Chapter 9
Ylva did her best not to show her nervousness but there was no denying that being atop a horse was daunting and Ulf’s powerful gelding, though not as bad as Fáfnir, was nothing like the elegant Doe.
Nevertheless, she wanted to learn. Ulf had been generous enough to offer to teach her and she didn’t want to miss the opportunity.
“Sit up straight,” he instructed, more serious than she had ever seen him. “Place the ball of your foot on the stirrups and lower your heels. Now take hold of the reins. Like so.”
He took hold of her left hand and showed her how to grip the leather reins with three fingers only, leaving her little finger free.
She nodded, rather nonplussed that this was one of the first things he should tell her.
That she had to sit a certain way, she had rather expected.
But who would have thought that there was a special way of holding the reins?
However, he clearly knew what he was doing so she nodded and adjusted the grip of her right hand accordingly.
“Ready?” Ulf asked, taking a step back.
“Yes.”
He faced forward and started walking in the direction of the cliff.
As if by magic, the horse followed. Ylva did her best to accompany the rolling gait with her body.
After a short while, Ulf lifted his bent right arm and turned to the left.
The horse followed. It was as if the two of them were linked by an invisible rope, something rather astonishing to see.
They went round a few loops in that manner, Ulf asking her to turn her body in the direction they wanted to go each time.
“Do you feel him between your legs, moving back and forth?” he was saying.
“You need to make sure you move along with him, that you relax and let your body adjust to the rolling motion. Don’t go against it.
Just feel, close your eyes if you need to.
Riding is a partnership, each doing his part.
It involves two bodies moving in unison. ”
Heat invaded Ylva’s cheeks. Did he have any idea that his words could be taken in a different way? Or perhaps it was her mind that was addled by desire, because he was still bare-chested and barefoot, having only put his braies back on.
“Are you ready to try trotting?” Ulf asked after a while. “We’ll go slow.”
“Yes.” She was ready for anything. Her trust in the man by her side and the horse working with him was absolute.
Ulf clicked his tongue and straightened himself up. The rhythm instantly changed, going distinctively bumpier. Oh, yes, this she remembered from the day they had ridden into town, it was nothing like the gentle rolling she had been getting used to, and far more uncomfortable.
“I think I’m doing this wrong,” she called out. It was hard not to sound panicked when she was being tossed about like a rag doll. Would she fall? Be thrown from the saddle?
“You’re not doing anything wrong, you’re just not used to trotting.
” Ulf sounded as calm as she was agitated.
He didn’t seem to see any problems with what was happening.
It helped her to relax a little. “You need to raise yourself off the saddle every other step, using the ball of your foot to push yourself up. One, two, one, two.”
As he trotted alongside the horse, he raised his shoulders in rhythm to his counting, encouraging her to do the same with her whole body.
It took a while but she eventually managed to do as she was told.
It did feel more comfortable. But it didn’t take her long to see that doing it right was exhausting.
“I need to—”
As soon as she opened her mouth, the jolting stopped.
She blinked. It was as if Ulf had read her mind, and in turn, the gelding had read his.
Of course she knew there had to be more to it than this but she was amazed once more at the connection between man and beast. How good it would be to feel at one with such a splendid animal…
They walked along for another few moments, Ylva being the one directing the horse this time. Once she had caught her breath she tried to trot again, and was able to improve on what Ulf called the rising trot. Finally, they slowed down to a halt by the water.
“Well done. For a first lesson, you did exceptionally well.”
She was sure he would have said that regardless of what had actually happened, but she accepted the compliment, because it had been an achievement. “I think I did the best I could.”
“Definitely. Now, seeing how good it went, do you want to try a short burst of canter to finish off the lesson?”
“I…” Hope and delight shot through her. “Could we really do that?”
“Yes. But only if you want to. You can trust me and my friend, but it has to be your decision.”
“Yes. Please. I want to try.” Now that she was here, there was no way she was going to deny herself this opportunity. Rarely had she had cause to be proud of herself, and rarely had she taken as much pleasure in anything as this lesson.
“Stay here while I go over there. The horse will not move, I promise. When I’m far enough away, I will call him. Hold on to his mane if you need to and just enjoy.”
