“Connor?” Saoirse frowns as we leave the city behind, the rolling greenery of the Irish countryside taking its place. “Now, I really want to know where we’re headed.”
“What? Afraid I might have nefarious plans for you?” I raise an eyebrow, and Saoirse flushes.
“Well, you wouldn’t murder me,” she says tartly. “Not now that you’ve decided you want the Kings. As for anything else—”
“If I wanted to take your virginity sooner, Saoirse, I could have had it half a dozen times over already,” I tell her smoothly, and she flushes pink.
“That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it? Or did you use the safe word at the club because you knew you’d be begging me to fuck you if we kept going?”
Saoirseflamesred at that, looking sharply away. “We’re not alone in this cab,” she says tightly. “Don’t embarrass me.”
“You’re only embarrassed because you know it’s true.” My hand slides towards her denim-clad thigh. “Every time my hands are on you, you’re one mistake away from begging for my cock.”
“So you admit it would be a mistake.” Saoirse grabs my hand, and I do my best to ignore the flash of heat that flares at the smooth touch of her hand, even though she’s pushing it away, off of her thigh.
“To take you before we’re properly wed? Trust me, Saoirse, it’s a question I struggle with every day.” I’m half-hard just thinking about it, from the orange-blossom scent of her perfume in the cab and the lingering warmth of her thigh on my palm.
“Well, you don’t need to struggle with it because I assure you, I won’t allow it.” She moves farther away from me, her eyes narrowing as the cab turns down a long driveway towards the pasture-lined land of the farm I’d told the driver to take us to, the large barns rising in the distance. “Connor, what is this?”
“We’re going horseback riding,” I tell her, reaching for the rolled-up blanket I brought with us as the cab comes to a stop and sliding out to come around and open her door. “Haven’t you been horseback riding before?”
Saoirse blinks owlishly at me as she gets out, and then her eyes narrow in an expression I’ve become all too familiar with. “Connor, if you’d ever bothered to learn anything about me that I haven’t volunteered on my own or paid a speck of attention to me growing up, you’d know that horseback riding was my entire existence back then. I could have qualified for the national team if my father hadn’t decided my time was better used learning to throw dinner parties and memorize the names of all his associates.”
“Good,” I smile at her carelessly. “Then I won’t have to worry about you falling off.”
“Connor McGregor—” The words come out in a teeth-clenched hiss. Still, I’m already turning away from her with the blanket tucked under my arm, striding towards the barn where the proprietor should be waiting with two mounts already saddled for us.
“The dapple grey is a stallion,” the proprietor says apologetically as we approach. He’s a tall, portly man with a luxurious mustache and not a speck of hair on his head otherwise, and he looks nervous, as if he knows exactly who I am. “Your request was so short notice that most of our horses were spoken for already. The bay is a mare, if the lady wants to take that one—”
“I’ll take the grey.” Saoirse strides forward, and I stare at her, momentarily startled speechless—but only for a moment.
“That’s stupid, Saoirse,” I tell her sharply. “Stallions are unpredictable, and—”
“And you have more riding experience than I do?” she asks sweetly, but not without a bite to her tone. I pause, and Saoirse smiles. “I thought not. The stallion will do fine for me.” She reaches for the reins, and the proprietor looks at me helplessly as she leads him out to the mounting block.
“Is the mare tall enough for you? I—”
“She’ll do.” The mare is a broad-shouldered horse who stands tall enough that she ought to be able to carry me without much trouble, although the stallion is taller still. He’s lanky, though, graceful and long-legged, and he’s already beginning to dance nervously in place as Saoirse slides her booted foot into the thin stirrup.
“Saoirse—”
“I’m fine.” She pushes herself up, swinging elegantly atop the horse and gathering the reins in her hands, nudging him forward so that I can take the spot at the mounting block. The stallion dances sideways, but Saoirse moves with him effortlessly, swaying delicately in the saddle as she waits for me.
I’m not completely inexperienced when it comes to horseback riding, or else I wouldn’t have planned the outing at all—I’m not one who likes to look like a fool, particularly in front of the woman I’m going to marry. It’s been some time since I’ve been in a saddle, though, and I’m largely banking on the idea that it can’t be that much more difficult to ride a horse than a motorcycle.
I suppose, if Saoirse really is able to handle the stallion, I might have lucked out in the end, getting the mare. She seems well-tempered enough, trotting amiably ahead as I lead Saoirse down the trail away from the stables that I was informed would lead us to the destination I’d planned on, the blanket I brought rolled and fastened securely behind my saddle. Saoirse eyes it as she trots up next to me, curiosity plain on her face.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going now?” Saoirse asks, holding the reins easily as she posts up and down lightly in the saddle to the stallion’s smooth gait. The sight of her hips rising and falling atop the horse’s back makes my cock swell uncomfortably—it’s all too easy to imagine her doing just that, but atop me instead.
I’m going to take her in every position imaginable before I finally set her free to do as she pleases.
“You look like you’re thinking about something very particular,” Saoirse smirks as she taps the stallion with her heels, nudging him into a canter as she settles back in the saddle, much to my dismay and relief all at once.
“I was just thinking about how much I’ll enjoy teaching you how I like to be ridden.”
Saoirse’s face flames instantly, and she looks away, blinking rapidly. “I’ll never understand how you say things like that so casually,” she manages. “Don’t you think about anything else?”