Heart's Delight Read online

  Chapter Eight

  Elaine lifted her weight from him and sat against his thigh, resting her hand on his abdomen. His muscles were warm and hard and she could feel the beat of a pulse. With her other hand she pushed back her hair. The moonlight was stronger and their eyes had adjusted to the gloom. A sudden coldness made her skin prickle, and she shivered, either from some cool current of air or from the return to the reality of the wrecked room. She grabbed her blouse and pushed her arms into the sleeves.

  “This isn’t the worst,” she said. “Upstairs it stinks to high heaven.”

  “Who did it?” Quinn stroked her hair and smoothed her shoulder.

  “Probably the same people who torched the stable. They want my land.”

  Quinn scrambled to his feet and pulled on his trousers. The moonlight caught the set of his jaw, the tension in his face. He bent to put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her face. “They didn’t hurt you?”

  “No.” His strong hands pulled her up. She began to dress. “I was out looking for stabling for the horses. Thank God they just vandalized the house. They didn’t bother the animals.” She told him the rest of what she knew. It wasn’t much, and by the time they were clothed again she had finished. “The police are trying,” she concluded. “We have something of a description.”

  “Where are the horses now?”

  She smiled at him. “The bad news is that two have been taken by their owners. The good news is that Star and the gelding are safe and happy. And,” she finished, flinging her arms ‘round his neck, “we have a place to stay where the horses are.”

  She looked into his dark blue eyes and her heart turned over. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come through,” she whispered. “They broke the mirror.

  I was so afraid.” She stroked his cheek, then buried her face in the delightful nook between his neck and his shoulder and sighed happily. “I’ll never let you go again.”

  She sensed Quinn turn his head to look at the shattered glass. He slipped his arm around her waist and led her toward it.

  “The power has to be in the other things as well as the glass,” she said. She caught sight of the candlestick on the mantel. “You brought the other candlestick.”

  Quinn chuckled. “Poor Margaret was mystified by the disappearing candle holders.

  I let her think I had pawned them so I had to hide the one I took back with me. It would have been too much for her if only one reappeared.”

  Elaine leaned against him. “I don’t know what brought you through. I’m just thankful something did. I concentrated as hard as I could on wanting you.” She thought of the metal balls and the sensation of them inside her.

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  He kissed the top of her head. “Can I see upstairs?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Do you really want to?”

  “Just a quick look.”

  Hand in hand they left the living room and mounted the stairs. The stench grew stronger as they climbed. “Ugh!” Quinn made a grimace of distaste. At the door of her bedroom he stood contemplating the bed, with its pile of excrement. “They know how to strike a blow where it hurts. I thought of it as our bed.”

  “Do you think they knew we had slept in here?”

  “No matter if they knew or not. It still stabs to my heart. It was my first time in a bed.” He took a step forward and peered at the heap of feces. “Not human,” he announced. “Probably dog.”

  The smell was giving her a bad taste in her mouth. “I wondered about that. They brought it with them.”

  He straightened. “Right.” On the landing he paused again. “The other room too?”

  “Same thing.”

  He opened the door and looked at the jumble of sex toys, broken and defiled.

  “Pity about the toys.” He looked at her with a twinkle in his eye. “Does your friend know where to get more?”

  “I’m sure.”

  “You owe me the one with the remote control.”

  God, the thought made her knees tremble. She had to swallow before she could speak. “I remember.” She took a breath. “I did rescue one thing.”

  She led him back down the stairs and into the living room. The pleasure balls had rolled to one side during their lovemaking but she retrieved them easily.

  She wiped them off with a tissue from her pocket and held them out on the palm of her hand. A few days ago she would have blushed scarlet and been completely tongue-tied even thinking of a sex toy. Okay, so she felt the blood rise in her face, but she looked Quinn in the eye. “I had these inside me today. They drove me almost crazy while I waited for you. I thought it might help you come through the mirror.”

