Chapter 15
The next day, Michael talked to Tiffany to find out what she might know about why Tempest’s stall door was left unlatched, and why the grain room door was left open. “Michael, I swear to you that when I left the barn after feeding dinner last night, the grain room was tightly closed, and Tempest’s stall, as well as all the other horses’ stall doors, were securely latched.”
“Was anyone else out here when you left yesterday, Tiff?”
“No. No one. All the workers leave before I do, and there would have been no reason why any of them would have come back after hours. None.”
Michael was stumped. He did check at 10 o’clock that night, and hadn’t noticed the grain room open or Tempest’s stall unlatched. It was simply too coincidental that only Tempest’s stall was unlatched, and that the grain room door was open at the same time. This smacked of an intentional act by someone to injure Tempest, and make it appear as an accident. The perpetrator would have to be someone who knew horses, because few laymen knew that excessive grain could cause a horse serious injury. Michael was troubled. There appeared to be someone intent on sabotaging Michael’s, or Jessica’s, or both of their chances of success with Tempest. At the very least, it was clear someone meant Tempest harm. That was something he could not tolerate. Unfortunately, all he had was suspicion. There was no clear evidence of tampering or deliberate interference, so he couldn’t involve the police. He would have to do his own investigation and would have to take precautions that something like this couldn’t happen again. He decided he would sleep in the loft over Tempest’s stall for the next few nights, and see if the villain would try to strike again.
That being decided, he went back to the house to tell Jessica what he planned to do. He found her having lunch in the manor dining room. He pulled out a chair and sat at the table across from her to explain his plan.
“What will you do if you actually encounter the person?” Jessica asked. She was more than a little concerned when she heard Michael’s plan. If what Michael believed was true, the perpetrator had no difficulty causing an animal harm, and would most likely not hesitate to injure anyone that tried to stand in their way.
“I won’t engage the person unless I absolutely have to,” Michael replied. “Unless I see that he or she is likely to cause some immediate harm, I’ll just keep an eye on them while I call the police.”
“I still don’t like it,” Jessica responded. “Are you sure there isn’t any other way?”
“I’ve looked at this from every angle, and I can’t think of anything else. David says that Tempest will be fine to ride again in a couple of days, so this is the best time for the saboteur to try again. If he or she does, I’ll be waiting.”
Ian had walked into the dining room and heard the last part of the conversation. “If you need someone to spend the night in the barn, Michael, let me do it. I’m out there during the night most evenings anyway, since my nightmares still plague me.”
“No, Ian. You need to at least try to get some sleep. Didn’t the NHS doctor give you sleeping pills to help you sleep through the night? You should be taking those and getting your rest. Although I do admit that I’m glad you weren’t taking them last night. You truly did save Tempest’s life.”
“I hate those pills,” Ian said vehemently. “They knock me out so much that I have trouble waking up the next day. I’m afraid if something happens during the night while I’m on the medication, I’ll not be able to wake up and help. What if there’s a fire, or one of the horses is injured or colics?”
“Your getting a good night’s sleep is more important than anything. Please, for my peace of mind, take the pills at least until the nightmares fade. The doctor did say that eventually they’ll recede and not be so vivid, right?”
Ian sighed. “Yes, but she couldn’t assure me exactly when that would happen. I’m concerned that I’ll get hooked on the sleeping pills if I rely on them for any length of time. The doctor warned me they were addictive.”
“Damn it!” Michael said. “There doesn’t appear to be any easy answers, but the bottom line here is that this is my responsibility and I will be the one monitoring Tempest. I won’t accept any other solution.”
Ian and Jessica shared a look of concern, but they also realized by the tone of Michael’s voice that he had made up his mind, and there was no changing it.
“All right,” Jessica sighed. “We’ll back off. But please promise us you’ll be careful.”
“I promise,” Michael said, hoping that neither Jessica nor Ian noticed he crossed his fingers behind his back. He knew that if anyone seriously threatened those dearest to him, including his horses, Michael wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever was required to stop them. There could be no other way.
As night approached, Michael gathered his pillow and two large but lightweight blankets and made his way to the stable. Only Ian and Jessica knew he was spending the night in the stable, lying in the hayloft over the main aisle of stalls directly over Tempest’s stall so he could watch over the stallion and ensure that whoever had tried to hurt him the night before would be caught if he or she tried again this night.
