Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Roman’s footfalls echoed off the path outside.
“Hey, Daisy, are you in here?” Roman had entered the stable.
“Daisy.” He said my name in a singsong manner.
As if it couldn’t get any crazier, Luca’s mouth formed into a wicked smile and after touching his lips, indicating I keep quiet, he twisted his fingers inside me.
Goosebumps rained across my flesh at the exquisite intensity.
Roman’s boots continued, and by the sounds of them, he was walking toward the far end of the stable. Luca’s eyes blazed and he drew his fingers out and thrust them back in.
I bulged my eyes and mouthed, “ What are you doing?”
“Shhh.” To show me exactly what he was doing, he drew his fingers out and plunged in again faster this time. Harder.
It was so naughty. It was so surreal. It was so fucking erotic.
With his fingers probing deep inside me, he wrapped his hand around his cock.
I pushed up on my elbows, ready to watch the show .
His right hand glided up and down his silky shaft.
Watching him do that to himself was as erotic as hell and my pulsing clit hit a whole new level. My nipples grew so erect and so hard, they ached.
Roman’s footfalls confirmed he’d turned around and was heading back our way, yet Luca increased his attention to my pussy. It took all my control not to cry out at the wicked sensations shooting through me.
I forced my eyes to watch every second of Luca’s pleasure. His glorious face twisted in concentration as he pumped his hand with blind repetition. The man was a genius because while he drew out his own arousal, his probing fingers continued to dart in and out of my throbbing vagina.
“Where is she?” Roman sounded like he was right below us. I blinked at Luca. If he’d heard Roman, he showed no signs of it. His face was the picture of erotic pleasure . . . mouth ajar, eyes aflame, tongue flicking out to wet his lips.
This was crazy. We should stop.
Luca didn’t though, and I flopped back as another orgasm raced through me. It came from nowhere—fast, explosive, and fucking incredible.
Clutching the blanket, I forced down the cry burning in my throat. Wave after wave of ecstasy shuddered along my flesh like an incoming king tide. I gave myself over to the surge of release.
Roman’s boots clomped right below us. “Daisy.”
I blinked at the concentration on Luca’s face. His eyes snapped open and shut, open, shut. His knuckles bulged; his panting grew sharper.
I prayed he didn’t cry out. Without warning, a thick, white stream ejected from his cock and shot across my thigh. Once, twice, a third time.
It was the most sexually erotic thing I’d ever seen .
As the sound of Roman’s boots confirmed he’d finally returned outside, Luca fell forward onto me.
The only sound was our ragged breathing.
It was some time before Luca pushed up onto his hands. A smile lit his face. “Well, that was a first.”
I just did so many ‘firsts’ I didn’t know where to start. First true orgasm. First roll in the hay. First oral sex. First multiple orgasms. First time with a younger man. First time with another man nearby.
Holy shit. I’ve lost my mind.
“You okay?”
Maybe Luca had noticed my emotional turmoil. “Yeah. It was a bit weird.”
“Yes, but when there’s a risk of getting caught . . . it’s fucking hot.”
My jaw dropped, and Luca burst out laughing.
“I’m sorry.” Sniggering, I tugged a curl behind my ear, trying to shove it back into place. “But I’d better get going.”
“I figured you’d say that.”
He helped me to my feet and offered me the blanket, I assumed to clean up his mess. I turned my back to wipe off. Tossing it aside, I shoved my tits into my ugly bra, and grabbed my shirt off a hay bale and tugged it on. Only then did I pull on my panties, cargo pants, socks and sneakers.
“Come on.” He led the way, and we retraced our steps downstairs.
With each step, a drop of guilt trickled into my mind. We could’ve been caught. We’d put our jobs on the line for a couple of minutes of crazy.
Amazing, mind-blowing crazy. But still . . .
While I was hitting emotional turmoil over what I’d just done, Luca seemed completely at ease. Like taking women up to the hayloft was something he did every day.
Maybe he did .
We arrived at the equipment tack room again, and he turned to me. “We should do that again next time.”
My jaw dropped. Next time? I was still processing this time. All I could picture was how awkward that next meeting would be. The silence between us grew uncomfortable.
“Anyway, guess you’d better see what that guy wanted.”
“Oh . . . yes, okay then. Bye.”
He leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “Bye, Daisy. I’ll be more prepared next month.”
Fighting the heatwave cruising up my neck and cheeks, I turned and walked away.
