leg up and switched his grip so he was holding the hoof from underneath. With his other hand, he began to scrape at the thick layer of dirt that was packed there.
“Doesn’t that hurt her?” she asked, grimacing.
“Not a bit!” he said, continuing to scrape. “She can’t feel a thing. Her feet are literally as tough as nails. If we didn’t do this, her hooves would rot.”
She watched him pick each of Oreo’s four hooves. He continued to murmur under his breath as he moved with practiced grace, words that Jess couldn’t pick up. A smile lingered on her face.
“All done!” he said, straightening up and wiping his brow.
“I could use a shower,” she said. She felt like she was covered in a layer of dust and dirt from Oreo, along with a thin sheet of sweat. The horse was probably cleaner and sweeter smelling than her.
“It’s not the cleanest work in the world,” Nate said. “But you seem like a girl who likes to get her hands dirty.”
“I guess I do,” she said with a smile. “I have to say that it feels really good, being out here in nature, spending so much more time out of doors than inside.”
“You sure don’t get that in the city,” Nate said. “Just those stupid carriage rides in Central Park. My heart always broke for those poor creatures.”
Nate really was a sensitive soul. “I know what you mean,” she said. “I always feel the same thing.”
Without warning, Nate dropped the comb he was holding and approached Jess with intensity. He grabbed her and pulled her close, the warmth of his body flooding into hers, and kissed her.
“Mmmm,” he moaned, pulling away. “I’ve been fighting the urge to do that all day.”
Slowly she opened her eyes, gazing up at him. She was weak at the knees. “More,” she whispered.
He pulled away, smiling mischievously. His hands on her shoulders, he turned her around and gave her butt a playful slap. “I’ve got to take care of the rest of the horses,” he said. “Move along, partner.”
***
As she made her way back to her cabin, a smile pasted to her face, she noticed a sign she hadn’t seen before—an arrow labeled “Pool” pointing down the path. Surely she had time for a quick swim.
She followed the path, which wended a short way around before leading to a small pool, its perimeter laid with tiles and scattered with long chairs. Set against the backdrop of a flat-topped mountain in the distance, it glittered like a jewel.
She removed her shoes and dipped her feet in. She looked around her. How was it possible that no one was around on such a pleasant day? She stripped out of her mud-streaked jeans and tee shirt and dove in.
The water felt like heaven. She almost moaned underwater. She swam several strokes, then broke through the surface and took a deep breath. She flopped onto her back and took a few strokes, looking up at the fluffy white clouds that rolled past the blue.
Her mind began to wander back to the night before. It barely felt like reality. Her body went lax as she remembered the way Spencer and Nate had rendered her powerless with every kiss and every touch until she was quaking with need. She thought of lying against Spencer, his powerful legs holding her in place as he drove her wild playing with her breasts, while Nate teased her bare body with his mouth until he finally separated her with his tongue and dove in. By the time Spencer had turned her around to face him, she was still dizzy with the orgasm Nate had given her, and he had slid into her effortlessly. He had been so hard, his length and girth making her gasp, giving way to a pleasure that was like floodgates opening within herself. She had been panting, gasping, yelling by the time her second climax hit her, as Nate stood behind her, raking her hair back and diving his tongue into her mouth with passion while she and Spencer shook with the tremors of their shared orgasm.
She was suddenly overcome with the memory. Her abdomen was heating up and below