In the barn, Michael used a large quantity of loose hay in the loft to fashion a bed of sorts in the area just above Tempest’s stall. The stallion occasionally looked up with interest, most likely thinking he would be getting a flake or two of hay thrown down to him at any time. Michael located a freshly cleaned winter turnout blanket, and laid it nylon side down against the hay to prevent the stems from poking through and irritating him all night. The inside lining was quilted flannel, and actually very comfortable. He covered himself with the blankets he had brought from the house, and fluffed his pillow. In the loft next to him he had laid a pitchfork. Who knew what he might encounter, and a pitchfork was as good protection as anything. He refused to buy a gun, and he had no experience using a knife. The pitchfork would have to do. After making a final check to ensure all was as it should be, Michael settled in for what expected to be a long, restless night.
Jessica had watched from her bedroom window as Michael made his way into the barn. She noticed he took blankets and a pillow with him, confirming that he planned to spend the entire night in the loft on the lookout for the saboteur to try again. Jessica was not at all comfortable with Michael’s plan, but she couldn’t see a way to convince him there was a better way. She herself understood that what happened to Tempest last night couldn’t have been a coincidence, and she had racked her brain all day trying to come up with a better solution, but to no avail. She sighed and returned to her bed, knowing she wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing Michael was potentially in danger.
After an hour of tossing and turning, Jessica looked over at her alarm clock, which showed it was only midnight. Well, this isn’t going to work, Jessica thought to herself. Maybe I should go out to the barn and join Michael in his vigil. That way, we could ensure that at least one of us was getting some sleep while the other kept watch. If Michael is there all alone, she reasoned, there was a chance he could fall asleep from exhaustion or boredom and miss the saboteur. Not to mention that I owe him an apology for jumping all over him when he tried to help me find help for Hailey. He didn’t deserve my bad attitude, and I most likely hurt his feelings by essentially telling him to butt out because it wasn’t his business.
The decision made, Jessica pulled on a pair of lightweight sweatpants, slipped a pair of tennis shoes on over her bare feet, and elected not to change out of her oversized T-shirt that doubled as a night shirt. It definitely covered her, and she would be sleeping some of the time anyway so she might as well be comfortable.
As Jessica left the house, she realized that Michael wouldn’t be expecting her, and might mistake her for an intruder. She needed to alert him to her presence without alarming him. She needn’t have worried, because as she got closer to the stable, she heard Michael’s low voice, speaking softly in the dark. She found him in front of Tempest’s stall, stroking his neck, and soothing him. Apparently, Tempest was fretful this evening, possibly still suffering some aftereffects of last night’s tubing.
Michael looked up as he heard her approach. “Jess. What are doing out here?”
“I couldn’t sleep, and thought you might like some company.” Seeing Michael’s uncertainty, she pressed on with further explanation. “I feel some responsibility for Tempest’s welfare too, you know. I should be here with you watching over him.” She approached the stallion and rubbed his forehead. The stallion lowered his head and rumbled his appreciation for the attention.
“I was just thinking about how much is at stake, and what might have happened if we lost Tempest,” Michael said. “I’m also trying to figure out who hates me so much that they’re willing to seriously injure such a magnificent animal to hurt me.” Michael looked so troubled that Jessica reached out to him, and slid her arms around his waist, and pressed her body against him to offer him comfort.
Surprised but pleased, Michael returned the hug, his arms surrounding her in a warm embrace, and Jessica sighed. This felt so right, so wonderful. She had no idea how much she had been longing for the comfort and protection Michael offered. Her heart swelled with emotion.
Michael’s hands caressed her back in large, soothing circles, and she lifted her head and saw her longing echoing in Michael’s eyes. She stretched up and touched Michael’s lips with hers, hoping she hadn’t misinterpreted the desire and acceptance she had seen in his eyes. She hadn’t.
Michael inhaled her scent, a combination of floral scents mixed with a hint of her own personal spice as he returned her kiss tentatively at first. Jessica parted her lips and teased his mouth with her tongue and Michael moaned with pleasure, allowing her access and deepened the kiss. Their tongues mingled and danced and both reveled in the excitement and heat they were generating. Jessica’s arms moved up to encircle Michael’s neck, and she ran her fingers tentatively through his thick, soft hair. Such a delicious feeling. Michael broke off the kiss, and his fingers tenderly traced the line of Jessica’s jaw. He cupped her chin and tilted her head up to make sure she met his eyes.