  His eyes glittered with desire and he closed her fingers over the balls with his warm hand.

  “You took them out.” He paused. “Is there room for all of us inside you?”

  The man was insatiable. She loved it. “We could try.” She had a vision of Quinn’s hard, thick cock pushing the balls deep inside her. Lust flickered again. “I’ll take them with me.”

  Quinn lifted her hand holding the larger balls to his lips. “Is the new bed far from here? I might not be able to wait too long.”

  “It’s fifteen minutes away.”

  “If I try very hard I might be able to last. Pity the stables aren’t available.”

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  She swallowed again. “There are stables where we’re going.” She was completely shameless.

  “Good, I’ll bear that in mind.”

  She found a few clothes still wearable and slipped them into a bag with the pleasure balls between the folds.

  As she drove to Storm Ridge, Quinn kept his hand high on her thigh.

  “Tell me about the investment,” she asked to keep her mind on something other than his wandering fingers.

  He rubbed the denim between her legs, making her squirm. “All taken care of.” He took the tab of her zipper between his thumb and forefinger and tugged.

  “For you and Margaret?” she gasped.

  “Just Margaret, actually.”

  She glanced at him quickly. “Nothing for you?”

  He shrugged and gave up on the zipper, brushing the back of his hand over her breasts. The nipples hardened and peaked at once. “I had no more need of that money.”

  She pulled into the driveway of Jim’s house. “I have your pin.”

  “It’s yours, for your stable.”

  “We’ll see.”

  She got out of the truck as Jim opened the front door of the house. He’d been watching and waiting again. “Hallo, Jim. My friend’s here with me.” She couldn’t prevent a grin from spreading over her face. Quinn stood beside her and she took his arm. “Meet Quincy Lockyer. Quinn, this is Jim Burchitt, who came to my rescue.”

  The two men greeted each other while she stood back, watching. Quinn towered over Jim, who was a tad under average height. He bent forward to offer his hand to the older man.

  “Pleased to meet you, my boy,” Jim said gruffly, patting Quinn’s arm. “Been a while since there were young people around here. Welcome.” He took a step back and pointed to the side of the house. “Elaine knows where to take you. Are you hungry?

  Feel like a beer?”

  Elaine saw the hopeful look on his face, but hardened her heart. “We’re fine, thanks, Jim. Quinn had quite a journey, so maybe we’ll just go to our room.”

  Before Jim could add any arguments to make her change her mind, she grabbed hold of Quinn’s hand and dragged him off in the direction of the side wing.

  “Hey,” he laughed as she thrust open the door of their new quarters. “I thought I was the one who couldn’t wait.”

  She kicked the door shut and began to take off her clothes again. “Get naked,” she said. “The bed’s waiting.”

  Quinn pulled his shirt over his head without undoing the buttons. “What about the horses?”

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  “The horses are fine. We have more important things to do.”

  He shucked his trousers. “Maybe we should wait—” he began with a grin, but his erect penis gave the lie to his words.

  “Not a hope in hell, buster.”

  Her clothes once again in a heap on the floor, she retrieved the pleasure balls from between the folds of her clothes, then skipped to the bed and ripped back the covers.

  She quickly inserted the balls then, hands behind her head, she watched him kick his trousers and shirt to one side. He stood for a moment looking at her. His eyes skimmed her bare flesh and he licked his lips. Her heart was already racing, but it increased its tempo even more and a rapid pulse beat in her throat and between her legs.

  She stretched out her arms. “No teasing,” she said quietly. “Come to me.”

  When he slid in beside her, she let out a long breath. It was as if his body was a missing part of hers and his presence made her whole.

  He moved over her and gently began to insert his cock into her wet, waiting pussy, then paused. The tip of his penis nudged the two tiny balls. “You put them in.”

  “I said we could try. Do you like it?”

  In answer he pushed her wrists up to her shoulders and grasped them tight.

