genre: M/M contemporary
length: category
ISBN# electronic: 1-4199-0769-7
Price $5.20 download $11.99 print

electronic format: http://www.ellorascave.com/productpage.asp?ISBN=1-4199-0769-7  

Buy an autographed print copy directly from me: http://www.marywinter.com/?page_id=728

PRINT format: http://www.jasminejade.com/pm-4572-180-ready-to-ride.aspx

BLURB:

Equestrian Derek Whitten watched his dreams fall with the last jump at the Athens Olympics.  Not only did he lose the gold medal, but his personal life imploded as well.  Now, in financial trouble and needing to sell his prize horse, Derek turns to the one man he trusts.  A simple business transaction, that’s all it can ever be, no matter how much he wants it to be something more. Charles DeMorinson never blamed Derek for his horse’s performance at the Olympics.  Yet, he watched both of their dreams, and his lover, slip through his grasp.  He’s spent the years since regretting not fighting harder for their relationship.  But now, Derek’s on his doorstep, and he needs help.  Time and distance did little to douse their attraction for each other.  And when Derek returns, Charles is ready to stake the claim he should have made in Athens.  Except if he on holds too tightly, he’ll earn nothing but resentment.  Yet he let Derek go once, and he won’t make the same mistake again.  He just has to convince him that they both need one thing – each other. 

Reviews   

“The characters of Derek and Charles flowed well together. Even when they were at odds with each other, the reader still felt their underlying feeling of love towards each other. Derek has to overcome his issues of desertion by his mother to trust that Charles will be there for him. Many people live with these same fears, but few have the courage to trust one more time as Derek did. I enjoyed the Equestrian scenes and felt they added depth to the storyline. Thank go to Ms. Winter for an enjoyable read.”
- Teresa, Fallen Angel Reviews

“RIDING PARTNERS is one of those stories that focuses on the intricacies and complications of a relationship.  Derek’s chaotic internal turmoil is perfectly complemented by Charles’s unfaltering steadfastness and strength.  Their romance is a tender, sparkling tale set in the fascinating world of equestrian competition.  If you like your men complicated and your love scenes hot and steamy, be sure to saddle up with this erotic short story guaranteed to be a ride you won’t forget.”
- Isabelle, RRT Erotic

“Riding Partner intrigued me from the beginning.  Derek and Charles were the only characters explicated and I felt only they were necessary to make the plot complete.  Long time friends, horse farm partners and lovers, I was introduced to the two men at a difficult time in their lives.  Ms. Winter has a wonderful grasp on her genre, with her characters as real as life.  Sexually, Charles and Derek absolutely reached the WOW factor!  This particular story added the destructive nature of lack of trust, which added a great deal to its premise.  Ms. Winter has long been a favorite author of mine and I was pleased to be able to read this book.” 
- 4 stars, Marcy Arbitman, JERR

“Riding Partner was a novel of forgiveness.  Derek had to forgive himself for not being able to handle failure and running from Charles, and Charles had to be able to forgive himself for allowing Derek to leave.  Both men still loved each other and when they finally accepted the other, faults and all, the storyline was pure reading heaven.

I haven’t read very many books by Mary Winter but I am glad that I read Riding Partner.  I found it to be very well written that I felt connected to and was happy to be a witness to the love shared between the two men.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading Riding Partner and can’t wait to explore Mary Winter’s other books”
 - Talia Ricci, Joyfully Reviewed

Excerpt

Twenty-nine minutes later, Derek anxiously sat in Charles’ study. He’d already made a circuit of the room, once again reacquainting himself with the trophies and pictures that adorned the wall. A state-of-the-art computer system sat in the corner, and books on horses and horsemanship lined the floor-to-ceiling bookcases. Nestled among the books were the television and VCR on which they had spent many hours watching training films.

Derek crossed his legs and leaned back in the leather chair opposite Charles’ desk. One missed jump and their relationship had fallen as easily as the brightly painted obstacle itself. Derek removed his cap and ran his fingers through his hair. They’d fought over nothing really, when he looked back on it, and he’d walked out of their room and Charles’ life with barely a second thought.

Footsteps in the hall drew him from his musings. Charles stepped into the room. A pair of tight jeans revealed the taut, corded muscles of his thighs and calves, achieved from hours of riding. His button-down shirt hung open, revealing a large expanse of his tanned chest. A small trail of dark hair began between his nipples and arrowed down to disappear beneath the waistband of his jeans. Dragging his gaze back to Charles’ face, Derek noticed the water still dripping from his damp hair. He must have showered in the barn.

“What can I do for you?” Charles’ businesslike words forced Derek’s mind away from his physical charms and back to the real reason he was here.

