AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ellie was intrigued. She threw together a quick lambcasserole, set the slow cooker to its lowest setting and made her way to the stable, wondering if Syrus wanted her to help with Blaze and the foal.
When she found him, she was surprised to see Syrus’ personal mount, a beautiful chestnut roan named Sorrel, and a quiet grey mare called Gracie, both saddled. Syrus was busy filling panniers and crooning to the pair of them in that melted chocolate voice he sometimes used. Was it possible to be jealous of a horse?
He gave her a slow, seductive smile when he saw her and as soon as he’d finished what he was doing, he came over and took her hand, pulling the two horses along behind them by their reins.
“I thought we could take a trip out. I know you said you used to ride when you were younger, but I don’t think you’ve done any since you got here.”
“Oh! No, I haven’t,” she exclaimed, delighted. “Are we going to check some fences or something?”
He chuckled lightly and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Not exactly,” he said, as he helped her onto Gracie’s back. It had been a while… like over a decade, but she had ridden a lot as a child. She’d tried to keep it up after she moved in with Gran, but a riding school just hadn’t been the same as giving her own pony its head across the open fields of her parents ranch, and she’d eventually given up since it seemed only to serve as a reminder of everything she’d lost, rather than provide any kind of pleasure.
An overwhelming sense of satisfaction settled into her bones as she relaxed into the saddle; a sense of coming home.
“We’ll have to get you your own horse at some point,” Syrus remarked, and the words alone brought tears to her eyes that she had to blink away before he saw them.
The ride, especially when they came to a wide, flat field and let the horses fly, made something crack inside her heart. It had been so very long, and she really hadn’t realized just how much she had missed this. Yes, she’d felt that comforting sense of homecoming when she arrived at the ranch, but this was something different. This was like finding her place in life and while it was inexorably recorded, whichever brother she eventually settled down with; it was Syrus who had given her this, and that was something she would cherish forever. It was something that money couldn’t buy, and that made it even more special.
Syrus led the way to a small, but beautiful meadow which had been allowed to grow freely, probably because of its size and the fact that, since it was hemmed in on all four sides by a screen of mature trees, it would be difficult to get anything in or out.
“Wow! This is beautiful!”
“Apparently my great Grandfather fenced it off for my Grandmother one hundred years ago, as a special place for her to go when she wanted some quiet time or solitude. I like to think they came up here for a bit of privacy too, since they had seven children.”
He dismounted and got busy unpacking the panniers while Ellie took in the abundance of wildflowers; there was a blanket of purple prairie clover but interspersed were bobbing red and yellow poppies, sturdy ox-eye daisies, some delicate bell flowers and even a few patches of brightly colored lilies. The hedge was interspersed with lilac trees and the smell was divine and the familiar spears of fireweed clustered in the hedge line. It was like a little slice of paradise.
“The original pasture was seeded and planted out, but since then it pretty much seeds itself, although I make a point of replenishing it every few years so that some of the more aggressive weeds don’t take over.”
Ellie finished her slow three-hundred-and-sixty-degree circle that she’d been turning to take it all in and faced towards him again to find that Syrus had spread out a picnic blanket and was busy loading it with all kinds of nibbles and treats.
“Syrus!” she gasped. “How did you do all this?”
He looked up and gave her that panty melting smile which had her heart fluttering like a butterfly in her chest.
“Oh, I have my ways. Come and sit down and let me feedyoufor a change.”
He sat on the colorful blanket and gestured the lavish spread before patting the space next to him. At this moment Ellie thought she might just follow him anywhere and happily dropped down next to him.
He opened a tub and speared a fat olive with a fork and brought it up to her lips. Ellie stared into his smiling, whisky colored eyes as she closed her lips around the fork and sampled the treat and Syrus watched her lips as he followed it with a cheese stuffed cherry pepper.
Eating had never been such a decadent, sensuous experience, and Ellie was transfixed by him. He insisted on feeding her every mouthful, and every bite was a little taste of heaven. There was a tiny quiche, crisp vegetables with creamy dip and a delicate soft cheese served on miniature crackers. Then there were dates stuffed with walnuts and slices of fresh fruit; kiwi, melon, berries and peaches along with an ice-cold thermos of her favorite pomegranate juice. The man had thought of everything, and she was deeply touched by the care he had taken to learn the things she liked and include them.
When she finally couldn’t eat another bite, he packed everything away again and refused to let her help, so she lay back on her elbows and watched him. He was equally nice to look at as their surroundings; she thought indulgently, letting her gaze travel along his tanned, lightly haired forearms where his shirt sleeves were rolled up. She wondered if he enjoyed spanking too. That first time in the office, it almost seemed as if hadn’t been as comfortable with the punishment Cody had insisted on.
The thought came out of nowhere and she choked with surprise. Did she seriously just think that?
Syrus swiveled his head around. “Are you okay,” he asked with wide eyed concern.
Ellie cleared her throat and nodded briskly, barely able to meet his eyes. Instead, she chickened out by dropping onto her back and closing her own eyes as if she was soaking up the warmth from the sun. But as soon as he turned back to what he was doing, she peeked at him consideringly. The thought had been born and now she couldn’t put it away. She smiled guiltily to herself. No, she just couldn’t see it somehow. Cody… well, she knew that was a certainty since he’d already proved it. Ezra? Maybe. But Syrus? Nope, he seemed far too much of a sensitive soul to initiate something like that without his brother’s insistence. Pity though, she would have liked to have kept that element. Wait! Did she really just say that to herself? Seriously? She had thought herself ambivalent to the reality of having her ass spanked in comparison to the fictional hype. The longer it had beensince Cody had taken it upon himself to initiate her,the more she believed she had talked herself out of it.
Looked like her subconscious had different ideas. Well, wasn’t that a turn up for the books?
A few moments later, Syrus distracted her from those disturbing revelations when he stretched out next to her and rolled on his side to look at her.
“What?” she asked, self-conscious under his gaze.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, toying with the end of her braid. “But I wish you’d let your hair loose sometimes.”
