The Horseman

by Anna Jeffrey

Will nestled his chubby cheek against her neck. “Can you give Mommy a kiss?”

  He pulled back, planted a slobbery, open-mouthed kiss on her cheek, then babbled something at her and pointed up to where a large mobile of colorful flying birds moved around the ceiling. It was huge, hardly a baby toy. Drake had found it in a gift store in Austin and bought it for Will to watch.

  She laughed, fascinated by his learning something new every day. “Listen to you. What are you trying to tell me, my little man?”

  “Maybe he’s trying to show you the mobile,” Lauren said. “He loves it.”

  He began to squirm, trying to escape her arms. She kissed his cheek and stood him on the floor. He plopped onto his bottom and began playing with a toy that lay there, his interest already diverted from the mobile.

  “Everything okay?” she asked the nanny.

  “Fine. I was just about to get him ready for supper. Do you want him to eat with you and Mr. Lockhart?”

  “Sure. I’ll ask Gloria to warm his food so it’s ready when we eat. Right now, I need to relax for a little bit and get this hair unpinned before I end up with a roaring headache.”

  Today, Shannon had worn her thick tresses in a tight chignon. Other than a strategic trim, she hadn’t cut her thick, naturally curly hair since she and Drake got married. It reached the middle of her back and was a challenge to manage. Drake had asked her not to cut it, so she hadn’t. Why he wanted her to look like a wild woman she hadn’t figured out. When she went to her office or out to run errands, she wore it in some style that constrained it.

  She left the nursery removing the hairpins as she walked. She passed through the kitchen again, on her way to the master bedroom wing of the house. “Gloria, Will’s going to eat with us. When Drake gets here, will you ask him to set up the highchair?”

  “Oh, I can do it, Mrs. Lockhart,” Gloria said behind her. “It’s early yet.”

  Shannon was still less than comfortable having people at her beck and call and eager to do whatever trivial thing she asked. Drake was fine with it. He had no trouble giving orders.

  In the bathroom, her old CD player she’d had for years occupied a place on her vanity just outside her dressing room. Her dressing room. Hah. Every time she thought of the phrase or heard someone say it, she mentally laughed. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected to have a large room designated as her dressing room. She still felt like an imposter every time she walked into it.

  She pressed on the CD player. A SiriusXM radio was installed in the wall, but she rarely turned it on. Willie Nelson’s voice rose from the CD player’s speakers. She undressed, slipped into a robe, then turned on the water in the jet tub and squirted in fragrant bubble bath labeled “Wild Basil.” Christa had given it to her for her birthday.

  While the tub filled, she returned to the vanity, removed her makeup and gave her hair a thorough brushing. Afterward, she tied it back with an elastic scrunchie. Finally, she turned down the lights and carefully sank into the warm, roiling water relishing the jets gently massaging her straining back muscles.

  She couldn’t resist a low hum as the warm water gently beat against her. While she soaked, she closed her eyes, rubbed her hands over her belly and had a soft conversation with the busy Colum James Lockhart.

  When the water began to cool, she left the tub with a struggle. Dr. Goodman had told her it was time to stop bathing in the tub unless she had someone to help her in and out, so this might be the last time for a while. Recalling her first pregnancy, she remembered the doctor telling her the same thing around this same time.

  She dried and pulled on a thick terrycloth bathrobe. As she tied it around her thick middle, snippets of yesterday’s conversation with Christa echoed in her mind.... “Do you realize that out of the twenty months you and Drake have been married, you’ve been pregnant for thirteen of them?...Even fun has consequences....”

  Fun. Well, one thing was for sure. Sex with Drake was fun. It was also passionate, and intense and drew from her a wide spectrum of emotions she had never known before.

  She stepped into the dressing room and stood in front of the wide floor-to-ceiling mirror, opened the robe’s panels and checked a front view of her bulging self in the mirror. A visible wave rippled across her belly just under her rib cage. Colum James had been moving off and on since morning. She rubbed the spot. “Aww. Did you enjoy that nice bath, baby?”

