The Sunstone Brooch : Time Travel Romance by Katherine Logan (comprehension books .TXT) 📗

their gasps mingled in the rose-scented air, and electricity arrowed down his spine, drawing his balls tight.

Goddamn it. He loved her. And, for the third time, they made love without a condom. Her orgasm hit them both—its intensity blinding. Her body milked his pulsing cock, and their orgasms slammed together. She went limp in his arms while Maddie dug up the goddamn garden, and he couldn’t give a shit.

He dropped his head back and stretched out while she lolled on top of him, gasping. He might never move again, but then he remembered Elliott’s surprise. Austin knew Elliott would be waiting impatiently for Ensley to call.

When their breathing returned to normal, he gave her ass a gentle smack. “We’re going to the barn. Put on boots and jeans.”

“Do I have to muck stalls before I get to climb back on my favorite stud?”

He carried Ensley back into the house and left Maddie in the garden to wreak havoc on the roses. “Something like that.” He walked into the shower, carrying her, and turned on both showerheads.

She sat down on the built-in bench. “You’ll have to give me a few minutes. You’ve reduced my body to jelly.”

“Take your time.” He finished his second shower of the morning, dressed in jeans, T-shirt, and boots, and returned to the garden to assess the damage. “Maddie O’Grady. How in the hell could you do that much damage in the time it took me to fuck and shower? Since Ensley will never discipline you, you’re going to go live with a dog trainer for a few weeks. God knows what will happen when the kids come.”

“I heard that,” she hollered. “I’ll be a much better disciplinarian with kids, and since you’ve decided not to use condoms, it might not be that long before we find out if it’s true.” She joined him in the garden and shrieked. “Maddie!”

“You’ve got some calls to make later today.” He found Maddie’s leash, and they walked around to the driveway where they parked their modified golf carts. “Do you want to drive?”

“Hell, no. That stinky dog isn’t going to put even one grubby paw in mine.”

“Yeah, how come I’m not surprised?”

They climbed into Austin’s larger golf cart, and he drove down to the barn with Maddie riding in the back. He stopped at the door and handed Ensley a blindfold. “You have to wear this until I tell you to take it off—and no cheating.” He drove down the center aisle of the twenty-stall barn and stopped at the end.

“Okay, you can take it off now.”

He hopped out and went to the stall’s door, and she walked up beside him. “Did you get a new horse?”

He unlatched the door. “No, you did.”

She pushed it ajar and stood there in shock. “Oh, my God. Where’d you find him?”

“Elliott found him in England. He’s a two-year-old purebred Akhal-Teke.”

She entered the stall and slowly approached the horse. “And he looks exactly like Tesoro.” She smiled at Austin with tears in her eyes.

“God, I love the feeling I get, the butterflies I get, when I see you smiling like that. I think it’s the eighth wonder of the world.”

She kissed Austin and then kissed the horse. “Can I ride him?”

“He’s your horse. I did check with Ted. He said no trotting or galloping today. It could set back your full recovery.”

“Okay, I’ll just walk him around.” She led the horse out of the stall. “What should I name him?”

“You don’t have to do that today. You can think about it.”

“It has to be special. Maybe TeddyR? Or Roosevelt? Or—”

“—or Tesoro,” Austin said. “Who knows? He could have come from Tesoro’s sire.”

“Give me a leg up.”

“I will, but remember, go easy.”

Maddie returned from her brief exploration of the barn and jumped up on a hay bale to watch Austin put his hands under Ensley’s bent leg and pop her up onto the horse’s back. He thought his heart would stop when he stepped back and saw her sitting so proudly on her Akhal-Teke.

“You look like you belong there—my Viking Princess.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Go easy.”

Austin picked up Maddie, put her in the golf cart’s front seat, and followed Ensley out of the barn. As soon as she cleared the door, she squeezed her legs, and the horse took off in a trot that turned into a gallop, and she raced across the open pasture, her hair trailing behind her.

He took a few pictures with his iPhone, chuckling. He hadn’t said a word to Ted about her riding a horse. He already knew what Ted would say, and at this point, Ensley wouldn’t listen anyway.

Maddie climbed into his lap with her dirty paws, and together they watched Ensley ride. Maddie looked up at him with her big brown eyes. “If you’re asking for forgiveness, forget it. I broke a lamp, and you dug up the garden.” Maddie didn’t look away. “Are you worried about Ensley?” The dog just kept staring at him. “I know she shouldn’t be riding that fast, but what’s a man or his best friend supposed to do?”

Thirty minutes later, Ensley returned with rosy cheeks, a huge smile, and bright eyes. “It’s like Tesoro was reborn in this stallion.”

Austin climbed out of the cart. Showtime! He lifted her off the horse and set her down.

Then he took a knee.

“Ensley MacAndrew Williams, daughter of Erik the Viking, I fell in love with you the day you confronted three men with your finger on the trigger. So here’s your down-on-my-knee proposal, with words I’ve written and rewritten a dozen times. Words that express what’s in my heart.”

She gasped and patted her chest. “Is this for real?”

“It’s for real. Now for once in your life, be quiet.” He cleared his throat. “You are fearless and a force of nature. You are passionate about life, and I have to up my game every day to come close to what you give me.”

And then he sang to her…

“Cause all of me, loves all