“I think I’ve wanted to do that since I first saw you,” Michael said, his eyes darkening with desire. “Are you sure this is what you want, Jess? Because if we go through with this, our relationship will never be the same. I won’t be able to see you as just a student or as a competitor for Tempest that I must defeat. To be honest, I don’t know exactly where we would go from here, but I’m willing to give it a try if you are.”
“Yes, Michael,” Jessica replied with a confidence that frankly surprised her. Evidently, she had been considering this possibility for some time, too. Interesting. “I want this just as much as you do.”
Michael grinned. “In that case, milady, please proceed upstairs. My boudoir awaits.” He bowed most formally as he waved his arm to indicate the ladder leading up to the hayloft. Jessica noticed he was purposely mimicking a formal British lord much like the ones she read about in the few romance novels she had read.
Jessica, now faced with the reality of her situation, found herself growing a bit nervous. Courage, Jess. You know you want this. Just relax and enjoy. She decided to play along with the game he had started, and assumed the persona of a formal British lady. She stiffened her posture, returned his smile, and affected her best British accent. “Certainly, milord, I look forward to partaking of your hospitality.”
Jessica started up the hayloft ladder, giving Michael an excellent view of her perfectly shaped buttocks as she climbed. Michael swallowed past the lump that had developed in his throat. This woman was so beautiful, yet she had no idea how much she affected him. She was physically attractive, yes, but what drew him to her like a moth to a flame was her easy nature, her intelligence, and her honesty. There was no subterfuge with this woman. After his experience with Emma, that meant more to him than he had realized.
Once they both arrived at the loft, she saw the cozy nest he had created for himself with the quilted blanket and covers. Since he had only just left it, as she got closer, she was surrounded by his scent, a combination of sandalwood, spice and a touch of sweetness she couldn’t label, but it excited her senses like nothing she had ever experienced before. She kneeled slowly down onto the improvised bed and looked up at Michael. Smiling shyly, she patted the quilting next to her. Michael slowly lowered himself to kneel next to her, and curled his hand around the back of her neck, bringing her mouth to his for a deeply searing kiss. Their tongues clashed in a heated exchange, and Michael used his other hand to slide gently under Jessica’s oversized t-shirt. Her heated skin was silky soft and smooth to the touch. He skimmed his hand up over her ribcage to cradle a breast. “No bra?” he teased.
“I was planning to sleep.” Jessica blushed.
“I’m not complaining, love.” Michael chuckled. “I’m appreciating.” His thumb brushed over her nipple, and she gasped at the flash of energy that heated her and generated a pool of warmth in her core. She tingled all over. He changed position to grasp the bottom of her T-shirt with both hands, and slowly lifted it over her head as she raised her arms to ease the way.
“Beautiful, just beautiful.” Michael sighed. His eyes trailed slowly over her naked torso, and he gazed with pure admiration at her perfectly formed, pink-tipped breasts. He noticed her nipples had hardened to darker pink points. He couldn’t resist taking one in his mouth, and licked, teased and suckled until she moaned in pleasure.
Jessica arched into Michael’s mouth, her insides melting in liquid heat at the sensations his caresses were creating. Slowly, after giving equal attention to Jessica’s other breast, he slowly made his way lower. He trailed kisses down Jessica’s stomach, eliciting shivers of excitement, then reached the waistband of her sweatpants. He started peeling her sweatpants down and noticed Jessica was wearing no panties either.
“My dear girl.” Michael grinned up at her. “You’re my dream come true.”
Jessica laughed as Michael finished pulling down her sweatpants, and quickly removed her shoes as well. She was now completely naked, she noticed, but Michael was still wearing all of his clothes. “Unfair,” she said as she reached for the bottom of his T-shirt and ran her hands underneath. “It’s your turn to show some skin, milord.”
