Three of Diamonds (Hamden Series) (13 page)

Lola accepted his kiss, hating how easily she succumbed, but at the same time hating the need to withdraw faster than she wanted to.

Looking up at him, trying not to focus on those soft perfect skillful lips, she asked, “Seriously, what are we doing?” Despising how it came out sounding like she was unsure, but she couldn’t lie, she was. She was allowing herself, and ultimately wanting to be at the mercy of this man, but refused to be at his beck and call. If she was going all in, then she expected the blinds to be paid up, for her hand to be called and to come out the victor when she showed her pocket aces.

“Isn’t it obvious? We are going to enjoy a beautiful fall day, getting you and Boyd comfortable on a horse, and enjoying a slow, steady relaxing trip down some trails.” He answered, squeezing her waist, and enjoying how he didn’t feel bone when he touched her. She was such a beautiful woman; he wondered how she was not spoken for already. Not that he was complaining, by far, but his curiosity about everything concerning the woman in his arms, was beginning to consume him.

Knowing she would sound like the ultimate bimbo, but unable to be blind to the answer, she asked as confidently as she could muster, “Nothing with you is obvious. I mean, when someone says he is done being patient and then goes weeks, without so much as a word, makes me wonder if I’m being played for someone’s sick enjoyment.”

Unable to hide the smile and joy her words brought him; he leaned in and kissed her, decently this time. Resting his forehead against hers, he said, in his deep sexy voice, “Trust me, I’m well aware of the 300 plus hours since I’ve last tasted you. Some things are out of my control, believe it or not. But, I plan on making up for the wait we both had to endure.” Wes leaned in to kiss Lola, but stopped when she turned her head. “Is there a problem, Lola?”

Lola avoided Wes’ eyes and seeking lips, as difficult as it was. She watched as Boyd spoke with the horse’s rider and as gently as he could, patted the stunning animal. Lola made an effort to walk toward Boyd, but Wes held her still.

“He’s fine,” Wes said, reaching out and gently holding her chin so she would look at him. “I’m waiting, Lola. And as I pointed out, I’m done being patient.” His piercing blue eyes, looked at her in such a way that she was sure he could see right down into her soul.

Hating how she continued to sound like the typical cliché needy woman, but knowing she was the only guardian of herself, they needed to get this sorted out, so they were both on the same page. “What is the draw here, Wes? I want the truth, not some bullshit line.”

Wes was confused at her words. Couldn’t she see the beauty of the horse farm? All the rolling hills and splendid scenery. The way the colors touched the leaves, creating a warm blanket over the trails, perfumed by the smell of earth and horse. This was one of Wes’ favorite pastimes. This was where he came when he needed to think. And thinking was exactly what he needed to do about his unfamiliar attraction to the woman within his arms.

“Would you have rather I had taken you someplace else? I thought Boyd would like it, as well as get him used to riding.”

“I’m not talking about this place, I’m talking about me? What draw do I have? You’re a God for Christ sake.”

Did she really just ask him that? Could she not see what he saw? Well, if clarification was what she needed, he’d make sure, she had no doubts! “You didn’t strike me as the type to be blind or stupid?”

What!?! Blind? Stupid?
He had some nerve. Lola was just about to tell him where he could stick his cowboy boot when he continued.

“You want to know what the draw is? This is...” as he reached out and cupped her ample ass, “and this,” as he palmed her large breast, “and let’s not forget this,” he sucked her full lower lip into his mouth, appreciating the fleshy warmth.

Oh God!
He felt so good.

“Adonis isn’t here. Not when I’m with you, I’m just Wes.” He said, aware of where they were. He gripped her waist tighter than he should, but could not bring himself to have even the slightest amount of distance between them.

“But I’m not small, like them.” Lola said, not understanding why he was choosing her.

Giving into one final kiss, Wes answered honestly, “No, you’re not. You are curvy and beautiful like a true Goddess, my Goddess.” Wes silently promised, before their time was through, he would make sure she saw that his words were true in every form. He would accept nothing else.

Hearing a throat cleared behind him, Wes turned, but keeping his arm wrapped possessively around Lola.

“All saddled up. I’ll give you some time with Blossom before I bring Lucky out.” Logan said, handing the reigns over to Wes and turning back the way he came.

