“I know, I’m fucked up. I’ve always been. He didn’t take my virginity. I’m a dirty slut.” Reuben hid his face in his hands. Saying it wasn’t pleasant, but it needed to be put out there.
“So all this time, you made me feel guilty about letting this happen to you?” Jack sounded weak. Disappointed.
“I said I’m sorry!” Reuben’s gaze shot up to Jack, and a hot flush overtook him. It was hard enough to spill out the truth—he didn’t need any more bullshit. “I don’t want anyone to know.”
Jack bit his lip. His face was twisted into a strange grimace Reuben couldn’t identify. “So you want to continue with this charade? Pretending you don’t want him?”
“Yeah, go on, judge me,” Reuben snarled, hugging his knees to his chest.
“Oh, don’t I have the right to?” Jack folded his arms with a tense expression. “You made me feel guilty all this time. You...” He moved forward, blinking as if he remembered something. “You were angry at the way I looked at you.”
Reuben pouted. “I don’t wanna be like this! I don’t want people to think I’m filthy scum!”
“You are a lying piece of filthy scum!”
Reuben looked down at his blanket. He knew it would be a hard topic, but he didn’t think the conversation would go that badly. Jack had always been such a sweetheart, but he too had a tipping point.
Jack moved around a bit and then dropped his weight on a stool. He kept swallowing, his gaze settling everywhere but on Reuben. “And you dared to mock me for liking men. At least I don’t enjoy being bound like some kind of freak.”
Anger exploded deep in Reuben’s chest. “Oh, like you’re a fuckin’ saint now, huh? I didn’t choose this!”
“I don’t really want to look at your face right now.” Jack got up and walked out of the stall.
“Ollie came to me at night,” Reuben called, hoping that would get him Jack’s pity. He must have succeeded, because the boy’s steps came to an abrupt halt.
“Ah, that had to be fun,” he muttered.
“That’s what you think of me now?” Reuben’s voice was sour, but he couldn’t blame Jack. What kind of sense could it make to the boy? If he agreed to Erik’s abuse, why not Ollie’s?
But the footsteps moved closer, and soon Jack leaned into the doorframe, his brow furrowed. “You told me you’re a slut.”
Reuben’s lips trembled. “Even a slut has feelings.”
Jack shot him a sideways glance. “So... you didn’t like it with Ollie?”
Reuben choked up. “It’s like when you have a taste of vanilla ice cream: you don’t want to go back to eating rat pies.” Would that make sense to Jack? “It was horrible. And I really mean it.”
The boy swallowed, his eyes scanning Reuben’s face intently. “So... is the master the ice cream?”
Reuben nodded. “And I never had ice cream before I came here.”
Jack sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, as if trying to get rid of some picture. “ But why do you keep it a secret from him?”
“Jack, I never told anyone I like men. I don’t know how to take it back now. It’s so shameful.” He didn’t admit that he was also afraid Erik would stop restraining him if he didn’t have to.
“Everyone in this house likes men.” Jack looked at him with a frown.
Reuben shuddered. “This house is not the only place in the world. I see the way people look at me in the streets. Their eyes would pop out if they knew I’m happy like this.”
Jack licked his lips. “We’re not in the street.” He walked over to Reuben and slowly sat down in the hay.
“So I told you, but I don’t want others to know. What kind of man would agree to this?” He gestured with his hand around the stall. “I don’t want to be that man.”
Jack’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he gave Reuben a hesitant nod. “Shouldn’t... the ice cream know?”
“He cares for me anyway. I’ll tell ‘im when I’m ready, yeah?” Even if Jack thought he was a freak, saying all those things made him feel better.
Jack closed his mouth before looking at the opposing wall and nodding at it.
“I’ve never met men who openly said they liked cock.” Reuben sighed, trying to get back his attention.
Jack shot him a glance. “You do now. I like cock.”
Reuben slowly smiled, not without shyness. “I like cock too.”
