Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Zane
“You ready?” I asked, handing Andi the lead rope.
She hesitated for a beat before reaching for it. Her grip was tight, knuckles white, and she swallowed hard as she started leading the buckskin mare from the pasture toward the barn.
“You doin’ okay, princess?” I asked, eyeing the stiffness in her shoulders. “You kind of look like you’re gonna throw up.”
“I’m fine,” she lied. Anyone with eyes could see she was nervous as hell. But I didn’t push. She was already being brave just standing here.
Once we were inside, I showed her how to clip the horse’s halter to the crossties and she watched, wide-eyed, like she wasn’t sure whether the horse—or maybe even I—was going to bite her or something.
“Be right back,” I said, heading to grab the tack. When I returned, her face had gone pale.
“Still fine?” I asked, brow raised.
She gave me a sheepish nod. “What do you do first?”
The corner of my mouth lifted, just a little. “I’ll show you how this works today,” I said, settling into a steady tone. “Next time, I’ll talk you through it while you do the work. After that, you’re on your own.”
The look on her face said terrified, but she nodded again.
I saddled the mare slowly, talking her through every step, and she watched carefully. “And that’s how it’s done,” I said when I stepped back. “Simple, right?”
“You did that really fast,” she said.
“Years of practice.” I chuckled. “You’ll have it down in no time. Come on.”
I handed her the reins and, together, we walked the mare outside to the round pen.
Closing the gate behind us, I gestured for her to stop and explained how to get on.
“Left hand on the saddle horn, left foot in the stirrup. Then grab the back of the seat with your right hand, haul yourself up, and swing your right leg over to the other side.”
She blinked at me. “You want me to grab what and put my foot where?”
I grinned. “Saddle horn. Stirrup. Right here.” I pointed to each.
“Oh. Okay,” she said, looking adorably overwhelmed.
She gave it a go—gave it effort—but didn’t make it far.
“Want some help?”
“Please.”
I crouched beside her, cupping my hands for a leg up. “Foot here. Ready? One, two, three—”
She pushed off just fine, but the momentum was a little too much. She went up, over, and then straight back down—hard—into the dirt.
“Holy shit, are you okay?” I rushed around the horse, concerned but at the same time shocked as shit.
“Ow,” she said, pushing herself upright.
“Did you bruise your butt?” I teased, only after it was obvious she was physically okay.
“Ha, ha,” she deadpanned.
“Sorry,” I said, still grinning. “I’ve just never seen anyone do that outside of a movie.”
I offered my hand. She brushed the dirt from hers, took mine, and I helped her up.
“I think I’ll try it without your help this time,” she said with a determined look.
“You got it.” I stepped back and watched.
She hesitated with one foot in the stirrup, her hand white-knuckled on the saddle horn.
I could already tell her whole body was locked up tight.
Still, she gave it another go, hauling herself up and over.
She didn’t fall this time, but the second her weight settled into the saddle, the mare shifted uneasily beneath her.
Andi gasped and grabbed the horn again. “She’s moving. Why is she moving?”
“She’s reacting to you,” I said, stepping in close. “You’re tense, and she feels it.”
The mare sidestepped again, and I reached for the reins to settle her. My voice stayed calm, even. “Hey, easy girl. You’re okay.” I ran a hand along the mare’s neck, then looked up at Andi. “Breathe, Andi. You’ve got this.”
She nodded, but I could see the fear clinging to her. Her shoulders were up to her ears. Her knees pinched tight. Eyes wide like they’d seen a ghost.
I studied her for one more second, then made a quick decision. “Mind if I hop up behind you?”
She blinked. “You want to get on…with me?”
I was already swinging up behind her. The mare barely flinched, being well trained and used to two riders, as I settled in, my thighs bracketing Andi’s, and leaned in slightly.
“Let me show you something,” I said, voice low by her ear.
“Horses are insanely sensitive. They feel everything we do…pressure, tension…even what’s going on in our heads. ”
Slowly, I slid my hands under her arms and gently splayed them just below her ribs. “Right now, imagine my hands are your legs. This…” I gave a firm, inward squeeze. “This is what you’re doing.”
Her breath hitched.
I waited. “What does that feel like to you?”
“Like…panic,” she said softly. “Like you’re scared.”