Michael graciously complied, easily stripping off his T-shirt, then standing for a quick removal of his sweatpants and shoes. His burgeoning erection stood tall against his flat, toned belly, occasionally jerking with tension. Jessica’s gaze was immediately drawn to his thick, long length, and beckoned him to join her again in their makeshift bed. He immediately complied. He took her again in his arms, and kissed her deeply once again. He urged her to lie back on the soft quilting. This time there was nothing to interrupt as he trailed kisses down Jessica’s body until he reached the nest of curls at the junction of her thighs. He only paused a moment to grin up at her shocked expression before his mouth covered her hot, moist folds, and his tongue flicked over her most sensitive spot.
Jessica groaned with pleasure, the sensations so exquisite she nearly couldn’t breathe. As Michael worked to stimulate her to greater and greater heights, she realized her hips were rocking in a steady rhythm, and Michael was holding her buttocks to keep her in place for easy access. Suddenly, the tension that had been building inside of her exploded in a burst of energy and sensation, her insides throbbing with the rhythm. As her body continued to throb, his mouth played her body like a musical instrument built only for him.
When the sensations finally ebbed, Jessica fell back on the blanket completely drained, pleasantly fuzzy. “Oh. My. God,” she said.
“I aim to please,” Michael replied with a satisfied smile.
Jessica noticed, however, that his body was till taut with unfulfilled desire. She reached for his penis, hard and hot, but so soft to the touch, and gently stroked.
Michael groaned. “God, Jess. That feels so good.”
Jessica licked her lips sensuously, and moved to take him in her mouth, thinking that turnabout was fair play.
Michael noticed her intent, and gently pushed her back to the blanket. “Not this time, love. I want to be inside you.”
Jessica would have been happy to oblige, because the thought of him filling her with his long, hard, heat was very exciting. However, there were risks. “I would love that, Michael. Do you have any protection?”
Damn! “No, sweetheart, I don’t. Not here anyway. I obviously hadn’t planned on a tryst in the hay when I came out here earlier.” Jessica could tell Michael was frustrated. She knew Michael wanted to consummate their relationship, and she was shocked when she realized how strongly she shared his primitive desire to be possessed completely, wanting him to make her his, to claim her physically, to literally plant his seed in her.
“Where are you in your cycle?” he asked, desperate that it be safe to complete their union.
“Um, I think it’s okay,” Jessica tried to clear her muddled brain enough to make some quick math calculations and tried to visualize a calendar in her head. It would be close, but they would probably be safe. She crossed her fingers. There was no way in this moment that she would say no. “Yes, I’m sure it will be okay.” She told him.
Anxious to believe her, Michael proceeded. He lowered himself over Jessica, covering her face with kisses, at first light and playful, then when he reached her mouth, deeper and more sensual, generating even more heat than before. Jessica raked her fingers through Michael’s hair, as he trailed lower to suckle her breasts again until she was writhing with need underneath him. “I think you’re ready for me now, love,” He said. He nudged her thighs with his knees, and she opened to him without hesitation. He knew he needed to go slow, since he had no idea when, if ever, Jessica had last had a lover. Jessica made his job more difficult by arching her hips into him, begging him to take her and make her his own.
“Easy, Jess. I want to make this good for you, so I’m trying to take it slow.”
“No, Michael, not slow. I want you now,” Jessica demanded. “It’s fine. I’m ready. Please, Michael, please.” She moved her hands lower on his back and gripped his buttocks to emphasize her need, and he relented. Grateful for her permission, he positioned himself at her entrance and thrust inside her.
She gasped with the initial shock of his entry, then moaned in pleasure. Assured that everything was all right, he began to stroke in and out and she wrapped her legs and arms around him, holding him to her as if she would never let go. “Yes! Yes. Just like that.” Although Jessica was whispering, he understood her need, and obeyed her urging to continue. He could feel her internal muscles tightening, and knew she was close to peaking again. “Let’s come together, love,” he whispered. “Come with me now.” His stokes became faster as he felt his own release nearing, and he whispered to her again. “Let go, love. Trust me. Let me have you.” At just that moment, he felt her cry out as she started convulsing around him, and he let go, emptying himself deep insider her. When he could no longer feel her pulsing around him, he withdrew slowly and collapsed to his back, taking her with him. She snuggled against him with a sigh and laid a hand on his chest, just over his heart. Michael pressed a kiss to her temple and pushed her hair away from her face and back behind her ear. You’re mine. All mine. Those were his last thoughts as he tucked her exhausted and satisfied body next to him and covered them with warm, soft blankets. They both fell into a deep, comfortable sleep.
