Out To Get You: An MM Contemporary Romance

by Oliver, J. P.

  I ran my fingers through my hair. “I’m struggling with working my horse and working with you. Between you having to cancel this morning and Satin exploding over what I was asking of her, I lost it.”

  Whitt took a sip of his drink. “The more time I spend around the barn, the more I realize I was hasty in accepting Maitland’s offer, but I’m in a bind, Reece. He may be one of the most important clients I’ve had. If I can close a deal with him, it will open more doors around here, so I don’t have to travel as much as I have in the past. If I back out of his invitation to hunt, he might begin to question how well I’ll stick to seeing our business deal through.”

  I swallowed the rest of the bourbon. One was my limit. “If he’s any businessman at all, he will see what I do—a man who gives his all to whatever he attempts. You’ve certainly done that in working with me.”

  Whitt smiled. This close, the thick curl of his eyelashes drew me even deeper into his clear, gray eyes. “Thanks. Let me return the compliment. I’ve watched the way you work with me, the horses, even Ripper.” The dog raised his head from where he was curled on the rug in front of the fireplace, then put it back. “You’re patient. You’re talented. And I think you underestimate yourself. You can do this.”

  I looked him squarely in the eye. “Please trust me on one thing. If we get close to the date you’re supposed to go hunting, and I say you’re not ready, you need to listen to me.”

  Whitt held out his hand. When I took it in mine, all sorts of crazy feelings tumbled through me.

  “I promise,” he murmured, his voice deeper than normal.

  “I should go,” I mumbled. “I have some things to do.”

  Whitt walked with me to the door. As we reached it, he put his arm around my shoulders. “I’m glad you came to clear the air. It means a lot to me.”

  His arm dropped away as I turned slightly. So many unspoken feelings filled the space between us. What if Steffy was right? I didn’t dare test the waters.

  “Thanks for listening, Whitt.” With a smile that felt awkward, I snapped my fingers for Ripper and jogged up the stairs to my room.

  7

  Whitt

  I leaned back against the sweet-smelling hay, my jeans open and my cock in Reece’s tanned hand.

  “That’s it, baby,” I murmured. “Suck me.”

  His mouth closed over the swollen tip…

  I woke up with a jerk, the covers twisted around my hips and my hand fisting my aching hard-on.

  Reece had starred in a series of erotic dreams all night long. This was no different, except I was awake to finish it. I arched my hips forward, picturing Reece’s brilliant blue eyes and sun-streaked hair as I found some relief for my starving body before I showered.

  His apology yesterday evening had caught me by surprise. So this morning, I was determined to get things started right.

  I arrived at the barn a few minutes early, carrying an extra coffee for Reece in a travel mug. Mrs. Knowles had mentioned that he liked cream and sugar in his morning brew. While it might make me gag, I fixed it with plenty of both.

  Reece stood in the tack room doorway, a phone to his ear. I extended the mug. Surprise flashed across his face before he smiled dazzlingly and mouthed a thank you. As I walked along the aisle to Mac’s stall, I realized I was in a fantastic mood, and like Jack had suggested, I even felt somewhat relaxed.

  Mac nickered as I approached. I grinned and dug in my pocket for one of the carrots I had there. As he delicately lifted the treat from my open palm, I realized how much my life had already changed. From having only Mrs. Knowles at the house, along with my assistant, Will, who worked from his house most of the time, I now had Reece, Ricky, the horses, and Ripper.

  I snapped the lead on Mac and brought him into the aisle, so I could get him ready. I had put the brushes back in the grooming box when I turned to find Reece standing there with the saddle and bridle.

  “Thanks for the coffee,” he said, his blue eyes twinkling. “I didn’t realize you knew I liked cream and sugar in it.”

  “I had to grill Mrs. Knowles, but she finally divulged the information.”

  Reece laughed. “Let me give you a hand. We’re going to try the cavaletti again this morning. Depending on how it goes, we might raise the height so Mac has to jump.”

