by Cindy Pike
“Nora!” Owen calls out to me, not knowing I’m the one that caused Thor to pick up his pace. I turn my head so Owen will be able to hear me and shout over my shoulder.
“Come on, slow poke! Get your fine ass moving!” Feeling the wind rush across my face is exhilarating! I hear a deep laugh from Owen as Wren catches up to Thor.
“Well, come on then, Gorgeous!” With that Wren takes off like a shot, kicking up dust as they pull away from us. Not to be left behind, Thor needs little encouragement and soon his long strides eat up the distance between us and Wren with Owen on his back. I make it alongside Owen and then Thor starts to take the lead, his longer legs make Wren’s reach no match for him. We race for a good while then rein in the horses to let them catch their breaths.
My face hurts from the smile that won’t leave it. “God, I’ve missed this!” I look over to Owen walking Wren next to me and Thor, continuing, “Thank you for this, Owen. With all that’s happening lately I needed this release.”
“You’re more than welcome, Nora. Where did you learn to ride? You’ve got a great seat.”
“Are you trying to tell me I’ve got a nice ass, Dr. Baker?” I’m flirting pretty hardcore right now, but I want to see Owen let loose. He gets a wicked grin on his face before he’s rising up and is suddenly behind me on Thor. Holy muscles and agility, hotness! His arms wrap around me and he rests his chin on my shoulder before he whispers in my ear. My body tenses up waiting for me to panic, but it doesn’t come, I don’t have any trouble with him behind me like this. It’s actually really nice to feel his body pressed against mine. I guess my lessons with Heath have helped me more than I know.
“Your ass is more than nice, Miss Molano. When you’re ready all you have to do is come to me and I’ll help ease you into the next step for us, Gorgeous.” His purr in my ear sends delicious shivers down my back, hitting me right in my clit. Oh, shit, that’s nice. He gives a soft nip in the bend of my neck where it meets my shoulder and I almost let a moan slip before I stop it at the last second. Owen pulls his head back, sitting up straight and ties Wren’s reins to my saddle on Thor. We walk like this until I break the silence with a question that’s been niggling at me in the back of my mind.
“Owen, are you really okay with this arrangement we have?”
“What arrangement?”
“Where I’m dating you and four other men?” I chew on the inside of my lower lip as I wait for his answer, he doesn’t keep me waiting long.
“You know I am. That’s not really what you want to ask me though, so ask what you really want to, Gorgeous.” He sees through me so easily, it’s like he’s in my head!
“How do you do that?! Never mind, okay, here’s my real question. Some of the other guys said that they’d try but the only one that has a real problem with it is Kyle. I think it might be because none of us have really talked about this together, so none of us know what to expect. Does that make sense?” I peer over my shoulder at Owen to make sure I got my point across.
“Kyle has this image of what his life is supposed to look like, I doubt it’s been him having a romantic relationship with a woman that also has one with other men. The problem is his to work out or not and step away from. We can all sit down together and have a frank talk about each of our expectations and feelings, in fact I think that would be more than helpful for all of us. I don’t think any of the others have ever done anything like this before, so it’ll be beneficial for all of us.” It’s a relief that he’s not blowing this off and takes my concerns seriously (not that I think he would’ve done that). It’s a good feeling being heard.
“Thanks, doctor.” I lay my head back on his chest as we ride along at a nice easy walk, just basking in this rare moment with him.
“Always, Nora.” He gives me a quick squeeze with one arm and then turns us back toward the barn. “Come on, let’s get these two cooled down with a nice spray at the bathing station.” When we reach the tie bar, Owen swings his leg back, landing next to Wren’s head. He reaches up and helps me slide off with his hands on my hips. Once I’m steady on my feet Owen unties Wren’s reins and reties him to the tie bar. I do the same with Thor and we remove the saddles and brush them down before checking their feet for any debris. They both stand patiently as we do our due diligence for them before we lead them over to the wash station.
I hold Thor as Owen gently sprays Wren down, then we switch out the horses and Thor gets a good cooling spray.