My steps echoed off the terracotta tiles, just like Roman’s had. It took all my might not to dash out of there.
With each stride, I stewed over his comment about being more prepared. He’d seemed pretty damned prepared to me. At least with making a bed. In fact, he’d made it so swiftly, I was certain he’d had women up there before.
I frowned. Why did that bother me? It wasn’t like we were a couple. In fact, I barely knew him. I knew his name, what he did for a living, and that was about all. Oh, and I also know that he has an enormous cock and a tongue that made my body sing. A smile lit my face as I recalled his magical fingers inside me.
“There you are.” Roman appeared from around a corner.
Shit. “Oh, hey.”
“What’re you smiling at?”
“Ummm . . . nothing.”
He strode toward me. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“Really? I was in the, ummm . . .” I thumbed over my shoulder. “The ummm . . . stable. Helping Luca.”
Realizing my mistake, I blinked at him, wishing I could retract my statement.
“But I went in the stable. ”
“Oh, well . . . see the foal . . . Mon Petit Chou . . . do you know her?”
He shook his head.
Of course he fucking didn’t! “Well, anyway, the poor thing cut her leg and . . . ummm . . . Luca asked me to help dress her wound. Yeah, so anyway, I did. She was really good though—didn’t move much. She liked me scratching behind her ears. I think she’ll be fine.” Shit! I’m rambling . I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth, hoping to stop my crazy monologue.
He cocked his head. “But I looked in there.”
“Oh? You must’ve missed us when we took Mon Petit Chou outside for a walk. After he treated her, I mean.” I’m a terrible liar and I was certain he’d noticed.
“Hmmm. Okay then, if you say so.”
My insides twisted. “Yeah. Don’t know how you missed us? We were only outside for a little bit. But she’s all good now. She’s so adorable.” Stop talking, Daisy .
“Are you ready to go?”
I nodded. “Yep. All good.”
“After you then.” He stepped back and indicated with his hand that I walk in front of him.
Three steps later, I felt a tug in my hair. I glanced over my shoulder at Roman.
He held up a sliver of green vegetation. “You had hay in your hair.” His cheeky grin made my heart buck.
“Oh.” I launched into a weird chuckle/huff. “That’s funny. It must’ve been when I helped Luca feed the horses.”
“Riiiiight.” He wriggled his brows.
Shit. I’m in trouble . Roman and his wretched twenty questions kind of trouble.
We arrived at the passengers, who were congregating around in the parking area. Grateful for the distraction, I forced my brain into tour guide mode. “Okay, guys. I bet you never want to look at another French pastry again?”
A few moaned in agreement.
“Excellent. You should have enough sugar in you to keep you awake till midnight. Let’s get on board.”
Roman opened the door, and as I herded them in, his eyes drilled into me like truth-seeking missiles. It took all my might not to look his way. Once everyone had disappeared into the bus, I reached for the handle to step up.
Roman tapped my shoulder. “I guess you and Luca were just horsing around.”
I made a noise that would be best described as a snorting guffaw. “Haha, very funny.” I stepped up, and Roman smacked me on the butt. I turned, openmouthed, eyes wide.
He grinned like he’d just found a gold nugget.
Being carried away in a paddy wagon suddenly seemed appealing.
I climbed the steps, squirted sanitizer onto my hands, and vigorously rubbed it in. Given what I’d just done, the sanitizer was hardly sufficient. If I could bathe in it, I would. Shoving that thought aside, I strolled up the center aisle and confirmed everyone was onboard.
Roman maneuvered the bus out of the parking lot and along Chateau de Fontainebleau’ s tree-lined driveway. I shoved my mind from what I’d just done to my job. It wasn’t easy though—not with the frequent glances Roman shot at me courtesy of the large mirror over the windshield.
My strategy was to talk to the passengers all the way to our next destination in Beaujolais . It was a three-hour journey. Mission accepted.
“I trust you enjoyed seeing one of the largest royal chateaux in France. What was your favorite part, Charlie?” I chose the British man because he was traveling alone. It was one of my ploys to get people involved. Over the years, I’d learned that although they started out as strangers, by the end of their vacation, many tour members would become lifelong friends. I’d like to think I was a strong contributor to that.
“I loved the history. I learned so much,” Charlie said.
“Anything in particular?”
“Well, for starters, I had no idea Napoleon tried to commit suicide.”
