Jockeying for You (8 page)

“Handsome Dancer,” she acknowledged. “You mentioned there were people who were marking him up as a lost cause.”

“Yes. My father being one of them.” He lifted a forkful of food and left it hanging in midair. “I’m not sure if he’s doubting the horse or me since I bet on the horse. He’s always been like that. Second-guessing me. It takes a lot of my energy to shut him out. He’s like annoying background noise.”

“Elevator music a person needs to block out.”

“Or go crazy. You got it. He’s like the worst instrumental version of some crappy sixties’ song. And I’ve got twenty more floors to listen to the ordeal. The tune is always the same though.
I can do it better than you
.”

“Sounds like a bad refrain.”

“I wish
he’d
refrain.” Jake paused to take a bite. “You mentioned your father. What about him? Did the two of you get along?”

“Very well. I was crushed when he died. He was always very supportive. He picked out my unusual name. I wish I could live up to it.” She drew a circle on the linen tablecloth with her fingertip. Her eyes followed the invisible pattern, not meeting his gaze.

“You are living up to it, as a trainer.” Jake narrowed his eyes as if trying to gauge her.

Her heart fluttered from the intensity of his stare. It triggered little explosions from her chest to her knees.
Keep your head together, Ry.
“I meant as a jockey.”
Am I really admitting to all this? Either the man is a truth machine or he’s turning me on so much I’m losing my mind.

“Do you want to be a jockey?” There was no judgment in his voice, only sincerity.

“Oh, I want to train Handsome Dancer,” she hastened to say. “I didn’t mean—”

“I know you didn’t. You have the job so don’t worry about it. I’m talking now to Ryder the actual person, not Ryder the businesswoman. We agreed this is a date, remember?”

She nodded. “Yes. No. I don’t know.” She fidgeted with the tablecloth. “Good God, maybe.”

“Something to think about?” he asked gently.

“I . . . I don’t know. Being a jockey is so dangerous. You know I fell in my first major race. My first one as a licensed jockey. I could have been permanently injured. Or killed. And the pain I suffered wasn’t just mine. The owner who took a chance on me was injured as well, albeit fiscally. And then there’s this business I built up. It’d be foolhardy for me to toss it all away.” Her voice trailed off.

“Isn’t the horse business all about taking a gamble? Risking it all, even if the odds are against you? Trusting your gut that what you have faith in is right?”

She didn’t answer him verbally. Her mind, however, was a whirlwind in its failed attempts to respond.

They finished dinner, a delicious meal she hardly tasted. Then a decadent chocolate lava desert they both shared. She didn’t object when he leaned over the table to rub off a dab of chocolate from her lower lip with his thumb. She fought the urge to have her tongue jut out so she could taste him, too.

From the look on his face, the same image was playing out in his mind.

“Ready to go?” he asked rhetorically, his voice rough.

Wordlessly, she rose up from the table and took the hand Jake extended then followed him out the door. “Where to?” she asked.

“You’ll know it when we get there,” he said. “Leave your car. I’ll send someone around to come get it. Hand the key to the hostess and it’ll all be taken care of.”

“But—”

He bent down to give her a hard kiss on the lips right there in the restaurant lobby. The feel of it was liquid warmth running down the length of her skin. The impact of the heat was immediate. Luckily, he’d kept his hands by his sides so she could step away before they made a scene.

“You’re beautiful when you blush. You’re always beautiful, actually. And I don’t regret doing that.”

Stunned, she blinked at him for a moment until she got her bearings. “Neither do I.”

Chapter 8

Jake drove Ryder back to Belmont after dinner. She had her own living quarters, albeit temporary, in the back of the house, one of a gazillion mini apartments for the horse staff. After Jake had parked, he insisted he escort her all the way to her quarters.

The evening had been so perfect, she mused. The conversation—no, the
connection
with him—had been perfect. It had been a long time since she had opened up to anyone. Her own self included. And without offense to Lenny, sharing her innermost thoughts with the grumpy old man was not ideal. Not even if he was her actual dad.

Mindy was a good friend. The best, really, despite her teasing ways. But speaking openly to her was hard, too. It was long ago ingrained in Ryder to be tough and stand on her own. Did opening up make her seem weak?