  She turned sideways, holding the panels of her robe back for a full view of her profile. Her round belly was definitely now bigger than a basketball. Colum was bound to be a larger baby than Will was. More of Christa’s words flew at her. “... And we won’t even talk about what having kids so close together does to your body.” Professional trainer or not, would her waistline ever return to the size it used to be?

  “You’ve never been more beautiful.”

  Startling, she dropped the robe panels, turned and saw her husband, his shoulder braced against the doorjamb. In his hands were two glasses of something golden.

  He captivated her. Her pulse rate always elevated when she saw him. He had a confidence about him that was almost arrogance. Instantly—and seemingly unwittingly—he dominated the space around him. Or maybe the aura of no-nonsense authority that exuded from him wasn’t unwitting at all. She had yet to figure out if he knew he affected her and others that way.

  Now, closing her robe and tying it, she devoured him with her eyes—his chiseled jaw, his defined lips, his eyes that were the color of whiskey. He had the most interesting eyes. Light brown, with a dark ring around the iris that with a close look showed flecks of gold and green.

  He had on his usual attire. Today, with his classic ironed and creased jeans and classic cowboy boots, he had on a pale yellow and brown pinstripe button-down shirt that contrasted with his tanned skin and fit him perfectly.

  She would rather look at, talk to and be around William Drake Lockhart, III more than any other man she had ever known. Just being near him made her blood hum through her veins. How had plain, white bread Shannon Piper gotten lucky enough to spend every day and night with this beautiful, sexy man?

  A huff and a little laugh escaped her throat. “You only think that because I look like one of the Double-Barrel’s heifers.”

  “No, you don’t. Stop saying that.”

  Sometimes her self-deprecating sense of humor was lost on him. “You can’t fool me, cowboy. Down at the ranch, I’ve heard plenty of talk between you and Pic or your Dad or the wagon boss about some cow being “pretty” or “beautiful” or “perfect.”

  His mouth curved into his smirky half-smile she found so sexy. Chuckling, he pushed off the jamb and sauntered into the room. “A heifer is a cow that’s never borne a calf.”

  She smiled, too. “Oh. I must’ve forgotten that. Or maybe I didn’t even know it.”

  She looked up and into his eyes. He leaned down and his lips brushed hers with a chaste kiss. “I honestly can’t think of a time when I’ve ever thought of you and a cow at the same time.”

  She flattened her hands on his solid chest. “Hm. I’m grateful for that. How long have you been standing there watching me?” She ducked his lips and walked out into the bathroom to her sink.

  He followed her and slid his arms around her waist. “Long enough to get a hard-on.” He nuzzled her neck near her ear. “Hm, you smell good. I like it.”

  She tilted her head to the side. His late-day stubble rasped her neck. “It’s bubble bath. It’s called Wild Basil.”

  “Come to think of it, I’ve had a hard-on all day.” His fingers found their way to the lips of her sex. She spread her legs, giving him easier access, but he straightened and turned her to face him.

  “Why did you stop?”

  He gently pushed her against the sink, giving her the squint-eye. “Please tell me you didn’t get in and out of the tub with nobody to help you. Remember what the doc said.”

  “I was careful. This was the last time, I promise.”

  He handed her a crystal
flute with liquid and ice cubes in it. “I brought you a drink.” As she reached for the glass, he tugged the scrunchie off her hair. Her curls, made frizzy by the humidity in the room, sprang everywhere. “There. I like that better.”

  “Now I look like a wild woman.”

  “I like that wild part even more.”

  She sipped. “Hm. You brought me apple juice. Lucky me. You’re probably having the real thing.”

  “The day after Colum James arrives, we’ll have champagne together. I promise.”

  “I expect you to keep that promise.” She rose on her tiptoes and kissed the corner of his mouth. “How was your day?”

  “Wild and crazy, but good. Nothing better than bankers fighting over you.” He pulled one end of the belt that held her robe closed and the garment fell loose.

  She looked into his eyes, had no trouble recognizing pure lust. “Ah-ha. The medical center?

