by Richards, J
“Well, what the hell?” Becca gripes.
“Let’s go out this way?” I suggest as we near the end of the hall of stables. The back doors to the barn are open anyway. Neighs can be heard as we approach and I’m struck breathless as we exit the barn.
Trotting in a large circle are six of the most stunning creatures imaginable. Milky white in color with long lustrous manes, the unicorns are as tall as Clydesdales. Their black hoofs strike the ground with purpose as they round the track and small puffs of hot air blow from their noses even though the air is a comfortable temperature.
“I had no idea they were so big.” Becca climbs half way up the fence dividing us from the unicorns. She hooks her stilettos over the lower board and hangs her arms over the top one. She looks like a crazy princess waiting for her turn to ride the ponies.
When the unicorn in front of us passes, a break between the animals allows us to get a glimpse of their trainer. A man is in the center of the horse like creatures wearing tan riding pants and a button up white shirt that is half way undone. His sleeves are rolled up to his elbows and sweat drips between his defined pecs. My mouth waters just from looking at him.
He notices us watching him and slows the unicorns until they are standing still. He pats each of them on the rump before walking over to where we’re all posted up on his fence. His skin is very pale and his hair is blacker than night, but it’s his eyes that leave me panting. They are deep red and his irises swirl like puddles of spilled blood. My eyes flick down to notice a riding crop in his hand and all my darkest fantasies jump to mind.
“Hello, ladies.” His voice is smooth like whiskey and a touch of an accent fills the words. We all greet him in different ways but all of us have the same goofy smiles plastered on our faces. “Enjoying the park?”
“I wanna ride.” Becca announces before any of us can answer him.
“Do you princess?” He lifts the leather tip of the crop to stroke her jaw and she sighs. I notice the vein in her throat pulsing as she leans toward him.
“Please,” her eyes flutter heavily and he smirks.
“I couldn’t deny such a beautiful woman anything after such a sweet plea.” I watch, unable to look away as he reaches over the fence to grab my friend’s waist and lifts her over with such ease. He slides her body slowly down the front of his and I can see her physically shiver. He tucks his nose into her hair and Becca’s head falls to the side.
The trainer’s mouth opens wide and those blood red eyes meet mine as his fangs descend. “No!” I scream and scramble over the fence. I grab Becca from his hold and yank her backwards. Thankfully the vampire trainer allows me to snatch my friend back. “Becca, Jesus are you OK?” I run my fingers down her neck to inspect it but there are no breaks in her soft skin.
“Yes, I’m fine.” She pushes at me. “I wanted him to. Seriously, Serenity it’s fine. He asked me mentally and I agreed.” I stare blankly at her and step back, unsure what to do from here.
“Sorry. I mean, I couldn’t hear your thoughts, Bec. I just wanted to keep you safe.” I feel confused and upset and for some strange reason, jealous.
“It’s OK.” Anne wraps her arm around my waist and tucks me against her side. From the way she looks into my eyes, I think she knows how I’m feeling. “Becca is in safe hands.” She smiles at me before turning to look at the trainer. “We’ll be back for her tonight.”
“Thank you, Miss Anne.” He utters like royalty and lowers his upper half in a bow.
“No, we can’t leave her with him.” My protest goes unheard as Anne and Kelly drag me back through the barn and onto the street again. They keep pulling me until we reach a small bench under a beautiful weeping willow. “Why are you leaving her, Anne?” I almost yell at the woman I thought was my friend and a friend of Becca’s.
“Look, Serenity, I know you have this whole super innocent thing going on, but here in the park you can be and do whatever you want. Becca wants to fuck a vampire unicorn trainer and he is happy to fulfill that fantasy for her. She won’t be hurt, she took her pill, remember? We’ll pick her up tonight on our way back to the suite and everything will be fine.”
“But you told us to stick together, we can’t just leave her with him all day!”
