Leaping Hearts (20 page)

A.J. sought him out, bringing his lips up to hers and feeling his tight length over her. She struggled with the waistband of his slacks and he pulled back, swiftly peeling them off before returning to her in a rush.

“Devlin,” A.J. moaned. “Devlin?”

He made a noise that was an aching groan punctuated by a question mark. It was the best he could do.

“Devlin.” She was struggling to make her mouth work. “You should know I…”

Her voice trailed off as he slid his hands across the top of her panties.

“It’s been…” A.J. bit her lip as she felt him stroke over the flimsy cotton.

“Are you okay?” He saw passion and torment in her eyes. “Do you want to stop?”

Devlin prayed she wouldn’t say yes.

“I don’t know how to tell you this,” she murmured awkwardly.

His body throbbing and aching, vision blinded by passion, he asked in a hoarse voice, “What is it?”

“I haven’t done…this”—she hiccuped over the noun like a broken record—“in a long time.”

The very malest part of him was thrilled. “We don’t have to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.”

“I want you,” she said, putting her lips to his. “I want to do this.”

As Devlin absorbed her response, A.J. felt tremors pound through his body. It gave her a sense of power, and with it, she went about learning the hard contours of his chest and belly, using her hands and her mouth. He thrashed under her, calling out in a desperation that made her go even further. She tormented him and teased him, bringing him to the brink but no further, until he let out a growl and rolled over onto her.

He ripped her thin panties in haste and settled himself over her. Their eyes met and he slowly slid into her body. It was paradise. In that first instant, as their hearts beat together and their bodies and breath mingled, they both knew they would never be the same again.

Starting slowly, and growing with urgency, he moved within her. They held each other tightly against the impending release, which built and built until they thought they could stand it no longer. Finally, with rough cries, and heaving breaths, their bodies climaxed in a burst of ecstasy.

Much later, after he noticed the chill in the air and covered them with the throw blanket to keep her warm, Devlin found himself in awe. Now that they’d been together once, he couldn’t wait to be inside of her again. She was the kind of lover he’d been looking for without knowing he was on a quest. Gifting herself with honesty and abandonment, she had taken pleasure from him and given it back to him without any artifice. With her, he’d known true intimacy for the first time.

A.J. stirred in his arms and his breath caught as her eyes opened. Her expression was that of a cat in sunshine. Satisfied, glowing, content. He’d do anything to keep her looking like that.

Devlin kissed her softly.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“Wonderful.” She ran a hand across his chest as he laughed huskily, thrilled.

“Devlin?”

“Yeah?”

“I didn’t know it could be like that.”

“Neither did I.”

“And I’m glad I’m not leaving this house. Leaving you.”

“Me, too. I never wanted you to go.”

She sighed, relieved that everything was going to be fine and nothing would change. Except for the nights. And they were only going to get better.

Devlin felt her relax against him and was likewise glad the decision had been made. Now they could move forward and see where all the passion and emotion would take them. First thing in the morning, he’d start looking for another trainer. Someone close by so she wouldn’t have to drive far. Someone who was good and would take care of her in the ring.

In the tight cradle of the couch, they fell asleep against each other with just the blanket to keep them warm. When dawn tripped over the mountain ridge, taking a tumble and spilling its light across the hills and sky, Devlin woke up and reached for A.J.’s mouth. Wordlessly, she rolled under him and he entered her body with a powerful surge. When they climaxed together, her name was a moan that came from the deepest part of him.

As they floated back down to earth, Devlin knew they had to get off the couch and put some clothes on before Chester came through the front door. Turning to look into A.J.’s face, he was struck again by her loveliness. Never had morning light been quite so tender, or the quiet of dawn seem so gentle, than as his eyes caressed her. As she looked back at him, there was shy inquiry in her expression that was spiked with remembered ecstasy. He felt light-headed.

“I feel so damn lucky that I met you. And that this happened,” he said. Her smile was full of happiness and he felt his heart grow light as he told himself everything was going to be okay. “I guess I should head upstairs before Chester comes through the door.”

