“I’m right here.Stop making me wait for it.”She clutched at my shoulders with one hand and as close to my ass as she could reach with her other.
“And I’m yours,” I whispered right before I entered her.I was close.“Wait, condom.”
“I’m on birth control.It’s okay.”
“No…I’ve never—not without…” I cringed.“Not sure if I’ve got one on me, though.”
“Me either,” she whispered.“Your call.We can stop.”
The concept of pregnancy in the past terrified me, ensuring I always said no if I couldn’t cover up, but right now I didn’t care.Not when it came to Erika.The idea of getting pregnant with her didn’t scare me.If we had to walk across that bridge, she’d handle it like she did everything—a hell of a lot better than I would.
“No stopping,” I pulsated into her.So deep.So right.
I continued until we both spun off into pleasure, intense and overwhelming.My mind blanked out.As the high drifted away, I caught her.I righted her on her feet so neither of us fell over.
She leaned into me with her head buried in my chest, panting.Eventually she whispered, “Okay, that was better thanpretty good.”
I chuckled.“I have to go.Both of us need sleep.”I scooped her up and deposited her on the sofa.I kissed on her forehead.“At least I’m improving.I’m happy to keep working on it until I achieve excellence.”
ChapterTwenty-Nine
ERIKA
After workI’d driven with Vinny out to the Tadlock Farm.I hadn’t seen Josh, but he’d texted a few times, which was cute.I’d also had a few voicemails from my ex who was officially psychotic.Today, Jay was behaving as if we’d never broken up and I never moved away.I didn’t reply to him.
I followed Jim Tadlock out to his barn.He’d aged a lot in the past decade.Now in his late sixties, the lines on his face were deeper, but his eyes were just as kind and shrewd as they’d ever been.He’d made millions in some sort of investment banking.The horses had been his way of humoring Bunny in the beginning.Then he got into them just as much as her.They both specialized in raising eventing warmbloods and had even bred horses who carried internationally ranked riders on their backs.
Jim hung over the door of Buck’s stall.I petted the old gelding’s brown neck and showed Vinny how to do it.The big horse had peppered out around his face with age.
“This old boy sure missed you when you left,” Jim said.
“I missed him too.”I petted Buck’s head, noting the few new scars on his face.He wasn’t the most graceful of horses and seemed to get himself nicked up all the time.“Does anyone ride him anymore?”
“Nah.If you want to get on him, he’s yours to do so whenever you want.”
My heart lurched to be able to get back to riding.I’d missed it and the horses so much.“I’d sure love that.”
He leaned against the barn.“Bunny mentioned you wanted to ask my advice about something.”
I did love that he never beat around the bush.
“I wanted some future development advice.Since I don’t have parents or grandparents, you and Bunny are about as close as I’ve got.”
His gaze shot to mine, warm and supportive.“Shoot.”
“Dad left me a plot of land off the highway, close to the freeway.It’s about fifteen minutes from town and thirty from the main horse event areas south of us.I was thinking to develop it into a veterinary complex.We could run the mixed animal practice with a place to do large animal surgery.We could have an equine specialty hospital.Maybe even an overnight small animal emergency.”
Jim’s eyes looked bright.“Sure would be nice to have somewhere closer to haul the horses for stuff than Raleigh or Apex.”
“The whole thing would cost several million to build and recruit the talent we’d need.I don’t know if we’d have enough business, though.”I nibbled my lower lip.“Aside from that, I don’t know how to pay for it.I asked the bank, but because I have no collateral and I owe Josh a bunch for my father’s half of the clinic, they refused.I just don’t know how to pay for something like that.”
“Do you think you could get horse specialists to relocate here?We’re not exactly a hotbed of horse country.”
“Well, there’s all the farms south of Charlotte.There’s Southern Pines.The equine complex in Mill Spring is a bit of a drive, but we’re closer than Raleigh.There are more places moving this way with breeding farms.I think there are enough high dollar horses to make it work.I have a good friend in Kentucky about to finish her residency in equine medicine.Her fiancé is Ken Haegan.They’re both looking to relocate.”
“You’re kidding me.Dr.Haegan?TheHaegan who’s the best for equine lameness on the east coast, possibly in the whole country?”
“Yes.”
