Natural Attraction

by C L Green

  With a burst of excitement I feel my heart rate start to increase as I rejoice that it’s time to ride. We’ve been out over an hour already so I’m feeling very relaxed about the whole idea and ready to move onto the next phase.

  “Yay!” I give an excited little applause, clapping my hands together quickly.

  “Don’t get too excited, I’ve got two more things I want to see you do before you get up there. The first is put your helmet on. It’s on the ground outside the gate where I left it earlier. The second is learn to make sure he is solid and standing calmly before you throw your leg over him. Go grab your hat.”

  I sprint to grab my hat I am so excited. I can’t remember the last time I felt this excited about climbing on a horse and have to resist the urge to squeal.

  Putting my hat on, I realize the ponytail is a hindrance so I drag my hair tie down to form a low ponytail. Buckling the hat in place, I race back to Jax and Maverick where Jax then gives me a demonstration on bouncing.

  Bouncing involves jumping up and down next to Maverick. This jumping is carefully timed to make sure that as soon as he stands still and relaxes, I stop bouncing. This lesson goes on for a while as we discover that no one has ever bounced next to Maverick.

  At first it had scared the living crap out of him. Literally. It seemed that every time I bounced, he panicked and then starting pooping all over the place while he shuffled and jumped about.

  Almost exhausted after about twenty minutes of bouncing we finally get Maverick to the point where I could have been bouncing on a trampoline and he wouldn’t have cared.

  Looking to Jax, my excitement now waning considerably, I ask him in a droll tone, “Are we there yet?”

  “Nearly babe. Hang in there. Not long now.”

  He smiles softly at me. I can see he is seeing my exhaustion and my exasperation.

  “Next you need to do more bouncing with your leg in the stirrup. Then you need to pretend you are going to mount up by lifting in the air but not swinging your leg over him. Wait for him to chew then gently lower down again. This is a good way to test that he’s ready to mount. It has the bonus that if something is going to go wrong, you can just push yourself backwards away from the horse. Pushing yourself away usually means no one is hurt.

  Do that a few times and if he is standing quietly, then go for gold and swing your leg over to sit in the saddle. Again, wait for him to relax and chew and then get off. I’ll wanna see you do that three times before we go on to the next step.”

  Sighing heavily, I nod and carefully place my foot in the stirrup and start bouncing. Maverick appears unaffected by this, so I decide to stand in the stirrup. This bothers him slightly and I hear Jax softly say, “Wait for him to stop shuffling his feet, then drop back down again.”

  It only takes a few more seconds before Maverick relaxes. He then starts chewing and l lower myself back to the ground.

  “Good, go again,” I hear Jax urging me.

  Repeating the process, Maverick makes the slightest of movements but decides to keep his feet still this time. I lower myself to the ground again.

  “Again,” Jax urges me quietly.

  I go again and this time Maverick is solid. He chews quickly and as I lower myself to the ground, I feel his head come round. He gives me a nudge with his nose. I almost sense him telling me to get on.

  Grinning happily I decide it's time. Putting my foot in the stirrup once more, I bounce, lift, hold, and then gently swing my other leg across to lower myself into the saddle gently. I hear Maverick sigh and he chews happily. No head lift, no shuffling, just relaxation.

  Holy shit!

  It feels incredible to be sitting on a calm horse. I am so relaxed and happy I feel like squealing again. The only reason I don’t is because it will probably scare the daylights out of Maverick.

  I decide to hold my joy.

  “Good job Ash. Now blow out and roll your butt right back into the saddle. Relax as much as you can. Count to ten then get off again.”

  I do as Jax directs and soon find myself standing on the ground beside Maverick again.

  “Again,” Jax urges.

  I once again bounce, lift, swing and take a seat. Maverick is chewing before I even set my butt in the saddle this time. I relax, wait and get off.

  I look to Jax for confirmation that I should go again, he nods and smiles. I am now starting to enjoy myself as I follow the process to find myself sitting on Mavericks back a happy girl. A huge smile beams across my face.

