I continued to stare at the beautiful creature. She was already saddled and tossing her head restlessly.

I noticed absently where all of the horses from the stalls had been. The were frolicking and eating in a large pasture just behind Princess’s corral.

“You want to get on her, see how she feels?” Pete asked, smiling at me. He had his elbows propped up on the high post of the corral. “Mr. Cavendish said you had some injuries, so we can just work on your seat for today. You set the pace. We’ll go however fast you want.”

“You’re going to teach me to ride?” I asked him, surprised. I had oddly assumed James would be teaching me. This made more sense, I supposed.

He shrugged, smiling. “Who else? I train the horses, so why not the people that ride them?”

“Okay, yeah, I’d like to ride her. She’s exquisite.”

He gave me a wicked grin.

It made me want to shiver, but not in distaste.

“Like her rider,” he said, his tone rich with sin. “I can see why the boss wanted to see you on her.

Come on, ma chere, let’s get you mounted.”

I blushed at his terminology, but followed him to the palomino.

I petted her nose first, and she sniffed me, flipping her lovely white hair.

“She seems to like you fine so far,” Pete observed. She had lovely amber eyes. “Come here, ma chere,”

Pete said, standing at the horse’s side.

I stepped closer to him, but not too close. He tsk’d at me. “I won’t bite. Come here. I’ll help you on her back.”

I stepped even closer, until I felt like I was way too close. He turned me by the shoulders, his touch gentle but dominant. I sucked in a breath.

He grabbed my hips and lifted me suddenly.

“Left foot in the stirrup, right over the horse,” he said, not even breathless from the impressive lift. I did what he said, and Princess shifted restlessly when I sat in the saddle. “Now, your seat is the most important part. If you have that down correctly, it’ll make everything else work right. You actually look natural on that horse, Bianca.” As he spoke, he gripped my thigh, pushing it against the horse firmly.

His grip moved down to my foot, pushing my toe in slightly, and my heel down. “Heels down, toes in.

And remember to grip her real, real tight with your thighs. She has a sensitive mouth, which is good.

That’s what I meant about her not having bad habits. But it means you’re gonna be real light with the reigns. Real light. Most of your control will be gained from the movement of your legs.”

I followed his instructions carefully, mindful of every part of my body, not wanting to mess up.

“Good,” he said approvingly. “Your legs look amazing. Mr. Cavendish said you hadn’t ridden before, so you must be a real natural to look so good, so fast. It doesn’t hurt that you have killer legs.” He gave me an appreciative smile at his last comment, and I blushed involuntarily.

The man was flustering me, for some odd reason. He moved to my other side, making a pleased sound in his throat. The sound made me blush harder.

“Look at you,” he murmured. “I didn’t even have to touch this leg, and you fixed it perfectly.”

He brought out the riding crop he’d tucked into his chap, and brushed it lightly along my back. My eyes flew to his in shock, trying to read his intent.

“Arch your back, ma chere,” he instructed. I complied automatically, the motion seating me more securely in the saddle. “Perfect. Your seat is looking great,” he said, still not removing the crop from my back. “You think you feel up to walking her a bit?”

I was nodding as I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked up to see James striding towards us out of the stable, looking positively livid.

Pete spotted him at the same time I did. He gave his boss an inquiring look.

James didn’t speak until he was intimidatingly close to the other man. James was maybe an inch taller than Pete, but he made that inch work to his advantage, glaring down at the other man.

“Give me that crop, Pete,” James said through gritted teeth.

Pete obeyed, looking startled.

“I’ll be training Bianca. And don’t ever lay another finger on her. Or anything else, for that matter. Do you understand?” James asked, his voice filled with rage. His hands were clenched, one around the offending crop.

Pete nodded, his mouth curving down in a frown.

“Leave us, Pete,” James ordered coldly.

Pete left instantly, without saying one word, though he adopted a leisurely pace.

James turned his livid eyes to me. He looked furious, but I saw the hurt there, too. I didn’t understand it, didn’t understand him.

He gripped my thigh with his free hand, his head dropping forward suddenly, and he laid his cheek on my thigh, putting his hand on my horse’s neck. I stroked my hand over his hair, and he shuddered under my touch.

I should be mad at him, I thought, for embarrassing me, for embarrassing his trainer, but I just wasn’t.

He seemed almost injured by the exchange. While I didn’t understand it, I wasn’t immune to his pain.

“I can’t stand seeing that,” he told me finally, his voice harsh and raw. “When I see another man touch you, I want to kill him. Why were you letting him touch you, Bianca? Do you want him?”

I stroked his hair. “I thought he was supposed to teach me to ride. You overreacted, James. He was just showing me how to sit.”

