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“I don’t know how much you think ballet dancers make,” she laughed. “But rural shack is more like it.”
He nodded but didn’t speak, wondering if she was going to tell him what had made her bite that pretty lip. And not wondering if she might let him bite it just like that.
“I always imagined myself with a lot of children,” she said softly, her eyes on the trail ahead. “That’s probably not likely though.”
“Why not?” he asked.
“Well, you know I’m here because I couldn’t conceive,” she said, shrugging. “And even after last night - nothing.”
“That had nothing to do with you,” he told her, an unfamiliar cold feeling twisting in his chest. “That’s only because of me, my seed will be vitalized as we get to know each other.”
“It wasn’t your fault when I failed at the clinic,” she said softly.
“My seed will bring your womb to life,” he said, repeating what the Center had told him.
“That’s why I agreed to do this,” she said, then buttoned her lips.
There was something more she was feeling, something she didn’t want to say.
Was she sorry she had come? Did she regret having her first sexual encounter with him?
Last night had been magical, as far as Tiago was concerned - intense enough to make him question how he was going to let her go when this was over. And it was far from his first encounter. Had she not enjoyed it as much as he had?
Before he could answer, the stallion whipped his head to the right so fast that Tiago nearly fell off.
“What in the stars—” he began.
But the inky black horse had taken an enormous bite of red berries from a bush beside the trail.
“Oh, wild raspberries,” Alexis laughed. “You can hardly blame him.”
“Nah, I get it, bud,” he said fondly to the horse. “I get hungry when I’m working out, too.”
He watched the animal tear and crunch at the delicate berries with gusto. Normally Tiago was so invested in thundering down the path toward a goal. It was bizarre, and kind of awesome, to let himself get sidetracked for a change.
As if he had heard his rider’s thoughts, the midnight stallion suddenly forgot his berries and lunged into the field beyond, leaping a fallen log and sending Tiago up in the air before landing hard again on his back.
“Hey,” Tiago yelled. He’d been so interested in getting the beast moving that he hadn’t asked any questions about how to stop it.
While up in the air, Tiago had let the reins go slack and now he was having trouble gathering them, as the animal ran faster and faster, banging Tiago around like an egg being scrambled in its shell.
“Just concentrate on staying on,” Alexis yelled from close behind. “He’ll get where he’s going or get tired eventually.”
She was following them. She really was a plucky girl. He tried to distract himself with that, instead of imagining what would happen if he flew off into a tree or rock.
“Lean down close to his neck,” she yelled. “Try to put your weight there and on the stirrups, so you can lift your seat slightly.”
“My seat?”
“Your, um, your bottom,” she yelled. “Try to keep it up, off the saddle, so you don’t get banged around so much.”
He did as she said, leaning forward and letting more weight rest on the horse’s withers and his stirrups. The moment he lifted his ass slightly from the saddle, he felt worlds better. His balance was better now too since he had lowered his center of gravity.
He was still trying to hang on with all his concentration, but he would definitely thank her if the cursed creature ever stopped.
A lifetime later, or perhaps only a few minutes, the rhythm of the stallion’s movements finally slowed.
He lifted his head slightly to look around and realized they were approaching a clearing.
