Cosmic Trifecta

by Anna Lewis

  “Thank you,” she said. “I really do appreciate that.

  He opened his arms and she stepped into his embrace. He kissed the top of her head and she smiled against his chest.

  “I promise if I would have known, I would never have let him treat anyone that way. I’m not one of those people that is so into themselves that they can’t see what’s going on around them. At least, I don’t want to be one of those people. You’ve opened my eyes to a lot of things, and I’m so grateful for you.”

  “That’s funny,” she said, still wrapped in his arms. “I was about to say the same thing to you.”

  Eric smiled at her, then his face registered his sudden excitement.

  “I have a crazy idea,” he said.

  “What?”

  “Do you want to take a moonlit ride?”

  “When?”

  “Now.”

  She looked at him for a beat, then smiled.

  “You know what? Yes. Let’s do it.”

  Eric nodded.

  “Alright. We’ll take Tank.”

  “Tank?”

  “He’s that stout gray at the end of the aisle, looking at you with those soulful brown eyes.”

  Shawna followed Eric’s gaze and saw the horse he was talking about. He was gorgeous, and his name suited him. He was a cross between a Quarter Horse and some sort of draft. Short and stocky, he definitely reminded Shawna of a Tank.

  “I guess I’ll help you saddle him, and you’ll ride?”

  “No saddle, and we’ll both take Tank.”

  “No saddle?”

  “Don’t worry, I have a bareback pad for him.”

  Eric opened a door between the stalls and reached into the locker that held a saddle, a bridle, and a small assortment of blankets. Pulling out a thick, teal pad that almost looked like a saddle blanket but had a belly strap, Eric handed her the pad and grabbed the bridle and a small bucket of teal brushes.

  “You have their things color-coordinated?”

  “Of course. That’s the only way to make sure that I’m not mixing their things up.”

  “That’s brilliant,” she said, grabbing a brush and running it over the horse’s back, careful to keep her feet away from his.

  Eric joined her in the stall, picking Tank’s hooves, then checking her grooming job before he put the bareback pad on Tank. Shawna moved out of the stall and out of the way as Eric bridled the horse and led him into the aisle.

  With little effort, Eric hopped onto Tank’s back, then rode him out of the barn and up to a two-step stool that was against the barn wall. Shawna climbed onto the second step and Eric helped her up and onto Tank. She got situated behind Eric, scooting up until she was on the bareback pad and pressed against Eric.

  “I’m scared,” she whispered.

  “Just hold on to me. I won’t let you fall.”

  She nodded, wrapping her arms around his waist and turning her head so she could hold him tighter. The horse moved forward, his gait smoother than Shawna had expected. Within a few minutes, she relaxed, and then, she was having fun.

  They went all over the area around the barn while Eric giving a guided tour of the farm portion of the land. Shawna leaned into Eric, and pretty soon her death grip on his waist loosened and she relaxed completely. She was having fun, and she didn’t want this night to end.

  ***

  They returned more than an hour later, and Shawna knew that she was going to feel their bareback ride around the farm the next day, but she didn’t care. She held Eric’s waist as the horse walked the last few yards to the barn and stopped on the path next to the thick grass.

  “Do you need help down?” he asked.

  “I’ve got it,” she said, sliding off the side and promptly falling to the ground as her legs buckled when her feet touched the ground. “Oof,” she said, sitting there in the soft grass for a moment. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

  Eric was at her side in an instant, Tank standing quietly where Eric had left him.

  “I should have warned you that your legs would fall asleep. Are you alright?”

  He stuck his hand out to her, helping her up and making sure she was steady before he let her go.

  “I’m fine,” she said. “A little embarrassed, but I won’t let it ruin the night.” She petted Tank, and the large, gray gelding turned and nuzzled her shoulder gently.

  Eric took the reins and handed them to her.

  “He walks like a puppy dog, just watch out for your feet.”

  She nodded, walking between Eric and Tank, heading into the barn in no hurry.

  Tank stopped obediently in front of his stall, lowering his head and letting Shawna take the bridle off him. Eric already had the bareback pad off Tank and was giving him a quick brushing and checking his feet while Shawna used a hand towel hanging on the stall to wipe his face down. Tank rubbed hard against Shawna’s hand, then put his head on her shoulder and breathed in her ear.

  “He likes you,” Eric laughed.

  “I like him, too.”

  “He’s a good horse.”

  Eric finished with Tank’s hooves and instructed Shawna to step back before telling Tank that he was okay to go in his stall. Tank sauntered in, stepping into the deep bed of shavings and going to the corner where his hay net was to munch on it contentedly.

  “I can’t wait to have this,” Shawna said, looking around the barn appreciatively. “This is my dream barn, and I really can’t wait to live out this life goal.”

  “I understand,” he said. “Until then, maybe one day a week we can skip the office and work from the barn. That way, you’re comfortable with horses on your own when you get one.”

  “‘Work’ from the barn,” she said in a teasing tone.

  He leaned in, kissing her gently, then pulling away to close Tank’s stall.