  I see Jax looking at me and he starts beaming to.

  “What next!” I chirp, excited but waiting for instruction this time. I am aware that Jax knows exactly what he is doing and unless he tells me to do something, I am not moving a muscle.

  “Flexing again. Both sides. I wanna see his nose touch your boot and stay there for the count of ten each side.”

  “Okay.” I reply and set about flexing Mavericks head left and right. He’s a little stiffer than before but doesn’t take long to soften up. I soon have him nibbling and licking at each boot as he waits for me to count to ten in my head.

  “Good. One more thing and then we are ready to go,” Jax says stepping towards me. “I need to know that you fully understand you have an eject maneuver. You ever heard of an eject maneuver?”

  “Um… Not really. What do you mean?” I ask confused. I assume eject means get off. If he only means get off, I’m pretty sure he knows I can do that so I guess that’s not it.

  “The eject maneuver is an emergency bail from the horse. I want to make sure you have a plan so if something starts to go wrong, you eject. At no point, not ever, if you think there is something wrong should you stay in that saddle. I’m not talking about nerves, if you are nervous you need to stay there until you aren’t nervous any more. What I’m talking about is if you clearly recognize that something is just not right. It could be he’s going too fast, he feels like he’s gunna take off, he feels like he’s gunna buck. Any of these things, you need to eject without hesitation. I’d rather see you eject fifty times and stay safe than see the one time you don’t eject, you are hurt. You hearing me?”

  “Sure,” I agree wholeheartedly. Sounds like a good plan to me.

  “Now the eject maneuver is simple. First you drop one rein.”

  Fuck no!

  “Drop a rein!” I startle and hear a slight screech in my voice as I stare at him in disbelief. “Are you nuts?”

  “No Ash, I’m not nuts. Believe me it's safer than trying to hang onto two. You only need one rein to stop a horse and you only need one rein for an emergency eject. Relax and listen, I’m trying to keep you safe here.”

  I breathe out slowly and nod as I listen. I decide I need to trust him on this. I can trust him. How many times has he proven that already?

  “So first, drop one rein. Doesn’t matter which one, whichever one feels comfortable to let go. Then, with your free hand, I want you to slam it down hard into the pommel of your saddle. At the same time you need to use the other hand to flex his head to your foot.

  While this is all happening, you also need to drop both feet out of your stirrups as you push off with the hand on the pommel of your saddle. As hard as you can. You should fling upwards and a bit sideways with the right amount of pressure. All going to plan, you should also be able to swing your leg over his back and push away from him to land on the ground. Does that make sense? Doing all this, his head will also flex and you should end up standing beside him with his head flexed towards you. Give it a go and see if you can do it.”

  “Crikey.” I mutter as I consider the multitasking he has just explained I need to do. It sounds full on but I am up for the challenge.

  My first try does not go well. With my feet remaining in the stirrups, I nearly hang myself off the side of Maverick like a rag doll. Luckily, he continues to stand quietly while I perform a bad emergency eject. I am thankful he doesn’t chose that moment to do something energetic because I am almost positive I would have died.
>
  “Sorry about that dude.” I rub him as he flexes towards me looking slightly amused at my stupidity.

  I hear Jax chuckle, “Again,” he urges.

  Mounting again, I give it a second go and it goes better this time. Except that I forget to drop the first rein and so his head doesn’t flex so well.

  Jax explains that’s a no-no because the flex is important and I go again.

  By the third go it all comes together and I leap of him like I’m launching off a pommel horse at a gymnasium. Feeling pleased that I have worked it out, I do it once more for good measure before Jax agrees I’m there.

  “Yay!” I do a small fist punch in the air feeling pleased with myself.

  I then give Maverick a scratch on his chest to reward him for his patience.

  “Up and at ‘em Tiger. You’re ready to roll.” I look to see Jax grinning.

  Climbing quickly back into the saddle, I look to Jax for further guidance. “What next?”

