As they were riding back to the house, Milly looked over at him and smiled. The memory of her, flushed and naked, bringing herself to a climax just because he asked her to, echoed through his mind.

Usually, when he made love it was all about the girl. He suspected that’s why they liked him. The last hour or so with Milly had been all about him and what he wanted. He could get used to that.

Tobias skittered sideways at a leaf blowing in the wind. Milly pulled him back in line. It took them a lot longer to get dressed than it should have. He didn’t want their time under those trees to end. She was great, and not just at riding.

“I heard what Daddy said about you having to watch me when I’m training Tobias.”

He nodded. “It seems pretty reasonable considering a leaf fluttering can upset him.”

Milly leaned forward and patted Tobias’ neck. “He just needs to learn to trust me. Like Wildfire did. She started off as flighty as he is. I still miss her, I wish she...” She trailed off and didn’t finish the sentence. He felt guilty again. he’d killed her bloody horse.

After a while she looked up at him. “You’d talk to me before you told Dad Tobias was too much for me, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course.”

“That’s good.”

They were almost back at the house before she said anything else. Then she turned so she could see him again. “I’ve been thinking. Instead of just watching me work, you could help me train them.”

“I don’t know anything about dressage or jumping.”

Milly shrugged. “You’ve been working here for four years. You’re good with horses. I think you’d figure it out. Anyway, I could teach you.”

“Yeah. If that’s what you want.”

“You’d be good at it. Dressage is just training a horse so he’s flexible, balanced, and obedient. You start the training on the lunge line and then you ride them in the arena to practice what you’ve taught them.”

“Sounds easy. When would we start?”

“As soon as we get back.”

“Slave driver,” he said, and she laughed.

About an hour later, they were both in the paddock with the horses on lunge lines.

Milly gently flicked her line. “We’ll start by working them for ten-minutes on the lunge.”

Tobias walked obediently in an arc around her. Milly looked all business, long whip in one hand and a line in the other. She looked like she knew what she was doing. He was sure he didn’t. Cole had Karim, and the horse looked at him in a, do you know what you are doing, way?

Luckily everyone else was more interested in training the racehorses than watching him.

Milly looked over. “Cole, ask Karim to walk in a twenty-metre circle. When he can do that, get him to trot, then canter and halt. Use consistent voice commands to help him understand what you want him to do.”

Yeah, right.

She went back to lunging Tobias. He walked and then moved smoothly to a canter.

Cole tried to copy what Milly did. Karim yawned then almost did as he asked.

Milly glanced over. “Don’t control the line too much. Allow him to stretch and move naturally. Watch his gait and take note of areas where he might need more training.”

He couldn’t see anything wrong with Karim’s gait. “That might have to be your job for a while.”

“You’ll get used to it.” Milly got Tobias to halt and change direction. He walked a little then moved into that trot again.

“How did you get him to do that?” Cole asked.

“I told him.”

“I didn’t hear you.”

“With the line. I’ll show you in a minute.” She went back to working with Tobias. The bloody horse walked, trotted, then cantered. It halted, changed direction and then did it all again. Cole and Karim watched.

After ten minutes Milly stopped working with Tobias. She came over and handed the line to Cole and took Karim’s.

“Hose down Tobias and put him in his box, then I’ll show you what you should have done with Karim.”

By the time he came back to the paddock Milly had Karim working as well has Tobias had been. She made it look easy.

“You take over.” She handed him the whip and line.

She gave instructions and he tried to follow them. Karim seemed to be doing it right, he still had no idea why. After another ten minutes work they hosed off the sweating horse and put him away too.

They walked back to the house together.

“You’ll catch on. By the end you almost had it right.” Milly opened the back door.

He could feel a few eyes on them now. Nobody else got invited back to the house after working a horse. He’d hear about this later. No way Ewan and Gary would let this pass without a comment.

Milly went inside. “Karim knows what he’s doing anyway, so he’ll teach you. I think tomorrow we’ll try them in the arena.”

Inside Tom was making coffee. “How did the first training go?”

