Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
A fter that incredible moment in Amsterdam, my mind was mush. The end of the tour came around so quickly that I barely registered until I was back in my apartment in London, all alone.
The days between tours dragged on, and although I made an effort to get out of my house and see more, my heart wasn’t in it. And I spent nearly every waking minute revisiting our kiss in the park.
Roman never mentioned it afterward. Not that evening when we took our group through Amsterdam’s red-light district. Not the following day in Belgium, and not when we said goodbye at our London office with promises to see each other again in eleven days.
But I hadn’t mentioned it either.
Oh, I wanted to. It was right there, burning at the forefront of my mind like a furnace.
But it was like it’d never happened. A few times I questioned whether or not it had. But I knew in my heart that it did. It was impossible to imagine a kiss like that .
It was a kiss that would have women packing their bags and crossing the world.
It was a kiss that made me desperate to find out how I could stay in this part of the world.
Had the marijuana blown that moment out of proportion?
Maybe it’d just been a quick peck and not a kiss that’d had my mind singing and my pussy purring like a contented cat.
I’d thought seeing him again in London would be awkward, but he acted like nothing had happened. It was the reality check I needed. Nothing had happened. Our kiss had been a stupid drug-induced peck, nothing more. I was a fool for reading into it.
Roman and I were just friends. Final.
Besides, I was supposed to be helping him get over Caterina as his wing-woman.
I’d been doing a shit job so far. This was the month to change that.
Our first two nights of the September tour were, as usual, spent in Paris. But it was no longer a city I adored. The entire time, I fought mental images of me with Pierre and him fucking his wife. The ones of me streaking up the street in an apron were there too, and although they were a bit funny, they were also cringeworthy.
I couldn’t get out of the supposed city of love quickly enough.
Paris would never be the same for me.
Roman wasn’t his usual self either, more brooding than chatty, and despite trying, I couldn’t work out why. Our trip to Chateau de Fontainebleau seemed to take forever.
About half an hour out of Paris, he glanced at me, trouble brewing in his eyes.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He turned back to the road .
“Are you okay?”
“ Sì , why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because you’ve barely spoken a word to me in days.”
“I thought you liked it that way?”
I cocked my head. “Roman, come on. That’s unfair. That was when we first met—we’ve gone way past that now.”
“ Si , we have, haven’t we?”
I frowned, unsure if he meant a whole lot more than what he was saying. “I agree. I can tell when something’s up. Want to talk about it?”
“Nothing is up. You going to see stable boy this month?”
I jerked back at his swift change in topic. “Is that what’s wrong? You worried about Luca?”
“No. Of course not. I don’t care whether you go to him or not.”
“But you’re the one who started this. I was quite happy before you came along.”
“You weren’t happy. You were dying on the inside, remember?”
“Yeah, well, now I’m not. Thanks to you.” I stood beside him, clinging to the shiny metal pole behind his seat, gazing at his thick hair that I’d run my hands through during that kiss.
Jeez, Daisy, let it go.
“Hey.” I touched his shoulder. “Talk to me. I can tell something’s wrong.”
“I’m okay. I just want you to be happy.”
My heart swelled. Other than Zali, nobody wanted that for me. “I am happy, thanks to you.”
It was a long moment before he turned to try and look at me. I stepped sideways so I could meet his eyes. They were impossible to read. Maybe something had happened at home. “Is your mamma okay? And Papa?”
“ Sì , they are good. ”
“What about your sisters and?—”
“Everyone is fine.”
“Except you.”
“I’m fine.”
“Roman, please. I see it in your eyes— what’s wrong.”
“I’m just worried that you’ll stop having fun because of what that prick in Paris did.”
Hmmm, I didn’t think he was being truthful. “Don’t worry. I won’t. I’ve only got four months left, remember? Got to make the most of it.”
His eyes darkened further. Was my visa expiry the reason for his angst? I was doing enough worrying over it. We didn’t need both of us getting into knots.
