Acting Lessons (Off Guard)

by Katie Allen

  After nipping at her lower lip and sending shocks of desire and need through her, Jamie moved to her ear and then down her neck. Tipping her head back to give him access, she said, “I can’t believe you kicked out Tommy Bad-Touch for me.”

  Jamie went still and then pulled back so he could meet her gaze. Topher instantly regretted saying anything, since it had led to him stopping the kissing. “I can’t believe you thought I’d let him stay after what he did. I wish I’d kicked him out the moment he arrived, but I was...distracted.” His eye glittered with need as he drew out the last word, making it sound dirtier than any swearword.

  “Distracted by me?” She purposefully made the words sound breathy and innocent, widening her eyes as she slid off his lap. His grip loosened reluctantly. Topher had a feeling that the only reason he let her move at all was because he had an idea of her intentions.

  Despite the knowing gleam in his eye, he asked, “Where are you going?”

  “Down.” She gave him a wicked grin before sobering and meeting his gaze directly. “You stood up for me. That deserves a reward.”

  Jamie cupped her face in both hands. “Of course I stood up for you. You work hard for everything, Tophie. I want to smooth the way, make things easier...spoil you. I don’t need a reward for that.”

  “I want to make you feel good. Blowing you turns me on like crazy. Besides, I haven’t eaten yet this morning.” Pressing her hand against the rock-hard bulge straining against his zipper, she gave him another doe-eyed look as she sank down onto her knees in front of him. “I need to get something warm in my belly.”

  His hips rocked against her hand as a breath hissed out of him. “Why haven’t you eaten?” His voice was rough and low, and it made heat flare low in her belly. “I thought you were heading for the kitchen.”

  The memory of the caramel rolls tumbling into the trash flashed through her mind again, threatening to ruin her mood, so she concentrated on uncovering the treasure hidden in Jamie’s pants. “Long story,” she said airily, most of her focus on carefully unzipping him, one slow click at a time. “Your security people ate all the caramel rolls, so I gave them my best steely glare, and they blamed Tiny’s security people and then ran, but Leigh—being the goddess of all things food—had saved me two rolls, so I hugged her enthusiastically and possibly asked her to elope to Vegas with me, but my mom took advantage of my distraction while I was proposing to dump the rolls in the trash.”

  She hooked her fingers in the top of his black boxer briefs, ready to pull them down and release the beast, but Jamie caught her hands, stilling her. “Your mother threw them away?”

  His voice had gone cold, each word chipped from a block of ice, and she met his furious gaze in surprise. “Yes? I mean, yes. She did. It was tragic. I suppose one day it’ll seem more like a comic tragedy, but right now, I’m leaning more toward a tragic tragedy.”

  “Why?”

  “Why did she throw them out? Because she hates food and tries to transfer her eating neuroses onto me, mostly.”

  He went silent for a few moments before asking, “Did you just say neuroses?”

  “I did.”

  “Your bimbo act is showing holes.”

  Her hands were still trapped under his, or she would’ve waved away his comment. “I don’t try to pretend around you anymore.”

  That was obviously the right thing to say, since he smiled and leaned closer. She closed her eyes, anticipating the kiss, and then jumped a foot in the air when someone hammered on the office door.

  Jamie let out a steady stream of quiet curses, the originality and vehemence and sheer anatomical impossibility of his words making Topher blink. “What?” he barked.

  “James?” It was Barb. “Are we going for a ride?”

  Barb’s tone had been flirty, but that wasn’t the only reason that Topher made a face. “She’s going?” she whispered.

  The groan that rumbled through Jamie’s chest wasn’t from pleasure that time. “Sounds like it.”

  “Dad-dy!” she whisper-whined. “Why’d you blab about it to her?”

  Leaning down, he nipped her protruding lower lip. “What did I tell you about whining, baby girl?”

  A pleasurable shiver slid down her spine, and she was immediately distracted—at least until Barb hammered on the door again.

  “And I didn’t blab,” Jamie added as he stood, lifting her to her feet at the same time. Reaching down, he refastened his pants. “Barb didn’t hear about the ride from me.”

