Stabled (The Stables Trilogy #1) Read online

  “Damned straight. All you women-- you need to learn your place in this club. This isn’t some book club-tittering-feathers-and-spanking shit. If you step outta line one more time--”

  “I won’t!” She cried. Her voice cracked, begging him for forgiveness. She scurried, half dragged, beside him. The door of the restroom slammed shut behind them.

  Maple shuddered; there was no love there. Had Tony ever looked at her with love? Had their relationship ever been about anything but his wants? No. No, it hadn’t. Maple bit her knuckles, fighting the truth that was rushing at her.

  The reality of her situation hit Maple. She’d been whored out by Tony. Hell, she didn’t even know if the men had paid him. Whored out and dumped. It was true, what he’d said. She was filthy. A tale now used to threaten other girls into complicity. And she’d let it happen.

  It hadn’t been a proper relationship. And he hadn’t cared for her--not one bit.

  Maple threw up, choking as she released semen mixed in with her dinner.

  This wasn’t what she’d wanted. She’d wanted to escape the farm. To learn and maybe live in a city. To find someone who could share in her darker desires. To affirm that they were okay. Normal, even.

  She knew better now. Twenty-two and ruined.

  A battle had been fought, and she didn’t even know it until after she’d lost. It was time to go home.

  She fetched another carrot, offering a penance to her confessor. Bonnie ate it, but no absolution came.

  “Bonnie, one last thing, between you and me.” Maple steeled herself for this, this blackest secret, the one that made her more afraid and ashamed than all the men who’d fucked her. “I packed up all my things into my truck. Hit the road. It was still dark outside. I couldn’t bear to be in New Orleans another minute after I’d left the club.”

  Her hands stroked Bonnie’s neck, flank, trembling with terror for the words she was about to mutter.

  “I saw him, Bonnie. I saw that man who’d threatened the girl. That girl was like me, I think. I saw him and he was alone and smoking a cigarette and no one was around. My foot… my foot just got heavy, Bonnie. I wish I could say there was more to it than that. My foot got heavier, and heavier, and then my hands just turned the wheel and--” she sucked in, hearing the bump-bump echoing in her mind.

  “And what, little stable girl?”

  Reece leaned on the door behind her, and Bonnie stomped warily.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Maple gasped and flattened herself against Bonnie. “What are you doing here? How much did you hear?”

  Reece sighed, over dramatic. “Not nearly enough, I’m afraid. Just enough to titillate. What happened with your truck? Why were you so eager to leave New Orleans?” He moved into the stall, stalking near her. Maple edged along Bonnie’s body, trying to evade Reece’s advances.

  Her heart pounded with her discovery, but the icy clutches of fear were dissipating-- he hadn’t heard her complete confession. He didn’t know the truth about her-- not really.

  “That’s none of your business,” she muttered.

  He laughed. “None of mine, but this old horse needs to know your deepest and darkest?”

  “You don’t know if it’s a deep, dark secret.” He was getting closer, and she was running out of room. Reece would have her pinned in no time. To her horror, his stalking game was eliciting a response; her pulse raced and her skin grew flushed.

  Maple would hate herself more if she wasn’t so busy trying to get away.

  “Of course I do. If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t be whispering it to a horse, you’d just be telling a human. Tell me, pretty Maple.” His hand caught her wrist, squeezing hard enough the bones ground together. “Tell me your secret.”

  “No. I should get back to the house--”

  “Okay, then, let me tell you mine.” He dragged her close his hands gripping her hips. Maple was so startled she froze. This couldn’t be happening. Not again. All her control spun away, and she felt very much like she did with Tony, too frightened to move or speak, her body turning on and disabling her fight or flight instincts. “Lovely, lovely Maple. I want you. J.B. never hides things from me, but I think he meant to hide you. I find that so… enticing.” Reece clutched her closer, his erection pressing into her belly, scalding her with shame and heat. “The things I could do to you--” He slipped a hand in her hair before tightening his grip, fisting a handful of her honey brown locks. “J.B. thinks he’s the only one who can train, but goddamn, you make me want to prove him wrong.” With that, he kissed her. No, that wasn’t right. A kiss went both ways. A kiss wouldn’t involve the punishing, claiming drive of his lips on hers.