“You get the first shower.”

“I’d rather share it with you.”

“You know what they say: Save water. Shower with a friend.”

“You’re a hell of a lot more than a friend,” he replied, taking her mouth. His kiss was fevered, despite the fact that they had just made love. When they took a break so they could breathe, he said, “I better go.”

Quickly, before they became lost in each other again, he got up off the couch. Before he left, he was careful to tuck the blanket around her so she wouldn’t be cold.

A.J. watched him move around and pick up his clothes, delighted with the chance to see his body in the light. With all that they had shared of themselves, physical beauty seemed trivial and yet she was thrilled by his strong arms and flat, muscled belly. It was only when she saw the scars on his bad leg that she felt bad. The crisscrossing disfigurements, a map of where the limb had been rebuilt, still looked fresh and angry. She wanted to reach out and smooth the knotted lines with her fingers, to bear some of his loss for him.

After blowing her a kiss, Devlin went up the stairs. When she rolled over onto her back, she was smiling.

Nothin’ like a little lovin’ to perk a girl up, she thought, feeling a bulge under her back and pulling out her T-shirt. She shrugged it over her head and looked down at the wrinkles, a road map pressed into the cotton by the weight of their bodies.

By the time Devlin came back downstairs, A.J. had gotten up and was folding their blanket. He leaned against the wall.

“What are you looking at?” she asked playfully.

“I’m trying to imagine you in a little French maid’s outfit. It’s quite a picture, let me tell you.” His eyes were soft and warm.

“I hate to ruin the fantasy, but I’m not the frilly type. Petticoats make me itchy.”

He walked over to her, took her into his arms. “Just as well. I think you’re more beautiful like this.”

“With my hair a mess, wearing a wrinkled shirt?”

“You’re right. I’d prefer you totally naked.”

His hands gripped her hips and pulled them into him. She could feel him harden the instant their bodies came into contact.

The footsteps coming up the flagstone told them Chester had arrived, and they parted just as he burst through the door. He had the newspaper under his arm and his hangdog face was cheery.

“I won twenty-seven fifty last night at the bingo parlor!”

“That’s quite a haul, old man,” Devlin said smoothly.

His eyes were on A.J. as she bent down and picked up her toiletry bag. He couldn’t wait until the day was over and they could be alone again. He was also feeling good about the prospects for his replacement. Up in the shower, he’d reviewed the trainers and stables he respected and there were at least two viable candidates he wanted to invite over to meet with A.J. He was certain they could find her another trainer soon and that her work with the stallion wouldn’t be interrupted significantly.

“So’s breakfast ready yet?” Chester asked.

“It will be when we make it.”

As the two headed into the kitchen, Devlin sent her a wink over his shoulder and A.J. blushed. By the time she came back down, they were at the table. Chester, between spoonfuls of cereal, was leafing through the paper.

“Well, will ya get a load a’ this.”

With a ruffle and a snap, he folded the newspaper in half and pushed it across to Devlin. A.J. glanced over at it.

Taking up almost the full page was a picture of the two of them together, taken just before she went into the ring the day before. Devlin’s hand was on her cheek and their eyes were locked. She remembered the moment vividly, and, looking at the photograph, she saw the bond between them was as powerful as it was obvious.

“Oh, God,” she groaned.

The headline read
SUTHERLAND BEAUTY TAKES UP WITH FALLEN CHAMPION.
The article that followed was a combination of speculation, rumor and innuendo. Quotes from various competitors were used to inflame her purchase of the stallion, her split with her family and their relationship.

“What are we going to do?” she wondered aloud.

Devlin got to his feet, his chair scraping across the floor.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” he said darkly. “As soon as you and the stallion leave here, it’ll all die down and the reporter will look ridiculous for making a big deal out of nothing. We’ll just put up with it until the end of the week.”

“End of the week?”

“I think I can have a couple of trainers come by tomorrow. We can pick the one who works best and transport the stallion to his new stable ASAP.”

A.J.’s voice cut through the kitchen. “I already have a trainer.”

