The Best Man (17 page)

Groaning, Jared wasn’t convinced
this work was any more serious than his daily work, but he sure needed physical
exercise—exercise that didn’t involve a woman. On one hand, it was amazing he
could still move after she’d finished with him last night. Yet by the time the
sun had come up he was bursting with emotionally charged energy.

He’d left her sleeping soundly. He
poked the fork into another leaf of straw and began shaking it. They hadn’t
talked much. He winced. They’d reeked of sex and had agreed to
shower—separately. Kitty went first. She was asleep by the time he’d finished
in the bathroom.

She could look so peaceful and
non-threatening when sleeping. And she could be the most unpredictable woman he’d
ever met when awake. Hot and cold. Mercurial. Every time he thought he was
getting a fix on her, she’d duck to the left or the right.

She’d been so responsive in the
rocker on the porch. If his knees had held out he’d still be eating her. He’d
never seen her more relaxed and receptive.

And then all hell broke loose. She’d
just about accused him of loving her too much. Out of breath, Jared leaned
against the pitchfork and took a long deep lung-full of the heavy air scented
with straw, manure and sweat.

She’d been methodical and persistent
in reestablishing her control of their relationship. His buttocks clenched and
he wet his dry lips. She’d been thorough, all right. Had she expected him to be
repulsed? She’d certainly found that an acceptable risk.

He’d been with women who enjoyed
dominating, but he’d never let one go as far as Kitty. Did she even consider
the possibility that by upping the ante they’d only strengthened the bond
between them? He’d chosen not to fight her and she’d chosen not to hurt him.

He wasn’t at all certain he could’ve
freed his wrists without her assistance. And she’d wanted him on his back when
she took his ass. She didn’t say it, but he knew she could have taken him
easily when he was bound and kneeling in the chair.

But she’d wanted to see his
reactions. If she hadn’t, he would not have seen so clearly the concern etched
on her face as she pressed the false cock farther into his ass. Damn. Damn. She’d
been so careful, and he loved her for that. And he’d been surprised by how much
he enjoyed the entire experience.

If she expected her desires would
get rid of him, she was quite wrong. He wouldn’t want another bout like that
tonight. He grinned, looking out toward the alley way. Not tonight, but he
definitely wanted a repeat performance.

Did she have any idea how she purred
when she took his cock into her mouth and greedily cleaned him? An observer
might be forgiven for mistaking her soft moans as sounds of love.

“You’re out here awfully early.”

Jared wiped straw dust from his lips
and removed his leather gloves. He stepped out of the empty stall. “Morning, Lawrence. You’re out rather early yourself.” Jared shook the gray-haired man’s hand warmly.
“What brings you out here?”

“Certainly not mucking stalls.”

Jared slapped his hat against his
thigh and grinned at the pieces of straw flying around. “Sometimes hard work is
the best medicine.”

Lawrence
laughed with a twinkle in his eyes. “Sounds like Kitty
is getting to you. I’ve got a horse working out in about ten minutes. Want to
come watch her with me?”

“I always like to watch morning
workouts.”

Jared inhaled the fresh air deeply,
cleansing his nostrils and his lungs of dust. He liked the fact that Lawrence wasn’t into chatter. There wasn’t a better time to be at a track than early
morning. The days started hectic with trainers, horses and grooms going every
which way, but with a purpose. Each man and woman shared a love for the horses
and many a love for the early morning sun, warming the day, providing at least
a hint of hope.

Jared leaned up against the track
rail as did Lawrence. He needed to get out to the track more often—especially
early in the morning. He wondered what Kitty would make of the controlled
chaos. He squinted at a horse and rider coming around the turn. Maybe this
routine wasn’t all that different from hers. She seemed to thrive on chaos.

“Is your horse out here yet?”

“Yeah,” Lawrence said pointing, “she’s
the chestnut filly over there with the rider wearing red pants.”

“Ah.” Jared shielded his eyes. “Nice
looking.”

Lawrence
chuckled. “The filly, or the rider?”

“I was speaking of the filly, but
now that you mentioned it, the rider fills out those red pants quite nicely,
too.”

“You are hooked if you didn’t notice
that before I pointed her out.” Lawrence spat. “I’m probably two or three
decades older than you, but I tell you a guy can’t get too old to notice a nice
looking woman.”

Jared glanced at Lawrence, who
shrugged one shoulder.

“And I’m a happily married guy.”

“That’s right,” Jared said, looking
back at the horses working. “Kitty introduced you to Rebecca.”

Lawrence
chuckled softly. He glanced at his stop watch and back
at the track. “That’s right. They’d known each other for years. Rebecca and I
are compatible. I’ll answer the question you want to ask, but won’t. I’ll always
be grateful to Kitty for what she did for me.”

Jared caught the corner of the man’s
mouth turning up in a smile.

“She showed me I still had a life
left. She was too much for me to handle, but that was never the point. Rebecca
and I will always hold Kitty dear in our hearts.” Lawrence peered though a
small pair of binoculars. “Compatibility, though, that’s the key. Just like a
jockey and a horse.”

“Not sure I’ve thought of it quite
like that.”

“Maybe you should,” Lawrence grunted, not lowering the glasses. “The high strung ones require the most
sensitive hands. Got to know when to be firm and when to be soft.”

Jared nodded, not quite certain
whether the older man was still talking about horses or women or both.

“Well, that’s it,” Lawrence said,
checking his watch. “Told Rebecca I wouldn’t be late for breakfast. See you
around.”

Jared nodded and watched Lawrence
Madison stroll toward the parking lot. Compatibility must be related to
punctuality.

He glanced back at the track. He and
Kitty hadn’t talked about breakfast. Often as not she’d catch hers on the run
to an early meeting or stop for fast food fare on the way to the office.

