“Gunner, what if one of them wakes up?”

  “They won’t.”

  She tilted her head and said, “What if?”

  I walked up, grabbed her, and picked her up, and she let out a small squeal.

  “Gunner…” she whispered.

  I pushed the door open and made my way to the barn.

  “Thank you for the last few days.”

  I walked into the barn and slowly set her down. I placed my hands on the sides of her face. “Thank you, Ells. Thank you for loving me, for being an amazing mother and wife, and for taking care of all of us like you do.”

  “Now that you have me in your barn, what are your intentions, Mr. Mathews?”

  “I intend on making love to you and showing you just how much I love you. I’m going to show you how much you’re wanted over and over again, Ellie.”

  The End

  I walked into the house and heard Ari on the phone with Heather.

  “What if they get hurt? I’ll be so far away. I know. I know you’re right. I can’t help but worry.”

  I smiled as I walked into the kitchen. I looked at the table and saw Luke and Grace. They were both making something with paper and crayons.

  “What are y’all doing?” I asked as I pulled up a seat and sat down.

  Grace looked at me and smiled. Her light brown hair and green eyes pierced mine as she smiled at me. “Daddy, we’re making happy-birthday cards for Bandpa!”

  I smiled as I nodded my head. I loved that my father was a huge part of our lives.

  “What is that, Grace? A horse?”

  She snapped her head up and looked at me. “What? No, Daddy! It’s a flower vase.”

  I quickly glanced over to Luke, who shrugged his shoulders and smiled. I looked back down at the drawing and tried to see where in the heck she was drawing a vase.

  I nodded my head. “Of course, of course. I see the vase now. I must have horses on my mind.”

  Grace giggled and said, “Silly, Daddy.”

  Ari walked up, kissed me on the cheek, and then moved her lips to my ear. “I totally saw a horse, too.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “Dad, can I help Uncle Gunner while you’re gone?” Luke asked.

  Ari sat down on my lap.

  “I’ve already talked to him about it. Since you and Grace will be staying over there, Gunner said he will wake you up earlier to help with the feeding, if you’d like.”

  Luke jumped up and did a fist pump. “Yes! Yes! Dad, I swear, I’m gonna learn everything, and make you and Uncle Gunner proud some day at how well I can help with things around here.”

  I smiled and felt my heart growing bigger. I nodded my head. “Luke, son, you already make me proud.”

  “Well, don’t be too proud of him just yet. Luke, you want to tell me about this dye you gave Alex to put in Colt’s hair last week?”

  Luke slowly sat back down and gave his mother the most innocent look ever. “Mom, I’m not to blame for that. I told Alex it wouldn’t come out. She didn’t believe me. I put it on Lady, and—”

  Ari jumped up. “Oh my God. Is that why her tail is green? Luke Johnson, you’d better disappear from my view right now.”

  Luke stood and looked at me like I was going to help him out or something. I just smiled at him.

  “I had to experiment on something, Mom, and Lady was—”

  Ari snapped her fingers and pointed. “Luke, walk away, son, if you know what is good for you. Walk. Away.”

  Grace started laughing, and Luke gave her a dirty look. He turned, headed out the kitchen, and ran upstairs. I looked up at Ari, and she looked pissed.

  She began shaking her head as she walked toward the stove. “Your son…I swear, I have no idea where he comes up with these ideas.”

  “Probably Daddy.”

  I glanced down at Grace and reached out to tickle her. “Daddy, huh?”

  I picked her up and began swinging her around. She laughed and yelled for me to put her down.

  Ari was leaning against the island, giggling. “At least we know Grace inherited my smarts.”

  I stopped and looked at Ari as Grace laughed even more. I put her down, walked up to Ari, and took her into my arms before kissing her.

  “Yuck. That is so gross. I’m going to my room.”

  Grace took off up the stairs as she yelled out how no other parents kissed in front of their kids.

  Ari smiled at me. “I haven’t been away from them for more than two days. I’m scared.”

