Harnessed Passions (47 page)

"You are absolutely the most beautiful woman
I’ve ever seen,” he told her, watching the smile curve her lips.
“But you’re still riding the mare." He kissed her quickly and
turned away, slapping her bottom again as he passed her by.

"Why not?"

"I've already told you why. She's in heat
and she's dangerous. She'll throw you off and trample you without
so much as a second glance."

"Biscuit would never do anything like
that."

"Have you ever seen your horse in heat,
Princess? She's ranting like a wild beast. The men have to get her
mated soon or she'll..."

"No! I already told you I won't allow
it."

"Why? Julia?" he shouted after her as she
stormed out of the bedroom hurrying down the stairs. She was angry
and determined ignore the conversation completely. There was no way
Biscuit could ever be as dangerous as he let on and there was
absolutely no way she was going to allow her prized mare to be
mated like…like…an animal!

Julia had turned the corner of the dining
room when Daniel caught up with her, pulling her back by the arm
just inside the doorway. Louise was already seated at the table,
book in hand and breakfast plate before her. She looked up at the
young couple and frowned when Daniel jerked Julia around, forcing
her to face him, giving little if no attention to Louise or
Thompson who stood next to the table staring at them.

"What the hell have you got against mating
that stupid horse?" he demanded.

"I've seen how it's done and I don't want
her going through it; and her name is Biscuit."

"I don't give a bloody damn what her name
is, she needs mated and from what I've been told, the one and only
time you ever witnessed a mating, you got embarrassed and ran
away."

"That's not fair and I have seen it, more
times than I care to admit. The stallion bites and kicks the mare
and bucks her with his head and the mare just has to stand there
and take it. It’s barbaric; being hold up between tight narrow
fences while some strange stallion assaults her. I don't want
Biscuit going through any of that."

"Julia, it's just the mating ritual horses
go through. They kick because they don't have hands to caress and
they bite because they can't kiss."

"That's not funny Browning."

"It wasn't supposed to be. It's true and if
you recall darling I bite too." As though to prove his point;
Daniel pushed Julia up against the wall beside the entrance of the
room, pinning her beneath his gentle strength. He held her hands
above her head as he pressed his long powerful thigh against her,
reminding her of the events they had shared. He kissed her lips and
neck, caressing her skin with the tip of his tongue then moved to
her ear and began nibbling on the small lobe. He nipped at the skin
beneath her ear, across her neck, her lips and even the tip of her
tongue until she was breathless.

"Don't you want your horse to feel the same
passion and love you do, Princess?" he asked, breathlessly. Julia
had to admit if horses felt like this, it was very unfair to keep
them apart.

"If I agreed, which stallion would you mate
her with?" she asked, staring into his turquoise eyes. Daniel
smiled releasing her arms and easing her away from the wall as he
wrapped her in his strong embrace.

"I was thinking of Roustabout. He's young
and an excellent breed. His sires will prove very valuable,
especially if he wins the Beaumont next year."

"Will he treat her good?" Daniel held Julia
against his chest, caressing her back to ease her confusion
away.

"The question is; will Biscuit give him the
chance?"

"My Biscuit wouldn't ever hurt anybody, man
or beast." Julia rose in defense of her mare, than eased off after
seeing Daniel's miraculous smile.

"She's been in heat too long honey. She's
anxious for a union and I'm not sure she'll be able to hold out
once she knows there's a male ready for her."

Daniel and Julia turned to the table as they
talked, catching sight of the stunned faces of Thompson, Louise and
now Bridget who had joined them from the kitchen's entrance. They
had all witness the couple's argument and especially the
demonstration Daniel offered her. Julia blushed; a scarlet red
tinting her cheeks as Daniel cleared his throat holding the chair
out for his bride.

"Good morning sir," Thompson drawled,
pouring Daniel his morning coffee. "Are ya ready fer
breakfast?"

"Shouldn't you ask if I'm still hungry,
first?" he chuckled, seeing Julia's color deepen as she hid her
eyes behind her hand. The old butler cleared the amusement from his
throat motioning for Bridget to leave the room.

"I wasn't expecting you to be up so early
dear," Louise commented to her daughter; her attention back on the
book in her hand. "How are you feeling this morning?" Julia choked
on her coffee, Daniel chuckled and Louise merely turned another
page.

"I'm fine mother," she
finally answered, wiping the spilled coffee off the table. Daniel
glanced at her and mouthed the word,
sore,
causing Julia's eyes to narrow,
then glanced back to her mother, noticing she hadn’t missed a thing
that was happening around her.

"I'm surprised you're going to allow Biscuit
to be mated,” the older woman said with a knowing smile. “Up until
now, your father's had to do it without your permission."

"What?" Julia's dropped her fork to her
plate in surprise and horror. Her horse had already been mated and
without her consent?

"Biscuit has three fine sons. Whiskers was
her first."

"But why didn't father say something to me
about this?"

"He knew the way you always hid whenever
someone mentioned the subject of sex. He figured he was protecting
you from the ugly facts of life."

"Ugly facts of life?" Julia spit out the
words, not realizing the amount of venom she had said them
with.

"Mating isn't ugly, is it Princess?" Daniel
asked, with a wicked, seductive smile. Julia turned, narrowing her
gaze on the man next to her.

"Did you know about this?" she demanded
angrily.

"No Julia, I didn't, but I also didn't think
the mare could have survived six years without at least one
union."

"I don't believe any of this. Father's
always tried to control me and he's done everything possible to
manipulate and deceive me, even to the point of arranging my life
for me. How could he treat me so..."

