Maximus

by Jessika Klide

"Aurei?"

  He looks at me and smiles.

  "Pinch me again."

  He chuckles. "Did you like the taste of Heaven?"

  "Oh hell to the fucking yeah!"

  He laughs, then stands and offers his hand. "Come on."

  As we walk to the bathroom, I slip my fingers between his and he gives me a little squeeze. In the dressing room, we stop and I put my hair up. Then in the shower, we bathe each other, but keep the rubbing to cleaning only. Aurei steps out first, and hands me a towel. We dry ourselves off then go to the dressing room. I sit on the bench and wait as Aurei picks our clothes. His first selection is a bra. He chooses a soft pink one and dangles it at me, smirking. I roll my eyes at him. I snatch it. Laughing, I tell him. "Yes. My girls are very happy to see this torturous tool!"

  He holds up matching panties and I give him 'the look'. He grins and puts them back. He decides on black yoga pants and a simple pink long sleeve Nike t-shirt for me that says "Just Do It" and my boots. For himself, he chooses a polo shirt with polo style riding pants, and over the calf boots.

  "Da-yum! You look delicious in that." He rolls his eyes and shakes his head, like I’m exaggerating or something. I pull my hair from my shirt and tell him. "You really have no idea how truly drop dead, head turning, handsome you are, do you?"

  He ignores me. "Grab our phones." He tells me as he finishes pulling on his boots. I find them on the table where I left them. "Come on. Caesar’s ornery ass awaits." He tells me on the way out.

  I follow him and wait on the porch while he goes to get the car. I glance at his phone and see he has 20 messages. I check mine and have only one. The thought of checking his 20 crosses my mind, but I decide instead to read my one. It’s from Cat. *BABY GIRL! Just got the news! OMFG! I’m so excited for you! So excited! James is beside himself. He goes from laughing to fretting and back to laughing. He has been hugging random people then busting their chops. He acts like he is on crack! Can’t wait to see the new show! Here’s me blowing kisses to you! Congratulations. You deserve this! Love ya! Laters!* There’s a gif of her blowing kisses.

  I can’t wait to get home! I grin at the phone. James is so dramatic! I should text him to reassure him that "Happy" won’t be that difficult, but he’s stressing because I’m not there yet to work with him on the finer details. He is such a perfectionist. Once he realizes I’ve memorized the dance and it will be believable he’ll calm down. We’ll work out the transitions between my part and utilize any number of other dancers to mimic the people in the video while distracting the audience’s eye while I change and come back in to pick it back up. I’ve got some cool ideas on how we will pull it off.

  I text Cat. *Tell James to chillax. I got this. Can’t wait to see you all. Will return next week.* I leave it at that. I’m not sure exactly what day and they will go overboard on the welcome home party if I give them too much advance notice.

  Aurei backs out of the garage and I walk down the porch steps. Climbing in, I hand him his phone. "You have 20 messages, Mr. Moore, and I had one from Cat."

  "What did Cat say?"

  "Just that she’s excited about the new show and James is freaking out." He cuts his eyes at me and I roll mine, then give him my gay guy impersonation of James fretting over "Happy." He laughs as he drives entirely too fast this time up to the house.

  When we arrive, we find breakfast is already waiting for us, so we sit and eat. I look for signs of Quintus, but he isn’t around. The staff comes in and out. They are carrying tables and chairs. They speak to Aurei and he jokes with them. When we are finished, we walk through the tented area where the dinner will be held, heading to the stables. I count a quick count of 25 tables. There is a roped off area for dancing. It looks more like a wedding reception than a family dinner. Aurei fills me in on the agenda as we go. "The family will begin arriving this afternoon while we are napping. We will come back up to the Big House for dinner with everyone. It will be a late evening, but will wrap up before midnight." He puts his arm around me and pulls me against him. We sync our steps and he continues. "The men rise before sunup, have breakfast together, then spend the day getting ready for the competition. The ladies sleep late, then gather up here for lunch."

  "Will Ann be here?"

  "No. She’s with me." He says, then quickly adds. "But she’s the exception."

  "Great!" I roll my eyes.

  "Don’t worry. Zita and Bee will be here."

  "Then what?"

