Even better, he had the equipment to take that ride to the next level. She’d never been so thoroughly massaged, inside and out. She’d told him that she couldn’t be aroused again so soon after such an all-encompassing episode. Apparently that wasn’t true, because as she stood in the kitchen, she wanted him again.

  Speak of the devil. In he walked, looking fresh as a daisy with his shirt buttoned and tucked into his jeans. No one would ever know what he’d recently been doing at the dining table. “Ready to do some horse training?”

  But anybody who looked at her would guess she’d been had, thoroughly and with gusto. She gazed at him. “You know how women are always saying that guys have it easy when it comes to peeing in the woods?”

  “Do they say that?”

  “Trust me, they do. Because it’s true, if you think about it.”

  “I suppose it’s true. But how does this apply to our current situation? If you’re proposing a hike in the woods, or a campout, I don’t think that’s in the cards. We have too many responsibilities.”

  He was cute. She had to give him that. “I was merely making the point that men also have it easier when they have sex. Everything’s sort of contained in one place, and once they zip up again, they’re golden. Women, on the other hand, tend to feel sort of squishy and in need of a hot shower afterward.”

  His dark gaze was gentle. “By all means take a hot shower, Lily. Meet me down at the corral whenever you’re ready.”

  “I didn’t want to wuss out on you.”

  He smiled. “You aren’t wussing. I’m the one who convinced you we had time for sex, remember? You wanted to get right to work.”

  “And boy, did I hold on to my resolve. Did you notice how tough I was? You really had to labor at changing my mind about having sex. It took at least five seconds.”

  He closed the gap between them and combed her hair back from her face. “I love that about you. You want me and you don’t care if I know it.”

  “I used to care. At first I did everything I could to hide my reaction to you.”

  “But the important thing is that you don’t hide anything from me now.”

  “No, I depend on your chivalrous nature not to look at things I’d rather you didn’t see.” She batted her eyelashes at him, daring him to confess.

  “I looked.”

  “Hell, I know you did! I could tell! I hate thinking that you’ll carry that picture around in your head for God knows how long.”

  “I’ll remember it forever.”

  She groaned. “Great. Etched in Regan O’Connelli’s brain forever—Lily King’s freckled fanny and her recently enjoyed feminine parts. Lovely.”

  “They were. Both enjoyed and lovely.” He stroked her scalp with his fingertips. “If I let myself dwell on the image too long, I’ll drag you into the bedroom, after all.”

  She tamped down her immediate response to that. If she let him know that she still wanted him, too, they would never get to the training. “We have to exercise some control.”

  He gazed into her eyes. “I know that. I’m not losing sight of what we have to accomplish for the sake of those horses out there.”

  “Good. Neither am I.”

  “So we’ll go work for a few hours. But eventually we’ll have to give up, because the corral isn’t lighted.”

  “Should I consider that?”

  “Not at this point. Installing lighting would be a major disruption. The lines should be underground, so you’d have all kinds of equipment in here. I doubt a construction crew would be able to finish the project in time to do us any good.”

  “So when it’s dark, we’re done?”

  He smiled. “With the horse training, yes. I’ll bet we can find some other projects to occupy our time.”

  “I don’t know what’s left on the list. Oral sex, check. Missionary position, check. Doggy style, check.”

  Heat flickered in his dark eyes. “I’m sure we can come up with a few other variations. You’re the brainy one. Set your mind to it.”

  “Not a good idea. I can’t be thinking about sex with you and learning to train horses at the same time. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re not too good at multitasking.”

  “Then we’ll have to explore the options together, won’t we?” His gaze dropped to her mouth. “We’ll have several hours to do that tonight. I’m sure we can think of some way to entertain ourselves.”

  “You’re a naughty boy, Regan O’Connelli. You know perfectly well I won’t be able to forget about sex now. If I’m not effective with the horses, it’s your fault.”