“I know what I said and I did mean it, but,” she groans and looks deep into my eyes. “Last time I was here, him and I. Well, I got to play out that fantasy and he was nothing but respectful. I know she’s in safe hands. Very capable and thrilling, but still safe hands.” Anne has the nerve to look guilty as she explains her reasoning.
“It still feels wrong.” I look down at the hem of my skirt and run my fingers along its edges. The wind blows softly, pushing the weeping willows stem of leaves to stroke against the length of my arm.
“I guess it might, but I could tell you felt something for that chick in the elevator. Don’t try to tell me you didn’t feel it, because it was so strong, even I felt it. If you wanted to be with her this weekend, I would make sure you were safe and still came away with an experience you couldn’t ever forget. It’s why we are here, baby girl.” My nose wrinkles as she speaks of Pandora.
“I can’t deny I felt something, but I’ve never been into girls.” I shrug and lift my hand to rub the weeping willows branches through my fingers. “This place is really messing with me.” Kelly smiles weakly and nods.
“I feel it too, but I love it. The magic and lust, it’s dancing on my fucking skin!” Kelly lets her arms fly out by her sides and begins twirling in large circles. “I love it so much!” She screams and Anne and I are left giggling and joining her in her spinning fit. We spin and spin until we are all dizzy and fall to the ground in a pile of sexy clothes and spilled drinks.
My lungs burn and my cheeks ache from laughing so hard. We lay in a pile together for a while until we all catch our breaths again. Anne stands up first and then I make my way to my feet. I look down at the pretty boots I’m wearing and wonder why my feet aren’t killing me. I don’t normally wear heels, and when I do, two hours is almost always my max before I bust out my ballet flats. A small smile tugs at my lips, must be the fucking magic.
Kelly’s stomach growls loudly, “OK, I’m with Serenity. We need food!”
“I think I smell fried dough,” I remind myself and follow my nose to the nearest food truck. It really is just like the fairs in the real world that we visit every year, and we order one giant piece of fried dough to share. When our order is filled we go back to our bench and sit to pick at the greasy bread smothered in powdered sugar.
A deep longing howl rips through the air and something in its tone grabs my heart. I stand up, brushing the sugar that spilled from my thighs to start walking in the direction of the sounds. “Wait up!” Anne calls as she hauls Kelly to her feet, but I can’t stop. I need to find the owner of that howl.
I start to jog, then full out run as I get closer. I can feel the soul it belongs to and it’s the other half of mine. I don’t know how I know that but I just do. My soulmate is crying out for me! A building shaped like a mountain with a cave opening for a doorway is where the noise is coming from. I run inside.
It’s dark and hard to see anything. As I enter fully I’m stopped by lines of women who are keeping me from reaching who I’m looking for. There are so many of them, divided into four lines. I stand on my tip toes in my heels and try to look over their heads. A dimly lit sign reads “Coyote Mountain.” And under the sign attendants are checking writs cuffs and slowly letting in only a few of the women waiting.
“What is this?” I ask out loud but not directing my question at anyone in particular.
“The hottest male review, like ever!” A middle aged woman in front of me turns around to tell me. Her eyes are wide and bright and her cheeks are flushed like she is already excited. She clutches her hands together at her chest and I catch a glimpse of her wrist cuff. She is human also.
“Male review?” I repeat softly then realize what she means. “A strip show?” I gawk in disb
elief. Another set of howls roll over the crowd of women and my body begs to find one of the many voices. The one that’s making my heart beat rapidly. “When does it start?”
“Ten minutes.” The older women is so giddy and her friends seem just as excited as they curl together in fits of giggles and begin talking about how their husband’s would kill them if they knew where they were. I look down at their wrists and each one of them is human.
Kelly and Anne stumble in through the door, letting in a bright beam of light before it’s gone again. “What the fuck, dude?” Kelly wheezes.
“I don’t know.” I grab each of their hands and squeeze them tight. “This is gonna sound crazy, so fucking crazy.”
“Spill.” Anne tries to push me through my stalling.