“Thank you for today, all of it. Taking my mind off my worries and time spent with you. I feel like I don’t get to see you as often as the others.” I smile at him from my spot to the side of Wren.
“I wish I got to see you more too, Nora. Eventually things will calm down and we’ll find our normal.” Owen unties Thor and we lead them back to the barn, releasing them out to the small attached paddock along the one side. “Let’s have lunch then we can laze around for the rest of the day.” Owen hooks the halters and lead ropes on two pegs by the paddock gate. He tucks me under his arm so I wrap my arm around his waist as we walk into his house to have lunch.
After a lunch of tacos, I grab my nail polish and prepare to give myself a pedicure. As I’m just finishing up my first coat on my first foot, Flynn makes his way down the hall in just his sleep shorts. All of his glorious tattoos are on display for my viewing pleasure and I don’t waste it for a second.
“Morning.” Flynn says as he passes me by, heading into the kitchen. He grabs a coffee cup and pours some from the pot on the counter. After he’s done, he makes a second cup.
“Afternoon, sleepy head.” I call out to him. He looks at the clock on the stove.
“Yep, afternoon then. I had to close up the bar last night, so I didn’t get to bed until after three.” He takes a sip from his cup and strolls over to sit next to me with the second in hand. “Do you do this often?” Setting the second cup down within my reach on the end table next to me before he takes another sip from his. He’s watching me start on my other foot as he sprawls out next to me, resting his head on the back of the couch. In this moment, he looks every inch a Rockstar with his arms stretched out along the top of the couch and his bare feet kicked up on the coffee table.
“Every two weeks or so, haven’t you seen me before?” His eyes are closed now and my hands itch to trace his tattoos with my fingers.
“Nope, do you enjoy it?”
“Enjoy what? Giving myself a pedicure? Not really but I like the result so I do it anyways.”
“This is the last time you do it, from now on we’ll go get them done together.” Flynn isn’t asking. If a feather came along right now and bumped into me, it would blow me over. I can’t reconcile the image Flynn’s presenting to me right now with the one in my head of him getting a pedicure.
“You get pedicures?” I question him, because really, I just can’t see it.
“No, I get mani/pedi’s combined.” He sees the look I’m giving him and continues, “They relax me, and it’s a part of grooming I don’t have to worry about doing myself, so…” He lays his head back down on the back of the couch and closes his eyes, apparently content to just be next to me while I finish up. The things I learn…
6 Picking Costumes
Horns by Bryce Fox
I wipe my hand across the fogged mirror. My wet hair is hanging past my ass at this point. I wonder if I should get it cut or just trim it? There’s a knock on the door on the side opposite me, in the Jack and Jill bathroom I share with Flynn.
“Nora, you decent?” Flynn calls through the door to me. I check the towel I wrapped around myself after I dried off from my shower, finding it’s still secure.
“Yep!” I chirp back to him. Flynn opens the door with his hair still wet but at least he’s clothed, minus shoes. He’s got on a bright neon yellow shirt that hurts my eyes a little bit, over dark wash blue jeans.
“Come on, we need to leave in ten minutes and your hair is still wet.” Flynn tries to rush me, making me notice that I took muc
h longer in the shower than I thought. What can I say, shaving is a real pain in the ass. He’s running a pomade through his hair and his shirt rides up, I of course, can’t help but look at the dark happy trail that disappears behind the low riding waist of his jeans.
He gets this smug look on his face and teases, “You know any time you want a real look, all you have to do is say, Spitfire.” He gives me a quick ass slap and leaves the bathroom before I can take him up on that offer. Giving myself a mental shake, I spray some quick-drying product all over my hair that’s supposed to cut the dry time in half, doing a quick blow dry until its ninety percent done. With that part accomplished, I finish my bathroom routine, slathering on moisturizer from head to toe, I swipe some mascara over my lashes, run some brow gel through my unruly brow hairs, and let my hair swing loose. Then I head out of the bathroom and enter the room Owen and Flynn gave me for when I stay with them. I told them they didn’t need to give me my own room, (I didn’t have one at any of the other guy’s places) but Owen got all serious like he does sometimes, saying I needed my own space since I gave up my apartment, and that was that.