  “Oh,” Topher said with a guilty wince as she moved reluctantly toward the door. “Guess I was the blabber, then. Mom must’ve passed on the info...or Ben could’ve told Barb. Oops. Sorry.”

  A smack on her butt made Topher yelp and scurry forward a few steps, her hands over her rear cheeks to protect them from further attack. She gave him a pouty glare, but he just moved as if to spank her again. When Topher leaped forward with a squeal, Jamie smirked.

  “Tonight, baby doll,” he warned.

  Reaching for the doorknob, she gave him a grin over her shoulder. “I can’t wait.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Even though Barb and Danny and Peyton had all ended up joining them, Topher still couldn’t stop smiling. Popcorn was just too much fun to ride. It was nice to have stirrups this time, so she could post his sewing-machine trot more easily, especially with how sore she was after her wild night with Jamie’s lovely but enormous penis. The day was beautiful, unseasonably warm enough to have melted off most of the snow, leaving only sloppy patches of slush on the trail. It wasn’t as pretty as the morning before, but it was wonderfully warm.

  Jamie had borrowed fleece breeches, boots and a helmet from the trainer, Laurie, for Topher. By the way everything fit, Topher figured she and Laurie must be the same size. With Popcorn doing his mall-walker imitation beneath her, the sun above warming her head beneath the black helmet, and Jamie-Bear riding next to her, looking like the love-child of a cavalry officer and a centaur, everything felt pretty close to perfect—especially if she didn’t look at the other riders.

  The groomed trails were beautiful. They meandered over gentle hills, curving through meadows and patches of woods. There weren’t any sights or sounds of civilization, just melting snow dripping from the trees and the chirping of birds and the soft thuds of the horses’ hooves. Despite the warmth, the evergreen trees and the bushes with bright red berries looked and smelled like Christmas. If she lived there with access to those trails, Topher knew she’d be riding all the time. They’d have to drag her off of Popcorn’s back kicking and screaming.

  “Is there a reason we’re going so slowly?” Barb huffed, ruining Topher’s illusion that it was just her and Jamie riding through the woods.

  “The footing is too soft here,” Jamie explained. Topher was impressed by his somewhat patient tone. “There’s a good place for cantering a quarter mile or so up ahead.”

  As Barb settled back into under-her-breath muttering, Peyton eased her horse up to the other side of Jamie. She was riding Ghost, a fine-boned gray gelding. Despite the worried wrinkles above his eyes that gave him a nervous look, he hadn’t acted spooky. Topher had noticed him staring at everything in a wide-eyed fashion, as if he was certain there were monsters behind every tree. It was kind of endearing and made Topher want to give him lots of reassuring pats and carrots.

  Peyton spoke, bringing Topher out of her plans of comforting the nervous gray. “It was right about here that Ghost saw his first deer, wasn’t it, James?”

  “Closer to the creek,” Jamie responded.

  “That’s right!” Peyton gave a laugh that managed to sound both musical and grating at the same time. “Poor Ghost! I thought his heart was going to beat right through his chest.”

  “What about Diamond? Do you have any stories about her?” Barb asked, attempting to wedge
her horse into the nonexistent space between Jamie’s horse, Endeavor, and Topher. Popcorn was having none of it. Pinning his ears back, he shifted his weight as if he was getting ready to kick the interlopers. Although Topher could sympathize with his annoyance, she gave him a warning bump with her leg and sent Popcorn surging forward before he could follow through with his threat. Poor Diamond would’ve ended up taking the brunt of his kick, and Topher figured the chestnut mare shouldn’t be punished for her obnoxious rider’s actions.

  “Where are you going, Tophie?” Jamie asked as Popcorn strode ahead of the pack.

  Twisting around in the saddle so she could face him, Topher said, “Scouting.” She gave him an exaggerated wink and threw him a kiss just to see him fight a smile. “We’re making sure there aren’t any attack deer up ahead.”

  “Check for killer bunnies, too,” Danny called from his position at the back of the pack where he was ambling along on Willie. He sounded cheerful, so he’d apparently recovered from his panic during their bathroom conversation earlier. “Let us know if you see any so we can run away.”

