Ollie cursed beneath his breath and cleaned Reuben up with a cloth.
“That’s one fine ass for fucking. No wonder the master’s using it so much.”
Reuben sniffed, shaking. The thought that Erik had done this on purpose made him want to scream in anguish. Eye for an eye? Betrayal for betrayal?
Ollie laughed in the dark. “With Jack on kitchen duty, I might come over more often. I bet we’re gonna have fun. Isn’t my cock larger than Bluefinger’s?”
Reuben shook his head ferociously. That was about all he could do. His insides pulsed after the assault. Erik had said he would let him go. Would that offer still stand tomorrow?
Suddenly, there were at least three fingers up his ass. “What was that, bitch?” growled Ollie, bending the digits inside of Reuben.
He squealed in surprise, jerking his hips up. When would the fucker go, and leave his ass alone?
With no other answer from him, Ollie withdrew his fingers, and from the rustling sounds, Reuben assumed he was pulling his pants up.
“I thought so,” snarled Ollie. “Don’t miss me too much tomorrow.”
Reuben hung his head in shame. He could still feel Ollie’s sperm on his back, as if it were acid, even though the fucker had wiped it off. He wanted to howl, but unable to do even that, he cried. In anger, in sorrow, until he had no more tears left.
Chapter 8
‘Cramp’ was Reuben’s new name. His back was in agony, his mouth was dry, and his throat sore from Ollie’s violent thrusts. But most of all, his pride was broken. Not even the pride of a man, but the pride of a horse. He wanted to be a prized stallion, not some old gelding to be used by anyone. That wasn’t how a horse should be treated! Thinking of what happened as horse abuse was the last thing keeping him sane, and it helped him push the memories away from Reuben- the human.
His heart stopped when he heard a creak of the door. It was Erik. By now he knew the sound of his footsteps by heart: light like a cat’s and very confident.
“Jack’s sleeping it off, so I thought I’d take over his duties this morning,” Erik told him, moving straight to Reuben’s front. He took the blindfold off Reuben, but Reuben dropped his gaze to the floor. The last thing he wanted was for Erik to see how hurt he was. His whole jaw was one big ache.
“Do you want to have your breakfast now, or do you want to sleep first? I brought you some water,” Erik said, removing the brace with gentleness.
Reuben couldn’t believe Erik could be so callous. Like nothing had happened. He wouldn’t say no to water, though. “Please,” he whispered, afraid with his throat so dry and aching, he’d break into a cough.
“Here.” Erik brought a cup to his mouth, careful to brush Reuben’s mane away so that it wouldn’t fall into the drink. “I know it’s been a rough night, but you needed to learn your lesson.”
Tears came to Reuben’s eyes, but he managed to hold them back and drink a greedy mouthful of water before actually speaking. “Rough night,” he muttered in anger and clenched his fists.
“I imagine you must be sore, Copper.” Erik opened the padlock and raised the top bar, releasing Reuben from the stocks.
Reuben slowly straightened and had to fight not to hit Erik in the face. That wouldn’t get him closer to leaving this house. “You said yesterday, that I could leave.”
Erik stopped, simply frozen in place. “Yes.”
“Well, I want to leave,” he said as politely as possible. He could still smell the fucking onions!
He flinched at the sound of the padlock closing, the same padlock that had kept him in place for the rapist. One that worked at Erik’s command. How could he ever be stupid enough to think that Erik cared about him? He was a plaything for a bored richer, nothing else.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, please,” Reuben wanted to say, but only managed a whisper, looking down at his feet.
Erik shifted his weight to the other foot. “Are you certain? You said you didn’t have anywhere to go.” There was no emotion in his voice. As expected.
“I’ll think of something.” Don’t cry Reuben, don’t be a big baby!
“If that’s what you want, and I can’t convince you to stay, then you do need to go.” Erik sighed like someone who just lost a prized possession. Like an umbrella with an ivory handle.
Because that was all Reuben was. A possession. It still seemed to go against what Erik had told Alexander, that he could keep Reuben as long as he liked. Apparently he just didn’t care enough to keep him longer.
