Road to Victory (Dogs of Fire Book 5) (14 page)

“Do I get to ask why now?” I challenged.

“Nope.”

I cocked my head. “What are you up to?”

“I’ll tell you after you take those jumps,” he promised.

I rolled my eyes and did as he demanded, then walked Fozzie for a few minutes since Knight was on his phone. I couldn’t imagine who he’d be talking to, considering this whole exercise had been for him, but whatever. I was just happy my horse was back to fighting form.

“You’re such a good boy,” I crooned as I continued to walk Fozzie around the arena.

“Kim?”

I turned toward Knight who was now off the phone. “Yeah?”

“You can be done now.”

“I thought we were going to ride.”

“We can if you still want to.” Knight had moved one of his horses to my barn so that we could spend more time together.

I raised an eyebrow. “Can you keep up with us?”

“You haven’t met Apollo yet... I’ll let you figure that out on your own.”

“You’re on.”

“I’ll meet you back here in five minutes,” he said.

“I’m timing you.”

I continued to walk Fozzie until Knight rode in on a huge black Friesian. Admittedly, I was a snob, considering I rode English and felt Western was somewhat barbaric, but to see my man riding in on the beautiful horse in understated Western tack, I was figuratively brought to my knees. “Wow.”

“Yeah, he’s a good boy,” Knight said.

“Is he your stallion?”

Knight owned a stallion and two geldings. He’d left two of his horses in Wilsonville with two of his students, and if this was the level of his horses, he was an excellent judge of equine flesh.

“Yeah.”

“He’s so chill,” I mused.

“Yeah, he is... not so much near a mare in heat, but right now, he’s good.”

“Is he going to be okay on an unfamiliar trail?”

Knight chuckled. “Yeah, sugar, he’ll be great.”

“Follow me.” I led him out of the arena and to the entrance of the protected greenspace that bordered the barn. Knight pulled Apollo up beside me and I studied him for a second or two. “Are you going to tell me who was on the phone?”

“Depends. Do you want to try out for the Olympic team?”

“I’m sorry?”

“We need an alternate for the Olympic team. You and Fozzie would be perfect.”

I pulled to a stop. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah. It would require focus and training, you’d have to quit your job, but—”

“Why would I have to quit my job?” I challenged.

“Because you’d burn yourself out.”

“You obviously don’t know me.”

He chuckled. “Baby, you don’t have to work. I get why you want to, sort of, but you have more money than you can spend in a lifetime, so why don’t you use it to focus on riding for a while. You can get a dead-end waitressing job anytime.”

I rolled my eyes. “I get that I’ve competed a lot, but I haven’t competed at Rolex or Badminton. Those are generally the competitions that help decide the team. How would we get around that?”

“You can compete in Rolex in April and if you do well, we’ll hit the Badminton in May.”

“Aidan, I don’t know if any of this is even possible.”

He smiled. “Sugar, you are, by far, the most gifted rider I’ve ever worked with. You have some bad habits, granted, and your horse isn’t considered a pedigree, but I don’t actually give a shit, because he’ll work harder for you than any of these million dollar horses the Team’s riders are on. Once I correct your vices, I think you could win the whole fucking thing.”

I bit my lip. “Am I
that
bad?”

He shook his head. “You’re amazing, Kim. You just have a couple of issues, which are easy to fix.”

“I’m really the most gifted rider you’ve worked with? You’re not just saying that because I like to suck you off?”

Knight roared with laughter, spooking our horses a bit, but we got them under control even as he continued to laugh.

“God, I love you,” he said as we began our ride again. “And, no... you sucking me off just happens to be a bonus.”

I grinned. “Good to know.”

“I really do think you can make it all the way, sugar. The powers that be are on board as well.”

“That’s who was on the phone,” I deduced.

“Yep.”

“Can I think about it?”

“Yeah.” He smiled. “But ask questions, Kim. I’ll answer any I can, but I don’t want you decidin’ you’re not doin’ it because you have questions you’ve answered, incorrectly, in your head.”

