by J. P. Oliver
His face creased in a smile. “That’s my guy. Yeah. If you’re able, it’s best to get right back on after a fall.”
“I’d prefer my hot tub and a bourbon.”
Reece laughed. “Later. Here. Let me give you a hand.”
Once I was on my feet, Reece took Bondage’s reins from Sherry. “I think it might be better if you weren’t here watching while Whitt’s putting in his first ride. It must be too much of a distraction for Bondage to realize you’re on the ground and someone new is on him.”
It looked as though Sherry was about to say something, but Reece gave her a stare that made her shift her gaze. “I do have some errands I need to run. I’ll see you all later.”
After she had departed, Reece threw the reins back over the horse’s head. “Okay, let’s get you over those jumps.”
Once I was back on board, everything went smoothly. By the end of the lesson, we were negotiating the two original jumps plus a small, solid jump that Reece called a coop, I guess because it looked like a chicken coop. I gave Bondage a pat on the neck as we slowed to a walk.
I glanced at Reece, but he was looking off toward Sherry’s farm with a slight frown on his face. Hands in his pockets, he worried his lower lip and scuffed his boot through the dirt. After a moment, he shook his head and turned my way, his expression relaxing as he walked toward us.
“I know the fall kind of took some of the luster off, but this was a great ride, Whitt. Hop down, we’ll walk this guy in. I’m going to have Ricky take care of cooling him and putting him back in his stall.”
I jumped to the ground, feeling the faintest twinge in my right hip. Some time in the hot tub was probably not a bad idea. The bourbon would have to wait. I had more business to take care of today before our afternoon ride.
“You sure you’re all right?” Reece asked, stopping me with a hand on my bare forearm. Feeling his work-roughened palm against me was sensory overload. I shifted out of his grip and laughed.
“Worried you’ll be out of a job if I get spooked or injured?”
Reece stopped dead in his tracks. From the wounded expression in his blue eyes, I was left with no doubt that my mouth had landed me in another awkward situation.
“I’m worried about you as I would worry about any of my students…any person who fell, but especially when it’s a friend.”
“Friend? Don’t you mean boss?”
We had reached the barn. Ricky was standing there as though he had been watching for a while. Reece handed Bondage’s reins to him. “Take care of getting him untacked and cooled please. I need to speak with Mr. Dailey.”
Reece waited until Ricky and the horse had rounded the corner into the wash stall before he took my arm and pulled me into the shade of a tree out of sight of anyone. This time, when our gazes clashed, I saw heat in his he made no effort to hide, at least right now. Reece’s hand cupped the back of my neck.
“Damn it, Whitt. My concern for you is as a friend. Fuck. I know you’re my boss. You tell me often enough, but I can’t help it if I don’t exactly see you that way.”
“So, you see me as a friend?” It might have been stupid to repeat that, as if I needed clarification—which I did—but I could readily admit I was a bit blown away. People saw me as their boss, as the banker, the billionaire, the guy to pay the tab in whatever superficial relationship I managed to fit around travel and business deals. But not as a friend.
Reece’s hand remained cupped, warm and strong, around my neck. Yes, I wanted his friendship. I wanted someone who would see me as just another guy, without attaching all those labels. Reece had always treated me as if I were no different than anyone else.
But I did want to be different. I wanted to feel him touch me like he was now. I wanted to be able to touch him.
“What if I want it to be more than friendship?” I asked, my voice like gravel as my mouth immediately forgot everything my brain had said about keeping things business-like.
11
Reece
More than friendship? I craved everything about this man and seeing him fall off Bondage had scared the shit out of me. Before I had time to tell him that, Whitt’s mouth was on mine, his hands framing my face. Holy shit. The feel of his firm lips on mine, the slight brush of our beards against each other, made me nearly weak in the knees.
I grabbed his hips and pulled him closer. I needed to feel him pressed against me, needed to feel his heart pounding in time with mine. More than friendship? It was everything I wanted and the opposite of what I should let myself have, but how could I resist him like this?
His tongue stroked along my lips, asking for entrance I gladly gave. There was no hiding what we wanted. Oh God, could this man kiss. Where did he hide all that passion on a day-to-day basis? Like this, the heat of his body searing mine and his spicy scent filling my nostrils, he was impossible to resist. The intensity of it scared me a bit—and made me cautious.
What was I thinking? Whitt Dailey was the man bankrolling what I hoped would be a successful show future with Satin. If I screwed that up by falling for him and things went south, I could be out on the street…and worse—nursing a broken heart. Sure, Steffy had promised I would always have a place to go, but there was a huge difference between providing my horses and I shelter and providing a salary that enabled me to pay the bills associated with showing the biggest shows. And friend she might be, but Steffy was hardly the cure to a broken heart.
I eased away, trying to be careful how I handled this when every part of me screamed to keep going, keep figuring out exactly who was behind the public face Whitt showed the world. I wanted to know who he was under that veneer.
“I thought you were straight!” was the only thing I could think to say.
Whitt laughed. “I like to keep my private life private, but you make me rethink that.”