  “Start walking Ash, you’re ready. No kicking though. Kicking is not the way to move a horse on. Squeezing or clucking only. Got it?” He checks in with me and waits for me to nod. He then continues to explain further. “Take a few steps then ask him to flex to a stop. If that goes well, go further and so on. Off you go.”

  Excited that I have permission to move off, I take a huge breath and gently squeeze for Maverick to move on. Without a moment of hesitation he steps off keenly and starts striding out quickly.

  “Stop him Ash.” I hear Jax caution. “Don’t let him rush. You want him moving slowly.”

  Letting one rein go, I flex his head to the left and he starts to circle my foot, his feet slowing but not stopping.

  I look to Jax wondering what to do next and he nods with encouragement, “Just hold until he stops, then release.”

  After another circle, Maverick finally realizes he is just wasting effort circling and so he stops.

  “Good, wait for him to chew, count to twenty then go again,” Jax encourages.

  We continue with the stops and starts at a walk for a while until Maverick is stopping as soon as I lift one rein.

  Jax continues to tutor. “You can refine that stop by breathing out before you lift the rein Ash. It’ll give him more warning.”

  I start adding the breathing out to my process. Maverick is soon stopping at a walk when I breathe out and roll my bottom back into the saddle. This is very cool!

  “That’s enough for the day Ash. You’ve ridden him, it’s gone well. It may only be at a walk, but believe me, you’ve both learned more today than you think. Tomorrow will go so much better.”

  I grin at him and flex Maverick to one final stop before launching off to display my eject skills. I hit the ground smiling and throw my hands in the air like a gymnast does when they dismount a pommel horse.

  I see Jax smiling as he stalks towards me and grabs my ponytail to drag me in for a hard, hot kiss.

  “Well done little girl. No unexpected ejects, no scary moments and no injuries. An excellent days work don’t you think?”

  I agree wholeheartedly and show my agreement by melting against his chest and wrapping my arms around him, hugging tightly.

  “Best day ever,” I mumble against his lips.

  “Bet we can make it better,” he says pulling away from me. “Time to head to the supermarket for supplies, then it's gunna be home for a spa.”

  He starts wiggling his eyebrows at me, his eyes sparkling with cheer.

  “A spa sounds heavenly,” I agree with a huge grin splitting my face as I turn to head towards the round yard gate. It is then that I realize my three golden girls are all lain out, sound asleep, still waiting for Jax.

  “Definitely team Jacob,” I mutter looking at them.

  “What was that?” He asks quizzically from behind me.

  “Nothing.” I reply realizing I have not been paying any attention to his interaction with the dogs.

  I am so going to be watching him closely tomorrow.

  Chapter Fifteen

  You’re the boss

  Returning from the supermarket I am once again amazed to discover the day is getting away from us. I clearly lost track of time out in the round yard with Maverick. It was mid afternoon before we made it to Jax’s truck to head into town.

  Time really does fly when you are having fun. This is something I experience daily here in Jax’s world.

  It is now just after five and Jax has left me to unload the truck while he feeds the horses. As I travel from the truck to the kitchen, I chuckle to myself at our antics of the afternoon.

  The trip to the supermarket had provided my girls with another opportunity for a truck ride. I was starting to realize that it might be the truck trips that were becoming the highlight of their day and therefore swaying loyalty to Jax.

  Canine reasoning deduced that truck rides happened with Jax. This needed maintenance of a keen canine eye on Jax to ensure that no opportunities were lost. Canine deduction equates this to stick closely to Jax.

  The girls have already learned to launch unassisted into the back of the truck. Once there, he has three lead ropes ready to clip them up to behind the cab.

  This afternoon, they were like little doggie drug addicts, bursting with excitement as the tailgate dropped. I soon realize that riding in the back of my four-wheel drive will no longer be their transportation mode of choice. Fresh air and open views from the back of Jax’s truck clearly win.

  At one stage during the trip I decided to look back to see how they were traveling. What I saw was blissful faces, noses tipped to the air as they breathed in the fast flowing, fresh air.