“Don’t talk to me like you know me.” He pulled Apollo to a stop and I did as well, turning in my saddle to face him. “What?”

He reached out and pulled me close. “Love you.” He kissed me gently and smiled.

“Love you too,” I whispered.

“Ready to show me what Fozzie can do?”

“Ready to keep up?” I challenged.

“Bring it, sugar.”

I grinned and guided Fozzie away from Apollo, setting him toward the most open part of the trail. As soon as we cleared the trees, we took off. I could almost feel Fozzie’s smile as we ran at a controlled gallop through the trail, rounding trees and jumping anything that might have been in our way.

We’d been going for nearly fifteen minutes by the time I pulled Fozzie into a trot, then a walk. I glanced behind me and found Knight and Apollo pulling to a walk. “You kept up. I’m impressed.”

Knight smiled. “I was enjoying the view.”

I giggled. “Yeah?”

“You got a great ass, sugar. Not gonna lie.”

“You can tap it later,” I promised.

“Countin’ on it.”

We walked the horses back to the barn, enjoying the rare warm, dry day and talking about everything
but
the possible Olympics.

I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better day.

Kim

T
WO WEEKS LATER, I dragged my seriously tired butt into work and immediately wished I’d called in sick. We were
slammed
. We were one server down because Jenny had called in sick, which meant, I had to do double duty with helping Pauley with pouring, and running myself ragged serving.

I’d made the decision to go for the Olympics... it was simply an opportunity I couldn’t ignore, and Fozzie and I had been training almost seven hours a day. On top of long days at the barn, I had been working my normal shifts, only having one night off a week and, as Knight had warned, it was killing me.

By the time my man walked in to say hi, I thought I might collapse with either relief at seeing him, or exhaustion. I set my tray on the bar and accepted a quick kiss.

“You look wiped,” he said.

“Completely.”

“You quit yet?”

“No.” I frowned. “I can’t leave Pauley in the lurch, honey. Look what happens when just one person calls in sick. I can’t leave her to the mercy of Doug.”

Doug Long was our boss and, admittedly, he was kind of a dick, but he paid well, even better than Blush, so most of the staff couldn’t afford to leave.

I called out drink orders to Pauley while Knight grabbed an open stool and sat down, pulling me between his legs. “I’ll talk to Doug,” he said.

“You will
not
talk to Doug,” I countered. “Let me work it out.”

“You’re gonna burn out, Kim.”

I took a deep breath and looped one arm around his neck. “It’s been two weeks, honey. I’m not going to burn out.”

His arm slid around my waist... his hand settling on my bottom. “Your body’s not used to training all day and then working all night, sugar.”

I smiled, running my fingers through his hair. “It won’t be forever. I just need to find Doug a replacement.”

“I can help.”

“Shhh.” I glanced over my shoulder, I’m not really sure why, but if Doug heard him (from his office), he’d blow a gasket. “He’ll lose his shit if you... or any of the Dogs have anything to do with this.”

“We won’t tell him.”

I rolled my eyes. “Give me a couple of days. I’ll figure something out.”

“Why the hell is he not out here pitchin’ in?”

I sighed. “Because it’s beneath him.”

“Because he’s an asshole.”

“Well, there is that side of him, yes, but he’s not
all
that bad.”

He scowled, but let it go... thank God. “I’ll swing by and pick you up after your shift.”

“I have my car.”

“I had Jax drop me in, so I can drive you home.”

Aidan currently lived with his older brother, who also happened to be an FBI agent. Somehow they made their conflicting lifestyles work... don’t ask me how.

“You planned it so you could take me home?” I asked.

“Yeah, sugar.” His eyes softened as he smiled. “It also means I’m in your bed tonight.”

I grinned. “Even better.”

“Drinks up, Kim,” Pauley called out, and I sighed.

“I should be done around three.”

