by Lux Miller
Ashley is going to be an interesting wildcard addition to the staff here. Hunter says she’s a bit of a wild child with a rebellious streak, but he’s convinced we should get on well. Aspen jokes that I’m just jealous that Hunter and Ashley have a history and I’m worried she’s coming back to stake her claim. I’d no idea they had a history, but then again, he and I now have a history too. It doesn’t take much to make a mistake that will haunt you forever. Truth be told, Aspen might be onto something, but I’ve no right to be jealous when I’m the one who made the rules to the game Hunter and I are playing.
Hunter clears his throat and I realize I’ve been daydreaming, lost in the messy world inside my head once again. He walks over to the fence and leans his elbows on the top of it, peering down at me where I’m on my knees on the floor. He holds one hand up above the top of the fence and grins. In his hand are Fiona’s reins.
“I gotta take the ol’ girl out for some exercise. You wanna hop on Dallas and join me? Or is that against the rules too?”
I flush and shake my head quickly, patting Drowsy’s gently. He snorts softly in response, and I realize with a startled giggle that he’s sleeping. Par for the course man, par for the course. I wiggle my legs out from under his head and stand up, brushing hay off my legs. Hunter clears his throat and I glance over my shoulder to inquire what about. He cuts his eyes down my body, then back up to my face and shrugs. “Better get all that hay off or Dallas might try to lick you. She can be a bit of an oddball sometimes.”
I shake my head at Hunter’s thinly veiled glance at my ass, but when I reach around to the back of my jeans, I find I do actually have quite a bit of hay clinging to the material where it stretches over my butt. Well played, Hunter. I swat at it furiously, then step out of the stall, closing and securing the gate before walking over to where Hunter has opened up Dallas’ stall.
The roan horse steps out of her stall and shakes her head several times, nickering as she does. She paws at the ground, then looks at Hunter expectantly. He laughs and snatches a saddle blanket off the top of the fence enclosing her stall, then lays it over her back. The mare bobs her head in anticipation as Hunter disappears around a corner. He reappears moments later, carrying a leather saddle that he lobs onto her back, over the blanket.
He squats down beside Dallas and begins to fiddle with and fasten straps across her belly. When he’s done, he stands up and pats her neck gently as he says something in her ear. The man talks to these horses like they’re his children. Not that it’s truly surprising. For men like Hunter, the relationships forged with animals as is strong as those formed with humans. I’m beginning to learn that he’s a cowboy through and through, in every sense of the word - and not just because he wears a cowboy hat and boots, which is something I hadn’t noticed before. Has he always been wearing those? Surely, I’d have noticed before?
Hunter turns to me as he situates a bridle over Dallas’s face, and she whinnies loudly, her front hooves stomping the floor in front of her. He chuckles as he pats her face again and motions me over. “Come on, I’ll give you a boost up onto her back. She really is gentle, but she loves to run.”
I narrow my eyes at him and shake my head. “I never agreed to go for a ride with you… what makes you think I want to get on her?”
Hunter’s eyes flash with a hint of green as he steps into my personal bubble, close enough to me that I can smell the spearmint toothpaste on his breath. “You’re not going to let a little thing like what happened between us keep you from enjoying your time here, are you? And poor Dallas… she’s really excited to go for a ride. Are you going to disappoint the sweetest horse this side of the Mississippi River?”
I scowl, crossing my arms over my chest. “First of all, it wasn’t a little thing. We had sex! And I don’t remember any of it!”
Hunter shrugs. “It happens. I’ve been drunk as a skunk and had mystery sex with more than one woman. It’s really not the end of the world.”
Grunting, I throw my hands in the air and snatch the reins from him. “Ugh, fine. Using the horse to make me feel guilty. I’ll go with you, Hunter… but I don’t need your help…”
I push past him and bring my left foot up into the stirrup hanging against Dallas’s side and grab hold of the horn on the saddle. Glancing over my shoulder at him, I narrow my gaze when I find him watching me with interest, but he doesn’t notice. I roll my eyes and turn back to Dallas, pulling my weight up by the horn as I fling my right leg over her body and situate myself in the saddle. I glance down at Hunter, who looks impressed, and smirk, “Don’t be so surprised. You’re the one who claims I’m a natural at riding...”