“Can I please have some clothes?” Reuben licked his lips, walking a few steps away. He didn’t even want to be close to someone so cruel.
Erik shook his head, stoic as a statue made of stone. “Yes, of course you may.” He then turned to the door and shouted. “I need someone to bring clothes for Copper!”
Reuben felt so awkward he covered his crotch, like yesterday. Even his worst encounters with men were something he went into out of need and lust. Sometimes they would end badly, but they were his own goddamn fault. But the things Ollie did to him last night? He had no words to describe them. He felt foul, rotten to the core. Without even a glimmer of excitement. It hurt like a gut stab.
“So...” Erik cleared his throat. “Any plans?”
“G-get drunk, I suppose.” Fucking voice! Stop trembling! “Back to London maybe.”
“I will give you some money to start out. Is that agreeable?”
“Can’t really say no.” Reuben pouted, taking a handful of clothes from a servant who stormed in without knocking. Reuben didn't know his face. Erik dismissed the boy, and once again it was just two of them.
“If you change your mind within a reasonable time frame, I might consider taking you back.” Erik moved along the wall. “As long as I don’t find a suitable replacement, you’re free to come back.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Reuben muttered and quickly began dressing. He would have loved to take a bath, but it would mean he would have to stay longer in this house, and he didn’t think he could bear that. Bylondon would have to become his new home, and in a few days he would probably work out some way to get back into London.
Erik strolled back and forth, and Reuben could feel those strange, diabolical eyes on him. It used to excite him, but now all they evoked was fear
“Was your punishment really that hard?”
“You know what? Fuck you! I don’t want your money!” Reuben spat, though he regretted it the moment he said it. He didn’t even wait for an answer and made his way to the corridor, buttoning up his shirt. The way Erik chose to call what Ollie did to him ‘punishment’ made Reuben’s stomach turn. He wanted out. He needed to breathe.
“Reuben!” Erik grabbed his arm, yanking him back with surprising strength. “Why are you so angry?”
“Don’t touch me!” Reuben sniffed and shook Erik’s hand off. “You sent him to fuck me, and I was so scared! And you don’t care! Were you there, watching?” He grabbed Erik by the shirt, ready to smash that perfect nose into the skull. The genuine look of surprise on Erik’s face kept Reuben from acting on that impulse.
“I did what?”
“No, you did nothing!” Reuben shook him but took his hands away the moment he heard Hans’s voice from behind the door.
“Everything all right, Mister Bluefinger?”
Erik dismissed Hans with a short “fine” and frowned at Reuben. “I put you in the stocks. Did you say someone fucked you?”
Reuben clasped his hands together so they wouldn’t shake too much. “O-Ollie. He came to me at night. You sent him...” He quickly rubbed his eyes, hoping it would fool Erik into thinking it was the source of redness in Reuben’s eyes.
“Who the fuck is Ollie?” Erik’s jaw tightened and his mismatched eyes went aflame.
“One of the servants,” Reuben whimpered and hugged himself in a useless attempt to calm down.
Erik’s nostrils flared when he gritted his teeth. “My servant put his cock in you?”
>
“You didn’t send him?” Reuben sniffed, feeling completely useless. He was so much bigger than Erik, but he couldn’t keep it together.
“My servant raped you?”
A throaty sob escaped Reuben’s mouth, and all he managed was a furious nod.
Erik licked his lips, gently reaching out to him. “Oh, Copper, I’m so sorry...”
“You left me there! With my mouth open! On my own!” He flinched away. “I couldn’t call anyone for help.”
Erik swallowed, looking straight at him, his face tensing. “Hans, get that fucker Ollie and tie his hands!” he yelled at the door.
“I don’t want to see him, please,” Reuben uttered, completely broken. He wanted to hide in his stall and die buried in the hay.
Erik bit his lip and voiced exactly what Reuben was thinking. “Do you want to go to your stall?” He hesitated, but reached his hand out to touch Reuben’s cheek.
