Slapping Leather (9 page)

But deep down inside, where she kept her emotions
locked away, she knew that Alex Wright had become more than just a playing
partner to her. Despite her best efforts, her traitorous heart had taken a leap
and landed her in a place she’d sworn never to be again. And she had no idea
what she was going to do about it.

Chapter
Seven

Liz stood at the counter of the tiny Soda Pops
restaurant, the really great new burger place that had recently opened up, when
she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

“Glad we frequent the same places.” Alex’s low
voice vibrated through her. “Maybe I’ll get to buy you that meal after all.”

Liz turned, startled, then sucked in her breath
when she realized she was practically pressed up against him. She took a quick
step back, a logistical feat since the place was both small and jammed with
lunch customers.

“Oh, um, hi!”

Brilliant conversationalist.
Act like a teenager, why don’t you?

But the man’s electric presence sizzled all her
nerve endings. Even outside Rawhide just seeing him made her body react with
instant need, a need she’d been doing her best to ignore or neutralize since
her conversation with Katie. Still, just the touch of his hand and her bones
turned liquid.

Stop it, stop it, stop it. You
set boundaries. Keep them in place.

“Hi, yourself.” He grinned. “Put your order in
yet?”

“What? Order?” Her brain didn’t seem to be
functioning.

“For your food?” he chuckled. “It does my manly
pride good to think I can render you speechless. But I assume, since you’re
here, you’re planning to eat.”

“Oh. Yes.” She wet her lips. “I’m, uh, getting
takeout.” She looked around the small space to see if anyone was paying
attention to them. Someone from the Lucky L or a client.

Alex was still close enough that his mouth was
right at her ear. “Everyone’s too busy getting their own orders to even glance
at us.” He kept his voice pitched low enough so only she could hear him beneath
the babble of sound around them. “There’s nothing wrong with us sitting at one
of those tables out on the patio and sharing a meal like all these other folks
are doing.” He nodded in that direction. “A lot of people are out there, and I
don’t think anyone’s gossiping about them.”

“But…but…” She searched her mind frantically for
an excuse. Any excuse to avoid the intimacy of a meal with him. “Your sister
and her husband are clients of mine. How would that look?”

“Jesus, Liz.” The smile disappeared. “It would
look like you’re paying attention to clients and their family. Now, come on.
Let’s spend a pleasant hour together outside in the sunshine. I promise not to
order you to strip naked so I can paddle your ass.” The grin flashed again. “I’m
saving that for later.”

Even as she bit back further objections she felt
the strong flash of heat through her body at his words. And from his point of
view she
was
being ridiculous. He had no idea the storm of conflict
raging in her mind.

“Okay. But I pay for my own food.”

“You drive a hard bargain, woman. But all right.
Just this time.”

This time? No, no, there
wouldn’t be another time. No personal socializing. Hard and fast rule, Liz.
Remember? Don’t set yourself up again. And didn’t you say you’d handle this?
Yeah, right.

She was finding it harder and harder to cling to
those rules. She kept hearing Katie’s voice in her head.
Maybe this time the
risk is worth it.

Alex’s low, sexy laugh rumbled in her ear. “If
you’re finished having that mental conversation with yourself, our food’s
ready.”

Liz startled, forcibly shut down her brain, and
stepped up to the counter to pay for her food. Okay, lunch in the open. How bad
could it be? And maybe she could get her message across to him in a casual
environment.

But then no more of those incredibly
satisfying sessions at Rawhide.

Well, damn. She’d certainly gotten herself into a
real mess. She’d been better off when she wasn’t having sex at all.

But a lot more miserable and
frustrated.

Maybe her only choice was to tell him the truth.
But, oh, hell…

They took their food to a small vacant table at
one end of the outdoor patio, settling beneath the bright red umbrella that
shielded them from the sun. Liz opened the packets of sweetener and stirred
them into her iced tea, then busied herself opening the ketchup packets and
squeezing them into a neat pile on the plate with her French fries. Then she
salted her food carefully and finally cut her burger in half with the plastic
knife.

“Think you’ve spent enough busy time avoiding
conversation?” Alex’s voice was tinged with amusement.

Liz looked up to see him watching her with those
hot, blue eyes, and her thoughts scattered like leaves in the wind. It
distressed her that he could affect her so strongly, and she had to work hard
to keep the bad memories from pushing their way back to the surface.

He’s not like that. It won’t
happen again.

How do you know? And what if—

Shut up, brain.

“Liz.” Alex leaned forward and rested his hand on
her forearm, his fingers lightly stroking her skin.

She finally allowed herself to let her gaze
travel over the parts of him she could easily see. God, he was so magnificently
mouthwatering. Not in the overt way of some Doms she’d been with. Rather it was
a combination of his rugged good looks, quiet confidence, and an aura of sexual
awareness. He smiled at her again, obviously hoping to put her at ease.

She cleared her throat. “Trish is making a really
good start in her training. She’s only had two lessons so far, but she’s a
natural. So is Jester.” She picked up a French fry, dipped it in ketchup and
delicately bit off the end.

Alex lifted his hamburger and watched her over
the top of it. “I plan to come to her lesson tomorrow. To watch. I promised
her.” He took a bite of the burger.

Liz watched the muscles of his jaw flex as he
chewed, of his throat as he swallowed, and felt herself getting instantly and
thoroughly wet. She wondered if her scent carried to the people around her or
mercifully was buried beneath the heavy aroma of grilled meat and fried side
dishes.

“I assume that’s all right with you?” he asked. “I
mentioned it the day I delivered Jester.”

