Until I Break (9 page)

The rhythmic thud of a galloping horse brings
my attention back to shore. When I look ahead, I see the dazzling
sight of a man on horseback. It’s almost surreal, like a
mirage.

His hips move in a fluid way that suggests
he’s accustomed to sitting a horse. His dark hair is blowing
slightly in the wind, his white shirt is open to billow out behind
him, and his wide chest is covered in nothing but smooth, tan
skin.

As he draws closer, I can see that his eyes
are obscured as he squints into the sun. But I don’t need to see
them to recognize the rider. I felt the tug of the string the
instant I looked up. It’s Alec. And he’s coming straight for
us.

“Holy effin’ shit,” Chris breathes beside me,
articulating the feeling that’s rattling around inside me. “This is
like one of those Old Spice commercials.”

Chris walks a few steps ahead of me. That’s
when I realize that I’ve stopped moving completely. I’m standing in
the surf, staring at Alec like he’s the key to my survival.

And, at the moment, it feels very much like
he is.

He comes to a stop in front of me. His eyes
never leave mine, even as his horse fidgets to get back to a run.
Alec is frowning and he looks anything but pleased to see me. I say
nothing and neither does he.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Chris says when the
silence and the tension become too much.

“Yes,” Alec says, but speaks no further.

Still he watches me. And still, I don’t
move.

Chris, never one who has been comfortable
with silence, chimes in again. “We’re, uh, we’re here looking for
sea turtles.”

“Hmmm,” Alec murmurs, his gaze searing me all
the way to my soul.

Too many things are drifting through my head,
warring with the vision of Alec on a horse.

I feel breathless when he looks at me this
way.

A guy like this is dangerous to my
heart.

Will I regret it if I don’t let this
happen?

Will I regret it if I do?

But he didn’t call.

Maybe he changed his mind.

Maybe he lost interest.

Why does that make me feel so hopeless?

I should be glad. My problem is solved.

Out of nowhere, resolve bubbles up, resolve
to do the smart thing and stay away from him. I clear my throat and
smile politely.

“Well, it was good seeing you, Alec.” I turn
to Chris. “Let’s look once more back the other way.”

Chris’s mouth drops open and she gives me a
stare that says I’ve completely lost my mind. I wind my fingers
around her upper arm and turn her with me as I start off in the
other direction. At first she resists, but I give her arm a
meaningful squeeze and she bends to my will.

I look back over my shoulder at Alec, still
sitting atop his magnificent horse. He’s watching me. Intently.
Like he always does.

“See ya,” I say before turning to walk
away.

My heart is thumping wildly inside my chest
as a spot right between my shoulder blades starts to burn. I can
almost feel his eyes on me as I leave.

I’m thinking of Alec rather than watching
where I’m going. I don’t even see the depression in the sand until
it’s too late.

I step into it and lose my balance, tipping
toward the water. I reach out to catch myself, but my foot has
already been gobbled up by the wet sand which keeps it stationary
even as my body turns. I feel the muscles along the outside of my
left calf wrench and I yelp in pain as I contort my body to avoid
further damage.

“Ohmigod, are you okay?” Chris asks, bending
to my side.

I feel my face burn with embarrassment and I
refuse to look back at Alec, who I know is still watching me. I can
feel it.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Just help me up.”

Chris takes my hands and pulls, bringing me
to my feet. I straighten and wiggle my foot to free it from the
sand. Pain shoots up into my knee. I gasp.

“You’re not okay. You twisted your ankle,
didn’t you?”

I bite my lip and try gingerly to bear weight
on my left foot. It’s far too painful to walk on.

“It looks like it.”

“You can’t make it back to the car like
this.”

“Sure I can. It’ll just take a little longer
and you’ll have to help me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Alec’s deep voice
says.

I whirl to find him looming behind me, a
scowl on his face.

“I’m not being ridiculous,” I snap. “I’ll be
fine.”

“This is not something that can be ignored,”
he replies.

“I’m not ignoring it. I just have to take it
slow.”

“Sometimes even taking it slow won’t
help.”