Devlin frowned.

Chester said, “I better get on down to the barn.”

Neither of them noticed as the man left and took his breakfast bowl with him.

“A.J., I thought we agreed on this.”

“I told you last night. I want you. I need you.”

“And you agreed to choose.”

“I did. I need all of you.”

He started shaking his head. “Wait a minute. I was very clear about what I wanted.”

“So was I.”

“I assumed we made love last night because you were going to go with another trainer.”

“And I told you I wasn’t.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Yes, I did.”

They squared off across the table.

“I don’t recall hearing those precise words come out of your mouth.”

Her eyes implored him. “Look, we can make it work. We can do both.”

Devlin cursed, wrenched his hands through his hair in frustration. “I never would have been with you if I’d known this was what you were thinking.”

His words and the regret in his voice brought tears to her eyes.

“A.J., for God’s sake, please don’t cry. I’m sorry it came
out like that.” He went to her and tried to hug her but she pushed him away.

“So am I. I’m sorry you have so little faith in us.”

“This isn’t just about us.” He picked up the paper, only to toss it aside with contempt. “Everyone’s going to read this crap.”

“Why do you care so much about what some idiot prints in the newspaper?”

“You’ve got no idea what it’s like to be the topic of conversation. I’ve spent the past year being whispered about and stared at. Any room I walk into, the murmuring starts up. And my notoriety isn’t even prurient. I fell off a goddamn horse. They’ll have you in bed with any man you talk to or look at for the rest of your career.”

“Well, thanks for the heads-up,” she said, wiping away angry tears, “but I’m not rearranging my life just because someone else doesn’t like the way it looks from the outside.”

“You want to be like Philippe Marceau? He’s the laughingstock of the circuit because he’s been with so many people. As a woman, it’s going to be worse. They’ll rip you up and use the pieces as fertilizer.”

“Marceau is a topic of conversation because he’s a conceited blowhard.”

“And you’ve got your own liabilities.”

“What? People know I can’t do long division in my head? My closet life as a comic-book addict suddenly comes out?”

“There may be a lot of money in the horse business but not a lot of folks have their
daddy
build them a stable compound. Your stepbrother looks like he belongs on the cover of
GQ
and his attitude stinks. You tool around in a convertible that costs more than most people’s mortgages and—”

“So I can’t be with the man I want and the trainer I need because Peter’s into fashion and my father went over the top for my birthday? That’s ludicrous.”

“I’m just telling you what people will say.”

“And I refuse to buy into the talk.”

“But that’s my point. They’re already saying you’re trying to buy your way to the top. You want them to add you’re sleeping your way up, too?”

His frank challenge slapped the fight right out of her.

“Listen,” Devlin said more quietly, “I’ve got to tell you like it is. The higher the profile you have, the more you serve as target practice. Who your family is and buying that stallion aren’t exactly making you blend in with the crowd. Sleeping with your trainer isn’t going to help.”

He approached her again, and this time she let him put an arm around her.

“A.J., competing at the highest level is tough. Don’t add to the burdens.”

“Are you sure that’s the only reason you want me to go?” she asked.

“I don’t want you to go. That’s the whole point of getting someone else to train you. Someone who can be objective.”

“But I don’t want someone else!” She pulled away. “And I don’t need you to be objective. I want you to be passionate about what we’re trying to accomplish with Sabbath and I think you are. I can see it in your eyes when we work together. We’re a terrific team. You know that.”

“A.J., you need to take the stallion somewhere else.”

“I can’t believe you’re throwing us out.”

“I’m not throwing you out.”

She didn’t hear him as she paced around the room. “First Peter, now you. I expected it from him. Coming from you, it’s a surprise. I thought I meant more to you.”

“Do you remember what it felt like when I was inside you?”

The low words brought her to a halt as a flush bloomed in her body. She didn’t have to answer him. As she turned around, her expression told him all he needed to know.

“Do you honestly think we’re going to be able to deny ourselves now that we know what it’s like? I don’t know about you, but I doubt I’m that strong.”