Breaking Rein (Horse Play Series Book 3)

by A. D. Ryan

  “But you’ve awakened something in him, Madison. You’ve brought our son more happiness than we could have ever dreamed—and I’m not just talking about the baby. There’s a fire in his eyes now, and when he smiles, it’s not forced or empty. You’ve shown him that he deserves happiness as much as the next person. We owe you so much.” Tears had started to form along the rims of her reddening eyes, causing a similar reaction in me.

  Damn these hormones.

  Quickly taking my hands back, I wrapped my arms around her and let my tears fall as I sobbed onto her shoulder and mumbled incoherently how she didn’t owe me anything.

  “And that was when you showed up,” I told him with a shrug, trailing my fingers over the lines of the tattoo on his forearm.

  “She’s right, you know.” Jensen adjusted his hand so he could lace our fingers together. He brought our hands to his lips and kissed my knuckles before easing them back down to his leg. “You already know that what Kaylie did destroyed me—hell, I let what she did affect us.”

  “Yeah, well, I really should have known better than to just assume you knew what I was thinking,” I admitted, taking partial responsibility for our fight last week. “But we don’t have to rehash that. We’ve already dealt with it, right?”

  Smiling, Jensen agreed. “I didn’t expect to ever meet anyone else, especially not so soon after my release. But then I came onto the ranch and fell for you—hard and fast.”

  “Actually, I think it was the other way around—if we’re being literal,” I joked, garnering a loud laugh from him.

  “What I’m trying to say, Madison, is you’ve changed the way I look at the world. I thought I knew what love was with Kaylie, but I was seriously deluded. She never really loved me, either. She proved that the day she did what she did behind my back—and I’m not saying she didn’t have a right to make that choice, but to not include me in that decision …” He looked at me, pushing aside his melancholy, his eyes shining with happiness. “But you … Even though it appeared that you despised me from day one, I knew there was something remarkable about you. Once you let your guard down, you were warm and caring.”

  I could feel more tears beginning to sting my eyes and my chin quivered. “Are you and your mother working together to turn me into a sobbing mess?” I demanded, using my free hand to catch the first of several tears and sniffling.

  “Not at all, honey. I just wanted you to know how much you mean to me. I’m lucky to have found you when I did.”

  “Well, right back at you.” I sniffled again, wiping the last few tears that had fallen as I tried to rein in my crying. “Now, not that I don’t love hearing about how awesome I am, can we talk about something that’s not going to make me cry like a big baby?”

  Jensen chuckled. “I’d be happy to talk about whatever you’d like.”

  “Oh, I have to decide on something? Damn.”

  After a few minutes of silent contemplation, Jensen and I started making plans to take a day in the next few weeks to go and look at baby furniture and to pick out bedding. It made everything that much more real, and I was growing more and more excited by the second.

  Soon, the barn came into view, and I found myself yearning for a nice, long soak in the tub after a long drive. A glass of wine would have made it even better, but that wasn’t something I would be indulging in for a little while longer.

  There was a flash of movement in my periphery, and I looked in its direction to find the same Appaloosa stallion we saw the other day running around the pasture on Charles’ newly acquired land. His tail and head were held high and proud as he asserted his dominance over the other horses. Upon first glance, I noticed that there didn’t seem to be quite as many mustangs in the pen—but it was still more than it should have been. Jensen must have been right; Charles had to be relocating them, because I’d like to believe that nobody was stupid enough to sell a wild horse.

  Chapter 11. Payback Isn’t Always a Bitch

  We rolled up in front of our house in just under two hours of leaving Jensen’s parents’ place, and I had to admit, as much as I really enjoyed yet another weekend away, I was happy to be home. After grabbing the two small containers from the backseat, I helped Jensen haul our luggage inside, even if he tried to tell me not to worry about it. Once the bags were stowed away in our room, we decided to go and see how Dad’s weekend was. We checked his house first since it was so late, only to find it oddly empty.

