by Olivia Myers
"You're not going to hurt me," she whispered when she turned her head away to break the kiss. She nibbled on his shoulder, leaving little love bites down his arm and digging her nails into his shoulders, encouraging him. She didn't know what she was racing towards, but she wanted to hit the finish line. He had her panting and her whole body aching and needy. She was shaking and starting to sweat.
Samuel debated for a minute on the best way to handle her body and decided he'd just get it over with and give her a few moments to adjust to him. Thrusting himself inside of her as he claimed her mouth again with his own, she let out a grunt as he slipped all the way inside of her until their groins were grinding on each other.
He stopped and let her adjust. She'd tensed up and he didn't want to hurt her. Instead he played with her hair with one hand and continued to kiss her and used the other hand to massage one of her breasts and down to her hip. When he felt her body relax under him and her hips start to arch up again he slowly started moving inside of her. She was so tight and he could feel the walls squeezing him, massaging his length as he pulled out and pushed himself back in.
Jane wrapped her legs around his waist to get him to go deeper. She liked the way his groin rubbed against her sensitive nub. He rotated his hips as he continued to thrust faster inside of her.
Samuel could feel her legs squeezing him and it had him on the verge of his own climax. Not ready yet for it to be over, he shuddered and tried to go slower and make it good for both of them.
Her hips bucked against him as she let out a loud howl in surprise as an orgasm ripped through her body. She shuddered in his arms. She had never felt like this before. Her eyes were tightly shut and she felt like stars were exploding behind her eyelids. Shivering against his body as he continued to move inside her, her legs were shaking and her entire body was tightening and relaxing against him.
"You feel so good," he whispered and when her vagina squeezed him super hard, it pushed him over the edge. He groaned and shuddered against her as he reached his own release. He pressed hot, heavy kisses against her mouth as he jerked inside of her. They were both panting and sweaty. A few minutes later he rolled off the top of her and cuddled her up close to his body, holding her in his arms.
Jane traced circles on his chest with her fingers and then finally looked up at him curiously. "Is it always like that?"
"It can be, if a man wants to make it feel good for a woman." Samuel pressed a kiss to her brow.
"Can we do it again?" she asked him and grinned as her hand went lower on his stomach.
Samuel was already stirring. He raised an eyebrow at her and then smiled. "We can do it as much as you like."
"Good, because I think this will be my favorite part of marriage." Jane giggled as her hand circled his half-aroused erection and began to stroke him.
"It definitely has its perks," he told her. "And there are a lot of other things we can do to make it even more fun."
"It can get better than this?" Jane asked He nodded and she smiled. Leaning forward, she pressed a kiss to his mouth. She might not know her husband well enough to love him quite yet, but she could definitely say she loved this part of marriage.
***
"Samuel, when are you going to tell her the truth?" Grace asked a few weeks later. She knew Samuel was going to be robbing another train today. He'd offered to buy the business from his enemy again, and been turned down. One of the mines had collapsed on a bunch of workers, leaving many women and children without their husbands and fathers. He wanted to make the man suffer and help the people who now didn't have an income.
"She knows about the trains," Samuel grunted as he drank his coffee and tried to avoid the subject. Grace, however, was like a dog with a bone. Relentless and wouldn't give up until she found where she'd buried it.
"I'm not talking about the trains, Samuel; I am talking about the horse part. She needs to know her offspring with you could be shifters. She needs to know the rest of the story. If she can accept the fact you're a train robber, don't you think she can handle that you're also a shifter?"
Samuel cringed. "And if she can't, Grace? I don't want to risk her freaking out. I love her."
"Yes, I can see you've fallen in love with her, and she loves you just as much too. You need to give her a chance to accept you, all of you so the two of you can move forward for good in your life. She's always going to be able to tell you are keeping something from her. Now's the time to tell her the truth. If you don't, I will," Grace warned him, holding a wooden spoon out in his direction.
