For the first few seconds, all he could do was stay on.
Don’t fall.
Each stride jarred his spine and teeth. He bent lower, stopped hauling on the bit, and shortened one rein. Mercer ran out of the training grounds and into the scrubland beyond the service road. He dropped lower over Mercer’s neck and drove his weight into the stirrups. One hand caught a fistful of mane. The other kept the reins from flying loose. The saddle punched up under him with every stride, and he held on.
By the time Louis brought him to a halt beside a low stand of scrub, his pulse hammered in his ears. He stayed bent over Mercer’s neck, one hand pressed to the wet hair. The gray stood blowing under him.
“Right,” he said aloud to no one. “Perfect.”
The gray flicked one ear back. Louis breathed out and looked around. There was only scrub, dry grass, and open sky. He pulled out his phone. The satellite icon was active. He looked at it, then locked the screen. He stayed in the saddle a little longer. Mercer shifted under him, sides moving hard. Louis dismounted with stiff legs and walked him to a patch of shade. There he loosened the reins. The horse snorted once and lowered his head.
Louis leaned against the trunk of a stunted tree and closed his eyes. Sweat ran under his collar. Dust stuck to his sleeves and palms. His stomach was tight. He did not know whether to blame Mercer or himself.
A few minutes later, hooves sounded across the scrub. When Louis opened his eyes, Angelique was cantering the chestnut toward him across the open ground. She reined in beside him. The chestnut took two short steps and stood. Angelique looked down at him, checking his face first, then his hands.
“Are you hurt?” she asked, her voice concerned.
He shook his head once. “No.” He pushed away from the tree. “I’m fine.”
Angelique stayed in the saddle, one hand on the reins, the other at her thigh.
“You don’t sound fine.”
He looked up at her. “I said I’m fine, Angelique. Don’t push.”
She looked from him to the gray. “You nearly pulled his mouth apart trying to get him back under you. That isn’t fine.”
Louis’s jaw tightened before he answered. “You weren’t the one riding him.”
“No,” she said. “But I saw how you rode him.”
He turned away from her toward the open ground they had crossed. “I don’t need you to tell me I made a mess of it.”
Angelique kept her seat. “Then stop arguing with me as if I am.”
“If you’re here to make me feel worse, it’s working.”
“I’m not here to make you feel anything.” She shortened the reins. “I’m here to make sure you’re still in one piece. Because I don’t like watching people fall apart and blame it on the horse.” She gathered the chestnut under her. “You’re lucky he didn’t dump you.”
“He came close.”
“Not close enough,” she said. “Which means he’s better trained than you are.”
He turned back to her. “What do you want, Angelique?”
She looked down at him from the saddle. Her hand closed once on the reins. “I want you to stop pretending this is about the horse. It’s not.”
Louis laughed once. “What is it about, then?”
Angelique looked at him. “About you trying to prove something.”
“To whom? You? Gladice?”
“Yes.” “You don’t want to look bad in front of either of us, so you tried to ride like someone you’re not. That’s why you fought him so hard.”
“Shut up.”
“It’s the truth.”
Louis took one step closer before stopping himself.
“Angelique.” He raised his voice. “I’m not in the mood.”
“Neither am I.” She did not look away. “But we’re here. So stop acting like an idiot.”
Louis’s hand closed at his side. “Fuck you.”
“Is that the best you can do?”
“Keep pushing and you’ll see.”
Angelique laughed once. “Oh please. You’re angry because you’re embarrassed. And you’re embarrassed because you care more about how you look than how you ride.” She shook her head once. “Grow up.”
“Go to hell.” Louis stared back. “You think you are better than everyone. You’re not.”
“Better than you today.” Angelique’s hand tightened on the reins.
“Then go back to the show. I’m sure they’re missing their perfect little princess.”
Angelique’s mouth went tight. “Don’t call me that.”
“Why not? It’s what you are.”
“Shut your mouth, Louis.”
“No. Because I’m tired of you acting like nothing ever gets under your skin.”
Angelique straightened in the saddle. “You think you know me?”
“More than you think.”
“You don’t know anything.” She leaned forward in the saddle. “And you certainly don’t know how to ride.”
Louis looked at her, then stepped toward the chestnut. She watched him come and kept the horse still. When he reached her, he caught the lower edge of her jacket in one hand and looked up at her.