  Topher saluted before turning back around. Tuning out the voices behind her, she basked in the winter sun that filtered through the bare tree branches. Barely two minutes passed before Endeavor trotted forward a few steps so Jamie was next to her again.

  Giving him a smirk, Topher said quietly, “Nice try, but here they come again in three...two...one.”

  As if on cue, Barb and Peyton maneuvered their horses so they were on either side of Jamie. As Topher urged Popcorn to take the lead again, she couldn’t help but laugh.

  “What’s funny?” Peyton asked, the sweetness in her voice gaining a sharp edge.

  “Oh, you’ll think it’s silly, Pey-Pey,” Topher said.

  “Try me.” She sounded as if she was gritting her teeth. For some contrary reason, that made Topher want to laugh again.

  “You and Barbie Doll are the bread to a Jamie-Bear sandwich.” She giggled. “It makes sense that he’s the meat, because he sure has—”

  As she’d been talking, Jamie had caught up to her again, and he reached over to cover her mouth with his hand. Still laughing, she bit him lightly and then licked his palm, and she was pretty sure she heard him growl.

  “Okay!” he said loudly. “Is everyone ready to canter?”

  As the others chorused their assent, Topher, with Jamie’s hand still over her mouth, nodded. Jamie waved for the other three to go ahead as he released Topher.

  “Behave,” he grumbled just loud enough for her to hear, and then leaned down to press his mouth to hers. As he pulled back, she blinked at him, startled by the quick, hard, unexpected kiss. “Race you.” Endeavor took off after the other horses.

  “Hey! Cheater!” she yelled after them, giving Popcorn’s sides a squeeze. He didn’t need much encouragement to explode into a quick, bouncy canter, and they chased after a laughing Jamie. Topher found herself grinning at the joy in the sound. She didn’t even mind her soreness, since it just reminded her of how amazing the previous night had been.

  The footing was dry and sloped slightly uphill, perfect for a run. Popcorn obviously shared Topher’s competitive nature, and his muscles bunched under her as he picked up speed and gradually closed the distance between them and Endeavor. Jamie was obviously keeping his horse at a slow canter, but it was still thrilling to catch up. Once they were side by side, running through the sun-warmed woods, Jamie watching her with a huge, happy grin, Topher didn’t care about racing anymore. She just wished the ride could last forever.

  * * *

  As they dismounted in front of the barn a few hours later, everyone was mud-splattered and relaxed. Topher wished the other guests were in this kind of post-ride euphoria all the time; it made them semi-tolerable to be around.

  “Let’s ride again tomorrow morning!” Barb said, and Topher had to hold back a grimace. She wanted to ride again, but she could do without the ginger beast and Peyton squabbling over who got to ride next to Jamie. Topher had finally given up jockeying for position and had fallen back to ride with Danny. He’d been in a funny, jokey mood, making Topher remember why she’d liked him when he’d been just a coffee shop patron. As a pretend boyfriend, he’d kind of sucked.

  “If the weather holds,” Jamie said to Barb.

  A small woman in a hoodie and fleece breeches walked out to meet them. Most of her dark hair was covered by a stocking cap, with the rest trailing down her back in a long braid.

  “Are you the trainer? Laurie?” Topher asked as she ran the stirrups up the leathers so they were tucked against Popcorn’s saddle.

  “Yes,” the woman answered cautiously, and Topher wondered why she was wary of admitting it. As if in answer to Topher’s unspoken question, Barb thrust Diamond’s reins at Laurie. As soon as the trainer accepted them, Barb turned and started walking toward the house.

  “Daniel!” she called over her shoulder. “Are you coming?”

  Danny gave Laurie an anxious look, and she smirked, holding out her free hand for Willie’s reins.

  “Thank you.” Danny handed off his horse and hurried after Barb.

  Laurie turned and led the horses toward the barn. With Popcorn in tow, Topher followed, giggling the whole time as the pony lipped at her coat pocket. She’d grabbed an apple and a banana from the ever-present fruit bowl in the dining room before the ride, and she’d already eaten the banana. The apple had looked tasty, as well, but Topher had resisted temptation so she’d have a treat to give to Popcorn.

