to mine. “What?” he asked. “I mean, yeah, I can, but…are you sure? It won’t bother you or make you uncomfortable?”
I frowned. Why would it bother me? I shook my head in reply.
I was able to see his Adam’s apple as it bobbed up and down as he swallowed, his gaze locked with mine for a second before he nodded.
“Yes, I’m sure!”
It was only when I moved forward a little, and the prince settled himself behind me, that I knew what he’d meant by his question about if it would bother me or not. He was close. Really close. My back was pressed firmly to his naked chest and his head was right beside mine. I could almost feel his heartbeat.
Oh, dear God…
“Hold on to this,” he said after a minute, moving my right hand to the saddle horn, my left hand following next. His tone held something thick in it, but I couldn’t tell what it was.
The prince then held the reins tightly with his right hand, positioning it in the middle and not on the side. His elbow pressed tightly to my stomach as he pushed me back even more into his body, causing my heartbeat to race even faster. His left hand touched my hair that was over my shoulders and back, and he moved it all to my left shoulder, tucking some behind my ear while I sat still, fighting with my heart to settle down a bit–I didn’t want it to burst out of my chest, yet.
The same hand that had gathered my hair and put it aside moved down and around my body, holding me as firmly as he was holding the reins if not even more. His elbow was now pressed to the back of his left hand that was above my stomach.
I think it was then that my breath started to hitch, especially when I felt his own breath fanning over my skin, right on that soft spot behind my ear as he whispered, “Hold on tight, Beautiful Princess.”
It seemed like screaming was all I was able to do. Well, aside from laughing, chuckling, gasping and squealing.
Riding Thunder was really fun, more than I ever thought it would be. It was better than riding a roller coaster; as a matter of fact, it was better than any ride I had ever been on in an amusement park. God! It was magical!
I could easily hear the prince’s chuckle in my ear every time I screamed. I was really glad that my screaming didn’t make him deaf, because my own ears were already buzzing with them, and I was pretty sure my voice would be hoarse when this ride ended. I didn’t want it to end. Ever.
“This is so good!” I cried out. We were now far from the stable and the garden; there was light-golden sand all around us, everywhere I looked it was desert. A beautiful desert, that shone under the light of the full moon, and the magnificent sight that was made by the mountains as they hugged it on either side of us.
“Will we find our way back?” My mind, that never stopped working for a minute of my life, begged me to ask the question after a long while of more laughter and gushing.
“Don’t worry, Princess,” the prince said in my ear. “I know this desert like the back of my hand.” His voice, like every time he spoke–which were few–sent shivers down my spine.
“Can you make him go faster?”
Without replying to me, the prince’s hand tightened on the rope and pulled a bit. His legs, which were stuck to mine, tapped Thunder’s sides and he went faster. I squealed louder.
The cool breeze that was blowing on my face kept messing up my hair and I was glad that it was all on my left shoulder while the prince’s head stayed on my right one, because my hair would’ve blinded him for sure.
“Oh, my God!” I cried. “Faster, faster!” This time, the prince’s hand tightened over my stomach, and I think his breath hitched a little. I wondered if going faster was trying to him or something. Thunder didn’t go any faster, though.
“Faster, please!”
I felt the side of his jaw press tightly to my neck for a moment as he panted into my skin. I was pretty sure I heard him dropping an F-bomb under his breath, before he pulled the reins tighter this time and pulled up. His hand held me tightly as Thunder stood on his back