‘Firstly, let me thank you for coming.’ Andrej set down the lamp. ‘I was not sure you would. Obviously your desire to learn is strong. As is mine to teach you. But what you must understand is that my methods are like no one else’s. You must do exactly as I say at all times.’
Again I couldn’t shake the feeling there was another meaning to his words, one that had nothing to do with any attempts to improve my horsemanship. The impression was reinforced when Andrej came close to me. He smiled, as though at a joke whose punchline I didn’t understand.
‘The first thing we must do, Jamie, is get you to a place where you are completely comfortable astride your horse, where you know you can control him with the most subtle of movements and he will follow your bidding. Now, when man first learnt to tame these beautiful beasts, he had no saddle, no spurs, no crop. He rode bareback, and that is what I wish you to do.’
‘OK.’ I made to walk towards Smoke, still a little apprehensive about getting on his back, especially without the aid of stirrups to give me a leg-up, but reckoning it might be a little easier with him tied to the post.
Andrej stilled me, gripping my shoulder. ‘You don’t understand. When I say bareback, I mean you as well as the horse. Take your clothes off.’
I almost laughed at the suggestion, even as some deeply buried part of me thrilled at the idea of having to undress in front of this gorgeous man. ‘Are you serious?’
‘You think I would joke about a matter like this?’ He shook his head. ‘You do not know me very well, though I think that will change as these lessons progress. Now, we do not have all night, and you have already wasted enough of my time today. Strip.’
The word sent a jolt of lust straight to my cock, making it twitch. Anxious not to displease Andrej any further, I removed my bulky padded jacket, tossing it to the ground. My sweater and T-shirt followed, pulled off over my head in the same motion. Goosepimples prickled on my skin as the cold air hit it, but I continued to undress, aware of my instructor watching me with impatience.
Unsure whether he wanted me to take off my boots, I turned to my jeans next, unbuckling the belt and making short work of the fly buttons. Pulling them down, I did an awkward little hop from foot to foot as I manoeuvred them off over my heavy boots. If Andrej thought I looked foolish, he kept his opinion to himself for once.
Standing in front of him, hoping he’d be satisfied by the speed with which I’d followed his instructions, I began to regret my choice of underwear. My tight white briefs did nothing to conceal the outline of my cock, visibly swollen beneath the thin cotton, or the damp spot of precome already forming at its tip.
‘You call that stripping?’ Andrej’s tone was scathing. ‘The rest as well, and be quick about it.’
This was crazy. The stable was freezing cold, and now he wanted to me to stand on the grubby floor in my bare feet, to say nothing of the humiliation of being bare-arsed naked while he was fully dressed. Yet if this was humiliation, why did my cock surge up even harder as I peeled off my briefs?
I dropped my underwear on top of the pile of clothes then stared at Andrej with a defiant look on my face. I wasn’t going to be browbeaten by him, and I wanted to show him I had nothing to be ashamed of – at least, not in the cock department.
He returned my gaze with a smile. ‘Very nice.’ I wasn’t sure if he was referring to my body or my willingness to obey him. ‘At last you are ready to begin.’
Andrej dragged a heavy wooden block over to Smoke’s left side. ‘This is a mounting block. It makes it easier for you to get on a horse when you have no stirrups to aid you. Now, climb on to your horse, nice and slowly.’
He was right. Stepping on to the block did make all the difference. I threw my right leg over Smoke’s broad back with relative ease, feeling the heat of his body against my bare thigh. His reins hung loose and I picked them up, gripping them with more confidence than when I’d mounted him this morning.
‘Very good, Jamie.’ Andrej was praising me for the simplest thing, yet I felt a thrill of pride that caused me to sit a little straighter. ‘Now we need to correct your position. First, you need to find your balance. I want you to sit so your seat bones are comfortably in the middle of Smoke’s back, with your legs hanging loose on each side. Make sure you do not slouch. Everything needs to be in the correct alignment. OK, you have done that?’
‘Yes, sir.’ I had no idea where the honorific came from, but it felt right to use it, rather than his Christian name. I didn’t realise it, but the balance of our relationship had been shifting since the moment Andrej led me into the stable and, as every moment passed, I was relinquishing more control to him – and doing so willingly.