Bareback Read online

  Skyler raised her eyes to Jessica’s and felt herself drowning in a sea of pale blue. “I am a rascal,” she said with a small smile.

  Jessica leaned close to touch her warm lips to Skyler’s mouth. Skyler hesitated, fighting the confusion spinning in her head. “We can’t do this,” she said. “I can’t do this.”

  “Yes, you can,” came Jessica’s soft, firm reply. “I believe in you, Skyler. Please. Take a chance on us.”

  Skyler wanted to take that chance. God, she needed Jessica. This was the one woman who seemed to ease her self-doubts and fill the empty places left by an abusive father and a lover’s betrayal. “You’re seeing Tory.”

  Jessica’s eyes were pleading, her face flushed with desire. Her voice was husky. “Oh, Sky. It’s you who makes my mouth go dry and my heart race, no matter how much I try to deny it. It’s you, not Tory, that I want. I don’t care if you don’t want me tomorrow.”

  Skyler jumped up, nearly throwing Jessica onto the floor. “You deserve better, Jess. Kate knows it. Tory knows it. Hell, I know it.”

  Jessica stood and moved quickly so that she was toe-to-toe with Skyler. “You’re wrong, Skyler Reese. You are dead wrong. You are what I need. You are what I want, no matter how hard you and everybody else try to change my mind. Am I wrong to think that you may feel the same way about me?”

  She wasn’t wrong. There was nothing Skyler needed, wanted, more than to feel Jessica’s arms around her, holding her tight.

  “Just tell me that you don’t want me,” Jessica said softly. “Tell me you don’t dream about me at night like I dream about you. Tell me there is no part of your heart that wants to open up to me, and I’ll leave you alone. No matter how much it hurts me, I’ll leave you alone for good. We’ll just be trainer and rider.”

  “I’m scared.”

  It was a whisper so soft, Jessica almost missed it. She reached up to cup Skyler’s face in her warm, delicate hands. “Why, Sky? Why are you afraid of me?”

  The dark eyes that met hers were enough to break her heart. She waited as Skyler worked to get the words to her lips. “I’m scared because you’re not like the rest. I can’t just sleep with you and move on. I’m scared because it will rip me apart if I let you in and then you move on.”

  Jessica drew Skyler’s head down for a gentle kiss. It was a kiss of affection and promise. She stroked the still damp cheek, her eyes holding Skyler’s. “That’s good. Because I’m absolutely crazy about you,” she whispered, guiding Skyler to the bed.

  Jessica straddled Skyler’s hips and pulled her into another kiss, a sweet kiss of longing and desire. Leaning back, Jessica pulled her shirt and bra off over her head, then slipped her hands under Skyler’s shirt. Skyler arched up so the garment could be stripped from her, and Jessica sighed at the golden skin now exposed, the soft swell of breasts under the white sports bra. She laid her face against Skyler’s warm chest and closed her eyes to focus on the heart beating wildly beneath her cheek.

  Skyler trembled beneath her as Jessica began a journey to taste the smooth shoulders and the graceful curve of her neck. Her nails raked gently across the ridged abdomen, drawing more shivers.

  “Oh God, Jess. I don’t know about this.”

  “What don’t you know, baby?”

  “What if I fuck this up? What if I can’t be what you need, like everybody says? What if wanting each other isn’t enough?”

  Jessica held Skyler’s face in her hands and looked deep into her anxious eyes. “I thought we had this cleared up. Forget what the others think. I believe in you, Skyler. I believe in us. I’ve felt it since that day I froze at the downhill jump. You’re so strong, and I felt so safe in your arms. We don’t just want each other, Sky. We need each other.”

  Jessica planted small kisses along Skyler’s jaw and lipped her sensitive earlobe. She pulled off the sports bra, removing the last barrier between their upper bodies. She leaned in and they both moaned as skin met skin, breast caressed soft breast, and nipples tightened.

  “No barriers between us, Sky. Not our past, not what other people think. I want to be the one to touch you in places no one else is allowed,” she said, placing a warm hand over the heart thumping hard in Skyler’s chest. “I want to let you into the places I let no one else.”

