently leaned into him.
Gabe grabbed a thick album and sat at the table, “Come look at these.”
Vanessa paused. She could either take a seat at the table, or she could tell him what she really wanted. She took advantage of Gabe’s huge frame and sat in his lap, pulling the book onto her lap. For the next half hour, they laughed and chuckled through an album of fortunes and funny disasters. Feeling Vanessa’s pert bottom on his thighs fanned Gabe’s desire for her. She was so easy to talk to and laugh with; it was impossible to hide the erection pressing agonizingly against his seam.
Just then, Vanessa turned in his lap, pressing her breasts against his chest. She looked at his face and smiled, gently lowering her head to softly kiss his lips. Taking the album from her hands, he rested the book on the table and scooped his arms underneath her. Cradling her to his chest, he carried Vanessa across the living room toward his bedroom. He’d never been this anxious to get a woman in his bed.
He walked into the bedroom, kicking the door closed before gently lowering Vanessa onto the bed. He quickly turned back to the door and flicked the lock. No one, not even Jimmy, was going to mess this up.
“Locking us in?”
“I don’t want to be interrupted—not this time.”
Reclining against the bed, Vanessa kicked up her legs and arched her eyebrow at Gabe; he reached down, swiftly pulling her shoes off.
/> She slid her hands to her waist, unfastening the button on her jeans and unzipping the fly slowly, sliding the worn fabric down her curvaceous thighs and calves. Gabe watched the pants progress to the floor, drinking in Vanessa’s softness. Gabe dropped to the bed and propped up on his side next to her. Vanessa grabbed his hand and slid it beneath the edge of her panties, making him groan involuntarily as his fingers dipped into her slick warmth.
“Strip,” she ordered as she leaned up on her elbows to watch him.
His cock jumped with hardness. Being ordered around wasn’t something he’d ever thought he’d like, but he liked this change of power. He lifted his shirt over his head, revealing a torso of carved muscles; her reaction was worth the wait. She gasped and covered her greedy mouth with her hand.
“My God, you’re beautiful,” she said in awe.
“Hey, that’s my line.”
She shook her head. “No really.”
He flicked the button on his pants, sliding them down his legs along with his boxers. He kicked them off so they landed in a random corner of the room. His cock stood impatiently erect, the head throbbing as Gabe tried to control his passion.
This time she didn’t say a word. She ran the tips of her fingers along his torso, tracing each of his muscles. She made a trail down his abdomen and wrapped her small hand around his girth; he jerked beneath her touch as she squeezed him. He gasped and then groaned when she rubbed her thumb over his tip. She looked at him, batting her lashes. “I’m giving you three days,” she said, rubbing the tip again.
His eyes crossed as she worked her hand up and down his cock. “Three days for what?”
“Three days of incredible sex—with no strings attached.” She scooted down the bed and looked up at him, slipping his tip into her luscious mouth; all coherent thoughts immediately left him. She used her hand to pump his cock into her mouth and bring him to the edge. Afraid to shoot his load into her mouth, Gabe arched his back and eased his length out of her. “Not so fast. Are you saying that you only want three days with me? Just three?”
“For the time being. Why, do you want to change my mind?” she smiled wickedly.
Gabe reached into his side table and pulled out a condom, “Maybe. Let’s see how we do with a test drive, huh?”
She sat up and lifted her shirt off before unhooking her bra and wriggling out of her panties. Running her fingers down her body, she reached her throbbing center and touched herself, bending her knees so Gabe could see. He tracked the movement and his mouth watered. Vanessa was not ashamed of her body or afraid to show him exactly what she wanted. She teased her clit and moaned before spreading her legs wider, slipping a finger inside.
He’d never had a woman touch herself for him; he found it utterly hypnotic. He couldn’t look away.
“I need you—now!” she gasped.
Gabe slid the condom on before guiding Vanessa onto all fours on the bed. Immediately, she spread her legs out wider and dipped her chest, presenting her cheeks like soft, ripe peaches. Glancing over her shoulder she smirked, “Take me. Now.”
“God damn,” he grunted and angled his body behind her. With one wide palm, he held onto her hip, while the other rubbed the tip of his cock over her opening to leave the head slick. He paused, letting the pulse in his throbbing length scream for release one final time before he thrust his cock into her tightness. Vanessa squirmed and pressed against Gabe’s pelvis, her pussy tightening around his magnificent length as it drove deeper toward her cervix.
“Oh my God, Gabe, it’s coming...it’s coming!” Her voice was strangled; the passion was real.
Tipped over the edge by Vanessa’s cries of passion, Gabe slammed the rest of his length inside, observing how her pussy clamped shut on his cock as wave after wave of ecstasy coursed through her body. The rhythmic squeezing was too much; Gabe felt his balls tighten as a loaded shot of cum surged from his body. He cried out, squeezing Vanessa’s ass and slumping over her back, letting their heart beats quieten before he slid himself out and pulled the condom off.
Gabe collapsed onto the bed next to Vanessa completely in shock. He reached over and pulled the smiling and gasping Vanessa into the crook of his arm, letting her head rest on his chest. It was over too soon--and to make matters worse, he only had two more nights with her.
