Fake Fiancée for Dad’s Best Friend by Gena Snow

Chapter 8

Alex

 

 

 

 

I wake with Vivian’s soft body in my arms, her leg crossing mine trustingly. Her face rests against my chest, looking peaceful and content. I run the back of my finger over her lovely cheek and watch her eyelids twitch. She lets out a whimper but doesn’t open her eyes.

The ribbon around the neckline of her gown is loose, and I catch a glimpse of her round, creamy breasts with rosy peaks—my morning wood jolts against her thigh.

As if it isn’t enough torture, Vivian squirms, rubbing my hard manhood. Fuck me. It’s a mistake to get her involved in this. I shouldn’t have let her talk me into it. It’s a trial I must endure for two more days. Damn. I want her bad. She’s such a passionate girl, not to mention beautiful, cheerful, and headstrong. I don’t know that many young people know what they want. Even fewer are as determined as her.

She reminds me of myself when I was her age. I knew I didn’t want to live off family fortune and wanted to prove my ability. I build an empire by myself, and I committed to my work a hundred percent without looking back.

This fiery little girl will get what she wants, whatever she sets her mind to. And I’ll see to that, too. I’ll help Vivian to succeed. She wouldn’t want success to be handed over to her, but there’re other ways I can help.

I lean forward to kiss her lightly on the cheek, and she stirs. Her gorgeous hazel eyes blink for a second and then come to focus on me. She takes a moment to register my existence, and then she blushes as she moves away from me. “Gosh. I’m so sorry.”

I chuckle. “No worries. Vivian. I’m sorry about the earthquake. Was it your first?”

“Yeah,” she mumbles. “It was quite scary. I used to worry about blizzards, but now I think I’d rather be trapped in the house for a week than going through that fright.”

“I guess you wouldn’t want to move to California anymore, would you?”

She giggles with embarrassment. “I guess not!”

I chuckle. “Now, let’s get ready for breakfast and then your first riding lesson.”

She groans. “Do I have to?”

“What? Are you afraid of the horses?”

“Of course not,” she says. “I just…don’t want any accidents.”

“There won’t be any accidents.” I hold her hand while gazing into her eyes. “I promise!”

She shudders, and her eyes turn dreamy. “O-kay, I guess I can trust you.”

“Of course you can,” I say, my voice is turning coarse, and my eyes wander to her lips.

I pull away from her with mighty effort before I kiss her. This is bad. I won’t share a bed with her tonight.

 

 

“Good morning, Dad!” I say to my dad as I walk into the kitchen. He’s already finished his breakfast and is reading the newspaper. My dad gets up at five every day for years. Even though he’s retired, he still keeps the habit.

“Morning, son,” Mike looks up. “I’m heading to the golf course. Join me after you’re done riding with Vivian.”

“I will,” I say. I’m not a good player, but it’s my dad’s daily exercise.

“Where’s Karen?” Vivian asks, looking around.

“Oh, she’s up,” Mike says. “But she usually skips breakfast.”

After a quick breakfast, Jack drives Vivian and me to Coastal Ranch stable.

Vivian’s mouth falls when I tell her the family ranch has 1000 acres of rolling hills, streams, oak groves, pasturelands, and beaches. There used to be some farms, too, but later converted into gardens and resorts. The resort, which is managed by my sister Samantha and her husband George, takes a fraction of the property. The rest of the ranch is all wilderness.

I stop the car in front of the equestrian center, part of the resort’s entertaining facility. Rob, a man in his seventies with silvery grey hair under his Stetson, grins when he sees me. “Good to see you, Alex!”

Rob has worked for us for over half a century. In fact, he taught me how to ride when I was a kid.

“Hi, Rob. How’re you doing?” I hug the old man who’s as dear as a father to me.

“Welcome back,” he says, chuckling and glancing at Vivian. “And is the young lady who I think she is?”

“She’s my fiancée Vivian,” I say, doing my best to sound natural. Damn. It isn’t easy to lie, especially to people I grew up with.

I introduce Rob to Vivian, and they shake hands.

“Your dad invited me to the party tomorrow, and I’m thrilled to hear the news. It’s about time!” From the twinkle in his eyes, I know the old man approves of my fiancée.

We have a bit of small talk before Rob goes into the stable to find Charlie, my favorite Arabian horse whom I befriended twenty years ago when he was still a colt.

The stallion with chestnut coat and white mane nickers and whinnies the moment he sees me and runs toward me. As soon as he gets close, it rests his head on me and nudges his muzzle against my shoulder. Despite my infrequent visit, the intelligent animal still remembers me. I stroke his back to return his affection.

“Awww,” Vivian utters as she nears us. “He’s so beautiful!”

She reaches Charlie to pet him before I can stop her. Horses are afraid of new and unfamiliar people. They don’t like to be touched by strangers, especially not without permission. Charlie snorts and swishes his tail at her.

Vivian gasps and retreats to my side. “Jeez. Is he mad?”

“No, sweetheart,” I say, stroking her back gently. “He’s afraid of you because he doesn’t know you.”

“Calm down, buddy,” Rob says to the animal and then turns to Vivian. “Greet him after you have his attention. Call him by his name, Charlie. After he turns to you, approach him to the shoulder, not his face. Let him sniff you first and keep a distance, about an arm’s length, just to be safe. Once you’re sure he likes you, you can put a hand on him and stroke him.” He goes on to show Vivian how to say hi to the horse.