“I need to sell Dionysus,” Derek said. He closed his eyes against the pain welling deep inside him at the need to sell his beloved horse. When he opened his eyes, he saw Charles had seated himself behind the desk. His gaze held compassion, giving Derek the strength to take a deep breath and continue. “You know my dad died last month,” he said, hurrying through the words before grief could catch up with him. “I never took his name off the farm’s title and it turns out he mortgaged it to the hilt. My equity is gone and he left me with some pretty hefty bills that I hadn’t known about. If I want to even think about keeping the farm I’m going to have to sell Dionysus, and I want him to go to you. I’ve thought about selling the farm, but that raises other complications.” Derek leaned forward, resting his folded hands on the edge of the desk.

“I didn’t know,” Charles replied. He leaned forward and laid his hand across his ex-lover’s. Derek tried to ignore the rush of warmth that flooded through him. “I’m sorry. I had heard that your father died, had tried to call a few times, but you were never home.”

He pulled his hand back, opened his desk drawer and pulled out a checkbook. “How much do you need?”

Derek shook his head. “I won’t be indebted to you, Charles. I need far more than a simple loan. Selling Dionysus will only be the tip of what I need to repay Dad’s gambling debts.” He exhaled a sigh. “You know, I thought things were going to be all right when his job transferred him to California.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I thought Dad had stopped gambling. That’s what he told me anyway, and every time I visited him out there it really looked like he had made a new life for himself. I can’t believe how wrong I was.”

Charles rose to his feet, walked around the desk and perched on the edge so he sat right in front of Derek. Reaching out, he laid a hand on the man’s shoulder. “I don’t want to take Dio from you, and I’m so sorry you have to go through this.” Charles leaned forward and lightly brushed the pad of his thumb against Derek’s full lower lip. “I’ve thought about this moment ever since you left…when we’d finally be able to talk again. God, Derek, I’m so sorry. I’m not going to compound my errors by taking Dio, too.”

Derek stifled a chuckle. Reaching out, he placed his hand on Charles’ thigh. Heat radiated into his palm and he tried to ignore the fact that if he moved his hand a few inches higher he could cup Charles’ erection through his jeans. “Damn it, Charles, if you made errors then so did I, and if you knew how many times-”

Charles placed his fingers on Derek’s lips. “Shhh,” he said. “I know.” Reaching down, he took Derek’s hand in his own and brought it to his lips. He placed tiny kisses along the palm, giving gentle nips with his teeth. “If you knew how long I dreamed of doing this.”

Derek stood. He stepped forward, placing himself within the cradle of Charles’ spread thighs. It felt so good, so right to be reunited, especially after all his recent pain. Gently he pulled his hand away and leaned forward to kiss Charles. He brushed his lips across his friend’s, feeling his own cock harden with desire. He nibbled the man’s lower lip, traced the seam with this tongue and felt him open his mouth for him. The past fell away and suddenly it was just the two of them, as if nothing had ever happened.

With a groan, Charles slid his hands around him, allowing them to trail across Derek’s back before cupping his shoulders to hold him close. With his tongue, Derek coaxed and teased Charles until he returned the kiss with as much fervor. Derek cupped his hips, rocking him into his erection. He felt the ridge of Charles’ arousal through the jeans and he moaned in pleasure.

Derek slid his hands beneath Charles’ shirt, tracing his hands over contours both new and familiar at the same time, feeling the hard muscles beneath the skin. The need for air parted their lips, and Derek sucked in a large breath. He flicked his thumbs across Charles’ nipples, delighting in the shudder that raced through the man’s body.

“Wait,” Charles said. He leaned back and opened a desk drawer, pulling out a box before closing the drawer again, and Derek smiled when he saw the package of condoms that Charles set next to them on the desk.

Leaning forward, Charles kissed Derek again, pulling the polo shirt free of his jeans and allowing his hands to begin their own exploration over his torso. He stroked Derek’s tongue with his own, long strokes that made Derek think of his ex-lover’s lips around his cock. Charles sucked on his tongue, causing a pull lower in Derek’s body.

Sliding his hands over Charles’ chest, Derek paused at the waistband of his jeans. He opened them, undoing each button with shaking fingers. Charles’ cock rose through the opening, unimpeded by underwear, and Derek smelled the heady musk of him. He curled his hands around the shaft, stroking gently from base to tip. Charles moaned.

Derek tightened his hands, stroking harder, and Charles reached for the waistband of Derek’s jeans.

“I want to fuck you,” Charles said as he unfastened the button and slowly lowered the zipper. Through his briefs, Derek’s cock bulged against the opening, and Charles cupped him through the cotton fabric.

“Yes,” Derek hissed as Charles peeled down his briefs and jeans.