It was all too much, too overwhelming, and Reuben couldn’t take it anymore. He leaned down and hugged Erik tightly with a deep sob that seemed to come all the way from his gut. Erik’s smell was so soothing, so familiar—all leather and soap.
“Copper, my beautiful pony. He’ll not get away with this, I promise,” Erik whispered into his ear, returning the embrace with a fierce passion.
“I stink everywhere he touched me!” Reuben cried into his master’s arm, desperate for comfort.
“We’ll clean you up... we can go now, and I deal with him later... Copper?” Erik kissed Reuben’s ear, gently petting his back and hugging him in a way that made Reuben feel small and protected.
“I thought you made him do it...” He sniffed.
“Of course I didn’t! How could you even think that?” Erik cradled Reuben’s face in his hands, so their eyes would meet.
“You were so angry...” Reuben bit his lip, trying not to be a puddle of goo.
“I was.” Erik nodded, looking at him with those intense eyes. “But I wouldn’t have anyone rape you. Did I force you to be bred? I don’t think so.”
“It was different,” Reuben admitted, completely torn inside. “And... I would like to take a bath.”
Erik nodded, slowly leading him to the bathroom. “I’m so sorry. I never thought anyone would dare to lay their hands on you...”
“He always followed me around and said filthy things. And he knew I was alone because Jack was in the kitchen,” he mumbled. Out of nowhere, his brain reminded him that Erik offered to let Reuben go, and with money in his pockets.
Erik shook his head with a hiss. “Why is it the first time I hear about this?”
“I didn’t want to cause problems.” Reuben sat down on the stool Jack usually used in the bathroom. “I didn’t like it,” he whispered, feeling he needed to say that out loud. Their eyes locked, and this time it was Erik who looked away. He played with the taps, focusing on the task at hand a bit too much.
“I know.”
“I could take the stocks.” Reuben took a deep breath. “You shouldn’t have left me.”
Erik stopped, his face turning into a mask, but he nodded. “I know.”
“Maybe I’m not the best horse out there, but I didn’t deserve that.” Reuben started unbuttoning his shirt, still trembling slightly.
“Of course you didn’t!” Erik touched his arm, his calm evaporating. “And you are a lovely pony! I should have known better.”
Reuben sniffed once more. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. He pushed the shirt off and left it on the floor.
“What a bastard... in my own house.” Erik shook his head and put his fingers in the water.
“Would you... bathe with me?” Reuben whispered and stood up to unbutton his pants.
Erik blinked. “You want me to?” It was practically a mewl.
“Just bathe,” Reuben quickly added. All he wanted was to feel cared for now, feel Erik’s lovely smooth hands on his skin.
“I know. All right, if you don’t mind the touch, I thought...” Erik licked his lips and started quickly unbuttoning his pants, apparently with some difficulty.
Reuben completely undressed and slid into the soothing, warm water. “Just to sit with me...”
“Yes, I want that too.” It took Erik another moment, but he finally sat down into the tub, wrapping his arms around Reuben’s waist.
There was no point in comparing Erik’s touch to anyone else’s, and Reuben gently entwined their fingers in the lovely warmth of the water. He could feel Ollie’s smell slowly peeling off him. Most of all, though, it was the thought that Erik hadn’t sent Ollie that gave him peace of mind. His master would not throw him to a lowlife like that.
Erik pressed a kiss to the side of Reuben’s face. “Do you want me to wash you?”
Reuben nodded with another deep breath. He could spend a whole day in this bathtub. “It wasn’t like that with Coal...”
“I know. I wouldn’t force you to be his mare.” Erik reached for the sponge and dove it deep into the water.
“What changed?” Reuben leaned into Erik’s chest. As ridiculous as it was with someone so dangerous, he felt safe, floating in the water with Erik’s slim body behind him.
“Changed?” Erik rubbed his arm.
“You didn’t care much for consent when we first met...”
Erik swallowed audibly, pulling him closer and switching off the running water. “You... weren’t mine back then.”
