Horse Play (Horse Play #1) (10 page)

Jensen settled a little, though his forehead was still heavily furrowed. “How long ago did this happen?”

“Just over a month now.” I sniffled and wiped the tears I could no longer contain.

“And he’s still calling? Has he stopped by?”

I nodded and turned the water off. “A couple of times, but my dad won’t let him near me. He knows my dad doesn’t monitor my phone though.” I glance up at Jensen again. “I haven’t returned his calls, if you’re wondering.”

“Why not?”

Sighing, I placed my hands on the counter and leaned heavily. I watched the bubbles in the sink start to pop. “I don’t trust myself to tell him to stay away.”

“That wasn’t an isolated incident.” There’s no inflection to his voice, meaning he was confident in his statement.

“It was the first time he acted violently,” I told him. “But he always drank heavily and often said some awful things to me. He’d accuse me of cheating, then tell me that was ridiculous because no man would ever put up with my shit.”

“Madison,” Jensen tried to cut in.

“I’d stand up for myself, and we’d argue before I’d just go to bed alone while he passed out on the couch. In the mornings, he was always quick to offer an apology, and I was stupid enough to believe him.”

Jensen laid a hand over mine. “You’re not stupid, Madi. Guys like that have a way of manipulating their victims into staying with them. You’re not the only one to have gone through something like this.”

“I know. But that doesn’t make me feel any less stupid.” I paused, holding back a sniffle. “I found out a few days later that he’d been cheating on me too. With his ex. I guess he was just projecting his own guilt—or lack thereof—onto me.” Jensen gave my hand a squeeze, and that familiar warmth spread beneath my skin. I’d only known him a short time, but I was drawn to him and wanted to forget my troubles in him.

But I knew I shouldn’t.

Pulling my hand away, I submerged them in the dishwater. “It’s why I’ve sworn to never engage in a workplace relationship again.”

“I see.” Jensen grabbed a dish towel and dried the dishes as I handed them to him.

With a sniffle, I blinked tears away before forcing a smile and turning around. I no longer wanted to think about what had happened. It was in the past. Where it belonged.

“So,” I started. “Want to go watch TV?”

His sympathy flowed off of him, but I didn’t want it. I just wanted to move on.

Jensen didn’t move from his spot behind the island, so I went to him, grabbed his hand with both of mine and tugged him toward the living room. I pushed him down on one end of the couch, and sat on the left. After flipping the TV on, I brought my legs up and bent my knees to the right to get comfortable while I looked through the guide.

“What do you want to watch?” I asked. He looked a little embarrassed when I looked over at him as he contemplated an answer.

“Jensen?”

“Um, well, what we were watching last night was all right. Got any more of that?”

I used my right hand to shove him lightly. “Who’s the pervert now?” I teased.

“Pfft,” he retaliated. “These are boobs on TV; you were checking me out in the flesh—literally.”

My face burned as I looked away from him and found a few episodes I’d recorded a while back. The show started, and Jensen and I sat in silence. I could feel myself grow sleepy, and my eyeslids dropped a few times as sleep tried to overpower me. Eventually, I lost that battle and passed out with my head leaning on the back of the couch.

Chapter 7. Grounded

W
ith my mind completely clouded with thoughts of Jensen these last couple days—even though we both agreed to just be friends—it only made sense that I’d dream about him every time I slept. The dreams were no different than my fantasies when I was awake. Which is to say, they were incredibly sexual and extremely vivid.

At some point in the dream, I found myself surrounded by warmth, and I felt safe. Secure. It was a feeling I hadn’t experienced since before Dane turned into an asshole, and it wasn’t until I woke up the next morning, fully stretched out on the couch, that I realized why.

Jensen was behind me. His gentle breaths passed over my neck, and his left hand rested on my hip. His chest was pressed against my back, and our legs were completely tangled up in one another’s.

Still half-asleep, I wondered if our current position was accidental, or on purpose. Not that it mattered, because there was a part of me that really enjoyed the way his body molded to mine. With a soft hum, I closed my eyes and basked in the feeling of our bodies so close while he was still asleep.