  Skyler blocked out the warning sirens sounding in her head as her warm, tanned skin pressed against the pale, flushed skin of the woman she ached for. She hungrily sought Jessica’s full lips, moaning her passion. Jessica cupped the soft swell of Skyler’s breasts, squeezing slowly, taking delight in each touch. She moved away after a few exquisite moments, sliding down and pulling off Skyler’s riding boots.

  She reached for Skyler’s belt, but paused before unbuckling it. “Bareback, Skyler. I want to feel all of you on all of me,” she said in a husky voice. “I want to be so close that I can feel your thoughts, and you can hear mine.”

  They were naked in moments. Caught off balance by the younger woman’s assertive seduction, Skyler gave in to sensation. The loss of control was dizzying, but she was helpless to stop it. Jessica’s kisses grew more urgent, stoking a fire Skyler thought had been long dead inside her. A quick flip and their positions were reversed, but Skyler found she felt no more in control on top than when she’d been on her back.

  She looked in awe at the blue-eyed, raven-haired beauty. “You are so beautiful. I can’t believe how beautiful you are.” She covered the smaller body with hers and worshipped it with soft, caressing kisses. She took each taut nipple into her mouth, one at and then the other, tasting and stroking with her tongue. Jessica’s body arched to meet her while her gentle hands caressed Skyler’s breasts.

  Skyler slipped her arm underneath Jessica’s arched back and stroked her firm buttocks, pressing Jessica’s hips against her own. She nudged one hard thigh between Jessica’s legs and groaned at the wet heat she found there. She jerked as Jessica’s hand caressed her aching clit.

  “Oh, Jess,” Skyler breathed.

  “Don’t tease,” Jessica begged as thery moved against each other.

  Skyler cradled Jessica in her arms and thought her heart would burst at the sound of her pleading. “I just don’t want to miss even one inch of you.”

  She slid down to taste the soft inside of Jessica’s thigh. Nuzzling the dark curls, she inhaled her lover’s musky scent. Her own desire was threatening to explode with every caress of her tongue across the throbbing sex that arched up to meet her lips. When she felt Jessica nearing climax, Skyler slowly dipped her fingers into Jessica’s soft core.

  Jessica gasped and stiffened. “Yes. Oh, Sky. Sky,” she moaned as her orgasm washed over her.

  Her body had barely stopped jerking with the aftershocks when Skyler moved up to latch on to a swollen nipple and buck her hips against Jessica’s wetness. Reading her intent, Jessica brought her knees up and spread herself wide, fitting Skyler’s slim hips between her legs and using her heels to guide Skyler’s need closer. Skyler reached down to expose her hardened clit to Jessica’s welcoming heat. Their hips moved together in a perfect, rhythmic dance, and in moments both cried out as release flooded their sweat-slick bodies.

  They lay without speaking for a long time as they struggled to slow their breathing. Skyler rolled over on her back and pulled Jessica up to rest the dark head on her shoulder. Wrapping her arms around the slender body, she softly caressed Jessica’s warm back. After a long moment, Skyler found her voice.

  “Jess, I…”

  “Just let it be, Sky. Let’s just don’t analyze this and let this go where it will. I don’t want to hear any more doubts.” Jessica fit her body closer, hugging her tightly. “Believe in us, Sky. I do.”

  Skyler stroked her hair. “I was just going to say that you make my mouth go dry and my heart beat fast, too.”

  Jessica’s smile was brilliant. She slid her body along Skyler’s to reach the lips that beckoned her. She captured Skyler’s mouth and hungrily probed it with an insistent tongue. She began to blaze a slow tr
ail of kisses and caresses downward as Skyler’s legs trembled and her breathing rasped.

  “God, Jess! I think I may be done for the moment.”

  “I’m sure you can hold up, stud,” Jessica murmured before parting those strong thighs and sucking hard on the clit that pulsed between them.

  Chapter Eleven

  It was well after midnight when Jessica finally left Skyler’s sleepy embrace and headed up to the house. She crept up the stairs so she wouldn’t wake Kate and Charlie, but when she opened her bedroom door, there was a small boy sleeping in a tight ball on her bed. She took a quick shower, pulled on some soft flannel pajama pants and a clean T-shirt, and crawled into the bed beside him.

  Charlie snuggled into her arms. “Where were you? I’ve been looking for you.”