  I placed my hand on the side of her face and stared into her eyes. “We need some time alone, baby—just you and me and a few horses. They’re going to be with Ellie and Gunner. My parents are here, and your parents are a phone call away. Everything is gonna be okay. We’re leaving in the morning. You packed?”

  She nodded her head.

  I wiped away the tear rolling down her cheek. “I love you.”

  She leaned in and gently kissed me on the cheek. “I love you, too.”

  I sat in the seat next to Ari and saw that she was texting Ellie—again.

  “Ari, leave her alone. You gave her a long list of things this morning, and you’ve called her three times already. Stop. The kids are going to be okay.”

  She nodded her head. “I know, I know. I can’t help it though. I’ve never been away for so long. What if Grace thinks Ellie is a better mom? What if she never wants to come back home?”

  I looked at her and then rolled my eyes. “Did you really just say that?”

  She nodded her head. “I’m just tense, ya know? I’ve never been on a business trip with you before, and left the kids like this before. But it’s been too long since I’ve had a mind-blowing orgasm. I’m so overdue.”

  The lady next to me cleared her throat, and I turned and smiled.

  I looked back at Ari and leaned in closer. “Baby, I don’t think the whole plane needs to hear that you’re lacking in the orgasm area. Neither does my ego.”

  Ari turned and stared at me, and then she smiled slightly. “You have some serious making up to do.”

  “Is that so?”

  She nodded her head and ran her tongue along the bottom of her lip. My dick jumped in my pants. If I thought I could, I would take her to the back of the plane and give her what she needed.

  When the flight attendant walked by, the lady sitting next to me asked, “Are there any open seats on this flight?”

  “Yes, there are some in the back. Would you like to move, ma’am?”

  I looked at the lady.

  She looked at me and then over toward Ari. “Yes, please.”

  She got up and followed the flight attendant. I instantly formed a plan in my head, and I smiled as I nodded.

  Seeing the attendant walking by I held up my hand to get her attention. “Excuse me. When we get up in the air, is it possible to get a blanket?”

  She smiled at me.. “I’ll get you one now.”

  I turned back and saw Ari attempting to sneak in another text. I reached over and grabbed her phone.

  “Hey! Jeff, give it back.”

  The flight attendant came back and handed me the blanket.

  “Thank you.”

  “Of course. Let me know if there is anything else you need.”

  I grinned as I began putting the blanket over Ari while the plane backed up.

  “What are you doing? I’m not cold.”

  “Trust me,” I said as I winked at her.

  Our flight was pretty empty, and no one was sitting in the seats across the aisle from us. Two people were in front of us, and from what I could tell, only two people were behind us.

  The flight attendants went through the whole safety process. Ari sat there and pouted because I’d taken her phone away from her.

  “You had to turn it off anyway, baby.” I handed her the phone.

  She leaned down, tossed it into her purse, and zipped it up. She leaned back and grabbed the blanket and pulled it up to her chin.

 
As the plane started taking off down the runway, I leaned over Ari and looked out the window. I slipped my hand under the blanket and began moving it under Ari’s skirt. She jerked her head up as I smiled and stared straight out the window. When I reached her panties, she spread her legs open a little, and her breathing picked up. I slipped my hand down her panties and began touching her clit, moving my thumb in slow, soft circles. Ari let out a small moan and looked to see if anyone was watching. I turned and peeked at her. She bit down on her lower lip as her eyes danced with passion.

  I looked back out the window as I slipped two fingers inside her. I began moving them in and out, and Ari opened her legs as much as she could.

  “Holy hell,” she whispered as she put her head back and closed her eyes.

  My dick was getting so hard, and I needed to adjust myself, but this was for my girl. She needed an orgasm, so I was going to give her an orgasm.

  I began pushing my fingers in farther. When I pushed harder on her clit, she let out a gasp and looked at me, her eyes widening, as her orgasm began. I stared into her eyes as she covered her mouth with her hand. She closed her eyes, and I could feel her squeezing down on my fingers. I leaned over, and she removed her hand from her mouth. I gently kissed her lips, as she put her hand behind my neck, pulling me closer to deepen the kiss.

