Natasha's Awakening (36 page)

“Well you’re no fun. I’m going to check the washing machine.” She told him getting up and heading off to the laundry, leaving Eric with his emails. The first load was finished and Natasha pulled the wet clothes out of the machine and loaded it up again. She had to laugh when she saw Eric’s washing. There wasn’t much in the way of underwear for him besides socks. Damn, she thought to herself. I wonder if he was commando at work under those many expensive looking suits? Now that would have made it hard to concentrate at work if she’d known he was naked under them.

Once the washing machine was running again with the second load Natasha stepped out on the back deck of the house to look for a clothes line. She couldn’t help laughing at her situation. Never would she have guessed when she met up with Eric in the hotel that a week later she would be doing something as mundane as washing in his country home. It brought her a strange sense of satisfaction to be doing laundry though. She really could pretend that this was all real, that they really were a couple.

After hunting around the yard she found a clothes line and started hanging out the washing. She’d just bent down to get the next garment from the washing basket when strong arms closed around her and she was pulled back against Eric’s hard thighs. She squealed almost dropping the thong of hers she had in her hand. “Bloody hell Eric, don’t sneak up on me like that.” She said, her heart beating wildly in her chest.

“I didn’t sneak.” He told her. “You seemed deep in thought and you mustn’t have heard me.”

“Well now you’re here you can make yourself useful.” She passed him her thong and the peg in her hands.

“Sure baby.” And he started hanging out the clothes with her. Natasha watched him for a moment and burst out laughing. “So what’s so damned funny now?” He asked as he pegged out one of Natasha’s dresses.

“The great Eric Rothman hanging clothes on the line. Who would have thought?” Her amused gaze met his.

Eric looked a little indignant. “I’ll have you know I’m quite handy around the home. I can cook, clean, do laundry and. . .” He paused turning to face her. “I’m damned good with an iron.” he said.

Natasha laughed again. “Who would have thought.” She grinned at him.

“I told you before baby, I’m not just a pretty face.” And he went back to what he was doing. Natasha threw her peg at him in response.

They finished hanging the washing out and went back inside to wait for the next load to be ready. Natasha headed upstairs to see what she had to wear that would be suitable for horse riding and when she finally joined Eric back downstairs he was watching TV. She flopped down alongside of him on the lounge and he pulled her in against his side, dropping a kiss on her head.

Together they sat like that, watching TV. Natasha idly ran her fingers over the links of Eric’s bracelet where his arm lay over her shoulders, his wrist hanging limply near her breasts. He pulled her closer, tucking her head under his chin and they stayed like that until Natasha had to get up to hang the washing out. She loved Eric like this. He was caring and gentle, almost loving in the way he held her, dropping kisses on her head, seeming to need her close and when her feelings for him were so strong, she wasn’t complaining at all.

Natasha offered to make lunch, just preparing a selection of sandwiches for them from the well stocked fridge care of the infamous Maggie that she was still to meet. Eric attacked his sandwiches with enthusiasm and she laughed when he told her how good they were around a huge bite he had crammed in his mouth. “They’re just sandwiches.” She said but he shook his head.

“These aren’t just sandwiches baby, these are gourmet sandwiches.”

After their meal, they cleaned up the kitchen and Natasha went upstairs to change into the clothes she was wearing horse riding. She wore her jeans and had found an old worn t-shirt of Eric’s which she cinched in at her waist with a belt since it hung midway down her thighs without it. She didn’t have any boots, but she had a pair of canvas shoes on which were going to have to do.

Eric changed his shoes for riding boots and they were ready. Taking her hand in his he led her to the back of the property that surrounded the home, along a winding track which led to stables and a huge feed shed which was well stocked with hay and bins of various food for the horses.

He pulled down a couple of halters and leads from the wall where various tack was hanging and told her the horses were out in the paddocks. He rarely stabled them he said because they would need daily attention and no one could come and tend to them each day.

With the leads and halters thrown over one shoulder, Natasha followed Eric as he headed down another track towards some paddocks she could see divided off with high white post and rail fencing. A loud whinny pierced the air and she laughed. She was so excited. She was going horse riding on horses that were the most stunning of them all in her mind and with the man she loved more than anything in this world. What could be better than that? For now everything was wonderful in their protected, isolated little bubble and she hoped nothing would happen to change that.