“So, does that mean you are going to stable boy?” He grinned at me.
I playfully slapped his shoulder. “It’s Luca.”
“Oh, that’s right. Luucccaaa.”
I slapped him again. “Ha-ha.” I couldn’t decide if Roman wanted my answer to be yes or no. “I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“Ahhh, my job for starters.”
“I can do that for you. You really need to get back on the horse.”
I grinned at him. “Pun intended?”
“Yep. It’s true. If you don’t, then that fucker Pierre wins.”
“I’m fine.”
“I mean it. The longer you wait, the harder it will be.”
Maybe he was talking about himself. I never did find out how long it’d been since he had sex. “You speaking from experience?”
He glanced at me, and I cocked my eyebrow. “From your experience. Yes.”
“Don’t go turning it around.” I shifted my stance so I could see more of his face. “We’re talking about you. ”
“No, we weren’t. I was talking about stable boy.”
“You’re impossible. You know that, don’t you?”
“So I’ve been told.”
“No, I’m not going to Luca. I have a job to do. I’m going to keep my extracurricular activities outside of work.”
He chuckled. “Extracurricular activities. Is that what you call them?” He turned the bus into the road that led to the chateau.
“Speaking of my job.” I left his side and grabbed the microphone. “Okay, sleepy heads, time to wake up. We’re nearly here. You don’t need to bring anything with you except your appetite. I hope you’re all hungry because this high tea is one of the best in the world.”
The passengers began to murmur, and I thought it was my suggestion of food, until Lydia, the gorgeous Italian tourist from Rome, pointed out the side. “Oh, wow, look at that.”
I turned to the window and my eyes nearly popped right out of their sockets.
A beautiful Appaloosa horse was galloping alongside the coach. That was incredible enough, but on the horse was Luca. His gorgeous rust-colored hair was out, flowing in the breeze. He wore dark denim jeans, a chambray shirt, and a long black coat that flapped onto Wild Fire’s spotted flank.
The horse was predominantly black, with the exception of a patch of white on his rump that sported a collection of black spots.
Wild Fire was one of Luca’s favorite horses, yet this was the first time I’d seen him actually riding the stallion. The two of them together were a match made in a horny woman’s heaven.
Out the corner of my eye, Roman was practically breaking his neck trying to catch my reaction to Luca’s welcome performance .
With the butterflies in my stomach doing Olympic-worthy cartwheels, I reluctantly turned to Roman.
His grin was so wide it probably hurt. “You gonna change your mind?”
There were no words.
I turned back to Luca and his beautiful horse. He’d galloped ahead, spun the stallion around in a quick circle, and reared Wild Fire up onto his hind legs.
Both horse and rider were the subjects master artists would dream of. They possessed strength, agility, brawn, and beauty and were the sexiest combination I’d ever seen. Some of the tour group clapped at the spectacle as if the show was for them.
“Looks like someone’s excited to see you.” Roman’s comment was paired with a cheeky grin.
I turned back to Luca without offering a retort.
The butterflies in my stomach were the size of eagles by the time Roman pulled the coach into our designated parking bay. “You better go see Romeo before his balls turn blue.”
“Gross.” I scowled.
In response, Roman opened the door and flicked his hand like he was shooing me away.
My heart was in my throat as I climbed down the steps. To think Luca had done this for me had me as giddy as a lovesick virgin. I could barely breathe as I walked up to the stallion with an outstretched hand. Wild Fire bobbed his nose, and when I reached him, he wriggled his lips on my palm as if eating something out of my hand.
“Hi, Daisy.” Luca’s deep voice was manly and perfect.
“Hey, Luca.”
His eyes were stunning, bluer than I’d ever noticed before.
“I’ve been waiting all morning for you. ”
“Really?” I asked. Feet crunched on the gravel behind me. I glanced over my shoulder. Roman was grinning at me like a crazy weirdo.