  Maple just stood there, unable to break away, still unsure of what was happening. Out of habit, her mouth fell open, letting Reece drive into her with his tongue. He groaned as she admitted him, but she scarcely heard it. Her body molded itself to Reece’s, already preparing for what he was offering. Instincts took over, blocking out wants.

  J.B. thinks he’s the only one who can train.

  Every fantasy of J.B. flared to life in her. Every spank, paddle, cane, clamp. Every chastisement and deprivation. Her mind swam with them, blinding her to everything else.

  Reece, broke from his kiss, his hands gripping her shirt and ripping. Maple heard the cotton shred. “Wait,” she gasped, but Reece was already wrenching her bra cups down. As soon as her breasts were free, he mauled them with teeth and hands. He bit down, making her cry out in pain and ecstasy.

  Maple’s hands flew into his hair, trying to pull him from her. She needed to get away, she couldn’t get caught up in this, not now--

  She didn’t need to fight for long. A shadow loomed behind Reece for a moment before Reece was yanked off of her.

  J.B. wheeled Reece around and decked him, hard. Reece’s head snapped with the force of the punch. He fell to the floor, laughing. “Oh, damn, J.B! I should’ve known.” He rolled to his back, looking up at a livid J.B.

  “I’m sorry, Man,” Reece was still chuckling as he rolled once more and climbed, unsteadily, to standing. “I didn’t know, not for sure,” he added, for once sounding genuinely apologetic. Maple knew that wasn’t true, but was too scared to say anything.

  “This crosses a line, Malcolm.” J.B. sounded hurt. His body, so tense it could break, was trembling with restraint.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. She seemed like fair game! It isn’t like your other--”

  But then J.B. had Reece pinned against the stall door, arm barred across his throat. “Not another word. You may stay to finish your work. But you’ll work from the hotel. Tell me what you need and how long you need and I’ll have it brought out to you.”

  Maple stood, stunned. It was like she wasn’t even there. Flashbacks of being on the table, a thing instead of a person, hit her repeatedly like a bat. What was happening? Her body throbbed from Reece’s assault, unsure of whether to be relieved or irate that J.B. had stopped it.

  She watched as J.B. released Reece, wary. To his credit, not once did Reece lose his smug facade. He turned to Maple, tipping his head. “My apologies, lovely stable girl. Unless, of course, you’d like to leave with me?”

  Maple shook her head violently while J.B. growled. “Get the fuck away, Reece. Our past won’t weather everything.”

  Hands up, Reece conceded defeat, bowing out.

  Maple was left with J.B. and Bonnie.

  Her body began to shake, goosebumps covering her skin. Her heart beat so erratically it made her dizzy. J.B. stood in the stall doorway, seething. He punched the stall, and she flinched. Bonnie snorted, stomping. Maple didn’t know what to do. To say. She felt outside of herself.

  J.B. punched the stall once more. His body was wound tight, but the movement was fluid, beautiful. He made a punch look like a work of art. It was as thrilling as it was scary.

  “What the fuck are you doing, Maple?” He whipped to face her, lip curled in a snarl. “Do you want to make me crazy?”

  His wor
ds were blows. How was this her fault? Words. She needed words. But there were none on the tip of her tongue. None choking in her throat. Just none. She couldn’t say anything because she was still trying to catch up to the moment. To find purchase.

  He stormed over to her, and she backed away from him, afraid. She backed into a wall, and he pinned her there, a hand slammed on either side of her head. He was so damned powerful, menace radiating off of him. J.B. was an animal, one that had seduced her into ignoring the signs of danger until she provoked it.