"Tell me what?" Jane asked as she walked into the room, looking curious. "Oh, is that coffee? It smells so good."
"Here, sit down, child and I'll get you breakfast. How have you been feeling the last few days? I've noticed you haven't had much of an appetite." Grace raised her brows up as she saw Jane sit at the table and smell a piece of bacon before trying a bite and making a funny face and putting it back down on her plate.
"I feel okay. I just haven't been able to eat as much as I normally do. My stomach just feels weird." Jane took a sip of the coffee. She grabbed a piece of toast and ate it dry with no butter or jam. Grace observed this and wondered if Jane knew she was pregnant. Keeping her mouth shut for now she decided to talk to Jane about it later.
Grace gave Samuel a look and he knew if he didn't tell Jane himself, Grace would spill his secrets. Sighing, he looked at Jane and then back at Grace and nodded at her. He would do it after breakfast.
They ate in relative silence and then Samuel stood up and offered his hand to Jane.
"Let's take a walk, we need to talk." He gave Grace a look before escorting Jane outside while holding her hand in his.
They walked for a while and she cuddled up to him and leaned her head against him as they walked and he let go of her hand to put his arm around her.
"Jane, I love you," Samuel started to say, but he paused too long.
"I love you too, and I think I have some news for you," Jane told him, realizing that her monthly was more than late. She was pretty sure she was with child, given her symptoms. Her mother had talked to her enough about what to expect in a marriage that she had some idea why her body had been changing and what it might mean.
"Do you want to share your news first, or should I go first?" Samuel had been keeping her busy. Every time she tried to ask him about the secret he had promised to share, he'd gotten her into bed and kissed her until she forgot to keep asking about it. He knew it was time. He'd gotten to know her well enough, he was pretty sure she'd handle it okay, but his knee jerk fears of rejection still sat in the back of his brain. It didn't just affect him. If he told her the truth, it could be bad for all of the horse shifters in the area and he had to really trust her.
"I think I'm pregnant," Jane blurted out. She wasn't very good at keeping secrets from Samuel. She felt like she could tell him everything and it didn't feel right to her not to confide in him, even trivial things. But this wasn't trivial. This was a huge, life-changing event.
Samuel absorbed the news for a moment and realized he had to tell her. If their child shifted, it would give her a heart attack. She had to know the truth. Sighing, realizing he had to bring his deepest, darkest secret into the light for his wife, he turned to look at her.
She searched his face, worried. He suddenly looked so serious and she wondered if he wasn't okay with her news. She tensed, waiting for him to say something that might hurt her feelings and tried to be patient and give him a chance to say what he had to say.
"I know I told you I'd tell you my secret, and I kept putting it off, but I guess now is the time." Samuel dropped his gaze from her face for a moment as he took a deep breath. "I'm half horse."
"What?" Her brows knitted together in confusion and she tilted her head, trying to understand what he just said.
"I'm a horse shifter. I can turn into a horse. You know that horse you saw running next to the train when you arrived here?" He took her hands and held them as he looked dow
n at her, trying to make her understand.
"Yes, he was a beautiful horse. What about it?" she said, even more confused.
"That was me," Samuel told her.
"How is that possible?" Jane took a step back from him instinctively. She wasn’t afraid of him, but she didn't understand.
"I'm going to show you something and you have to promise you won't run away," Samuel said. "Can you do that for me?"
Jane nodded.
Walking a few feet away, Samuel shifted into his horse form. He looked at Jane as her mouth gaped open. She backed up until she ran into the fence of the corral and stood there staring at him for a few moments.
Samuel walked over to her and nudged her gently with his large head. Standing next to Jane, he made her look tiny. He was a large horse, and he gleamed in the morning sunshine. Jane touched his face and then ran her hands down his neck and back.
She didn't say anything. But she touched him and looked him over, occasionally shaking her head as if she didn't quite understand what was going on in front of her eyes.