  “I’m here now, Charlie. Did you have a bad dream or just feeling lonely?” She softly stroked the dark head.

  The boy began to sniffle. “Kate said my uncle is coming to get me in the morning. I don’t want to go. I want to stay here with you and Kate,” he sobbed.

  Poor Kate. She’d had a lot to deal with today. First Scott, then telling Charlie his uncle was coming to take him.

  “Oh, Charlie. We both wish you could stay, too. But you need to give your uncle a chance. From what I hear, he really wants you to come live with him.”

  Charlie tightened his grip around Jessica’s ribs as if he could stay by holding tighter. “I don’t even know him. He and Mom would talk on the phone a lot, but he never came to see us. Mom said he lived really far away. What if he takes me really far away and I never see you again?”

  “Honey, your mother must have trusted him very much to leave you in his care. Tell you what. I’ll stick close to you all day, okay? If your Uncle Mark doesn’t seem like a great guy, I’ll personally tell him you are a horrible boy and cause lots of trouble so he should leave you here. How’s that?”

  Jessica hoped for a smile, but got only a sniffle and a trembling “Okay” from her young friend. She rubbed his back until she felt him relax and drift off the sleep. She closed her eyes, too, and fell into a deep, restful sleep laced with dreams of a certain blond trainer.

  *

  Jessica worked to keep the breakfast conversation lively, hoping to take Charlie’s mind off his impending departure. But as they finished off huge stacks of pancakes topped with syrup and strawberries, Charlie grew quiet.

  “We’re expecting your uncle a little later, sometime after lunch,” Kate said after taking a phone call. “He’s already had the stuff from your mom’s house shipped to his home in Atlanta. Do you have your clothes packed?”

  “Yeah. I’m all packed,” Charlie said glumly.

  Jessica brightened. “Atlanta? Hey, Charlie. Remember I told you my mom lives there? I can come see you, if you like, when I go to visit her.”

  Charlie’s face brightened. “That would be great.”

  “And you know what? How about we pack a picnic and take a trail ride this morning, since we have some extra time. We can ride up to Skyler’s sunbathing spot and picnic there.”

  “Can Sky come with us?”

  The vision of Skyler’s nude body stretched out beneath her brought a warm flush to Jessica’s cheeks. “Only if she promises to keep her clothes on,” Jessica mumbled under her breath.

  *

  Thirty minutes later, they were headed to Creek Barn with a scrumptious lunch packed in the saddlebags slung over their shoulders. Jessica wondered if Skyler would be sleeping in, since it had only been a few hours since she had left. But they found Skyler in the tack room, a small smile on her face as she worked the saddle leather. The smile broadened to a delighted grin when she saw them standing in the doorway.

  “Hey, Sky,” Charlie said excitedly, “we’ve got a picnic packed and we want you to go with us on a trail ride. Kate said we could.”

  Skyler’s eyes traveled to Jessica. “A picnic? Well, if Kate said we could, I don’t know how I can refuse that. You should have called me, though. I’ve already turned Trekker out. You’ll have to go down to the pasture and bring him back up to the barn.”

  “Okay.” Charlie grabbed a lead rope and ran toward the pasture.

  Jessica smiled. “His uncle is coming to get him this afternoon. Kate thought it would be a good idea to keep his mind occupied until then.” She paused. “Actually, I think Kate wanted some time alone, too. She’s trying to hide it, but I can tell she’s taking his leaving pretty hard.”

  Skyler walked over and placed a hand on the wall by Jessica’s head. She leaned in close and said in a husky voice, “I need something to keep my mind occupied, too, so I’ll stop playing last night over and over in my head.”

  “Last night isn’t something I want you to forget, not even for a moment,” Jessica whispered as Skyler’s warm lips caressed her own.

  Their kiss deepened to a passionate exchange, only to be curtailed by the sound of hooves nearing the barn. Jessica held Skyler’s glazed stare a moment longer. Maybe I’m breaking through that tough shell after all, she thought.