Vivian listens carefully and follows suit. Charlie is a friendly horse, so he accepts her in no time, and soon she’s stroking him.

With Rob’s help, I show Vivian how to mount the horse and how to sit, which she masters quickly. After I correct her sitting position, I let her walk and trot in the arena in front of the stable, while holding the rein for her.

“Can we go to the beach?” Vivian asks, gazing down the hill.

“Not today,” I say. “You aren’t ready. The trail leading down is ten miles long.”

She pouts. “Am I supposed to just trot here for the whole morning?”

She’s got a point.

“Why don’t you ride double with her?” Rob suggests. “Once you’re at the beach, you can let her ride alone.”

“Are you sure Charlie can take both our weights?”

Rob glances at Vivian and chuckles. “Don’t mean no offense but she can’t be heavier than my grandson Billy. We did it quite often when I taught him how to ride.”

The last time when I met Billy, he was a chubby boy, about ten. I’m sure Vivian weighs more than him, but I’m willing to give it a try.

So, I get on the horse behind Vivian and we say goodbye to Rob.

I grab the rein. “I’ll do the communication. You just enjoy the ride,” I say to Vivian.

I’m practically holding her in my arms. I don’t have much choice, do I? Damn. Her soft, round ass is right against my crotch. Despite my willpower, my boner grows. Vivian is tense for a second but relaxes soon as we enter the riding trail.

The trail goes up before it drops. It runs along a creek, and it’s pretty shady at first, with dense eucalyptus trees and fragrant with orange blossoms. It winds through manmade scenic spots as well, including a Japanese garden with a wooden bridge and a desert garden with cactuses. Soon it becomes rocky as we near the top.

“What a magnificent view!” Vivian exclaims.

The ocean stretches below like a mirage. I let her down to stretch and admire the view before we descend.

Once we’re at the beach, I let Vivian hold the rein.

“This is so nice!” Vivian squeals. “Can we go faster?”

“Sure, do you want to try to tell Charlie yourself?” I say. “Just squeeze your legs.”

“Okay,” she says, and then without a moment’s pause, she squeezes her legs, and Charlie starts to gallop. “Ohmigod! That’s too fast!”

I chuckle. Damn. She probably squeezed too hard. I instruct her to pull the rein, but she ends up sending the wrong message. The next minute, Charlie runs into the ocean.

Both of us scream as our legs immerse in the water. I pull the rein, but Charlie seems to enjoy the swim. He doesn’t stop for another minute.

After a moment’s confusion, I have Charlie under control and we’re back to the beach. Of course, all three of us are wet.

We get off the horse and sit on the sand, letting Charlie play in the water alone.

“This is incredible,” Vivian murmurs, still gazing at the ocean. “I can’t believe it. My first ride, and I end up in the ocean. When was your first time?”

I think for a moment. “When I was five?”

“Wow.”

“I loved riding,” I say. “I used to spend most of my weekends on horseback. And I preferred horses over cars.”

“What made you leave home and live in New York instead?”  Vivian asks me, her head resting on my shoulder. Naturally, I loop an arm around her waist.

“The temptation of the outside world. I didn’t need the money. I was born with a silver spoon, but I wasn’t happy about it. I wanted to prove that I could be successful without my parents’ money. So I got in Columbia and then an industry my parents had no connection in.”

“Well, you proved it,” she says, gazing up at me with what looks like admiration in her eyes.

It’s all I can do not to kiss those lips.

“Thank you, but I’ll be lying to myself if I dismissed my family’s support altogether. They paid for my college. Just the fact alone helped because I didn’t have the burden of paying back any loans. And just knowing that they’d have my back in case anything went wrong was enough a boost to my confidence. And I suspected my family did help me in other ways, although I’m not sure how.”

“That doesn’t make your accomplishment less commendable,” she says in a husky voice.

My blood rushes south, and I resist again, the urge to touch her or kiss her. And then, to my surprise, she leans in and kisses me on the lips.

I stiffen for a second, but soon, the feathery touch undoes me. I groan and kiss her back, grazing her lips first and then sucking them. Vivian whimpers as she clutches my hair with both hands and climbs onto my lap. Soon we’re lying on the sand, with her on top of me, our mouths still attached. God. My hands roam over her skin greedily. The ocean and the sky fade from my vision, and all I see is her beautiful eyes. My manhood swells and presses into her belly, and I dry hump her. She doesn’t resist. Instead, she grinds me back. Holy fuck. When was the last time I made out at the beach?

People’s laughter brings me back to my senses. Christ. It’s a private beach but it’s also open to resort guests.

We pull away abruptly. “I’m sorry. Vivian, I don’t know what got into me.”

“Don’t apologize,” she says. “I started it. Besides, it’s a, err, good practice.”

I chuckle and stand up, pulling her with me. I whistle and call Charlie to us.

“We could do this again in the future,” I say to Vivian as we’re back in the trail. “Come next summer. You’ll always be welcomed as my mom said.”

She pauses for a moment. “Your parents wouldn’t mind we broke up?”

Damn. I forgot that. It’s a pretense. I curse. Suddenly, I don’t want us to “break up.” But is it even possible?