  When I didn’t feel her squeezing around my fingers any longer, I moved my hand away. I pulled my lips from hers, and she opened her eyes. They were sparkling, and she let out a giggle as a beautiful blush covered her cheeks.

  “Is that better, baby?”

  “Much, much better. Thank you!”

  “That’s just the beginning of how this week is going to be. You won’t even have a chance to worry about the kids. It’s all about me and you, Ari.”

  She smiled bigger. “I like that plan—a lot.”

  Scott had arranged for a car to pick Jeff and me up at the airport. It was taking us to The Brown Hotel where we would be staying for the next five nights. I’d never been to Louisville, Kentucky, so this was all new to me.

  After we checked in, we headed up to our suite.. The bellhop opened the door to the suite, walked in, and set our luggage down. The room was beautiful. I immediately made my way to the bathroom, and I wanted to let out a squeal when I saw the huge Jacuzzi tub. I moaned as I closed my eyes. I knew exactly what Jeff and I would be doing in there later tonight.

  Jeff walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. “Hey, I know you’re tired, baby, but I need to head out and see the horses that Scott and I are interested in.”

  I spun around and kissed him quickly. “Let me change into some jeans, and then I’ll be ready to go. Did the car wait for us?”

  “Yeah. We have him all week. I believe Scott said the driver was staying in the hotel as well. I told him to give us a few minutes, and then we would be back downstairs.”

  I changed and threw my hair up into a ponytail. I slipped my boots on and grabbed my jacket. It was fairly warm out but still colder than what it was in Texas.

  “All right, let’s go see some horses!” I was excited to head to this particular horse ranch. I’d seen pictures of the ranch, and my mouth watered at all the horses. I would love to have more horses if I thought we had the time to take care of them all.

  As soon as we stepped out of the elevator, Jeff’s cell phone rang. “It’s Pete,” he said as he hit Answer.

  “Pete, how are you? Yes, the flight was great.” Jeff looked at me and raised his eyebrows.

  I felt the blush move across my cheeks.

  “We’re heading that way now. Yes, the driver has the address. Looking forward to it, Pete. See ya soon.” Jeff hit End and smiled at me.

  The driver opened the door for us, and we both slipped into the car.

  As we drove farther out of the city, the countryside grew more beautiful.

  I let out a gasp and said, “Jesus H. Christ, look at these ranches. They’re huge. It’s beautiful here.”

  There wasn’t any snow on the ground since it had been so warm, and everything seemed to be green, like it was spring.

  The driver pulled into a driveway, and I couldn’t help but notice the sign—Notting Hill Ranch.

  The driver hit a button and gave our names. Moments later the massive black iron gates opened. We began driving down the driveway, and on both sides was a six-plank white fence. Horses were scattered throughout the pastures, and my heart was pounding faster and faster as we got closer. There was nothing I loved more—besides Jeff and my children—than horses.

  “Pete said he has the two horses ready if you want to go for a ride,” Jeff said.

  I nodded my head in excitement.

  The driver pulled up and parked next to a truck with a guy standing against it. He smiled and waved quickly. Jeff got out, turned, and reached his hand for mine to help me out.

  “Jeff, Ari, it’s a real pleasure.”

  “Pete, how are you? It’s nice to finally meet you in person,” Jeff said as he reached his hand out to shake Pete’s.

  “Yes, sir, it is. Welcome to our little slice of heaven.”

  I looked around and smiled. It sure was heaven. “It’s breathtaking here. The hills are just beautiful. I can only imagine how it looks with snow on them.”

  Pete let out a small laugh. “It’s beyond beautiful. Let’s head to the barn.”

  Jeff and Pete began walking, and I followed behind them. I wanted to take everything in. I wanted to know how they managed everything, how their barns were set up, how they ran the day-to-day operations of the farm. We walked into the barn, and I let out a gasp.

  “Oh. My. God,” I whispered.

  The first thing I noticed was the gray brick floor. Then, my eyes moved up to the stalls. They were gorgeous. The bottom part looked to be oak plank doors, and the top was a black metal mesh.