TWELVE
Hunter
I’ll admit it. My mind was little blown when Raven hopped up on Dallas like it’s no big deal. Dallas is a good horse, but she’s still huge compared to Raven’s tiny frame. To my knowledge, Aspen and Raven have never been exposed to ranch life outside of this one, and Raven just arrived a week ago. To see her handle that horse like a pro did more than make my jaw drop, but that’s something I won’t be admitting, at least not out loud. There’s no use in lying to myself. Something about this girl has drawn me in like a moth to a flame, and I’m going to get squashed if I don’t watch what I’m doing.
Raven waves her hand at me and asks demurely, “Hunter, are you coming with me? Or do I have to figure everything out on my own?” She smirks at me and grabs the reins in her hand, clicking her tongue as she bumps her sneaker into Dallas’s belly. Dallas snorts and stamps her hoof on the floor, but the traitor does exactly what Raven asks of her and prances right out of that barn.
I roll my eyes and quickly saddle up Fiona, talking to her sweetly, “Who’s a good girl? Fiona’s a good girl! You wanna go for a ride?”
Fiona throws her head up and down wildly. I like to think that the horses know what I’m saying, but the truth is… they probably understand me about as well as a deaf person understands the spoken language. In other words, there’s a language barrier the size of Montana. But I’ve found that if I keep my tone even-keeled and dripping with honey, the horses will just about do anything I want them to - with Liberty being the exception. That horse obeys nobody.
Once Fiona’s saddle is secure, I propel myself up onto her back and give a sharp whistle, pulling her reins tight and wrapping the slack around my hand. She trots out of the barn in the direction that Raven took Dallas. When we step outside into sunlight, I quickly scan the surrounding greenspace and find Raven and Dallas about a hundred yards across the yard. I kick my heels into Fiona’s flank, and she canters over, catching up to them easily.
Raven may have figured out easy enough how to get on a horse, but she’s obviously got no clue on how to get it to mind your orders. Despite the frustrating situation before me, Raven isn’t losing her cool. Dallas is prancing in circles, taking a break every few spins to stretch her neck up and try to pluck an apple off the tree that hangs over her head. I chuckle and direct Fiona up beside Dallas, nudging Fiona’s flank into Dallas’s side.
Dallas paws at the ground and whinnies. Raven looks back over her shoulder at me curiously, “We just fed them. How can she be hungry again?”
I laugh and scoot Fiona up under a lower hanging branch. I sit up as tall and straight as I can manage on her back and pluck half a dozen apples off. Fiona’s ears perk up and flick back and forth. I pat her neck and murmur into her ear, “Later, girl. For now, let’s do what we came out here to do. Let’s run…”
I click my tongue and holler, “Hyah, Hyah…”
Fiona takes off in a startled gallop and from the pounding of hooves behind us, it appears that Dallas follows suit. I sure hope Raven was holding on tightly. I glance over my shoulder to check on her and see that she’s leaning into Dallas, her black hair mingling with Dallas’s as it flies behind them. Raven looks caught somewhere between terrified and mesmerized, but she’s holding on for dear life.
The horses thunder across the open pasture, flying across the dew-
strewn grass like their very lives depend on getting where we’re going as quickly as they can. Underneath me, Fiona’s muscular body powers through the run, and I even allow myself to close my eyes, trusting that Fiona knows where to go. We’ve made this run dozens of times. Both she and Dallas love the little, hidden clearing that’s over the hill and through the woods.