                                                                         Chapter 17.

Eric stopped at a large paddock, dotted with a few trees and a shelter at one end. The four Arabian horses were grazing in it. They all wore rugs to keep them warm in the cooler Tasmanian climate so Natasha couldn’t see them properly but what she could see of them, was stunning.

He whistled and all four heads came up. A couple of them whinnied at him. Eric opened the gate and waved Natasha through ahead of him. All four horses trotted over, tails held up high behind them, necks arched. The classic show offs of the equine world.

He slipped the halter over the head of a beautiful chestnut with a wide blaze and four stockings, handing the lead to Natasha to hold while he caught a grey with a dainty head and large warm eyes. “Meet Bakari, which means noble one.” Eric pointed to the chestnut gelding Natasha was holding. “And this lady is Cleopatra.” He patted the arched neck of the mare.

“Which one am I riding?” Natasha asked and Eric pointed to Cleopatra.

“She has a beautiful temperament baby and I don’t want to take any risks given I don’t know how much you’ve ridden before. Cleopatra is a gentle lady for an Arab. You won’t have any problems with her.”

“They both look pretty gentle.” Natasha said and he nodded.

“They are, but Bakari is a little more high strung than Cleopatra baby.”

Natasha looked over at the other two Arabians who were losing interest since Eric wasn’t after them. “What are the names of those two?” she asked.

“The bay is Zuberi and his name means strong and the grey is Jabari. His name means brave. He’s not a riding horse. I saved him from ending up as pet food baby. Jabari had been abused and was very thin. He didn’t trust anyone there for a long time but with handling and care he’s great now, but he’s never going to be able to be ridden. He was starved during his growing years and his bones aren’t strong enough to carry a person.” Eric’s expression showed his disgust over what had happened to the horse. “You can see he’s smaller than the others baby? He’s just going to live out his days here. Hopefully he’ll have a long life and a good life to make up for the bad start.” Eric reached out to run his hand down Jabari’s neck and Natasha watched him with the horse. Jabari’s story made her sad but she loved Eric even more if that was possible for what he’d done for that horse.

Eric took Bakari’s lead and handed Natasha Cleopatra’s and together they lead the horses out of the paddock and back to the stables. He tied them up and went to get the saddles and bridles for them. While Eric was doing that, Natasha removed the rugs from the two horses and stood back admiring the beauty of both animals. Cleopatra was slightly smaller than Bakari and a real girl with her dainty head and slim legs. She was a beautiful mare. Bakari was taller with a stunning head. He had the classic dished face of the Arabian and his colour was striking. He was gorgeous.

When Eric came back armed with the saddles and bridles, he quickly saddled up both horses then got Natasha to mount Cleopatra so he could adjust her stirrups for her. When he was satisfied that the girth was tight enough and her stirrups were right, he mounted Bakari and with him leading the way, they headed off down the track.

Eric’s property was beautiful and as they rode along Natasha was in awe of the views of Mt Roland that loomed up ahead of them. There were paddocks with Hereford beef cattle and Natasha fell in love with the young calves playing together. “How many cows do you have?” She asked him as they rode along side by side.

“Only twenty cows and calves baby. I can’t risk overstocking when I’m not here enough to keep an eye on things. Thomas looks after them for me and arranges for the calves to be sold off when they’re old enough.”

“The calves are so cute.” Natasha smiled at the antics as some of the calves started leaping and bounding about when they saw them going past on the horses.

“They’re cute now baby, but once they’re big enough they are sold off for meat.” He explained to her and Natasha’s face screwed up.

“You eat them?” She said horrified and Eric chuckled at her.

“Baby that’s the whole purpose of breeding beef cattle, to sell them off for meat and Thomas takes a couple of yearlings a year to fill their own freezers. It’s the cycle of life baby. Where did you think your steaks came from?”

Natasha knew what he was saying was right but seeing the cattle grazing, the calves running around brought it home to her a little more than she wanted to know, about where her steaks and sausages came from.