  When my eyes kept moving up. “Holy hell.”

  The barrel ceiling was cedar planks and absolutely breathtaking. This damn barn was nicer than our house.

  “Ari…”

  I snapped my head forward and looked at Jeff. He motioned for me to follow them to the other side of the barn.

  “I take it you like our barn, Ari?” Pete said with a chuckle.

  It wasn’t lost on me how this guy kept looking down at my legs and then my chest. Jerk. “Like it? I want to move into it. Is it heated in the winter?”

  Pete blushed.

  “No freaking way!” I laughed.

  “My babies are spoiled, but they make me good money.”

  When we stepped outside the barn, my eyes looked upon two of the most beautiful men I’d ever seen. Nothing but muscles…lean muscles with bodies built for endurance. My heart began pounding, and I was pretty sure I let out a moan.

  “Ari, Jeff, I’d like you to meet Sweet Dancer and My Fair Charmer.”

  I walked up to Sweet Dancer and looked into his eyes. Those beautiful brown eyes immediately captivated me.

  I want him. I must have him.

  “I’m riding Sweet Dancer,” I said before Jeff could claim him.

  Sweet Dancer had to be at least two hands taller than My Fair Charmer. He was beyond perfect.

  Jeff let out a chuckle.

  “Ari, are you okay with an English saddle?” Pete asked.

  I smiled. “I learned on an English saddle, so yes, I’m perfectly fine with that.”

  Pete laughed and looked at Jeff.

  Jeff raised his hands and said, “I might look rough and tough, but I have a softer side. I’ve ridden English plenty of times.”

  Pete grinned. “Perfect. Well, they’re all saddled up. I think Sweet Dancer here is going to give Charmer a run for his money.”

  I put my foot in the stirrup and got myself seated on top of my new boyfriend. Oh yeah, he feels good between the legs.

  I glanced over to Jeff, and he was sitting on top of My Fair Charmer, just staring at me with a smirk on his face. I smiled, and he winked.

  “If you get lost, do
n’t worry. They’ll bring ya back. Charmer here will do anything for oats, and it’s about time for his midday snack.”

  Jeff and I started the horses off toward a trail as Pete yelled out for us to have fun.

  I turned and yelled back, “Oh, we will! Trust me!”

  We rode along in silence as Jeff checked out each horse. Once we came up to an open field, I peeked over at Jeff, and he started laughing.

  “Turn him loose, baby.”

  All I had to do was give the horse a small amount of leg pressure, and he took off. I could not believe how fast this horse could go. I hadn’t felt so free in my life. If given the chance, I was pretty sure he would just keep on running. I slowed him down, and we began turning around. I wasn’t even sure how far I had let the horse run until I saw Jeff running toward us. He slowed Charmer down and trotted up to me. The smile on his face caused me to smile bigger.

  “How did he feel?”

  “Amazing. His power and speed is crazy. I fell in love with him the moment I crawled on top of him. ”

  Jeff lifted the corner of his mouth. “I’d say. It looked like you were about to have an orgasm when you crawled on top of him.”

  “I about did.”

  Jeff threw his head back and laughed. Sweet Dancer was probably one of the best behaved horses I’d ever been on. I smiled as my evil little plan began playing out. I looked around and started to head to a group of trees. I was hoping that somewhere within the group of trees was an open field.

  Jeff followed me as I took Sweet Dancer on a little adventure hike. Just a few feet in, I spied what I was looking for—a small pasture surrounded by nothing but trees. I walked to the middle of it and turned the horse around.

  “Um…what are you doing, Ari?”

  I reached down and pulled my sweatshirt and T-shirt up and over my head at the same time. I dropped them to the ground, and I instantly felt my nipples getting harder from the cool breeze.

  “Baby…what are you doing?”

  I stood up on the stirrups and unbuttoned my pants before taking off my jeans. How I managed to get my jeans and panties off while staying on the horse was a miracle in itself.

  “Jesus, are you trying to kill me?”