Michael slowly awakened to the sound of birds chirping and of horses stirring in their stalls, most likely hungry for their morning meal. The sun was beginning to peek over the eastern horizon, and he felt the warm presence of a beautiful woman clinging to him, their legs entwined intimately together. The pungent but sweet smell of crushed hay surrounded him, mixed with Jessica’s sweet scent, and the musky smell of their lovemaking and he felt himself becoming more aroused as he awakened from the best sleep he had experienced in months. Unfortunately, the next sound Michael heard was his brother, Ian, shouting at the top of his lungs. “Good morning, Tiffany! How are you this fine day?” Michael strained to hear Tiffany’s response as he tried to move from his cozy nest only to find his arm pinned underneath Jessica’s still sleeping head.
“Wake up, sweetheart,” Michael whispered gently in her ear. “We’re about to be discovered, so unless you want Tiffany to find us here naked, you have to go.”
Jessica’s eyes flew open. “Oh, shit!” She went instantly from pleasantly lazy to wide-awake, her heart pounding as she tried to quickly disentangle herself from Michael without causing bodily harm and bolted upright to start frantically searching for her clothes.
Michael couldn’t help grinning at her behavior. Knowing that he wasn’t helping, and realizing her distress was real, he tried to reassure her. “There’s no need to panic, love. I have a feeling Ian took one of his midnight walks last night and heard us up here in the loft. My guess is he’s doing his best to cover for us while we make ourselves presentable.”
“Oh my God, Michael,” Jessica said, blushing a deep shade of red. “Do you really think Ian heard us? That he knows what we did last night?” When Michael’s grin widened in response to her question, she groaned. “I’m so embarrassed. What will he think?”
Michael pulled on his sweat pants and considered. The playfulness in his voice was gone. He wanted to be sure Jessica understood he was serious. “He’ll be glad I’m happy, and that you’re the woman I’ve chosen to be intimate with after a long period of enforced celibacy,” Michael responded honestly. “He’s been worried about me lately, and he actually encouraged me to take our relationship to a more serious level. He likes you, Jessica. He likes you a lot.” So do I.
Jessica couldn’t meet Michael’s gaze. She had a lot to think about. She definitely heard the tone of Michael’s voice, and the underlying message he was conveying. There was obviously more to this encounter in Michael’s view than a casual one-night stand. Was that what she wanted? She definitely cared for Michael, probably more than she should, given her past and the secret she held inside. A secret that could cause him to reject her in disgust and never want to see her again. She finished dressing, stood up, and slipped her shoes on as Michael approached.
He extended his hand to her, and she clasped it. He pulled her into his embrace, and held her in his arms, stoking her back soothingly, until Ian’s voice once again intruded. This time he was just at the top of the ladder to the hayloft. “There you are, Michael,” he said, overly loudly to Michael’s way of thinking, but he knew the volume was for Tiffany’s benefit.
Jessica moved away from Michael as Ian climbed from the ladder into the loft and stood there grinning from ear to ear. He winked at them and motioned to Jessica that there was another ladder at the opposite end of the barn that would take her out of the hayloft. If she left from that direction, she could make it back to the house, with no one the wiser that she had ever been in the loft with Michael. Jessica smiled her thanks at Ian, who took an exaggerated bow, then she made her way out.
“So, brother.” Ian couldn’t help but give his big brother some grief over being discovered in a compromising position. “You’re not providing me a very good example. Shagging in the hayloft no less.” Michael had the grace to look sheepish, then Ian turned serious. “Good show, man! Honestly, I’m proud of you, Michael. Jessica’s a really great girl.”
“She is, isn’t she?” Michael smiled self-consciously. Then he also got serious. “Ian, I’ve never felt like this about any woman, even Emma. It bloody frightens me to death.” What if I’m wrong about her? What if she betrays me like Emma did? I don’t think I could survive the pain. Michael kept those thoughts to himself, because his heart told him the Jessica was nothing like Emma, and that he could trust her with his heart.
“Welcome to real life, brother.” Ian wrapped his arm around Michael’s shoulders and squeezed him hard. “I wish I had the courage to join you.”
“You’ll get there, Ian. I have faith.” He moved to embrace his brother, and that’s how Tiffany found them when she climbed up the ladder to see what was going on.