We ride for what feels like a fraction of a second, but we cover a lot of ground, the horses’ hooves beating a trail deep into the woods. I pull back on Fiona’s reins as we enter a copse of trees, slowing her to a trot as we weave among the branches. As expected, Dallas is just a few paces behind us, following the path that Fiona’s hooves have carved out in the underbrush, which is something I make a mental note of to tell Ms Bianchi later. We’ll need to get a controlled burn going in this area when Spring rolls around. The constant threat of snow will keep any forest fires at bay for this season, but once it melts, this part of the ranch will be vulnerable to uncontrolled burns if we don’t clear out the brush.
Fiona stops underneath a twisted, gnarled tree and nickers. I nod and pat the side of her neck, then hoist myself up and off her back. As my feet hit the forest floor, I look up to see Dallas impatiently pawing at the ground. I know Dallas’s mannerisms and as good of a horse as she is, right now she’s begging to unseat her rider. She wants to run free and who am I to deny her the chance?
I walk over to her side and offer a hand up to Raven. She narrows her eyes at me, but obliges by sliding her hand into my own. She adjusts her weight and slides down from Dallas, right into my arms. The closeness of her body against mine makes me shiver, despite the fact that the temperature is still well above sixty degrees. She looks up at me, and instead of the sweet innocence I’ve grown accustomed to seeing in her eyes, I’m met with something else entirely - desire.
Shuddering, I shake off the out of control feeling that grips me and take a step back from Raven so that we’re no longer touching. Despite the loss of contact, the thudding in my chest remains. I turn my back to Raven and adjust myself discreetly, hoping she doesn’t notice. When I think I’ve gotten my erection disguised well enough, I give Fiona a slap to the hindquarters, and she rears halfway, then takes off deeper into the forest with Dallas hot on her heels.
Raven laughs behind me and I can feel my shoulders tense. Without turning around to look at her, I pose the question that I already know the answer to, “You had some of it, didn’t you?”
I turn to face her, and she shrugs her shoulders haphazardly, avoiding looking at my face. “Maybe… what’s it to you?”
I swallow uncomfortably and clear my throat. “I’d like to know who I’m speaking with before I say something I may come to regret…”
Raven smirks as she raises an eyebrow. “Well, I can tell you that you aren’t dealing with someone who is going to sit back on her heels and pretend to be a prude. And if you know what’s good for you, you won’t sit back and let this opportunity pass you by… it’s not often that a man gets a chance to throw caution to the wind and give into his inner animal…”
Shit. I know that this isn’t Raven speaking, but I simply cannot separate the brazen attitude from Raven’s natural beauty. To me, there’s only one person, and I’m having a hard time believing that it might be any other way. I shouldn’t be able to rationalize this, but I find myself ticking off boxes in my head as my dick strains against my jeans. Reasons why I should throw caution to the wind and give into my carnal needs. And now, Raven’s noticed the bulge in the front of my pants, and she makes no attempt to disguise that she’s seen it.
She steps over to me and pushes me up against a tree, her tiny body pressing against mine. Her hands immediately go to my belt buckle, and I shake my head quickly. I put my hands over hers, sandwiching them between my palms as I lower my voice. “Raven, stop… we shouldn’t do this. You won’t remember this… this isn’t what you want…”
She pauses for a moment, then tilts her head to the side, “Oh, I can assure you, I want this quite badly. Badly enough that I’m willing to do it right here, right now… witnesses be damned. So you tell me, cowboy, are you going to turn me down…?” She slides her hand over the bulge, and my eyes snap shut as a muffled moan tumbles out of my mouth. “...or are you going to let me go down… on you?”
My eyes fly open, widening as Raven drops to her knees in front of me, her hands quickly working to undo the button and zipper on my jeans and shove them down. She doesn’t bother to wait for my answer before she pushes my underwear down and wraps her hand around the base of my cock. I probably couldn’t form coherent words right now anyway. I groan, biting down hard on my bottom lip to stifle the sound as I stare at her in awe.
