The Riding Master by Alexandrea Weis Read Free Book Online Page A

much like horses, and horses are very much like people.” He pointed a chopstick at her. “You remind me of the mare I just sold. She was always guarded, hesitant of every new adventure, and resisted me at every turn. If I rode her too hard, I would frighten her, and if I was too gentle, I would lose her interest. Took me a while, but I won her over.” He angled closer to her. “And I plan on doing the exact same thing with you.”
    Rayne grabbed for her sake, needing the alcohol to squash the lust pulsing through her. Unexpected images of Trent’s muscular body riding her naked from behind kept popping into her head. 
    “You all right?” Trent queried, cutting into her fantasies. “You look flushed.” He plucked the cup of sake from her hand. “I think you’ve had enough of this.”
    Rayne poked at the sushi rolls on her plate with her chopstick. What was happening to her? It was as if her best intentions were being usurped by an intense carnal desire, the likes of which she had never experienced. Rayne just hoped that when their evening ended her disturbing feelings would go away. But in the back of her mind she wondered if that was possible. As long as Trent Newbury was in her life, Rayne had a sneaking suspicion that her lust for the man would continue to haunt her, and could make the coming days and weeks at the stables very…uncomfortable.

    Chapter 4
     
    After dinner, Trent drove Rayne home, keeping the conversation focused on her riding, Bob, and her students. Rayne had been thankful for the reprieve from his previous line of questioning. But when they strolled down the dimly lit walkway toward the white door of her red-bricked bungalow, Rayne’s anxiety returned.
    Pretending to fumble for the keys in her purse, her mind flew through a plethora of excuses to avoid letting Trent inside.
    “Give me your keys,” he directed as they climbed the three bricked steps to her front porch. “I’ll get your door.”
    Unable to come up with a reasonable reason not to, Rayne handed over her keys. After he had opened her door, he waited for her to go inside.
    Rayne stood in her entryway, hoping he would give her back her keys and insist he should be on his way. But instead of handing her the keys, he shut her front door and walked through to the open living room. Rayne sighed as she placed her purse on a round, intricately carved wooden table to the side of the entryway.
    “Where’s Frank?” he called from the living room.
    Rayne stepped through the arched living room entrance and motioned to a hallway to her right. “Probably in my bed. He sleeps with me at night.”  
    Trent turned to her, but said nothing. He didn’t have to…his intentions were written over every inch of his devious smile. He tossed the keys in his hand to her kidney-shaped glass coffee table.
    Eager to find something else to do, Rayne went to her kitchen. Stepping behind the beige granite breakfast counter that divided the living room from the kitchen, she dashed to an oak cabinet above the sink and stretched for two old-fashioned glasses.
    “Do you want something to drink?”
    “No.” Trent came up behind her. “I’m not thirsty.”
    Rayne replaced one of the glasses in the cabinet. “Well, after all that soy sauce with dinner, I sure am. Didn’t know that—”
    Trent pried the glass from her hand and put it on the countertop. “You’re not thirsty, Rayne.”
    When she faced him, he slipped one arm around her and tilted closer until her lips were inches from his.
    “This isn’t a good idea, Trent. You and I have to work together, and if….” Her resistance was fading along with her voice.
    “I really don’t give a damn about our working together at this very moment.” He slid his other arm behind her. “And neither do you.”
    “You’re wrong about that.” She trembled, afraid of what was about to happen. “I do care.”
    But the intoxicating aroma of him, the heat of his skin, and the liquid color of his eyes