  “Jump?” I had an instant vision of the huge obstacles Reece’s mare had been soaring over, and my stomach dropped to my toes.

  Reece paused in tightening the girth and glanced sideways at me. “Nerves? From the man of steel?”

  “Man of steel?”

  He shrugged. “You always seem so in control, as if nothing would make you lose your cool.”

  If he only knew. Every time he put his hand on my leg to make an adjustment to my position, I came close to losing it.

  He let the saddle flap fall and motioned me forward to a clear spot in the aisle. “Before you mount, I want to demonstrate how your position will change going over fences.”

  “Okay.” I couldn’t help a feeling of anticipation.

  “Pretend you’re on Mac’s back.” After I did that, he continued, “Now get in the two-point position you were using over the low cavaletti yesterday.”

  As soon as I did that, he stepped behind me, his hands going to my waist. I shut my eyes at the heat of his touch. If learning to ride didn’t kill me, having this man touching me was going to.

  “Now, keep your eyes up. Look out at the pasture fence. I’m going to show you how to close your hip. That’s what I want you to do over the cavaletti.”

  As he tilted my hips forward, my breath caught. I stepped away from him nervously. “I think I’ve got it.”

  Reece gave me an odd look before shaking his head. “Take Mac out. Warm up with some walking and trotting while I set the gymnastic grid the way I want it.”

  I needed to keep my mind on what I was doing and stop obsessing over Reece. I was sure my hyper-awareness was only because of the dreams I’d had the previous night. As I prepared the horse for the work ahead, I began to wonder if it was possible to pursue a relationship with Reece. It wouldn’t be hard to keep quiet. He was already living in my house, and it wasn’t as though I had servants everywhere.

  “Ready?” Reece called. I nodded. For the next hour, I had no time to fantasize about my hot horse trainer. He had morphed into nit-picky slave driver, which was probably a good thing. It allowed me to tamp down any dreams of a relationship.

  I needed to keep my mind on business. Right now, that business demanded discretion, not only because of Maitland’s conservative reputation, but I also didn’t need any publicity. My sudden appearance with a boyfriend would definitely mean questions from the press. I was way too rich and way too much of an unknown commodity for them to ignore a sudden social life.

  At the end of the lesson, Reece jogged across the ring and took the reins as I hopped to the ground. “Great job,” he praised giving me a clap on the back.

  “You think so?”

  He grinned. “I wouldn’t tell you that if it weren’t true.”

  Warmed by his compliment, I decided to stick around the barn for a while and watch him work the new horses. He was on Trixie when I heard a crunch of gravel behind me. Turning my head slightly, I saw Sherry step to the fence.

  “Don’t you look handsome in the breeches and boots,” she said with a smile before her eyes focused on the ring. “Damn, she looks good with Reece on her back. She was always a bit hot and strong for my husband, but Reece has her moving well.”

  I watched him take another jump as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

  “He is very talented. I’ve watched him on Satin. She’s amazing, and the help he’s given me is way beyond my expectations. Thank you so much for recommending him.”

  I realized I was gushing a bit too much and turned my attention back to the ring. I sounded like a teenager with his first crush.

  “He does have amazing talent.”

  When I turned to look at her, I cau
ght a speculative gleam in her eyes that made me wince inside. Way to be subtle, Dailey.

  “I did kind of throw him for a loop accepting Quinn Maitland’s invitation to hunt.” I kept my follow-up comment more casual, as if it was a great excuse for why I felt Reece had done so much. “I’m glad your horses were available. I’ll need one of us to be experienced.”

  Her smile was a little tight. “Bondage is a steady guy. He’ll take care of you even if no one else is there.”

  “Reece plans on riding Trixie. He’ll be with me.” I slid my gaze to her. She was staring out into the ring. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  She shrugged. “He has a reputation—”

  I frowned, wanting to come to his defense. “If you’re talking about him being gay,” I began, but she waved her hand.

  “That’s not the issue. Plenty of guys around the show circuit are gay.”