Just as I was snuggling back into him, his fingers gripped my hip lightly before moving up until his hand lay flat against my abdomen. He held me still and firmly against him. I heard his breathing pattern change slightly, and he moaned in my ear. He shifted his hips, and even though it was against everything we’d agreed on, I pressed back, feeling every solid inch of him against my ass. And I liked it.

“Good morning,” he whispered, his lips barely brushing my ear and sending shivers through my body. He didn’t release his hold on me, and I made no indication that I was going anywhere.

“Hey,” I responded softly, turning my head to look at him. “Sorry I fell asleep.”

“Mmmm,” he groaned, releasing his hold on my stomach to stretch before letting his hand fall back to my hip, his thumb brushing my ass. “S’okay. I did, too.” Our eyes locked, and my heartbeat picked up. Our lips were so close to one another’s, and I was so tempted to move just a fraction of an inch and give in to my deepest desire.

Instead, Jensen sat up behind me, clearly realizing our situation was inappropriate as he woke up completely. “I guess we should get ready for work. How are you feeling? Was sleeping on the couch too much for your side?”

Disappointed, I pushed myself up as well, running my fingers through my hair to tame any flyaways. “Um, no. I feel all right.”

“Are you going to ride today?” he asked, standing and stretching his body tall. His shirt raised slightly and showed off the faint trail of hair leading down behind the waistband of his pajama pants.

“Yeah,” I responded, knowing I would have to ride sooner or later. “I think so.”

Jensen eyed me skeptically, but I think he thought better than to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do. “You’ll be careful?”

“Promise,” I assured him, standing up. “I’m going to go and brush my teeth, and then I’ll make us some breakfast. Eggs and toast?”

“Sounds good. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

With my teeth and hair brushed and clothes on, I made my way to the kitchen, crossing paths with Jensen in the hall. We exchanged friendly smiles and went on our way. By the time Jensen was at the table, the eggs were almost done cooking, so I put the bread in the toaster. I added a bit of salt and pepper to the eggs just as the toaster popped and quickly plated everything before it got cold.

Placing the plates on the table, Jensen looked up at me with a smile. “Thank you.”

“It’s just scrambled eggs and toast. I think the squirrel living in the tree outside could make it,” I joked as I sat down next to him.

Jensen chuckled and shook his head, and I just looked at him questioningly. Was that not what he meant?

Once breakfast was eaten and the dishes were done, Jensen and I put our boots on and headed for the barn to begin the day. However, before we walked in, Jensen pulled me off to the side. As we remained hidden from view of anyone else, I couldn’t help but wonder if he was going to kiss me. And more importantly, would I let him?

“I need you to promise me,” he said softly.

“Um, I already did,” I reminded him.

“No, I know. It’s just, I noticed that doing the stalls took a bit out of you yesterday, so promise me that if you feel like it’s too much, you’ll let me know?” His hand reached out and tucked a wisp of hair behind my ear.

“Yeah. Okay, I promise. Can we go to work now before my father thinks that something unsavory is going on between us?” I ribbed.

Thankfully, Jensen thought what I said was funny, and we entered the barn side-by-side to help take the horses out to their paddocks. With them all fed and watered, and their stalls cleaned out, I offered to help Jeff catch Jillian’s first few lesson horses before I went off to find Tom. Of course, Jensen tagged along, keeping an over-cautious eye on me.

We had just finished tethering the three horses inside the barn when Tom sauntered in with his coffee mug. “Good mornin’, Madi. You up for training Glory this morning?” he asked, placing his hand on my left shoulder.

Just the slightest pressure still caused me to bite down on the inside of my cheek and fight back a whimper. Jensen noticed this, but I quickly looked back to Tom and smiled.

“Yeah. I would be up for some light ground work.”

“Great! I’ll meet you outside in a half hour.”

As Tom walked away, Jensen came over and stood in front of me. “Madi, are you
sure
about this?”

