“My furry self doesn’t like anybody touching me at all. He can be a bit stroppy at times,” Ian confessed, and gasped, then added quickly, “I’m sure he’ll make an exception for you. Definitely for you.”
Rick didn’t have any worries about that. He couldn’t quite place what type of shifter Ian was. From what he could tell, he’d think Ian’s animal side wasn’t as big as his, and there was a bit of attitude behind it. It was almost as though Rick’s bear was already communicating with Ian’s animal side, and Rick was going to count that as a win. And for now, he had to focus on what they were doing.
When it came to saddling the animals up, Rick helped Ian with his first. Not that Ian had a problem with the giant saddles that they were putting on, but he made sure that everything was securely tightened, not to hurt the horse, and to make sure that Ian wouldn’t slide off. He showed Ian how to slide his fingers under the girth strap and then wait a moment and then tighten it again because some horses were great at blowing out their guts when the cinch tightened and then letting that breath out so that the strap was loose again.
“Have you ever ridden a horse before?” Rick asked, suddenly worried at the way Ian was eyeing up the stirrup closest to him.
“This is the first time I’ve been anywhere near a horse. But it shouldn’t be too hard, right? Like I’ve been on a motorbike and not fallen off.”
Oh, shit. Rick’s heart was in his mouth. “Yeah, no, riding a horse is not like riding a motorbike. For one thing, you can’t turn it off if you’re going in the wrong direction.” Suddenly, the thought of seeing Ian on a horse seemed like a terrible idea.He paid for this… just like you.
“Here, let me show you.” He helped Ian up onto the saddle, and yes, if his hand lingered just a little bit longer on the man’s butt, then it should have done, Ian didn’t seem to mind. Although the way Ian kept adjusting himself in the seat reminded Rick of the comment he’d made to Charlie about his ball sack. Unfortunately, Rick knew he was going to have the same problem.
“Lean back a bit,” he suggested, wishing he could just reach into the crux of Ian’s crutch and give him a hand. But there were still others in the stable, and Rick would never embarrass his mate that way. “If you lean back a bit, spread your legs and wiggle yourself until you’re comfortable, then you should be able to lean forward and move more easily as the horse does.”
Rick checked the first stirrup strap length and then ducked under Annabelle’s neck and checked the other one. “You want it so your legs are at a decent angle, so that you can rise up off the seat if you need to. You don’t want to be shoving your feet right into the stirrups either.”
“If my boots are lodged in the stirrups won’t that stop me from falling off?” Ian was watching him closely. Rick could get used to that sort of attention.
“You’d think that it would, but it won’t. If you fall off and your foot is fully hooked”—he moved Ian’s booted foot in the stirrup to show what he meant—“your foot will get stuck, and the horsewill either drag you or you’ll break your ankle or both. It happens. Rest the ball of your foot on the stirrup. That way, if you do fall, your boot will slide out of the stirrups. You’re not hanging onto the horse with the stirrups. You’re keeping your balance by using the pressure of your knees and thighs against the horse.”
Rick couldn’t help patting the leg area he mentioned. Standing so close to him, Ian’s arousal was overcoming the smell of horse and leather.
“Yep.” Ian coughed, and his voice came out a bit deeper. “I think I’ve got it. Okay, so press with my knees andyour thighs… I mean, my thighs.” His gorgeous face was flushed a glorious bright red.
“You look like you’ve got good, strong thighs there, so you’ll be fine.” Rick had to get on his own horse before he made a mess in his jeans. “Try not to hang onto the horse’s mane”—at the look of confusion, he explained—“the long hair on the back of its neck. Use your thighs, knees, and reins for directing Annabelle where you want her to go, although I’ll use the leading rein for you, until you get the hang of things.” He quickly unhooked one from the wall and clipped it to the ring in Annabelle’s bridal.
I have to let Ian do this. He’s a shifter. He’ll be fine.Although Rick’s nerves for his mate weren’t helped when he noticed Ian was peering over his horse’s shoulder and looking at the ground below. “It’s high up here, isn’t it? You don’t realize it until you get on.”
Oh, gods!Maybe he’s scared of heights.Rick quickly saddled his horse and hopped on, loosening his stirrup lengths and then moving Beauty so he could swing around and grab hold of a leading rein.
“I’ll lead you for a bit, so you can get used to the movement of the horse before we do anything else.”
“I’d far rather you were leading me to ride something else,” Ian muttered under his breath, only Rick’s hearing was excellent.
Rick mentally chuckled, sure that anything he said would be as cheesy as his earlier efforts. He wasn’t what anyone would call a smooth talker. Yet as he slowly led Ian out of the stables, he was looking forward to showing off later that afternoon on one of the bull rides.
He’d probably be thrown off—the odds of that happening were over fifty percent, especially as it had been a few years since Rick’s last ride. The only question would be how hard he landed when he fell.Maybe that’ll prompt Ian to want to follow me to my den after and check me over for bruises. After the grill, of course.
In the meantime, Rick looked back over his shoulder. “How you doing back there?” He was slowly leading Ian’s horse around a large, fenced ring.
“Like I’m going to be seasick,” Ian yelled back with a laugh. “Keep going.”
Chapter Six
Ian
Was it wrong to pretend to be so clueless? Ian’s animal side didn’t seem to think so when Rick was right there helping—touching! Ian was sure his cock had lost the ability to go back to its normal size. Could a cock get bruised from being rammed against a metal zipper for so long?
Ian was sure his would have a permanent scar by the end of the day. A day that had just got better and better. His bear demonstrated such a caring side, Ian felt his eyes sting repeatedly. He was a weeper, a full-on crybaby, and all the attention Rick was lavishing on him, yeah, it made his chest ache.
Not something an alpha was supposed to be. His mother had told him often enough he was too soft hearted even while playing on his soft nature. He never minded; he enjoyed being supportive of his family even if they often forgot that he had a life of his own to live.
“You sure know what you’re doing, Rick. Have you done this before?” a small redheaded omega questioned, leaning forward as iftrying to crawl across the wooden table they were at having lunch, to get closer to Rick.
Ian got it, his mate was irresistible, he didn’t have to like it, so he leaned into Rick’s side giving the omega a ‘back off’ smile, which was all teeth. He was feeling a little insecure as they hadn’t claimed each other, not that Rick looked unhappy at finding out he had an alpha mate instead of a cute omega.
Rick slung his beefy arm over the back of Ian’s shoulder, like a warm security blanket, bringing Ian in close to all those brawny muscles that had Ian all hot and flustered and his cock doing the free puppet show once more.