Something in his eyes tells me he’s talking
about much more than the situation with my ankle. It’s as though
he’s speaking to all that I’ve been struggling with. But that’s
impossible for him to know, right? Unless he’s struggling, too.

That doesn’t make any sense,
I reason
with myself.
Why would
he
need to stay away from
me
?

“I think he’s right, Sam,” Chris offers. I
want to turn and glare at her, but I can’t. I can’t seem to look
away from Alec and the unspoken things I see in his eyes.

“My house isn’t far. Let me take you there
and get some ice on that.”

“Thanks, but I’ll—”

“That’s a good idea,” Chris says. “Sam, he
can take you on his horse so you don’t have to walk. I can drive
around to get you.”

“No need. I can bring her home later,” Alec
mutters. He sounds bothered by the situation, which gives me a
perverse sense of pleasure. I hope he
is
aggravated. Serves
him right for putting me in this position. He should’ve just let me
go.

I ignore the part of me that’s happy he
didn’t, the part of me that’s begging to spend a few more minutes
with him. Close to the flame.

“Don’t I get a vote? I told you—” I begin
halfheartedly, but Alec cuts me off.

“Didn’t I tell you I wouldn’t be taking no
for an answer?” he asks gruffly.

He did. But, until now, it seemed he’d
forgotten about me.

“Yes, but—”

“No buts.”

It’s hard to argue effectively when I
actually
want
to be stuck with Alec, even though I know it’s
not a good idea. He’s bad for me. I don’t think there’s a question
of that now. The problem is that, for the most part, I don’t seem
to care.

“I’ll call in a while to check on you, Sam.”
Chris is all but bouncing up and down with excitement. I doubt Alec
can see it; at least I hope not. But I can.

Before I can even respond, Alec bends and
sweeps me into his arms. Reflexively, I reach around his neck to
hold on. I try to ignore how good it feels to have his warm skin
touching so much of my body at once—my arms, my side, my hip, my
leg. He looks down into my face, his eyes serious and trained on
mine. “No need. I’ll take good care of her.”

Again, his expression implies that there’s
much more to his comment. He’s speaking of an undercurrent, an
undercurrent between us that I can feel as plainly as I could feel
the sand sucking at my foot. And, as with the sand, Alec is pulling
me down, pulling me under. Under his spell.

I think Chris mutters something, but I can’t
tell what it is. Her voice is a thousand miles away.

Alec doesn’t break his stare until we reach
his horse. I let my arms fall from around him, preparing for when
he sets me on my feet. Only he doesn’t. Instead, he pulls me tight
against his chest, puts his foot in the stirrup and swings easily
onto the horse’s back.

I used to do some riding when I was younger,
before…everything. My mother got me lessons and would take me once
a week to ride, so I’m familiar with the close contact saddle
that’s on this horse, as well as the type of horse it is—a
beautiful paint horse. The rich brown color and large white patches
on the sides are dead giveaways.

Because of the low pommel and light padding
of the saddle, when Alec scoots back a little, there is just enough
room in the saddle for me, too. I can straddle the horse
comfortably. Well, comfortably but for the way Alec’s body is
pressed up against my back and butt. I feel every firm, warm inch
of him all the way to my core.

I’m feeling short of breath again and looking
for some distraction. “What’s his name?” I ask, referring to the
horse.

“Galen,” he answers. I feel his legs move
against me as he nudges the horse into a slow walk.

“That’s beautiful. What does it mean?”

“It means healer,” he explains, urging Galen
into a trot.

Without the benefit of a saddle horn to hang
on to, I’m forced to reach back and grab Alec’s thighs for support
as I grip the horse with my legs. It’s all I can do not to melt
into the leather beneath me when Alec bends his head to whisper
into my ear, “Hang on. Here we go.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN- Alec

I nudge Galen into a gallop on the
hard-packed strip of sand on the empty beach. I knew it would be a
great day to ride. This isn’t exactly a commercial stretch of
oceanfront anyway, what with the lower end belonging to private
homes. Now, with Samantha in my lap, it’s even
more…stimulating.