Compatibility. Was she even looking
for that? And would she know it if she found it?

He rested his hands and chin on the
top rail of the fence. He inhaled through his nose. How many guys were
interested in playing the kinds of games she wanted to play?

Jared grunted and straightened. So
did that make them compatible? He smiled down at his hands. Could he read her
well enough to know when she required soft or when she required firm?

“Why are you giving me that funny
look?” Kitty had been searching through files in the file cabinet when she’d
caught Maria eyeing her. The woman often acted as if she were clairvoyant, as
if she knew a secret and wasn’t about to tell. Now what had piqued her
interest? Kitty glanced quickly around the office. Had Jared sent her more
flowers?

Maria shrugged with mirth. “It’s
just you.”

“What to you mean by that remark?”
Kitty crossed her arms under her breasts and glared.

“How long have I worked for you?” Maria
looked at the ceiling as if she were counting the years.

“Too long,” Kitty groaned. “You’ve
been with me for a dozen years and we both know it. Now what are you preening
about?”

Maria laughed. “That’s a good one—me,
preening. You’re the one who’s been prancing around these last several days
preening with satisfaction.”

“I have not.”

“Oh yes, you have. I’ve never seen
you glow like this in all the years I’ve worked with you. This lover must be
special.”

Kitty remained silent. She wanted to
point out that Maria worked
for
her, not with her, but she knew better
than to taunt the woman. Her office depended on Maria’s organizational skills. They’d
only had a couple flare ups over the years and neither had been fun.

“Well, I don’t hear you denying it.”
Maria’s eyes twinkled and her mouth bowed in a broad smile. “I’m happy for you,
Kitty. It’s about time you found someone special.”

“Special?” Kitty tried not to come
unglued. “Special? I didn’t say Jared is special.”

“You don’t have to say it. Your
body, your aura says it all.”

“Right.” Kitty shook her head. “There’s
no use trying to argue with you when you think your extrasensory talents have
kicked into gear. But I’m telling you, you’re wrong, and I don’t want to talk
about this anymore. I’ll go over these files in my office.”

Maria’s giggles annoyed her as she
walked into her office.

“You don’t fluster easy, Kitty. So
why are you flustered now?”

Kitty slammed the office door and
stalked to her desk. She should’ve fired her nosy secretary years ago.

She snapped a pencil in half. What
the hell was she going to do with Jared?

Nearly a week had passed since she’d
set him straight for trying to overwhelm her in the rocker with his gentleness.
She couldn’t shake the feeling something fundamental had happened for both of
them when she’d claimed his ass with her strap-on. They’d never talked about
it, but something happened—something inexplicable, and she wasn’t convinced it
was something entirely desirable. She hadn’t put on the strap-on again because
she wasn’t sure she could trust her own emotions.

And now he’d be going back to San Diego in a couple days. Would she miss him? She was afraid she would. Would he miss
her?

He’d made it clear she had an open
invitation to visit him at his ranch. She’d been more than mildly curious about
where he lived and how he lived, but she didn’t want to be too obvious.

Maybe she should visit her daughter
and son-in-law in Seattle and then fly down to San Diego on the way back to Chicago. That would make it clear she hadn’t simply made a trip to see Jared. She’d be in
the area and stop by.

She smiled. Probably Jared wouldn’t
accept that explanation any more than Maria would, but neither would he likely
challenge it.

Kitty watched Jared’s cock bulging
as she gently encircled it with thumb and forefinger at the base of its
mushroom crown. She lay atop his strong chest. While she admired Jared’s penis,
his tongue and fingers toyed with her pussy without penetrating.

This was Jared’s last night in Chicago. Neither of them seemed in a hurry to end it. Kitty closed her eyes and inhaled his
male scent. Would it be their last night together?

“Are you going to miss me?” Jared
asked from behind her.

It pleased her he hadn’t asked that
inevitable question when he could see her facial response. Had he done that on
purpose? She flicked her tongue at the tip of his cock and it twitched back and
forth. “I’ll miss this guy,” she said at last.

Jared’s palm stung her ass cheek. “Now
who’s being naughty?”

“It’s the truth. I will miss him.” She
planted a kiss on its tip. “And I may even miss his attachments a little.”

“Well, that’s something,” Jared
grunted, spreading her butt cheeks and tickling the ridge between her pussy and
anus with his tongue.

She quivered and clutched his cock
firmly, unsure what he would do next. Jared was proving to be a very
unpredictable lover, and she liked that a lot.

He ground the heel of one hand
against her vulva while lightly fingering her clit. The other hand slid along
her spine and his tongue pressed against her anus.

Kitty flexed back on her knees while
at the same time taking his cock into her mouth. His chuckle was nearly
smothered by her flesh. She waggled her butt, wanting more.

She gripped his cock at its base and
bobbed up and down only to give up quickly as his tongue rimmed her anus and
dove tentatively into her widening opening. She was having difficulty
multi-tasking.

His fingers strummed her throbbing
clit and his tongue burrowed in and out of her ass. She shuddered, seeing first
black and then red behind closed eyes. “Oh hell, tongue me,” she mewed. “My
ass…I’m coming.” She propped herself up on both hand and widened as much as she
could for him.

And then she shattered. She pulled
away from his tongue and collapsed on his chest, trapping his hand between
them. “No more. Please. I…you…later.”

Kitty searched for the pieces of
herself as she quaked and shuddered. She tried to find her bearings. She rested
a cheek on his thigh. Somehow he’d retrieved his trapped hand, because he
clutched her buttocks with one hand and lightly massaged her lower back with
the other.

When her breathing approached normal,
she swung around to face her lover. He had that smug look on his face, as if he’d
gotten away with something. Then she remembered his fingers softly etching
circles on her back as she recovered from her orgasm.