  “Uh-huh.”

  She knew scant information about this expensive and complicated project that consumed some part of his time every day. For two years, using Lockhart family money, he had been developing a sprawling multi-story medical facility in Fort Worth. Completion was still months away, but he had been marketing the space even before construction began. Tenants were now clamoring to move in.

  He rarely discussed his company’s projects with her. Or with anyone. Unless someone knew more than he did, he simply didn’t need or want anyone else’s opinions. She had picked up information about the facility here and there from overhearing his phone conversations and from occasional reports on TV.

  The difference between what the two of them did in the real estate world was as wide as the ocean, but she knew enough about marketing to know that his creating the desire for the medical center space was what had brought competing bankers to the table begging to lend him money. “Did you maneuver them into that position?”

  The corners of his mouth tipped into a mischievous grin. “I might’ve.”

  He was shrewd and so clever he usually ran circles around his peers and competitors. He wouldn’t have gotten all of the money he needed from banks at the beginning of the project, but now that his attorneys were drawing up leases, he would be able to put loans in place on favorable terms and return the family money plus interest, yada, yada, yada....

  The Lockhart family finances were enough to boggle anyone’s mind. She would never absorb it all. At the moment, the most complex investment in her life was a small winery and vineyard. “Do we still have a lunch date tomorrow?”

  “Lunch and a surprise from my beautiful wife? Can’t wait. Are you whisking me away to some mysterious place for erotic sex?” He sipped from his glass, the tiny bubbles rising to the top. Damn. She envied him. She loved champagne.

  “Hmm. I don’t know how much more erotic it could get than what goes on in our bedroom.”

  He gave an intimate chuckle and brushed another kiss across her lips. “How are home sales going today at Piper Real Estate Company?”

  He had no real interest in her little company. He accepted it because she didn’t want to give it up. He respected that she had started it from nothing and built it into one of the top residential real estate offices in Camden, but he would be happy if she closed the doors without even trying to sell it. He preferred that she stay at home with the son they had, the one they would soon have and the two that were yet to be made.

  “Calm,” she answered. “No one shops for houses during Christmas week. Christa and I went to lunch at Red Rover’s and I gave her the gift basket. She loved it. I told her you personally picked out the wine.”

  He grinned. “You forced me to.”

  Though he liked Christa, he thought her to be an airhead who rarely had a serious thought. That snap judgment was a mischaracterization, but he didn’t see her often enough to form a different opinion.

  He sipped from his glass again, then set it on the vanity. He lifted her glass from her hand and set it on the vanity beside his. His arms slid underneath the panels of her robe and around what used to be her waist. His hands trailed over her back and bottom. “How was today with the new little monster?”

  “Good. He has powerful legs. I predict he’ll be a runner.”

  “Or a horseman, like Troy.” He urged her into a dance position and began to move her around to Willie Nelson’s music coming from the radio. “Just a few more weeks.”

  She pressed her bare belly against him. “Thank God. I’m marking off the days on the calendar. I’m starting to waddle when I walk.”

  “Hmm. Your tummy’s warm. I feel it through my shirt.”

  She cocked her head and gave him a flirty smirk. “Is that so? Maybe you should take your shirt off.”

  He grinned. “Are you trying to seduce me, Mrs. Lockhart?” His mouth pressed against hers in a short but sweet kiss.

  “Aren’t I always? Did you stop in and see Will?”

  “Uh-huh. He gave me a speech I didn’t understand.”

  “Me, too. He’s so sweet. Lauren said he loves that huge mobile you brought him.”

  “I want it to fuel his imagination.”

  “He’s a baby. Do you think he has an imagination?”

  Willie crooning “Georgia” came on the CD player. “Hmm, listen,” she said. “Do you recognize that song?”

  “We danced to it at Pirate’s Cove.”

  “Hah. That isn’t all we did. Or have you forgotten?” She leaned back and smiling up at him, opened her arms wide. “You see the result.”

  “You shouldn’t be so alluring without clothes.” He pulled her back against him. “It’s all part of the plan, darlin’. All part of the plan. ... And for the record, I never forget anything that happens between us.”