Lola watched as Wes crooned to the animal, rubbing her along her neck. The horse neighed in appreciation. He was clearly comfortable around horses.

“Come here, Lola. Let her know she shouldn’t be afraid of you.” Wes said quietly, pulling Lola’s hand, palm up for the horse to sniff and nuzzle. The horse’s big brown eye looked at Lola, after she did a thorough job of smelling her, as if to say, “I accept you.”

“What beauty,” Lola said, allowing her hand to freely rub the horse along her neck and up behind her ear.

“Exactly my thoughts, and Blossom isn’t bad either,” Wes said, winking at Lola before he guided Blossom toward the pen.

Lola blushed at his statement, unable to hide her smile on the outside, as well as the warmth boiling up on the inside. She followed Wes and Blossom, and watched Wes introduce Boyd to her. With an excessive amount of patience, as well as a surprising amount of knowledge to speak in a way Boyd would understand. Wes answered all of Boyd’s questions about horses and riding. Within fifteen minutes, Wes was fitting Boyd with a helmet.

“I don’t want to wear it,” he said, physically pushing Wes’ hands away.

“Then you can’t ride. Blossom here, has a strict rule, everyone under the age of thirty needs to wear a helmet. You wouldn’t want her to feel bad if you fell off, would you?” Wes said, wearing a quizzical expression on his handsome face.

“I’m gonna fall?” Boyd asked, in a saliva thick voice, which was also rising an octave. Before Wes could answer, Boyd had taken a few steps away, and kicked a stray rock on the ground. He lifted his hands to his hair, pulling at the short dark locks on both sides above his ears. He then sat down on the ground, and started tugging on his shoelaces with white-knuckle force.

Lola took a step to comfort and deal with Boyd, when Wes’ hand shot out and halted her. He never looked at her. His focus never wavered from Boyd. As calm as could be, but with definitive reasoning, Wes said, “Boyd you can either stop having a fit like a little kid, or you can come back and we can continue with your lesson. Young men need to accept a chance of getting hurt, in exchange for learning something new and becoming more independent. The choice is yours. Your sister and I will not sit here and baby you. We will go about our planned ride and come back to collect you when we are done.”

Lola was just about to defend Boyd, when to her amazement, Boyd immediately stopped his tantrum, got up, brushed himself off, and came back ready to put on his safety helmet. Lola watched as Wes taught Boyd how to hold onto the horn of the saddle, as Wes guided Blossom smoothly in a slow pace. She leaned against the white fence, placing her booted foot on the bottom rung, and rested her head on her arms as she watched joy spread across Boyd’s face. Sooner than Lola thought was possible, Wes was handing the reigns over to Boyd and showing him how to gently tell Blossom where he wanted her to go.

Wes became bolder as far as steps he would take away from Blossom and Boyd, allowing Boyd to feel more in control. Knowing Lola watched Boyd like a hawk, he hoped this showed her that Boyd didn’t need to be babied. Wes watched as Boyd made two consecutive laps and was losing all rigidness in his form. He really was comfortable up there. Blossom was the perfect choice to teach Boyd. Now onto his second student.

“You’re up, Sunshine,” Wes said to Lola through the slates of the fence, as he motioned to the stable to have Lucky brought out.

“No really. I think I’m good on the ground,” Lola said, trying to change the subject of her climbing on a horse. “You did wonderful with him, but, I don’t appreciate you pushing him like that. Boyd needs to feel comfortable to do something, not be ridiculed or chastised.”

Wes chose to remain mute regarding her reprimand of how he handled Boyd, knowing this was not the time. Instead, he focused on accepting Lucky’s reigns, and greeted his old friend. Lucky was a much larger horse than Blossom. He had gorgeous brown on brown coloring. His chocolate colored hide was complimented by his darker coloring mane and tail. The strength visible in his flanks and legs, represented detailed training and amazing care.

“Lucky, I would like to introduce you to this beautiful creature, Lola. But I’m warning you, get that dirty thought out of your mind. If any stud is going to be mounting her, it will be me.” Wes said, watching Lola out of the corner of his eye. His smile spread across his face when she reacted to his jest with a slight shake of her head and a gorgeous sexy smile on those delicious lips of hers.

Lola reached up and stroked Lucky’s bridge, feeling the softness of his hair. Lucky seemed to enjoy it. When she lowered her hand, he bent his head, forcefully nudging her to continue, causing Lola to laugh and say, “Typical male, there is always one spot on their bodies that make them go wild.”