“I’m gonna hang out for a bit, make sure you’re okay before heading back to
Blush
. I’ll be back at three. Text me if you’re done earlier.”

“I will.”

He patted my bottom and I grabbed my tray of drinks. I didn’t see Knight again until well past closing time and virtually fell into his arms as I handed him my keys at the end of my shift. “You drive.” I yawned. “I’ll sleep.”

He chuckled and drove me home. Once inside my apartment, I dropped my stuff on the floor, rather than putting it away. “I’m going to take a shower and then I’m going to die.”

“Want some company?”

“In the shower or the grave?” I retorted.

Knight laughed as he locked up. “We’ll start with the shower and then go from there.”

I pulled the shirt from my jeans and unbuttoned it as I headed toward the master bathroom. “Knock yourself out, honey. But be warned, since I can barely lift my arms, I might need you to soap me up.”

He grabbed me gently from behind and pulled me against his chest, kissing the sensitive part behind my ear. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

I leaned into his touch, yawning again. “I just don’t know how responsive I’m going to be.”

“Why don’t you take a bath while I take a shower? We’ll just sleep tonight.”

I let out a quiet snort. “Right, like that’s going to happen.”

“I can abstain, Kim. God knows I have for a while now.”

“I know you can, but I
can’t
,” I admitted, turning in his arms and smiling up at him.

“Okay, how about you take a bath, I’ll shower, and then I’ll take care of you before you sleep.”

I kissed his throat. “Deal.”

* * *

Knight followed Kim into the bathroom watching her fill the tub, barely able to keep her eyes open as she sat on the edge. “Sugar, why don’t you just go to bed?”

“I’m okay.” She gave him a tired smile. “I need to get the bar smell off me.”

He didn’t argue, despite the fact he wanted to, as he removed his clothes. Kim finished undressing and slipped into the bath, sighing as she sank under the water. Once she was settled, Knight turned on the shower and stepped inside.

“What time do we need to start tomorrow?” Kim asked.

“We can skip tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, honey. You need a break.”

She yawned again. “Sounds heavenly.”

By the time he turned off the water and grabbed a towel, he could tell Kim was no longer awake. He smiled as he dried off, then leaned down and kissed her gently. “Hey.”

“Hey. I fell asleep, huh?”

“Yeah, sugar, you did. Let’s go to bed.”

She nodded. “But I reserve the right to wake you in the middle of the night.”

“Technically, it
is
the middle of night... it’s almost four, but if you need to wake me, you wake me.”

“Good answer.”

“I’m here for you, sugar. Don’t ever forget that.”

She giggled and stepped out of the tub. They skipped clothing of any kind and climbed into bed. Knight pulled his girl close and, after kissing her, held her as they fell asleep. He wasn’t asleep long when his cell phone buzzed. Kim was out, so he slid away and checked the text in the other room. It was Buzz telling him to call right away, so he did.

“Someone tried to fuck with Kim’s horse again,” he said immediately.

“Who?” Knight demanded.

“Don’t know,” he said. “Mack’s got ’im back at the compound.”

“And Fozzie?”

“He’s good, brother. We’re watching him.”

“Thanks, man.”

“’Bye.”

Buzz hung up and Knight slipped back into Kim’s bedroom. He smiled. She’d rolled onto her back and shoved the sheet down to her hips so that her chest and stomach were exposed. She was gorgeous. The most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

“Aidan?” she whispered, reaching for him.

“I’m here.” He climbed in beside her, kissing her breast and then her neck.

“Everything okay?” she asked sleepily, wrapping an arm around his waist.

“Club business, sugar. Gotta go. I won’t be long.”

“How about a quickie before you go?” she whispered, pushing him onto his back and straddling him.

Grinning, he flipped her on her back and did as she requested.

* * *

Kim

I came awake slowly, opening my eyes to find my bed still empty. I grabbed my phone... it was almost noon and there was no word from Knight. Something big must be up. I decided to call Dani instead.