Chapter 5
Claire watched as the clouds rolled in, blanketing the Blue Ridge Mountains with a hazy mist. She glanced at Alexander. “We need to hurry if we want to get these up before that storm moves in.”
Alexander stood and looked behind him. She was right. The storm was moving fast. “We’re going to get wet,” he stated as he bent back down to the gate they were installing in the track ring. He had come back from Washington, DC, to find her trying to install the gate by herself. Over the last few weeks, they had managed to clean up and repair the practice ring behind Claire’s cottage, adding new drainage and a substrate of sand and fiber. They’d also expanded it by meters so she could work the horses that were new and not yet used to a silky. Fixing the gate was the last thing they needed to do.
The sky opened up twenty minutes later, just as they were making the final balance to the gate. Alexander grabbed Claire’s hand and together they ran towards the house, laughing. It wasn’t the first time they had gotten caught in the rain. It wouldn’t be the last. They stood on the back porch watching the rain come down, thunder booming across the sky. “Well, at least we got it finished,” Claire laughed. “So much for going for a ride. Loki is just going to have to enjoy the comfort of the barn with the All-Father,” she commented. She had started riding a horse named Odin, the “All-Father,” a week after riding him almost every day. He was headstrong and stubborn, but she could not have picked a better horse.
Loki was Odin’s brother and was owned by Alexander. He was more of a handful than Odin, but they had an understanding. Alexander looked down at Claire. “You spoil them both, you know.” He saw her grin and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head. “You wouldn’t happen to have anything I could change into, would you?”
Claire nodded. “I think I can round up something. Not sure what. You may wind up sitting around my house in a nightgown. Or bootie shorts.” She chuckled as she pulled off her boots and left them on the porch. “Anything I have is still going to be too short for you. You are all legs!” she teased. She pulled off her wet socks and left them in the laundry room. There were fresh towels on top of the dryer, and she grabbed one, tossing it to Alexander as he came in, his own boots and socks on the porch.
She wandered into her bedroom, leaving him to dry off in the kitchen. “Toss your clothes in the washroom, and we can dry them,” she called back. A loud crack of thunder made the windows shake, and the lights flicker before going out. “Or not,” she mumbled. Quickly, she shed her own wet clothing, grabbing an oversized t-shirt nightgown and tossing it on over her panties. She opened up the bottom drawer of her dresser and pulled out a pair of sweatpants she had kept around for those days when she didn’t feel like dressing. They were big on her and a bit threadbare in places but comfy. She grabbed a big old concert t-shirt and walked back into the kitchen. “I hope my clothing options don’t bother your sensitive billionaire skin,” she laughed. The sight of Alexander standing there in nothing but a pair of tight black boxer briefs made her stop in her tracks. “Or you could jog the quarter mile to your house and change…” she said before falling silent. She gripped the clothes tightly in her hands, watching him as he dried off and worrying her lower lip with her teeth.
Alexander picked up his clothes and tossed them in the dryer. He didn’t bother turning it on, having seen the lights flicker and go out. But then, he hadn’t planned on going home any time soon. He was towel drying his hair as he walked back into the kitchen and looked up to see Claire staring at him. Her eyes were big, and her cheeks flushed. He had never seen that look on her face, and he honestly liked what it did to him. “Not what you were expecting?” he asked as he walked towards her.
“I…was not expecting you to be quite so buff under your suit,” she finally managed.
Alexander tossed the towel on the back of one of the kitchen chairs as he stopped in front of her. “Well, then, enjoy the view,” he said quietly. “He cupped her cheek in his hand, running his thumb over her soft lips. He lowered his mouth towards hers, stopping for a moment before kissing her. It wasn’t one of the quick kisses he gave her when they went their separate ways over the last few weeks. No, this was one of those kisses that was filled with need, love, and promise.
Claire couldn’t help but lean into him, the clothes caught between them. Alexander pulled her against his, his arms wrapped around her and hands splayed at the small of her back and shoulder blades, his mouth thoroughly dominating hers as he bent her back just a bit in the kiss. Claire would give him the moon if he asked for it. She whimpered a little when he ended the kiss, her lips swollen, her entire body flushed with a need she hadn’t felt in a long time. She gazed up at him. “I am falling in love with you, Alexander,” she whispered.
