Page 62 of My Dark Horse Prince

I slowly move my hand toward him, my fingers splayed, my breathing a little too short and shallow, and finally, I make contact. His chest is surprisingly warm, given the brisk weather and the length of time I made him wait.

His eyes are warm and calm as they hold my gaze.

Before I have a chance to flog my brain into coming up with words, he covers my hand with his. It takes me by surprise, for some reason. It’s a gentle gesture, and he’s not a gentle man. Maybe that’s why—the incongruity between his behavior and attitude toward me and the way he behaves out in the world.

Finally, I mumble, “I want you to change into a horse.”

I’m not actually super confident that it’ll work. I figure I’ll probably have to try a few times, or focus really hard, or learn how to do something special, but it does work, a little too quickly. I stumble backward and land hard on my butt, my crutches clattering on either side of me, right in front of the massive stallion, who’s now standing on the hard-packed ground behind Grigoriy’s mansion.

His head immediately drops to my face, his big, soft, baby fine fur-covered lips rubbing against my cheek, my chin, and then my shoulder.

“I’m okay,” I say. “No undue pain in my leg.” Just my butt. And my pride. It’s more than used to being abused.

Charlemagne pushes my crutches closer with his nose as I struggle back up to my feet. “I don’t need them,” I remind him. “I’m about to climb onto you.”

I’d have told you yesterday that horses couldn’t flirt, but I learn today that it’s not exactly true. He literally tosses his head and expels air from his horsey nose, and I know just what he’s saying.

It makes me roll my eyes.

He’s a powerful mage with the sense of humor of an eighteen-year-old boy.

Getting on proves easier than I expected, thanks to a well-placed boulder and a horse who wants me to climb on his back. He stands steady and still, even when I grab a fistful of his mane to compensate for not being able to really use my bad leg to vault onto his back.

Without a bridle or a saddle, this is still going to be a strange ride.

“Hey, before you were frozen, or whatever, did anyone ever ride you?”

His whole head curves around to look back at me, and he shakes his head back and forth slowly.

“So you wouldn’t even know what I was trying to tell you if I had the bridle on?”

He snorts.

I suppose it’s not hard for them to figure it out. They move away from pressure. But still, it’s an interesting situation to have a horse who understands what I’m saying, but has never been trained to be ridden. I’m definitely more of a passenger than I’ve ever been in my life.

It occurs to me then that riding Grigoriy—Charlemagne? What do I call him? Does Kris say Obsidian Devil when he’s in his horse form? Or Aleks? It’s confusing. But riding him is an act of trust.

Other than Kris, I trust no one.

Certainly no men.

And yet, I’ve just climbed up on the back of a horse-man, and I’m expecting him to take care of me. I don’t really trust the man-form. Why should I trust the horse one?

Maybe it’s because, as a horse, what he wants from me is so much more pure than what men usually want from women. He wants to give me a ride, and he’s not trying to use me. I wish I could be sure that was true for the human Grigoriy.

“Okay, let’s take this really slow,” I say.

For some reason, in my head, I can’t help seeing the human Grigoriy’s face if I had said that to him earlier. I shake my head to clear it. I need to stop thinking about him and enjoy this while I can. He walks out smoothly, carefully threading his way around to the front of the massive house.

When we encounter the same man I saw on the first day, the butler startles. “Oh.”

“I’m so sorry,” I say. “I should have warned you that I wanted to come out for a ride.”

“But.” He frowns. “Where did that horse come from?” He arches one eyebrow. “Where has he been?”

“I think he’s been wandering around the property eating,” I say. “He’s a little skittish of most people.”

The man somehow manages to frown even more. “But why didn’t Master Grigoriy inform me of the horse’s presence? Master Aleks had the stables restored, and there’s a groom and a trainer out there with no horses to tend to.”

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