A few moments later, Samuel walked away and shifted back and came over to her, he grabbed her shoulders and searched her face, afraid to say anything.
Jane looked up at him. "Will our child be able to do that?"
"It's a possibility." His voice was calm. He was afraid he'd spook her right now if he made any sudden movements. The overwhelmed look on her face told him she wasn't ready for all of this.
"So this is how you get to the trains and make your escape," she said as it sunk in how it was possible for him to do what he did.
"Yes." Samuel nodded.
Jane looked thoughtful for a moment and finally spoke. "I can accept this, I love you, Samuel, even this part of you. The only thing I worry about is if you continue to rob trains. I know why you do it, but if we have children, you need to find another way to handle what you believe in. If you were to get shot or killed, you'd leave me and your child behind and we need you. I don't care about your money, Samuel, but the idea of something happening to you scares me."
Samuel kissed her hard from the sense of relief that spread through him. "I will do today's job and then find another way."
"Do you promise?" she asked him. "I think you being a horse is kind of neat. If you'd have told me about this without showing me, I would have thought you were delusional. I can't even understand how this is possible, but I guess there are some things in this world you just can't explain."
"I promise that I won't do anything that will intentionally take you away from me. This will be my last job. I'll find another way to do it, and after today, we can talk about the horse thing, okay?"
"I'm going to have a lot of questions once this really sinks in." Jane looped her arm through his. She took a deep breath. It didn't feel real yet, but she thought she could handle this.
"You can ask questions." Samuel nodded as they started to walk around the property in silence for a while.
"Are you okay with us having a baby?" Jane asked him quietly as they turned to walk back to the house.
"With you, Jane, I feel like I can handle anything. I wasn't planning on changing everything I do in my life, but you make me want to be a better man, make less risky decisions and be here to keep you safe." Samuel cupped her cheek. "I didn't know it was possible to feel this way for another person."
"Then we will figure this out as we go." Jane smiled at him and kissed him before they walked back into the house.
She knew they had a lot to work out over time, and becoming a parent was an adventure that would keep them both quite busy. Being a mail order bride had been a risk, and while she'd ended up in a weird situation with a man who was also a horse, she couldn't imagine being happier.
Smiling to herself, she felt like she could handle anything after this. Loving a man with a secret like this, she'd need to protect him too. She realized how much trust it would take to show her a secret like that and for the first time since she came here, she felt truly content.
"Grace?" Jane asked as she walked back into the kitchen as Samuel went to prepare for his last train robbery. Grace deserved to know too.
"Did he tell you?" Grace tensed up and looked worried.
"Yes." Jane nodded. "And, I have something to tell you too."
"You're having a baby?" Grace asked her before Jane could say anything.
"How did you know?" Jane blinked at her in surprise.
"The way you've been avoiding food was the first clue." Grace smiled at her. "It will be nice to have a little one running around here again."
"Did you know he...?" Jane stopped mid-sentence, not sure if she could even say it out loud.
Grace smiled. "Some secret, huh?"
"Definitely some secret."
***
Samuel knew it was dangerous to continue robbing trains, but he wondered how he'd replace the thrill of it. He knew stealing was wrong, and he never kept any of it, but he thought of Jane back at his house. As he ran up to the train in his horse form he wondered if being a husband and a father would be enough for him.
He was distracted, and he knew it. Today it was just him and Travis. He shifted into human form and grabbed onto the train and climbed his way up to the front. Pulling his mask down over his face, he startled the conductor.
Travis had his back, and while he hadn't talked to him much about Jane, he knew Travis was a little jealous about him being busy with a new wife and having less time for friends and his herd. He was so busy thinking about Travis and his wife he didn't even notice the guard sneaking up behind them with a gun. When it went off and Travis stumbled forward, Samuel turned and attacked the guard, taking away the gun.
Travis grimaced. "I don't think it's a fatal shot, but you have to get me off this train before we get shot at again."
