Horse Play (Horse Play #1) (26 page)

He pulled away from me with a sly grin. “Good to know.” I regretted divulging that little nugget immediately, being sure to mentally note that I should probably never partake in excessive drinking when Jensen was around. Taking my hand he began to pull me toward the door, taking my makeshift microphone from me and setting it on the bench on the way out.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Well, it’s five. I figured we should get our work done so we can …
play
.” The way he said that word made me tremble with excitement.

Jensen and I grabbed a couple of halters each and headed out to the farthest paddock first, deciding it made more sense to work inward. I must have been anxious to see what Jensen had planned for tonight, because it didn’t seem like it took all that long to get the work done. We brought Halley and Ransom in last, and I spent a little time with her, promising to ride her as soon as I was able, before exiting and locking her stall.

“Okay,” Jensen said on the way to the house. “You shower first. I’m going to run out to the office to check on a few things. I’ll be back shortly, and then I’ll have my shower.”

“Should I start dinner?” I asked, still unsure what exactly he had planned.

Shaking his head, he opened the front door. “Absolutely not. I’ve got everything under control.” He moved behind me, gripping my hips right above my ass and pushing me along to the bathroom. “Now, go.”

I closed the bathroom door, deciding to leave it unlocked and see if his self-restraint was intact (I secretly hoped it wasn’t) and undressed before hopping in the shower. I made sure to take care of any and all personal grooming. I usually did anyway, but I was extra careful to get
everything
this time.

I wrapped my towel around my wet body, and had just entered my bedroom when I heard the front door open. “I’m all done with the shower!” I called out as I grabbed the matching black lace bra and panty set that I bought in Memphis with Willow.

Turning toward my bed, I laid the scanty undergarments on the bedspread, and was just about to drop the towel when arms wrapped around me. I smiled, relaxing into the embrace.

“Did you get everything in order?” I asked, running my hands along his forearms.

A chill ran up my spine as his embrace tightened around me, but my blood turned to ice in my veins when a dangerously familiar voice said, “Those are new.”

Chapter 18. Fight or Flight

I
moved to pull free of Dane’s restrictive hold on me, but he didn’t relent so easily. His grip around me tightened, resulting in the towel shifting. The terrycloth was the only thing keeping my body covered.

“I missed you,” he murmured into my ear.

Panic knotted in my belly. I gripped the top of my towel with my left hand and tried to wrestle free with the other.

“Get off me!” I shouted, twisting my body and wrenching free. My legs were against the bed, and I held the towel tight to my chest. “Get the hell out of my house,” I demanded through clenched teeth, chest heaving and hands shaking.

Dane made no indication he was going to leave. “Relax,” he demanded. The tone he used sounded menacing.

“Wh—what are you doing here?” I asked, secretly wishing that my voice hadn’t cracked.

“What do you think?” he shouted, making me jump slightly. “I’m pissed that you kicked me out and made your dad fire me!”

The man wasn’t capable of letting go of anything; what happened between us was
months
ago, and he was still pining away over losing me and his job? Even though he had constantly blamed me for how angry he was all the time?

“I didn’t
make
my dad do anything. He’s a big boy, Dane. He’s fully capable of making decisions all by himself—just like when you made the conscious decision to raise your hand to me.” Apparently my balls of steel had dropped, which was nice, because I was finally able to stand up to him.

The courage I felt was short-lived though as he took a heavy step toward me, forcing me back into my room. “I’m taking what I
deserve
.”

Feeling cornered, I stepped to the left and tried to dash around him, but he expected it. His hands gripped my shoulders roughly, and he used more strength than he’d ever used with me before to toss me onto the bed. The towel shifted when I landed, and I scrambled to right it as I moved to stand.

Dane rushed forward and climbed onto the bed. His legs straddled my bare thighs and his left hand wrapped around my right forearm, forcing it above my head where he pinned it to the mattress. Then he yanked the other from my towel and raised it also. His hands were so big, he was able to use only one to hold both of my arms above my head.

“Stop fighting,” he ordered.

I stopped struggling, not because he told me to, but because I was hoping to keep the towel from slipping even more. That didn’t matter, because he used the fingers of his free hand to fiddle with the edge of the towel, inching it away from my breasts.

“Dane, stop,
please
,” I pleaded. Tears burned my eyes, and I couldn’t keep the tremble from my voice as a sob steadily built in my chest.

His bloodshot eyes burned with anger and rejection, and his breath smelled of cheap whisky. “You think I’d just let you do that to me? Kick me out like that? Humiliate me by fucking around on me with that guy?” He tightened his grip around my wrists until my bones ached and my skin burned. “You belong to
me
, Madison.”

“Dane, please! You’re hurting me!” The tears fell freely over my temples and pooled in my ears before spilling onto my bed.

His eyes were on me, but I could tell he wasn’t really seeing me. He was too lost to his rage. I’d seen this look before. “You know you shouldn’t upset me, Madison.”

“I didn’t do anything!” I screamed, raising my head off the bed and getting as in his face as I could.

His free hand came up from where it hovered above my almost naked chest, and I flinched. I tried not to, but I was terrified. He didn’t hit me, though. Instead, he gripped my face between his thumb and fingers and squeezed my cheeks hard. I tasted blood when my teeth cut through the inside of my mouth.

His eyes held mine, and I couldn’t even recognize him. This wasn’t the man I’d lived with, or the one who used to share my bed. This was a much darker version of the man Dane had become toward the end of our relationship when his drinking became more important to him.

“Dane, please,” I pleaded once more, my cheeks hurting in his harsh grip.