  Pressing his lips hard to hers, he edged a fraction deeper into her. She gave a muffled cry.

  He raised his mouth from hers and began to pull out.

  “No, no, don’t stop,” she begged. “Go deeper.”

  He grinned at her and did as she said, making her writhe under him. “Tell me what it’s like,” he murmured. “Do you like it?” he pressed harder and she felt the balls lodge firmly against the walls of her womb.

  She moved her head from side to side in a frenzy. “It’s wonderful. I’ll burst.”

  His cock swelled even more inside her, stretching her to the max. She strained to open her legs wider to urge him deeper still. His hands held her wrists captive, his steely thighs pinned her to the bed. His hot eyes watched her as she bit her lip and closed her eyes, allowing the waves of longing to appear naked and explicit on her features.

  “Is it building inside you?” he asked in a soft voice. “Can you feel it moving up your legs?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “Now I think the tremors are coming from your breasts.” He dipped his head to lick her nipple. “All the way down your belly to your cunt. They meet the other from your legs. Your cunt is on fire…”

  She arched her back and let out a cry as her body obeyed what he told her. Quinn gave a bark of laughter. “That’s right.” He released her wrists and gathered her into his arms, moving his hips to make a space between them. “Take them out now, I want to fill you myself.”

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  She hooked a finger in the cord of the balls and they slid from her. Immediately Quinn was inside her again.

  The orgasm seemed to last forever as wave after wave rocked her body, and Quinn climaxed at the same time.

  They both fell into a deep sleep, limbs entwined. Elaine woke first, roused by a ray of sunlight that hit her full in the face. Quinn lay on his side, one leg over her hips and an arm draped across her breasts. The scars on his back were clearly visible against his smooth skin. She traced one line that went from his shoulder and disappeared around the other side of his waist. He stirred and muttered, then opened his eyes.

  “I’m still here,” he said. “You’re still here.”

  “What did you expect?”

  “I thought it might all have been a dream.”

  “If you have those kinds of dreams—”

  He snuggled against her. “Never quite like that.”

  He kissed her shoulder, moving down to her breast. She stretched in pleasure and opened her legs. He slipped inside her and began a slow gentle rhythm. In calm delight she basked in the silky movement of his penis as it grew, caressing the sensitive walls of her vagina. With never a word, with tenderness and caring, he brought her to climax and savored his own release.

  She kissed him. “That was lovely.”

  A door slammed somewhere in the house, noise from outside the door made them both jump.

  She sat up in the tangle of sheets and reached for her watch on the bedside table.

  “It’s after seven,” she exclaimed. “The horses…”

  Naked, she headed for the shower and felt Quinn follow close behind. He moved under the spray with her and soaped her body, rubbing shampoo into her hair, smoothing the strands from her forehead. The frenzy of desire had calmed and his caresses were gentle and full of wonderment—those of a man who cares deeply and seeks to convey his love with no demands or expectations.

  Star blew air from her nose and tossed her head as Elaine entered the stable. The gelding looked up for a moment and went back to the feed in his trough.

  “That’s odd. Jim must have been out here already to feed them,” Elaine said as she patted the mare’s neck. “I didn’t expect him to do that.”

  Quinn grunted and took a handful of feed, rubbing it through his fingers. He ran his hands down the animal’s legs, then turned back to Elaine, who was murmuring soothing words into Star’s ear. “How is she?” He rubbed the mare’s flank.

  “She’s doing fine, aren’t you, my darling?”

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  “Who’s the sire?”

  “Of the foal? Ah, that’s my ace in the hole. The stud is owned by an old friend of my grandfather. He’s a well-known show jumper. We had big hopes of a prize-winning foal in a few years. Or of selling it based on its bloodline.”

  “So the mare is valuable because of the foal?”

  “Yes.” She looked at him as the wheels turned in her head. “What are you saying?”

