Twice Kissed - Lisa Jackson [58]
“Just hold like this—no, a little more tightly,” he said, his voice low and commanding as his hands covered hers.
The back of Maggie’s throat turned to cotton. “Like this?”
“Yeah, but don’t squeeze the hell out of ’em. Remember, this is how you’re communicating with Ink Spot. She has to feel that you mean business without scaring her. Intimidation that earns her respect. Here.” He patted the animal’s thick neck and in one swift move swung up behind Maggie.
She nearly jumped out of her skin.
“Let me show you.” Strong arms surrounded her, big hands clasped over hers, and the wall of his chest was pressed firmly to her spine. She couldn’t move and tried not to notice that his legs were formed intimately to hers, the fronts of his longer jeans-clad thighs hot against the backs of her bare legs and knees. His booted feet dangled longer than hers, but the hard pressure of his fly rode steady against her buttocks.
New sensations stole through her blood, turning it hot, causing sweat to dampen her skin. Images that had nothing to do with guiding horses galloped through her mind, and she thought as she held her breath that she might pass out.
“Here.” Holding her hands over the reins, he clucked to the horse.
Ink Spot resisted at first, but Thane urged her forward by moving his legs. His breath was hot against the back of Maggie’s neck. She swallowed hard as the mare broke into a gallop, and Thane’s free arm encircled her waist, holding her close, keeping them both astride and riding in unison. She sucked in her stomach, felt a tingling in the deepest part of her, and tried like crazy to keep her mind on anything but the hardness pressed against the base of her spine and the dizzying images that teased her mind.
“Like this,” he said, leaning forward so that his chin bridged her shoulder and his head was next to hers. His hands moved subtly with the reins, and the horse responded, turning in a smooth arc to the left, dark ears flicking as if searching for more clues from the two riders. “You try.”
She nearly dropped the reins, but forced her hands to take control, to mimic his commands as he held tightly to her, and the buildings of the ranch, the stables, barn, garage swept by in a dizzying blur. Her heart and head pounded, her blood pumped through her veins wildly, and she wondered what it would be like to kiss him, to feel his hands on her body…Oh, God, she was hot.
“There ya go, now ease up a bit.”
Automatically she relaxed and let the reins slip through her fingers.
“Whoa—not so much. That gives her too much head, and you’ll have no control.” Again he grabbed hold of Maggie’s hands. “Firm but not hard, see? Show her what you want.”
Maggie nodded, felt his head turn and his eyes study her face. For a split second she thought he might kiss her, might tip her chin with one strong finger, forcing her to twist her neck so that he could capture her lips with his. Her heart thundered, her pulse skyrocketed, and she stared straight ahead, seeing nothing, sensing his gaze lower to her shoulders and chest, rising and falling with each one of her ragged breaths. “I—I see,” she said, nodding slowly, trying to clear her head, but as long as any inch of his skin touched hers, rational thought proved impossible.
“Good. Whoa.” He pulled gently up on the reins, Ink Spot slowed, and he swung to the ground easily. Maggie nearly lost her balance. “Now, you try. Yourself.”
Oh, yeah, right, she thought, but managed to encourage the piebald to a trot, somehow handle the reins though she felt as if she were all thumbs, and guide the horse around the paddock while keeping her seat. Fence posts and clumps of dry grass marked her progress;