Her Obsession (by Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 96

Where I Grew Up.

Conner

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I hadn’t felt this buzzed in years. Not from a fight, not from a win, not from a kill. This was different. I was excited to show her where I grew up. To see how my little ghost would sit in it, whether she’d fight the land like she fought everything else or whether she’d let it hold her. The stables smelled like hay, leather, and clean earth. Familiar. Home. I grabbed a bridle off the wall and tossed her a grin over my shoulder.

“Ever saddled a horse before?”

She raised a brow, arms folded, chin tilted in that way she had when she was trying not to let on she didn’t have a clue. “I’ve… seen one. Up close.”

I barked out a laugh, shaking my head. “Christ. That’s adorable.” I ran my hand down the gelding’s neck, murmuring to him before slipping the bridle on. “This lad’s name is Ruairí. Means red–haired king. Stubborn bastard, but he’s got a good heart.”

Sage stepped a little closer, cautious. “And you just… climb on him? He doesn’t throw you off?”

“Only if you piss him off,” I said, smirking. Her glare was worth every ounce of cheek.

I showed her the saddle, how the girth tightened under his belly, how the stirrups adjusted. She watched, silent, sharp–eyed as always, like she was memorising every step. When I led Ruairí out and put a boot in the stirrup, she hovered. Hesitant. My little storm, trained to kill in a dozen ways, is wary of a horse. My grin nearly split my face.

“You’re scared,” I teased, voice low.

“I am not,” she shot back, bristling instantly.

“Adorable,” I said again, swinging up easily, then reaching down for her hand. “Come on then, little ghost. Up you get.”

She hesitated, lips parting to argue, but I wasn’t having it. I caught her wrist, hauled her up with a strength that left her glaring at me, and settled her right in front of me on the saddle. Her little ass pressed back against me, fitting so perfectly it almost made me groan.

“There now,” I murmured against her ear, arms bracketing her as I took up the reins. “Not so scary, is it?”

Her silence told me plenty. She might’ve hated it, but she wasn’t moving. And Christ, feeling her perched there, stiff but leaning ever so slightly into me, it was better than any battlefield victory I’d ever known. Here’s something my little ghost needed me for. I like that.

1 clicked my tongue, gave Ruairí the lightest squeeze with my heels, and he shifted forward, slow and steady. Sage went rigid against me, her back stiff as a board.

“Relax,” I murmured, one hand on the reins, the other finding her hip. “He’s just walking. You’ve got to move with him, not fight it. Loosen up a bit.”

Her head snapped over her shoulder, eyes narrowing. “Loosen up? I’m sitting on a beast that could break me in half if it sneezes.”

I chuckled low in my throat, leaning in closer. “Aye, but he won’t. He’s gentler than he looks. You’ve faced bullets and blades, little ghost. Don’t tell me it’s a horse that’s got you rattled.”

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12:52 Mon, Oct 20

Where I Grew Up

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Her lips pressed tight, but I felt the tiniest shift in her body as she tried to follow the horse’s rhythm, swaying with the sway of Ruairi’s stride. My grin widened. “There you go. See? Natural.”

“Natural disaster,” she muttered.

I laughed outright this time, the sound echoing in the quiet yard as we moved toward the open field. “Careful. He understands tone, you know. Hurt his feelings and he’ll toss you just to prove a point.”

Her breath hitched, and I felt her fingers twitch against my thigh where she’d braced herself. “You’re lying.”

“Maybe,” I drawled, letting the reins slacken a bit. “But you’ll never know until you sweet–talk him, will you?”

She groaned under her breath, and I knew I’d won this round. The horse plodded along, steady as the sunrise, and she finally, finally, let herself lean back into me, her body loosening enough that I could feel it in the way she moved with the saddle.

“See?” I murmured again, softer now, lips brushing her hair. “Told you it wasn’t so bad.”

Her answer was a quiet huff, but there was no real fight left in it.

We eased out past the last of the barns, Ruairí’s hooves thudding softly against packed earth before finding the springy give of open grass. The world widened in front of us. Rolling green stretches all the way to the horizon, dotted with stone fences and the occasional stand of oak. Hills rose and dipped like sleeping giants, patched with wildflowers and heather, the wind carrying their scent straight to us. I felt Sage tense again, but not from fear this time. Her chin lifted, her eyes moving fast, trying to take it all in at once. I could feel the way her breath caught, the way her body stilled against mine like the sight had punched right through her.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” I murmured against her ear.

She nodded slowly, and for once she didn’t argue, didn’t snap back. She just breathed it in. I tightened my arm around her waist, guiding her hands to the reins. “Here. Feel it yourself. Nudge him gently with your heels, loosen the pull on the left side.”

She followed, hesitant at first, and Ruairí shifted under us, angling toward the rise of a hill. Her gasp slipped out before she could swallow it, and I grinned.

“There you go, little ghost,” I said softly. “He listens to you.”

Her head turned slightly, enough for me to catch the disbelief in her eyes. “He actually did.”

“Aye. He knows strength when he feels it. And he knows trust when it’s given.”

She looked back out over the land, quiet, and I let her sit in it. The breeze tugged strands of her silver hair free, whipping them across my jaw. Her body shifted naturally now, moving with the rhythm of the horse, and I thought I’d never seen anything more perfect than my deadly girl learning how to breathe in a world that wasn’t trying to kill her.

“Careful,” I teased, pressing my mouth close to her ear. “You look like you’re enjoying yourself.”

“Shut up,” she muttered, but her voice was softer than I’d ever heard it, and I think in this moment, I’m cementing the fact that I will marry this girl one day,

2/3

12:53 Mon, Oct 20

Where I Grew Up.

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