I could feel Kye’s eyes on me, and I chanced a peek at him. He gave me a crooked smile.

  “Sundress is cute, but I miss those pajamas,” he drawled.

  My face felt hot.

  “What are you talking about?” Levi sounded angry.

  Kye raised his eyebrows at him. “I saw her leaving your room this morning.”

  “It’s not what you’re thinking,” Levi bit out.

  “Then, you’re a fucking idiot.”

  “Enough.” It was one word, but it sounded like an order.

  Kye didn’t seem concerned as he took the last piece of bacon off his plate and stuck it in his mouth like a cigarette before standing up. “See you at the shop,” he told Levi, then left the kitchen.

  “Put something over those pajamas of yours when you leave the room,” he said, not looking at me.

  “Okay.”

  We continued to eat in silence. It was starting to feel like I had done something wrong.

  Finally, he turned to look at me. “Do you like horses?”

  That was an odd question.

  “I’ve never actually seen a horse up close, but, yes, I think they’re beautiful. I used to ask Santa for a pony every year for Christmas. Of course, I never got one, and I really started to dislike the man, especially the year Cindy Golf got one for Christmas. It was a relief when I found out Santa wasn’t real. That explained a lot.” I stopped rambling and put another bite of yogurt in my mouth.

  “Change out of that sundress and into a pair of jeans. You’re going with me to the stables.”

  My eyes widened. “There are stables? With horses? Here?”

  He grinned and shook his head. “No, but I’ve got to go handle some things today at Hughes Farm. You’ll get to see as many horses as you want. We don’t have any ponies, but we do have a three-month-old colt. He’s a beauty.”

  “You work there too?” I asked, still unsure of what he actually did.

  He leaned back in his chair and took a drink of his coffee. “More or less,” he replied.

  I was curious as to what more or less meant exactly, but I was also excited about seeing horses. “I’m finished,” I told him. “I’ll go change.”

  He nodded, and I felt his eyes follow me from the room. The butterflies were in full force.

  Sixteen

  Levi

  Having grown up in this life, I’d forgotten how it appeared to others. Seeing the complete amazement on Aspen’s face when we pulled into the stables made me wish I’d brought her sooner. I had barely stopped the car when she was ready to jump out and see everything.

  Garrett wanted me here when the mare that Khan would breed arrived. King, the newest colt on the farm, was Khan’s. He was no longer racing, but his prizewinning bloodline was sought after.

  “You like it?” I asked her, already knowing she did.

  She beamed at me. “This is incredible. I didn’t know places like this existed in Florida. But then again, my traveling has been pretty slim.” She blushed, as if admitting that embarrassed her.

  “Where all have you been?” I asked, finding myself curious.

  “Uh, well, Alabama and Florida.”

  That was it?

  “Really?”

  It seemed hard to believe. Even for someone who had grown up so sheltered. Hadn’t she gone on any trips with her gran?

  “Yep,” she replied. “But on my bucket list is New York City.”

  “You might want to add some other places. New York isn’t as great as television leads you to believe.”

  She frowned at me. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that. New York City is magical.”

  I laughed. “No, sweetheart, it’s not. It’s full of crime, and it stinks.”

  “Stop it right there,” she said, holding her hand up. “I refuse to hear more.”

  Damn, she was cute.

  “Okay, fine. I want to hear a list of things you think are magical in New York.”

  She bit her bottom lip, glancing at me nervously. “Broadway. I mean, could you imagine seeing Phantom of the Opera on Broadway?”

  “Uh, no. Don’t think I’ve ever been tempted. What else is on this list?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Times Square, Central Park, Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Statue of Liberty, The Russian Tea Room, looking in windows on Fifth Avenue, eating from a food truck with a long line on the street.” She stopped.

  “That’s an impressive list of touristy things to do. Sounds like hell.”

  She laughed and gave me a little shrug. “I didn’t ask you to join me.”

  That comment only reminded me that this wasn’t forever. Fuck if that didn’t put me in a bad mood.

  I stood, watching Aspen talk to Maddy outside of Empire’s stall. Three mares were scheduled for Empire to breed today. They’d arrived yesterday. This was the end of mating season.

  Lighting up a cigarette, I walked over to watch the new practice jockey run one of the two-year-olds that we were testing out.

  The ash-blonde ponytail swinging as they came around the turn surprised me. We hadn’t had a girl jockey in a while. She had excellent form. I leaned on the fence, watching the colt’s stride. Glancing back, I checked on Aspen, who was currently laughing at something Maddy was showing her.

  The jockey came to a stop beside me and pulled off her helmet, then swung her loose hair back out of her face. This was why we hadn’t had a girl jockey in a while. The smile on her lips was already flirty. I was surprised we had hired one that looked like this.

  “You work here?” she asked me before swinging her leg over and dismounting.

  “You could say that,” I replied, taking another pull from the cigarette.

  Garrett frowned on us fucking the stable help, but after this morning, I needed to fuck someone. Waking up with Aspen’s tit in my hand after the dream I had about my face being between her legs had worked me up.