  A not-so-quiet huff from Peyton made Topher glance over her shoulder as she once again pushed Popcorn’s greedy face away from the hidden apple.

  “Do you mind, James?” Peyton asked, once again in syrupy-sweet mode as she offered Ghost’s reins to Jamie. Apparently, the mellow, post-ride comradery was over. “Your barn help is ignoring poor Ghost, and I really should get back to the house and shower. I’m positively filthy.” Her voice lowered on the last word, giving it a double meaning that made Topher stop in her tracks and glare. Popcorn gave her side a strong nudge, forcing her to take a sidestep to keep her balance, but Topher kept her annoyed gaze locked on the woman trying to steal her Jamie-Bear—and attempting to get out of barn chores at the same time.

  “Oh, Pey-Pey.” Topher kept her tone sweet and Tophie-like with great effort. “It’s just mud. It’s kind of cute on you, like you have brand-new freckles! Dirt freckles! Well, dirt freckles, and that big clump of something in your hair.” Topher made a big show of peering at a nonexistent thing on Peyton’s head as the other woman’s expression went from flirty to horrified. “What is that? OMG, is it...moving?”

  “What?” Peyton shrieked, her hands flying up to bat at her hair. Ghost shied at her sudden movement, bumping into Endeavor, and Jamie shot Topher a chiding look as he stepped out of the path of the spooked horses.

  “It’s just a little dirt, Peyton,” Jamie said. “A shower is probably a good idea, though. We’ll see you at lunch, after we all get cleaned up.”

  Peyton hurried toward the house, her hands still searching for alien items in her hair, and Jamie stalked toward Topher, who gave him her most innocent smile.

  “Let’s get the horses untacked. Then we’ll discuss what just happened,” he said, his voice low and his tone promising all sorts of things that he didn’t actually say out loud.

  “Yes, Jamie-Bear,” Topher said demurely, leading Popcorn into the barn. There was a chance her walk had a tiny bit more sway than usual. The idea that he was watching made her entire body flame with heat, and she hurried to put Popcorn in the crossties. As much as she was looking forward to lunch, Topher was glad there was time for cleaning up. A shower with Jamie... She gave a delighted shiver at the thought.

  The trainer emerged from the tack room, and Topher was reminded of what she’d meant to say earlier. “Oh, Laurie! Thank you for l
ending me your riding gear. You’re, like, the perfect size.”

  “You’re welcome.” Laurie gave her a smile as she moved to unsaddle Willie. “Why on earth did you ride Popcorn?”

  “Because Popcorn is a-maz-ing.” Topher gave the pony’s neck a hug.

  Laurie snorted. “Amazingly uncomfortable. If you want to get back to the house, you don’t have to help.”

  “I don’t mind. I like this part.” It was true. Although she hadn’t missed the showing—especially the tossing-her-cookies-beforehand part—she had missed being around horses the past four years. As the three of them untacked and brushed the horses, a peaceful quiet settled over the barn, broken only by the occasional clank of a bit or the swish of a horse’s tail.

  As Topher straightened after picking out the pony’s hooves, she gave a huff of laughter. “He’s so low to the ground, like a sports car.”

  “Hah!” Laurie responded as she unclipped the crossties from Diamond’s halter. The trainer had untacked and groomed two horses in the time it had taken Topher to do one small pony. Laurie was fast. “A sports car? Popcorn’s more like a Mini Cooper on a gravel road.”

  “A Mini Cooper with a jacked-up suspension,” Jamie added as he brushed Ghost. “And a Napoleon Complex.”

  “Don’t listen to them,” Topher told Popcorn. “You’re a perfect sports-car pony with no insecurities about your height or any desire to invade surrounding countries.” He lipped at her jacket collar as she scratched his neck beneath his thick mane.

  The three of them led the horses back to the pasture, where the pony finally got to eat his apple. When her stomach growled, Topher was a little jealous that he got the last piece of fruit.

  “Thank you, Laurie,” Jamie said as the trainer refastened the gate. “If it doesn’t snow again, we’ll be riding tomorrow morning around ten.”

  “I’ll have them ready. Same horses?” Laurie asked.

  Jamie raised an eyebrow at Topher.