Jake didn’t make her feel that way. The more she spoke about her weaknesses the stronger she felt. She actually found it empowering, giving her a shot of self-confidence she hadn’t had before, as if Jake spoke not just to her but to who she was.

Ryder was so lost in thought she barely noticed when Jake stopped walking. They were right outside a building of stalls not far from her own. New construction had recently been completed and not many horses had been housed in this new facility yet. Several sleeping mares, however, occupied spaces down at the other end.

“The evening is beautiful, isn’t it?” Jake remarked off-handedly. He leaned against an outside wall, the fire in his eyes in stark contrast to the casualness of his comment.

“Yes. It’s a wonder it’s so warm out.” Without realizing it, she closed her eyes and lifted her hands in the air. “No wind at all. And so quiet. You can hear crickets chirping.”

“All I want to listen to is you.”

She opened her eyes to see him watching her intently. He picked up her hand, and she relished the warmth.

“Ryder, did you have as good a time tonight as I did?”

“Yes. Everything was perfect.”
Lord, you seem perfect. I hope I’m not going to fall for you.
“Thanks for taking me out to dinner.”

He stroked his thumb against her hand, now held against his chest. “I need to be honest with you. I’m becoming much more interested in you than as simply a trainer for one my horses. Or even as merely one of my dates.”

She watched him swallow. Somehow this simple movement was fascinating. She wanted to move forward and kiss his throat, drawn like a moth to flame.

She felt herself swallow hard too but tried to keep the conversation light. “I’m becoming more interested in you than merely my highest-paying horse owner. Or even the man with the best come-on lines.”

He smiled. “Then I guess we have something in common.” He put his arm around her waist but didn’t take a step closer. “Is it okay if I kiss you again? If not, I promise—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Ryder’s kiss cut him off.
Oh my God, I can’t believe I did that. But man, the feel of his lips . . .

Instantly, the feel of his soft skin grew hard as he held her tightly against him and crushed his lips down on hers. “Ryder,” he murmured. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for so damn long. The one we shared back in the restaurant only made it worse. Because then I knew what I’ve been missing.”

She pressed herself further against him. Not that there was much space left between them. The feel of his hips against hers let her know he was feeling the same intensity she was.

Until he suddenly broke away.

“What?”

“Not out in the open like this,” he explained while grabbing her hand. In moments, they were inside the stalls. There wasn’t a person anywhere in sight.

Ryder had never seen anything remotely romantic about horse stalls before. Not even with Mindy’s endless jokes about whips and riding crops. But now the place struck her differently. The earthy smell of the clean, dirt floors. The soft whinnies of the nearby horses, woven in with the cacophony from the crickets. Even the rough feel of wood of a stall door felt rich and full of promise.

“It’s so dark in here,” she whispered, not wanting to disturb the slumbering horses. “I never come to the stalls at night. I should. It’s so peaceful.”

“Not for me,” Jake quipped, taking both of her hands to his lips and kissing them. “In fact, I feel fired up.
You
fire me up. I haven’t felt this engaged with someone for the longest time.”

“Jake . . .” But when her mouth moved more, no words came out.

“Tell me you feel the same way, Ryder.”

She managed a nod. “Yes,” she finally said through the darkness.

She could feel rather than see his smile. Without a sound, he grabbed her hand and led her to an empty stall. Ryder felt soft earth beneath her feet. There was no hay to step on, the stall had not even been used. The wood stable walls felt warm. But still so much cooler than the burning feeling from her own skin.

Jake gently pushed her back against the wall. They were standing together now, his body pressed against hers.

“Maybe we should go back to my apartment,” she suggested, her voice throaty.

“Not a chance.” He kissed her lips softly. Then trailed kisses down her long throat. She felt her breathing speed up. Her chest almost hurt from its fast rise and fall.

“Are your clothes restricting you, too?” He laughed. His hands were upon her, opening the top buttons of her dress one by one. His fingers touched and teased her. Until they trailed her lace bra. The effect was immediate. Her nipples hardened and her breath became shallower.

“I don’t think you need to wear this anymore,” he said.