“Good.” Milly got three mugs out of the cupboard, then sat down at the breakfast bar. “I’m going to get Cole to help me whenever I’m training them. You don’t mind, do you?”

Her father shook his head.

“No, it’s a good idea. You happy with that, Cole? It’ll be an early start for you each morning.”

“Yeah, it’s fine. I’m not sure what use I’m going to be though.”

“Listen to Milly. She knows what’s she’s doing.” He poured the coffee into the mugs. “How’s Stadium going?”

“Luke’s got work for us in the weekends,” he said tentatively. He’d been meaning to talk to Tom about this. Tom seemed to expect him to be on call Saturdays and Sundays even though he didn’t officially work those days. “We’ve got a pub gig on Saturday nights in Hamilton.”

“Impressive. How much time will that take up?”

Cole shrugged. “Saturday afternoons, I guess. If you need me in the weekends I can do Saturday morning and Sunday.”

Tom handed Cole a mug. “Sounds fine, we can work around that.” He slid a mug across to Milly. “What’s the plan for tomorrow, Princess?”

“Dressage training,” said Milly.

“You begin dressage training with light contact,” said Milly late the next morning. “Use the lightest possible touch on the reins to guide the horse.”

because he was getting the lecture. They had progressed to sitting on the horses to work them. It looked like she thought Karim knew what to do.

“Ride with a slightly loose rein and a light hand. As the horse gets better, gradually take up more contact. No, not like that. Like this.” She demonstrated what he’d done wrong and then what he should have done. “It's important for the rider to have an independent seat and hand so that the contact remains light. If you hang onto the reins you can hurt the horse's mouth and create tension, the opposite of what you’re trying to do.”

It was an eye opener. It turned out Milly could get bossy and today she showed just how bossy she could get.

Next thing he was riding without stirrups.

“This will help you learn how to sit deep and centred in the saddle, especially at a sitting trot,” said Milly.

“I’m not planning on riding dressage,” he pointed out. “I’m just meant to be helping you.”

“You’re no help to me if you don’t know what you are doing,” she snapped.

He swung down from the horse. “I’ve had enough.”

“But we’ve only just started.” Tobias started backing up. Milly brought him back under control.

He checked his watch. “We’ve been going for an hour since we got back from our ride, and Fred wanted me to help him this morning. You’re going to have to find something else to do.” It wasn’t true about Fred needing help. But he didn’t want Milly storming off if he objected too much. He’d look a fool standing in the arena, holding two horses.

Milly nodded and slid off her horse too. She took off her helmet and shook out her hair, then smiled at him over Tobias’s back.

“We can finish for the day. I need to go into town anyway.” They wandered back to the stables leading the horses.

“What do you need in town?” he asked.

“Just stuff.” She took Karim’s reins off him. “If Fred really does need you, I can put them away.” She could be really nice too. And he really liked the way the day had started. A gentle ride along the river in the morning. Then stopping for a while in the clearing and having sex.

At the clearing they were be completely alone again. They talked, made love, and talked some more with nobody around.

The horses didn’t seem to mind.

After work, he was getting into his ute to leave. Milly had rung to say she was going to Hamilton to check out flats with Tessa and she’d see him in the morning.

Bloody Ewan and Gary came over.

Gary leaned against the tray. “She finally get sick of you this morning, drummer boy?”

“Piss off.” He slammed the door of his ute shut. Unfortunately, it was a hot day and he’d left the window wound down this morning. He could still hear them.

Ewan leaned against the door of his own car.

“Maybe she’ll want one of us now. At least she wouldn’t have to teach us to ride.” He hadn’t seen either of them doing dressage. They were always hunched over the backs of the racehorses, stirrups high. He had to get better at riding eventually.

Gary and folded his arms. “Not me. I’ve got too much pride to be some rich bitch’s riding toy.”

Cole ignored them and turned on the ignition.

“She push you around like that in the sack too?” Ewan said over the sound of the motor.

He considered getting out of the ute again and punching them. One of the advantages of working around trainee jockeys and not being one, they tended to be a lot smaller than you.

But he didn’t. Tom would want to know why they were fighting, and it could all get messy. He left them to it and went home.