Maybe Baby (10 page)

I felt my way through the kitchenette, groping cautiously into the living room. Another flash of lightning served to illuminate the room. The couch was empty. No blanket, no pillow, no Trey. What the hell? I hurried to open the front door. I peered out from behind the screen door to see if perhaps he was out on my porch. Nothing there either.

The storm was raging full force. Maybe he had been called down to the barn for some type of an emergency. Maybe something was going on with one of the horses. I needed to find him.

I managed to make it to the horse bar, though I was thoroughly drenched. My nightgown clung to my body. I shivered as I pulled the heavy door open and entered the stable. Once inside, I frantically looked
around as rivulets of water dripped
from my hair onto my face. The stalls were empty. The doors to the stable were closed. There was no way they could have left the barn with the doors shut, unless someone had deliberately let them out. My God, was Trey out there now, trying to get them rounded up and back into the barn?

I raced down the aisle, my soaked flip-flops squeaking with every step. Every stall was empty. This had to have been done on purpose. There was no other possible explanation. Just then I heard a noise from behind me. It was Trey. He was completely dry; I wasn’t sure how he'd managed to stay dry in this torrential storm.

“Tylar,” he said angrily, “what are you doing out in this storm? Look at you, you're soaked.” He grabbed one of the horse blankets that hung outside a stall. He handed it to me, instructing me to start drying myself off while he went to get more. He was back in an instant with several more blankets. He laid one out on a pile of straw over in the corner by the door to the tack room.

“Here,” he coaxed softly, “come over here where it's more comfortable.” I did as he instructed. "We have to get you out of these wet clothes. You'll catch your death of cold.”

He left no room for argument, peeling my silk nightgown off of me, followed by my panties. He gave me a blanket to wrap myself in. I felt warm and safe once again.

“How is it you’re not even wet?” I asked him, but he didn't answer. He just continued to rub the blanket against my skin to get my entire body dry and warm. Finally my shivering stopped. I stretched out on the blanketed straw. He gazed down at me with those gorgeous sapphire eyes. I was dry, warm, and safe with Trey. I discarded the blanket that had been wrapped around me. I wanted Trey to see me as I was. His eyes perused every inch of my body. I saw the hunger in his eyes.

Suddenly he stopped. “We can’t do this, Ty,” he said abruptly. I'd never heard him call me Ty before.

“Why not?”

“I belong to someone else." he said, walking away.

I was consumed with humiliation and shame. I was suddenly alone, sitting on a blanket, totally naked and rejected. I stood up and wrapped the blanket around my body like a bath towel. I found my soaked flip-flops and slipped them on. Rain or not, I was going back to my cottage and, darkness or not, I was leaving this place.

I stumbled past the door to the tack room. There was a small window in the door, and I could see that Trey wasn't alone. Did I want to know who was in there with him? Did I want to know who he'd left my cottage to meet? I barreled through the door. Trey looked back at me then turned his attention back to the woman standing there in front of him. It was my mother! She looked over at me and smiled. “Hey baby girl.”

“Mom!” I shrieked, horrified. “What are you doing here?”

“Well now what do you think, baby girl?” she purred.

Mom looked at me as Trey stepped in front of her. She had the necklace and pearl drop earrings on. They were in this together! She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his handsome face down to hers. She kissed him long and passionately.

“No!” I screamed. “Can’t you see what she's doing? Why are you letting her use you to hurt me? I can do those things - I can be what she is!”

Trey’s face was suddenly right in front of mine. He looked angry. I'd really pissed him off this time. Maybe he was still angry at me for racing Jezebel. He started shaking me roughly.

“I promise I won’t ride anymore. Just stop, please. Trey please just stop…”

“Tylar!” He was shaking my shoulders. His hands moved to my face, running his fingers along my jaw line. They felt wet. The room was light. The electricity had come back on. My window A/C unit was humming again; the air was cool. There was no more lightning and thunder.

“Did the rain stop?” I asked. “Why are your hands wet?”

I realized then that my face had tears running down both cheeks. His hands were wet from my tears. He looked totally concerned.

