by Lux Miller
From what Aspen’s told me, Raven is either a raving bitch or shy and skittish, depending on her mood. But what I’m seeing is neither. Maybe I’m just the lucky duck who gets to see a side of Raven she doesn’t show to everyone, but what I see is a young woman that’s confident in her abilities to calm an animal having a temper-tantrum. Let’s just say that once Ditsy realizes that he’s good and truly stuck, he starts to fight against his captor.
Too bad his captor’s an inanimate object. This isn’t even the first time he’s got himself stuck in between the bars low on the fence of his stall, either. He’s literally been on the farm an hour and the absolute first thing he did was stick his muzzle between the bars and get it stuck. He managed to twist his head and free himself without my intervention, but this time, he’s not going anywhere. He’s got himself shoved in there so far, I’m not even sure he can be freed without some divine intervention.
But that doesn’t deter Raven. She frowns when Ditsy starts to nicker pitifully and twist his head back and forth in a desperate attempt to get himself loose. If I wasn’t positive that he’s a horse, I’d think he’s a dang donkey… because he sure is making an ass of himself! Raven glances over her shoulder at me with her eyes innocently wide, the sun causing her irises to sparkle like emeralds. “Can’t we do something? He’s going to hurt himself.”
I wince. How the hell am I supposed to tell this girl no? That it’s better if we let Ditsy tire himself out first, instead of risking taking a kick from his back legs? He may be a miniature horse, but a good wallop from one of his back hooves would still be enough to break a bone with a direct hit. Even a glancing blow would leave a nasty bruise for weeks.
Before I can answer, Raven’s climbed up and over the fencing that encloses Ditsy’s stall. As she lands on her feet a couple feet in front of the wildly squirming horse, she calls to me, “You coming or am I gonna have to help this poor baby all by myself? Don’t tell me you can ride a beast like Dallas all day, but you’re scared of an itty-witty-bitty little horse that needs your help.”
Seriously? Did this girl just attack my masculinity? It was definitely under the radar, but she so did. And I cannot deny the intrigue that blooms because of it. I heave a heavy sigh and stomp across the opened stall, pausing to peer at Raven through the bars on the other side of the fence. She’s on her knees in front of the damn horse with its head cradled as best she can in her lap as she strokes her hand between its eyes.
In less time than it takes me to figure out how I’m going to free the horse, she’s got him calmed down enough that he stops kicking his back legs out indiscriminately. I can’t hear what she’s saying, but she’s leaned down over him and whispering in his ear. A couple more minutes of whatever she’s saying, and Ditsy lays down in the stall, his only movement the expanding of his chest as he breathes.
In astonishment, I ask her, “Is he asleep?”
Raven looks up at me from the horse’s ear and shakes her head. She smiles and pats the side of his head gently. “Nope, but he knows now that if he doesn’t settle down and let us free him, that he’s going to sleep with his head between the bars tonight.”
I tilt my head to the side. “You told him that?”
She shrugs and nods. “Yeah. I mean, what else would I tell him? All he’s worried about right now is getting out of this death trap… and maybe what’s for dinner. Probably thinking that he hopes one of the miniature horses is a girl, because he needs to sow his oats. Boys are pretty typical no matter the species. They get cranky when they’re not fulfilling their primal needs. So, while I don’t speak horse, he got his point across to me, didn’t you boy? Yeah, who’s a good boy? Ditsy’s a good boy…”
I’m well aware of the fact that I look like an idiot standing here with my mouth hanging wide open. Did Raven just imply that all men think about is food and sex? And getting out of messy situations when we get into them? For a naive girl with no real world experience like her sister claims, she’s got some pretty interesting ideas regarding the opposite sex. I mean, she isn’t exactly wrong. Damnit, she’s actually kinda right… it’s been months since I’ve been with a woman and cranky doesn’t even begin to cover how I feel about it.
Just letting my mind wander to thoughts of having sex makes my dick jump in my pants. It’s like he’s reminding me that he’s still here. Yeah, buddy, I know you’re there… the way you’re straining against my jeans is an all-too-obvious reminder of your existence. In fact, my mind doesn’t just wander to the topic. It pulls off the side of the road and takes a break.
Raven clearing her throat loudly snaps my attention back to the present. She’s still cradling Ditsy’s head, but her gaze is obviously glued to me. A quick glance down at my jeans makes it obvious why. The bulge in the front of my jeans leaves no doubt as to what I’m currently thinking about. I grimace slightly and shift my stance to make it less obvious that I’m sporting a full-on boner right now.
She raises an eyebrow at me, then glances down at Ditsy’s neck where it’s wedged between the bars. I sigh heavily and walk over to Ditsy’s side cautiously. I shake my head at the dumb animal. I kneel down beside him and reach for his neck, trying to manipulate his head enough so that it’ll slip out.
“How on Earth did you get your head in here, Ditsy? It’s literally twice the size of the opening!”
Raven snickers softly and mutters something under her breath that sounds mysteriously like, “That’s what she said.”
