All Rey Skywalker wants to do is ride jumping horses, but instead she works as a simple groom at a high class show jumping barn. Millionaire horse owner Poe Dameron, over twenty years her senior, recognizes her talent as well as her beauty and offers her a deal she can’t refuse. It’s all innocent in the beginning, but when feelings interfere with business, all bets are off.
Rated NC-17 for explicit sex. This is my 'Sugar Daddy AU,' which includes a large age gap and talk of prostitution/sex work. Despite the May/December aspect, you know these two are falling hard and will find their HEA.
Poe Dameron casually folded his arms along the top of the fence, watching as his trainer, Ben Kenobi, argued with his rider, Zorii Bliss, just inside the gate to the main arena.
It wasn’t the first time the two had butted heads through the years they had both been working for Poe, but this particular exchange was more aggressive than most. Ben had switched Teddy’s bit from an elevator gag to a simple double-jointed snaffle, and Zorii wasn’t about to get on the powerful stallion without the harsher bit. Ben was certain the horse didn’t need it.
Poe looked over at the horse in question. Tedarik, barn name Teddy, was a big bay Hanoverian stallion and one of Poe’s most recent purchases. At age eight, he was still a youngster and learning the ropes of being a Grand Prix Show Jumper. He was currently being led around in a large circle by Poe’s head groom, Rey Skywalker. She was watching the argument pensively, but when she glanced over at him and realized he was watching her and the horse, she gave him a little eye roll, making him grin. Poe knew Rey didn’t really like Zorii, but she was good at keeping her opinion to herself most of the time.
She continued leading the horse around at a walk, keeping him moving and relaxed, and Poe found himself observing her more than the quarrel between Ben and Zorii. Rey, a young Englishwoman, had been working for him for just over a year now. She had been recommended by one of Ben’s assistants, Finn Sargent, and had been working at a run-down boarding stable on the south side of Chino. She had hesitated when he had Finn offer her a job, but when he included the apartment above the main barn as part of the deal, she had agreed. Apparently, she had been living in her car at the time.
She had been so experienced and competent, when his head groom decided to move on, asking Rey to take over the position had been a no-brainer. Everyone at the barn loved her, especially the horses. Well, maybe not Zorii, Poe thought with a soft laugh, focusing once more on Rey. She was wearing jeans, tennis shoes, and a fuchsia tank top, her dark hair pulled back in a pony-tail. She wore no makeup, but he didn’t think she needed any. Her large uniquely colored eyes were distinct without any enhancement. She was absolutely perfect, the most beautiful woman he had ever known.
She was also young enough to be his daughter.
Poe had admitted to himself long ago that he was attracted to the woman, and while she was almost half his age, she wasn’t a child at age twenty-three, so he let himself fantasize about her. However, he did no more than that; not only was she his employee, but he was quite sure she had no interest in him. While she was always polite and respectful of him, she never let herself get too comfortable around him, always referring to him as ‘Mr. Dameron’ or ‘sir.’ He was pretty sure she wasn’t dating anyone, as he never saw any strange vehicles visit the barn where she lived and she herself rarely left the property, but he determined that she would have no trouble finding lovers if that was what she desired.
“Poe?”
He heard Zorii say his name and winced, turning his head to look at her. She was standing with her arms folded, her expression angry and stubborn. He glanced at Ben, who was also watching him with his eyebrows raised in question. While he hadn’t really been paying attention, he knew what Zorii wanted him to say.
“What Ben decides is appropriate for the horse is the final decision. If your ride proves the bit change isn’t working, we can go back to the other one.”
Zorii looked as if she was going to explode. He knew she had been hoping he would take her side. Once upon a time, she had shared his bed, and while their break-up had been mutual, he supposed she had hoped she still had some control over his decisions. She never had, even when they had been sleeping together, so he wasn’t sure why she thought so now.
“Fine,” she said sharply, her jaw tight. “Looks like I’m not riding today.” With that, she spun around on her two-thousand-dollar custom made boots and walked out of the arena.
