Chapter 28 My Stable. My Rules.
My Stable. My Rules.
Sawyer
I’m groggy this morning when I roll out of bed, but the lingering soreness between my legs reminds me of what Wes did to me in the front seat of his truck last night, and suddenly, I’m wide awake.
I get dressed and start on the morning chores.
I work with each of the horses throughout the day, keeping myself busy, but no matter how much I try to focus, my mind keeps drifting to my night with Wes.
The rough scrape of his calloused hands against my soft skin when he caught me in the corn maze.
The way his fingers filled me, his other hand white-knuckling the steering wheel as I unraveled.
How desperate he was, unable to stave off his climax a second longer, branding me with his release as he lost himself completely.
I’m stuck in the whirlwind of dirty thoughts when Allie pulls into the driveway.
Heat rushes to my cheeks as she steps out, making me feel like I've been caught red-handed watching something I shouldn't.
With the vivid details running through my mind, it might as well be playing out like a full-blown porno in my head.
“Hey!” Allie yells as she gets out of her Jeep. “It’s good to see you made it home safe and sound. A text message to let me know you found another ride would have been nice. I waited for you by the car.”
My cheeks flame and I wince. “I’m so sorry.”
She scrutinizes me with her relentless stare. “Kyle told me he saw you and Wes leaving together,” she says, a question hanging in the air.
I blow the hair out of my eyes. “Yeah. I’m right on his way home.”
“It’s not like you to forget to text me,” she muses.
“We, uh, just got to talking, and it slipped my mind.”
I’m evading. I’m not ready to have this conversation right now.
It just happened, and I need time to think.
“I was just getting ready to run to the store.” I shake my keys at her.
“Hop in. I’ll take you.”
If I’m stuck in a car with my best friend for longer than two seconds, I will absolutely spill my guts about me and Wes. “No. No. That’s okay.”
“Good Lord, Sawyer, get your cute butt in the car.”
She crosses her arms in front of her chest and stares me down.
There’s no time to argue with Allie right now. I need to get to town and get back before six.
“Fine,” I huff.
Once I’m buckled in, she glances over at me with a sly smile. “You don’t have to hide things from me, you know. I’ve been trying to corrupt you into taking him to your bed for the last month.”
“I didn’t take him to my bed,” I argue.
Technically, we never got that far.
Her gaze narrows. “You’re not fooling me. You’ve got that look about you.”
“What look?”
“The look of someone who’s been freshly fucked.”
“Jesus Christ, Allie,” I mutter.
She giggles maniacally. “So? You gonna tell me about it?”
“We didn’t fuck,” I say, and she shoots me a daggered stare. “He didn’t have any condoms.”
“Damn. I could have sworn you looked less tense when I pulled up.”
“Well, we... I mean he... on our way home, he sort of....”
Allie’s brows shoot to her hairline. “He what?”
“He got me off,” I whisper, like there’s someone else in this car that might hear my admission.
“While he was driving?” Allie is smiling like this is the best news she’s heard all month.
I nod again and stare out the window to avoid her searching gaze. She punches me lightly on the arm. “Girl, that is top tier boyfriend material right there.”
“Did you forget he’s leaving in a month, Al? We’re just having some fun.”
“Okay. But you’re planning to keep having fun with him, aren’t you?” she asks with a hopeful look.
“Yeah. He’s coming over at six.”
Allie glances at the clock on the dash and then looks me up and down. “Is that what you’re wearing for your date?”
“I’ll change if I have time when I get home.”
She presses her foot down on the gas. “Oh, I’ll make sure you have time to shower and change when you get home. No offense, but you smell like horses.”
I snort. “I always smell like horses. It’s never deterred Wes before.”
She shakes her head back and forth. “Last night you did not smell like horses.”
I roll my eyes at her because I know she’s going to want to dress me up like a doll as soon as we get back to my place, but that's not going to happen if I can help it.
We pull up to the only pharmacy in town, and despite my protests, Allie jumps out of the car and comes in with me.
I drag her into the personal care section with feminine hygiene items, pregnancy tests and, on a single shelf, a collection of condoms in various sizes, flavors, and materials.
I stare blankly at the choices, unsure which to pick.
It’s been a while since I’ve had to worry about this and if I’m being honest, the men I’ve been with have usually come prepared. I’m not sure if I should count it against Wes that he wasn’t equipped last night, or if everything with me just caught him off guard.