“Get down.”
She didn’t move. “Why?”
“Because I’m tired of talking to you from down there.”
Her mouth moved. “Or you just want to prove you can pull me off my horse.”
Louis said nothing. He kept his hand on her jacket. Angelique looked at him, exhaled, and swung herself down. She landed in front of him, close enough that he could see the brown of her eyes, the dark line of her lashes, the sweat along her hairline. The chestnut shifted sideways and blew through his nose.
“Better?” she stared at him.
He did not move back. “Not yet. You still think you’re better than me.”
“I am better than you. Right now.”
“No, you are not.” He looked at her, all the frustration of the morning, the day, the whole visit boiling into one raw place. “You just hide it better.”
Angelique’s eyes narrowed. “What are you trying to say?”
“I’m trying to say that you’re not as perfect as you want everyone to think.” He stepped closer. “And I’m tired of pretending I don’t see it.”
She didn’t retreat. She let him close the distance, her chin coming up, her shoulders set. “And what do you think you see?”
He shook his head. “I see how you always wear that composed face, and it’s all bullshit.”
“Careful, Louis.”
“Why? You think you can’t handle the truth?”
“I think you’re confusing the truth with your own feelings.” Her voice dropped. “And you’re not half as subtle as you think.”
“Neither are you.” Louis stepped closer until the toes of their boots nearly touched. “You’re angry because you know I’m right.”
“No,” she said, “I’m angry because you’re trying to turn your embarrassment into something it’s not.” Angelique stayed where she was. “And you’re doing it because you’re not man enough to admit you lost.”
“Lost?” He laughed once. “You think this is a game?”
“Isn’t it?” she shot back. “Because you’re certainly acting like a child.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Then stop acting like one.”
Louis snapped. “You stop acting calm when you’re not!”
“I am calm.” She said it through her teeth.
He shook his head. “Lies. You are just terrified someone will see through you.”
Angelique went still.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t I?” He leaned in until he could feel her breath. “I think you are scared all the time, and the only way you know how to hide it is to act like you’re above everything.” He lowered his voice. “And I think you hate that I can see it.”
She flinched once.
“Don’t,” she said.
“Don’t what?” Louis did not move back. “Tell you what you already know?”
Her hand came up fast and shoved him in the chest. He caught her wrist and held it between them. Her pulse beat against his fingers.
“You don’t know me,” she said.
“I know enough. You just hide it better.”
She yanked her wrist free and stepped into him again. “You think that makes you special? That you can see through me?”
He didn’t move. “I think it makes you human.”
“Don’t.” She swallowed once. “Don’t you dare.”
“Why not?” Louis lowered his voice. “You want everyone to pretend you’re flawless. I’m the only one who doesn’t.”
She stared at him, breathing hard, her whole body trembling slightly. “You’re a fool.”
“Maybe.” He let his voice soften. “But I’m not wrong.”
She shook her head once. “You have no idea what you’re saying.”
“Then tell me I’m lying.”
Angelique looked at him. Her mouth opened once, then closed. Then she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him to her. Her mouth hit his before he could answer. Her teeth caught his lower lip, and he kissed her back, one hand closing in her hair, the other catching her waist and pulling her against him. She pushed her tongue against his first, and Louis pushed back. She tasted like dark chocolate.
She made a rough sound against his mouth. Louis caught the back of her jacket and drove her against the tree. Bark scraped behind her. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him with her, and he stayed there, hips against hers, his breath hard through his nose. He got one hand under the edge of her jacket and dragged it open. Her fingers were already at his belt, finding the buckle. He shoved the jacket down her shoulders and kissed her again before it hit the ground.
The holster under Louis’s jacket knocked against his rib. He shrugged the jacket off with the M1911 still in it and threw both into the grass. Her hand closed over him through his trousers. Louis groaned into her mouth. He pressed harder against her, cock straining under her palm. Louis got the buttons open fast and shoved the shirt aside. She pulled his shirt free from his waistband. His hand closed over her breast through the bra, squeezing and kneading while he kept her pinned against the tree. She arched into his hand, then grabbed his cock through his trousers and worked him with a rough grip.