Chapter 9
Jack tapped his foot against the wooden floor of the cart room to the rhythm of the merry melody he was whistling. Everything smelled of hay and varnish, and Reuben closed his eyes, enjoying the thorough brushing the groom was giving his hair. He already knew Erik had something in store for him because Jack didn’t talk to him the way he usually did. On ‘horse days’, as Reuben called them, he was treated like a real animal. His cock was tingling all morning, but he got no sensual attention whatsoever. The servants would talk around him as if he were an unintelligible animal. Sometimes people other than Jack would come over and pet his arms, back, or even his buttocks. It had been two weeks since Ollie had raped him, but thanks to Erik’s tender care and Jack’s attention he quickly recovered. Eventually it was more of a mental scar than an injury, and it wasn’t the first horrible fuck in his life either. He felt more at home in Erik’s mansion after confessing to Jack. He belonged here, had a place where he could work, live, and maybe even love someone. Someday when Erik got bored with him, he hoped not to be sent away like the horses before him. Maybe he could become some sort of servant. He wasn’t a complete blunderer, he could learn some new skills. Probably.
Erik had invited him for a drink twice already, and each time had been pure bliss. And it wasn’t even about the high quality of the whiskey on offer. Erik’s company made the evening special. They used a small drawing room with a huge fireplace and shared whiskey while Erik braided Reuben’s hair. It made Reuben’s mane wavy after Jack untangled all the little braids and brushed in some kind of fragrant oil. With his hair so shiny and pampered, Reuben couldn’t wait for Erik to see him.
Jack dressed him in the leather outfit and took him downstairs to the cart room, so Reuben supposed he and Erik would be going out. He couldn’t wait for his master to see how happy and ready for work he was. But it wasn’t Erik who came in next..
“Hey, Jack!” The door swung, and Lady Victoria entered with his supply trolley. “You done with him already?”
Reuben looked back at him, absentmindedly chewing on the rubber-sheathed bit in his mouth, and whinnied as Lady Victoria stroked the side of his butt. Being ‘the horse’ relieved him of all responsibility. He could take things as they came, as long as his groom or his master were around to take care of him. And since the accident with Ollie, there was someone to keep an eye on him at all times. Jack still had the kitchen duties, and the additional workload made him so tired he kept falling asleep in the stables. From what Reuben had heard, work started late at night and continued throughout the morning, which meant Jack was only getting a few hours of sleep. Reuben still felt guilty about causing that mess, so he watched over Jack, letting him doze off in his stall every day.
Jack put the brush back on the shelf. “Almost. The master will be here shortly, and you will be free to do your job.”
“He’s so pretty today.” Lady Victoria sighed and stood on his toes to brush his knuckles against Reuben’s cheek. Reuben didn’t mind, and nuzzled the digits like a real animal would. A lot had changed since his first encounter with this strange hybrid of man and woman. Lady Victoria was no longer mean to him, and as a horse Reuben couldn’t care less about any human intrigue anyway.
“Master Erik’s going out.”
“He’s been awfully busy lately, hasn’t he?” Lady Victoria leaned against Reuben and pulled him into a loose embrace. He smelled sweet, like the hooker Reuben’d hired for his first suck ever. The memory didn’t even compare with what Erik would do to his cock on a daily basis. Damn, just thinking of yesterday’s night made him harden again. The gentle yet dec
isive touch of his master’s fingers delving into each hidden crease of his body was like nothing Reuben had ever experienced with anyone else.
“You know how it is with the Dals. Sometimes, he’s just laying around all day, other times he hardly sleeps.” Jack took one of Reuben’s hoof-shaped gloves and vigorously brushed it with a piece of cloth until it shone.
Lady Victoria sighed, pulling away from Reuben. “Sometimes I wonder what the point of all this cleaning is, you know? It took me two hours to scrub the fucking blood off the floor in his office. He slit that poor bugger’s throat. Who does that?”
Reuben was glad the fake ears on top of his head couldn’t betray his curiosity. Erik killed someone?
“Now he’s a ‘bugger’, but not too long ago he used to be such a friend of yours.” Jack gave Lady Victoria a sour smile and started buckling up the front of Reuben’s leather jacket.
“Ah, you know.” Lady Victoria waved his hand dismissively. “These things come and go. I didn’t think him the kind of man to actually put his hands on Copper. That’s what you could call a death wish.”
“Or rape.” Jack did his best to avoid Reuben’s gaze.
