Nikki heard the soft, coaxing voice and couldn’t help but follow his command. Looking down into his dark, concerned eyes, she drew strength from him, felt the power in his hand on her thigh. And then it hit her…his hand was on her thigh and all those crazy, sexual feelings overwhelmed her fear of being on top of the horse. Her eyes dropped from his to her thigh, looking at his dark hand against the tan of her riding pants.
He moved his hand slightly, trying to give her both comfort and distraction. “See? Nella doesn’t mind you being on her shoulders at all.”
“I’m on her back,” she countered. “Horses don’t have shoulders.”
He laughed softly and shook his head. “Actually, you’re more on her shoulders than you realize. A few inches back and you’d be on her spine and you might hurt her, but here on her shoulders, she has a lot of strength. She’s perfectly fine.” He saw the doubt in her eyes. “Think about a toddler riding on the shoulders of his father. The toddler’s weight is so small compared to that of his father, the dad doesn’t even feel it. The only concern the father has is not letting his child fall off of his shoulders.” He let that sink in for a moment. “A horse feels the same way. In fact, if you lean to the right or the left, the horse assumes you’re turning that way as well and will move with you. They are very sensitive to your movements.”
Nikki tried to listen to what he was telling her, but in reality, she was too focused on his hand and the way it felt against her leg. “I don’t….”
“Don’t think. Riding a horse is all about feeling, about being one with the horse.”
She didn’t believe him, but she wasn’t going to argue with him. She suddenly realized that, the sooner he got through this lesson, the faster she could get off the horse. “I’m fine,” she replied and her eyes looked back down at his hand, still resting on her thigh.
Nazar saw her silent admonition to remove his hand, but he ignored it. “So how do you feel?”
“Everything is fine. I’m fine. The horse is fine.”
She was jabbering and knew it, but between her fear of the horse and the heat in his hand, she was struggling to concentrate on his words.
“So you’re all fine. Let’s go out,” said.
Nikki stiffened and saw the horse’s head move back and forth. “Did I hurt her?” she asked nervously.
Nella snorted again and Nazar took hold of the reins under her chin. “You haven’t done anything. She just senses your nervousness. She’s talking to you if you’d care to listen.”
Nikki didn’t reply, not sure if she’d ever believe that the horse was actually speaking, but if he believed it, who was she to judge. So the man had a screw loose! She’d done some crazy things in her life as well. Mainly, coming here, thinking she could free her friend from the palace prison.
As Nazar walked the horse and Nikki, out into the sunshine, she looked down at him, wondering about why he was doing this. Why didn’t he just toss her in a prison or have his wicked way with her? The man certainly had the power. He had the authority to do the first, and he knew she was attracted to him enough so he could accomplish the second. The man was definitely a mystery. And she didn’t like mysteries. Rachel liked figuring out puzzles and Brianna was good at reading people. Nikki was just good at reading, writing and barreling through life. She wouldn’t put up with crap from her students, even if it was just one of them trying to get out of their homework.
She sighed and held onto the reins more tightly.
When Nazar stopped and looked up at her, he came closer. “Okay, here are a few tips.” He took her foot and settled it into the stirrup. “Keep your heels down and don’t put your full foot into the stirrup.”
“Why not?” she asked, looking down and trying to see her foot. “And why heels down?”
He went through all the reasons, explaining that the stirrup would automatically release if she fell off, but it was safer to keep the bar of the stirrup on the balls of her feet. Keeping her heels lower meant that she would have better balance. She nodded her head to each thing he said, but there was a lot to remember. When he was finished, he looked up at her and said, “Got all that?”
She only nodded, too terrified of what was to come next. “I think so.”
He smiled, realizing she had no clue what he’d just said. “We’re just going to walk around. You’re going to be okay.”
She nodded again, not feeling very confident despite his reassurances.
Nazar walked forward, a nice, slow walk. The horse moved along with him and, after a few minutes, she thought it might be okay. “Keep your chest up,” he told her. “Your hands need to hold the reins like this,” he said and showed her how to grip them so they wouldn’t slip. “And you’re too stiff. Move with the horse.”
Nikki had no idea how to move with the horse but she straightened her spine.
“Look where you’re going, not down at the horse. Nella will take care of you. Just tell her where you want to go.”
“I thought you were telling her where to go!” she snapped but looked up, straight between the fuzzy ears in front of her that twitched with her harsh voice.
Nazar chuckled, liking the way she was getting feisty again. He preferred her like this rather than scared. It was more akin to her normal personality. “You look upwards so you know where to guide her. And yes, I’m guiding her, but you should also be using your legs to guide the horse too.”
That stumped her. “My legs? I thought I was only using them to stay on the horse!”
He looked up at her, then down at her legs. “Your legs do keep you in the saddle. They also tell the horse to turn right or left, back up, stop or even speed up.”
She looked down at him, not believing him at all. “Are you teasing me?” she asked, growing irritated by everything she had to remember.
He laughed. “No. It seems like a lot, but in a few lessons, this will all be instinctive. I promise.”
She grimaced as if she were still doubtful. “Okay, so I’m riding the horse. This means I’ve accomplished your challenge, right?”
Nikki was more than ready to get down off of the horse. Nella definitely wasn’t as scary as she’d originally thought, but that didn’t mean she wanted to continue.