“I saw your face. You were reacting to him. Don’t lie to me. I know that look. And he wanted you. I saw his face, as well.”

I froze. I had been reacting to him, in a way, though I hadn’t been about to do anything about it. It had been the simple reaction of a woman meeting a man whom she sensed could please her, a man who wanted to. I had simply felt an attraction, when I was seldom attracted. But it was nothing to compare to my reaction to just the sight of James, just the thought of him.

I licked my lips. “I-it was nothing. I was startled by the crop. I think you know why. I couldn’t believe he had used it in that way.”

“He was dominating you, and you were submitting to him. I know what I saw.”

I continued to stroke his hair when he fell silent, searching for the right words. “If that was what was happening, it wasn’t deliberate, and I didn’t understand it. Even if he had made a pass at me, which he didn’t, I would have turned him down.”

He was shaking his head before I finished. “It’s not enough, Bianca. It’s not just about the sex. It’s about the ownership. I want you to promise me that you won’t let another man touch you. And if they do, you need to pull away immediately. Even if it’s just here.” He reached up, touching my elbow, his eyes angry and charged.

My brows drew together in a frown. “Stephan-“ “I’m not talking about Stephan. Stephan is the exception, of course.”

I sighed at him, wanting to get down from the horse. “You’re asking too much, James. Flight attendants hug every time they see each other. I’m already odd enough, without finding new things to separate me from everyone else. And most of the men I touch are gay, you know.”

“Fine. I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about you thinking about how I would react to seeing who was touching you, and to react accordingly. If you think it would bother me, don’t do it. How about that?”

I glared. “And what about you? What arbitrary rules do I get to impose on you?”

He straightened, holding his hands out as if in deference. “Name them. I’ll be happy to oblige any whim that makes you happy.”

“Fine. No one is allowed to touch you, either.”

“That’s an easy one. Done.” He closed his eyes, leaning his face into my leg again. “The sight of him touching you with that crop made me insane. I can’t get that picture out of my head. I want to rip him apart, the kinky bastard.”

I nearly laughed. James should talk… but I didn’t think pointing that out would help.

I stroked his hair, trying to comfort him. His hair was soft and silky, and so thick, especially for such a light color. I stroked it away from his golden kissed skin.

We stayed like that for several minutes, neither of us saying a word. Princess shifted impatiently but was otherwise cooperative. James began to stroke her neck, making soothing noises, not taking his cheek off of my thigh.

Eventually he straightened, adjusting my hands on the reigns, then studying my ‘seat’ in the saddle. He poked the spot between my shoulder blades with one finger. “Shoulders back,” he instructed.

“Perfect,” he said when I complied.

“Goddammit,” he said suddenly. “He put you on her without a helmet?” He lifted his arms up to me, almost in the stance of coaxing a child into his arms.

I leaned down to him, and he pulled me off of the horse like a rag doll.

He laughed, the moody bastard. “We’ll have to work on your dismount. Come. Let’s get you a helmet.”

We found several, in what he called a tack room. James went immediately to a black one on the wall, fitting it onto my head.

“Feel good?” he asked.

I nodded. He pulled me back out to Princess, who was trotting in circles around the corral. He made a clicking noise at her, and she came to him. She held perfectly still when she was near us, as though waiting for me to mount her.

James glanced around, his brows knitting together. “Where’s the mounting block?” he asked, looking at me.

I shrugged, wondering why he thought I should know.

“Where did you mount her?”

I grimaced, seeing where this was going.

“Right here,” I said, resigned for another of his outbursts.

His eyes narrowed. “How?”

“Pete lifted me onto her back.”

“Mother. Fucker,” he said through clenched teeth. But that was all.

He lifted me much like Pete had, but I knew what to do with my legs at that point, so he didn’t have to instruct me. I adjusted myself into my seat as they had told me. Back arched, shoulders back, toes in, heels down, thighs tensed. I kept my reigns steady but put no pressure on the horse’s mouth.

“Beautiful seat. You’re a natural. You’re going to pick this up in no time. You feel up to walking her around a bit?”

I nodded.

“You want me to lead you, or do you want to try controlling her? You’re going to need to be very light on her reigns. Shift in your saddle to show her where you want her to go. It’s all about the legwork, with the really good thoroughbreds. If you use her reigns too roughly she’s liable to buck, understand?”

The mention of bucking intimidated me, but I nodded, willing to at least try.

James unsnapped her lead rope and stepped back. He looked a little worried. It wasn’t reassuring.

“Ok, now walk her around the corral. Hug the edges.”

I did, afraid to tug at the reigns even a little, sitting forward and leaning how I wanted her to go while gripping with my thighs. She obeyed beautifully, her walk smooth and quick. There was no pain at all in my ribs as she moved, her gait was so smooth.