“It’s true. Twice, actually. They like to keep that little fact out of the history books.”
“What about you, Claudette? What was your favorite aspect of Chateau de Fontainebleau?” She, too, was traveling alone.
“Oh, the ballroom, the queen’s bedroom, the stairway to the king’s bedroom.” She giggled. “I loved it all.”
I looked toward the back seat. “Okay, Anthony, what did you like?”
“The food.” He sniggered as did a few others.
His answer was exactly as I’d anticipated.
“Speaking of food, I know you’re as full as a goog.”
“Full as a what?” Mike bellowed.
“Full as a goog. It’s an Aussie term. Goog as in googy egg. An egg is full to the limit. Full as a goog.”
“Aussies are weird.” Mike grinned at me.
“Not weird. Fun.” But if my last half hour was any way to judge, then this Aussie gal was more than just weird—she was totally looney. “Anyway, I know you don’t want to think about food right now, but I need to inform our lunchtime restaurant of your meal choices. You have three dishes to choose from: fish, beef, and vegetarian. The fish is my favorite.” I described each dish in detail. “Okay, hands up who wants beef?”
After recording their meal choices, I switched the conversation from where we’d been to where we were going: Lyon. I rambled for ages, sprouting facts about Lyon and its interesting history. Not long after we left the chateau, people began yawning. Food comas were setting in. My plan to talk the entire way was foiled when, one by one, they dropped off to sleep.
Dammit. Before my speech became completely pointless, I hooked up the microphone, and with a cursory glance at Roman, sat in my seat.
“Well, aren’t you a wealth of knowledge.” Roman swooped his gaze toward me.
“Yeah, always.”
“I know what you’re doing.”
I scrunched my nose, acting confused. “Me too. My job.”
“You’re trying to avoid talking to me.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because we didn’t finish our conversation.”
“Ahhh, yeah we did.”
“No, we didn’t. I asked if you and Luca were horsing around.”
“You didn’t ask; you stated it. No reply required.” I poked my tongue out at him. Tick. One for me.
“Don’t give me that Miss Innocent look. I know a post-shag grin when I see one.”
Oh, God. I pressed my palms into my eyes until pretty little dots scooted across the blackness.
“Am I right? I know I’m right. Just admit it.”
I huffed. “All right. Yes, we horsed around.” There, that wasn’t a lie.
“I knew it. Fantastico .”
I raised my brows, giving him a what-the-hell look.
He grinned with ridiculous excitement. I had no idea why.
“I’m impressed, Red. I didn’t think you’d go through with it. Especially not this quick. What’d you do? Walk up to him and say, ‘Hey, sexy. What’re you doing for the next half hour?’”
I shrunk lower in my seat. “No.” I scowled. “It wasn’t like that.”
“How was it then?”
“No way.” I shook my head. “This is not open for discussion.”
“Why not? Come on, we have a long drive.”
I rolled my gaze to the side window, silently begging him to let it go.
He didn’t. On and on he pleaded, relentlessly.
He was never going to give up.
I adjusted my position in my seat, ready to look him square in the eyes the second he glanced from the road. “To be honest, I don’t know how it happened. One minute we were treating Mon Petit Chou’s wound. Next minute we were . . .” I leaned toward him. “. . . kissing.”
“See? You put the vibes out and it happens.”
“I didn’t put out any vibes.”
He waved my reply away. “So, he was bene , yes?”
“What?”
“Was he good? Did he get your rocks off?”
“Oh my god. Yes, of course.”
“So, you had an . . .”
“Jeeezus . . . yes,” I blurted before he said orgasm aloud.
He nodded like we’d just found the solution to world poverty. “I’ve got to say, Red, you’ve really surprised me. I like surprises.”
The way he looked at me, with a stunning grin and glowing eyes, made it impossible not to smile back. But I didn’t just smile; it was like I was glowing on the inside.
It felt good. I felt good. I had to text Zali. I plucked my phone from my bag.
“You bragging to Azalia? ”
The fact that he’d remembered Azalia’s name had me wondering if he, too, had a good memory. That’d be interesting. I’d never met anyone else with the same skill as me.
“You’re really nosey. You know that, don’t you?”
“Sorry. Blame my sisters.”
“Is that your excuse for all your bad habits?”
His face scrunched up, and for the first time, he seemed lost for a reply. Capitalizing on his silence, I tapped out a text message.