Allie taps a finger to her lips. “Alright, what’s he working with? Snug-fit? The average Joe? Magnum? XXL?” She gestures at the array of boxes like she's Vanna White.
“I don’t know,” I hiss. I rack my brain, trying to think of how it felt when I'd briefly wrapped my hand around him last night. “I didn’t see it. It was dark, but it felt like a good dick.” And because I know she will ask me to elaborate because that’s just Allie, I tag on, “He felt... substantial.”
She purses her lips, grabbing a couple of boxes off the shelf, weighing them in each hand. A throat clears behind us and Allie yelps, eyes going wide as she tosses the boxes of condoms at me and sprints off in another direction.
I spin around to find Wes standing behind me, arms crossed and a smirk playing on his lips like he’s incredibly pleased by the conversation he’s just overheard.
Heat creeps up my neck and into my cheeks as I hold the two boxes of condoms Allie had grabbed off the shelf. “I, uh, thought, maybe, but then I wasn’t sure which and um... well?” I end lamely, raising the boxes to his eye level for inspection.
“I’m flattered,” he says, placing the XXL box back on the shelf and taking the other one from my hand. “But I can handle getting these from now on.” He winks.
“Right. Okay. Thanks.” I feel like I’m about to burst into flames and it’s so stupid because I’m thirty-one years old, not some virgin who’s never done this before, but that doesn’t keep me from being mortified by what he just heard me say.
“Substantial.” He nods in agreement. “I like it.” And then his shoulders are shaking with laughter, and I can’t help but join in because this whole thing is ridiculous.
I run my fingers through my tangled hair and cringe. I probably look like a mess. Sweaty and—as Allie already informed me—smelly. “I should probably get back home so I can shower.”
He grabs my elbow before I can run off. “Hang on, I had something I wanted to run by you.” He drops his hand, lacing his fingers with mine. My stomach somersaults like I’m twelve years old, and a boy is holding my hand for the first time.
I blink up at him, unsure what to do with the butterflies that are soaring deep in my belly. Luckily, he keeps talking, so I don’t make a fool of myself yet again.
“I thought we could go riding tonight, if you’re feeling up to it.”
“I’m always up for a ride.”
His brow arches, that damn smirk making a reappearance.
I smack his chest with the back of my hand. “You know what I mean.”
“Oh, I’m sure I know exactly what you mean.”
I give him a cool once-over. “I’m rethinking my choices.”
He leans down, his lips ghosting over the shell of my ear. “You’d be making a substantial mistake.”
Goosebumps raise on my skin, and he squeezes my hip. My panties are immediately wet. It’s pathetic how my body reacts to him so instantaneously.
I clear my throat and step away because I’m pretty sure if I don’t, I’ll climb him like a tree in the middle of the condom aisle, and that would cause even more of a scene than we already have.
“I’ll tack up Dolly and Cash for us,” I say, trying to maintain some decorum despite my pulse thrumming like a hummingbird’s wings and my panties being soaked.
He shakes his head. “I’ve been working so hard with Luci. I thought it would be a good night to take him out on the trail.”
I shake my head. “He’s not ready for that yet.”
“Come on, Red. He’s come so far.”
He gives me a crooked grin. It’s a smile that’s full of charm, and I find myself completely disarmed by it.
I give in with a sigh. “Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you when he throws you on your ass.”
“Noted.”
I pry Allie out of her hiding spot in the aisle with adult diapers, and she drives me back home so I can shower.
I let her curl my hair and add some makeup, but I veto her outfit choices since Wes wants to go riding.
Dresses are out and my favorite pair of jeans and a graphic T-shirt—featuring a cowgirl riding a horse with Can’t Be Tamed in big, bold letters—are in.
She convinces me to pair it with a denim button-down and peels out of my driveway at a quarter until six.
Once she’s out of my way, I head out to the stable to saddle the horses for our ride.
I tack up Dolly first. She’ll be happy to get out on a trail tonight.
I’ve been so busy working with training the horses I’m being paid to train that I haven’t had a chance to take her out for a ride in a while.
She bobs her head and nickers in excitement.
I laugh when her hooves stomp back and forth like she’s dancing.
“Settle down, Dolly. I’m excited too, but we can’t go anywhere if you don’t let me get this saddle on you. ”
Dolly’s ears twitch in response and after a few more excited stomps, she settles so I can get her saddled. Once Dolly is ready, I tie her to the rail and get to work on Luci.