by Laura Moore
Cassie lay, eyes closed, languid, replete, drugged with happiness. She smiled sleepily as she felt Caleb roll to his side, drawing her body close, his penis still deep inside her. She sighed, burrowing her head under the dark stubble of his chin, summoning just enough energy to raise her hand and lay it against his sweat-slicked chest, the heavy thud of his heart against her palm.
She felt him lift her hand, gently bringing each finger to his lips, bathing them with a soft kiss. She made a mewling sound in her throat, as a kitten might, her lids too weighted to open.
“Cassie.” His voice rumbled against her face.
“Mmm.”
“Cassie, I love you. Truly, madly deeply.”
“Mmm. Love you, too.” Her words slurred with fatigue.
His fingers lifted hers again, his mouth brushing her knuckles lightly. “Cassie, I think we should get married. Will you marry me, love?”
“Mmm.”
“Uh, sweetheart, was that a ‘yes mmm’ or a ‘no mmm’?”
No response.
“Please, Slim, Do you want to marry me? . . . Cassie?”
She mumbled something in sleepy irritation. As if he were a particularly pesky fly, buzzing about. Shifting restlessly, she hitched her leg over his thigh, pushing him over so he lay on his back. His body her new mattress. Asleep already.
Caleb stared at the ceiling of his bedroom, Cassie’s soft, even breathing fanning his skin, his fingers stroking lazy patterns across the silken length of her back. He was grinning, he knew, like an utter fool. Like a fool in love.
She was dreaming. Floating on a cloud, its warm, beguiling wetness brushing her belly, caressing her hip bones, moving down as she squirmed in anticipation, wanting it to move . . . closer. A delicious warmth, it fanned across the sensitive flesh of her inner thigh. Impatient for the touch, for the heat, she twisted restlessly against it.
It engulfed her. Hot, consuming, demanding. And she exploded, shattering into a thousand pieces of light, trembling as he soothed and stroked. Then stirring her once more as his mouth moved now to her breasts, suckling gently. Drawing the knot inside her tighter and tighter. Climaxing again as he surged into her, sending her flying, soaring back into the starry night.
She was too sleepy to agonize over any morning-after awkwardness. It helped, too, that there was the rather unique distraction of Caleb’s erection pressing insistently against the back of her thighs as his hands amused themselves elsewhere. Idly playing over her breasts. Cupping, squeezing, lifting. Making her squirm against him.
“Caleb, are you awake?” Not a hundred percent certain about his sleep habits. Suspecting, perhaps, that Caleb was fully capable of making love asleep or awake, or that maybe he just never slept. He certainly hadn’t seemed to last night.
“Yeah, I’m awake. Can’t you tell? Feeling pretty good, actually.” His arm snaked down to her middle, pulling her more fully against him, his erection sliding between her thighs, rubbing her cleft.
She shivered, her nerve endings running wild. “Caleb, don’t you think we better get up?”
“Slim,” he nuzzled the column of her throat. “I’ve been up for hours, now.” His teeth opened over the muscle of her shoulder, biting down gently. She moaned low in her throat, her hips pushing backwards, rubbing against him, helpless to resist the hunger he so effortlessly aroused.
Shifting suddenly Caleb rolled onto his back. Then, amazing Cassie yet again at his effortless strength, he lifted her, holding her above him as if she weighed no more than rag doll. Her breath caught as he lowered her slowly. Of their own accord, her knees parted until she rested, quivering, suspended above his straining erection. Caleb waited, watching her eyes drink in the erotic sight. As he raised his hips fractionally, her eyes grew even larger.
“Cassie, love ” he began, the tip of his penis just grazing her nest of curls, “I was hoping maybe you could take me for a ride.”
Dying from pleasure as Cassie sank slowly down and proceeded to do just that.
26
H ank chuckled, watching his wife brush her hair in the mirror. “Who’d have ever guessed that Pamela’s machinations might actually bring about some good?”
“You mean with Orion?”
