Page 14 of Ride With Me
“Panties too.” Maybe I was pushing my luck, but this wasn’t for fun. This was safety.
She pulled them off, too, sliding her clothes down and off her feet before kicking the small pile to the side.
I patted my lap again in an unspoken command.
She stood still, chewing on that lip.
I reached a hand out. She took it, accepting my help as I drew her over my lap and adjusted her position until her bottom was pointed upward, with her feet barely touching the floor. Her hands gripped my pants leg.
I smoothed my hand over her perfect ass. “Safety is a serious thing, love. I need to know about things that are going to trigger you. Things that will make you freeze or panic. What do I need to know about?”
Savannah remained silent.
I raised my hand and brought it down on her upturned ass, twice on each cheek, then paused as pink handprints rose. She let out a gasp.
I ran my hand lightly over her bottom. “Are you ready to talk, love?”
A head shake was my only answer. I landed several spanks in a row, slightly harder than the first, drawing a yelp from her. She started to squirm as the skin of her bottom cheeks turned from light to deep pink.
I continued her spanking while I started to lecture. “Talk, Savannah. What was it that made you panic and freeze? Was it Henry? Another horse?”
No answer, but her hand moved to her face to wipe a tear.
I paused the spanking. “Who’s Ace?”
With that, the dam broke. Tears ran down her cheeks as she sobbed. I rubbed her back in small circles while she sobbed, waiting for her to be ready to share.
Finally, her tears subsided. She lay limp over my lap.
“Who’s Ace, Savannah?”
Savannah took a shaky breath. “He’s—he was my horse.”
That made sense, I supposed. He must have looked like Henry, triggered something inside her. But what didn’t make sense was her reaction. Everyone who grew up around horses had gone through the pain of losing a horse. What was different about this one?
I pushed, still smoothing my hand over her back. “And what happened to Ace?”
Savannah shook her head. “I can’t. You’ll think—no. You’ll do the same thing he—I can’t talk about it.”
There was more to this, wasn’t there? I hated the idea that I had to force this out of her, but what would happen the next time she had a panic attack in the middle of the barn? “Oh, doll. You have a lot bottled up in there. Let’s move this to another room.”
I stood placing a hand on the small of her back. She walked along silently beside me as we moved up the stairs and down the short hallway to the bedroom she’d chosen, the one my mom had decorated for company before she passed.
I paused next to the bed and gestured. “Lean over the bed, Savannah.”
Savannah looked at me, her brow furrowed in question.
I held her gaze with my dominant one. “You’re going to learn a few things here. First, and most important, that you can trust me. I will always keep you safe, and I will do whatever needs to be done to keep you safe, even if it’s uncomfortable in the moment. You are going to tell me what I need to know to keep you safe. And above all, you are going to learn that I’m nothing like whoever you’re thinking of.”
10
Savannah
IwantedtotrustLogan. I did. But what if his words meant nothing, just like so many other people in my life?
The firmness of his gaze made my stomach flip, but there wasn’t malice there. It was caring.
It was enough to make me swallow hard and lay my upper body over the bed. Because I needed this from him. I needed the reassurance that he wouldn’t just give up on me, like other people had when I refused to take down my walls. That he wouldn’t just leave me when he found out the truth. That he would follow through on his promises.