I feel her fingers dig into my legs, so I
take the reins in one hand and splay the fingers of my other over
her flat stomach, pulling her snug against me. It’s an innocent
enough gesture, one meant to hold her in place. A safety measure,
even. But in reality, it’s far from innocent. With the curve of her
ass rubbing my cock in perfect rhythm with the horse, all I can
think about is turning her around, pushing aside the swimsuit
bottoms I imagine she’s wearing under her short skirt and sliding
her down on top of me. The horse would do most of the work. All
she’d have to do is hold on until her body went limp with
exhaustion.

Despite the tell-tale twitch of my dick, the
voice that was so strong this morning reminds me that I’m not
supposed to be pursuing this. I’m supposed to be avoiding this
woman. For her sake as much as mine.

But that voice is growing softer by the
minute. Before long, I’ll be able to block it out completely, just
like I did for all those years before I got it under control.

Once again, my id is becoming bolder.

Just one more time. Just this once.

The lure of it is so tantalizing, the vision
of Samantha in my complete control so irresistible, I know the
battle is lost. In fact, I think I knew it was lost the moment I
saw her on the beach.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN- Samantha

Just when I’m catching my breath and becoming
accustomed to the sensory overload of being in Alec’s arms with my
body pressed to his, he slows Galen and guides him away from the
surf. The horse plods through the fluffy sand to what looks like a
cleft in a dune. Only it’s not a cleft; it’s a path separating two
different separate ones. Between them is a wooden walkway.

The walk looks a mile long as it travels from
the sand, across the marsh and onto sturdier land. In the distance,
I can see a gorgeous, modern plantation-style home in pale
yellow.

From French doors to sunburst windows, the
entire back of the house is covered in windows of varying sizes and
shapes. It looks like every door opens onto one of three decks off
the back of the house, a deck for each level. As extravagant as I’m
sure the inside is, I doubt it will compare to the incredible views
from the outdoor living space.

My first thought is that it can’t be our
destination. There’s no way Alec can have this kind of money. But
then I think of the Range Rover and the subtle things I learned at
the fundraiser, and I quickly amend that thought.

When we reach the end of the walkway, Alec
guides the horse onto a cobblestone path that leads through the
lush green yard and stops at the foot of steps that ascend to the
first-level deck. When he dismounts and drops Galen’s reins over
the newel post, I realize we are, in fact, at our destination.

Alec offers no explanation at all, but simply
turns back and reaches for me.

“Slide off. I’ve got you.”

I throw my leg over the horse’s neck and lean
forward, putting my hands on his shoulders. I try to ignore the
feel of his hands on my hips as he lowers me to the ground. “What
about the horse? Can you just leave him out in the sun like
this?”

“He’ll be fine for a few minutes. Javi will
come and take him back to the stable.”

“You have a stable? How many horses do you
have?”

“We have a small stable, yes. Only two
horses. We don’t have enough room to board and exercise more than
four. But I’m the only one who rides, so it doesn’t really
matter.”

Without thinking, I put weight on my left
side, yelping when pain shoots up into my knee.

Alec says nothing, merely bends to pick me
up. I try not to let his blank expression and tight jaw unnerve me.
I remind myself that I didn’t ask for his help, that he practically
forced me into this, and that if he’s no longer attracted to me,
it’s for the best.

Only it doesn’t
feel
like it’s for the
best. On some level, I want him to be as moved and tortured as I am
by the most innocent of contact.

Effortlessly, he climbs the steps then
carries me to one of four chaise lounges, all lined up facing the
railing, the perfect setup to enjoy the ocean view.

“Is this your house?” I finally ask when he
pulls another chaise closer to the one I’m on and sits on the
end.

Gingerly, he picks up my foot and examines my
ankle. “Do you always ask so many questions?” he murmurs.

His remark stings. Not only do I
not
feel like I’ve asked many questions since I’ve known him, but now I
can’t help but wonder why he’s so averse to answering even the most
casual of inquiries.

Before I can formulate a suitable response,
he replies, “It’s a family home.” I flinch when his probing fingers
hit a sore spot. He glances up at me, his eyes unfathomable.
“Sorry. Tender gestures aren’t really my…forte.”