Hank nodded. “Yeah. Damnedest thing, the day after Caleb got that letter from the lawyer, we received yet another letter this time from TLM, the private group that bought Orion. It instructed us that unless they notified us specifically, not to change a thing in terms of Orion’s training, or showing schedule, and that Cassie should stay on as his rider.”
“Sounds like whoever’s in charge is a smart person and must realize what a winning combination Cassie and Orion are.”
“Yeah, but it’s weird. People aren’t usually like that. They spend a small fortune on something; well then, they can’t resist going and fiddling with it, messing around. Like I said, it’s the damndest thing.”
Melissa gave a small shrug of her shoulders. Hank watched how the slender straps of her nightgown slid across her bare skin.
“And how are Caleb and Cassie doing?”
Hank’s face split into a wide grin. “Those two? Utterly amazing. Remember last week at the show? How I told you they were acting about as mature as teenagers: moody talkative as rocks, and about as much fun to be with. Boy oh boy what a difference one week can make! Now they’re acting about as silly as teenagers. You know I walked in on them noodling in the tack room the other day? Thank God Caleb hadn’t gotten around to undressing her . . .”
“Hank, you know Caleb has more self-control than that. He was probably just stealing a few kisses.”
“Don’t bet the farm on that one, love. The way he looks at her these days, reminds me exactly of how I felt when I fell in love with you. Yeah, I think it was a mighty good thing I barged in when I did.”
“It’s not affecting Cassie or Caleb’s work, is it? The horses are coming along fine?”
“Of course not, she’s a pro. Orion did great today. Beat out some pretty good horses.” He grinned, remembering the excitement of the day. “After the class, Rob Buchanan came up and offered us a neat pile of money for him. Caleb threw back his head and laughed. Said unfortunately Rob was too late. Then Cassie, bless her horsewoman’s soul, she gave him that pretty smile of hers. Told him to come by and check out Arrow, that he was showing lots of potential. If he telephones, I thought I might suggest he look at Limelight, too.”
“Knowing Rob, I expect you’ll be getting a call about eight o’clock tomorrow morning.”
“Certainly hope so. He’s always done well by our horses.”
Melissa laid her brush on the old-fashioned vanity that had belonged to her grandmother and smiled, catching and holding Hank’s gaze in the reflection of the mirror. A tiny shake of her head caused her dark hair to sway. Her mouth lifted in a small smile as she watched her husband absorb the sight of her, thrilled by the instant spark of desire that flared in his eye. Sharing it.
She rose, turned, and approached him slowly letting her hips sway ever so slightly, causing the sheer cotton gown to float about her calves. She knelt down next to the upholstered chair where he sat. He went still as a rock. But she could feel the weight of his eyes locked on the pale outline of her breasts.She smiled, pressing closer, letting him feel them, too. “You know Hank, honey all this talk of noodling . . .”
“No, Caleb. You can’t. Not again.”
“Aw come on, Slim, please. Let me.” The words whispered against her coaxingly his tongue tracing the shell of her ear. Her neck arched reflexively, setting her insides aquiver. A moan escaped her. Half-heartedly she pleaded with him, her voice sounding thin and reedy to her ears. “Two times is more than enough, honestly.”
“Slim, my love, don’t you know you can never have too much of a good thing?” His hands smoothed upwards, traveling the length of her arms, coming to rest on her shoulders. The angle of his head shifted behind her, his breath fanning the delicate line of her jaw.
“Let me. Thomps
on and the kids’ll be back tomorrow. Who knows how long it will be before I get to do this again?”
“Oh, all right,” she grumbled peevishly. Geez Louise, the man was stubborn as a mule.
He rewarded her with a kiss. “You’re a pal, Slim. Now hold still and close your eyes.”
Obediently, Cassie shut her eyes. Tight this time. Last time, Caleb had used too much shampoo. When she’d complained the bubbles were getting in her eyes, he’d gone and dunked her. With no warning. In her own jacuzzi, too.
The bathroom was a total disaster. Of course, most of that was from their lovemaking. The waves had started rolling over the sides, both Cassie and Caleb too preoccupied to notice at the time, Cassie busy experiencing her very own, internal tsunami caused by Caleb’s wicked mouth.