  She wrapped one arm around his shoulder and snuggled into him. She was content with the plan and happy in his embrace.

  His lips settled against her temple. “I think he just kicked me.”

  Soon both of her arms were around his neck and shoulders and both of his were around her underneath her robe. His hands were stroking and kneading, they were kissing in a lush joining of mouths and tongues and the ridge at his fly was insistent against her.

  All thought vanished except for a visual of him naked and aroused and the feel of his hot, hard penis inside her fucking her senseless. A familiar quickening harried in the core of her sex. Though she had just left a bath, she felt a slickness between her thighs.

  She didn’t even try to quell her desire. “Something tells me that isn’t your zipper I feel. Am I about to get lucky?”

  “I’m the lucky one.”

  His hand moved between them and he gently plumped her breast, rolled her nipple between his thumb and finger. Her sex clenched. Her nipple became rigid and distended. “Are you sore?” he asked.

  “Just sensitive. Don’t stop.”

  His head lowered to her breast and he gently nipped, then sucked. An urgency bordering on desperation coursed through her. She couldn’t hold back a rumbly noise from deep in her throat. “Ooh, Drake...”

  He clasped her hips and urged her back against the edge of the vanity, ducked his head again and smoothed kisses over her breasts. Moaning in delight, she braced her hands on the vanity and arched to him. The wet heat of his mouth surrounded her nipple and his tongue titillated. She gave a soft giggle. “That tickles....”

  He slowly sank to his knees, his open mouth and warm breath sliding down over her swollen belly. Both of his hands tenderly caressed as he licked and bit and sucked little bites of her skin. His thumbs parted the lips of her sex and his agile fingers began to stroke. A powerful emotion filled her rib cage. Desire hummed in all of her sensitive places and her heartbeat kicked up. She could barely stutter. “Dr—Drake...I’m...I’m so wet....I think I’m swollen....I need—”

  “I know, darlin’. ... ’Sokay. ...”

  Of course, he knew. He knew her body as well as she did, had even touched it in places she was unable to reach.

  He quickly stood, sco
oped her into his arms and carried her to their bed.

  Three orgasms later—for her anyway, only one for him—they lay cocooned under a thick comforter. Since they kept the temperature below seventy in their bedroom, their body heat and the soft covers felt warm and cozy. The waning sunlight cast their bedroom in a dim golden light. Her belly was so heavy she was no longer comfortable lying on her back, so she lay on her side, snuggled against his side, her head resting on his shoulder.

  They had taken each other to mind-numbing ecstasy. It was always that way when they made love. Now, in the afterglow, as if heat and passion had robbed them of speech, neither of them spoke. She was where she wanted to be forever.

  She spoke finally. “I love it when you kiss me everywhere.” Indeed, he had started at her fingertips and continued from there. She stroked his flat belly, traced his happy trail with her fingertips, wrapped a curl around her finger. “This is a cute little curl.”

  “Cute?”

  “I’m glad you don’t shave or wax. I like you hairy as a bear.” He mumbled. She moved her hand down and fondled his flaccid manhood, trailed her fingers along the inside of his thigh. “Are you asleep?”

  “Unh-unh.”

  “Whatcha thinking about.”

  His fingers began to make slow circles on her shoulder. “You really want to know? I warn you, it’s dirty.”

  His deep voice sounded soft and lazy. He was totally relaxed. She suspected few people had ever seen him this tranquil. He was a true Type-A personality. She giggled. “I always want to know what you’re thinking, especially if it’s dirty.”

  “Okay, here it is. All day long, ever since I left here this morning, I’ve been thinking about fucking you.”

  In the privacy of their bedroom, his blunt sex talk was a huge turn-on. She propped herself on her elbow and continued the exploration of his body with her eyes and fingertips. “Really? All day? But we made love this morning.”

  “Uh-huh. And I was still thinking about it when I left the house.”

  “What were you thinking?”

  “About how good my cock feels when it’s buried inside you. All the way to the hilt.”