“Damn," he said, taking his place beside me on the bed. He pulled me out from under my covers, and onto his lap. His hands gently stroked locks of my hair. "What did she do to you? Tell me what she did to you."

Chapter 12

I awoke and saw the sun streaming in through my bedroom window. My window A/C unit hummed. I stretched languidly and realized that Trey’s arm was wrapped around my waist. I foggily remembered a tumultuous dream; I was glad he was here. My mind turned to the break-in and confusion of the night before. I glanced over to my dresser and the two blue velvet boxes were still there, quite real. The reality of the jewelry wasn't part of the nightmare, that puzzle still required solving.

I gently rolled over, careful not to wake Trey. I wanted to watch him in all his gorgeousness and try to remember pieces of the night before. As I watched Trey sleep, I was amazed that this beautiful man cared about me. I wasn't sure of his motivation.

My mom had always repeated to me that men simply weren’t to be trusted. She'd once told me that she'd held on to her virginity until her wedding night with my dad. She'd confided to me that I was conceived the very first time she had marital relations. She explained that was the reason she was fanatical about practicing safe sex. She claimed my father had lost interest in her after I was born and went elsewhere for romance.

Trey’s hair was mussed from sleep. I reached my hand up and brushed some hair back off of his brow. He stirred feelings in me that I'd never known.

I exited noiselessly from the bed, and slipped into my robe and slippers. I quietly opened the bedroom door and went out to the kitchen, shutting the door softly behind me. I put the coffee on figuring Trey to be a coffee drinker. I checked the fridge and got out the eggs, milk, and cheese for an omelet. I could hear Trey stirring in the bedroom, then the bathroom sink running.

When Trey emerged I had to giggle. He was wearing my older shabby blue bathrobe. It was pretty tight on him and the sleeves went only to his elbows. “You look nice this morning,” I greeted him cheerily. He cocked one eyebrow, scratching the back of his head and immediately grumbled for coffee. My man wasn't a morning person.

“Sit down,” I instructed, and filled one of the mugs with steaming coffee. “Cream or sugar?” I asked sweetly.

“Black is fine,” he said, yawning, as I handed him the mug.

He took a sip of coffee and then another. I handed him a plate with toast and an omelet and sat down across from him with my plate.

“This looks great,” he said as he started digging in, “Umm…it's good.”

“I’m glad you like it,” I said.

“What do you have planned for today?” he asked, looking up from his plate, chewing thoughtfully.

"I really hadn’t planned anything. Just playing it by ear I guess.”

“Do you want to take Derringer out for a ride?”

I was shocked. What happened to, “Nobody mounts my horse but me?” I wasn’t about to throw that up to him now.

“Well sure, you mean
together?”

He frowned at me. “That's the idea. I mean if you want to start exercising him in the arena, you need to get used to him. I thought maybe we'd ride him together.”

“It sounds great to me. When do you want to do this?”

He glanced down at his Rolex. “I’ve got to get back to my house and clean up. I have a few e-mails to answer. Let’s meet at the stables in a couple of hours, around noon?”

“It’s a date,” I answered smiling.

      
      
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

It was just past 11:30 a.m. when I headed down to the barn, making absolutely sure that my cottage was locked. It felt anxious in there now since I knew that someone had let themselves in, leaving those boxes in my bed. Someone from my past.

I entered the barn and walked down the aisle between the horse stalls to the tack room. Opening my locker, I grabbed my hunt cap and riding gloves and zipped my half-chaps up over my jeans. I heard a man’s voice in the aisle. Peeking out the tack room door, I was relieved to see it was Trey. I was more skittish these days than any horse in the stable.

My stomach had butterflies as I watched Trey get Derringer saddled up. He knew what he was doing. He'd put an all-purpose saddle on Derringer for today. Trey was dressed impeccably in English riding garb. He was wearing a white linen shirt, with fawn colored breeches that clung to his well-muscled thighs and tight ass. His black field boots shone. I was already taking much pleasure watching his sinewy moves as he readied the horse. He put his riding gloves on after he finished adjusting Derringer’s bridle, having been assured the fit was gentle.

