Tore Up (Mississippi Smoke Series Book 1)

If I thought he’d been different yesterday, today, I wasn’t sure Bane was the same person. Like Invasion of the Body Snatchers kind of different. He was almost … charming. Which should send up a giant red flag because Crosby had been charming, too, and I’d been the secret sidepiece. I hated thinking that. I didn’t want to remember him that way.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I followed Bane into a round, padded room inside the impressive building they called stables.

“What is this for?” I asked, noticing the cameras up near the ceiling.

“Breeding,” he replied.

I studied the room as we walked through it. “So, you, uh, put horses in here and watch them?” I asked, completely fascinated.

“Yep. Have to make sure it happens. We have three champion thoroughbreds that we breed here. Other owners bring their mares here and pay for the stud services,” he explained.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just artificially inseminate?” I asked, thinking this seemed like a lot of work and space just for two horses to mate.

“Can’t. Not to be legally registered as a thoroughbred in the US. The foal must be a result of a live cover. Which means they have to actually fuck.” He flashed me a wicked grin, then opened another door for us to pass through.

I hadn’t seen all this when I visited the stables with Than. He’d taken me to see the horses, and I’d watched a practice jockey on the track, but that was it.

“Do you breed them all year?”

He shook his head. “Breeding season is roughly February to the first of July. We start here February 15 and go through mid-June.”

We stepped outside, and I saw a round pen, where a beautiful chestnut horse stood while a new foal ran around playfully.

“How old is he?” I asked, walking over to watch him.

“He was born last month. Which isn’t ideal, but then we hadn’t planned this mating. We are keeping him, but we won’t know for sure if his sire’s genes were enough to get passed to him with him being born so late.”

Frowning, I glanced over at him. “What does that mean? Why does it matter when he was born?”

Bane leaned on the fence, resting his elbows on the railing, and the mare made her way to him. “All thoroughbreds, no matter when they are born, turn one on January 1. If a horse is born on December 31, it turns one the next day. Since thoroughbreds race according to their age, it can be a big disadvantage when a horse like this one races against a horse born in January or, hell, even June. For this reason, you ideally want them born in January or as close to it as you can get.”

That seemed incredibly unfair.

Bane ran his large palm down the mare’s neck, and I found myself envious of a horse. Switching my focus to the foal as it tried to get attention, I decided that was safer than thinking about Bane’s hand running down my body the way it had in my dream last night. Which had gotten much more erotic. I was pretty sure he’d ejaculated in his boxers in my dream. My face heated, and I shoved that thought away. Not thinking about it. At least not around him.

“How much do people pay to have their mares bred by the studs here?” I asked, needing to be distracted more than anything but also a little curious.

“Depends on the horse. Vladimir cost one hundred fifty thousand. Vindicator runs two hundred thousand because he is a Triple Crown winner. Baldric is one hundred thousand.”

Holy crap, that’s a lot of money.

I nodded as if that wasn’t shocking.

Bane kissed the mare’s neck, then patted her before nodding his head. “Come on. I’ll show you the trophy room. You can see them in their glory days, and then I’ll take you to see them now. Than wouldn’t have taken you to see those three. They’re off-limits for visitors.”

I fell into step beside him, staring out at the vast green pasture that seemed to go on for miles. In the distance, I could see a rider taking a horse around the track Than had taken me to. It was beautiful out here.

We went back inside one of the buildings that had the office where I’d heard Bane having sex with the office manager. I’d only seen a glimpse of her once since we’d arrived. Bane opened a door and waved a hand for me to go inside. The lights came on, and the wall-to-wall glass cases that lined the room were full.Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

“Wow,” I said, scanning them all.

“This over here is the current champions we have as breeding stock,” he told me, pointing to the left wall.

I walked over, and he showed me the pictures and explained the wins of each one. When he got to a picture of Baldric, he paused. Crosby was standing beside the horse, grinning at the camera. He was younger there, but not much.

A small ache came from the sight of him. His son would never know him. That was what hurt the worst.

“Baldric was Crosby’s,” Bane said. “This is his first year in retirement.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, stepping back with a smile I didn’t feel.

“Excuse me,” a woman’s voice said, and I turned to look back at the office manager. “Bane, I have some paperwork I need signed.”