  “Well, that’s weird. It’s almost nine. Maybe we should check the barn?” I suggested.

  Jensen and I walked hand-in-hand through the lot that led to the main barn and found the door open with light pouring out. It wasn’t until we stepped over the threshold that we heard laughter coming from Dad’s office. I immediately figured Tom must have stayed late to keep Dad company, and found I was mistaken when I saw the back of our new neighbor’s head.

  “Mads!” Dad said, looking up from his desk with a bright smile. “You remember Charles.”

  “Uh, yeah,” I replied, nodding my greeting to Charles. “It’s only been a couple days. How’ve you been?”

  Charles turned his head and smiled at me. My shields were up in an instant, preparing to guard myself against … something, I just wasn’t sure what. While I wanted to give this man the benefit of the doubt, I just couldn’t—not after seeing the pasture on his land full of mustangs. Not to mention the way he stared at me sent a chill up my spine, the hairs all over my body prickling as my skin crawled.

  “I’ve been good, Mads.”

  “Madison,” I corrected him, forcing a smile to my face so as not to seem like a total bitch; the tone I used conveyed my point successfully.

  He cocked his head to the side. “My apologies, Madison. I just assumed—”

  I felt Jensen’s hand on my waist, squeezing lightly, yet also possessively, clearly not missing the look Charles was giving me. “It’s fine. It’s just not a nickname a lot of people call me.” I returned my focus to Dad, trying really hard to not feel Charles’ penetrating leer. “How was everything? Where’s Bones?”

  “In the arena, probably chasing the cats,” he told me. “Our weekend was good. No problems here.”

  “Good to hear. I’ll just collect him and say good night to Hails before Jensen and I turn in. Good night.”

  Jensen and I had just turned for the arena, where we could hear Bones now barking excitedly, when Charles spoke again. “Good night, Madison.”

  Silently signaling for Jensen to give me a minute, I popped my head back into the office. “Get back home safely, Charles. Those mustangs in your pasture are looking mighty restless.”

  “Mustangs?” Dad inquired, looking from me to Charles, and then back at me. I could tell by the way that vein started pulsing in his forehead that he wasn’t impressed.

  Feigning surprise, I looked at my dad. “You didn’t know? Yeah, Charles here has quite the herd. Upward of twenty wild mustangs are penned on his land.” I smiled in triumph when the color drained from Charles’ face. “Well, good night!”

  Taking Jensen’s hand in mine, I smiled even wider upon hearing the beginning of my father’s lecture. “Wild mustangs? You realize that’s illegal, right?”

  Jensen seemed pleased, pulling me into his arms just before pulling the huge sliding door to the arena open. “You’re so hot when you’re standing up for what you believe in.”

  It was always so easy to get lost in his stormy eyes and melt into his warm, comforting embrace. His lips were so pink and kissable that I found myself wetting mine with the tip of my tongue in anticipation of a heated make out session.

  “Do you have any idea what I plan to do to you?” he asked, his mouth brushing mine faintly.

  That was when I remembered last night and decided I needed to mess with him just a little bit more. I hummed contemplatively. “I’m guessing get me right to the brink of an Earth-shattering orgasm and then pass out?” That snapped him out of his lusty-trance long enough to stammer incoherently before he
lunged forward, tickling my sides mercilessly as I opened the arena door.

  “Bones!” I cried out through peals of laughter. He rushed toward us as I fell to the dirt beneath Jensen’s relentless attack. Bones joined the assault—the little traitor—licking my face and standing on my chest. Jensen finally stopped and helped me sit up.

  “Who’s a good boy?” I asked as the dog jumped into my lap and continued licking my chin and cheeks while trying to scale my body. “Geez! He’s getting so big already!”

  “That’s what she said,” Jensen muttered under his breath, and I snapped my head toward him.

  “Do I need to ground you and Kyle from hanging out together?” Jensen laughed, which made it hard for me to not show how amusing I really thought it was. “I’m starting to think he’s a bad influence on you.” Hugging Bones to my chest, I stood up and walked to Jensen as he leaned against the doorframe.