“I saw pictures on the internet of you out with women,” I protested, still trying to find some way to make my heart quit reaching for something that seemed so unattainable.
“You googled me?” Whitt looked flattered, even touched. He took a step toward me as if he wanted to kiss me again.
I stepped back. “Wait.”
“You’re not on board with this?” Whitt asked. I detected a hint of hurt, a shadow of wariness.
There was no doubt in my mind Whitt made my heart pound and my mind go to mush. And now that we’d kissed, it made me want another taste…and another.
“I don’t know,” I told him. “I’m not even sure what this is.”
At that moment, Ricky stepped around the corner, dusting his palms off on his jeans. “It looks like two hot guys who are really into each other to me.” He put a hand over his heart. “Just my humble opinion.”
Whitt gave him a hard stare while still staying close to me. “Don’t you have stalls to clean?”
“I’m done.”
“Horses to feed?”
“Too early.”
“I know…dragging the ring.”
Ricky grinned. “Now that, I was going to do, but you two are kind of in the way and a bit of a distraction.”
“Shit.” Whitt dragged me back toward the barn aisle. “Why don’t we continue this discussion at the house? I’m hungry and thirsty.”
I couldn’t think of a logical protest, although I was pretty damn sure I should be making one. As we entered the house through the kitchen, Whitt greeted Mrs. Knowles with a wide smile. “Would you mind bringing Reece and me a tray with some sandwiches and a couple bottles of water? We have some business to discuss.”
“Not at all, Mr. Dailey. I’ll have everything there for you in a few minutes.”
We walked along the hallway toward his office and…again… I said, “You have a whole big mansion. Why is it we always seem to have discussions in your office? What about the terrace, the pool, or maybe that man -cave thing with the ginormous television in the basement?”
Whitt glanced at me, his gray eyes twinkling. “Cleaning crew’s here. They never touch
my office, so I know if we’re in there, we won’t be disturbed.”
“We don’t need privacy. There is nothing private going on, Whitt. We’re having sandwiches and talking business because we have a business relationship.” Maybe if I kept telling myself that, I might actually believe it.
We had reached his office by this time. He opened the door and motioned for me to precede him. He shut the door behind him.
“Maybe we need to renegotiate the terms of your contract.”
I pushed both hands back through my hair as I stared at him. “You know, I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure that could be considered sexual harassment.”
Whitt’s expression sobered. “That’s not my intent. You know that.”
Our discussion halted for a few moments as Mrs. Knowles knocked on the door and rolled in a cart containing what appeared to be a huge assortment of sandwiches, vegetables, and fruit, along with bottled water. “Here you go, gentlemen. I’ll leave you two to your business discussions. Ring me on the house phone when you want me to remove it.”
Whitt smiled graciously. “Thank you so much.”
After the door shut, I paced the room for a moment. I liked this man. I wanted to see where a relationship could go with him, but I also had concerns. Maybe it was time to get some of that out in the open.
“I’m worried, Whitt. You pay me a huge amount of money for what I do. I don’t want you to think I’m pursuing a physical relationship with you because of your money and what you can do for me.”
“I don’t think that.”
“Other people will.”
“Screw other people. Look, you called me your friend. Do you have any idea how few people I’ve been able to count on as friends during my life? So yeah, I want to take that further, see where it goes.”
“What do you mean…take it further?”
“Friends go out. I want to take you out.”
“Where?” I was a bit suspicious, cautious. Hell, I don’t know. Scared to death, maybe?
“Let’s get out from around here, go someplace where we can relax and be ourselves. Maybe have a little fun.”
“There is no way I am going to be able to talk you out of this, is there?”
“None at all. I always get my way.”
Whitt
I worried the rest of the afternoon that I might be putting too much pressure on Reece. There had been something in his eyes, though, when I’d fallen. A level of genuine concern I hadn’t seen from another human being in years. I wanted to tap into that, explore it, and dig deeper into what it felt like.
As we ate lunch, I deliberately steered our conversation away from the date and back onto a topic that had been bothering me, even if I had let the kiss overshadow it.
“Tell me something. When I fell off this morning, your whole attitude toward my neighbor shifted. Why is that?”
Reece set his water bottle back on the table and blew out a breath. “Did you notice anything unusual right before you fell?”
I thought back. “A flash of light, something quick that half-blinded me so I lost my concentration. Actually, I think it might have affected Bondage too.”
“Sherry took out her cell phone as you two were approaching that line. It caught the sunlight and reflected right in your eyes.”
I shook my head, not sure what he was getting at. “So, she took her phone out and sunlight hit it the wrong way. What of it?”
Reece frowned. “I know she’s your neighbor, but Whitt, I think she did it on purpose. I don’t think it was an accident.”
“Sherry?” I recoiled from the idea. “Why? She would have no motive, especially since it could have been a potential risk to the horse she sold you.”
Reece shook his head. “I know. Maybe I’m imagining things. She has been nothing other than friendly and helpful.”
“It’s not like anything serious happened. Didn’t you tell me when we first started this that falling off was part of learning to ride? Well, now I’ve experienced it and can move on.”