  Well, now J.B. was good and well provoked. “What were you doing kissing him? Letting him touch you like that?”

  Tears welled in her eyes, and she was stammering her apology, “I-I’m s-s-sorry, he was in here, and I didn’t know what to do!”

  “You fucking tell him ‘no,’ Maple!” J.B.’s low growl ripped harder than any yelling or scolding would have. Maple shook harder, her chest clenching.

  “It wasn’t what it looked like, please J.B., I didn’t want him!” A new fear was sparking, one that easily superseded the shock of Reece’s rough attention; She was scared J.B. wouldn’t think her desire for him was genuine. Maple knew that’s what it looked like. While she never expected anything to happen between J.B. and her, she had no doubt he knew her feelings for him. It wasn’t much comfort to know he knew, but if he thought it wasn’t real--

  “That’s not what it looked like! What do you want? Do you even know?” His blue and green eyes were locked on her, something daring in them. Crazed. “Did you want to be manhandled?” His palm slammed the wall again beside her head, sending vibrations down her spine. “Did you want it to be rough? Ruthless?” Slam! Slam! Each slap emphasizing a point, getting him more wound up.

  Making her swell with a desire she couldn’t box in.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, that’s what I want.”

  Even the toughest maples crack and break under enough pressure.

  Maple broke. Trembling, she reached up beside her and grabbed one of his hands. J.B. tried to tug away, but she brought it firmly to her exposed breast.

  J.B. cursed as he lost control.

  Chapter Fourteen

  His hand gripped her breast, hard, sending stinging aches through her chest. Her pussy wept with joy, and Maple sighed happily, arching. His cowboy hat fell to the ground beside them, a casualty.

  J.B.’s mouth was on hers. This was a kiss. His tongue was hot in her mouth. He bit her lip, sucked her tongue, made every inch of her mouth his. J.B.’s hands were frantic, seeking to claim all of her. They weren’t gentle. He gripped and clutched at her, pressing them so tightly together Maple could scarcely move.

  His desperation overwhelmed her, filled her. J.B.’s mouth snared one final kiss before devouring her neck, her collarbone. Wrapping one hand in her hair and the other cupping her ass, J.B. pulled her from the wall. His body commanded; she followed. In a stumbling, frenzied dance they left Bonnie’s stall. Maple barely registered the slam as he kicked the door shut.

  There were more stalls than horses, and J.B. led her to an empty one. Pushing her roughly, she was shoved into the tether bar.

  J.B. was on her again. He unzipped her pants and hauled them down her legs. They caught on her boots. It limited his access, but he didn’t seem to care as he stood beside her, mouth seeking her nipple. When he sucks it into his mouth, Maple gasped. When he bit down on it, hard, she mewled, squirming under his hands.

  “J.B.--” She didn’t know what to say. Was afraid to say it. Maple knew this wouldn’t end well, but she couldn’t stop it. This was everything she’d craved, and now that it was happening she was lost to it.

  His hand sought her sopping core. Fingers slipped easily into her pussy. It was just like she imagined. The rough, calloused workman’s fingers were sliding in her pink folds, two, now three fingers. He worked her hard, lifting with his hand so that her tiptoes grazed the floor. Maple was anchored to his hand. Her hands clawed at the wall behind her, holding herself steady as her body gave itself fully to J.B.

  His thumb strummed across her clit in quick, merciless strokes. All she knew was sensation. His mouth, sucking her tit in, tongue lashing her raw, bite-riddled nipple. The mangled jolts of pleasure it sent to her core. Oh God, her core, it was ten thousand degrees, and his fingers were so far in her, stroking her deep. His thumb rubbed, rubbed, rubbed, insisting that she come. Time stopped for Maple--

  Until she exploded. Her climax left her feeling mauled, lacerated, completely undone by its intensity. She tried to scream, but J.B.’s hand was over her mouth, stifling it. His green and blue eyes speared her own, holding her captive, silencing her even as his hand kept pumping into her pussy, prolonging the orgasm.