Lightning flashed across the darkening sky, and the thunder boomed over their heads, making Claire jump. She buried her face in his chest. She breathed in the scent of his skin, finding comfort in just that small thing. He smelled like outdoors and sandalwood with a touch of horse. It brought back memories of them riding and spending time in the horse stalls in the late afternoons, holding hands as they talked while sitting on the fresh hay over the last few weeks. She looked up, met his gaze, and slowly smiled at him. She looked down at the clothes in her hand. “I…um…found these. They might fit.”
“Okay,” Alexander said. “I’m not really worried about clothes right now. Are you?” he asked. His voice was husky, filled with emotion. He could see the same emotion on Claire’s face, the need, the desire that he was feeling so keenly as he held her. He kissed her again, this time picking her up.
Claire wrapped her legs around him, her arms around his neck. She threaded her hands in his thick, wavy hair, kissing him back with as much need as he kissed her. His hands cupped her buttocks as he carried her, and she broke the kiss. She tossed the clothes on the floor, letting her hands caress his shoulders.
“I’m not stopping this time, Claire,” he whispered against her cheek before trailing his lips down her neck. He set her on her feet, pulling the oversized t-shirt over her head before she could protest. His mouth found hers again. He sat on her bed, pulling her to him. His hands ran from her hips up her sides to cup her breasts as he gazed at her. Her breasts were lush and sensitive to his touch. Alexander didn’t think he could be any more aroused than he was when he saw her walk into the kitchen in the oversized shirt, her hair a mess. But he was wrong. He was so wrong.
Claire’s breath caught as his warm hands cupped her breasts, his thumbs stroking the underside gently. He let his lips trail down her neck, nipping lightly at her soft, fragrant skin. Her head fell back, her eyes closing, letting herself get lost in his touch as he pulled her closer to him. She couldn’t resist the small whimper that escaped her at the feel of his lips and his reddish stubble on her collarbone. That was a new sensation, and it excited her. She was trembling and couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so good. She opened her eyes to watch him as he worked his way lower, his mouth trailing kisses down her body, his hands continuing until they came to the boy-cut panties she was wearing. He looked up at her, his green eyes darkened to a deep emerald. He was looking for permission, but she was not going to withhold it. “Make love to me, Alex,” she managed to say, not recognizing the huskiness of her own voice.
Alexander slipped his thumbs into the waistband of her panties and slid them down her legs. As soon as she stepped from them, he laid her on the bed, kissing her hungrily as he kissed his way down her body. She was everything he ever wanted in a woman. She was quick with her wit, and she loved his horses as if they were her own. She was beautiful, athletic, and intelligent, and she didn’t care that he was rich. She saw him for who he was, a man who shared the same passions she did. He let his hands slide down her body as he dipped his head lower. He needed to taste her, to hear her moan in ecstasy as he made her orgasm over and over.
Claire’s breath caught at the first feel of his warm breath on her sensitive flesh. His hands gently pushed her legs wider, and the first trace of his tongue over her sensitive pearl made her shiver in anticipation. It didn’t take him long to have her writhing on the bed, her hands gripping the sheets as he held her thighs with a vice-like grip. When the orgasm hit her, her back arched, and she was left breathless, Alexander not letting her move. He made his way back up her body, and she tasted herself on his lips as he kissed her, his body covering hers as he entwined their fingers together.
She was more than ready for him, and he didn’t wait, slipping deep into her hot body with a single deep-seated thrust. He exhaled with a groan of satisfaction. She gripped his cock like like velvet closing over steel. He nipped at her neck, willing his body to wait before he started moving, setting a slow pace until he had Claire whimpering. “What, Claire? What do you want?”
“Harder,” she managed to breathe.
Alexander smiled. “Harder.” He pulled her against him, one hand beneath her buttocks, and picked up his pace, giving her exactly what she asked for. She gripped the headboard, her moans egging him on. It didn’t take long for her to come again and tighten around him, milking his own orgasm from him. He leaned his forehead against hers, waiting for his heart to stop pounding before rolling to his back, bringing Claire with him. He gazed up at her, his hands tracing her body and cupping her breasts in his hands. “Your turn,” he whispered, his cock stirring to life again. “Show me how you’d ride me,” he urged playfully.
Claire licked her lips and did exactly that. She moved over him with long, slow strokes until he couldn’t stand it anymore. Alexander sat up, wrapping her legs around his waist and taking control, his mouth claiming hers as they made love. He would never get tired of making love to her, and if he had his way, he’d do it for the rest of their lives.
Outside, the storm raged around them, but it was nothing compared to the storm of lovemaking between Claire and Alexander.