As I gazed at him, in the back of my mind my mom’s nagging witch’s voice was harping to my subconscious convincing my id that Trey was too handsome, too rich, too polished, and too classy for trash like me. I pushed the thoughts down.

Trey smiled when he saw I had arrived and I joined him in the aisle. Together we led Derringer out of the stable, halting at the mounting block on the lawn. Trey mounted Derringer expertly and I looked up at him.

“Where do you want me?” I asked cautiously.

“Well for now, how about up on the horse with me?” He grinned mischievously as he lowered his left arm down and with little effort, swung me up, placing me right in front of him. I was encircled by his arms; my head resting comfortably against his chest. With a squeeze of his calves against the horse’s sides, we were off at a walk.

After a few moments of walking, we'd left the stable far behind us and came to an open meadow. Trey leaned down and whispered in my ear.

“Ready to pick up the pace?”

I nodded.

At the far end of the meadow, there was a crystal clear stream and plenty of shade trees. He reined the horse over to a large tree that offered ample shade. A couple of yards away, there was a large log lying horizontally on the ground that bordered the stream. Trey slid down off of the horse, taking me with him. I was puzzled by the short ride, but my instincts told me that we were going to have a discussion first. Play later. He dropped Derringer’s reins to the ground. The horse happily stayed close, eating grass.

“Come with me,” he held out his hand and I slipped mine into it. We walked over to the log, and Trey straddled it, pulling me down once again in front of him. This time I was facing him. I looked up at him questioningly.

He smiled and held out his hands, pulling me close to him, cupping my chin gently with his hand, and tipping my face up to meet his eyes. Those sapphire blue eyes were so intense and yet tender at the same time. He gazed at me from beneath his dark lashes and I knew it was time. It was time for me to feel his full lips on mine and, God, I wanted to!

He pulled me closer, his arms wrapped around my back and shoulders. I could feel the strong beat of his heart against mine.

I felt his fingers tilting my chin up, so that our eyes locked.

Damn…

He lowered his mouth to mine, his lips warm and soft, gently meeting mine. He took his time, his lips molding themselves to my lips, claiming this first kiss softly. I warmed against his touch - everywhere. His tongue traced my lower lip, teasingly; my belly tingled as I felt his hands cupping my face, and his thumbs rubbing gentle caresses on my neck, just beneath my earlobes. His tongue found mine and it was as if they found perfect sync, dancing gently, exploring tentatively. I felt a soft moan of pleasure escape from my throat as I pushed my breasts against Trey, wondering what it might feel like to have his full lips on them; and his magic tongue circling the peaks over and over again.

Too soon, Trey pulled back just a bit, bringing the kiss to closure with soft butterfly kisses on my lips and face. My eyes fluttered open and were immediately captured by his sapphire ones. They were intense; totally sexy and damned if they weren't kind of smoldering, too.

“I need you to know something Tylar,” his tone now serious. “I'll never go beyond the boundaries of what you permit me to do as far as touching you. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“I think so,” I whispered, studying his expression closely. Wanting to get right back to what we'd been doing just a few seconds ago.

He continued, “I'll never let our relationship get physical beyond what you're ready for, regardless as to whether you communicate otherwise, okay?”

I felt myself turn beet red. I pulled my legs up, folding them in front of me like a fort of protection. I wrapped both arms around my bent legs and lowered my face so that my chin was resting on my knees. I avoided his eyes, feeling a bit embarrassed and ashamed. I suspected he had guessed that I was a virgin. Trey reached out with his hand, tilting my chin back up, forcing me to look into his eyes. Eyes that now seemed to be searching mine for… something.

“You've nothing to be ashamed of, do you understand that? We're going to make this right, damn it, I promise you that.”

Rewind. What?

Obviously, he
had
figured out that I was a virgin. I wondered if it had been in the way I kissed. It wasn't like I hadn't kissed before, but I loved that he was telling me that I'd no reason to be ashamed of my virginity. What I totally wasn't getting though was his promise that
“we”
were going to make it right. He sensed my confusion.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked softly.

“I do,” I answered, “but I'm a little bit embarrassed and a tad confused.”