  “Who’s to say that I’m not the bad influence on him?”

  “True, at least he can handle his liquor,” I sniped playfully, brushing past him and heading for Halley’s stall. “Can you hold him for a sec?” After handing Bones over, I stepped into the stall. “Hey, girl.” I ran my hands along the length of her face, smiling when she exhaled and nudged me with her nose. Her eyes lulled closed when I reached the area between her ears and started scratching. “I’m going to take you out for a nice long trail ride tomorrow, okay?”

  I stepped back out in the aisle to see Jensen playing with Bones, who was now on the ground and bounding from side to side as they engaged each other in a game of “try to get around the human.” The light growls that came from the both of them made me giggle as I slid the stall lock into place and headed toward them.

  Upon reaching them, I noticed Charles emerge from Dad’s office, not looking particularly happy as he turned to glare at me. His cold, angry stare left me nervous for some reason.

  “Baby?” Jensen’s soft voice brought me back, and I turned to him with a smile. Confused, he looked in the direction my focus was a minute ago and saw Charles just as he rounded the corner to the door. “You know, on Friday I thought I disliked him because of his dog … Now? I’m pretty sure I don’t trust that guy as far as you could throw him.”

  I had just started nodding to agree when I realized what he said. “Hey!” I slapped his upper arm and tried not to laugh. “I’ll have you know I was on the baseball team in high school.”

  “Madison, please,” Jensen teased.

  “Oh yeah?” I retorted. “Fine. One of these days, you and me are going to throw down, and I’ll show you.”

  Smirking, he gathered me in his arms. “I look forward to it.”

  I placed my hands on Jensen’s hips and stood on my tiptoes to place a soft kiss on his lips when a throat cleared. Turning, I saw Daddy standing nearby, smiling but trying to look intimidating.

  “So, how long did you know about the mustangs?” he asked, skipping past any pleasantries we might have exchanged.

  “We drove by the place on Friday as we headed out of town,” I explained, suddenly feeling as though I was being chastised. “I don’t know, we figured he was maybe relocating them—and maybe he is. I was just concerned for everyone who lives around here. I mean, wild horses aren’t exactly friendly. They’ll do anything to survive.”

  Dad ran his hand over his face, his exhaustion evident in his eyes. “Well, he assures me he’s not keeping them. I asked what he was doing with so many on his land to begin with, and he just said not to worry, that they’d be gone soon.”

  “And you just accepted that? That’s not like you,” I pointed out, kind of shocked that my dad would just let something this huge go.

  Dad shook his head. “Don’t be ridiculous. I told him he had a week to relocate them back into the wild. His failure to comply would earn him a visit from the Hardin County Sherriff’s department, and they’d handle it from there.”

  “Good,” I said with a firm nod.

  “I can’t be taking any chances with shit like that.” My mouth gaped at hearing my father curse—it wasn’t something that happened often. “We’re trying to run a business here, where kids are often on the grounds. Not to mention when that baby comes …”

  Smiling, I stepped forward and hugged my dad. The big guy was getting worked up. “Thanks, Daddy. I appreciate everything you do to take care of this place and keep us safe.”

  “Anything for you, Mads. Now, I’m beat. Why don’t we lock up, and we’ll talk more tomorrow, all right?”

  After locking up the barn, we said good night and went our separate ways. Back at home, Bones headed straight to his empty dog dishes and pawed at the metal dish, causing it to screech across the tile floor a few inches until I bent over to grab it and fill it with water while Jensen filled his food dish.

  “How are you doing?” Jensen asked, setting the dish down and standing back up next to me. “You hungry?”

  I shook my head. “Mmm, no. Tired, actually. I think I might take a shower and call it a night.” Jensen seemed to take that as an invitation and followed me to the bathroom. “Um, what are you doing?” I asked as he stepped inside.

  “Showering with you.” It wasn’t a request for permission. “I have quite a lot to make up for, and I plan to start right now.”