I nodded. “Relax. Glory’s an older horse. She was used as a broodmare for years, and now Tom thinks she’d make a good lesson horse. She’s super sweet and very tame. Your concern is noted, but I’ll be okay.”

Jensen didn’t seem convinced, but he accepted it. “All right then. Just … be careful.”

“I did promise, didn’t I?” I started to back away so I could go and get Glory ready, leaving Jensen looking afraid. “Look, I’ll see you at lunch, okay? Have a good morning.”

“Okay. You, too.”

Glory was brushed and tacked, and I made it to the arena at exactly the same time Tom did. The air was a little crisp on my bare arms, but I knew I would warm up as soon as I started riding. I stood to Glory’s left and took a deep breath, biting the inside of my cheek so I didn’t cry out when I used my upper body to mount her.

Once I was securely in the saddle, I pushed Glory forward and we made our way around the arena a few times.

“So, Madi,” Tom shouted from his place in the center of the arena. “What do you think of the new kid?”

“He seems all right. I only just met him, though.”

Almost as if his ears were burning, Jensen appeared, looking disheveled from an hour of hard labor. His shirt was dusted with dirt, his biceps were glistening and straining beneath the bale of hay he was carrying toward the barn, and his brown hair was falling over his forehead.

From previous experience, I knew that too much time ogling him while on a horse never ended well. I returned my focus to Glory and her training.

“Okay, move her into a trot, Madi.”

I gave Glory a light squeeze, and she hopped slightly before pacing her gait. I started to post, but the up and down movements proved to be too much. So, I pressed my seat into the saddle and tried to sit through it; that seemed even worse. My balance was uneven as I tried to mask my pain, and before I knew it, Glory got confused and just stopped. Because I wasn’t expecting it, I fell to the left and landed on the ground in a heap. I saw nothing but blinding white light behind my clenched eyelids as pain tore its way up my body.

“Madison?” Tom’s panicked voice called out. Dirt hit my hands as he skidded to a stop next to me. He placed his hand on my back as I rolled onto my right side and curled up into the fetal position. “Are you okay?”

I shook my head in the dirt and felt the hot tears fall from my eyes. “N-no.”

Suddenly there was a shout from farther away. “Damn it!” More arena dirt dusted up around me, and tentative hands ghosted over my throbbing ribs. “Go get Wayne!” Jensen commanded.

I felt Jensen’s body shift above me, and he leaned in close to speak softly in my ear. “Madison, can you get up?”

“I don’t … I don’t know,” I managed to respond.

“Try? I’ll help.” I wanted his soft, velvety voice to comfort me and make the pain stop. It didn’t.

I nodded slowly, the dirt rubbing against my face, and I felt Jensen slip an arm under me. “Ow! Ow!” I cried, fresh tears falling from my eyes. “I—I think I broke something. I can’t …” I gasped for a breath. Razor blades shot through my rib cage and lungs. “I can’t breathe.”

Jensen cursed under his breath and continued to help me up. I sucked in another sharp breath as he helped me stand. The pain was excruciating, and I couldn’t stand up straight.

“There you go,” Jensen said in a proud-parent tone. “Will you let me take you to the doctor now?”

Slowly, and with a whimper, I opened my eyes and nodded. Jensen wrapped a hand tenderly around my waist and helped me walk. As we reached the gate, Dad and Tom came running.

“I’m going to take her to the hospital … if that’s all right with you, sir?” Jensen inquired.

Dad agreed quickly, reaching into his pocket and tossing Jensen the keys to his new truck. “Yeah, of course. Madi, honey? Are you okay?”

“I’m not entirely sure. I’ll call when we know what’s going on.” My voice was weak, and I only hoped it came across as reassuring. I had to keep my breaths short. If I breathed too deeply, it caused the pain to worsen.

Jensen walked me toward the truck, helping me up into it before trying to fasten my seatbelt for me. I know he was just trying to be helpful, but I hated feeling helpless. He closed my door and ran around to the driver’s side. We peeled out onto the highway and headed for town. Jensen was definitely speeding. My father wouldn’t be too pleased.