Louis reached behind her and found the clasp of her bra. He pulled it off her shoulders and dropped it onto the pile of clothes. Angelique yanked his belt free of the loops and threw it into the grass. She grabbed the front of his trousers and dragged them down with his underwear in one hard pull. The fabric caught at his boots. She stared at his cock as it came free. Louis opened her trousers. He shoved them down with her panties until they bunched at her knees. He saw the small wet patch darkening the center of the fabric.
Louis pushed her down onto the grass. She went with him, dragging him over her, her legs locking around his hips before he had settled his weight. His cock pressed against the wet heat between her legs, and she reached down, wrapped her hand around him, and dragged him through her slickness.
Louis drove into her hard. She was tight around him, hot and slick, and each thrust made his breath catch against her mouth. Sweat gathered between them. Her breasts pressed against his chest every time he pushed down into her, nipples dragging over his skin as her legs locked harder around his hips. She moaned against his mouth when he drove deeper. Louis gripped her thigh and forced her leg higher, and the next thrust tore a louder sound out of her. She hooked a hand behind his neck and dragged his mouth back to hers.
Each thrust made him hotter inside her until his rhythm started to break. She clenched around him, squeezing him from base to tip. His hips stuttered. He tried to thrust again and barely managed it before his cock jerked inside her. The first pulse hit hard, making his hips buck against hers. Then another followed, and another. Angelique shook under him, holding him there while his cock kept pulsing inside her.
Louis stayed over her, still inside, breathing against her shoulder. Sweat cooled across his back. He took his hands away from her hips. Angelique’s fingers loosened from his back. He pulled out and rolled onto his back beside her. His breathing slowed.
Angelique sat up. She did not look at him. Her hair had come loose over one shoulder. She reached down and pulled her panties and trousers up. Louis watched her for a moment, then sat up too, suddenly aware of how exposed they both were.
“…That probably shouldn’t have happened,” he said. His throat was dry.
Angelique breathed out through her nose. “No. It shouldn’t have.” She picked up her bra and slipped the straps over her shoulders. It took her two tries to fasten the clasp. Then she adjusted the cups and tugged one strap flat. “Yet here we are.”
Louis pushed a hand through his hair. “You still pissed at me?”
Angelique looked at him while reaching for her shirt. “I’m not sure yet. Ask me again when I’m not half-naked in the middle of nowhere.”
Hoofbeats came through the scrub before Louis could answer. Gladice came out of the scrub on the bay and reined him in a few yards away. She looked from Louis to Angelique, then down at Louis’s belt in the grass.
“Well,” she said, “it took me long enough to find you two. I was starting to think I’d have to send a search party.”
Louis swore under his breath and reached for his shirt.
Gladice’s mouth twitched. “Though it looks like you’ve been busy.”
Angelique turned away and fastened the next button of her shirt.
Gladice didn’t dismount. She rested one forearm on the pommel. The bay stood loose under her.
“Relax,” she said. “I’m not going to run and tell the director you two decided to christen the scrubland. Though I will point out that you’re both terrible at hiding.” She tilted her head. “And that you have about four minutes before someone less understanding comes looking.”
Angelique finished buttoning her shirt and brushed grass off from one sleeve. She did not look at Louis.
Gladice’s grin widened. “You two look… satisfied. And furious. It’s a good combination.” She whispered something into her radio, then turned her horse slightly. “Cars are coming. Fix your hair, Angelique. And Louis, maybe try not to look like you just got thrown again.”
She gave them a mock salute and rode back through the scrub. Louis pulled his shirt back on. He glanced at Angelique. She kept her back to him, pinning her hair back with stiff fingers. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Neither of them spoke as they waited for the cars.
A dust cloud rose in the distance. Two black vehicles moved toward them across the open ground. When the cars pulled up, Gladice was already leaning out the window of the lead one.
“Come on,” she called. “Let’s get you cleaned up before the shooting starts. You look like you’ve already been shot at.” She glanced at Angelique.
The horses were handed off to the grooms who had come with the cars. Angelique touched her hair and glared at Gladice once. She climbed into the back seat and pulled her jacket straight. Louis followed, sliding in beside her. Their thighs brushed in the cramped space. The doors shut with a heavy click. Cold air blew across Louis’s damp chest under his open collar. The car turned back toward the training fields. Gladice reached forward and handed them two bottles of water without comment. Louis took one, unscrewed the cap, and drank deeply. Angelique held hers in her lap, staring out the window. Her fingers pressed into the plastic.