Seventeen #2
I took a breath, chiding myself. She seemed really sweet, and there was no reason they shouldn’t flirt or hook up. Both were consenting adults. Voices argued back and forth in my head.
“Oh, you brought someone.” You could see a slight tightening to her voice, giving away her feelings for him.
I lifted my head, rolling my shoulders back when Lennox peered back at me.
Yeah, you forget me?
“Ohhhh. Oh, my goodness.” Katy’s hand went to her mouth, then she was moving to me. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t recognize you at first. Duh!” She laughed, knocking her head, her tension evaporating with her identification of me.
No longer a threat.
“Spencer, right?” She reached out to shake my hand, her hand coarse from work and firm in mine. “It’s an honor having you here.”
“Thank you.” I didn’t mean for the two words to sound so clipped.
“I’m gonna take her out on a ride.” Lennox motioned me to follow him.
“Oh, great.” Katy clapped her hands together. “You’ve ridden before?”
“Yes.” Okay, again, a bitch had taken over my vocal cords.
“Okay, great,” Katy replied, following Lennox into stables. The smell of hay, manure, horse, and leather oil drifted up my nose, easing my muscles like a soothing balm—calming.
Home.
The first horse in the stables stuck its head over the gate, neighing at me for attention. Running my hands over its nose, a smile of pure happiness curved my mouth.
“I will set you up on this horse.” Katy gestured to another one. “He’s so good natured. He will be a nice ride.”
“I want this one.” I stroked the horse’s head.
“Oh. Penny Dreadful is… temperamental. She still needs to be trained a lot more. I don’t think she’s the best horse for you.”
Penny Dreadful.
“She’s perfect.”
Katy looked to Lennox, her eyes begging for him to intercede.
Lennox glanced over at me, and I tilted my head, raising an eyebrow. “She’s. Perfect.”
He chuckled, shrugging at Katy. “She’s got this.”
Katy was not convinced, probably thinking I was some amateur who rode a few times and claimed she was a rider. I started breaking in horses at six with my father, always liking the spunky ones.
After saddling them up, Lennox and I walked the horses out, mounting the beautiful creatures.
“You have my number if anything happens.” Katy touched Lennox’s leg.
“Fuck’s sake,” I muttered under my breath.
Lennox’s head jerked, an eyebrow hitching up, letting me know he had heard me.
“We’ll be fine. Thanks, Katy.” I swore his voice purposely went down a few octaves. A deep flush went over her creamy skin, desire flaring in her eyes.
I clucked my cheek, my heels tapping for Penny to go, tired of waiting for them to say their farewells to each other.
Lennox soon caught up with me.
“So you and Katy, huh?”
“Me and Katy, what?”
I glared over at him; he knew perfectly well what I meant.
“Where does Hazel fit in?”
“Where she wants.”
Jab.
“Poor Lennox, so many women trying to sleep with you.” I could feel the awkwardness circling me like a buzzard, but my mouth wouldn’t stop. “Have you and Hazel…?”
“What do you want to know?” He arched an eyebrow. “Just ask if you want to know something.”
“None of my business. I just saw the two of you the other night. You looked very cozy.”
For a moment, the only the sounds were the horse hooves and the creaking of the leather saddles echoing in the air, the fresh rain making everything clean and crisp. Penny’s head tossed back, fighting the bit. My palms circled the fur on her neck, soothing her.
“You’re awfully concerned about who I am fucking.”
“I am not. I assure you.”
“Uh-huh,” he replied, staring off, the trail taking us up to a spot overlooking the city in the distance.
“You are really full of yourself.”
“Never said I wasn’t.” He smirked at me.
“You certainly have never been a guard for the royals before.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Your vocabulary and bluntness.” I sounded far too snotty and uptight. Very unlike me; normally, I was the one pushing at convention.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Let’s just say the word fucking is not in the royal decree. You would never hear Dalton utter that word.”
“That you know of.”
I shrugged. True, he could say it behind closed doors, but it would still shock me, he was so formal.
“And what do you have against fucking anyway?” His tone was taunting, sliding over my body like fingers, skating between my thighs.
I huffed, wagging my head, trying to dispel my reaction to him. Why did I care if he was hooking up with Hazel or Katy? He could sleep with thousands of women. Not my concern.
“You know how to ride.” I nodded to him, switching to a safe topic. He was a natural on the horse.
“Grew up on a farm.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Why does that surprise you?”
“I don’t know. You just seem so… city boy to me.”
“Can’t say it was the life I wanted. Couldn’t wait to get out…
but… now I’m starting to see the appeal of the quiet.
” He looked out again, his head wagging, lost in thought.
“Can’t ever take the country out of the boy, I guess.
” I could sense a pinch of sadness to his sentiment, making me feel there was so much I didn’t know about Lennox.
I wanted to ask him more, but as if he felt my questions coming, he darted me a mischievous grin.
“Come on, race you to the top!” Already encouraging his horse, Tornado, to speed up, his mount took off.
“Hey!” I laughed, spurring Ms. Dreadful on.
She was ready to be let free, her legs galloping after Tornado, her head down, set on overtaking him.
I could see how she was still a bit wild.
Horses for royal officers, parades, or the royals themselves needed to have that fire broken out of them.
I loved her extra fire, could feel a kindred spirit.
I could relate; the royals wanted to break me in as well.
My body moved with hers as we sped up the hill. The wind whipped at my hair, laughter and exhilaration bubbling in my chest. I realized for the first time in weeks, I was happy.
Free.