My room is one attached to the Jack and Jill bathroom with Flynn’s room on the other side. They let me decorate it how I wanted, the walls are such a soft lavender that it’s hard to tell they’re not really white. A soft grey carpet that was already in here goes with the walls nicely. The bed was already in here too, I just asked if I could stain it a dark brown, almost black, from the white it was. Neither Owen or Flynn cared so it’s now a beautiful nearly black wood stain, with a dark royal purple comforter, lighter purple sheets and white pillow cases. There’s also a tall dresser and vanity, which Kyle helped me stain (including the bed frame) to match the bed, and a darker dove grey ottoman at the end of the bed that doubles as storage. It’s not much, but I don’t need much.
I drop my towel and grab a pair of red lacy underwear and matching bra. Incidentally Owen picked out most of my current undergarments and I suspect Flynn tossed my old ones from the dresser drawer. I get into a lacy matching set in a red jeweled tone. Then I move to the walk-in closet on the opposite side of the bed from the bathroom. It’s not huge but bigger than what I had in my old apartment; I don’t know why I fought the guys so hard about letting it go. My landlord was more than understanding when I told him I needed to break my lease. Sliding hanger after hanger of clothes (I think Owen might have a bit of a shopping problem) that have magically appeared in here. Finding one of my favorite ‘borrowed’ shirts from Heath (it’s a deep green that I cut the neck out of so it falls off one shoulder) I pull it from the hanger and then search for a pair of white Jamaican shorts. I tuck the front of the shirt into the waist of the shorts then grab a brown leather belt and slip it in the loops on my shorts. I find one sandal of the pair I want to wear today, after we get done wherever we’re going first (no one will tell me, yet all the guys are meeting us) Flynn is taking me to get a mani/pedi, (since I’ve been doing them myself) and he found out a couple weeks ago. He said I should be able to sit back and relax not have to do them myself. Where is my other freaking sandal?! I start searching in any place I can think it might even remotely be.
“Kick it in gear, Spitfire!” Flynn shouts down the hall as I finally find the other damn sandal, in the clothes hamper, and stuff my foot in it, standing I grab my purse on the fly. How the hell did the sandal get in there?!
“I’m coming! Keep your pants on! Yeash!” I slip the purse strap over my shoulder as I quickly stride down the hall toward Flynn.
“I can have my pants on and still make you come, but it’s not nearly as fun.” I stumble, tripping over nothing and Flynn manages to catch me by my arms helping to steady me. His flirting has gotten more and more brazen lately, not that I’m complaining (it gives me all the good tingles in all the right places) I’m just not sure if I’m ready to take things to the next level, I tend to freak out when things start to progress with any of the guys. He hands me a protein shake and a granola bar since we don’t have time to do a proper breakfast this morning.
“I’ll take your word for it.” I dryly snark back. He just gives me a flirty smile and turns us toward the garage door. “Who’s coming with me today?” Cain really needs a break from guarding me so much lately, I love him, but he needs a day of rest. I’m still not good in public places, especially if there is going to be any significant amount of people around. To help with my anxieties, Heath suggested that I bring one of the dogs with me, even if the guys are going to be with me, kinda like a security blanket.
“Loki, I’ve already got him in the Jeep.” I smile hugely, I love riding in his Jeep, almost more than I do his car, almost. Flynn slings his arm over my shoulder and maneuvers us to the garage door and through. He lets me out from under his arm so I can go around to the passenger’s side. The Jeep’s already running, with the big rolling garage door open for safety, so it’s nice and cool for Loki. Loki is in the back seat with his front paws on the middle console peering out the windshield at us. Flynn and I climb in and buckle up, I get my shades from the glove compartment and slide them on as Flynn backs out of the open garage door, his sunglasses firmly in place (upping his already off the charts hotness).
“Give us some tunes, Spitfire.” Flynn always has me put the music on, he says the music someone picks says a lot about them and their mental state. He gives me his phone and I connect to the Bluetooth in the Jeep. His music library is one of the biggest I’ve seen. He’s got more eclectic taste than even me, and I like most things. I scroll until I find what I’m looking for and make my selection. Horns by Bryce Fox comes out of the stereo system and we pull out onto the main road from their long driveway. Flynn just gets this undefinable look on his face and turns it up.