  “You’ll be effective with the horses.” He dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “Compartmentalize. Horses for the next two hours. Sex after that. Now go take your shower, and think of me while hot water is streaming over your amazing, responsive body. Imagine my hands rubbing your—”

  “Stop it!” Laughing, she pushed him away. “Go out to the barn, and don’t think of me in the shower. It could be dangerous.”

  “You’ve got that right.” He winked at her. “Don’t do anything in that shower that I wouldn’t do.” Plucking his hat from the counter, he settled it on his head before sauntering out the back door.

  Lily found the willpower not to call him back by reminding herself how much the horses needed his help. Yes, she also had to learn how to work with them, but this week the burden of the training would fall on him because he was more experienced and therefore more efficient. If she didn’t make it out to the corral for another fifteen minutes, the world wouldn’t come to an end.

  Normally fifteen minutes was more than enough time for her to take a hot shower. But Regan had awakened a more sensual Lily, a Lily who might just decide to grab a little personal enjoyment while she was in the shower. He’d warned her not to do anything he wouldn’t do, which left lots of room to maneuver.

  13

  REGAN HAD PLENTY of practice at compartmentalizing. He’d used the technique to wall off thoughts about Jeannette while he’d taken the necessary steps to leave Virginia and relocate in Wyoming. But that wall was developing some serious cracks.

  As he walked to the barn to pick up a lead rope, Lily was on his mind for obvious reasons, but Jeannette was there, too. After such explosive sex with Lily, he had to face the truth. He and Jeannette had never had that kind of chemistry. Sure, they’d enjoyed the experience. He had some good memories of sex with her. But none of them compared with today’s total sensual immersion.

  He thought back over the last couple of months he’d spent with his ex-fiancée and reluctantly admitted he’d let their sex life grow stale. He’d planned to spice things up after discovering that he wouldn’t be spending Christmas Eve delivering a valuable foal, after all, but that had been an afterthought. Too little, too late. Jeannette very well could have felt neglected and unappreciated. He hadn’t wanted to accept any blame for what had happened, but he might want to rethink that position.

  He began to remember little things—the sexy nightgown that he’d barely noticed because he’d been exhausted from an all-night vigil with a sick thoroughbred. The candlelight dinner he’d missed when a high-earning stud ate some moldy grain and almost died.

  Jeannette had assured him she understood, and he’d believed her. After all, she’d been raised in the world of thoroughbred racing and he’d become the vet of choice for her parents’ stable as well as others in their exclusive circle.

  But he should have found a way to make it up to her for those little disappointments. He could have been much better at letting her know that he cared. He had cared, but in a low-key, comfortable, take-her-for-granted kind of way. Ugh. No wonder she’d been tempted by Drake.

  That didn’t excuse Drake, though. Regan wasn’t cutting that guy any slack. He’d moved in on his best friend’s fiancée, and a friend just didn’t do that. They’d all known each other since freshman year in college, for God’s sake. He and Drake had decided within weeks of meeting in a biology class that someday they’d open a clinic together in Virginia and specialize in thoroughbreds.

  Drake had introduced Regan to Jeannette that first semester, too, and the three of them had been inseparable. If she’d cheated with someone else, anyone else, Regan wouldn’t have reacted with such fury. He’d thought he could trust the guy with his life, but he hadn’t even been able to trust him with the woman Regan had planned to marry.

  A horse nickered, pulling him out of his dark thoughts. He found himself standing in the barn, fists clenched and jaw tight, wondering what he’d come down there for. Oh, yeah. A lead rope so he could catch himself a horse to train. Might as well grab two ropes and get both horses in the corral at once.

  The barn was empty except for Sally, who was the one who’d called to him from her stall at the far end. She probably hoped he’d let her out so she could continue snacking on Lily’s house. “Sorry, old girl. You’re in a time-out for now.”

  A rope looped over each shoulder, he headed out of the barn into the sunlight. His shades were clipped to the visor in his truck, and he’d decided to leave them there. Lily thought they were a sign of his secret anguish, so he’d be damned if he’d keep wearing them when she was around.