  She had my full attention now. “If his sexuality isn’t the issue then what is?”

  “Well, he’s left several clients high and dry on short notice.”

  What? “I have a contract with him.”

  She shrugged, not saying anything, but the implication was clear she thought my contract wasn’t worth shit.

  “Sherry, if it was a problem, then why the hell did you recommend him?”

  She gestured to the ring where Trixie was performing some complicated move in which her legs crossed over each other as she moved diagonally across the ring. “Look at him. He has the ability to get the most amazing performances out of both horses and riders. There is no one else with more talent around here.”

  I relaxed a little. It made sense. Sherry had been a fantastic neighbor introducing me to people, finding Reece, selling her horses. Besides, Jack and Maitland had both added their props to Reece’s ability.

  Still, he had been available on amazingly short notice. Had he dropped other clients to take this job? I leaned on the top rail of the fence, watching as he slowed Trixie to a walk and let her stretch her neck and relax. My jaw tightened. He was good. I had him under contract, and I was paying him enough money, he wasn’t going anywhere.

  For some reason, the whole exchange with Sherry left me with a vaguely hollow feeling.

  8

  Whitt

  As much as I wanted to dismiss Sherry’s comment, it wasn’t easy to get it out of my head. After my lesson the next morning, I hustled back to the house to clean up. I had a tour of the recycling facility scheduled with Maitland.

  The current owner was eager to sell, not because the business was decreasing—exactly the opposite. With the population explosion over the last few years and the added attention to recycling, his business growth was outpacing his desire to work. Majors wanted to cash in and move farther south.

  I felt sure I could put the two of them together so all of us ended up with a good deal if I could just nail Maitland down and convince him this was a perfect pairing with his paper company.

  After we toured the facility, he was still as noncommittal as ever, making me want to grind my molars. Instead of focusing on the company, he asked, “How are things going with the riding? Mary said Reece was able to purchase Bondage and Trixie. They’re a good pair.”

  “They are. I’m still working with Reece’s school horse, Mac. Reece says he wants me comfortable over fences before I make the transition to Bondage.”

  Maitland nodded as we walked back to where our cars were parked. “Makes sense. Reece has sound instincts. I guess it’s in the blood.”

  “You know his family?”

  “Knew. His dad kind of dropped off the face of the earth. Shame really. Amazing horseman. Trained Thoroughbreds for the track. Did a lot of racing in West Virginia. Had one, though, that was golden. That colt should have been a champion.”

  “Should have? What happened?”

  Maitland shook his head, warming to his topic. “Bad owners. Insisted on racing the colt too much, too early, and too long. Last race as a two-year-old, he broke down and had to be humanely destroyed. Owners wanted to blame Reece’s dad, but it wasn’t his fault.”

  “He could have said no.”

  Maitland chuckled. “Hard to do when you have a family to support. He wasn’t as free to pick up and go as Reece is.”

  “And has he—picked up and left other clients?”

  “A few. Don’t know the stories behind it. Now this last one? He deserved dumping. Best thing Reece did was come over to your place.” Maitland checked his watch. “Got to go. I have a meeting at my company. See if you can get me last month’s paper recycling tonnage. Majors didn’t know what it was off the top of his head.”

  “No problem.” We shook hands. I waved as Maitland reversed and drove away, but for once it wasn’t working the deal that was uppermost in my mind. I had hoped Maitland would be able to lay the doubt Sherry had planted to rest, but what he’d described of Reece and his dad had only increased my worry on two fronts. I couldn’t afford to have Reece walk out on my training, and I also had to admit I was attracted to him—a guy that might dump me, something I’d steered clear of since leaving my family and a few failed relationships in my past.

  My relationships had a way of not working out. Right now, I couldn’t afford to take that risk.

  I got back home in time to change clothes and go to the barn for my afternoon lesson. Mac was already saddled. Reece stood nearby with a smile creasing his cheeks.