  She held out her hand to me. “I’m Bridget,” she said.

  I looked down at her hand, then took it and ran my finger along her palm slowly. “Levi,” I replied before letting her hand go.

  Her lashes fluttered, and I saw her chest inhale sharply. She’d be easy to get bent over in the back of the stockroom. Aspen was busy with Maddy, and I needed to fuck.

  “You done here?” I asked her, standing up straight and dropping my boot from the fence.

  “Yeah. I mean, I have a few more to bring out for some exercise, but I can be done for a bit.”

  I finished the cigarette and dropped it to the ground, covering it with the toe of my boot. “I need a fuck, sugar. If you’re offering, then let’s go.”

  She blinked a few times, as if shocked. I didn’t have time for the innocent act. If she wanted to flirt, then she needed to be ready for the result.

  “Just like that?”

  I shrugged. “Or you can continue running the horses.”

  I started to head toward the stockroom, which was as far away as I could get from Aspen and Maddy.

  “Okay, wait,” Bridget called out, and I grinned.

  Turning around, I watched as she climbed the fence and ran over toward me.

  Jockeys didn’t typically have much in the way of curves, and they weighed practically nothing, but their pussies were normally nice and tight. Right now, that was what I needed. No time to spank an ass. I had to get back to Aspen.

  I opened the back door and pushed her into the stockroom. She spun around, backing up against a stack of boxes. I pulled my Glock out of the back of my pants and laid it on the shelf beside me. Then started unbuckling my jeans as she watched me, panting like a damn dog in heat.

  “Gonna need your pants down too, sugar.”

  Her eyes flicked up to meet mine, and she licked her lips before going to get her riding pants down. She shoved them to her ankles, and I liked the thought of her bending over with pants still at her feet. I took the small foil wrapper out of my back pocket.

  “Put your hands on the boxes and stick your ass out,” I instructed while I stroked my dick.

  Her eyes kept going to it, and I knew she was worried about my size. I grinned and stuck the wrapper between my teeth to shove my jeans down some more. Tearing open the package, I took the condom and slid it over my length.

  “Is that pussy wet yet?” I asked her, reaching between her legs to find it nice and slick. “That’s a good little slut. Pants around your ankles and a soaking cunt. Don’t even fucking know me.” I grabbed her hips and ran the tip of my dick along her slit.

  “I know you,” she breathed out. “Levi Shephard. You work for Garrett Hughes. You’re one of his men. The ones who are at races, being his bodyguards.”

  I laughed. That was what she thought we were. “This pussy is wet because you want to be fucked by a man who carries a gun?” I asked her.

  “That, and you’re sexy. I like bad boys,” she moaned as I sank inside her.

  She was tight—not as tight as I’d hoped, but good enough.

  “Lucky for you, I like fucking slutty jockeys,” I replied through my teeth and began slamming into her.

  She screamed my name and moaned. I closed my eyes and thought about those green eyes staring up at me this morning. My fingers dug into the narrow hips I was holding. I had to stop doing this. It happened every time. Aspen’s face, no matter what cunt I was in, was all I could see.

  “Fuck yes,” I groaned. “Take my cock like the good little whore you are.”

  She clawed at the boxes underneath her, and her pussy clenched around my dick. “Oh God, yes! Fuck me harder!” she begged through her orgasm.

  I gave her what she wanted until my own release began to fill the condom. Yeah, that had taken the edge off. Slapping her bare ass, I pulled out of her and took the condom off, then tied it up to toss. I needed to get back outside to Aspen. Pulling my jeans back up, I buckled, then took my gun and put it back in its holster.

  “Thanks,” I told her, reaching for the doorknob.

  “Wait, uh, do you want my number?” she asked, tugging up her pants.

  “No, sugar. Just the fuck,” I replied, then left her in there to pull herself back together.

  The trailer with the mare had arrived, and I turned to walk out and speak to the owners when I saw Aspen by the pen with the foal. She was alone, so I headed in her direction first. When I reached her, she glanced up at me, and I saw a flash of disappointment in her eyes before she smiled.

  “You’re right. He is beautiful,” she told me, then looked back at the colt.

  I studied her for a minute, trying to decide if she’d noticed I went to the back building with the jockey. Even if she had, she wouldn’t have known I had taken her back there to fuck her. And why did it matter? I shook it off.

  “I need to go meet with the folks who just arrived. Are you good here? Need anything?”

  She shook her head and only glanced up at me briefly. That was going to fucking bother me. I started to reach for her face to make her look at me and stopped. I wasn’t going to touch her face with hands that had just been on some woman’s ass and cunt.

  “Look at me, Aspen,” I ordered her.

  She glanced up at me.

  “You don’t look good. You sure you’re okay?” I asked her, trying to read those expressive eyes.

  She nodded. “I’m fine. This little guy could keep me entertained all day.”

  She wasn’t fine. Fuck it. I couldn’t deal with this right now. I had to go do what I was here to do. Garrett was already gonna be annoyed that I’d fucked the jockey, but he must have expected it. Not like we hadn’t fucked the other female ones in the past.