“You gonna tell me where we’re going yet?” My attempt is in vain, I know, but I can’t help it. Flynn never gives away surprises when he sets his mind to keeping them, until the right time. We speed down one of the main roads close to their house.
“Do I ever?” Glancing at me as he makes a right turn onto a little side street with lots of little boutiques and assorted shops. I just roll my eyes and shake my head, all with a crazy happy smile plastered on my face. We park next to Silas’ big Tundra; I also see Heath’s Raptor and Kyle’s Tahoe parked along the same side of the road as us. I don’t see Owen’s BMW X7 anywhere though.
“Owen’s not here yet?” I question Flynn.
“He came with Silas, he had to drop his car off at the garage for an oil change, then they left from there.” Flynn explains. I nod my understanding and snag Loki’s leash; he follows me out my open door. He instantly goes into guard mode and all traces of his playful, prankster side, vanish. I slam the door and Flynn locks them with his key fob as we move toward a shop that advertises they make custom clothing for any occasion. At least that’s what it says on the window. I quirk my eyebrow at Flynn, he just opens the front door holding it for me and Loki to enter first.
The inside is lavish and I know they do high quality work here just from the furnishings and sample garments on the racks. There’s a man behind a long counter filled with catalogs among catalogs of fabric swatches.
“Good day, do you have an appointment today?” The man has a nice suit on, cut perfectly for him, in a soft fawn color with a stark white shirt and a name tag that says Mike. He eyes Loki but doesn’t say anything about him. I suspect that as long as he’s well behaved that he won’t.
“We do, we’re with the Baker party.” Flynn addresses Mike.
“Ah, yes right this way please. You must be Flynn,” Mike turns to me, “And you would then be Nora.” Mike doesn’t ask. He’s got a slight accent that sounds British, but I can’t be sure. “Follow me, the others in your party are already being fitted and then you’ll sit down with our concept artist.” Mike directs the last part toward me. Concept artist, huh? What is going on? Why do we need custom clothes? I feel like a cat, I’m so curious. Mike leads us to the dressing room area, it’s a big circula
r space with several doors and mirrors. The mirrors cover one entire section of the wall sans doors. There’s a platform in the middle of the room, with stark white couches in a circle shape, Owen’s standing on the platform and he’s got on a prince’s uniform. The coat is a dark blue color with silver epaulettes and buttons and black dress pants to match. There is a woman pinning parts of the coat under his arm, along the side seam. Owen’s eyes catch mine and they light up with his dazzling smile.
“Surprise, Gorgeous.” Owen says in a clear soft voice. It flows over my skin like a cool breeze, making me shiver.
Flynn leans down and whispers in my ear, “What do you want to be for Halloween?” His hand lands just above my ass as his breath teases my ear.
“What?” My voice comes out on a quiet breath but my brain is stuck on the image Owen’s presenting before me. His words don’t register past the vision before my eyes. Mike pulls Flynn away and starts taking his measurements before he can answer me. My gaze shifts back to Owen and I slowly take in everything the outfit does for him. His shoulders seem broader, his hips leaner. The cut of the jacket and pants make his torso and legs seem longer than normal. The woman that was pinning his jacket steps away from Owen, moving off to a table along one side of the room. The table has all sorts of pin cushions with pins sticking out every which way, spools of thread, buttons, yards of lace, and anything else that could possibly be needed to create any look desired. A man is sitting at that table making marks along a piece of light sea green fabric with gold shots through it. I step over to Owen and he looks down at me. In this moment, he’s the epitome of what a modern-day prince in today’s world would be in my mind.
“What do you think, would I fit in with the royal family?” He holds out his arms, like I haven’t already taken in more than my fill of him, and does a slow turn until he’s facing me again. I definitely don’t notice that his ass looks like you could bounce a quarter off it. Nope, not at all. I somehow manage to pull my eyes back to his face as he completes his circle.