  "The girls do girl things together. Around 4pm, the women come to the arena to watch the show. Afterwards everyone comes back to the Big House for the Celebration Feast. It will be a long night. On Sunday morning, we will tell everyone good-bye then fly back to Alabama."

  When we enter the stables, Paolini greets us from across the area with a wave and points to the far end. We walk through to find Caesar saddled and tied inside the paddock area.

  He is beautiful! His thick mane and tail have been cleaned of twigs and combed. He is alert but resting. There is a nice red gelding saddled and tied too for me, but they are separated. We climb the fence and jump down inside. Aurei tells me my horses name is Rosso, which is Italian for Red. I walk over and introduce myself to him.

  Aurei follows and hands me his phone. "You better hold this."

  I take it and nod at the fence behind him. Several ranch hands have stopped what they were doing and are leaning on the fence to watch. "I bet they have a wager if Caesar throws you are not."

  "Probably." He laughs. "It won’t be the first time he’s thrown me or the last I’m sure." He walks over to Caesar and I admire his ass flexing and rolling in his polo pants. When he stops, I turn my attention to Caesar. His eyes and ears are alert. When Aurei reaches for the reins, he bobs his head. As soon as Aurei unties him, he backs away. Aurei holds his ground and I see them squaring off. I notice the reins are extra-long and when Caesar rears, I know why.

  I call to Aurei. "Can I make a suggestion?"

  "Sure. Shoot." He says over his shoulder, not taking his eye off Caesar. "You are the horse whisperer."

  "Horse whistler is more accurate, but I do have an idea I learned from my Granddaddy. He was a horse whisperer."

  "I’m up for suggestions. I’m not looking forward to this part of the deal."

  "Have you ever ran Caesar before you tried to mount him?"

  "Do you mean exercise him on a lead? No. He doesn’t run in circles."

  "No. That’s too boring for a horse like him. I mean pair him with another horse like Rosso here and run him." Aurei looks right at me. "So you haven’t?"

  "No, I haven’t."

  "Want to?"

  He tilts his head thinking. "He doesn’t like to follow."

  "That’s the reason it will work." I untie Rosso and mount him. "Come on. We’ll ride doubles and you can hold his head. It’s worth a try. If you fall off, it won’t hurt near as much as it will if he throws you in front of them." I remind him that we have an audience. More men have come to the fence to watch.

  "That’s true." He waves to one of them to get the gate.

  I walk Rosso to Aurei and Caesar eyes us while Aurei mounts behind me. His black eyes are shiny and wild, but he isn’t sure what we are doing, so he semi-behaves, watching and prancing. Rosso, who is steady and unaffected by all of Caesar’s drama, shifts with Aurei’s weight. I steady him as Aurei’s hands slide around my waist. He shortens the reins and draws Caesar closer, who comes because he is curious. Then Aurei’s mouth nibbles my ear before he says. "He hates the exercise track. Hook a left out the gate, then take the first cut to the right. We’ll run him along the fence row, then out into the open area."

  I aim Rosso in the direction of the gate. "Just remember to let go of me if he pulls you off." I kiss his cheek. Aurei grasps a hand full of Rosso’s mane and I ask. "Ready?"

  "I sure hope so. OPEN THE GATE."

  When the gate swings open, Caesar’s eyes shift to it and he focuses on the getaway. "Hang on." I tell Aurei. "This is going to be a
wild ride!" I suck my lips, kick as hard as I can and slap Rosso across the withers with the reins. The crack and pain makes the poor horse bolt in fright, then he runs for his life as he senses Caesar bearing down on him. We bounce at first, then hunker our asses down on him as he levels off and we fly out of the paddock through the gate. I have to pull his head sharp to the left to make the turn. Aurei works to control Caesar’s head and is only able to do so because he is a beast himself. On the straight away, we run at breakneck speed. We can hear the shouts and whistles of the Ranch hands behind us. Aurei holds Caesar in check, but his horse keeps trying to take the lead. At the right turn, I pull Rosso into it and he cuts Caesar off. Aurei quickly shortens the reins and manages to pull the horse alongside. With his head restricted, he is forced to match his long stride with Rosso’s shorter one. The speed we are going keeps him from fighting and he runs alongside. When we reach the end of the fence, we enter an open pasture. Both horses, feeling the freedom to run, pin their ears back and I let Rosso have his head.