She leaned back into his chest as his fingers worked through her thick, soapy mass of hair massaging. Making her feel pampered and adored. She was so happy at times she wondered whether she should pinch herself, as though such happiness could only be a dream. True, Caleb hadn’t yet spoken to her of marriage, but knowing how disastrous his previous one had been, she didn’t want to push him. She was happy just to be with him.
He loved the feel of her next to him. Even when they weren’t making love. Merely touching her did something to his insides he’d never experienced before.
An unexpected and somewhat bewildering surprise.
He’d never had a moment’s doubt how good the physical act would be between them. With the experience of a true connoisseur, he’d needed only that first glance at Cassie, standing half-naked in Hank’s office, to know they’d get along like wild fire in bed. Her beautiful body alone was enough to make a man happy for a couple of eons.
But he was discovering there was more to it. So much more than simply having four-star sex with a gorgeous woman. It was all the other things that were keeping him hard and aching, needing her time after time: Those breathless little moans she made when he pleased her, the way she curled up like a child, seeking the warmth and comfort of his body as she slept, the way she drove him wild with just a smile and a flick of her tongue.
And never had he experienced this degree of pleasure from the mundane stuff. From such a simple act as watching the soapy lather slide down her silken shoulders, down the straight, elegant line of her spine. Solely because it was Cassie’s shoulders, Cassie’s spine. He didn’t understand the emotions she called forth. To put it crudely he’d always thought of love in terms of his groin. Yet with each hour they spent together, it was becoming increasingly clear that with Cassie, love involved every particle of his being.
A big glob of lather dropped from his hand into the warm bath water chasing away his moment of introspection. Time for the fun to begin again. Pressing down on her shoulders Caleb whispered his command.
“Ready, Slim? Down you go.” His face was split in a boyish grin. He really loved this part, the feel of her wet torso sliding down his body, her hair brushing against his groin. Somehow they’d gotten distracted from the hair washing a couple of times, but he was having such a good time pleading, cajoling, and squabbling happily with her that he was fully prepared to do whatever it took for a three-peat.
A groan escaped his lips as her thick, wet hair rubbed back and forth against his erection. Knowing she was torturing him on purpose, his imagination immediately began devising all manners of sensual retaliation. Anticipating happily just how he’d convince her of the benefits of conditioner.
27
“Come on Cassie, this is utter crap.” Caleb’s tone was curt, impatient, revealing his exasperation.
They’d been arguing, going round and round in circles for the past half hour. Actually, to be precise, they’d been saying essentially the same thing to each other for close to a month now.
He was damn tired of it.
He wanted her to cave in and be done with it.
“No, it’s not. I’m sorry, but I’m just not going to do it.” She felt sick inside, but her reply to Caleb was implacable. She refused to back down, hated the fact that it had come to this: their first full-blown argument. But she knew she had to stand her ground.
“Can’t you see how hare-brained this is? You say you’re willing to come and sleep in my bed on some nights, but not every night? Where’s the logic behind this? Where?”
“It doesn’t have to be logical to you for me to know it’s right.”
Caleb rolled his eyes. Feminine reasoning was so skewed it was a wonder the two sexes ever got past hello with each other. Bloody Hell, it wasn’t as if everybody wasn’t aware of what was going on. At least everybody who mattered.
Over a month had passed since Cassie and Caleb had first made love. Upon her return from New York with the twins, it had taken all of thirty seconds for Thompson to size up the situation. Ever since, she’d been all smiles, cooking Caleb his favorite dishes so often, he worried at times that he was in imminent danger of becoming a fat slob.
Indeed, Thompson was so thrilled, she kept inventing as many excuses as possible to get Jamie and Sophie out of the house so that Caleb and Cassie could have time alone together. She hadn’t been shy about sharing the happy news, either. She must have been on the horn to Francis O’Mally in the blink of an eye, updating her gentleman friend on the romance blossoming at Hay Fever Farm.
Caleb had been struck dumb the afternoon O’Mally had walked right up to him on Main Street and had given Caleb a quick, friendly jab in the ribs with his elbow.