The three people and one horse watched her go silently.
Poe cleared his throat and looked at Rey, who looked more than a little disgruntled. “Rey?”
She focused on him. “Yes, sir?”
“You’ve been taking jump lessons with Finn, haven’t you?” He knew she was. He watched them sometimes, as he could see the arena from his bedroom balcony.
She nodded.
“You want to ride Teddy in this lesson?”
Her shocked expression said it all. She looked at Ben for confirmation.
Ben sighed and leaned his shoulder on the fence. “She just started jumping three feet, Poe.”
Poe shrugged. “There’s no difference if you’re riding a horse that can jump bigger and have the confidence to do it.” He looked at Rey again. “Do these big fences scare you?”
She shook her head. “No, sir.”
“Does riding Teddy in a simple snaffle scare you?”
She laughed a bit. “No, sir.”
“So? Go get changed!”
She looked at Ben again, and he knew she was just seeking assurance from the trainer that Poe hadn’t gone mad. Ben nodded, then walked over to take Teddy’s reins from her. “Go.”
Rey rushed off toward her apartment at the main barn to change into riding clothes and Poe watched her, smiling at her obvious excitement.
“Watch it, Dameron,” Ben said softly as he began to lead Teddy around, keeping the horse’s muscles loose.
“She’s not a child, Kenobi,” he said defensively to the older man.
“No, she’s not,” Ben responded. “But she wants to ride horses more than anything. You gift her with this opportunity, she will feel even more indebted to you. Don’t abuse that.”
Poe nodded in acknowledgement.
Rey didn’t take long, returning quickly to the arena wearing a worn pair of riding breeches and well-used boots. Her helmet and body protector, however, were new and in perfect condition. She immediately went up to Teddy and offered him a small treat, then moved to the saddle to check the girth. She lifted one leg and Ben grabbed it, using it to push her up as she used her arms to pull on the horse’s mane and the saddle. The well-practiced maneuver of boosting a rider into the saddle never failed to impress Poe. Once on the horse’s back, Rey reached down to change the length of the stirrups; she was taller than Zorii, with much longer legs. Once done, Ben stepped away, letting Rey take control of the stallion, who was mouthing the bit and tossing his head. He knew it was someone different, but familiar, on his back. Poe watched as Ben proceeded to give Rey commands, and horse and rider obeyed the dressage instructions flawlessly. The more they worked, the more relaxed Teddy became. After working on the ‘flat’ for about twenty minutes, Ben starting making routes through the jumps for Rey to take the horse through. Their first jump together, over a five foot, three-inch-tall vertical fence, was a bit of a nail biter for Poe, but when they got over it easily, he relaxed. They continued on, and over every jump Teddy got better and better. Normally he jumped with his ears back and his tail wringing, throwing his head often and giving a buck now and then. Today, he did not. Whether it was the new bit or Rey, Poe wasn’t sure. Maybe both? Either way, Poe was pleased and excited to see this talented young horse doing amazing with this talented young rider.
When they were done and Ben had Rey ride quietly around the arena to cool her mount down, he turned to Poe, then looked behind him with his eyebrows raised. Poe turned, realizing all the staff from his barn was watching, smiles on their faces. “Rose,” Ben told one of the grooms. “Why don’t you get Misu saddled and ready to go next?”
Rose’s grin got bigger. “Yes, sir!” She turned and headed back toward the barn.
Poe also grinned. His staff seemed more than pleased to see Rey riding one of the ‘big’ horses. He looked at Ben. “I’ll call Zorii tonight and let her know she’s fired,” Poe said softly. He knew the woman was not going to be happy, but they were all tired of her drama. “Get a contract printed out for Rey. Normal rider fee, plus thirty-three percent of any winnings.” While he paid his grooms well, Rey would earn a lot more riding his horses than grooming them. “Looks like I’m losing my best groom,” he sighed.
Ben snorted. “And you’re not at all upset about it.”
Poe grinned. “Not at all.”
******
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