  He didn’t want to, anyway. They interfered with his full appreciation of Lily walking through sunbeams, her hair glowing like fire. Damn, wasn’t that poetic? She had that effect on him, inspiring him to think in ways that were totally new to him. He’d never had thoughts like that about Jeannette, and he realized now that a guy should be entranced by the woman he intended to spend his life with.

  Bottom line, he hadn’t loved Jeannette the way he should have, considering the big step they’d been about to take. He hoped she’d find someone who would love her like that. It felt good to wish her well. Thanks to Lily, he could finally do that.

  As he walked the property, he evaluated which two horses should come back to the corral with him. Then he noticed Rex standing on a small rise, head up, mane and tail fluttering in the breeze. Okay, that one. He was one of the troublemakers, which meant he might require more effort, but he would show well in the corral. Getting him adopted would eliminate one of Lily’s biggest headaches.

  Instead of approaching the big palomino, Regan relaxed his posture and waited to see if Rex would come to him. They’d established a tentative bond yesterday. Regan visualized the horse walking right up to him.

  Rex looked over at Regan and tossed his head. Then he posed. Regan couldn’t describe it any other way, and it made him chuckle. Rex stood with his chest out and his head high, as if to showcase how truly magnificent he was. Regan wasn’t sure how long this demonstration might last, so he tried a low whistle, just to see if Rex might have been trained to respond to that.

  Rex whinnied exactly as a movie horse might have been taught to do, and walked straight over to Regan. Then he began nosing Regan’s pockets for a snack.

  “Sorry, no treats.” Regan clipped the lead rope on the palomino’s halter and started walking back to the corral. Maybe he’d pick up another horse along the way. “Something tells me that whoever brought you in wasn’t your first owner. You’ve been spoiled by more than one person, haven’t you, Rex?”

  The horse snorted.

  “Yeah, thought so.” Regan glanced back over his shoulder, and sure enough, several horses had fallen into line behind Rex. Regan would have his pick of another animal to train.

  By the time Lily arrived at the corral, Regan was making good progress with Rex. A big bay named Molasses was tied outside the corral waiting his turn. The rest of the horses had drifted away, apparently bored by the proceedings.

  Regan spared a quick glance at Lily, who’d left her hair loose around her shoulders. He’d like to believe that was for his benefit. She’d also added a Western hat, which was wise considering her fair skin. She looked darned cute in it, too. After allowing himself one potent image of her red hair spread out on a white pillowcase, he shut down that avenue of thought and concentrated on Rex.

  “What can I do?”

  “How about untying Molasses and leading him around a bit? See how he does on the lead, unless you already know.”

  “I don’t. Because I never cared where they wandered, I had no reason to put a lead rope on any of them.”

  “Then finding out how he leads would be a good thing. Holler if you need any help.” He figured it would be a good exercise for Lily, too. “By the way, have you ridden any of them?”

  “Nope.”

  “I never thought to ask—do you ride?”

  She shrugged. “I rode my friends’ horses every so often when I was a kid, but I wouldn’t say I’m really confident. That’s probably why I didn’t think to ride any of these guys, especially being out here alone.”

  “That’s okay, but we should know whether they can be ridden before we adopt them out. Did the people who dropped them off mention whether they were good saddle horses or not?”

  “Uh, no. I’m embarrassed about how little information I asked for. I need some sort of intake form, I guess.”

  She should have created such a form early on, but that was water under the bridge. “Don’t worry about it. You have a couple of saddles in the barn we can use. After I’ve worked with Rex and Molasses for a while, we can saddle them up and take them out.”

  “You mean go riding?”

  “Sure.” He had a sudden thought. “Unless you’re too tender.”

  She laughed. “Not yet. But if I’m going to be riding horses this week, then maybe we should refrain from—”

  “Sorry. Not acceptable. I’ll ride the horses.”