My head shoots up and her cheeks flame when she realizes I heard what she whispered. It catches me by surprise that a woman who looks so naive could spout off a spot-on sexual retort so quickly. My lips spread into an easy grin, and I nod. “Indeed.”
Then an idea hits me like a sack of potatoes. “Lube!”
Raven’s face gets even redder as she stares at me in horror. “What?”
I wave both of my hands around in the air in a frantic motion. “Lube! We can use lube to make his head able to slip back between the bars!”
Raven looks mortified, but she doesn’t budge from her position on the floor of the barn. “Why are you telling me this?”
I shrug like it’s no big deal. “Thought you might have some or know where some is.”
Her cheeks are neon as she shakes her head furiously, “Hunter! What kind of floozy do you think I am? I’m seventeen! I’ve got no business having lube of any kind in my possession, much less on my person.”
Her defensiveness catches me off-guard. “Wait… are you saying you’re a…?”
She clears her throat and looks away from me. Guess that’s the end of that conversation. She shut it down before it even got started! Either she’s a prude that’s ashamed to admit it in front of a man, or she’s a closet ho that wants to keep her indiscretions a secret. Either way, she just poured gasoline on the fire of curiosity that was already burning in my mind.
“Stay here with Dummy. I know where to find some. I think the vet left some here last time a mare was pregnant.”
I get up and wipe my hands on my jeans. I turn to trot out of the stall, but Raven’s soft voice cuts into my thoughts. “Ditsy.”
I stop at the gate and turn back to look at her. “What did you say?”
Raven motions down at the miniature horse that’s looking mighty pitiful now that he isn’t thrashing about like he’s possessed. “His name’s Ditsy, not Dummy. And can we hurry this along. I’m starting to not feel very well.”
Her words catch me off guard, but I recover quickly with a nod. “Right, Ditsy. If you’re not feeling well, why don’t you go on inside and rest? I can handle Dum- I mean, Ditsy by myself. You’ve got him calmed down. He knows we’re going to help him. Things should be fine.”
Raven shakes her head stubbornly. “If I leave him here, alone and stuck like this, he’s going to panic again. I’ll be fine. These things just kinda sneak up on me sometimes. It’s nothing I can’t handle once I take some medication. Just hurry and go get the lube, so we can get things wet enough to
make it slide right where we want it to.”
I groan inwardly at the mental picture that pops up unbidden into my mind. Looking at Raven’s cherubic face, I’m inclined to believe that her word choice was merely chance, but part of me thinks she’s secretly toying with me to get a rise out of me. Either way, her face is a blank canvas and gives away nothing.
I turn my back to Raven and grab my dick through my jeans, jerking it around roughly as I mutter, “Down, boy… I’m sure that’s not what she meant in the slightest. Besides, she’s here to help with the horses, not ride you like a wild stallion that needs to be broken.”
Grumbling to myself, I run across the field that separates the barn and the ranch hand house, busting through the door and running upstairs. I skid into my bedroom and dig around through the nightstand. Sure enough, as I suspected, there’s an extra large bottle of lube stashed there underneath discarded clothing and letters from home.
I may not have seen any outward action in months, but that doesn’t mean I’m about to dry choke that thing. That shit hurts and can cause the sensitive skin, especially around the crown of my dick, to tear. I always make sure my hand is well-lubricated before jerking off.
I stuff it down in my pocket and race back over to the barn. When I enter the stall, both Raven and the horse are eerily quiet. I creep over to them, and Raven picks her head up and glances at me sleepily. In the few minutes it took me to run to the house and back, she’s deteriorated to looking like she’s about to crawl under a bridge and die.
I kneel down beside the horse and pull out the bottle of lube, squirting it into the fur around the part of his neck that’s stuck. “Raven, are you sure you’re okay?”
She nods, keeping her eyes squeezed shut as she pushes against Ditsy’s face with her hands. “It’s nothing I’m not used to, Hunter. Let’s just get Ditsy free, and then I’ll deal with it. But let’s hurry. The auras are starting to creep in, and if I get full-blown auras, I won’t be able to walk to the ranch hand house. I’ll take my medicine for it when we’re done here.”
I nod and tug roughly. Ditsy’s head finally slides back through the bars with a startled grunt from the horse. He shakes his head wildly and stumbles to his feet, scurrying away from me with lightning speed. I turn back and see Raven crumpled into the other side of the fence Alarmed, I reach up and put my hand on the top of it and jump over, landing beside her. I gently gather her into my arms and pull her onto my lap. “Raven!
She groans and throws her arm up over her eyes, burying her face into the crook of her elbow. “I’m fine, really… it’ll stop…”
I shake my head wildly and climb to my feet, lifting her up in my arms. “Bullshit, you’re fine. You just about passed out. Either way, Ditsy is free, so our job here is done.”
She squirms in my arms, but offers very little actual resistance to me carrying her across the grass. When I reach the ranch hand house, I twist the knob with one hand, then kick the door open and step inside. I take her to Poppy’s old room and gently lay her down on the white coverlet.
My concern is growing with each passing minute as she writhes on the bed like she’s in an enormous amount of pain. “Where’s the medicine you talked about?”