  Aurei shouts over the thunderous rumble of their hooves. "Yeehaw!"

  My smile stretches from ear to ear. There’s my Alabama man! Everyone is enjoying the freedom!

  Chapter Eighteen

  When Rosso becomes winded, I slow him down then pull him to a quick stop. Aurei dismounts immediately, keeps Caesar close, walks around to the right, puts his foot in the stirrup, throws his leg over and sits the beast without a battle.

  Success!

  We grin at each other for just a moment before Aurei wheels Caesar around and they are off again. Aurei leans over his neck as Caesar’s long legs stretch out. The beauty of the view is not lost on me. The black horse charging with its mane floating in waves up and down against its stretched neck. Its ears pinned back with determination as it focuses on a distance spot. They thunder away and I watch as they become smaller and smaller, then disappear over the hill out of sight. I sit watching and waiting for them to reappear, but they don’t return. Realizing they aren’t coming back, I kick Rosso and we start heading that way at a more leisurely pace. When I reach the spot where they disappeared, I begin to see the top of what could only be the Arena. I’m flabbergasted as it comes into full view and I pull Rosso up to drink in the sight. It’s incredible!

  "I swear I’m in a fucking fairy tale!"

  I pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming, but the pain assures me this is real too.

  The Arena is a replica of the coliseum. The only difference is, it’s not as big or as tall. I kick Rosso into a gallop and we make our way to it. When I arrive, I see the entrance where Aurei went. The hole in the stadium is big enough to hold two semi trucks. I dismount, and walk Rosso in under an open canopied area. I laugh because although the exterior looks like the Coliseum, the inside is a football stadium. I admire the architectural design.

  Very clever! It’s modern, but keeps the ancient feel of the history and glory that was Roman. Facing the entrance, I can see a fairly large parking lot behind it. We must be at the edge of the property and they must use this for public events too. Like a civic center, or maybe for youth soccer. Cool!

  Standing at the edge, I see Aurei and Caesar are at the other end. He is putting his Warhorse through his paces. The Friesian’s brisk, high-stepping trot is beauty to behold. He is the epitome of what a Warhorse should be. From his erect carriage all the way down to the bottom half of his legs where the long, silky hair looks like floating feathers.

  He would be the horse Apollo would ride. I smile. And the Bastard son of Thor too. I can see my Dark Deity destroying an enemy back in the day!

  When Aurei spots me, he wheels Caesar around and they stop. The beauty of this view is not lost on me either. He sends the black horse charging across the area. I watch as my Golden God leans over his powerful neck. His golden halo against the wavy black mane. Caesar’s ears pinned back with determination as Aurei demands and commands him. They pull up and he sits on his haunches to stop.

  Thunderous glory!

  Aurei doesn’t speak to me. He just grins, then turns Caesar and charges back to the other side.

  Oh My Golden God! I love you so!

  I tie Rosso and take a seat, letting my mind wonder over all that is Aurei. Selena Gomez’s song "Nobody Does It Like You" starts to play in my mind and I tap my foot to it.

  He’s a dark Deity and I’m a wild child. That’s an explosive combination and I am forever changed. I can’t wait to see where we will be in a month, a year and more. Life is good with Aurei! My one and only.

  My eyes find my man. What the hell? I sit up straight. He has a sword in his hand! I watch stunned as he exhibits expert hand play, twirling and spinning it, then tossing it to the other hand and catching it.

  Fucking phenomenal!

  Now I watch as Caesar charges and Aurei performs the same movements standing in the stirrups and leaning over Caesar’s neck.

  Holy fuck! That’s awesome! They are magnificent together. Sweet Zeus! I’m wild for this man! Nobody does it like you, Maximus Aurelius Moore! Nobody! The only thing that could make that sight more awesome is seeing the Bastard doing it. Holy Hades, I’m looking forward to the Celebration now! He is the fucking real deal! Damn! I’m a lucky girl!

  He reins Caesar directly in front of me and smiles his beautiful smile! My heart melts with the sight of how truly happy he is right now. He waves to me to join him and brings Caesar to the wall to put his sword away. I jump at the chance and when I get there I hoist myself up. As soon as I’m close enough, he lifts me and puts me in the saddle with him. He sits me facing him, so I wrap my legs around his waist, my arms around his back and I nuzzle his neck, hugging him tight. He kisses my hair and asks. "Comfy?"

