Leaping Hearts(54)

A.J. put her lips against his throat, over the thick vein that pounded with the beat of his heart. Against his surging blood, she whispered, “I love you.”

It was the first time she’d ever said the words to a man.

This realization made the statement seem even more powerful.

When it came to men, she’d never given herself easily. There had been a few boyfriends in college, but she’d been so focused on riding, the relationships had been brief and casual. The trend had continued as she’d turned professional. Before Devlin, men had always seemed an unnecessary complication in a life long on challenges and squat on time. But he was different. Her heart told her so.

Given her lack of experience with romance, she found the confidence with which she could say, “I love you,” surprising. In previous relationships, she’d never been able to return the sentiment. She hadn’t been sure what love was, only that she didn’t feel it. Now it was clear. What else was so thrilling, so frightening, so intoxicating, so precious, so overwhelming, as love?

Part of her wanted to nudge Devlin awake and break the news but she held back. She was assuming he felt the same way but she wasn’t sure. She was ready to make a commitment to him, to their future together as life partners and professional allies, but her newfound love for him made her vulnerable. She wanted him to make the declaration out loud first.

A.J. stretched, feeling her legs slide against Devlin’s. He groaned in his sleep and gathered her even closer to him, tucking her into his side. As his breathing returned to the soft, regular rhythm of deep sleep, she found herself smiling, despite her heavy thoughts. There were so many benefits to being with him. Aside from their sensual exploits in the night, sleeping in a real bed again was another bonus. She hadn’t quite lost the appreciation of having some space to move around in at night, even though Devlin tended to take up more than his fair share of the bed. The couch had been good enough for a short stay but there was real luxury in being able to stretch out without running the risk of rolling onto the carpet and winding up under a coffee table.

Her smile didn’t linger. With a painful lurch, her thoughts drifted to her father. His birthday was the following weekend. She was dreading the idea of going and wished she could bring Devlin with her.

He began kissing her neck. “What are you stewing about?”

“How did you know?”

“I’m psychic.”

“Really?”

“Don’t tell anyone, but I moonlight as a fortune-teller.”

“So where’s your crystal ball?”

“Don’t need one. They’ve been replaced by a Web site with links to the other side.”

She laughed. “I guess the Internet’s everywhere.”

“Well, it was fine until Gates came in. Now there’s only one server you can channel Elvis on and a single search engine to find people’s past lives and dead relatives.”

When her giggles subsided, he asked again what was on her mind.

“What if I said I was just relishing the morning light?”

“You’d be lying.”

“What would you say if I asked you to go to my father’s birthday party next weekend? I know it’s going to be torture but I’d really like you to come with me. I need your support.”

He tilted his head down. “Then I can’t say no, can I?”

His smile was slow and tinted with passion, but when he went to kiss her, she stopped him with a hand on his chest.

“Devlin, I need to know. Are you okay with this?”

“Sure. If it’s important to you for us to go, then of course we will.”

“No…I meant us.”

So much for waiting, she thought.

Devlin moved his hips against her pelvis. “I’m a little more than just okay with you. Fantastic. Delirious. Desperate. I think those are a little more apt.”

“I mean about continuing with our training.”

He took a deep breath. “I think we’re working together well. We’re making progress. What do you think?”

“I wasn’t the one who had a problem with it.”

His words became slow, deliberate. “From an objective point of view, I still believe it’s just not smart. But I can’t give you up and I don’t want anyone else training you, so I think we’re stuck with each other.”

A.J. smiled and kissed his lips. “I just knew you’d come around to my way.”

As his tongue slipped inside her mouth, she decided they could talk more about their relationship later. Now was a time for making love. And then there was breakfast and training and another meal or two. And then they could go back to bed together.

“I think we’re ready to try the water today,” Devlin said later as Sabbath was being tacked up on the crossties.

When A.J. nodded in agreement, Chester headed out to the ring to fill up the jump.

A little later, after she’d led the stallion out of the stables and gotten a leg up, A.J. noticed Sabbath was particularly antsy and sensed it was going to be a long training session. Unlike the horse, she was feeling sluggish. After she and Devlin had made love, she’d fallen back asleep, snoozing all the way through breakfast until she’d been woken up by her name being shouted up the stairs. It was obvious why she’d crashed. There was such relief in knowing Devlin was now committed to both her and their training. She felt as though they could now move ahead freely and that some of her bigger worries were behind her. Unfortunately, the consequence of her napping was that her reflexes were slow and she wasn’t riding as well as she usually did. The stallion sensed it. Unlike the last few sessions, when he’d settled down and begun to focus, now he acted up, resenting her lack of concentration.