A smile slowly spread across his face. “That’s my girl,” he whispered, lowering his face next to mine. His lips brushed my ear, and I tried to pull away. “Always begging to come back to me.”

He released my face and pushed my head back toward the mattress. His hand quickly moved to his belt and he started to undo it.

“No, Dane. Don’t.”

The anger returned to his eyes when he pulled his belt free and folded it in half, using the bed to assist. “Did you just tell me no?”

I suspected there was no right answer, and while I was extremely fucking scared, I felt my instinct of self-preservation kick in. I started struggling again, screaming and yelling at him to get off me and get the fuck out of my house.

He hated that I was trying to fight back, and he raised his hand, the buckle of his belt gleaming in the last remaining rays of sunlight from the window. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the strike when suddenly Dane’s body flew backward as though he’d been pulled on some kind of pulley system.

I scrambled to cover myself with the towel and rolled off my bed. My body shook as I backed into the night stand, sending the lamp crashing to the floor. All I could hear was the roar of blood in my ears. Then I heard shouting. And fists hitting skin.

I looked around my room. It was empty. I raced out into the hall and found Jensen standing over Dane. Specks of blood were spattered on the walls, and Jensen was holding Dane by the front of his shirt as he hit him over and over and over.

Tears continued to fall down my cheeks as I registered exactly what was happening.

“You hard of hearing, asshole?” Jensen demanded, punctuating his question with a fist to Dane’s face. “Because I distinctly remember her telling you it was over.” Another punch. A sickening crack.

There was a garbled response from Dane. I couldn’t make it out, but it upset Jensen nonetheless. He raised his arm again.

“Jensen,” I called out, my voice trembling. His anger forced conflicting emotions in me. There was a part of me that was a little scared at his loss of control, but another appreciated his protective nature. Judging by the way he refused to let up on Dane, I knew he hadn’t heard me, so I stepped forward and placed my hand on his upper arm hesitantly, still a little afraid. I’d never seen him like this, but based on what he told me about his past, I always knew it was a possibility.

Thankfully, his firm hold on Dane slackened, and he took a step back, his eyes still full of rage and never leaving our intruder. His upper body heaved with each angry breath he took, and his hands remained clenched at his sides. Dane stayed down, moaning and unable to move.

When Jensen moved, I flinched. I was glad his back was to me, because I hated that he elicited this response. He pulled out his cellphone and called the cops to report a break-in and attack. By the time he hung up, Dane was unconscious.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when Jensen turned and took his first couple of steps toward me. I waited, holding my breath and clutching my towel to me tightly.

His hard, angry stare softened. “Madison,” he said in a soft, soothing tenor. “It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you.”

What?
My eyebrows pulled together in confusion. “What?” I asked, mirroring my thoughts. “I never thought that.” Suddenly, I shook my head.

“Are you okay?” His right hand cradled my face, his eyes taking inventory of my appearance, and his left rested on my hip.

I lifted a hand and pressed it to his chest, confirming his presence was real. “I’m fine. Just … a little rattled.”

Jensen pulled me to him, his right hand moving over my damp hair. “I’m so glad he didn’t get a chance to …” He struggled to finish the sentence, kissing the top of my wet head instead and inhaling deeply. I swear, I even felt his intake of breath shudder. “You should get dressed before the cops show up.”

Dane was just coming to when the cops arrived, and after they hauled him away, they took statements from both Jensen and me. When they had everything they needed, they left, telling us they may need to contact us again.

“So much for tonight,” Jensen said with a heavy sigh, running his hand through his hair.

I nodded solemnly, still reeling from everything that had happened, when his statement registered. My gaze snapped to him, eyebrows pulled together. “Wait, what?”

Jensen shrugged. “I was hoping we could get off the ranch tonight, but I guess that’s been shot to hell.”

He turned to walk away when my arm shot out and I grabbed him by the wrist. “Wait,” I tell him, my hoarse from all the screaming at Dane. “I’d still very much like to go out.”

“Madi, I don’t think it’s a good idea. After everything that just happened …”

“Now is the perfect time,” I argued. “Please don’t make me sit in this house. I’d rather end the day on a high note than where I am right now, emotionally.”

Jensen’s blue eyes regarded me carefully before he acquiesced with a nod. A smile slowly spread across his lips. “Okay. Mind if I go have a quick shower first?”

Even though I was still pretty shaken up, I nodded. He must have sensed my nerves, because he pressed a kiss to the top of my head and told me he wouldn’t be long.

When I heard the bathroom door shut, I went back to my room and checked my appearance. Before the cops arrived, I’d pulled on a pair of my new jeans and a fitted, light blue, plaid button-up. My hair was a little tousled, so I ran my fingers through it to make it look a little nicer, then I applied a little makeup to hide the red blotches around my eyes.

I finally felt a little more human, and I was just putting my mascara away when I heard the phone ring and rushed out to the kitchen where it was resting on the charger.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Madison. Is Jensen in, please?”

I immediately recognized the voice on the other end of the telephone as Jensen’s mom
.
“Um, he’s just in the shower. He should be done soon though,” I told her, walking to the living room and relaxing onto the couch.

“How are you feeling?”

I knew she was talking about my injuries and not what had happened earlier tonight, but it was a loaded question that made my body tense and my eyes warm with tears. She sounded genuinely concerned, and I didn’t want to alarm her, so I tamped it down and responded.

“I’m still doing great. Better every day. Thanks for asking,” I told her with a shrug. “Jensen’s been great.”

“Good. I’m glad. You’ll let him know I called?” she inquired.

“You bet. It was nice talking to you, Dr. Davis.”

About five minutes after hanging up, Jensen emerged from the shower, stopping in the doorway to my bedroom in just his towel.