After assuring Tiffany that the night had been uneventful and checking on Tempest, who appeared to be nearly back to normal, Michael went to the house to get some breakfast and find Jessica. He found her in the kitchen, making some scrambled eggs and bacon. “It looks like you’re making enough for two, or are you that hungry after our exertions last night?” He grinned. She threw a kitchen towel at him, but was trying without success to suppress a grin of her own.
“I assumed you would be as hungry as I am, so I cooked enough for both of us.” Once the food was ready and the coffee brewed, she served Michael then herself and they settled in to eat. As she sipped her hot coffee, Jessica let her mind wander to what had happened in the hayloft last night. Now, in the light of day, she wondered how her relationship with Michael would change now that they had become lovers. How would she be able to compete with him for Tempest? Most importantly, how did she feel about him? One thing was certain: she had never felt like this about anyone. True, her experience with men was limited to the one guy from high school that she had thought she would marry, but never in her relationship with Mark had she felt this soul-deep connection, that feeling that this man was her other half, and she would be lost if he wasn’t in her life. Michael must have sensed her thoughts, because at just that moment, he reached across the table and took her hand in his, squeezing it gently in reassurance.
“It’ll be all right,” he said calmly. “I’m in uncertain territory as well, but something deep inside me tells me this is right.”
Jessica sighed, and rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand. He was right. She knew in her heart that this relationship was different, deeper, than anything she had ever experienced before. It wasn’t just the physical attraction, no, it was so much more than that. She leaned across the table and met Michael halfway as they shared a brief, tender kiss.
The moment was interrupted when Jessica’s cell phone rang. Jessica looked to see who was calling, tempted to send the caller to voicemail and continue her time alone with Michael, but it was Hailey calling. She showed Michael the caller ID, and he nodded his understanding. As Jessica answered, Michael started cleaning up.
“Hey, sis,” Jessica said. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you at our regular time. Is everything all right?”
“Everything’s great,” Hailey answered. “Blake McMillan’s secretary. Oops, I mean his ‘personal assistant’”—Jessica could hear the air quotes in Hailey’s voice—“called me, and he’s arranged for both Liz and me to fly over there with him late next week.”
“Liz is coming too?” Jessica couldn’t hide her surprise at the news. “I thought she was stuck there until her custody suit was finished.”
“I don’t know the details, Jess, but I’m pretty sure the woman said both Liz and I would be on the jet. Maybe you should call Liz and get the story from her.”
“I definitely will.” Jessica was certainly puzzled. When she had called Liz to let her know what had happened to Tempest, she hadn’t mentioned anything about her custody case being settled or that she planned to travel back to England. Strange.
At that very moment, Liz was making last-minute arrangements with her sister Cynthia to split Amy’s time equally with Rick while Liz was away in the UK. To everyone’s surprise, including Rick’s attorney, Rick had withdrawn his custody suit and sat down with Liz and her attorney to draw up a temporary custody arrangement so that he could have more time with Amy while Liz was out of the country without changing their long term shared custody arrangement. Amy had been overjoyed that her parents were no longer fighting, and Liz suspected she had played more of a role in changing Rick’s mind than she was letting on. No matter, it was done, and everyone was happy. Liz could now switch her focus to Jessica and her training on Tempest.
Under Michael’s tutelage, Jessica was making great strides in mastering the big stallion. As she viewed video after video of her training sessions, Liz was mightily impressed with Michael’s skill as a trainer, and quite frankly felt a bit unneeded at this point. She reminded herself that Michael was still the competition, and that although she didn’t see video of Michael’s rides like she had of Jess, Michael had to be making progress with the stallion as well.
Liz also had to acknowledge that she really missed being there in person, and definitely wanted to have a chance to ride Tempest herself. He was such a magnificent animal, and with the right rider, could easily be a world and Olympic champion. Liz knew she could be that rider. Stop dreaming, Liz. That’s not your life now. You have other responsibilities. Liz sighed. Competitive riding wasn’t in her future, as much as she might want it. She had too many responsibilities between the therapeutic riding business and her daughter. There just wasn’t the time to devote to her riding that she would need to compete at the highest levels. She, of anyone, knew that. Her job now was to coach Jess to success, and she was determined to do just that.