  “Oh …” I moved forward until my chest was pressed against his. “What makes you think that you get to decide when, where, or how you make up for last night?”

  “But—”

  Laughing, I turned and started the shower before stripping in front of him. I had just stepped over the edge of the tub when I looked back to find him still in the same spot. “Are you coming?” I loved a good double entendre.

  Jensen tore his clothes from his body and crossed the room in a flash. He had us both beneath the spray of water within seconds. While I wanted nothing more than to have him take me in the shower, I still needed to tease him a little for the night before—not that I was going to rob him of an orgasm, I just wanted to drag everything out a little before the big finish.

  Looking up at him, I smiled my sweetest smile. “There are rules to tonight’s shower,” I started, placing my hands on the tops of his shoulders and trailing them down his arms, then across his chest and down his torso slowly. “One: no shower sex, and two: you don’t get to do the touching.”

  The look in his eyes told me he wasn’t entirely pleased with my rules—and to be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure if I was going to be able to stick to them myself—but he nodded, and we proceeded. I let the warm water wash over me first, wetting my hair and body before I lathered my long hair and washed my body. Once my body was rinsed clear of suds, I pushed Jensen under the showerhead next.

  I brought my hands up and pushed them through his soft, dark hair, tiny water rivulets from the spray of the shower beading on the strands before soaking them completely. As the tips of my fingers dragged along his scalp, his eyes closed, and he groaned, his hands instinctively grabbing my hips before I corrected him.

  “Sorry,” he whispered, his head falling back as I worked shampoo through his thick hair.

  Following through with my own rules was difficult as I lathered up his body. Working in a steady rhythm over his shoulders, across his chest and down his abdomen, I found my resolve wavering—especially when I moved farther south to find him fully aroused.

  Glancing up at him through my lashes, I noticed his head was down, his blue eyes trained on me. The look in them was unmistakable: he wanted me. Now.

  “Rinse.” My voice cracked slightly as I stepped back, pushing him beneath the steady stream of water. My entire body warmed, and I was fairly certain it wasn’t due to the temperature in the foggy bathroom. Tingles travelled like electric currents just beneath my skin, and my stomach knotted with excitement.

  Once his body was clear of the soapsuds, Jensen shut the water off and whipped the shower curtain open before grabbing our towels and handing me one. We dried off quickly before I gathered our clothes from the floo
r and started for the door. As I walked, there was a soft thud at my feet, but before I could see what it was, Jensen snatched it from the floor and walked briskly for the bedroom. It was then that I remembered the strange object I felt in his pocket when we were driving home, and I grew even more curious by his strange behavior.

  “Jensen?” I said, walking into our bedroom to find him stepping away from our nine-drawer dresser. “What is it you don’t want me to see?”

  A smile formed on his lips, and he moved for me, taking the heap of clothing from me and discarding it into our hamper. “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about, love,” he told me with a wink.

  My skeptical glare was short-lived the minute he whisked me up in his arms and carried me to the bed, his lips quickly connecting with mine as he started tugging my towel open and away from my body. Gently, he set me down on the bed, crawling on after and positioning himself between my legs. His scruff tickled my jaw and neck as he kissed along it, and I giggled. The ticklish sensation soon subsided as pleasure radiated everywhere he touched me—his fingers trailing down my arms, his lips over my breasts …

  The minute his lips pressed against the area just below my belly button, my head snapped up off the pillow, and I caught him staring up at me smugly as his hands moved under my thighs and adjusted them so I was spread wide for him. He was about to make good on his promise to make up for last night all on his own—without my help.

  Chapter 12. Hormones Are No Joke

  It was cold in the barn as I filled the last couple water buckets for the freshly cleaned stalls. Like usual, as winter set in and it got colder outside, the ranch only got busier. Several clients who normally boarded outdoors in the summer paid a little extra for their horses to be brought in every day and blanketed in the mornings before being turned out. I was pretty sure most of them were just waiting for the new barn to be built before they changed their horses’ care.