“You heard the howling, right? Well… one of the guys, God I hope it’s a guy, is my soulmate.” I hold up one hand to stop them from saying anything yet. “I know, it’s dumb. But I heard the howl and just knew I needed to get to him. I know, like deep in my bones, that he has been looking for me.” I roll my eyes, it’s hard for even me to believe the crap that’s spewing from my mouth. “Guys, I think he, whoever he is, is the one Pandora told me about. I think if I can find the owner of that howl he can explain my connection to her and to him. I have to find him!” In the dark I peer closely to try and read my friends faces.
“OK, we’ll find him!” Kelly squeaks and Anne agrees.
“After the show it’ll be easier to locate him. We’ll watch the show and you listen for his voice. If you can figure out what he looks like or even exactly which…dancer, he is first, then we can track him down after the show.”
Every cell in my body is swelling and aching for the owner of that voice but my brain is rebelling and pushing back against my instincts with all kinds of questions. Is what I’m feeling real or a trick of this place? If my soul mate is in here, am I OK with him being an erotic dancer? Do I even fucking believe in soul mates? I drop my face in to my open palms and scream. It’s a weak scream but releasing it still makes me feel better. Someone rubs my shoulder blade and I peek through my fingers to see Anne looking at me. “Why is this happening to me? I feel so off balance, Anne.”
“What’s meant to be will be, honey. Don’t fight it.”
Six…
I don’t know how to explain all the sensations going on in my system as we pass through the attendants and into the stadium. It’s an open room made up of two levels with a six story high cathedral ceiling and a stage on the first floor. The ceiling looks like the night sky, a rich deep blue with twinkling lights of stars blinking in and out of existence but it’s the moon that makes me gasp in awe.
A full moon hangs in the sky without wires or pulleys, the man in the moon so clear that I feel as though he’s watching me. Real clouds filter together from either side of the room to clutter in front of the moon and blot out its light. The air in the space feels tight and is making it hard for me to pull in a full breath. I run my fingers down the bones of my corset and wonder if it’s the space or my time spent in this restricting garment. Or maybe even the person I’m looking for that’s making it hard for me to breath.
The second level of the room, which we are on currently, is filled with counter high café tables scattered randomly through the space, each with a flickering candle burning hot in the center. To get to the second level we step down only five wide steps in the center of the room. The crowd of women we were waiting in line with are already filling up the tables on the lower floor. Only the shy or the late get stuck sitting at the tall tables on the second floor.
My gaze scans the room for empty chairs. I want to be close. Anne trudges forward with me close to her heels and Kelly following me. “We just need three empty ones. We don’t have to be together.” Anne says without turning to look back at us. “Keep your eyes open, it’s tight in here.”
The small tables on the first floor only have three chairs at each table so that every guest can view the stage. My heart starts to skid out of control. We aren’t going to find seats in this mess. My feet start to slow as we near the stage itself and I place my hand over my heart, feeling it kick against my hand.
“Right here!” Kelly wails from behind me and yanks my wrist. I stumble backwards and my ass lands squarely in a chair she has pulled out for me. The table is smaller than the rest and the two other empty chairs are cuddled close to the one I’m filling.
“Holy shit.” Anne smiles as she takes her seat. “Good find.” Kelly brushes off her right shoulder with a giggle.
“Just as you walked by, the three chicks sitting here got up. Finders keepers.” The scones on the walls blink super bright and shut back off. “Ohh, here we go!” Kelly wiggles in her chair and I turn my body to look at the stage.
Creepy music like you hear late at night on the radio during Halloween begins to play through hidden speakers. It’s quiet at first but builds and builds until my seat is vibrating under me from the bass. As the volume grows a thick black curtain lifts. The sexy backs of six men steal my already labored breath away. They look like bodybuilders from the back. Strong and smooth as the muted moonlight shines on their bodies. The beat changes to something pulsing and the men turn around. Their faded jeans are unzipped and happy trails of dark fuzz draw my eye down their lean waists and defined abdominals to where the fly is parted.