Reuben blinked. They were talking about Ollie. Erik slit his throat? For him? Reuben didn’t know whether his stomach was clenching with fear or butterflies.
Lady Victoria slid his fingers up Reuben’s neck to tickle his human ear before proceeding to touch the leather ones on top of his head. “Well, that’s not all that surprising. I tell you Jack, that man didn’t understand the meaning of ‘no’. This one time, he sneaked up on me when I was scrubbing the floor and fucked me just like that, while I was still holding that damp cloth. I wasn’t even in the mood, but he didn’t care.”
Jack’s expression soured. “I didn’t need to know that.”
Lady Victoria rolled his eyes and put his hands on his hips. “Don’t be such a choirboy. It’s nice to fuck once in a while. If you can’t be bothered to spread your legs for anyone, at least be a good boy and listen to what adults say.”
Jack’s face went up in flames. “Why do you have to be so crude?”
“Oh, Honey, you don’t know how I sound when I want to be crude.”
Reuben smiled behind his bit. It was true—Jack was too shy for his own good.
“And I don’t want to know.” Jack put his hands over his ears. “It’s intimate.”
“You’re one to say.” Lady Victoria broke into a grin and pointed his finger at Reuben. “Aren’t you giving him enemas and stuffing him full of rubber dick?”
Reuben pouted, straightened his back, and raised his nose up high. Lady Victoria really was crude. It was a lot less straightforward than he made it sound.
Jack bit his lip with a sharp glare at Lady Victoria. “Apothecaries and doctors do similar things to their patients. It’s nothing like what you are implying.”
Lady Victoria opened his mouth, but he was wise enough to shut it when Erik strolled into the room in a new brown leather suit. It was a simple garment, and its modest design stressed the wearer’s shape in detail.
“Copper. How is my darling pony today?”
Reuben grinned around the bit and whinnied with enthusiasm while pulling his foot across the floor. His heart instantly grew in his chest, and he stood as straight as an arrow. To get Erik’s attention, he tossed his wavy ginger mane from one side to the other.
Erik pulled Reuben into a hug, their matching outfits squeaking with the friction. Bouncy with enthusiasm, he gave Reuben a peck on the lips.
“Did you miss your master, Copper? Did you?”
Reuben gave a high pitched moan and nuzzled his cheek. Erik smelled so good, always fresh and clean, like no other lover Reuben had ever had. His blonde hair was getting longish, which meant he would probably invite a barber soon. Reuben already knew that cycle. The mismatched eyes, which used to make Reuben think that Erik’s soul had two sides—one of an angel and one of a demon—now shone with a familiar warmth.
Jack and Lady Victoria pulled away as well-trained servants would. Erik’s attention was completely focused on Reuben, anyway.
“Ready to go?” Erik withdrew, gently stroking the center of Reuben’s chest through the leather. “You’re in for a treat today.”
Was he? What could Erik have planned? Reuben tapped his foot against the floor again to show his excitement. After some more cuddling and playful teasing, Erik had Jack strap Reuben to the cart, and they headed out into town, Hans trailing along. It was a peaceful sunny afternoon, and with few passersby in the streets, the outing felt more like a romantic walk than anything else. Erik didn’t make any attempt to rush him, merely relaxing in his seat, and Reuben was happy for him after watching Erik spend almost all of his day by his desk. In fact, he’d even go back to work after dinner and a round of fucking with Reuben. He deserved a break. It was such a nice day too, warm, sunny, but cool enough for Reuben not to transform from a horse into a sweaty pig. Were they going to a park? He loved parks.
Reuben wasn’t wearing blinders today, so the beautiful face of Percy Preston smoldering at him from the poster captured all of his attention. Reuben looked back to Erik, to make sure he was allowed to stray from the path, and pointed the front of his horse mask at the wooden fence layered with various posters and announcements.
Percy Preston was illustrated as an extravagant man with flame-colored hair in a purple suit with a green carnation boutonniere. The title of the play was Dandy Science, and judging from the silly characters painted around the main figure, Reuben supposed it was a satire.
“Let me guess.” Erik laughed behind him, and Reuben felt the riding crop licking the side of his butt. “Percy Preston?”