Raven’s reply is almost automatic, “In my pocket, but don’t. I’ll be okay…”
I ignore her request and shove my hand into the pocket of her shorts. She doesn’t fight me on it, but I’m not sure she could right now if she wants to anyway. I pull out three wax paper wrapped bundles and look up at her. “Is this it? This doesn’t look like medicine….”
Raven nods with a grunt, “Yeah, it’s homeopathic. It works to make the symptoms lessen, but they… they have side effects…”
I shrug. “I don’t care at this point. You’re about as white as a sheet and look like you might pass out any minute. I can’t just stand by and let you suffer!”
Raven groans as I unwrap one of the bundles I found in her pocket. “Is this legal?”
She nods as I pluck what looks a candy rolled in some kind of dust out of the wrapper with my fingers. I pop it between her lips, and she sighs, letting it sit on her tongue for several minutes before finally chewing it.
She licks the dusty residue off her lips and relaxes down onto the bed, whispering softly, “Just please don’t take anything I’m about to do or say personally.”
I nod, concern etched into my voice, “What kind of side effects are we talking about?”
Raven opens her eyes and stares at me for a moment until her gaze finally focuses on me. “I tend to… do things… weird things... the kind of things people don’t forget… or forgive…”
FIVE
Raven
Having Hunter baby me like a weakling child is frustrating and irritating. I know it was necessary. The migraines can render me damn near helpless when they come on strong like this one did. Thankfully, I’ve begun keeping a supply of the sanity-restoring candies in my pocket at all times. They help soothe the sudden rush of inescapable pain, but I wasn’t kidding when I warned him that they come with some unpleasant side effects.
Already, I can feel the unbearable pressure beginning to subside, but the stark white crispness of everything in this room makes my eyes burn every time I try to open them. So I don’t. I lay here in this atomically bright room and cringe as the Earth’s medicine begins to worm its way into my system. Technically, what Hunter put in my mouth isn’t medicine, but it’s not anything that’s particularly dangerous in minimal quantities. The only problem is, the amount of herbs stuffed into the apple taffy that Hunter gave me, is enough to be considered a lethal dose for some people.
At this point, my body’s become used to the excessive amounts of nutmeg and powdered caffeine tablets and aspirin that I grind together every night and carefully knead into the readily-available sweet candy. I’m to the point where I’m taking the candies multiple times a day. Over the course of the day, that adds up to enough nutmeg to kill a small child.
I’m not much bigger with my delicate frame, but I’ve built up a tolerance over time to the hallucinogenic properties of the nutmeg. The caffeine and aspirin provide actual relief. The caffeine forces the blood vessels in my head open, so the blood can flow more freely, and the aspirin deadens the nerves to the crippling pain.
The nutmeg, however, is the real powerhouse in the equation. It numbs my very existence, pushing me into a hazy world of fantasy where I’m not some dainty and meek princess. I haven’t been damaged by circumstances beyond my control. In my hallucinogenic world, I am the control. No, I’m the queen.
The cunningly corrupted queen that does what she wants and says what she means. The queen who listens to nobody. Who takes anything she desires, consequences be damned. The queen who’s currently eyeing the gorgeous specimen of man standing in the doorway of the room.
Hunter shifts nervously against the doorframe as he watches me. I probably look a fright. I always do by the time that meddlesome girl finally gives in and takes the damn poisoned apples she’s so hopelessly addicted to. Not that I mind. I only get to come out and play when she does. When she’s locked away inside her mind during a crippling migraine. Yes, while Raven recovers, Queenie gets to come out and play. And Queenie sees something she likes.
I push myself to a position in the bed where I’m leaning back against a mountain of pillows and snarl at the gorgeous white everywhere. Seriously. Who can function in all this cleanness? This room could use a dose of black and red. I shift on the bed so I can dig around in my shorts and nod when my hand wraps around a rubber band. I push my hair up off my face and wrap the rubber band around it tightly.
It’s probably going to get all kinds of tangled up in my hair, but I won’t be dealing with it. By the time this hair needs to come down, I’ll be relegated back to my little corner of Raven’s mind while she deals with the fallout of my escapade. And there will be fallout because right now, I’m eyeing myself a cowboy. It’s time to find out if his mind’s as filthy as his hands.
<
br /> “Hunter, can you come here?”
I don’t even try to disguise the flirtation in my voice and I know he heard it, because he’s giving me a look of intrigue. He’s obviously trying to figure out if I’m messing around with him or not. He points to himself, then turns his head left and right like he’s trying to figure out if there could be someone else I might be talking to. I pat the bed beside me and nod, “Yes, cowboy. You. I’m feeling much, much better now.”
Hunter narrows his eyes at me, but nothing he could do right now could disguise his obvious interest in the possibility of what joining me on the bed might entail. I can see his mind warring with itself over the choice he should make. What he should do is walk away. Walk away and stay away until Raven returns. But we both know that’s not what’s going to happen.
I smirk and fling my legs over the side of the bed, sitting up all the way. He takes two steps into the room and stops dead as I put my hands on my knees and push my legs apart. “Is it just me, or is getting kinda hot in here?”
