Improvise meant riding fucking bareback? My vagina was already reminding me that we’d been fucked within an inch of our lives and that some close contact with a horse’s back wasn’t really the best idea.Harden up,I mentally warned her. It was this or jail.
Jace got on first, using an old stump that was about the right height so he could swing his long legs over the brown horse. Rhett mounted the gray next, and he did it so smoothly that I knew he was a competent rider too. It made me wonder about his past.
It appeared I was the one in need of some lessons and was about to get schooled today.
Jace used the bridle rope thing he had in his hands to direct the horse over to the stump once more, indicating I needed to get up. When they were close, I gulped at how huge the animal was. “Uh, maybe I should just run along behind.”
His gaze trailed down my body to my bare feet. The guys had found shoes in the house, but nothing had fit me. “Get the fuck on, Rose.”
He held a hand out, and there he went looking like a fucking god sitting on top his noble steed. My breaths grew rapid, and I was going to pretend it was from fear. I placed my palm into his, stepped up onto the stump, and then choked on a gasp as he hauled me across his hard thighs, settling me in front of him.
My body slid in against his like I’d been made to ride with Jace just like this. The horse shifted only a touch beneath us, and its back was as firm as the man behind me.
Talk about a rock and a hard place. It really should have been uncomfortable, but instead, I was wondering how it’d feel if Jace slipped his hands down from where they were wrapped around my waist to palm my cunt as we rode this hors—
“Everything okay, Billie?” Rhett sounded amused. “Your cheeks are a little flushed.”
Every fucking part of me was flushed. “Yeah, fine,” I managed to say. “Just freaking out at being up this high. I’ve never ridden a horse before.”
Rhett’s smile was knowing as he expertly led his horse closer. “Right. Well, it feels a little odd to let your legs hang without stirrups, but you’ll get used to it soon enough. You already have the necessary skills for”—he cleared his throat—“horse riding.”
Jace let out a snort behind me. “Enough, Rhett. I need her focused. We have to get the hell out of here before the police search reaches us.”
That sobered all of us up, and when our horses started to move, the gait was more uneven than I was expecting—yeah, the ground was uneven, but shouldn’t they adjust for that or something? If Jace’s arms hadn’t been around me as he gripped the rope, I’d probably have fallen off, but I figured it out eventually, and soon we were moving a little faster than a walk.
The gas station was fairly close, just down a few winding dirt roads, and when we paused in the shade of a few trees on the perimeter, it was decided that Rhett would be the one to head in. “It’s just easier for me to get on and off,” he said, already dismounting his horse and handing the lead to Jace.
“Yep, okay. Memorize Brenda’s number,” Jace said quickly, reciting the digits and repeating it a few times.
Rhett nodded once. “I’ll see if the clerk will take her payment over the phone so I can get us some food as well.”
My stomach grumbled at the mention of food, and I really hoped that Brenda came through once more. We wouldn’t last long on the run if we didn’t have a few provisions. At least I had Jace and Rhett, though. Having been through a lot of terrible shit in my life, I knew thatnotbeing out here alone made a huge difference.
Jace’s hands tightened around me as he held us steady, and I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe during this time we might repair some of the broken strands in our relationship.
Before the hate was too strong to ever reverse.
Unless it already was.
twenty-eight
BILLIE
Rhett returned in about twenty minutes, and if I’d been able to get off this horse, I’d have kissed the hell out of him. Not only was it a very awkward silence out here with Jace refusing to speak, but my ass was growing steadily numb as we remained on horseback.
“We’re set,” Rhett said shortly, and I could have cried at the sight of the two plastic bags he carried. “Brenda apparently knew that we’d have to bail soon and is already on her way to get us.”
“So we wait for her?” Jace asked.
Rhett shook his head before leading his horse over to a built-up dirt pile that was his only option for mounting it. “No, since we called, she decided to keep to the original plan and instead directed me to a new safe house. There’s an Airstream trailer stashed about two miles from here. It’s on the edge of the neighbor’s property, and she said it’s usually used by their kids when they visit but is a great place to hide out because it’s off the beaten track.”
I felt Jace nod from behind me. “Makes sense; I doubt the police will investigate much farther than the original farmhouse and the neighboring ones.”
“How do we find this trailer?” I asked, my butt almost completely numb now.
“I’ve got vague directions and some provisions,” Rhett said, managing to pull himself halfway up on the horse, who was starting to shift on the spot. It was clearly much harder to mount a horse while trying to hold two bags, but eventually he seated himself correctly again and shifted the reins into his hands.
He took off in front this time, leading the way, and I tried really hard not to focus on the numbing pain in my ass. Among other places. The feel of Jace against me was almost too much, especially when the horse started to move rhythmically, picking up the pace. At first I was moving against Jace, and it was awkward and dangerous as I almost fell twice.
