He did it again, and again. Repeatedly driving into me until I was no longer certain if it was pleasure or pain I was feeling, but I didn't care. My mind twirled incoherently. There were no thoughts, except how amazing Bryce felt inside me. Then I felt the tightening start in the base of my stomach. It built and spread until it pulsed through my entire body, on the brink of explosion.
Sensing the quickening within me, Bryce released his right hand from mine and reached between the wall and me. He found me, hard and slick, and stroked me earnestly as my face collapsed against the wall, overcome with waves of rapture. Within seconds he joined me. I could feel Bryce tense behind me; his muscles were vibrating with a rush of satisfaction. He exploded with a warrior's cry of victory, and I could feel him pulsing and twitching as the sweet heat of his milk was released.
He leaned against me for support. His cheek pressed against the back of my head, both of us needing time to catch our breath. Then, he stepped away, turned off the water and left the steamy glass compartment.
Seconds later, he returned with two towels. One wrapped around his waist, the other he slid into my hand with intimate finesse. "I don't feel any cleaner," he whispered in my ear before kissing my cheek and turning away.
Neither did I. I felt dirtier than ever. Dirty and fabulous
I wiped sweat from my forehead, and then with the same hand, shielded my eyes from the sun. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea. This is a little out of my comfort zone."
"You'll be fine." He said, leaning back on the fence post. "You'll enjoy it, trust me."
It was too early in our relationship – whatever that was -- to even think about trust.
"I am not an adventurous person. I can't even rip the tags off my mattress."
"Interesting," he nodded, humouring me. "But not relevant."
"It's entirely relevant," I assured him. "It shows you that I like to play it safe." It, being life.
"Riding a horse is perfectly safe." He said, handing me the reigns.
"For you. Riding a horse is perfectly safe for you. I, on the other hand, have never ridden a large animal."
He looked at me, wickedly, "Some people have considered me a large animal."
"Those people were lying."
"Ouch," he faked hurt.
He mounted his horse, with elegant ease. Damn, he looked good on horseback. Getting me on my horse had not been so graceful. It had been akin to a circus clown attempting to mount a giraffe. Bryce had looked like he was going to piss himself laughing at me. I had found it somewhat less amusing.
He had woken me early that morning, with a kiss – which had been both sweet and annoying. Annoying only because he had kept me awake until the wee hours of the morning, doing all sorts of unspeakable, beautiful things to my body. When he had whispered, suggestively in my ear, that he had a surprise for me, this was not what I had expected.
"You may have grown up in town, but I grew up here in the country. They're very different worlds. I want to show you mine."
How could I argue with that? I had subjected him to my endless family drama for the last few days, the least I could do was let him show me around. He hadn't mentioned anything about horseback, however, and I had little interest in acting out some Brokeback Mountain fantasy.
He lightly kicked his black horse, and they began trotting through the pasture. He seemed so confident and self-assured on his horse; I was jealous. Even the horse's name fit Bryce: Jag. It screamed power and authority. My horse was Tequila — which I also found fitting since I could have used a drink.
I kicked at my horse, as Bryce did, but nothing happened. I tried it again. Still Nothing. "Mine is broken!" I called out to him before he got too far ahead.
He and Jag came back to the gate. Bryce swung down from the saddle and patted the horse hard on the flank, murmuring to the animal. Then he helped me down from my precarious perch.
He took Tequila back to the coral, before taking me by the hand. "You're such a baby," he teased, helping me climb aboard Jag. "Now, scoot back," he ordered. Once I had made room for him, he mounted back on. He reached behind and guided my hands around his abdomen. "Hold on tight," he instructed, patting my fingers. "We don't want you falling off."
"Huh?" I panicked.
He laughed at me. "Relax. Horses are intuitive creatures. They can sense your fear."
"Like a dog?"
"Sort of."
I had heard of dogs attacking when they sensed fear, so I asked if I should expect the same behaviour from the horse.
He laughed again. "Don't be ridiculous." It didn't sound ridiculous to me. "Horses are willful animals. If you show fear, the horse will be less likely to respond to your commands, that's all."
"So, Tequila wouldn't move because —"
"She didn't respect you."
She didn't respect me? The horse named after liquor? Bitch.
He kicked the horse, the same as before, and we began to trot. He held the reigns with one hand, and with the other, he held my hands in place against his stomach. The rhythm of our movement made my head float. I rested my head against Bryce's back, breathing him in, enjoying our closeness.
"This is better," he said, squeezing my hand.
I placed my chin on his shoulder. "Better, why?"
He craned his neck to kiss me. "Because now we can run."
I must have worn a terrified expression because he laughed again, turning his face forward. "Hold on to me. Tight." He coached. That, I was more than happy to do. My grip constricted around him, and I clenched my eyes shut.
With another kick, the horse began to gallop. I felt the wind against my face. Not a fast wind. Just a strong, steady force of air. Hesitantly, I opened one eye, then the other.
The pace wasn't as bad as I had imagined. I had pictured the landscape flying by us in a dizzying blur. Instead, our gait seemed to amplify the beauty of our surroundings, not distort them. Everything appeared more whimsical and alive. It was exhilarating and beautiful.
The sun’s light shone down on us through the trees, like an umbrella of bolstering warmth. I inhaled deeply. I could smell my surroundings, the poplars, the fields and the wind. Each filled my senses with their sweet-smelling splendour. The air itself felt different. Clean, crisp and powerful against my lungs. As though it were breathing new life into every inch of my body. I smiled in astonishment.
From behind, Bryce could feel the change in me. "See?" He called back. "It's not so bad, is it?"
"It's wonderful," I replied in breathy amazement.
"I can't hear you!"
"It's wonderful!" I said again, raising my voice above the wind we were creating.
He laughed. I could picture his toothy grin though I couldn't see it.
Why had I never done this before? Atop that stunning animal -- even at that pace -- I felt a cleansing peace wash over me. My worries were somewhere behind us, left at the gate, out of my reach, and nowhere within view. I felt weightless and liberated.
We galloped across an old wood bridge before coming to rest in a spot of shade. He dismounted first and tied the horse up to one of the larger, shaded trees. He held his hand out to me, and I tried to descend with a shed of grace, but I lost my balance and fell into his chest. It wasn't a bad place to land.