Hey babe, you awake?
Of course. Between Mom and Kane, I don’t think I’ve slept for a year
Oh, no, I wish I was there to help
I don’t. I’m glad at least one of us is living life
My heart ached for her. She was five years younger than me, yet she was miles away from what most twenty-four-year-old single women were doing.
Speaking of that . . . guess what?
You fucked Roman!
What? No, of course not!
Pierre?
Stop. No. I didn’t fuck anyone.
Shame. Ok what then?
Have I ever told you about Luca? The guy at the French chateau horse stables
Maybe. But I’ve got fucking baby brain, so I don’t remember. Is he hot?
The image of Luca naked flashed into my mind and I paused, contemplating the perfect description.
“You’re telling her about your horse guy, aren’t you?” Roman’s deep voice brimmed with cheekiness.
I shot him a don’t-be-silly glare. “No, I’m not.”
He cocked one eyebrow. “You’re a terrible liar.”
I put my finger to my lips. “Shush.”
He saluted me. “ Si, okay.”
Giggling, I tried to block him out. But even with my eyes averted, I could still picture his mischievous grin. I returned my attention to Zali.
Yes very hot. Think Chris Hemsworth with fiery red hair and eyes the color of a sapphire martini.
Fuck yeah. I’d do him.
I burst out laughing.
Roman shot his gaze at me. “What’s so funny?”
“It’s girly talk.”
“I love girly talk.” His eyes blazed with mischief.
“I bet you do.”
“It’s true.” He shrugged. “I’ve always been surrounded by women.”
“Bragger.”
“Not like that.” He scowled. “My sisters. Mamma. Nonna. Mamma’s nosey friends. Believe me, they’re the most interesting. Especially the single ones. I’d rather sit at an alcohol-fueled lunch with a group of women than go to the pub with a bunch of guys any day.”
I’d already pegged Roman as not normal and an intuitive freak. He was bordering on mythical creature now. I mean, what guy didn’t want to go to the pub with his mates? If I ever fell in love again, I hoped it would be with a man who was as intuitive and compassionate as Roman seemed to be.
Who was I kidding? I was never falling in love again. My heart was still crippled from my last brutal breakup.
My phone buzzed.
Hey. Horny bitch here. Need details
I swallowed my laughter.
Sorry. Roman is so nosey.
Say hi for me.
Reluctantly, I turned to Roman. “Zali says hi.”
His eyes lit up. “Say ciao from me too. Is her baby feeling better? What was his name? Kane?”
Jeez, he really did have a good memory. “Yes, it’s Kane.”
Roman says ciao and he wants to know if Kane is feeling better
Wow. That’s very considerate of him. He seems like a keeper. You should fuck him
Oh, God. Just in case Roman also had supersonic vision, I pulled the phone closer to my chest and cleared my throat. “Zali says Kane is fine. Thank you.”
“Ask her if?—”
“Excuse me.” I intended to chastise him, but it was impossible with the stupid grin on my face. “I’m trying to have a private conversation with my best friend.”
He held up his hand in a peace gesture. “Sorry. My bad. ”
One look was enough to know he wasn’t sorry. Back to Azalia.
Stop. I told you he’s off limits
Righty ho. Tell me about Luca
As miles and miles crossed beneath us, I told Zali all about my crazy, wonderful morning with Luca.
Holy shit, babe. You hit the fucking jackpot. He sounds amazing
He is
Jealous as all hell here. Thanks for sharing, but I’ve gotta go. Luv ya
Love you too. Thanks for listening
I always listen to you babe. You know that. Next time, I want photos. No, better yet VIDEO!
Ha. You’re funny
I’m not joking. I want dick pics
I burst out laughing and although Roman looked my way, he remained silent. It was a bloody miracle.
Not going to happen
Yeah Yeah. A real girlfriend would do it
I was contemplating a reply, when my phone buzzed .
Only kidding. You’re the best girlfriend ever. Keep up the good work. Gotta go. Bye
Luv ya. Bye. XXXOOO
I shoved my phone into my bag and settled into my seat. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I felt content. Really, truly at ease with myself. My body purred with delicious post-orgasmic bliss, and my mind was filled with lovely images of my morning with Luca.
Roman had been right . . . sex was the cure. Well, technically, I didn’t even get that far. Yet I already felt like a changed woman.
I’d had some kind of awakening.
Hot damn ! I felt good.