“Nice going there, son,” he’d smiled, winking broadly. “Here’s hoping you’re starting a trend over at your place. Cassie and Bessie are two of the finest women I’ve ever met.”
Even Finnegan, walking with no sign of a limp, had been grinning from ear to ear, a stream of drool hanging from his mouth all the way to the sidewalk.
Hell, as far as Caleb could tell, Jamie and Sophie also knew what was going on. Caleb could only guess (actually too chicken to come right out and ask them what they thought, terrified of the zillion questions most likely fermenting in their five-year-old heads). But he’d caught enough whispered giggles about Mommy’s boyfriend and drawn out exclamations of in love to realize that they were keeping close tabs on Cassie and him. He was just grateful they hadn’t started chanting that children’s ditty about kissing in a tree.
But they’d been deeply fascinated, as only small children can be, when last Sunday evening Caleb had carried a sleeping Cassie in from the car and up the stairs to her bedroom. Keenly aware of the four eyes, round as saucers, watching his every move, he’d refrained from pulling off her show britches to make her more comfortable. Instead, he’d contented himself with slipping off her sneakers and laying a light blanket on top of her sleeping form.
He’d turned and quietly left the room, laying a finger to his lips. “Shh. Let’s let your mom sleep.”
“Why’d you have to carry her, Caleb? She’s too big to be carried,” Jamie had demanded as soon as the door was closed.
“She rode in a lot of classes today, on three different horses, Jamie. It was a big, important show today. A really long day. Your mom was pretty beat. I thought it would be nice for her to sleep a little longer. Besides, she doesn’t weigh that much more than the two of you put together. You guys are monsters!”
That evening he’d been more than willing to spend the next ten minutes distracting the twins, picking each child up, letting them argue over which one was the heaviest.
But he wasn’t willing to sleep alone anymore.
He wanted her next to him, curled snug within his arms, skin touching skin. Not just on select nights, but every night.
It had been a mistake not to speak up as soon as the twins and Thompson had returned from New York. He’d thought it better to go easy not make Cassie uncomfortable. Everything was new and she had more to adjust to on her end than he.
But after two weeks of this nonsense, of these on-and-off trysts at his house, he’d started to grow restless. When he’d broached the subject wi
th Cassie, however she’d mumbled something about being in the house in case the kids needed her. Thinking it might make things easier he’d immediately offered to sleep at her house. She’d looked at him as if he were a Martian. What if Sophie should awaken from a nightmare and come looking for her?
“Well, what about Thompson? They love her. They can go to her room in the middle of the night.”
“Of course they love her, but I’m their mother. I have to be there,” she’d replied impatiently. “I probably shouldn’t even be spending the entire night with you, but I want to . . .” Her cheeks had turned bright red with embarrassment. “And, well, I’m not getting a lot of sleep as it is. I can’t afford to lose any more going back and forth between the houses in the middle of the night.”
The hell of it was, she was telling the truth. They’d moved up, competing in the big shows now often bringing Silverspoon in addition to Orion and Limelight. If Hank hadn’t just negotiated a honey of a deal last week, selling Arrow to Rob Buchanan, she’d be riding Arrow too. Even with only three horses to show Cassie was working nonstop. A show every weekend, plus all the training she put in during the week, to say her schedule was grueling was no exaggeration.
Only three weeks remained until they left for the Hampton Classic. Caleb knew that right now was the crunch period. In a week, after this next show Cassie would begin a taper for Orion and Limelight, toning down the intensity of their workouts, hoping to peak at the Classic. He knew too, that Orion’s sale had put extra pressure on Cassie. She felt that if she didn’t perform well with him, she’d be out of a job with her invisible new owners. She was pushing herself to the max. Riding hard all day being a mother, being his lover. Doing it all so beautifully.
He was well aware the solution to his problem was staring him in the face.
Ask her to marry him again.
It hadn’t taken him long to realize that Cassie had been far too exhausted from the tumultuous day as well as from the passion of their lovemaking that night, for her to have heard, let alone have remembered, that as they lay in bed, sated and sleepy Caleb had proposed. And shamed as he was to admit it, after that first night, the words hadn’t crossed his lips a second time.