a much safer subject. It was necessary, but Brooks had to say he was disappointed. He walked beside her as they headed into the stable.
“He will?”
“Absolutely, once we find the right buyer.”
He squinted to adjust to the darkness inside the furthest reaches of the barn. It was even colder in here than outside.
Ruby grabbed a bucket, a brush and a shoe pick. “Beau’s been great about giving me input on who our horses end up with. Especially the stallions. They’re in demand, but not everyone is cut out to own one.”
“You mean you can tell when someone is all wrong for the horse?”
She handed him the brush and a bucket.
“Pretty much.”
“That’s a talent I never knew existed.”
“It’s no different than anything else. You wouldn’t buy a car you didn’t feel was the right fit. A mom of three wouldn’t do too well in a sports car. The same holds true for a single guy on the dating scene. He isn’t going to buy a dependable sedan to impress a girl, now is he?”
Brooks smiled. “I never thought of it that way.”
“The horses I train need to go to good homes. They need to fit. Spirit wouldn’t do well with a young boy, for instance. He’s not going to be someone’s first horse. But a seasoned rider, someone who knows animals, will be able to handle him, no problem. Beau has built his business on putting his horses with the right owners. It’s a partnership.”
Ruby removed her hat and stuck it on a knob on the wall. With a flick of the wrist, she unleashed her mane of dark hair, and it tumbled down her back. It was the little uncensored, unknowing moves that made Ruby so damn appealing. She was pretty without trying and as free a spirit as the horse she’d just trained.
“What?” she asked, catching Brooks staring.
“Nothing.” He stepped closer. “No, that’s not true,” he said. “I’m standing here, looking at you and wondering how the hell I’m going to keep from touching you again.”
She got a look in her eyes, one he couldn’t read, and bit down on her lip. “We, uh, w-we can’t.”
But it was what she said with her eyes, and her stutter when she denied him, that gave him hope. “It’s hard for you, too. You like me.”
“I like a lot of things. But I love Beau. And I don’t want to—”
“Ruby.” The bucket and brush fell from Brooks’s hands and thumped to the ground. She gasped as he approached. He took hold of her arms gently, and her chin tipped up. He gazed into defiant eyes. Was she telling him to back off or daring him to kiss her? There was only one way to find out. “Ruby,” he rasped and walked her backward against the wall. There was no way anyone could glimpse them from outside. They were alone but for dozens of horses. “You want this, too,” he whispered, and then his mouth touched hers, and the sweetest purr escaped her throat. He deepened the kiss, tasting her again, her warmth, the softness of her lips burning through him.
She threaded her arms around his neck, tugging him forward, making him hot all over. She was a dynamo, a fiery woman who kissed him back with enough passion to set the darn barn on fire. Their bodies melded together, a perfect fit of small to large. They’d made it work one time before, and it had been heaven on earth. He wanted that again. He wanted to touch her and make her cry out. He wanted to strip her naked and watch her body move under his.
One kiss from Ruby had him forgetting all else. It was crazy. It was the middle of the day and they were in his father’s stable. But none of that mattered right now. Brooks couldn’t stop. He couldn’t walk away from Ruby. He grabbed thick locks of her hair, the shiny mass silky in his hands. He gave a tug and gazed down at her, so beautiful, so full of passion. “Is there somewhere we can go?” His voice was rough, needy.
Her eyes closed for a second as she decided, the pause making his heart stop. But then she whispered, “My office behind the tack room. There’s a lock.”
Relieved, he gave a slight nod of his head and then gripping her bottom, lifted her. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and he carried her to the office. He maneuvered them inside, turned the lock and then lowered her down. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she moved to the window and twisted the lever to close the blinds.
It gave him a second to do a cursory survey of her office. Warm tones, a wood floor, a cluttered desk and a dark leather sofa were all he needed to know about the decor before he turned to Ruby again, taking her back into his arms and claiming her mouth.
It wasn’t long before their desperate whimpers and growls filled the room. He stripped Ruby of her vest pretty quickly and then worked the buttons of her blouse. She helped, and then he pushed the layers off her shoulders and undid her lacy black bra. Her breasts spilled out, and he simply looked at her in awe for a few seconds before filling his hands. He flicked his thumbs over both nipples. She sucked in oxygen and squeezed her eyes closed, the pleasure on her face adding fuel to his fire.
As he bent his head and drew her nipple into his mouth, she moaned low and painfully deep. Her hands were in his hair, holding him there, as if he needed the extra encouragement.
“Galahad,” she whispered softly.
“Hmm?”
“Get naked.”
She was impatient, and maybe he was, too, because if he stopped to analyze this, to really think about what was happening and where, rational thoughts would intrude and possibly kill the moment. He couldn’t have that. He was too far gone, and so was Ruby. He could tell by the sounds she was making and the desperate look in her eyes.
This was dangerous in so many ways, and yet neither of them could put a halt to what they were doing, so he quickly unfastened all the buttons on his shirt.
And then Ruby’s hands were on him, pulling his shirt off and tossing it aside. Her fingertips began grazing his skin, probing his chest as she planted kisses here and there. She reached for the waistband of his jeans and pulled his zipper down. “You’re right,” he murmured. “You are feisty.”
“Determined,” she corrected him, and he actually chuckled through the flames burning him to the quick.
“Your turn,” he said, dipping into the waistband of her jeans. Within seconds, he had her naked and trembling. He couldn’t blame her; he was equally turned on. All the secrecy and danger might have added to it, but it could simply have been Ruby. She was a man’s dream. Maybe she could’ve been his dream in a different life.
She was feathery light in his arms as he lifted her and carried her to the sofa. He laid her down and gazed at her for a moment. Her hair, her skin, her body, everything that was Ruby made him shiver and want to please her. He came down next to her, squeezing in beside her on the sofa. He kissed her hard then, crushing his mouth to hers while moving his hand to her sweet spot. She bucked as he began to caress her. “Enjoy this, Ruby. Don’t hold back. You understand?”
She nodded eagerly.
And he worked up a sweat pleasing her, using his kisses to muffle her whimpers and moans. And when her final jolt released her ultimate pleasure, he was there with her to press his mouth