His mane? Ylva gave the coarse hair a caress. Could she really pull on it? “Will I not hurt him?”
“No. Don’t worry. Horses are not like us in that regard.” He smiled, as if pleased she didn’t want to hurt his mount. “I will be over there, by the rocks.”
The mention of the rocks caused Ylva to smile. “Are you sure the couple has finished…whatever they were doing?”
Ulf snorted. “Judging from what we heard I would say that the man, at least, has.”
Yes. Probably. In any case, she cared not.
“Very well. See you shortly.”
Ulf started to walk away from them, slowly at first, keeping his gaze on the horse, as if to order him to stay where he was, then turned around and picked up speed.
Once he had reached the rocks, he turned around and whistled.
The horse lurched forward—and Ylva felt as if she were flying.
It was the most wonderful feeling of freedom.
She was holding on to the mane and laughing at the same time, thundering toward a smiling Ulf.
All too soon, he lifted a hand and everything slowed down, then stopped.
Out of breath, eyes burning and chest heaving, Ylva slid from the saddle, landed in a graceless manner—and promptly fell onto her backside.
She picked herself up swiftly, too happy to care or even mention the fall from grace. “I-I… It was—”
She had no idea what she wanted to say. Fortunately, Ulf seemed satisfied with her reaction. “I think you liked that. And you did gallop, not merely canter, you know.”
Yes. It had felt a lot faster than it had earlier, while they had ridden to the beach together. “I did?”
“You most certainly did. I’m impressed.”
“Oh, I loved it, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.”
Ylva knew she was on the edge of tears and she didn’t want Ulf to witness it, because then he might think she had been scared by the galloping.
She had not, she was simply overwhelmed by what she had felt.
The freedom, the happiness, the pride. On impulse, she threw her arms around the horse’s neck and gave him a long, heartfelt hug, keeping her eyes screwed shut until she had herself under control once more.
“Thank you,” she murmured in his ear over and over again.
Her new life was well and truly starting.
Finally, she dared to turn around. Ulf was smiling to himself, arms folded across his chest.
“Do you think I could have more of that bread now?” she asked shyly. “I’m feeling rather hungry.”
He burst out laughing. “Of course, you will do. Hungry and thirsty, I wager.”
“Yes.” And he would be thirsty as well, after all that running. Ylva made to turn to the blanket and winced. Every muscle in her body protested when she took her first step. “I fear I might well be sore tomorrow,” she said, not feeling sorry at all. Some things were worth paying a price for.
“Yes, I fear you might. Come.”
They sat on the blanket and devoured the rest of the food. Just as they finished, the sun was swallowed by the cliffs.
“Perfect timing,” Ulf observed, placing everything back into the saddle bag. “It’s time to go.”
Ylva nodded, already knowing she would treasure the memory of this perfect day forever.
As they rode back to the village, Ulf lost himself in all sorts of musings involving, unsurprisingly, the woman currently nestled in his arms.
Would he ever get the image of Ylva’s perfect breasts, with their pink nipples puckered by the cold and the water clinging to them, out of his mind?
He hadn’t meant to expose her but the lack of resistance when he had lifted her from the seabed had taken him by surprise, and allowed him to feast his eyes on the most glorious sight he had ever seen.
He afforded a smile.
He had wished for an adventurous woman the other day, only to regret the thought when she had cut his side a moment later.
Now, he knew he had been right to think that an adventurous woman was the kind of woman he wanted in his life.
This afternoon was proof of it. He lusted after Ylva’s perfect body, he admired her beauty, but, even more to the point, he was in awe of her courage.
The way she had galloped to him on that beach, with her hair blazing a trail behind her, had been incredible.
Being with someone who was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside, who was the epitome of a daring spirit, was showing him what he had been lacking in his life.
His smile broadened when he noticed that she had barely said a word from the moment they had set off, whereas on the way to the beach, she had talked incessantly.
No doubt exhausted by the sea air, her riding lesson and the relief of finally being able to live a normal life, she was unable to fight her fatigue.
“I think I’m falling asleep,” she mumbled.