Reuben let out a soft moan. He was curious what the play could be about, but then again the riding crop touching his ass shot excitement straight to his prick, what wasn’t the best thing to happen in the middle of the street.
Erik sighed. “I know that in the last few days I haven’t paid you as much attention as you deserve. Should I be jealous?” The crop skimmed up and down Reuben’s thighs.
Reuben mewled, instantly heating at the touch. Erik knew damn well how his pony reacted to that kind of caress, and yet he still chose to tease. Reuben pointed to the poster once more, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, but it seemed Erik didn’t want to waste his time talking about Percy Preston.
“I’m so fucking tired of my brother. You think you could make me forget my work for a day?” Erik smiled at Reuben and patted his leather-sheathed balls with the crop.
Reuben moaned and pushed back against the touch. Oh, yes, yes, yes. He didn’t even care that they were in a street and possibly attracting the eyes of passersby. That kind of teasing made his cheeks heat up and balls tingle. He couldn’t wait to help Erik forget about his work.
“You ready?” And when Reuben gave Erik a fervent nod, he was told to keep on going.
*
“See? It’s a perfect fit.” The blacksmith weighed Reuben’s calf in his hands and traced the horseshoe at the base of Reuben’s new hoof shoe. They fit him like a glove, and even though they weren’t the epitome of comfortable, the twinkle in Erik’s eyes more than made up for it. The new shoes bent Reuben’s feet into an awkward angle, but thanks to the daily training sessions it wasn’t that much of a shock.
Erik had brought him into far Bylondon, to a large stable that offered carriages and horses for hire. It didn’t smell as good as Reuben’s room at Erik’s house or Alexander’s Mews in London, but he liked that the horses were looking out of their little stalls with curiosity. Checking out the new horse in town. Erik led him along the place, allowing him to mingle with other stallions but was quite firm about not letting Reuben meet any mares. Reuben found it ridiculous, but he played along and tugged on the reins as if he were desperate to get into a stall with a mare. He remembered how Coal had done that and how much it delighted Alexander to see his horse in heat.
After the mock fight that followed,
Reuben ended up in a small wooden seat, with hoof shoes on his feet. The blacksmith was attaching horseshoes to the bottom of Reuben’s hooves while his assistant watched closely, tying the laces on the second shoe. Made with black leather, they were true works of art, and reached up to Reuben’s knees.
Erik insisted he be fitted for the new footwear wearing only his tack, so Reuben sat with his naked ass on the stool, a harness with a gorgeous black tail attached at his waist, a bridle with equine ears, a bit, hoof mittens, and now, finally, the hoof shoes. And he had no shame whatsoever. After all—as Erik said—animals don’t get embarrassed. Reuben had fun playing the frisky stallion today, so it didn’t stop the moment he was away from the mares and fought against the attendants when they tried to force him down. It was only when the blacksmith came over to put the hooves on Reuben that he calmed down, too eager to finally wear them to continue with the charade. He couldn’t wait to get up and see if he could properly walk in the new shoes. He would be so much taller than Erik.
The blacksmith’s assistant handed his master a large hammer, and Reuben flinched when the blacksmith used it on his hoof.
The strikes didn’t hurt, but he could feel the resonance all the way to his knee. The blacksmith repeated the process with Reuben’s other foot, and he was good to go.
“There, try ‘em out.”
Erik got up from a chair that someone covered with a worn velvet cape, and gave Reuben an expectant look. Reuben huffed and slowly tensed the muscles in his thighs, trying to get up with as much grace as possible despite his trussed hands. It took all his strength to maintain balance after pushing off the stool, but he managed to keep himself upright and not embarrass himself in front of everyone. The first few steps were shaky to say the least, but if Coal could do this, so could Reuben.
Erik stared at him, completely mesmerized. It almost seemed like he could see a new person in Reuben. “Oh, Copper! You are gorgeous!” He spread his arms wide in invitation, but Reuben was in a cheeky mood, and as soon as he found his ground, he turned the other way and walked between the rows of horse stalls toward the yard.
Pride (The Copper Horse book 2) (gay erotic romance pony play BDSM) Page 15