  “If you love your job, then it doesn’t feel like work,” he said, still standing close.

  Shawna felt a thrill pass through her, and she wondered what he was thinking behind those gorgeous hazel eyes. She smiled, then let her eyes trail down his chest before working her way back up to his face.

  “What kind of work would we be doing?” Shawna asked, leaning forward and standing on her tiptoes so she could kiss Eric.

  Eric shrugged, but his expression had changed.

  Good, Shawna thought. He’d been maddeningly polite and hands-off since picking her up for dinner early that evening. Meanwhile, Shawna had struggled to keep her body in check while holding onto Eric’s muscled body as they rode through the crisp, moonlit night. She had almost slipped her hand down and played with fire, but she wasn’t quite that bold and she had stopped herself. Now, she was regretting it.

  “You make the cutest faces when you’re thinking,” Eric said.

  Shawna blushed. Eric pulled her close, kissing her passionately. His kiss took her breath away, and then he set her back from himself so that he could look at her.

  “Do you want to share what you were thinking, or should I guess?”

  “You’ll never guess,” she said as she shook her head.

  “Then, why not tell me?”

  “I’m afraid you’ll laugh at me.”

  “Try me.”

  She sighed.

  “It’s just that the ride was so beautiful, and this barn is so perfect, and I have always had this fantasy, and—” she trailed off, blushing furiously and covering her face. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I even brought it up.”

  She felt his fingers on her wrists, pulling her hands away from her face and looking into her eyes.

  “Just tell me. Don’t be shy about it. You’ll never get what you want if you don’t learn to ask for it. Knowing what you want and going after it is part of what makes a woman powerful.”

  “What if I show you, instead,” she said.

  Before Eric could answer, she kissed him roughly. He returned her kiss full force, his fingers threaded through her hair. Shawna’s hands slid down his abdomen, and she made quick work of
his belt, pulling the buckle open, then going for the button on his jeans.

  Eric pulled away, looking at her, his expression confused and amused all at once.

  “I thought you said sex was off the table.”

  “You’re not paying me right now,” she said. “So, this is different.”

  He laughed softly.

  “I’m not going to argue with you there,” Eric said, kissing her again.

  Shawna finally got his button undone and pushed his zipper down. She felt Eric’s hands on her dress, gathering the fabric up so he could slide her panties down.

  She stepped out of her underwear, tugging on Eric’s jeans and pulling him to a dark corner near an empty stall. She pushed him against a ladder affixed to the wall, still kissing him wildly, her heart racing and her body on fire with the excitement. They could get caught at any moment, and the idea was turning her on more than she thought it would.

  Back to the ladder, Eric was in the perfect place, and Shawna was eager to try something she’d fantasized about for a long time. Grabbing the ladder, she stepped onto the bottom rung, then the second one, her feet on either side of Eric.

  He held her hips and guided her as she lowered herself down onto his cock, which was already rigid with his need. Her excitement had aroused him, and Eric’s breath was heavy as he kissed her again and again. Shawna took him to the hilt, her body stretching around his, her fingers holding the ladder rung beside his head for leverage.

  With feverish precision, she began gyrating against him, moaning loudly in the quiet, dark corner. Eric’s hands held her skirt up, and she cried out in delight when his free hand connected with her exposed backside.

  “Yes,” she said softly, her voice breathy as she rode him harder and faster.

  His hand worked her mercilessly, each slap harder than the last as she moved up and down his shaft rapidly. She could already feel her orgasm building, but she was watching Eric’s face, waiting for him before she let herself go.

  When his free arm wrapped around her waist and his other hand treated her to a volley of rapid-fire slaps on her already tender ass, she knew that she didn’t have much longer to wait for him. He tensed beneath her, but instead of pausing with him, she thrust even faster, sending him over the edge. When he called her name out, she let her thin control go and joined him, throwing her head back and crying out into the rafters. Eric’s hands were splayed over her backside now, pulling her closer as he thrust deeper into her.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as he drew every last bit of pleasure from her, then she collapsed against him, still cradled in his arms, her legs wound around his hips now.

  He held her like that for a long time, shuddering as they both tried to catch their breath, then gently sliding her off him and onto the floor.

  Holding her close, they stood there for what seemed like an eternity before either of them spoke.

  “Wow,” Shawna said, drawing a laugh out of Eric.

  “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself,” he said with a wry smile.

  “I did.”

  She kissed him, then her hands went to his and she tugged him forward.

  “What?”

  She smiled.

  “You said to tell you what I want and don’t make you guess, right?”

  “Right,” he said slowly.

  “Good,” she said, letting his hands go and winking as she turned away. “Then I’m ready for round two, but first, you have to catch me.”

  Before he could zip his pants up, she took off, laughing in the night as she headed to the house. She turned, squealing when she realized that he was right behind her.

  He caught up to her near an old oak tree, and they made love beneath the stars, then again when he caught her in the hallway on the second floor. By the time they made their way to the bedroom, Shawna was exhausted and more than ready to fall into bed in Eric’s arms. She felt at home in his arms, and she was starting to think that there was more to life than making money and buying her dreams.