They all look slightly different, but are so similar in looks that I wonder if they could all be brothers. What a sexy fucking crew they make. Their hips roll and pump in ways that make my thighs press together. The crowd is going nuts. Jumping up and screaming for attention as the male dancers get closer to the edge of the stage.
The song is almost through and the clouds above us part, moonlight spills down on the men and they drop to their hands and knees. With painful howls their bodies shift and morph into dog like creatures, coyote’s is my guess. They seem smaller than what I would imagine wolves to be and bigger than dingo’s.
All six move to the edge of the stage and snarl and snap at the crowd. Licking their chops with threatening gleams in their yellow eyes. Saliva flicks from their snouts and lands on the ladies in the front row.
The clouds roll back in and chilling laments break through the electric air and the coyote’s backs bend until they are standing on their hind legs and within seconds the sexy men are back on the stage as if nothing weird has taken place. A new song pulses loudly through the speakers, and one of the men lowers a thick arm to a woman in the first row. She squeals in delight as he pulls her up on stage and backs her onto a chair another coyote dancer has provided.
Just like in the movies, the woman gets straddled by a fit dancer while the others play in her hair and trail fingers down her arms. The woman’s friends are on their feet screaming for their chance to get on stage too, but all of the focus is currently on the lady in the center of the stage. Lust burns in the dancer’s eyes and I can tell whatever happens next won’t be like any stripper comedy I’ve seen in the theaters.
Goosebumps rise on my skin when her shirt is ripped off. One dancer makes a show of licking up the length of her neck while the one straddling her climbs off and pushes her knees open. He drops to his knees and rakes his fingers down her inner thighs. The heavy air is now suffocating me with the new weight of arousal mixed into the room. The woman on stage, the men surrounding her and all of us in the crowd are throbbing with the blood in our veins that’s pumping just a little too quickly.
The moans coming off the stage are loud and needy now, as the dancer’s tease the girl senseless, but I realize that the moans aren’t just coming from the sole woman. The crowd has fully gotten into the show. Women all around us are touching each other, caressing and rubbing their friends. The smell of arousal fills my nose and only makes me feel even hotter. I look over at Kelly and Anne to make sure they are still in their seats and they are. Both with legs crossed firmly and I think I can see Kelly rocking her hips slightly, grinding them into her chair.
Twelve
sets of five fingers skim the lucky lady’s flesh on the stage and at least three tongues graze her tender exposed skin. They lick up the back of her arms, another rolls his tongue across her hip bone. Her bra is unhooked but the cups stay in place, hung on her hard nipples. Her head is thrown back now and it looks as if her eyes are focused on the dancer standing behind her.
The song fades and I look up at the moon. What will happen to the women if she’s up there when they change into their baser forms? I stand up in panic and watch nervously. But the clouds stay in place as one dancer lifts the wanton woman and drapes her over his shoulder like a cave man. Together all six dancers and their prize leave the stage as the curtain drops again.
Long moments pass before the curtain lifts once more and when it does my heart stops.
It’s him.
I know it is. I start to walk toward the stage without thinking. I am only feeling. The man on stage is reclining back in a folding chair. His long legs are splayed open as if he is completely relaxed. He’s wearing a business suit with the jacket unbuttoned and the hat on his head is tipped a bit off balance so that it covers his eyes and part of his straight nose. The clouds part as I reach the edge of the stage and I freeze. Will he change into something dangerous too?
I wait a fraction of a second and nothing happens other than the new beat of the music filling the room. I get the feeling that he is just as dangerous in human form as any of the previous dancers were in their coyote bodies.
With better lighting he is only that much sexier. His jaw is strong and covered in a few days’ worth of dirty blonde stumble but the moonlight now shows off his high cheek bones with its shadows and his perfect lips part slightly. His nose flares and I smile.
He smells me.
His giant hand lifts and he rips the hat off his head as he leans forward. One elbow now resting on one knee. His dark, dark eyes scan the crowd from left to right then finally stop on me. A rough growl rumbles out of his chest as he stands to comes towards me. I lift my hand up to him and he takes it in a tight grip and pulls me easily onto the stage.