Chapter 45 Horse Riding
Eva’s mind kept drifting back to the brown strand of hair she had pulled from Maverick’s uniform.
It couldn’t be right… could it?
Maybe it was the breeze. Maybe it clung there by accident. Maybe..
“Eva… Eva…”
Heaven called again, snapping her out of her spiraling thoughts.
“Oh...yes. Sorry.” Eva forced a smile. “I was just… thinking. How hard did you fall to get your hand so bruised again?”
Her gaze lingered on Heaven’s swollen knuckles from atop her tall brown stallion, a Shareef Dancer breed. The wind toyed with Eva’s golden ponytail; she looked effortlessly regal, every bit the Richard wife.
“A pretty bad one,” Heaven muttered, looking away.
That was the story she kept repeating. The only one that made sense.
She could never confess the truth:
Your husband fucked me in his car, and when your name showed on his screen, I regretted it. He pinned me and almost snapped my bones.
Heaven sighed. These aristocrats and their traditions… why not just buy meat instead of chasing it?
The Richard Hunting Festival was days away, and General Richard insisted she be taught to ride and shoot.
Heaven tried again to mount the mare for what felt like the 9999th time. But the horse simply sidestepped, stubborn unimpressed and disgusted.
She nearly screamed.
Two days of lessons and her thighs burned, her hips throbbed, her backside felt beaten, and her bruised hand pulsed every time she flexed her fingers the same hand Maverick almost snapped while pinning her.
She swallowed the memory.
“I think I’ll rest,” Heaven whispered, defeated.
Eva slid off her stallion gracefully and joined her under the shade near the ranch. Even in her riding boots and dusty jeans, Eva looked soft, delicate, and heartbreakingly innocent.
They sat.
Silence stretched.
Until Eva spoke.
“The man with the heart emoji… how did you make him like you?”
Heaven choked.
Literally choked.
Water sprayed, she coughed violently, her chest tightening in panic.
Eva gasped, passing her a kerchief. “Oh dear, I didn’t mean to catch you off guard.”
“There’s no one like that,” Heaven lied quickly, her voice trembling. “It was just—nothing. A mistake.”
“I know we shouldn’t talk about him,” Eva whispered, “but I need help.”
Heaven went completely still.
“Maverick…” Eva said quietly, eyes lowering. “How do I make him love me? How do I make him… want me?”
Heaven felt every muscle in her body turn to ice.
“He doesn’t see me,” Eva continued, voice cracking. “I know it’s an arranged marriage, but I’ve loved him all my life.”
Heaven’s breathing faltered.
“On our wedding night… he didn’t even come to me.” Eva exhaled shakily. “I spent it alone, Heaven. Alone. Waiting for him.”
Heaven dug her nails into her own thigh.
“Maverick doesn’t desire me,” Eva whispered. “He doesn’t look at me. He doesn’t even… try.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Please… tell me what to do. Any tip. Anything.”
Heaven’s heart slammed against her ribs.
Her mouth opened...
Then closed.
Because if she spoke…
If even one wrong word slipped out...
She would crumble.
Everything would.
Eva watched her, hopeful… unaware… trusting.
And Heaven’s entire body trembled as she tried to breathe normally.
Heaven swallowed hard.
Her tongue refused to move.
Her secret felt like a knife lodged in her throat.
“Young madams, we should continue it’s getting late..” the tutor called out to them relieving Heaven
“I… I said too much, didn’t I?” Eva whispered, wiping her eyes. “I just don’t have anyone else to talk to. Let’s continue the lessons”
Back at the ranch, Eva picked up Cindy’s reins.
“Cindy is spoiled. You need to pet her,then she will let you ride her.”
Heaven frowned at the horse. “I’ve tried that a number of times,” she murmured, “but I don’t think she likes me.”
Eva reached out and took Heaven’s hand; she guided it gently to the horse’s mane.
The mare seemed calm at first… until Heaven tried to mount again. It shifted away with a stubborn grunt.
Heaven sighed. “You see? She hates me.”
Eva chuckled. “Cindy, what’s wrong? You don’t want to be ridden today?” she said, patting the horse’s neck. Cindy closed her eyes, leaning into her touch. “Be a good girl.”
Maybe the mare sensed the guilt Heaven carried. Maybe she knew Heaven was riding the wrong horse… and the wrong man.
Then, from the distance, came the rhythmic thunder of hooves.
A Fusaichi Pegasus, midnight black, galloped into view, its rider commanding the air around him.
Maverick.
He stole the breath of both women at once.
He rode with effortless control, his figure sharp against the sun. Beside him, a pure white stallion trotted gracefully, guided by a second rein in his hand.
As he dismounted, Eva’s face lit up.
“Maverick!”
She ran to him, throwing her arms around his waist. “You came, like you promised.”
He didn’t push her away.