  *

  There was enough of a nip in the air to chase away the pesky deer flies that torment both horses and riders in the summer. Still, a cheerful sun shone from the deep blue, cloudless sky to warm their backs as they rode along the mountain trails littered with fallen leaves. They raced across the meadows, laughing and jumping logs and ditches small enough for Charlie to handle. When they reached the mountain trails, Jessica and Rampage led the way with Charlie and Trekker, Skyler and Con Air following. The happy warmth that radiated between them seemed to soothe the anxious youngster.

  When they turned down the path to Skyler’s ledge, they dismounted and Skyler loosened the horses’ saddles and replaced their bridles with halters to make them more comfortable before tying them to nearby trees. Jessica cast a smug glance at her, and received a warm stare in return. Charlie didn’t miss the exchange, and lowered his head as a light blush colored his cheeks. Jessica enlisted his help to spread a blanket on the smooth ledge, then unpacked their lunch. The sun shone warm on the exposed ledge, and Skyler began to remove the sweatshirt she wore over a short-sleeved polo shirt.

  Charlie’s face blanched when he looked up. “Jess. Sky…” he sputtered but could not put his thoughts into words.

  Jessica was at a loss at first to understand his distress. “Oh,” she said as realization dawned.

  Skyler stopped while she still had one arm in her sweatshirt. “What?” she questioned as she looked at her companion’s faces. “What’s the matter?”

  Jessica failed miserably in her efforts to look stern. “I think Charlie was hoping you would keep your clothes on this time. Skyler’s mouth dropped open and Jessica gave up her effort to look serious. “Charlie was with me the day Scott showed us your sunbathing spot. I think he’s afraid you’re changing into your usual attire, or lack of it, for this location.”

  Charlie’s face had turned a deep red. “I didn’t look once I realized it was you, Sky,” he mumbled.

  Skyler’s shock turned to amusement. She walked over and kneeled next to him, placing an arm around his shoulders. “I’m sure you didn’t, Charlie. I was just taking my sweatshirt off because it was getting bit warm for me, but I want to explain something.”

  “Okay.” Charlie’s relief was apparent.

  “Not that I would want people going around naked all the time,” Skyler said, “but the human body is nothing to be ashamed of. Neither you nor I should be ashamed that you caught me sunbathing, because you were a real gentleman by not staring once you realized you had by accident imposed on my privacy. Your mom would be so proud of you for being thoughtful.”

  “Scott looked.” Charlie grimaced.

  “I’m sure he did. But you don’t want to be like Scott, do you?”

  Charlie shook his head vigorously.

  “You’re a handsome young man, Charlie, and, in a few years, you’ll have plenty of girls interested in knowing you better.”

  He wri
nkled his nose at the prediction.

  “No. I’m telling you the truth. You’ll be interested in them, too.” Skyler chuckled. “When you find that happening, I want you to remember what a gentleman you were with me, and I want you to make me proud by treating those girls and their privacy with the same respect. Any guy can be a man when they reach a certain age, but not every guy is a gentleman. That’s what will make you a real man, okay?”

  The boy looked thoughtful. “Like Clint?”

  Skyler smiled. “Exactly like Clint. He’s a real gentleman.”

  Jessica’s eyes filled as she watched the two. She loved the nurturing side that came out when Skyler was around the children. “Hey, I don’t know about you guys,” she said, reaching into the saddlebags. “But ham sandwiches sure sound good to me.”

  Charlie’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, I could eat two.”

  The lunch went by quickly and it was well past noon when Jessica looked at her watch and announced that it was time to head back. Charlie’s face turned glum immediately.

  “Hey, buddy, don’t look that way,” Jess said softly. “I have a good feeling about your uncle. You need to give him a chance. Your mom would have wanted that, don’t you think?”

  He nodded and attempted a small smile. “Okay, Jess.”

  “Okay, then. I bet the horses are getting tired of being tied up. Let’s get everything together and head back to the center.”

  After repacking their saddlebags, they rode back slowly, each seemingly lost in thought. Skyler gave Charlie’s shoulder a little squeeze after they dismounted.

  Staring anxiously at the strange SUV parked in front of the house, he asked, “Is that him?”

  “I guess,” Skyler said.

  They were tying the horses to the hitching posts in front of the barn, when Kate walked out of the barn trailed by a thirty-something, dark-haired man with the same brilliant blue eyes as Charlie.

  “God, Charlie. Your uncle looks just like you…only older,” Jessica said.