  “Trade secret huh?” I muttered looking across to see Jax grinning broadly, not saying a word.

  I then decided to scowl at him for the next few kilometers. When it finally got the better of him I heard him rumble quietly, “Women just love me, I’m like a drug you know. I reckon it's got something to do with my irresistible scent.”

  Unfortunately even though he was being a cocky bastard I probably had to agree with him. Especially that he had an irresistible scent. After deciding this, I stopped scowling and smirked out the window instead.

  The supermarket was an eye-opening experience for me as well. Not sure why Jax needed a large trolley to buy condoms, muesli and yoghurt, I was soon initiated to Jax’s shopping style. Everything is purchased in bulk.

  At first I had been amused at his shopping style. That was until he insisted I buy three full boxes of my favorite muesli. He assured me I would need them during my frequent sleepovers and so I should not risk running out.

  Not impressed at being ordered to buy three boxes of anything, he then upset me further by buying some cereal for himself. This upset me because it involved a painstaking process where he insisted on reading the various ingredients and good health messages on each box. In full.

  He then carefully considered each different brand of cereal before finally deciding to take one of each. This equated to another six boxes being added to the cart.

  I should however point out that our time spent in the cereal aisle was not all boring. This was because I kept myself seriously amused by touching Jax inappropriately at regular intervals. While doing this, I would scowl at his many female admirers to ensure they could see they were encroaching on my turf.

  The only reason I had ended my lewd groping game was because Jax had finally worked out what I was doing. Knowing my game, he then announced loudly, “Babe, if you want to fuck we should head to the cleaning aisle so we have access to paper towels and such to clean you up afterwards.”

  Smart ass.

  The looks we also received from shoppers in the toiletries aisle as we discussed what size condoms he would need (the biggest of course), had been priceless as well. Even better were their faces as they watched Jax load ten boxes into our trolley.

  As well as his condoms, Jax also managed to balance six slabs of caffeine free diet Coke in the trolley. This led me to ask him how long he thoug
ht I was staying and was he concerned Coke was going out of business? The final additions to our trolley were yoghurt, dog bones and peanut butter cookie treats for my girls.

  We finished our expedition with me silently vowing to always come to the supermarket on my own if I needed any sanitary products. The thought of Jax pushing a trolley around piled high with ten different brands of tampons would probably be a bit too much to cope with, even for me.

  Eyeing off the mountain of condoms now laid out before me on the kitchen bench, I feel a shiver run down my spine as my body heats slightly remembering last night.

  I am definitely looking forward to a spa.

  Dragging my eyes off the condoms and trying to dispel the images of what they mean, I decide that once again I should to do something on the side of meal preparation. Lunch had been a rushed affair because Jax had been keen to, “Get this supermarket shit over with so we can do more interesting activities.”

  To reduce delay, we had ended up eating more muffins. This had involved one muffin for me, with a crisp pink lady apple. Jax had consumed six muffins with both an apple and a banana. The man sure could eat.

  Not that I was complaining.

  Watching his face as he enjoyed his food and constantly licked his lips, his tongue slicing out to catch crumbs as they stuck to his moist lips was swoon worthy. I had almost suggested we delay the supermarket run because I knew we had one condom left, there were no flies on me!

  I have just bent down to start digging through Jax’s freezer for inspiration when I hear the back door slam and the laundry tap running. A small thrill of excitement shoots through me at the thought of seeing Jax again. It's scary that I feel this way after spending a whole half hour without him.

  How ridiculous.

  Deciding I should wait for him to help me pick out what we are having for dinner, I shut the freezer again. I turn just in time to see him stalking through the hallway door. His eyes zone in on mine and he is wiping his wet hands down the front of his jeans. It would seem he’s in too much of a hurry to towel dry.

  “Forget digging about in there, I’ve ordered us pizza. It’ll be here in twenty minutes. We can eat it in the spa. I’ve fed your dogs, locked up outside and after that pizza arrives, we are not answering phones or doors for anyone or anything. You with me?”