  That made her laugh even more. “My, my. I can tell where your priorities are.”

  “As if you had any doubt.”

  “Let’s see how it goes. Maybe I can do both. As for this afternoon, I’d love to take a ride with you, assuming neither of these boys is a bucking bronco.”

  “I’ll make sure of that before I let you get on one.”

  “I’d appreciate that. Okay, I’m off for a walk with Molasses. I won’t go far, in case I need your help.”

  “Good idea.” He hoped she’d get along fine with Molasses, so he wouldn’t be required to come to her rescue. That would bode well for both woman and horse. But he was a typical guy, after all, and he’d discovered that being a woman’s white knight was pretty damned cool.

  * * *

  LILY DIDN’T HAVE a single problem with Molasses. She couldn’t decide if he walked quietly behind her at a respectful distance because he was well trained, or if he was responding to her more assertive attitude. She followed the tips Regan had taught her earlier that day with Sally and simply assumed Molasses would do what was expected of him.

  Fortunately for both of them, he did. When Molasses had his turn in the corral with Regan, he was a model horse, so maybe his behavior had nothing to do with her new attitude.

  “I have a feeling we’ll be able to take that ride,” Regan said as he came through the gate leading Molasses. “I had no trouble with this boy.”

  “Me, either.” Lily untied Rex and walked beside Regan as they all headed toward the barn. “I guess that’s because he’s just a good horse.”

  “Not necessarily. It might be that he recognizes you mean business.”

  “I really have changed my attitude. Sally chewing on the windowsill was the last straw.”

  “That bothered you more than the porch railing?”

  “You betcha it did! Replacing and repainting that railing would have been work, but doable. Replacing a windowsill, especially for an older, double-hung window like that one, would have been a pain in the neck.”

  “Yep.” He glanced over at her and smiled. “I’m glad you saw the light.”

  “I did. I’m a changed woman.”

  “Hey, let’s not get carried away. I like you fine the way you are.”

  “I was too permissive. I can’t be that way anymore.”

  “With the animals. But I love it when you’re permissive with me.”

  Her body began to hum. “Way to sidetrack me, O’Connelli. I was completely focused on this horse-training exercise until you said that.”

  “You were? Honestly?”

  “Mostly. A girl has to sneak a peek now and then.”

  “So does a guy. Especially when he’s training a mellow horse like Molasses.”

  “Mmm.” She began replaying their bedroom and dining activities, and her panties were suddenly no longer so dry. “Out of curiosity, how long a ride were you planning on?”

  “Long enough to take us out to the back of your property.”

  “Okay. That’s not very far.”

  “Just far enough.”

  “I suppose you don’t need a cross-country trek to find out if they’ll behave themselves with a person on their back.”

  “No, I don’t. And there’s a nice tree out there.”

  She couldn’t imagine what the tree had to do with the riding test. “Are you into trees?”

  “Sure.”

  “So do you want me to ride Molasses, since he seems like such an easy horse?”

  “I’ll probably have you ride Rex. I’m more confident of his behavior now that we’ve worked together twice. But let’s see how they react to being saddled before we decide.”

  Lily stepped back and let Regan saddle both horses, in case either of them kicked up a fuss. They didn’t, but she knew Regan was visualizing that they’d stand there without protest, so that’s what they did. She was becoming a fan of assumed consent.

  “I’ll mount Rex first,” Regan said. “If he reacts okay to that, you can get on him.”

  “I’m hoping I’ll remember how to do this.”

  “I’m sure you will.” Regan tightened the cinch on Rex’s saddle. He talked to the palomino in that same low, calming voice that seemed so effective. Then he rubbed the horse’s shoulder and scratched under his mane before leaning against the saddle for a couple of seconds.

  Finally he swung up into the saddle. Rex turned to look at who was on his back. “Just me,” Regan said. As if satisfied with that, Rex faced forward again.