He didn’t turn back to her or even glance in her direction. “I’ll get to it before I leave,” he replied.

Her smile was tight, but the moment he took a step closer to me, a flare in her eyes had me turning away from her. Bane pointed at another photo and started telling me about it. His hand touched my back, and I sucked in a breath. He’d never done that before. My heartbeat sped up, and I was reminded of my dream last night.

“I could bring them to you in here if you’d like,” the woman said.

“That won’t be necessary,” he replied, then kept talking to me.

I tried very hard to listen to him, but he was very close and touching me. It was difficult to stay focused.

“But—” she began, but Bane cut her off.

“Adalee, that’s enough. Leave.” His sharp command startled me.

I heard her turn and walk back out the door, but I remained tensed up.

“We will go see the horses after lunch,” he told me. “I’m getting hungry.”

I nodded, but said nothing.

Bane’s hand fell from my back. “Sorry about that,” he said.

I lifted my eyes to look up at him. Was he apologizing for touching my back?

“She’s got the wrong idea since I let her suck me off in the office,” he said with a shrug.

I guessed I knew what they’d been doing now that he’d so bluntly shared. Not wanting things to get awkward between us since I’d been enjoying today, I decided to be as flippant about it as he seemed to be.

“I imagine that happens. Those females getting all confused after getting on their knees for you,” I replied.

He stared at me for a moment, as if he wasn’t sure he’d heard me right. Then, he threw his head back and laughed loudly.

I couldn’t keep from smiling. I’d made him laugh.

The water on the pond was like glass. Finishing off my wrap, I dusted off my legs, then stretched them out in front of me on the thick blanket that Bane had brought out here with us. A picnic for lunch out by a pond had been unexpected but lovely.

I asked more questions about thoroughbreds and the foal that’s late birth seemed to make him less desired. It bothered me. I was worried about the little guy. He was beautiful, and I thought he looked like a winner.

“You’re worried about the foal,” Bane said, picking up on my questioning.

I nodded. “Yes. It seems unfair that he’s judged before being given a chance.”

Bane took the plate beside me and placed it on top of his. “He will be given a chance. I was just saying that the odds aren’t in his favor. That’s all.”

I turned to him, and his eyes met mine, looking amused. I didn’t find it funny. “You don’t even call him by name. You just call him the foal.”

His brows drew down slightly. “You want me to call him by a name? Will that make you feel better?”

I shrugged. “It will help. He can’t change who he is or when he was born, but he’s just as special as the horses born in the winter.” Fighting to get noticed or to get approval was something I knew all too much about.

“Okay, well, what should we name him?”

I gaped at him. “You haven’t named him yet?”

That was even worse. The poor baby didn’t have a name. How horrible.

“No, we haven’t, but that’s common,” he told me. “He doesn’t have to have a name when he is registered. Most owners take time to decide on the name that the horse will be registered under. There are rules to the official name. But if you want to give him a barn name or nickname, then we will use it.”

I pointed a finger at my chest. “Me? You want me to give him a nickname?”

He nodded. “If you want him to be called something other than the foal, then you need to decide what that name will be.”

I chewed on my bottom lip as I stared out at the water to think. That felt like a lot of pressure. This wasn’t what I had meant when I said he needed a name.

“Are there rules to what he is called? I mean, his nickname?” I asked.

“Just can’t have the same name as another horse here. That would be confusing.”

I sat, thinking about a name that would fit him. Something he could be proud of that wasn’t silly. Bane remained quiet as I ran through ideas in my head, and then it hit me. I turned to look at him.

“Slingshot,” I said with a smile as it rolled off my tongue.

“Okay, Slingshot it is,” he agreed. “Where did you come up with that?”

I leaned back on my hands. “Did you ever go to church as a kid or hear any Bible stories?” I asked him.

He chuckled. “No to church, but, yeah, my granny made sure we heard the stories.”

“Do you know the story of David and Goliath?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, I’ve heard it.”

“Goliath was known as a champion, but he was taken down by a little boy and a slingshot.”

Bane licked his lips as he grinned. “Okay. Message received.”

I sighed, feeling much better about the little foal and his future.