Still holding the reigns, Wes stretched his head so he whispered into her ear, slightly nipping at her earlobe as he said, “I’m looking forward to you finding mine.”

Lola rolled her eyes at his blatant sexual innuendo, but secretly looked forward to it. She watched as he skillfully and gracefully swung up onto Lucky’s back, sitting further back on the saddle than he had placed Boyd. Lola watched him casually. He patted the saddle in front of him, as he extended his hand.

“Uh, no way.”

“What are you, chicken? Come, ride with me. I’ll take you around the pen. If you don’t like it, I promise I’ll let you off.” Wes said, sincerely.

Still hesitant, Lola looked at his addictive sexy gaze, took a deep breath and said, “You promise?”

“I promise,” Wes said, giving her a smile and look that was sure to swindle candy from children.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she mumbled to herself. Wes had to restrain himself from smirking at her reluctance. She extended her hand into his; he instructed her to put her foot in the stirrup and with his help hoisted herself up. When she sat in the saddle, she didn’t know what alarmed her more; how high she was off the ground and not in control, or the warm hardness at her back, where again she felt she had no control.

Wes wrapped his arms around Lola’s, holding on to Lucky’s reigns, telling him to move into the pen. Extending his head over her shoulder, he noticed her face was somewhat bare of color, and she was focusing too hard on the saddle horn.

“Relax, Lola. Neither Lucky, nor I, will let you fall. Relax. Lucky can feel if you are unsure. Lean back against me, come on, I won’t bite, unless you want me to. Focus on his movements, right, left, right, left. See, you are perfectly safe up here.”

“Am I?” She asked, completely seriously, as she turned her head slightly to look at him.

“Well, let’s put it this way, you are probably safer up here, in public, with children about, than if you and I were alone,” Wes said, again leaning in and tugging on her earlobe with his teeth. “Look at Boyd, he is having a ball. Logan is showing him how to use his feet to communicate with Blossom. I promise, you don’t need to worry about either of yours safety. I know what I’m doing around horses; I would never put either of you in danger.”

They had almost completed one lap of the pen, when Wes directed Lucky next to Blossom. Whispering again, so only she would hear him, “I promised if you didn’t like it you could dismount, so what will it be?”

“I’ll stay. I’d like to learn to ride, and if you are willing to teach me, then I’d be foolish to blow the opportunity.” She said, turning to look at his face. He answered with his signature sexy smile and a wink of his eye.

“Hey, Boyd, my man, how you doing?” Wes asked, obtaining Boyd’s attention away from Logan’s instruction.

“This is awesome! When can we go on the trails?” Boyd answered, overflowing with glee. Lola had to agree, he did look like he was having a grand time.

“I think we can hit the trails now,” Wes answered, being sure to receive unspoken consent from Logan, “Logan is going to guide you and Blossom out of the pen. I want you to just keep her at a steady pace, okay?”

“Yeah. Come on Blossom, let’s go to the trails. It will be fun.” Boyd clumsily patted Blossom’s neck, but the mare enjoyed it as if it was the softest caress. Most first time riders wouldn’t be allowed out on the trails without a lead line, but Wes knew Blossom well enough to feel confident that Boyd was in great hands. Not to mention, Logan would mount up and meander on the trail up ahead.

With Blossom in the lead, their trio entered the coverage of the bright autumn colors. There was a slight breeze ruffling the colors making it appear as the colors changed right before your eyes. They rode in silence for a while, with the exception of Boyd speaking with Blossom, encouraging her good nature.

“Having fun?” Wes asked a surprisingly calm Lola.

“I am. Thank you, Wes. This really is nice. You were right, I’m enjoying this. And I think it is safe to say Boyd is in agreement.”

“Good, because your body is going to need to be as relaxed as possible before I get it alive with arousal.”

Deciding a little bit of sex talk was in order, Lola said quietly, “How do you plan on doing that?”

“I plan on kissing you and learning every contour of your body with my lips. I intend to feel inch by inch with each of my fingertips, and most importantly, I plan to taste you everywhere. There will be no forbidden area to me.” He ended his incredibly descriptive intentions with a rub of her breast with the back of his hand, claiming change of position in how he was holding the reigns.