Steve had taken me to the kitchen where Miss Jo gave me a vase for the rose before leading me back upstairs to my room. "Thank you Steve." He looked at me and nodded. "I'll take you into town in a couple of days to get you everything you'll need for riding and then I'll start your lessons." I smiled happily and nodded before walking into my room. I was actually feeling exhausted after riding. It was strange really because I didn't ride on my own. I was also feeling a little sore from being in the saddle so I walked into the robe to get some pajamas to go for a shower. I couldn't find any but found an old t-shirt that was about four sizes to big for me and shrugged, it would do. I walked out of the robe and jumped. Alec was standing in the middle of the room watching me intently.

"I didn't mean to frighten you." I shook my head and took a step towards him. "You didn't, I was just in my own world." I stood still waiting to see what he would do, unsure if I should move closer. He closed the distance and wrapped me up in his arms. I reached around him and hugged him back. "I'm sorry about earlier." I sighed lightly and leaned into him. "It's ok." He let go slightly and looked at me. "No it's not. I know I hurt you and that wasn't my intention at all. I just didn't want..." He trailed off. "Hurt me?" He nodded. "Something like that. Anyway, how was your ride?" I looked at him and smiled. "Amazing! Slow...But I still enjoyed it a lot. Thank you." He rubbed his hand down my face. "Your welcome." He let go of me properly and I dropped my arms as he stepped back looking at the shirt in my hands. "I'm feeling a little sore so I was about to have a bath." He looked back up at my face. "Then you may want to find something a little more suitable to wear after..." I looked away and blushed. "I tried but...I think maybe I need more clothes." He walked past me and into the robe. I followed him curious as to what he was doing. He opened draws that I hadn't looked in and was shocked. They were full of clothes that I hadn't seen before. I know they weren't there the last time I looked.

He pulled a nightgown out of the draw and closed it turning back to me. I raised an eyebrow at him
"I had Miss Jo stock your wardrobe with some basics while you were out riding. I figured we could always get more clothing that you liked later on down the track." I looked at him surprised. "Thank you. How did you know what size I was though?" He smiled cheekily as he stepped closer to me. "I'm a good guess at sizing." so blushed. "And Miss Jo has been washing your clothes." My mouth fell open at him. He smirked at me and stepped passed me. He disappeared into the bathroom while I still stared after him amazed. I heard the water turn on and walked into the bathroom. He was testing the water as I walked over. "So did you pick the clothes or did Miss Jo?" He turned the taps off as the bath finished filling and stood up looking at me. "Does it matter?" I tilted my head sideways thinking about that for a minute.

He closed the distance between us and looked down at me. "No, not really." He slowly grabbed the hem of my shirt and started sliding it up as my breathing speed up. "I did have a say in some, but Miss Jo picked out most of them." His hands were against my skin as he reached the bottom edge of my bra. He stopped and I watched him. "Lift your arms." He kept his face blank as I hesitated for a second. I trusted him so lifted my arms and he slid the shirt up and off easily. He glanced down at me quickly before meeting my eyes again. He placed his hands on my hips and guided me closer to him until we were just touching. He leaned in and kissed me gently as he moved his hands to the front of my pants and undid them. He slid his fingers into the top edge of my pants and ran them around to the back of me. He pushed gently on my pants and they slid down to the floor.

My breath caught in my throat as he stood back up from kissing. He smiled mischievously at me. "You should have your bath before it goes cold." He released me and walked away closing the bathroom door behind him. My breathing started to slow and I looked down realising I was in my underwear. I stepped out of my pants and finished undressing. I climbed into the bath tub and slid down. I sat in the tub with my knees pulled to my chest feeling embarrassed and confused. I hadn't realised he was teasing me when he was undressing me because I was so distracted by what he was doing. I also didn't understand why he didn't go further. I was so distracted he could have completely stripped me naked without noticing.

I shook my head and cleared the thoughts away while starting to wash myself. I rubbed my sore legs more than normal hoping to ease the mild cramping that was forming in them. I wondered how much worse it was going to be once I actually started riding properly. I sighed feeling tired and relaxed. I climbed out of the bath tub and grabbed the towel to dry myself. I...