The water rained down, and Brandon’s hands were all over her, caressing, washing, teasing, and pleasing.
“Rachel.” One word, and she knew Trace was so close to coming.
She sucked harder, fisted more firmly, and then gave him a tiny “mmm” when she tasted his first shot of jism.
Trace’s hands clamped onto her head at the same moment a couple of fingers played with her clit. Another finger spread something cool and silky against her anus. Brandon.
In the next heartbeat, Brandon gasped her clit in a gentle grip and pressed one finger against her anus until he sank it deep inside her.
Rachel screamed around Trace’s cock as her climax exploded from nothing to rapture, and wave after wave of ecstasy covered her, drenched her, and sank deep into her soul.
Chapter Nine
Early morning sunlight warmed the entrance to the large barn. At this early hour—students didn’t begin to arrive until ten—a lone horse and rider worked the ring.
Trace grinned. Rachel might be surprised to learn the daughter she predicted would have to be pulled from bed to make an early afternoon appointment was already up and at it.
He watched from the railing for just a moment as the teenaged girl put Sugar through her paces. His gaze assessed so much in those few moments. Libby Cosgrove sat the horse well, her confidence right there for anyone to see. Confidence and pleasure. Her light brown hair stuck out from beneath the helmet, and from what Trace could see, it wasn’t very long, nor professionally styled.
His own sister had become a fashionista when she’d reached fourteen. Watching both her and her friends told him that some young women were fussy in appearance at that blossoming age and a precious few were not.
Trace knew that, often, one of the side effects of chemo and radiation was hair loss. He wondered if the disease Libby had vanquished had changed her attitude toward her hair for that reason.
It’s likely changed her attitude toward a lot of things.
Rachel told them that Libby had matured beyond her years. Just watching her with Sugar, he could see it was so. Her expression was focused and serious, and more. Trace knew he was looking at a young woman working at something she loved.
“She’s got that horse.”
Trace had heard his best friend approach. Brandon’s assessment matched his own. “She does. What time does your first student arrive?”
“Ten. And our hour session with Shar starts shortly.”
Healing Rides accommodated students—they were not called patients—on Saturday, Wednesday, and Friday. Trace would begin working with students on Wednesday, at the only mid-week evening session the facility held and he, like Brandon, would be partnered with Ernie for the first while. Between the two kinds of instruction—theory from Shar and practical from Ernie—they’d soon be able to work one on one with the students, though still supervised by one of the certified instructors. It would take several months to get their certification, but that was the goal for them both.
In the meantime, Trace knew neither of them had any problem doing whatever needed to be done with the animals or in the yard.
“Let’s not keep the boss lady waiting,” Trace said. He knew he’d have a chance to introduce himself to Libby right after the meeting with Shar. He was looking forward to it.
They met Shar not in her office in the barn but in the kitchen of her home. The hour was informative, and Trace made a lot of notes. Some of the ground covered was familiar to him. He’d taken courses on helping children cope with loss due to fire. Many fire departments had outreach programs targeted at children, and that had been something Trace had always signed up to do.
Shar had given them each a couple of books to read. Trace knew that he and Brandon would likely discuss the source material between them. They’d agreed earlier that, in this, as in most things, they were in it together.
“The best learning will come as you begin to work with the students,” Shar said. “Any questions? Comments?”
Trace liked Shar’s smile, and he liked the dynamic between her and her husbands. Barry had scooped their toddler, Patrick, taking him for an early morning horseback ride while Jesse had assisted in the presentation.
The three of them worked together the way he’d seen many triads do in Lusty. The fact that none of these Benedicts had been born or raised here gave him hope. Their marriage was the ideal he and Brandon aspired to.
“Just one comment,” Brandon said. “In the interest of full disclosure, you should know that Trace and I have just begun to see someone.”
Shar looked from Brandon to Trace. Her smile came slowly. “Someone I know?”
“Rachel Cosgrove.” Brandon looked over at Trace.
“While Brandon works with Ernie this morning, I’ll be focusing on the horses. At that time, I’ll introduce myself to Libby.”
“How is that going to work?” Jesse asked. “I assume Rachel knows you’re here?”
“She does,” Brandon said. “Our position—and Rachel agrees—is that we’re not sneaking around, period. We’re going to take things slow, but we’re looking to build a solid relationship. Rachel doesn’t quite realize yet that we’re planning to marry her.” Brandon gave a quick grin. “So any suggestions you could make as to how we deal with Libby would be welcome.”
“Rachel mentioned this morning over breakfast that your arrangement with her is that you only let her know about issues you think she needs to know about, giving Libby the freedom to share everything with you. We’re not asking you to breach that confidentiality. We just don’t want to blunder,” Trace said. “That young woman has walked through the fires of hell, and