  Turning, I headed back to the trailer to greet our guests.

  II

  Just because the craving is dark doesn’t mean only you desire it.

  —Abbi Glines

  Seventeen

  Aspen

  Other than the fact that Levi had taken the woman around back and had sex with her, it had been a good day. Maddy taught me how to feed the horses carrots from my hand. I petted several of them. The foal was adorable to watch, running around and playing. Then, of course, Levi, shirtless, on the back of a horse was a sight I would never forget.

  He took me over to watch the breeding, and I got embarrassed when the stallion mounted the mare they’d put out there with him. Levi chuckled at my red face and pulled me into his chest with one arm.

  “It’s just a little horse fucking, sweetheart,” he teased.

  His sweaty, bare chest distracted me. For a moment, I wanted to lick it and see how he tasted. When he let me go, I was light-headed from the entire experience.

  The woman he’d had sex with headed our way as we started to leave.

  “Levi!” she called out, and he paused, glancing back at her.

  I kept walking, and his hand reached out and grabbed mine, pulling me back to him. I went because I had no choice, but I did not want to listen to whatever they were going to talk about. Her gaze went from me and back to him, and I saw the question in her eyes.

  “Uh, hey,” she said, smiling at him. “Here’s this in case you need it.” She held out a piece of paper, and I assumed it was her number.

  He looked down at it, then took it.

  She shifted her gaze to me and back. “You’re, uh, single, right?”

  Levi draped his arm over my shoulders. “Yeah,” he replied.

  “Okay,” she said, frowning at the way he was holding me against him. “This is probably a game I don’t want to play.”

  “Not a game,” he drawled. “We need to head out. It was nice meeting you,” he told her, then looked down at me. “You ready to go, sweetheart?”

  I had never felt more awkward in my life. I wasn’t sure if I felt sorry for her or for me. This man looked like a shirtless sex god, and he made women act crazy.

  “If you are,” I replied softly, not wanting to speak at all.

  “So, is she, like, your sister or something?” the woman asked.

  He chuckled. “No.”

  She shook her head, clearly annoyed. “Whatever,” she muttered, then turned and walked back to the pen.

  Levi moved his hand to my lower back and led me through the stables and out to where he’d parked his car earlier. He unlocked the doors and opened mine for me. I said nothing as I climbed inside. When he was in the driver’s seat, I finally looked at him.

  “Do you do that a lot?” I asked, needing to know.

  I realized I had put Levi on this pedestal, and that was because he’d been there for me. He still was. I trusted him.

  “What?” he asked, backing up and heading for the main road.

  “What you just did.”

  “What did I just do?”

  I sighed and rolled my eyes, frustrated. He knew what I was talking about.

  “Did you just roll your eyes at me?” he asked in an amused tone.

  “You’re changing the subject.”

  “No, I’m not. You’ve not been clear about what you are asking me.”

  “Fine. Do you have sex with girls and then just ignore them like that?”

  “I took her number, although I’d already told her I didn’t want it. And why do you think I had sex with her?”

  I turned my head to look out the window. “She was loud,” I said simply.

  He didn’t say anything.

  Yep. He couldn’t lie about that now. That pedestal was getting wobbly.

  “She asked to be fucked, Aspen. I didn’t take something she wasn’t offering.”

  “I wasn’t saying you did. But that thing with you putting your arm around me messed with her.” And me. Which wasn’t fair.

  “No, I was making it clear what I had already told her. She was a fuck. That’s what she wanted—to fuck me. I made no other promises. She had the clingy look in her eyes, and I pissed her off to make her go away.”

  “By using me,” I pointed out.

  He turned to look at me then. “I don’t ever use you.” His voice was stern. “No one gets to fucking use you.”

  “It felt like it,” I whispered.

  He muttered a string of curses, then pulled off to the side of the road. “Look at me,” he said gently.

  I did because telling that man no was something I doubted any woman could do.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. Honestly, it was just a reaction. I felt like … like she was trying to intimidate you or stake some claim on me. Fuck, I don’t know. I just didn’t like the way she looked at you. I did it because I wanted her to understand that you’re important. She wasn’t allowed to give you nasty looks.”

  I swallowed. That was not what I’d thought he was going to say. And now, the pedestal was firmly back in place.

  “Okay … then I’m sorry for thinking it was something else.”

  He frowned and reached out to cup the back of my head and bring me to him. His lips touched my forehead. “Don’t apologize to me for shit. Ever,” he said before letting me go.

  Was it normal for a forehead to tingle? Probably not.

  “When I’m wrong, I apologize,” I replied.

  His lips curled up at the corners. “Not to me.”

  I smiled. It was hard not to smile at him when he was being like this. I leaned back in the seat and let out a sigh. He kept my emotions in high gear.

  “Are we good now?” he asked.

  I turned my head to him. “Yes.”

  He winked at me. “That’s what I needed to hear.” He started to pull back on the road and stopped. “And I’m sorry you heard us.”

  The memory of her screaming his name and the way Maddy’s eyes had widened when she looked at me made me feel a little sick in my stomach.