The full impact of that statement hit her. She froze. The minute she took her dress off, all her scars would be revealed. Red streaks of skin that spread out under her ribs. The roughness of them had smoothed a lot over time, but they were still visible when she was naked. Would he be disgusted by what he saw?

“Ryder? Are you all right? If you’re not ready for this, that’s okay. As much as I want you, I won’t be mad. Tonight isn’t about me. It’s about us.” He placed his lips against hers, soft and feathery and light. Slowly the fire in her built again, overtaking her fear.

I do want this. He can’t really see my marks, it’s so dark in here.
“No,” she finally agreed, “I don’t need to wear this. She took it upon herself to wriggle out of her dress and bra until she was left with only her high-heeled sandals and lace panties. She turned around to hang up her clothes, reaching up to feel for a tack hook.

She heard him move behind her. Felt the fine hair of his chest against her back. Then she realized that was not all she felt. In the few seconds it took her to partially strip and hang her clothes he apparently had time to do the same.

But then his hands reached around her back to hold her breasts and all thought on clothing—and anything else—flew out her head.

“Do you have protection?” His voice sounded strained, no doubt like the rest of him.

She felt her face flush and was even more grateful the darkness wouldn’t reveal that, either. “Um, Mindy gave me some before I left work today . . . You know how she’s always kidding around. She wouldn’t take it back, and I didn’t want a box of condoms lying about the stalls.”

Jake let out a laugh. “Yeah, that would have generated a lot of conversation. I’m sure Lenny would have had plenty to say.”

Ryder muffled a giggle. “Yeah, especially considering the fact Mindy picked
ultra-sensitive super-thin French tickler magnums
.”

His laughter grew into a roar. “Magnums, huh? I should thank her.” His voice grew silky and seductive. “She guessed right, you know.”

“Really?” she teased, her voice throaty. “I’m going to enjoy finding out.”
Lord above, did I really say that?

But she couldn’t dwell on her admission because his lips were on the side of her throat again. Making her blood buzz. Making her head dizzy. Her blood pounded in her veins.

She fumbled with her dress and slipped her hand inside a pocket. Her search prompted his own exploration. The sudden sensation of his lithe fingers through her panties’ thin fabric made her shiver underneath the lace.

She heard the sound of his hard breath against her neck, and then the crinkle of a wrapper as she handed him the condom, followed by the sensation of her undies falling away.

“I’m going to make love to you, Ryder Hannon. Like I’ve been dying to do since the moment we met.” He kissed her neck as she silently nodded, his front still pressed to her back. For a brief moment his hands were off her.

She heard the sound of the tiny packet ripping open and then felt a hand wrap around her breast. “Since we’re in with the horses, we should be like them.”

“What do you . . .?” she started to ask. He moved her back from the wall to bend her slightly forward.

“Oh,” she gasped, color rising to her cheeks. But the feel of him rubbing his hard length against her softness was too enticing to fight. He was teasing her by touching her there and then pulling back until she was twisting around to him in desperation. “Jake. Please . . .”
I shouldn’t beg. What the heck is wrong with me?

“I thought you’d never ask,” he said as he pushed himself into her.

She hadn’t even realized the extent of how ready she was.

“My Lord,” she murmured. Then her quick breathing made it impossible to say anything more as he tormented and teased her from behind. Until he picked up a fast pace of his own.

Pleasure ripped through her body. Her legs quivered and she felt her eyes roll back in bliss. Yet he didn’t pause to slow down. Nor to enjoy the sweet, building sensation. The delicious friction continued until his whole body went stiff. Then she felt his erect penis jerk and pulse inside her. His orgasm triggered her own.

They stayed interlocked for a long while until he had an obvious need to pull out. With a last kiss on her throat, he gave a short laugh. “Damn, now I know why horses do it this way.”

Despite still shivering in ecstasy, she laughed. “If I ever see horses using a missionary position instead, I’ll let you know.”

“Do that. Though I don’t think I’ll need to borrow inspiration. In fact, this memory will be burnt into my brain forever.” He reached over to grab her clothes. “Let’s get dressed. I want to take you to my home. We’re not even going to stop by your apartment to pick up your things. I have everything you need.”

Yes, Jake, you do.