Trail Ride

In the stables two beautiful horses had already been saddled for Lexi and Alex to ride. Alex walked closer to the brown horse coaxing Lexi forward "come sweetheart , let me introduce you to your horse."

Lexi walked closer to stand next to the beautiful chestnut horse. She patted its nose and rubbed her hand along it's long neck felling it's slick coat underneath her palm.

Alex reached out patting the horses neck introducing her to the beautiful creature "Lexi this is Cocoa. He's very gentle, a smart horse with a calm nature," Alex continued to stroked the horses neck gently as he spoke "Do you like him?" Coco was one of the finest horses in his stable, a powerful stallion gentle enough for a child to ride.

"He's beautiful Alex ."Lexi cooed, she loves horses, back at Whitley castle that's how she spends most of her day.

They have a man who works in the stables but Lexi prefers to take care of her own horse . She's not much of a girly girl and has never minded getting dirty.She also finds satisfaction in taking care of something that belongs to her.

"He's a great horse for trail rides,do you want to ride him today?" Alex ask, giving Lexi a side glance to see her nod her head while rubbing cocoa's velvety soft nose.

Alex walked over to the black horse and patted its powerful neck beckoning Lexi over to his side " Come, sweetheart "

Lexi sauntered over to where Alex was standing beside the huge black stallion, she rubbed the horses nose murmuring softly "Hey, handsome what's your name."

Alex chuckled " Sweetheart this is my horse his name is Raven."

" Oh Alex, he's gorgeous."Lexi gushed stroking Ravens long neck gently.

" That he is sweetheart , Are you ready?" Alex ask to see Lexi nod her head and saunter back over beside Coco.

Alex mounted his house and waited patiently for Lexi to mount Coco. But after a few minutes seeing Lexi didn't move to mount her horse , he patiently waited a couple more minutes.
Watching her gently stroke and nuzzle Cocoa's nose while talking sweetly to him.

Finally Alex offered her his assistance. "Sweetheart Do you need help to mount your horse? Or would you like to ride with me?" He had listened carefully to every word Lexi said on their way back to his Castle and he recalled hearing her say she liked to ride. Perhaps she's not comfortable with a strange horse. He wondered.

"No, I'm fine." she giggled,giving Coco one last kiss on his soft nose.

Making her way around to the side of the horse, Lexi placed her foot into the stirrup and gripped the saddle horn with a little bounce she mounted Cocoa.

"Alex this is a wonderful surprise," Lexi murmured appreciatively."I like to compete in equestrian competitions, show jumping and cross country. My friends Karmen and Ethan compete also ,we go together most of the time."Lexi babbled excitedly.

"Sweetheart is that something you would still like to do?" Alex became lost in thought for a moment, if show jumping is something she loves then there's no reason she can't do it. He can have her horse shipped to Eddington Castle. Or better yet he can buy her a new horse and go watch her competitions.

" If it's safe for me to still compete, then yes I would like to." Lexi confirmed, and with her conformation the wheels in Alex's head started turning to make her wish come true.

" We can get things worked out for you to start competing again after you settle into to the Castle sweetheart." He promised.

" That sounds good, I will need to look at the website anyway to find out where the local competitions are held up here."

"You do that sweetheart," Alex replied glanced over in her direction. Nodding towards the woods, " Sweetheart the trail is through that thick patch of woods ." He murmured, glancing her way again he reminded her of their earlier conversation . " Do you remember what I told you at lunch sweetheart? About the rules to keep you safe. Don't ride on the trail unless I'm with you."

"Of course Alex, can you tell me why the woods are so dangerous? Is it animals?"She Ask curiously, wondering why there was no fence or wall on this side of the castle if the woods are so dangerous.

"There is a few bears up higher on the Mountain. But the main reason is because this isn't the only way to get inside the forest. It's part of the Castle grounds but I never felt the need to fenced it in. It's a lot of land and the cost could be outrageous. Enough to build several new shelter or fund a new program to help people in my kingdom. And as you know sweetheart fences and walls only keep honest people out. If someone wanted to get inside there's no stopping them."

Alex continued, " Anyway sweetheart, If I'm in the Royal Court and you feel like riding there is an area behind the stables."

Lexi bobbed her head in agreement "Okay Alex, I will only ride on the trail with you." She agreed, not only to not go into the forest but to everything Alex just said. Helping people in his kingdom is way more important than building a huge wall that will only keep honest people out. She smiled to herself because that is the main reason she agreed to marry Alex to begin with. To help people who are not in a position to help themselves.

When they entered the Woods the trail was wide and clear. However after riding further into the forest a tree had fallen down blocking the trail .But the horses had no problem jumping over the tree. Lexi and Alex continue riding until they came to a large open area with a big lake.