"Hold on there, Princess," Daniel
interrupted, aware of the hurt look on Louise’s face from another
slur to her dead husband’s name. "Your father loved you and you
have to admit he didn't do such a bad job arranging your life for
you. Look at what he did getting us together. You're the greatest
thing he could have left to me and I'll never regret his
interference. You can't tell me you regret what we have." Daniel
slid his hand across Julia's, forcing her to look at him.

"Victor was only trying to protect his
little girl from the harsh truths of reality,” Louise continued.
“He knew how much you cared for your horse and with you gone to
Boston he didn't feel he had to get your permission.”

“
Biscuit could easily harm
herself, or anyone who happens to be near her, including you,”
Daniel interjected. “You don't understand the madness an animal
feels when they're in heat. Your father only did what was best for
the horse, Princess."

"So I guess it's stupid to be worried
right?" The hurt was visible in her tone, as she pulled her hand
free and tried to concentrate on the meal put before her.

"It's not stupid at all," Louise insisted,
her tone much calmer with Daniel's interference. "I think it's very
sweet to be so concerned about your horse, but you can't protect
her forever. She's like a child; sooner or later they grow up and
find love."

The threesome consumed the rest of their
meal in silence. Louise paid an unusual amount of interest in the
book she read, showing little attention to the way the young couple
looked at each other. Julia found swallowing her food difficult
since Daniel insisted on trailing his hand up her inner thigh. She
brushed it away twice, but once his fingers reached the crouch of
her riding breeches and gently began massaging the soft material,
she lost her will to fight. Eating had never been as eventful as it
had that morning.

They walked hand-in-hand to the new stables,
glancing out across the fields to the many horses who roamed the
vast acres, eating the sweet grasses of early summer. More than a
dozen mares were in heat and had to be removed to a separate
section of the stables to prevent them from interacting with the
stallions. Daniel insisted their mating had to be by design in
order to produce the best breed possible.

Where Victor had been in the business of
breeding thoroughbreds, Daniel was more interested in breeding race
horses. He had personally chosen which mares to mate with which
stud and knew the next few weeks were going to prove physically
trying; leaving little time for much else.

He was having a very difficult time trying
to think of work, however; he knew how easy it would be to take
Julia back to the house and forget everything except the many long
hours of passion and pleasure he could provide his young bride; but
he had also promised to go into Mayfield and straighten up one of
his old cases for Harold. A promise only a fatal injury could get
him out of at this point.

"May I come with you?" Julia asked when he
informed her of his day's plans and how long he planned on being
away.

"Of course you may come, if you think you're
feeling up to it?"

"I'm fine Daniel or haven't you realized
that by now?" Julia stopped on the path and turned to her husband,
hands on her hips and a stubborn lift to her chin. Daniel chuckled,
swinging her into his embrace and kissing her pouting lips
gently.

"I've realized it, over and over and
over..."

"You're a troll," she growled, against his
mouth when he lowered his lips to hers again.

"Nope; just a love sick mutt in need of
mating; care to take care of the problem?" He smiled at the
thought, kissing her thoroughly, passionately for several
breathless moments.

"What will you do in town, while I'm busy at
the office?" he asked her, continuing their walk to the new
stables.

"I'll just visit with Margie. I promised I'd
stop by sometime this week, anyway. She was anxious to know
how...things went."

"By
things
, I assume she meant your little
scheme of seducing me?" Daniel smiled.

"You don't mind if I tell her all about it,
do you?"

"So long as you tell her every sorted
detail, including how much you enjoy your new discovery of orgasms.
I don't think we could have gotten this far, if it hadn't been for
her...help."

"I'll be sure to tell her you said so."

"Oh no, you don't. I was only joking. If you
tell her anything about last night…or this morning for that fact,
I'll turn you over my knee."

“
You wouldn’t spank me,”
she smiled, causing him to stop and turn her back into his embrace;
the dark passion that shone in his eyes was undeniable and she
found her breath caught in her throat.

“
I want you across my
knee,” he whispered. “I want you to explore every perverted detail
of sex; one being the correlation between pain and
pleasure.”

“
How can pain be
pleasurable?” she asked with a shaky voice. She didn’t know if she
should be afraid or excited.

“
The right amount of pain
can bring about the deepest of all orgasms,” he assured her,
pulling her against his chest. “I want to spank you and love you at
the same time; I want you to come for me as you never have
before.”

“
Should I be scared?” she
frowned.

“
No, just anxious; once
I’ve brought you to the brink of deviance, you’ll never want to go
back. In my bed, you will feel nothing but heat and pleasure; pain
is a part of the playing that will make your blood burn, and I
desperately want to play with you.”

Julia thought about his for a very brief
moment as he leaned into her, biting and suckling her neck and
collarbone. He nipped and teased her until she moaned; his large
hands gripping her bottom with a tight squeeze that made her want
more and she thought that a bit of pain could prove interesting;
provided he was the one causing it. Besides, she knew how to defend
herself. You didn’t grow up around a stable full of men and not
know how to fight when the need arose.

“
So I am to assume that
your idea of playing will be more than a casual encounter?” she
asked when he lifted his head.

“
Far more; and far greater
than anything you’ve experienced thus far. If we didn’t have so
much planned today, I would take you back to the house and prove to
you how desperately I want to play with you.” The hard bulge in his
pants pressed against her thigh and she smiled.

"But you already have, several times."

"You're a troll," he teased her, throwing
her words back at her as he kissed her lips again.

"Nope," she answered with a smile. "Just a
love sick mutt in need of mating."

Daniel left Julia standing
next to the Dearborn while he searched out Rally Overton. She
watched him disappear around the corner of the new stables before
taking a closer inspection of the large structure in front of her.
She smiled as she looked at them, thinking they were perhaps
exactly what her father would have approved of; yet reminding her
very much of its designer and creator. Daniel had gone to a great
deal of expense and time planning and plotting out every detail for
the new stables, which they renamed
Browning Estates
.