Eric stopped to open a gate and she rode through, waiting while he shut the gate and mounted Bakari again. “Do you feel like picking up the pace a bit baby? Let these two stretch their legs?” and Natasha nodded. He nudged Bakari with his heels and the horse responded breaking into a trot before moving into a slow canter. His tail was held high, his neck arched. He looked stunning.

Natasha encouraged Cleopatra to follow and she broke straight into a smooth canter, her head tucked in against her chest. They caught up to Bakari and started to run neck and neck before Eric grinned at her and urged Bakari to go faster. He flattened out into a gallop and Natasha gave Cleopatra her head and the mare responded, her neck stretched out as she raced after Bakari.

It was exhilarating, galloping after Eric, the wind making Natasha’s eyes water as she bent over Cleopatra’s neck. Finally he reined in Bakari when they arrived at a pretty area of the property where trees lined the bank of a small river. “Oh Eric, it’s beautiful.” Natasha said in awe and he grinned at her.

“This is my favourite place to come when I stay here. I like the peace and quiet. The only sound is the water flowing.”

“I can understand that, it’s perfect.” She smiled across at him.

“Do you want to stay here for a little while? We can tie up the horses. Stretch our legs a bit. If you haven’t ridden for a long time baby, I don’t want you getting too sore.”

“I’d love to.” Natasha smiled at him and he dismounted from Bakari and looped his reins over the branch of a tree before holding Cleopatra steady so she could dismount. Her legs were slightly shaky from using muscles she hadn’t used like that in a while and she stumbled against the mare who snorted and sidestepped. Eric held Cleopatra patting the mare to reassure her and slid an arm around Natasha to steady her.

“Are you ok baby?” He asked and she nodded.

“I think my legs are protesting from using muscles I haven’t used like this in quite a while.” She laughed.

Once she was standing without his assistance, Eric untied the leads from around the necks of both horses and tied them up, giving them enough length so they could graze a little if they wanted to. “Will they be ok?” Natasha asked.

“They’ll be fine.” He assured her. “They’ve just finished the show circuit down here. Remember I told you my neighbours’ kids use them for showing? Ben and Alex are very experienced with horses. These two are used to being tied up for hours baby, they’ll stand all day if they have to.” He said, taking Natasha’s hand and he led her down the bank to the water’s edge.

They walked along the bank of the river for a while and Natasha watched as fish leapt in the water. “You have fish in your river Eric.” She said, surprised.

“It’s not my river baby, it just flows through part of my property but yes, there’s fish, trout I think.” He told her.

“Do you fish at all?” 

He laughed. “I used to fish years ago, but I don’t have the time anymore plus I prefer to order my fish already cooked and ready to eat rather than go through the whole catching it and cleaning it baby.”

They continued walking along in silence until they came to where a large tree had blown over and was lying across the river like a naturally formed bridge. “Think you can cross this?” Eric asked and Natasha looked at it nervously. The river bubbled along under it and although the tree was big, she was still scared of falling in the water. He watched the emotions play across her face. “Come on baby, I’ll hold you.” He assured her and reluctantly Natasha agreed. “There’s a pretty clearing on the other side of the river where the trees form like a canopy over it. I’d love to show you, but we have to cross to get to it.”

“Ok Eric, but don’t you dare let go of my hand. I don’t want to fall in the river.”

Eric laughed softly. “Baby, I’ll never let you go.” He held her hand firmly in his strong grip and began to lead her across the tree bridge. Carefully he picked his way across, stepping over branches and holding onto Natasha’s hand that hard, he was crushing her fingers but she didn’t complain. She was so scared of falling, she didn’t want him to loosen his hold on her at all. Her mind was ticking over with what Eric had just said. He’d told her he’d never let her go. So much she wished that he meant that he would never let her go, ever and not just to get her across the river.

Finally they reached the other side and Natasha breathed a sigh of relief when her feet were back on solid ground. Eric laughed, pulling her into his arms to drop a kiss on her lips. “See baby? I told you I’d get you across safely.” Kissing her again, before taking her hand and together they continued walking.