"You're my instructor, Miss Burton, and as long as you want to call me by my family name, I'll do the same," he explains, and I hear nothing but true joy in his voice.
Is that joy that we're finally speaking as equals? While before, I was so terrified that my voice was trembling.
"Moreover, this horse is a schoolmaster, a pure pleasure to ride on," he adds, stroking his hand over the mane once again. I'm sure the horse would purr if she could.
A schoolmaster is a horse that obediently carries any rider on itself and is not dangerous to use with learning riders. I'm not surprised that he knows that; I'm more astonished by how he treats the animal: gently and carefully, petting it and stroking.
The image of him petting me yesterday appears in my head right away, hitting me like a thunderbolt. His strong arms holding me, his big hands stroking my body, his gentle but hungry lips taking my mouth. The image is so true, as if I'm experiencing it all over again in real time, and I gasp in surprise.
"Is everything all right?" Raphael turns to face me, and only then do I realize that it sounded like a moan of pleasure.
"Yes, I just...I thought I saw a snake," I lie right away, avoiding his gaze, feeling how my cheeks are getting red. I'm not very good at lying. To be honest, I never lie because it's always apparent, especially for people who know me well.
"Okay," he says and turns away. I glare furtively at him and see a slight smile on his face.
Of course, he figured that I was lying, but no way am I going to tell him the truth. And what would I say? About ten minutes ago, I told him that nothing can happen between us, and now I'm picturing him touching me again?
I feel my legs squeeze the saddle harder, and the need inside my center appears again, the same I felt this morning but with a different, more intense force.
So at the wrong time.
Chapter Eleven
Raphael
She's aroused. At first, I thought I had imagined it. I have been thinking about this girl for so long, no wonder that I picture her lust, how she's coming all over my face while I eat her out, how she screams my name while she comes, over and over again, until she's so tired that she can't take it anymore.
But no, it's not just my imagination. I can feel her arousal even from a distance. She's wet between her legs, and it's getting more and more with each second. Is she attracted to me? But she's acting like she hates me. Even though I can't find the reason for that.
It's because you're a monster...the voice of my subconsciousness blares in my head. I try to wipe it away, but I know it won't go because it's true. I am a monster. I'm the devil who fell for an angel who will never belong to his world.
I can see that Katie has tensed again, the short period of relaxation long gone. She's now even more nervous than when she realized who she was having a lesson with. I guess feeling this arousal to a person like me is unnatural for her, even disgusting. She doesn't want it and is trying to deny everything her body feels for me.
"Is there anything interesting in this forest?" I ask after a long pause as we ride farther into the forest jungle.
"Already bored?" She looks at me, and I see a smirk on her face. She thinks I'm getting bored or tired already, and she's happy about it.
She doesn't know me well enough to realize that I never get tired. We just don't. Much less bored. I never do anything that I don't want to. And now I want to be with Katie. And I know for a fact that I'll never get tired of being next to my girl.
"Okay, let's change direction." She speaks again without waiting for me to answer and immediately looks away, shaking the reins to encourage her horse to move faster.
I follow her pace. She's not getting away from me. Now that I know she exists, Katie is forever mine.
Minutes pass as we ride silently. Her tension is building inside of her. I close my eyes, but just for a second, trying to calm down. The realization of her so close to me, wet between her legs, is killing me. But I can do nothing about it.
I hear the sound of a river far away from us, so I immediately open my eyes. I see Katie leading her horse in the opposite direction.
"Is there a river somewhere near?" I break the silence, and Katie startles in surprise.
"Not that I'm aware of," she answers after a pause, and her voice is trembling. She doesn't look at me as she speaks.
"Let's check," I offer, changing direction myself.
"No, let's go another way. There's a valley and..." She stops, trying to come up with something. She's so bad at lying, my Katie.
Mine. Forever mine.
"The valley, huh?" I smirk in response. She doesn't answer. "Well, I've seen valleys, instructor. I want to see the river."