“I was. You bought me.” Reuben didn’t hold a grudge anymore. Even the first sex they’d had was more affectionate than any other he’d had before.
Erik cleared his throat and squeezed the sponge over Reuben’s back. “You didn’t feel mine as you do now.”
“I wasn’t really planning an escape,” Reuben muttered. “It was all a big cock-up.”
Erik didn’t say anything for a while. “Well, I would feel a loss if you were gone.”
“Could I please have one day a week for a drink?” Reuben traced his fingers up Erik’s thighs under the water.
Erik sighed, his chest heaving once under Reuben’s cheek. He soaped up the sponge and began washing Reuben’s back. “What kind of drink?”
“Bourbon, whiskey... gin even. I miss that.” He closed his eyes, hoping his weight wasn’t crushing Erik. His master massaged him with the sponge in lazy, soothing circles. Nothing like Reuben’s mother used to, but still lovely.
“Just one standard glass. And you’ll have it with me.”
“Drinking together will be much more fun than alone,” Reuben said and squeezed Erik’s hand.
“Copper, darling, I will see that you only have one.”
“Fair enough.”
In the luxurious bath, with Erik at his side, what happened the night before seemed like a bad dream. A horrible dream, but with Erik’s arms around him, Reuben felt safe, even if he knew very well he was the stronger and larger one. His heart fluttered when Erik pressed several kisses to his forehead and temple, and he wished this could last forever.
*
Erik stayed with him for several hours, holding him while they slept in Reuben’s stall, cradled by the piles of hay and a thick blanket. He was safe. Erik did as Reuben asked and sent Ollie to be locked away. They even shared a meal, with Erik feeding Reuben with his fingers. But lying with his back against Erik’s chest, warm and gently petted, was the sweetest thing of all. Reuben drifted in and out of sleep, just being close to his master without even talking. It had to be late in the afternoon when Jack finally appeared in the doorway. They only noticed him when he cleared his throat.
“Um, Master Erik?”
Reuben looked up at the boy, squeezing Erik’s hand under the blanket. The strange, but warm eyes gazed at him inquisitively.
“Will you be all right with Jack?”
“Yes, thank you for staying with me,” Reuben whispered, already feeling cold shivers run down his back again. He would have to tell Jack some truths tonight, and the very thought made him sick. Erik smiled at him and slid from beneat
h the blanket after one last kiss.
“I will be back later.”
Reuben nodded and tugged the fabric on his body. Erik hesitated and tucked it closer around Reuben before finally leaving the stall.
Jack stood in the doorway with a blank look on his face. A silent accusation hung in the pristine, hay-scented air.
“I hope your punishment wasn’t too horrible?” Reuben whispered.
“I heard yours was pretty harsh. And that you decided to stay even though you could leave,” muttered Jack through clenched teeth.
Reuben licked his lips and curled under the blanket. “I...”
“You what?” Jack snapped, walking deeper into the stall with his hands shoved into the pockets of his pants.
“I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”
“What? You taking your chance at freedom?” Jack clenched his jaw, standing right in front of Reuben. “I risked everything to get you out of here, and you stay?”
Guilt was a nail, hammered in deeper with each one of Jack’s words.
“I didn’t think it would go that far. Jack, I...” How would he even put it all into words? “I have this thing in me.”
“What?” Jack practically shouted. “You believed I was all talk? I thought you were being raped here, but it seems all you are is a whore!”
“I like it!” Reuben burst out, even though the words were hard to form. When the dam broke, the rest came flooding out as Reuben sat up, cuddling the blanket. “I like the way he treats me, how I always know what to do, I get the best food, I get a bath every day, and I love the way he fucks me. The way his cock just hits all the right spots, how he touches me...” Reuben swallowed and pulled the fabric over his head. He cringed at the lack of answer, but the blanket was his shelter, protecting him from all accusing stares.
Jack’s voice sounded shaky when it finally came. “Are you insane? He took you by force. You kept telling me how much you hate it. What the hell, Copper?”
Pride (The Copper Horse book 2) (gay erotic romance pony play BDSM) Page 14