  "I won’t complain."

  I hear his throat hum that delicious sexy sound and then he clicks his cheek. I look back to see Caesar, whose ears are turned to us listening, prance away from the wall, drawing his neck up into a tight arch with his nose pointing at the ground. He side steps across the arena floor. I grin up at Aurei as I bounce against his groin and my tits grind into his chest. "Caesar isn’t entirely sure this is kosher."

  "He’s just showing off now."

  "Let’s hope that’s all this is. I would hate to get thrown from this position."

  "He’s not going to throw us now. He only tries that shit in the first few minutes."

  "But if he does, I just want you to know, I’m riding you down to the ground."

  He chuckles. "You just hold on tight to me, Baby Thang. I got ya!"

  I nuzzle him again. The bouncing from Caesar’s dance makes me ask. "Have you ever fucked on a horse before?"

  "No. We should add that to our bucket list."

  "Def addition!"

  "But not on Caesar. He is too high strung for that. We’ll do it on Blue when we get back to the farm."

  "Let’s start a Fucket list too. That can be #1."

  He laughs. "Ok. Let’s do."

  I squeeze him tight, then I remember my epiphany. "I forgot to tell you! I had a great idea about the bachelor party! Why don’t we fly the whole Alabama crew out to Vegas instead? I can put them all up at the MGM or Caesar’s Palace for a few days. Gaby and Steve could get married in one of the wedding chapels if they want and return without any Alabama drama. What do you think?"

  He leans his head down and puckers his lips. I place a butterfly kiss on them. "It’s not my decision. It’s Steve and Gaby’s, but I like the idea!"

  "Good. I do too."

  "Hang on. I’ve got to shift you. You’re killing my nuts!" He puts a hand under my ass and lifts me on to his thigh.

  I laugh. "Here. I’ve got a better idea." I duck under his arm, put my foot on Caesar’s back and stand up behind him. Caesar’s gait changes to a canter as his head comes up and one ear goes forward. He is totally unsure what he should be doing, but he’s trained enough not to bolt. That’s a good thing. Aurei holds his reins firm, but lets him adjust on his own. I put my hands on Aurei’s shoulders an
d ride absorbing the motion in my knees, then I lean forward on his back, stiffen my knees and spread my arms out wide.

  "What are you doing, Crazy Thang?"

  "I’m doing the Titanic!" I tell him, then I start to sing the theme song. "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion at the top of my lungs. Not at the beginning, but at the end where she sings that there is nothing to be afraid of. "Fear? Never again because you are here, Aurei, in my heart and we will go on. Forever is safe because of you."

  He chuckles at first as he guides Caesar under a firmer rein, controlling him so I’m safe from a possible misstep, then he reaches up for my hand and tells me. "Sit down, please."

  I can’t resist giving it to him and he puts it on his shoulder. I put my other hand there too, and lean over the top of his head. My hair flops over first, then my tits tease, bouncing up and down on top of his head as I ease over and look at him upside down. "Why, Sugar Bare? I like standing. It’s exhilarating!"

  "Because I want you to."

  "What if I don’t want to?" I lick his face and he scrunches it, then laughs.

  "You should sit because I want you to, Kitten Thang."

  "But you know Kittens are naughty sometimes. Sometimes we do what we want and I’m feeling naughty." I lick him again.

  "Siri. Sit down." I hear concern in his voice. "We have company coming in."

  "Where?" I lift my head and look around. "I don’t see anyone."

  I flop my head back down in front of him. "I can’t see anything either." He laughs, then says simply "Siri" commanding me to obey.

  "Ok. Ok. I’m sitting." I open my knees and slide my pussy down his back. "How does that make you feel?" I ask. When my ass touches Caesar, I pull back up and drag my tits up his back as I let my legs dangle over the sides.

  "You know how that makes me feel."

  "Yes. I do!" I hug him, pressing my cheek and tits into his back as I put my arms around him and slide my fingers to his golden rod. I feel his hardness. "Ummhmm. That’s the right answer. I’m needy for you too!" I stick my head under his arm and start to move back to the front to sit in his lap, but I see that both of Caesars ears immediately move forward and his head lifts high. I heard the rumble of a bike as it turns in the bay area.