Reece didn’t look entirely satisfied, but he nodded. “No problem. I think I would prefer it, though, if she didn’t visit quite so much during your lessons. I want you to be able to concentrate without distractions. I need to get back to the barn. We’re still riding this afternoon, right?”
I gave him a thumbs-up as my cell phone rang. For the next two hours I was putting out fires and tracking some new leads. My assistant called to tell me he had finally gotten the recycling figures in that Maitland wanted. Thank heaven. That was one hurdle out of the way.
Now I had to figure out how to get Reece Wilder to let down his guard. I had always thought I was the one who would be in that position, but Reece appeared even more reluctant than me. The only concern I had overshadowing a relationship with him was keeping it quiet and out of the press until I could get Quinn Maitland to sign on the dotted line.
I had to make that happen before it came time to go foxhunting. Not that I was trying to get out of it, but if I didn’t get a chance to make love to Reece until after that contract was a done deal, I was going to go stark raving mad.
Reece didn’t know it yet, but I was determined to get more than a few kisses from him tonight. I grabbed my phone again to call my assistant.
“Will, I’m going to need a limo and driver tonight. I have a date.”
“A date?”
“God, please don’t say it as though I’ve just informed you the world is coming to an end. I do occasionally date, you know.”
“Very occasionally. Like maybe once since I’ve worked for you.”
“Call the limo service in Maysburg. See if Fred’s available.”
Will laughed as he agreed and hung up.
Had I become that isolated and focused on work? Will was never wrong, so I had to accept the possibility that I had indeed holed myself up in my house and tuned out the rest of the world. So much was different.
Thanks to Jack’s suggestion, I had met Reece. I now had several new people and animals in my life. That was good. I felt more relaxed and it had actually increased my ability to focus when that was what was required.
The focus tonight would be Reece. I needed to find out what made him tick and why he was so reluctant to let this attraction between the two of us grow. It seemed to me there was a lot more to it than worrying about whether I might think he wanted me only for my wealth. Anyone could see the way Reece treated other people, the way he treated animals, and know that was the furthest thought from his mind.
Tonight, I wanted to break some of his barriers and let some of mine go too.
12
Reece
I wasn’t sure exactly how to dress for dinner with Whitt and wasn’t entirely convinced that this was a date instead of two friends going out to dinner. I finally decided to compromise, wearing a freshly ironed, untucked pink dress shirt with form-fitting jeans and my well-worn Blundstones. It gave me a feeling of déjà vu to come down the stairs again to find Whitt waiting for me.
Dressed in khakis, a dress shirt, and loafers, he looked a hell of a lot more relaxed than the first time we had gone out to dinner. Then he had been determined to impress Maitland. Now, it was just the two of us.
“Ready?” He quirked a brow as though fully aware that I had been checking him out.
“Absolutely.”
“I got it, Fred,” Whitt said and waved the driver away to open the door for me himself. Wow. I wasn’t sure anyone had ever done that before. Whitt slid in next to me.
“Where are we going?” I asked as Fred put the car in gear and we rolled along the drive.
“There’s an Inn in Warrenville I’ve wanted to try, but there never seemed to be the right occasion to do so.”
“And this is?”
Whitt’s gaze was searching. “I believe it is.”
The drive took us about a half hour through the winding, country roads. Whitt pulled a bottle of wine and two glasses from the small bar. “Would you like some?”
I wasn’t much of a wine drinker, but the novelty of sipping wine while riding in a limousine was simply too unusual to resist. This might be an everyday occurrence for Whitt, but not me.
“Sure.”
He poured a glass and handed it to me before pouring one for himself. “How about a toast…to friendships.”
We tapped glasses and sipped our drinks. “This is a first for me,” I admitted.
Whitt leaned back against the leather upholstery. “What is?”
“Sipping wine while riding in the back of a limo.”
His mouth quirked in a lopsided grin. “That surprises me. I would have figured you had men beating down your door wanting to go out with you.”
“I’ve had my share of boyfriends over the years, that’s true, but nothing serious. In fact, most of them were more like extended hookups.”
Whitt laughed. “What?”
I shrugged. “No promises on either side, but the sex was good enough we stayed together for a while.” I sipped the wine again. “What about you?”
Whitt frowned slightly. I felt as though I had stepped across some barrier he kept firmly in place. Now the question was whether he would let me pass or shut me down.
“I haven’t had many relationships.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t make friends easily, and I guess that transfers over to relationships in general.”
“What about family?” I might be opening a door on my own life that I didn’t want to, but surely Whitt had someone.
“We get along better than we used to. They’ve had a tough time adjusting to what I am.” He said it casually, but behind his tone I sensed a well of hurt he still hadn’t completely resolved. I got that.
I set my wine glass aside and touched the back of his hand. “They rejected you because you’re gay?”
He didn’t move his hand from beneath mine.
“That might be part of it, but I think it has more to do with my success.” When I gave him another incredulous look, Whitt clarified. “Look, we all want to think our parents are these perfect, infallible people, but they’re as human as the rest of us. My dad was counting on his eldest son to go into the family business, get married, and produce more little Daileys who would carry on with the hardware store in our hometown. Instead, he got me.”