Raven tugs her hand along my length, her eyes focusing on mine. Smirking, she grazes her fingernails against the vein that runs along the underside of my erection, and I shudder. She grins and licks her lips, then guides my dick between them, never taking her gaze off mine. A throaty moan dies on my lips as I watch my cock disappear into her mouth. Every muscle in my being tightens with the sudden onslaught of pleasure. Her hot mouth envelops my cock completely as she bobs her head up and down in a mind-blowing rhythm that has me seeing stars.
It doesn’t take long for an orgasm to creep into my consciousness. I reach behind myself to grip the tree with one hand as Raven sucks my dick. I know I should push her away to save her dignity, but this wasn’t even my idea, and what man is going to be able to stop a woman from sucking him off? Especially when I can feel the crown of my cock scraping along the roof of her mouth. Despite my better judgement, I slide my other hand into her hair and twist my fingers in the strands.
I tug on her hair hard enough to force her to back off my dick, but I only give her a second’s respite from it as I forcefully push her face back to my body, my cock sliding deeply into her mouth. I do this in a back and forth motion for several minutes before she twists free of my grasp and deep-throats me of her own accord. She gags slightly as I push my dick to the back of her throat, pushing my hands back into her hair to hold her in place as thick ropes of cum spill from my cock and down her throat. She groans, but doesn’t fight against me as I fuck her mouth. In fact, she uses one of her hands to play with my balls as I do, prolonging my pleasure as I throw my head back and damn near howl like a wild animal.
When my dick finally stops pulsing in her mouth, she pops off and smirks, letting some of the pearlescent fluid dribble over her bottom lip. She raises one eyebrow as I watch her intently, then slides her tongue over it, pulling it back into her mouth before she swallows with one big gulp. She swipes the back of her hand over her lips and turns her bright green stare on me, her eyes burning straight through to my soul. I don’t know if it’s the haze clouding my mind from just getting off or a trick of the light, but I swear I see something flash in her eyes that makes my blood run cold as she smacks her lips and declares, “Mmmm...tasty…”
I stand there for a moment with my mouth hanging open as I watch her swallow my cum. It’s hot, that I won’t deny, but I also know it’s probably going to be something she regrets doing. And something I’ll regret letting her do when all is said and done. Not that I had a lot of choice in the matter. To be honest, I could have pushed her away and told her no. I’m not completely primal when sex is on the table, but I know what it feels like to have my dick in that mouth, and when it was offered up on a silver platter, I couldn’t make myself say no.
Raven stands up with a devious grin on her face. I don’t know what she’s thinking, but I know that it can’t be good. If I don’t put a stop to this now, she and I are going to end up naked on the ground, fucking in the woods like beasts. And that’s just not something I want to explain to her when she comes out of her drug-induced haze. I do know one thing, though… the drugs have to go. She can’t be allowed to continue taking them, because they put her in state of almost-helplessness where she’s held prisoner by a vindictive personality that’s otherwise buried in her head. But the drugs let her inner vill
ain out to play, and it puts Raven in danger every time she does.
I stuff my dick back into my pants and shake all of the nefarious thoughts out of my head. Despite also knowing what it feels like to be buried to the hilt inside of her, I cannot give into any more of my own desires. Raven has already expressed to me that she doesn’t want to be with me sexually. It’s taken a week since we did that for her to really even speak to me again, and I’ve gone and fucked it up by letting her suck my cock until I spewed my seed in her mouth. Maybe she’ll forgive me for the blowjob, even if it was her idea, but there’s no way she’ll forgive me for fucking her a second time. Not when she can’t remember it. No… if I want to fuck Raven again, I’m going to have to convince her to do it when she’s of sound mind and not under the influence of some whack-job hallucination-inducing candy.
She saunters over to me, and I can already see it in her eyes that she wants for there to be more going on. She wants me to do the exact thing that has my mind reeling. I cannot give into her, no matters how hard she tries. I’ve already slipped up with the blowjob. There can be nothing further that happens, no matter how much I want it or how hard she tries to make me give in… oh fuck, she’s getting naked.