****
Vanessa opened her eyes and sat up in a panic; she didn’t mean to nod off. She looked over at Gabe sleeping next to her and groaned. This was what she wanted to avoid.
She slid out of his bed and tiptoed toward her pile of clothes, gingerly picking them up. As quietly as possible, she got dressed and headed outside; she needed to package the blood samples before they got knocked off the table.
It was getting dark as she made her way to the barn. Strangely, the barn’s side door was open. She was sure they had closed it; the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
Just as she decided to head back into the safety of Gabe’s house, a sinewy hand wrapped around her mouth from behind, covering her scream. A strong arm wrapped around her torso and she was lifted off the ground. She tried to kick, but he was strong and she had no leverage at that angle.
“Shut up, you stupid bitch,” the man hissed. Vanessa couldn’t believe it: it sounded just like Jimmy.
Thrown into the barn, Vanessa caught her fall and spun around on the floor to see that her assailant was, in fact, Jimmy. He lurched toward her, “What do you know?”
It was then and there that Vanessa realized something was wrong with Jimmy; his eyes were wide and completely bloodshot, and his body shook. He was high as a kite and had a knife in his hand.
“I don’t know anything. The tests haven’t been finished.”
He laughed. “Oh, and fucking your client was for what?”
She glared but kept her mouth shut.
He came toward her and pointed the knife at her. “I want to know what you’ve found out about the horses. I have to know if Benny needs to leave.”
“What’s this got to do with Benny?”
Jimmy shook his head and switched the knife to his other hand as he laughed. “I have a financial arrangement with Benny, and I’m afraid your presence up here is just poor fucking timing and bad fucking luck… for you.”
Jimmy lunged at her. Vanessa moved, but she wasn’t fast enough; he grabbed her by the arm and yanked her to her feet. Now she was getting scared. “I don’t know anything. Honest.”
“Don’t lie to me, bitch! I saw the way you looked at me.”
“No, really! I don’t!”
Jimmy released her and walked back and forth like a caged predator, slapping the flat side of the blade against his palm. “I find it hard to believe that you don’t know anything. I know you went rummaging through the cabinets, and I know you noticed that some things were missing.”
They were? Vanessa thought.
“Stop looking at me like that! I had to do it!” he screamed, sending spittle across Vanessa’s face. “You have no idea what shit I’m in. All I had to do was medicate them with Etorphine until they drifted off, pretty much painlessly. Then Benny could collect some serious cash from his insurance company since these things are worth a shit-ton of money. Fucking crock—the horses didn’t die now, did they? The batch was off, so I was forced to get more and that took a little longer than anticipated.” Jimmy was squeezing the blade so hard that a line of blood dripped down his forearm. Suddenly, Jimmy yanked Vanessa by the hair, pulling her head to side, laying the knife against her exposed neck.
“You just had to get nosy, didn’t you? Well, Benny can’t have you snooping around his insurance claims. I need to get rid of you—but first, I might have a little... fun.” He ran his nose along her neck and she shuddered.
“I...I won’t tell,” Vanessa trembled. He yanked her hair harder and she cried out.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you—a little play in the hay? I wonder what Gabe thought of you.”
The grip on her hair and scalp was unbearable;
Vanessa let out a strangled sob and tears pooling in her eyes cascaded down her cheeks. Suddenly, she felt Jimmy press his body into hers. She cringed when she felt his erection jammed against her back; he was becoming aroused by his sadism.
There’s no way in hell I’m going to let this piece of trash prey on me! Vanessa braced herself, furiously spinning around under his strength, and rammed her knee forcefully into his groin.
He gasped and cowered, almost falling in the process, but he caught himself and looked up at Vanessa with distilled hatred. “I’m going to enjoy finishing you off.”
Suddenly, there was an almighty screech, followed by the sound of flesh slapping into concrete. Opening her eyes, Vanessa could see the dark, animalistic figure of Gabe pummeling Jimmy into the ground, the knife flung into a far corner of the barn. His fists worked rhythmically into the torso, stomach and face of Vanessa’s assailant.
Vanessa scrambled up and threw herself onto Gabe, pulling his arms back, “Please, Gabe—stop! You’ll kill him!”
Gabe’s face softened immediately; Jimmy sputtered and groaned.
“You’d better go grab some electrical tape and call the cops.” Gabe looked up at Vanessa, “What did he do to you?” his lip quivered.
“I’ll be okay,” she said as she stilled his reaching hand. “You stay and watch him. I’ll be back.”
****
Ten minutes later, a cavalcade of cop cars stormed up Gabe’s driveway with two ambulances. After a paramedic had given Vanessa the once over, cleaned her up and threw a thick, woolen blanket over her shoulders, she was taken into the house to give a statement to the police.
The police had been skeptical at first, but as Vanessa explained the possible worth of Benny Diamond’s horses insurance-wise, the cops were quick to radio back-up to round up Benny Diamond and his team.
A forensic investigator had collected the blood samples, promising to only take one tube for testing; it would cement their case if the blood tested positive for Etorphine. They also agreed to meet her the following day to collect the scrap of suspicious paper that was sitting back at her office.