Mile High (Up in the Air #2)(36)

James handed me another apple to give to the friendly palomino.

Pete was nearby, but kept a careful distance. He had obviously been the one to saddle the horses for us, but was wise enough to stay away from his boss after the episode of the day before.

He had merely nodded politely as we had passed him in the stables.

I had nodded back with a small smile.

Nevertheless, James’s hand had tightened significantly at the small exchange.

Impossibly jealous man, I thought to myself, but kept my own council.

“Demon is a rare blue roan thoroughbred,” James told me, feeding a carrot to the oversized stallion.

“I didn’t even know that horses could be blue,” I told him with a sheepish smile. I really didn’t know a thing about horses, I was quickly realizing.

“Normally it’s just an expression for a bluish tinge to a horse. Demon is a truly unusual shade, though, almost more blue than gray.”

“An outrageously beautiful horse, for an outrageously beautiful man,” I told him with a smile.

He tugged on my braid, tilting my head back. His eyes were hot as they looked into mine. “Whatever keeps you around, Love,” he said, fitting a sleek black helmet carefully onto my head. I saw with no surprise that it exactly matched his own.

He worked black leather gloves onto my hands, patiently working them on, tightening them at the wrists.

“You know, I’m fully capable of dressing myself,” I told him, but I knew it was pointless. I knew that he loved to tend to me, no task too insignificant for his attention.

He just smiled in response, kissing my leather clad knuckles. He worked on his own gloves next, and I watched, transfixed, as he worked them onto his powerful hands. His fingers were long and elegant, but so very strong. I watched his tan hands disappear into the black leather, and flushed, remembering the feel of those gloved hands punishing me.

He saw my stare and gave me a wicked smile. “You remember these?”

I nodded, still watching, captivated, as he worked on the gloves. Even his hands were an obscenely tempting sight to me.

“I love your hands. So much.” My voice was already breathless.

He threw his head back and laughed. I was captivated by the sight. Even his smooth, golden throat was perfect, and I wanted to bury my face there.

I had to stifle the urge. He was obviously on a schedule this morning.

He gave me the warmest smile as his laughter faded.

He gave me a short, sweet kiss, and lifted me by the hips to mount the Princess. I mounted how I had been taught, swiftly trying to position myself into the seat correctly.

“Perfect,” he told me, unhooking the lead rope attached to Princess’s bridle and roping it over the fence post.

I felt a wonderful little thrill as I got to watch the amazing sight of James vaulting up onto Devil in one smooth motion. He was such an elegant man, but his strength was astounding. Muscles bunched under his tight shirt, his breeches snug enough to show the cut of his thigh muscles as he moved.

He passed me on his horse, pausing to finger my collar, apparent just above the neckline of my top.

“I should get a lead rope for this, as well,” he murmured, clicking his horse to go.

“Follow me,” he ordered, as he rode to the gate that Pete had just opened without a word.

I followed, Princess moving into a brisk walk with the slightest pressure of my heels.

He led me into the thick woods, the barest hint of a trail guiding our way.

I admired the scenery as we walked, trying to move with the horse and keep my seat nice and smooth. It was so peaceful and calm there. The trees covered us in cool shade, and it was early enough that the weather was perfect for a long ride.

The forest always made me feel that I had been transported to another world, another time. The solitude, the serenity, had my mind drifting into fantasyland. The pine trees were incredibly tall there, the foliage thick and little purple wild flowers dotted the ground whimsically.

It was almost jarring when we passed out of the thicker forest and onto a trail pronounced and wide enough to be a small road. James stopped there, waiting for me to reign in beside him.

He sent me a sidelong, wicked look. “How do you feel? Are you sore?”

I just shook my head. I sucked in a breath as he brought a gloved hand to the waist of his skin tight pants.

He laid his reigns on his horses neck, giving a firm command for Demon to stay. Then he proceeded to undo the thick buttons on his pants, folding them down and under his thick manhood. It jutted up proudly, already so thick and hard that my mouth watered at the sight. He shrugged out of his shirt in a smooth motion, tucking it into one of his chaps.

I just drank in the sight of his gleaming golden flesh, always amazed at his perfection. The muscles of his chiseled bronze abs were visibly working as he sat his horse. Somehow, his legs being covered, and being on horseback, made his nudity all the more obscene. And unbelievably hot.

He gave me his wicked grin, and I nearly melted. “Come here,” he ordered.

I obeyed, my horse sidling towards him eagerly.

He snatched me up, swinging me to straddle him in a seemingly easy motion. My eyes were on the hard play of muscles in his magnificent arms.

He perched me just in front of him, almost on Demon’s neck.

“Don’t move,” he ordered, pulling a rather large pocket knife from his boot. He worked me onto his thighs, until I was just inches from his jutting cock.