“It’s so good to see you.” Luca’s voice was Belgian chocolate, sweet and luxurious.
“Oh.” Tucking a loose curl away from my eyes, I shielded them from the sun to look up at him. With the fireball shining overhead, his hair blazed like flames. He was a Greek God, only a hell of a lot sexier.
He reached out his hand. “Come on up. I want to show you something.”
“Oh, ummm.” My already racing pulse galloped.
I glanced from Luca to Roman and had no idea what to do. Stay with my passengers and do my job, or ride away with a sexy man on a stunning stallion.
Roman’s eyes met mine, and he must’ve sensed my turmoil because he nodded and flicked his hand. “Go, Daisy. I’ve got this.”
My thoughts spun in endless loops.
Passengers . . . Luca. Job . . . fun. Obligations . . . steamy sex. So naughty . . . naughty. Sex. Sex. Sex.
I glanced at Wild Fire’s flank and thanked God I’d worn my jeans today. Maybe my subconscious had been preparing me all along.
I wanted to do this. I wanted to do something totally fucking reckless.
In that second, I thought, screw my job .
Screw my boss who doesn’t want me anymore. I have four months left in Europe. Every minute counts.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
I turned to Roman. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.” He winked. “Wingman.”
Guilt scraped up my insides. I was supposed to be helping him, not the other way around .
Roman was calm. Way too calm considering the unprecedented situation.
The number of thoughts hurtling through my tiny brain was of plague proportions.
Luca’s hand was still there, waiting for me. A lifeline to a promise of fun and steamy sex. I reached up, we grasped each other’s wrists, and with one herculean move, he launched me squealing onto Wild Fire.
Sounds of cheering erupted from inside the coach as I wrapped my arms around Luca’s chest. My senses were overloaded. Luca’s cologne dominated the aromas, a sexy blend of spice and leather. My breathing and that of Wild Fire’s dominated my hearing. Luca’s muscular abs rippled beneath my hands.
When I turned my attention toward the coach, twenty-eight smiling faces were looking back at me and dozens of cell phones taking photos. Roman’s smile was the grandest of all and even he was cheering me on.
“Ready?” Luca asked.
“Yes, but don’t go too fast.”
“Just hang on to me and you’ll be fine.”
He didn’t need to say that twice. I wriggled closer, increasing my grip so tight, he may well have suffocated. Luca turned the horse and as we trotted away, I prayed I didn’t make a fool of myself by falling off. It was a rough ride at first, and my lacy bra was completely inadequate for the amount of flesh bouncing around.
As my boobs slapped up and down with painful repetition, I added equestrian events to the growing list of sports my big boobs stopped me from doing. My cheeky panties, on the other hand, with the fine lace and soft satin, were on a mission to ride farther and farther up my ass.
At the rate they were going, I’d be able to taste them very soon .
It wasn’t until we left the highly manicured gardens and passed through an open gate into a large field that I understood how to synchronize my movements with Wild Fire’s rhythm.
Luca increased the horse’s pace a fraction and the slight change made the ride even smoother. The wind caught in my hair, and I smiled wider as I tried to comprehend that I was actually doing this. Maybe it was like riding a bike—it was a talent you never forgot.
When I was thirteen, I had a friend who lived on a hobby farm. We’d spent all summer with her horses, riding and grooming and laughing and singing—it was the best school holiday I ever had. Two months later, Mother declared we were moving two thousand miles away. I never saw my friend or her horses again.
Wild Fire upped his pace, and we cantered across the wide-open field, heading toward the wooded perimeter. The shift in pace was the perfect distraction from my flashback. The desire to squeal with exhilaration was strong. Too strong. “Woo hoooooo.”
Luca laughed and the flex and bulge of his muscular chest increased my joy tenfold.
Daisy Chayne, the single woman who hadn’t had a date in years, was being whisked away by a handsome cowboy on his noble steed.
Who’d have thought . . . damn, life was good.
Yeehaaaaaa.