  He shrugged. “There just seem to be lots of reasons to make you sell out.” He slapped the gelding’s rump. “I think you’ve eaten enough, old fellah. Let’s get you turned out.”

  Elaine took Star’s halter and followed him out to the paddock.

  A half-hour later they walked back toward the house. “They seem settled,” Elaine remarked. “What a relief.”

  Quinn took her hand. “How long can you keep them here?”

  “I’m not really sure. I’ll have to go into town later today to make some arrangements to rebuild. Jim is very kind, but I’d like to be back in my own place soon.”

  “Did you know him before?”

  “I don’t remember meeting him. He says he was a friend of my grandfather’s.”

  “It seems your grandfather had some useful friends.”

  “He did. Thank goodness for the network of horse people.” She looked at him, taking in his old-fashioned outfit. “To change the subject for a moment, we shall have to get you something to wear, even if I do prefer you without clothes.”

  He gave a mock bow. “At your command, madam.”

  As they drew closer to Jim’s section of the house, a delicious aroma of bacon and coffee wafted out. Elaine’s stomach growled. “Gosh, I’m famished,” she said.

  Jim poked his head out of the window. “Breakfast’s ready,” he called.

  “Jim, you don’t have to feed us as well as every thing else,” she protested.

  “Nonsense. If you don’t eat it, no one else will. Besides, do you have anything in your kitchen?”

  She laughed. “No, the cupboards are bare. I’ll have to shop later.”

  “That settles it. Go wash up and I’ll put on the eggs.”

  Elaine and Quinn did justice to a huge breakfast and several cups of coffee. Quinn sighed with contentment and sat back, stretching out his legs.

  “Interesting shirt and trousers you have there,” Jim said. “Don’t think I’ve seen anything in that style around here. Is it the latest fashion?”

  Quinn gave him a lazy smile. “I suppose it is, in a way.”

  “So where do you buy something like that?”

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  Quinn waved a hand. “I can’t exactly recall. I travel a lot, you know. Everything sort of blends in.”

  Jim didn’t take the hint. “You seem to travel light. Did something happen to your luggage? Darned airlines lose everything.”

  Before Quinn could make things worse, Elaine came to the rescue. “We were just talking about that,” she said. “You’re right, Quinn’s luggage got lost somewhere. You know how these things happen. He’ll buy some new things in town.” She stood. She needed to put a stop to all these awkward questions. “I’ll help you clear away and then we must get going. Quinn, I think I left my sweater in the barn. Could you take a look for me?”

  Quinn opened his mouth to protest that she hadn’t worn a sweater but she waved a dishtowel at him, and he shrugged and disappeared through the door.

  “Nice young man,” Jim said, up to his elbows in suds.

  Elaine took a plate from the rack and began to dry it. “I think so.”

  “How long have you known each other?”

  She couldn’t tell a direct lie. “Not very long.”

  Jim turned to her. “Sometimes you don’t need too long.”

  She smiled and relaxed. “That’s true.”

  “First time he’s been around these parts?”

  “Yes, he’s a stranger to Canada.”

  “Thought so. I heard the accent.”

  Jim paused to scrape egg from a dish. “So, he was staying with you when the fire broke out—”

  She waited while he washed the plate, dried it and folded the towel. “We were out riding.”

  Jim let the water out of the sink and swished a cloth around the surface. “So, if you don’t know him well and the fire started when he was on the property, how do you know he didn’t have something to do with it?”

  She stared at him in disbelief. “What are you talking about? Quinn wouldn’t do anything to harm me. He loves me.”

  “I’m sorry, my dear. I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m just looking at all the possibilities.”

  She swallowed her anger. Jim was old, a recluse if Jane was correct. Maybe he was one of these people who wove paranoid fantasies because he had nothing better to do.

  She hung the damp dishtowel on the rail. “Besides, he was away when the house was vandalized…” And he left me his diamond pin, and came back through the mirror, she added in her thoughts.