“Mhm. I’m here. For you.” The latter he said a little loudly.
His eyes, however, never left Heaven. They trailed to the faint bruise on her hand, the mark he’d left, his jaw ticked.
Because an hour earlier, he had stormed the house, searching. The maids thought he wanted Eva. Butler Rose came forward smiling “your wife is at the ranch with the first young madam.” Relief had hit him like a drug, he hated not knowing her whereabouts.
He watched her through his binoculars from the veranda.
That frustration on her face, her struggle, her pout, the way she bit her lip trying again and again, her fight with the horse until his own restraint had run thin.
Now, standing only yards away, he looked at her as if the rest of the world didn’t exist.
Heaven looked away quickly.
Eva was his wife it was okay for her to touch him.
So why did it ache?
“That horse clearly needs to be tamed,” Maverick said, his voice deceptively calm, his words directed at the tutor, though his eyes never left Heaven.
“Why is she learning with that one?”
The instructor bowed nervously. Eva spoke up smiling.
“Mave, it’s my horse. She’s not untamed. I just lent her to Heaven since she didn’t have any.”
Maverick didn’t respond. Instead, he handed the reins of the white stallion to the instructor.
“Let her use this one,” he said. “She shouldn’t risk broken bones before the hunt, should she?”
His tone was casual, his eyes flicked from Heaven to the tutor and now to his wife Eva.
Eva’s hand lingered on his arm. “She shouldn’t,” she agreed, smiling up at him.
They mounted their horses, Eva chatted brightly while Maverick responded with the occasional mhmm or okay. But his gaze kept returning to Heaven.
He watched the way the instructor held her hand to steady her foot in the stirrup, the way his palm brushed her waist and his jaw clenched tight.
He couldn’t take it anymore.
Maverick dismounted, his boots hitting the ground hard. He walked toward her, his eyes sharp as glass.
Heaven tried to focus on the new horse. It was calmer than the first one, beautiful and quiet. But she couldn’t think straight.
She felt his eyes on her, heavy, watching.
She wondered why her heart was beating fast, she should hate him, he was mean to her, he hurt her. Her heart answered he was nice enough to take you to grandma.
Heaven felt his presence before she saw him, the way the air shifted around her, the tutor stepped back.
“If you don’t concentrate,” his cold voice came from behind her, “how do you plan to learn?”
She flinched slightly. “It’s hard…” she murmured.
“Sucking a cock for the first time wasn’t?” Maverick murmured a sin casually.
Heaven gasped. Her eyes widened. Panic hit her hard. She stepped back. Why is he coming closer? His wife is right there.
Eva watched from her saddle, unaware of the tension brewing.
Then, a whisper hit her ear low, threatening and intimate.
“Avoid my touch, I’ll kiss you in front of her. Try me.”
Her pulse spiked. Was he not afraid of being caught? Did he not care? His wife was watching.
Maverick took her bruised hand his thumb stroked the mark like a secret apology. He guided her fingers to the white horse’s mane.
“Her name is Rosalia,” he said. “She’s yours now. Introduce yourself.”
Heaven blinked. “Introduce… myself? To a horse?”
His gaze hardened. She swallowed and obeyed.
Feeling ridiculous, she whispered softly,“I… I’m Heaven,” her eyes darted up to his.
“Continue,”
“I… I am your owner, Rosalia.”
The horse snorted softly, as if in approval. Heaven gasped.
“She understands,” Maverick said quietly, and her lips curved into an involuntary smile.
“Now,” he continued, moving behind her. “Mount her.Like you mounted me.”
Heat flooded her core, slick and instant. She remembered: climbing into his lap, panties shoved aside, sinking down inch by inch, his cock stretching her until she saw stars.
Heaven tensed as his hand settled on her waist. “Step into the stirrup.”
She obeyed, feeling his steady strength guide her up.
“Straighten your back, chest out” came his command. Heaven followed his instructions.
“Hold on to the leash tight gently use your foot to tap her side, she moves if you want her to stop pull the leash.” He told her.
“Then ride her just like you rode me..” Heaven swallowed her core was wet just from his words.
She nodded.
“Now do it.”
Heaven nodded, her mind flashed back to the car rocking, the windows fogged, his hands on her hips as she rode him hard, breasts bouncing free, his mouth on her nipple, her name a growl on his lips as they came together
Heaven nudged Rosalia. The mare moved, smooth and sure she followed mavericks instructions the wind soon tore through her brown hair. She laughed, startled, free at her perfection.
Maverick’s eyes softened for a split second that sound, her laughter it made something unguarded stir in him.
Eva witnessed the entire process from horseback.
She watched firsthand as Maverick molded the woman into the image he desired, and she also witnessed the fleeting tenderness that the man had never shown to anyone else.
Her gaze lingered on Haven's cascading brown hair, her eyes like those of a venomous snake.