  She was still reeling from coming when he flipped her around. The rough wood of the tether bar bit into her hips. J.B.’s hand slammed into her lower back. His zipper was undone, the zipping cutting through her ragged gasps. His booted foot kicked her legs as far open as the bunched jeans would allow.

  He slid inside of her, grunting as his balls pressed into her ass. The limited spread of her legs made her channel tight. It felt so fucking good. Better than anything she’d experienced before. He was thick, making her feel stretched to her limit. His body was pressed in close, his breath on her neck. They were in the corner of the stall, the dark wood and musty smells amplifying their illicit fucking.

  Maple gulped as his tempo increased, his hips slamming hers, hers slamming the rough wood. The grating sensation mixed headily with the slide and thrust of his hard cock, and she felt the tingling bloom of raw pleasure spreading through her.

  A hand slid up her front, twisting a breast until she howled and clamped her legs, then up to her throat. J.B. held onto her exposed throat, pressing in lightly enough to let her know he was in control. His other hand dug into her hip, fingers strong enough to bruise.

  J.B. said nothing. Maple’s mewls, her keening wails, her cries of ecstasy were muffled by his hand on her throat. J.B. tugged back, pulling her off the bar. She teetered, her steps unsure and clumsy because of the pants around her ankles.

  His strength and grace led them both to the ground. Hay and cement bit into her knees, the stinging discomfort driving her wild. His hands pressed her face and upper body down. The chill of the cement stung her heated cheek. When she tried to get on all fours he spanked her. It was no playful hit. It was a full, open palmed spank. She felt her flesh ripple from the force first, then the needle-like sting that followed it.

  Maple squeezed her eyes shut and smiled, laughing. Delirious.

  J.B. mounted her then like an animal. His pace was furious, his cock pistoning in and out of her. Occasionally his hand would slap her ass again until she knew her skin felt hot enough to cook an egg on.

  She snuck a hand between her legs and rubbed her clit. “Oh fuck! I’m coming!” she wheezed through the dust that had caked her mouth. Maple knew what happened in these stalls. She cleaned them to the best of her ability, but it was still an animal’s house.

  That knowledge, that degradation of knowing he was using her in a stall for horses, pushed her over the edge. She came so hard she couldn’t see. Her body clenched, jerking, no longer her own. Her noises were guttural and base.

  The cool air hit her soaking pussy as soon as he withdrew. She felt empty, violated. She felt glorious. One thing was missing though.

  It came in the form of his hand in her hair, yanking her face up. Her eyes opened to his thick, meaty cock in his other hand, being pumped into her face. She knew what was coming and opened her mouth wide. You hungry whore, Tony smiled viciously in her mind.

  His come splashed her tongue and cheeks, her hair and eyelashes. He marked and debased her and she groaned, eager for it. Her tongue darted out catching as much as she could, swallowing his thick and bittersweet seed.

  Maple crawled to her knees, eager to clean his cock with her tongue as Tony had taught her to do so many times.

  J.B., though, shoved her away. His face was
twisted, stormy. “Pack… pack your things. I’m calling the car. Be ready to leave in two hours.”

  “Where are we going?” Maple didn’t like where this was headed.

  “You’re going home. This was a mistake. You’re fired.”

  Hurt can be a familiar thing. It can be comforting. When hurt is all you know, then it’s what you turn to when there’s nothing else.

  Maple’s hurt was inviolate. It was pure and warm, sweeping her in. Hurt offered her a shoulder. It wrapped its arms around her and whispered “I won’t let go this time.” This was everything she’d felt when Tony had left her times a hundred. At least when Tony had broken up with her, she’d seen his manipulation for what it was.

  But she’d been the one trying to manipulate J.B.. How had she imagined this would end? Had she really believed two people as dark and secretive as them could have made it together?