  So much more.

  ***

  Monday morning came too quickly, though Shawna was relieved to head into the office and quietly take her place at the giant desk that prevented people from just walking into Eric’s office unannounced. They had arrived together at almost ten after a leisurely breakfast on the balcony of his bedroom. Sitting at the desk now, the entire weekend seemed like a dream that Shawna wished she didn’t have to wake from. But today was the beginning of her new job, and she had goals.

  She’d dressed in an outfit chosen by Eric, her skirt calf-length and tapered so that it accentuated her curves. Her blouse was white with thin green stripes, which hadn’t surprised Shawna in the least. Eric had made it clear that his favorite color on Shawna was anything that made her green eyes shine, so she had resigned herself to wearing a lot of green at the office.

  His door opened and she turned in her chair, smiling at him. He held a file folder in his hand and he looked serious, though more pensive than anything.

  “This is your first job,” he said briskly. “I want you to put together a proposal covering how you think the secretarial pool should be run, and how we can improve the overall conditions and pay.”

  “Alright,” she said, his request daunting.

  He was asking a lot of her, and giving her nothing to work with except for the names, hire dates, and salaries of everyone that she’d worked with before she was fired.

  She went to work, pouring over everything in front of her, jotting her ideas on a notepad, then pouring over the information again, and breaking the pool into groups before jotting down more notes.

  It was almost one when she finished her proposal and walked into his office, setting it on his desk. He looked it over, his face unreadable as one hand absent-mindedly stroked one thigh.

  “What about the person in charge of the secretarial pool? I would like a comprehensive plan laid out for their compensation and perks.”

  “Oh, I hadn’t thought about that.” She jotted a few things down, looking at her notes and tweaking some numbers before she handed him the paper. “What about this?”

  He nodded.

  “Good. This is all good. Do you think working in teams and shortening the hours will help?”

  “I think it will. There’s no reason for any of them to be here for more than six hours, and if we pay them full-time at six hours, good people will stay on task and be more productive in a shorter time period. And, by having them stagger when they come in based on teams, we can have secretarial support throughout the long work day without forcing anyone to stay for overtime.”

  “This is brilliant,” Eric said.

  “Thanks. I always wondered why they didn’t do it this way while I was there. We were all always going full-steam and that gets exhausting after five or six hours. I know that my last two or three hours, I was just trying to get through, and I made a lot of mistakes because I was tired. Mistakes cost time, and no one is productive when they’re tired.”

  “This is all good stuff, but I want to bump up the salary on the floor manager on this one.”

  “Okay,” she said.

  “I feel like the person managing all this needs to feel well-compensated, and since they’re going to have to implement all these ideas you have, and manage a lot of people and schedules, I would rank them as an upper-level manager.”

  “I think whatever you decide will be good enough.”

  “I’m glad you think that,” he said. He set the file folder down, slipping his hands beneath her skirt and toying with the crotch of her panties. “Because I’m thinking about letting you hire the person from the secretarial pool that you think is most qualified to implement this, and then I want you to work with them to get the new system up and running.”

  “You do?”

  “I do. I think that you’ll be perfect for the job. Does anyone come to mind?”

  “Dianna. She’s always on top of everything, and when the rest of us fell behind, s
he was the first to offer to help. She’s great at what she does and she has solid leadership skills.”

  “Good. Call her in and chat with her.”

  “But, what will Richard think?”

  “Who cares about what he thinks? Call down to HR and have them send Dianna up quietly. He doesn’t have to know why.”

  Shawna nodded, feeling giddy. Eric had proposed a six-figure salary. It was more than double what Shawna had made before, and she was sure Dianna was going to be happy with one hundred and fifteen thousand dollars in addition to the healthcare and vacation package.

  Shawna called down to HR and was just sitting at her desk when Dianna stepped off the elevator, face pale, looking terrified.

  When she saw Shawna, her expression changed to a mixture of happiness and confusion, but Shawna wasn’t going to let her sit across the desk and wonder what she’d been called up to talk about.

  Shawna laid the entire plan out, saving the appointment of department head for last. Dianna sat perfectly still for a moment before Shawna’s words sunk in. When Shawna slid the paper with the salary and benefits offer across the table, Dianna covered her mouth and fought back tears.

  Shawna waited for her to compose herself before she said anything else, but inside, she was jumping for joy. She couldn’t think of anyone who deserved this as much as Dianna did.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said, excusing herself while Dianna looked at the paper in her hands in awe.

  Shawna ducked into Eric’s office and quietly closed the door behind herself.

  “When are you going to fire Richard?”

  “I’m not.”

  “I don’t understand. How is Dianna going to run the department if you don’t fire Richard?”

  “I’m not because you are,” Eric clarified. “You do it when you’re ready.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “I am,” Eric said.

  “But—

  “I’m not going to change my mind. You wanted me to show you your power, this is a big part of this. Richard took everything from you and made you feel worthless. This is your chance to take that power back.”