She could tell by the laughter in his eyes that
he’d caught her staring at him. Holy hell! She was just getting herself in
deeper and deeper. But she seemed to have no real resistance where this man was
concerned, drawn into the erotic web he was weaving despite the reservations
growing within her. Liz let out a slow breath. Was Katie right? Could this
really be different than her big disaster?

For the past two days, she’d driven herself
crazy, trying to blank her mind with hard work. Her brain, unfortunately,
refused to shut down and kept dredging up Katie’s words.

“Everyone is different. I didn’t
know this other man, but I can tell you Alex would never try to control you
like that.” Then a grin. “Except in the bedroom, of course.”

Should she tell him her sordid little story?
Explain why she was afraid to move things beyond Rawhide? Would he look at her
as someone too pathetic it warrant further sessions? Or anything else? It had
been hard enough dredging it up for Katie, but she had a feeling that Alex
would not be put off by anything other than the truth. Why, oh why had this had
to happen? If she didn’t feel this intense connection to him, she could just
walk away, but suddenly the prospect of that seemed less and less attractive.

And now, today, while she was still so unsettled
about everything, here was Alex himself, setting fire to her with just a look
and a touch. And he was looking at her expectantly, for some reason.

Oh, right. Coming to watch Trish’s lesson
tomorrow.

“Of course, that will be fine. And I know she’ll
be excited to have you there.”

“And you, Liz?” He leaned across the table. “Will
you be glad, too?”

“I…Alex, I don’t…” God, could she sound any more
idiotic?

“It’s okay.” He leaned back in his chair and
picked up his hamburger again. “As long as you’re glad to see me at Rawhide, I’ll
accept that for now. But you need to know something. Whatever’s keeping you
from taking this thing between us any further, you can talk to me about it. And
I don’t mean the bullshit about what your workers will think. Anyone gives you
any lip, just fire them. Reece or I can always help you with new hires.”

She gave a shaky laugh. “Katie said the same
thing.”

“Katie is a sensible person.”

“And now I think we should just enjoy our lunch.
Like two friends.”

Two friends. Right.

But in the end, it turned out to be very
pleasant. The weather was sunny and warm with a soft breeze that ruffled the
edges of the umbrellas. All around them conversation ebbed and flowed, traffic
noises playing a counterpoint. And the hamburger and fries were damn good.

Liz actually found herself falling into an easy
conversation with Alex. About horses, training, ranchers in general, and the
Hill Country specifically. Alex told her how he’d started out in banking but
decided it was too confining for him. And the area at the time really needed a
good ranch supply company. A loan from the bank he was leaving got him off the
ground, and he took it from there.

And bit by bit Liz told him about growing up in
Oklahoma and working summers and after school on a cutting horse ranch.

“The first time I set foot on that ranch and
watched the trainers at work,” she said, “I knew that was for me. And I had
good teachers.”

“I should thank them. Otherwise you might not
have landed here at the Lucky L.”

She chewed her bottom lip. “Maybe that’s not the
only thing that brought me here,” she said almost hesitantly.

Alex’s hot blue eyes studied her. “Is there
something you think you should tell me? Something I ought to know?”

Liz gave herself a mental shake. The patio at
Soda Pops was no place to discuss the intimate details of her life. If she
could even make herself do it.

“I…”

He reached for her hand again. “Whatever it is,
let’s leave it for now. Just keep something in mind for me.”

“What?”

“You’re more than just a playmate to me, although
you happen to be an incredible one. Whatever reservations you have about taking
this outside the club, I’d like it if you could share them with me.” He
caressed her knuckles with his thumb. “You trust me at Rawhide. Can’t you trust
me with whatever is bothering you?”

“I—”

“Not now. Not here. Just think about it, okay?”
He pulled his hand back and began gathering up their trash, scooping hers up
with his.

Liz pushed her chair back and stood. “Lunch was…I
enjoyed it.”

His grin sent shivers skating down her spine. “Good.
We’re making progress. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.” He paused. “And of
course tomorrow night.”

“Yes. Tomorrow night.” Wednesday. One of their
regular nights.

“Good.” He lifted a hand as if to touch her face,
then dropped it, aware of where they were. “See you then.”

Liz stood by the table and watched him walk away
with his loose-hipped stride, climb into the big Wright Ranch Supplies pickup,
and back away from the curb. Why, she wondered, did she have to be so fucked up
just when probably the best thing to come along walked into her life?

She scooped her keys and tote off the table and
headed for her own truck. Work, that’s what she needed. Lots of hard work. And
then maybe a drink.

Chapter
Eight

The afternoon was tense for Liz, mostly because
while she worked with young Trish Stanton in the ring, she was acutely aware of
Alex watching her. He’d brought his young niece to the Lucky L, given Liz a
sinful grin, and made himself comfortable in the observation gallery. The hour
of training seemed to stretch endlessly, but at last, the lesson was finished.
She and Trish dismounted and walked their horses out into the breezeway where
she kept a small box of grooming equipment. It was a rule at the Lucky L that
clients as well as instructors cooled and groomed their horses after every
lesson.

Trish bubbled with enthusiasm as she wiped Jester
down and brushed her carefully. Liz had them set up so she could take care of
her own horse while keeping an eye on the young girl, monitoring her strokes
with the brush as well as Jester’s condition.

She was going over the training session with her
when she heard the sound of boot heels on the concrete. She didn’t have to look
to see who it was. Just being near him made her nerve endings sizzle, her
nipples ache, and a familiar throbbing sensation set up in her instantly wet
cunt.