"Idiots. There's no gold on this train. It was a trap." The conductor glared at them as he brought the train to a stop. "This is the end of the line for you two. The sheriff will be here soon to get you."
Samuel realized that his luck had run out and pulled Travis off the train before anyone could stop them.
"Do you think you can shift?" Samuel whispered to Travis. He was concerned for his friend and realized that dying wasn't worth this. Leaving Jane behind scared him. He hadn't really understood her fears until he'd seen Travis shot and experienced the fear for his friend first hand.
"Yes, but I don't know how far I can go until I have a chance to heal," Travis told him. Shifters healed fast, but they had to get the bullet out first.
"I'll meet you back at my house. Grace and I can take care of you," Samuel told him as they jumped off the train and rolled in the dirt, hitting it hard. Shifting, they both took off. A small trail of blood followed Travis as he ran full speed after Samuel. It took a while to get back to Samuel's house and Travis was starting to lag behind. He had lost a lot of blood.
Travis collapsed at the edge of Samuel's property and shifted back to his human form. He fell into unconsciousness and Samuel carried him to the house and kicked open the door, yelling for Grace as he carried the injured man inside.
Jane ran down the stairs and saw Travis and gasped. "Did this happen on the train?"
"Yes, but right now we just need to help him. Get me Grace," Samuel said and knew from the look on his wife's face that this wasn't over. She had something to say but she bit her tongue for now and found Grace.
Bringing the first aid kit, some whiskey and sutures, she took stock of Travis and ordered Jane to get her some hot water and towels.
Grace poured the alcohol over his wound to sanitize it and used a candle to sterilize a needle to help prevent infection. Using her fingers, she dug for the bullet as Travis whined in pain and woke up choking on a scream of agony as she found it.
"Hold on, give me some of that whiskey before you remove the bullet," he gasped out and Samuel handed him the flask. Drinking what was left of it, he shuddered in pain and from the heat of the whiskey hitting his gut. "Okay, Grace, get
this over with."
"Travis, I cannot believe you got yourself shot," Grace muttered as she dug out the bullet. Pouring more whiskey over the wound, she felt bad for the man as he whimpered in pain. It took a while, but they cleaned the wound and then she stitched it up and dressed the cut with a salve and some bandages. Cleaning up the blood and mess with the towels, she shook her head at the two men standing in front of her.
Jane had stood back, watching, and when her eyes met Samuel’s they expressed a clear message. Fear, terror for his safety, relief he was alright, and that she was going to give him a piece of her mind.
"Jane, before you say anything, I want to apologize. You were right. We've been playing with fire. They set a trap for us," Samuel told her quietly as he walked across the room and took her hand in his. "You don't need this. Travis was hurt for my mistakes and I owe you both an apology."
"I'm just glad you're alive." Jane sighed as she realized that was where her anger had come from. She'd been scared for him and when she'd seen Travis injured, she pictured it being Samuel. "I can't risk you dying on me, Samuel. This has got to stop. Promise me."
"I think after this, I can safely promise you we're done. I will find another way to shut him down." He looked over his shoulder at Travis and felt guilty.
"I'll live, man," Travis said as he lay on the couch drinking the whiskey to help dull the pain. "I am guessing this is your beautiful young wife. Pleasure ma’am, sorry to be bleeding all over your couch."
"You're a shifter too, aren't you?" Jane blurted out before she could stop herself. Travis had been in the middle of drinking a shot of whiskey and choked on it.
"You told her?" He whipped his head back around to glare at Samuel. "Do you know how much risk that puts us in?"
"Grace knows," Samuel reminded him. "She and her family have always known about our herd."
"Yes, but this woman is new to us. She hasn't been in service to the herd for generations," Travis reminded him.
"I promise I won't tell anyone. I love my husband. No one would ever believe me anyway. Shifting into a horse is unbelievable unless you see it for yourself," Jane told him. "I'm glad you're okay, Travis, but no more robbing trains. I have every intention of tying my husband to the bed if he even mentions it again."
