Page 58 of Unforgivable

"Gosh, you're cute," I kiss his syrupy cheeks, ignoring the pout on his face. Little male.

Rhet stands and puts his dish in the dishwasher. "Bye, pretty," he kisses me on the cheek before walking over to Sarj and ruffling his hair. "Let's go get your shoes on. In, finish your breakfast. I'm driving you today."

Ezra stands up, too, and gives me a kiss, too. This one on the mouth, with tongue. "I'll see you later, sweetheart."

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After breakfast, Thjis pulls me from the house to the barn. "It's my turn to take you for a ride, baby."

I blush. I know he means on Demon, but the implication is there. Not to mention the barn has become a place of shenanigans, to say the least.

"Wheat is a nice horse," he says, "but Demon is smart." His boast is made with a smug grin, like a proud papa about to show off his child.

Demon is in his stall, calmly blinking out at us with soft eyes.

"He's pretty," I smile, "even if he looks like you splattered paint on him."

"He's smart," Thjis repeats. I can feel his excitement strumming through him.

He leads Demon out, making fast work of the halter. In the yard, the calm horse disappears as Demon snorts, pawing at the ground with his front hooves. "Umm... I'm not the best rider, Bear," I tell him.

"He's OK, baby. I rode him a lot yesterday so that he would be calmer today."

I eye the horse warily. He doesn't look calm. Not like Wheat, anyway.

"Watch." Thjis pats Demon on the neck. "Down, boy," he says firmly, "there you go. Down."

Slowly, like a behemoth collapsing, Demon bends his front legs and kneels so that his back is level with my waist.

"Holy shit, Thjis," I whisper, awed at the big beast.

"He's fucking amazing, isn't he? Climb on."

"Climb where?" I ask, skeptical again. He must be joking.

"On the horse, baby," Thjis says with a grin.

"Oh, really? You want me to do what?" I put my hands on my hips, trying to look intimidating. I am not going to climb up on Demon, even if that's the coolest thing ever.

"We tried to teach Wheat the same trick, but he didn't learn. So... climb on."

Reluctantly I drop my hand and approach Demon. "Good boy, Demon," I murmur. His ear twitches my way, the delicate hairs trembling as he listens to my voice croon nonsense.

"You're doing awesome, baby. Give him a pat and swing your leg over his back."

I follow Thjis' directions exactly. When I'm on top of Demon, I take a deep breath.

"Alright, good job, baby. Now he's going to stand, OK?" Thjis says softly. "Up, Demon!"

The horse lurches under me. It's not smooth. I feel his muscles bunch and relax under me, my own body held stiff in fear.

"Relax, Lyri. You won't fall. I'm going to pull him out into the yard then mount just in front of you."

"Not behind me?" I ask, worried.

He smiles reassuringly. "Rhet has you in his arms because you ride sidesaddle with him and Wheat is a smaller horse. I'll be in front of you so I can guide Demon."

"OK," I mumble. It's not OK. Wheat is a smaller horse. Demon is huge.

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