"You? Working in the stables?"

Jax smiled at me. "What? You can’t picture it?"

"I don’t know, I guess it’s hard to think of you being comfortable in any place other than on a stage."

He shrugged, a thoughtful frown on his face, before he turned away. "Yeah, I guess I did a lot of things before I ever got on stage."

Whatever he had done in the past, it didn’t seem like he was too eager to talk about it.

"Anyway, what other types of lessons do you have in store for my first horseback riding class?" I said, trying to steer the conversation away from dangerous territory. Jax had been so thoughtful to plan this surprise for me that I didn’t want to ruin the mood even though I was still curious about his past.

A slow smile returned to Jax’s face and he set his horse into motion. "Come on, let’s keep riding, I’ll show you."

As we started back down the trail, he explained how to gently squeeze my heels to get the horse up to gentle trot and then to a rapid gallop. We rode past prickly cacti and patches of wildflowers at a comfortable pace while I marveled at the ease with which he now controlled All Riled Up. As for myself, I was getting used to Stud Tamer, but still struggled sometimes with getting her to do what I wanted.

The ride was peaceful and tranquil underneath a cloudless sky that stretched on forever. It was a complete contrast to the rock ‘n’ roll world I associated with Jax. A world that revolved around the dark, crowded venues with music so loud you can barely hear yourself think. Even outdoor music festivals were suffused with drunks and advertisements everywhere you look. But out here, there was nothing other than silent nature, and I could see how he’d be able to appreciate this.

We rode in silence down the trail, with only the quiet murmur of nature around us, neither of us wanting to spoil the mood.

After we had been riding for almost an hour, we neared a small formation of rocks. Without warning. my horse came to an abrupt standstill that sent me shooting forward.

"Shit!" I instinctively grabbed ahold of her thick mane and luckily stopped myself from flying head first into the desert sand. Slightly dazed, I sat back in the saddle and tapped my heels to get her moving, but her hooves were glued to the ground.

Jax was riding a bit ahead of me, and I was grateful he didn’t see me almost get tossed, but I could not get the horse to budge. "Jax, I think something's wrong with my horse."

He twisted to look back at me and immediately spun his horse around to come trotting over to me. "Whatever you do, don't look down."

Naturally, I looked down.

A coil that almost blended into the sandy dirt sat in the middle of the trail. One end of the coil suddenly sprung up and started shaking like a possessed maraca. I nearly jumped out of the saddle when I realized the coil was a rattlesnake.

"Jax?" I heard my heart pounding in my ears and felt beads of sweat dripping down my forehead. "Um, Jax? What should I do?"

"Don’t do a thing. Just stay on your horse. I’ll take care of this."

The snake's rattling got louder and faster. My horse neighed and took a step back. I yanked my feet from the stirrups and bent my knees up to my chest, fearful that the snake would strike at any second.

Jax came riding up and quickly dismounted his horse. He picked up a long stick and started prodding the snake away from me. I thought he was going to use the stick to fling it away, but instead he pressed his boot down on the snake’s head. And then, without any hesitation, he reached under his boot and plucked up the rattlesnake by the neck.

With my heart still pounding, I sat there in disbelief as he nonchalantly held up the long snake in the air and seemed to admire the brown and gold diamond pattern in its scales.

"What the hell are you doing?" I cried, pointing at the snake, "That thing is poisonous!"

He looked at me with a mischievous grin. "This design would be great for a pair of high heels."

"Screw the heels. Get rid of it before you get bitten!"

He shrugged and flung it toward some yucca plants as if the deadly snake was nothing but a plastic frisbee. He then walked over and cupped my clammy hand in his palms. "Are you okay?"

A few deep breaths coupled with his steady hands calmed down my heart rate. "I'm good, thanks," I said, as I unsnapped the top two buttons on my shirt, trying to cool off from the mix of the adrenaline rush and the hot sun. "But let's get away from this place ASAP. I may be badass Riley, but not when everything out here is trying to kill us."

"Sounds good with me, let’s get out of here," Jax said. He leapt back up onto his horse, scanning the area before pointing to a spot about one hundred yards away. "Come on, I’ll race you to those rocks."

I might have been out of my element, but I wasn't going to roll over without a fight. "I don't think All Riled Up stands a chance against Stud Tamer," I teased.

He looked at me, his dark eyes pools of dangerous intensity. "Don’t forget Riley, I never back down from a challenge."

"How can I forget? But I’m warning you, get ready to eat my dust."

Jax smirked. "You’re on. I’ll count it off. One, two, three, forward!"

I tapped my heels a little harder than before and was shocked when Stud Tamer exploded into a gallop. The forward momentum jerked my head back and I grabbed the hat to keep it from falling off.

Somehow, I burst into an early lead, but when I looked to the side, I saw that Jax caught up. Hunched forward, leaning in close to All Riled Up's mane, Jax raced his horse hard and began inching ahead. I squeezed my heels and sore legs tighter against my horse and felt her pick up speed. We were locked in a dead heat.

Bouncing up and down in the saddle like a ragdoll, I struggled to maintain my composure. I clung to the leather reins so tightly they burned against my palms. My ears were roaring with the sound of the horses’ hooves clopping on the dry desert ground.

In the final stretch, with the rock formation rapidly approaching, I tried to keep my eyes firmly on the finish line but I chanced a glance at Jax. He rode with his eyes fixed on me instead of paying attention to what was ahead of him. At the final second, I pulled ahead and barely eked out the victory.

He tugged on his reins and I did the same, slowing down our horses so they were walking next to each other. I was happy about my win, but it quickly dawned on me that there was no way Jax would’ve lost to a first-timer like me. "You let me win!"

He raised his scarred brow. "Did I?"

"I might be a quick learner, but you’re an expert horse whisperer and it looked like you were taking it easy on me."

His sexy smile lit up his ebony eyes. "Guess I got distracted by the scenery."

I pumped my fist. "Well a win’s a win."

"I think we both won." He looked at me again the same way he had been during the race, and I realized his eyes were looking straight at my chest.

"No wonder." I shoved his shoulder playfully.

Jax just grinned at me.

After we walked our horses slowly on the trail for a few more minutes, Jax surveyed our surroundings and stopped his horse. "This seems like a good place to give these two a breather."

He slid off his horse first. I followed his lead, sliding off with relative ease, before handing him the reins. Although I was thoroughly enjoying my first horseback riding trip, I was relieved to get my feet back onto solid ground.