Brian had always been a person who did whatever he wanted to do and that was why he was more persistent in pursuing the field of IT rather than go to the army.

The only problem was that he excelled in everything he did, something that made his father very reluctant in letting him go do whatever he wanted as he would be a great a.s.set to the army.

Unfortunately when he got fixated with something, he tended to give it his everything. His tattoos had started with his tattooing codes on the inside of his arm that were barely noticeable but he grew fascinated with the art and ended up tattooing 80% of his upper body and even learning the craft himself.

Whenever there were military events he would wear turtlenecks with his suits instead of normal s.h.i.+rts and he would even pair them with gloves to hide the tattoos on his fingers.

So now that he was sitting in front of Rachel and she was not looking at him with judgemental eyes but rather with curiosity and fascination he could not help but also feel curious about her.

Rachel was completely lost in her thoughts and in her daze she had already reached out for his hand that was resting next to hers and pulled it close to inspect.

His hands were not soft but were callused as if he put them to use regularly. She lightly touched his tattooed fingers and looked at how the ink seamlessly blended into his skin.

She hadn't known what to expect but was surprised by how his skin felt normal, she thought the texture would be different because it was tattooed.

"Did it hurt?" Rachel asked and looked at Brian's pitch black eyes.

"Just a sting, it wasn't too painful" Brian responded as he continued to watch her.

"They look amazing" Rachel said and released his hand.

After she made the comment she realised that she was being rude by touching him without his explicit permission so she had released his hand.

"Thanks, you're quite far from the main house" Brian commented as he leaned against the tree.

"Mmh, I just wanted some fresh air and got curious about the stables but I got tired of walking since I toured the gardens before my trip." Rachel explained.

Honestly, she was surprised at how open she was being with a complete stranger but for some reason, he did not feel like one.

"Is that so?" Brian said as he looked at her bare feet.

"Mmh" Rachel replied and showed a rare smile.

"Then, would you like to ride the horse?" Brian asked as he pointed at the horse with his chin.

"Umm, he looks tall" Rachel commented clearly intimidated.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine, besides, I'll be right next to you" Brian said and stood up extending his hand to her.

"My attire isn't convenient" Rachel said once she stood up.

Brian knelt on one knee and helped her put her boots back on. She held onto his firm shoulders as she lifted her leg one after the other and before she knew it, both her feet had shoes on.

"The bottom of the skirt should be wide enough" Brian commented before he led her to his horse before she changed her mind.

"Will that be okay?" Rachel asked as she stood in front of the black horse who stared back at her with intelligent brown eyes.

"It should be fine, " Brian said before he placed his hands on her bare waist and lifted her easily onto the horse. Rachel was surprised so she had tightly held on to his shoulders.

"You need to sit upright so you won't fall" Brian said as he looked into her blue eyes that weren't too far away from his.

After his comment, she finally realised how awkward their position was and sat straighter on the horse, releasing his shoulders in the process.

"You need to sit astride" Brian said when he noticed that she was sitting with both legs on one side. Rachel nervously tried lifting her leg but she was too scared.

"Don't worry, I'm holding on to you" Brian said reminding Rachel that his hands were still placed on the naked skin on her waist.

Rachel could feel her face grow hotter but she managed to lift her leg and turn her body so she would sit astride on the horse. In the process, her skirt lifted for a couple of inches exposing he smooth legs.

Once Brian was sure that she was perfectly balanced on the horse, he cleared his throat and released her so that the situation wouldn't be too awkward.

He held on to the strap below the horse's chin and led the horse. Fortunately Rachel kept the reins loosed but what would not be easily noticeable was how tightly she was actually holding them.

Brian noticed that her knuckles had gone white from tightly holding on to the reins and started talking to her in an attempt to distract her.

Rachel was too focussed on how high up she actually was to care about what Brian was saying. She stopped herself several times from pulling the reins because she knew the horse would move faster if she did so, and if Brian was not next to her she would be scared to death so she sat stiffly on the horse.

Brian noticed that his attempts at distracting her had failed and that she had started going slightly pale from fear.

"Rachel?" Brian called her and she turned to look at him.

"You seem uncomfortable do you want to get off?" He asked considerately. Rachel opened and closed her mouth but no words came out.

She wanted to get off but at the same time she wanted to stay on the horse for longer. Brian could figure out what she was thinking from her hesitant expression and he chuckle.

"Do you mind if I get on the horse with you?" Brian asked. He saw that Rachel looked like she would rather get off the horse instead so he didn't push her.

"It's okay if you don't want to" Brian said with a smile as he looked at her hesitant expression.

"You can get on as well" Rachel said her voice barely audible.

"Pardon?" Brian asked like he did not hear what she said although he heard her very well.

"Um, It should be okay if you want to ride with me" Rachel repeated slightly louder than before.

"Oh, then if you will excuse me" Brian said before he held the reins and smoothly got on the horse settling behind Rachel.

Rachel who was stiff before, managed to become even stiffer, a detail that was easily noticed by Brian.

"If you're this tense, the horse will also be anxious" Brian said his voice sounding right next to her ear as he reached for the reins in her hands. In the process his hands surrounded her as if cradling her in his arms making her face turn red.