“Exactly,” I murmured. “That’s what the horse feels.
She doesn’t know if you’re scared of her, or something else, or if she should be scared too.
But that energy? She feeds off it.” I softened my grip, sliding my hands lower slightly to rest at her hips.
“Now…try letting go of the fear. Relax. Breathe.”
I felt her inhale, deeper this time, then exhale slowly.
“Good,” I said, nodding. “Feel the difference?”
She nodded.
I kept one hand lightly on her hip as the other took the reins. “Let’s walk.” I guided the mare forward with a soft nudge. She stepped out smoothly, and I felt Andi’s body soften—still a little stiff but loosening.
We made a slow circle, then another.
“You’re doing great,” I said after a minute. “Think you can try it solo now?”
She glanced back at me, her eyes brighter. “Yeah. I think I can.”
I slid off smoothly and landed beside her, giving her leg a small, reassuring squeeze as I handed her the reins and backed away.
With a gentle nudge, she moved the mare to the rail, but I saw it—the way her back went straight.
The way her legs tensed. She clung to the horn with one hand, reins clutched tight in the other.
Her posture screamed do not trust this horse, and the mare was starting to feel it.
“Hey,” I called out gently. “How’s it going?”
“I’m scared I’m going to fall off.”
“You won’t.” I stepped closer but kept my hands to myself. “Take a breath. Relax your legs a little.”
Her thighs were rigid, gripping the saddle like a vise.
“Remember, when you get all tight like that you’re telling her you’re scared,” I said. “Horses feel everything. That’s what makes them incredible…and unforgiving. They mirror you.”
She looked down at her hands, at her death grip on the horn. “What do I do?”
I stepped a little closer. “Trust her. And trust yourself. Let your hips move with her, not against her.”
She tried—sort of—but still looked like a scared-to-death statue sitting on one of our calmest horses.
“Okay, now you’re getting it,” I said. “Feel how her body rocks under you?”
“Kind of.”
“That’s because you’re still fighting it. You want the real trick?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I’m scared to ask.”
“Move your hips like you would…” I paused for a second, hesitating on just how blunt I should be with her before settling on, “...in bed.”
“In bed?” she asked, her expression stretched in confusion.
“Yes, Andi, in bed.” I swallowed a chuckle because she wasn’t making this easy. “With a man,” I added.
Her expression softened then, sliding into realization as she said, “Are you—are you talking about…?”
“Sex?” I supplied and held back a smirk as her cheeks went pink. “Yes, ma’am, I am. That’s the trick. Rock your hips like you’re having sex.”
She snapped her eyes to mine. “Zane!”
I grinned then, unable to hold it back any longer. “Hey, I’m not sayin’ it to be crude. Think about it: hips loose, rhythm steady, moving with someone instead of against them.” My voice was lower now, steadier, no longer holding that edge of teasing. “Trust the rhythm. Let it carry you.”
She stared at me for a second like she was trying to decide whether to laugh or slap me…and then she actually tried it.
And hell if it didn’t work.
Her body eased, the tension uncoiling from her hips like a rope let loose.
Not perfectly. Not instantly. But there was flow now.
Give. Trust. She stopped fighting the movement and started riding it.
And I… I was in a shit ton of trouble. Big, cold-shower trouble as her hips moved in sync with the mare’s gait, smooth and easy now, and every damn part of me noticed.
I swallowed hard, watching her. “That’s it.”
She looked over at me, her cheeks pink. “How does this look?”
Like I’m in way over my fucking head.
“You nailed it,” I said, forcing the grit out of my voice as I quickly cleared my throat and stepped beside the mare. “You looked like a natural.”
She gave a breathless little laugh. “That was fun.” And something in her face softened—be it pride, confidence, joy. It lit her up.
“Let’s stop there for today,” I said. “End on a win.”
She nodded, still glowing, as I helped her dismount, my hands at her waist. I felt her tremble—not from fear this time, but…
something else. Something that made my own skin feel like it was buzzing with static.
Her long, dark hair brushed my cheek as she slid down with my help, and when our eyes met, something inside me misfired.
I was supposed to be keeping my distance—earning her trust so I could figure out what she was hiding.
But in that moment, I wasn’t thinking like a man with a plan.
I was just thinking about her.