  “I thought I’d get things rolling for your last ride on Mac.”

  I twisted my head trying to relieve some of the tension knotting my neck. “My last ride? This means we’re jumping?”

  “Small fences. I think you’re ready. Mac’s taught you well.”

  “Don’t you mean you?”

  Reece handed me my hard hat. “It’s a team effort. Everything go okay with Maitland?”

  I had mentioned the meeting this morning. It shouldn’t give me such a feeling of pleasure that he remembered and asked about it. “Yeah.”

  My response was a little abrupt, but Reece didn’t seem to notice, probably figured it was nerves about jumping. What was jumping was my heart, and no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t stop that from happening whenever I was around him.

  “Mount up.”

  I swung into the saddle and gathered my reins, already so far from where I had started. While Reece went through his usual drill of setting obstacles, I took Mac through his paces, warming the older gelding up until the stiffness of standing in a stall eased.

  “Okay,” Reece called once more in his position in the middle of the ring, sunglasses on and a baseball cap partially covering his honey-colored hair. “Take him through the cavaletti a couple times. Don’t forget, eyes up and close your hip as he jumps.”

  It worked beautifully. The more things went right, and I listened to Reece’s praise, the more I fell under his spell. Seeing him in his zone, in my ring, in my house—it was nearly impossible to believe he could cut and run.

  “After you go through the cavaletti this time, I want you to turn left and take Mac over the two jumps along the rail.”

  They were small, but after we cleared them, I couldn’t help the feeling of pride flowing through me. I was doing this. Two weeks ago, I had barely known one end of a horse from the other.

  Reece raised the height. He had added another higher pole behind the second jump to make it wider. I’m sure my eyes must have gotten huge. He laughed. “You can do this, Whitt. If I had any doubts, we wouldn’t even attempt it.”

  He rotated his finger in a circle to indicate I needed to circle around and jump. I blew out a breath, patted Mac on the neck, and clucked to him. The big gelding handled both jumps like the pro he was, and I let out a whoop.

  “All right! That’s enough for today.” Reece jogged toward us, his smile the brightest thing I had seen all day.

  I couldn’t look at that smile and believe everything I had heard about him. But questioning and digging were how I’d ferreted out the deals tha
t had made me rich, so I also couldn’t leave it alone.

  As Reece took Mac’s reins and we started back to the barn, I said, “I can’t believe how lucky I was to find you at a loose end. You should have had oodles of clients standing in line to get you.”

  “My friend, Steffy, inherited a lot of my school-age students. All except Beanie.”

  “Beanie?” I asked. “Who would name their kid that?”

  “It’s a nickname, short for Sabina. She’s homeschooled, so I do her lessons between yours a couple days a week.”

  “She comes here?” I asked, wondering if I needed to make changes to my insurance policies.

  Reece laughed. “No. She has a little demon of a pony named Buttercup. I drive over to their place to teach her.”

  We had reached the barn by this time. While I exchanged Mac’s bridle for a halter and clipped him into the cross ties, Reece ran up the stirrups and unfastened the girth. It looked like Ricky had finished for the day. His car was gone, so he’d probably driven over to his girlfriend’s house. That left Reece and me alone in the barn. My awareness of him ticked up a notch.

  “You mentioned school-age students. Did you teach any adults?”

  Reece’s brows lowered. “Jordy Edgerton. He dumped me the day you called.”

  Reece held his hand out for the bridle, disappearing for a moment to put the tack on the cleaning rack, before returning to where I was sponging Mac with water mixed with liniment.

  “Dumped you? As in boyfriend?” I glanced at Reece from where I had squatted next to Mac’s front legs so I could rub them to help prevent any soreness.

  An expression of distaste crossed Reece’s face. “Client only. Jordy was definitely not my taste in men. Steffy called him ‘Jerky.’”

  I couldn’t help the laugh that erupted. In my imagination, I had already built a mental picture of the guy that was far from flattering. I wanted to know what he did find attractive in men. There was only one way to find out.