The majestic snow capped mountains in the back ground reflecting in the surface of the clear blue water mad the view look like a post card.

Alex brought his horse to a halt and dismounted .Seeing Alex dismount his horse Lexi dismounted her's also.

"Come with me sweetheart," Alex beckoned, extending his hand out for her to take. When she put her hand in his, they laced their fingers together and Alex lead her down to the edge of the beautiful clear mountain lake.

"You told me that you like to fish , we can come here and fish this weekend if you want to. Do you like to go camping too?" He ask surprising her again with the possibility of another adventurous outing.

Lexi gazed across the beautiful clear blue lake and the lush green forest as she took in her surroundings.The siren sounds of birds singing and the slight breeze blowing the leaves around in the trees was music to her ears.

For a girl like Lexi who loves the outdoors this place was Heaven on earth. She didn't need to think twice about Alex's invention to come up here this weekend to fish. She was absolutely positive that she wanted to fish in this gorgeous mountain lake this weekend.

However she didn't really know if she would like to camp out here. She never actually tent camped before. It would definitely be a new experience. When she goes hunting with her father they stay in their cabin at the lake . She gave the space one more good look over to make sure there wasn't a small cabin nearby. Maybe nestled back among the trees that she might have overlooked before she answered "I don't know if I like camping, I've never been camping before."

Seeing she looked a bit curious Alex ask,
" Would you like to go this weekend? I can
have the tree we jumped over cleared from the trail and we can bring the jeep up here."

Leaning forward he whispered on her neck with his warm breath brushing across her sensitive skin,." Or we can go out to dinner again and have some more wine . I did enjoy sleeping next to you." He teased, sending goosebumps running up her spine.

Her cheeks turned red from his shameless flirting , making her wonder why he has suddenly become such a flirt. All this time she has been talking to him, she was the one who flirted with him,not the other way around.

And now that the tables have turned it made her a bit nervous. After all Alex is quite a bit older than she is and with his good looks she's sure he's an experienced lover.

She giggled immediately changing the direction of this conversation , "But you said the woods are dangerous. I don't think we should camp here."

" They are dangerous for you sweetheart , but not when I'm with you." He replied, noticing her heart was beginning to flutter he gently massaged her shoulders to calm her down.

"You don't need to decide right now" he murmured close to her ear, slipping his hand down to her waist and give it a gentle squeeze.

"Thank about it and tell me later."


" Uh..Uh.. Alex ..you said there's bears in these woods? "She stammered nervously .

" Sweetheart there are a few bears on the up higher and on the other side of the mountain, but they usually never roam over this far, don't worry about that." He responded,glancing up at the sky noticing the sun would be going down shortly. And it would be best for them to head back towards the castle. He has perfect vision at night but he knew she didn't. He also didn't want to take any chances when it came to her safety.

" I'll let you think about what you would like to do this weekend and you can tell me later sweetheart .We need to head back to the castle before it gets dark. The forest is pitch black at night making it hard to stay on the trail."

She nodded and they walked back to the cleaning where they left the horses to head back to the stables . When they came out of the woods Lexi glanced over at Alex with a mischievous grin on her face,feeling a bit playful.

She gave her horse a little kick in the flank , the horse reacted as she expected by picking up its pace. Then she gave Cocoa another little kick with a light squeeze of her calf's to his ribs. Cocoa responded beautifully and was galloping across the pasture at full speed.

Alex chuckled, Giving Ravin at little kick and even with his large stature within a few minutes he was galloping along beside her .

After slowing their pace Alex chuckled " Did you really think I would give you a faster horse than mine ."

"Nope,but I'm lighter than you. So I thought I could work that to my advantage." She murmured playfully with a little shrug.

When they reached the stables a man in a red shirt came out to get the horses. Alex talked to the man for a few seconds, but Lexi couldn't hear what they said. Then the man gave Alex a nod and took the horses into the stables.

As they walked back to the Castle Alex kept
distracting her with small talk,touching her waist and hips. Enjoying the feeling of her luscious curves under his palm.

When they reached her bedroom, she turned facing him hoping for a kiss. When Alex leaned forward a little trapping her body between his and the door and his long arm snaked behind her back Lexi's breath hitched. But instead of pulling her into his arms and crashing those sexy full lips on her's he grabbed the door knob.

With one hand on the doorknob he caressed her cheek with the other. He stooped and to Lexi's disappointment he kissed the top of her head.

Then pushed the bedroom door open." Get dressed for dinner sweetheart ,I will be back in a hour to escort you to the dining room."