by Kate Hill
“Maybe the time in prison the bastard’s been sentenced to will discourage anyone else from attacking Zach or another puller.”
“I won’t ask if you two are planning on having any children.” Loretta glanced at Sophia from the corner of her eye.
Sophia laughed. “That was subtle, Ma, but, yes, we would love to have children, if we can. It’s not easy to conceive with a Horseman, even though you wouldn’t know it by looking at them.”
“Not according to your father,” Loretta muttered then blushed.
Sophia stifled another laugh. Apparently her father had told her mother about Zach’s Horseman attributes on display that night in the barn. Suddenly she felt less guilty about barging in on them this afternoon.
* * * * *
After spending a few pleasant hours with Mel and Loretta, Zach and Sophia left for home. Light snow fell as Zach soared across the sky. He tried to keep a quick, steady pace to emanate enough body heat to keep her comfortably warm. She rubbed her cheek against his full-coat, her legs squeezing his beast-body while her arms held his man-torso. Carrying her felt so wonderful. Though he scarcely felt her weight, her touch both soothed and excited him.
“We’re almost home,” he said.
“I know.” She kissed his shoulder and gripped his chest. “Once you cool off, I can rub you down.”
“That’s sounds so good.”
Just the thought of her caring for his coat and muscles was enough to increase his already thrumming heartbeat. He circled twice over their land then descended slowly. She dismounted and fell into step alongside him as he walked to cool down. In spite of the winter weather, his body was damp with sweat. He’d traveled at a sustained clip and his full-coat was marvelous for keeping heat in, though now that he landed, he shivered a bit from the frosty air. They walked to the barn and he slipped a cloak over his man-half while she draped a blanket over his beast-back and wings.
“Why don’t you go in the house where it’s warmer?” he suggested.
“I’m warm enough. Don’t you want the company?”
“I always want your company.” He took her hand as they left the barn and walked slowly around the field. When he’d cooled, they returned to the barn where she gave him the promised rubdown after helping him remove pebbles and ice from his hooves.
He closed his eyes as she massaged ointment into his muscles.
“Gods, that feels wonderful,” he said. “When we get back to the house, I’m massaging you from head to toe.”
“Ohhh! Is that a promise?”
“It’s my word of honor.”
Once his grooming was complete, Zach shifted to Huform then tugged on trousers, boots, and a cloak. He slipped his arm around Sophia as they walked to the cottage.
While she undressed and slipped naked into bed, he lit a fire. Her gaze swept each part of his body revealed as he removed his clothes.
“Sometimes I can’t believe you’ve never hurt me while making love,” she said. “How can a man of your size be so gentle when some small, human males are vicious bastards?”
“I’ve been vicious at times.”
“Only when you had to be.”
“I could never hurt you, Sophia.” He slid beneath the sheet and reached for her.
Curling against his side, she kissed his shoulder and rested her chin on his chest, gazing into his eyes.
“I hope we have a baby,” she said.
A smile tugged at his lips. He stroked wisps of hair from her forehead. “So do I.”
“I guess talking about it won’t make it happen.”
“No. It takes action.” He rolled her onto her back and kissed her, his hand caressing her ribs and hip.
Sophia tangled her fingers in his thick brown hair as he buried his face in her neck. The tip of his tongue caressed her tender flesh before he lifted his face and kissed her forehead. Her brow felt so soft and smooth beneath his lips. With her eyes closed and a slight smile on her full, pink lips, she was the loveliest woman he’d ever known, and not only because of her physical beauty. He might have been free of the mines, but before meeting her, his soul had still been in chains.
Zach’s lips roamed down her nose and he kissed the tip. He kissed her cheeks, chin, and throat. As he licked and kissed her breasts, she sighed with pleasure. She stroked his shoulders, her small, strong fingers gripping the muscles.
She moaned, her back arching towards him when he took one of her nipples between his lips and sucked deeply. Zach inhaled the wonderful scent of her skin, part natural musk, part floral soap. Moving his lips to her other nipple, he reached between her legs and tenderly parted her thighs. He stroked the silken flesh. His fingers searched her pussy, finding it warm, dewy, and waiting for his touch.
“Oh, Zach,” she murmured when his finger, damp with her love juices, circled her clit. The sensation of the soft, plump nubbin, a beautiful revelation of her lust and vulnerability, made him want to please and protect her. His rubbing quickened. She mewled, a tiny yet incredibly arousing sound.
Gauging her pleasure by the wriggling of her body and the sound of her excited breathing, he slowed and quickened his motions, keeping her hovering on the verge of orgasm.
“Zach, please!” she finally panted, her body warm and squirming against his hand. “You’re driving me mad!”
He smiled, his pulse racing with the pleasure of arousing her. Kneeling, he grasped the backs of her thighs and guided her legs around his waist. As his thick, hard cock slid into her, his eyes closed halfway. She felt so soft and damp. Releasing a long breath, he willed his hips not to pound into her.
It took a moment of sitting statue-still before he’d gained control enough to move. Grasping her hips, he thrust slowly, building pleasure in them both.
Sophia’s eyes remained closed and she stroked her own nipples. The sight of her slender fingers rubbing and twisting the burgundy nubs nearly hurled him into orgasm. He slowed his motions even more, but she was beyond waiting. Her hips jerked and her bottom wriggled.
Unable to control his desire, Zach lunged into her. His entire body tensed and tingled. Sophia cried out, her back arching, her spiky nipples pointing skyward. Her warm, velvety pussy gripped his cock in steady pulses that drove him over the edge.
“Sophia! Oh, Gods!” he gasped, his fingers gripping her tighter as his hips bucked in a final, massive thrust.
Panting, he sat back on his heels as his spent cock slipped from her body. He lay on his side and pulled her to his chest, burying his face in the curve between her neck and shoulder.
“I love you so much, Zach,” she murmured.
“I love you, too, Sophia.”
He closed his eyes, enjoying the softness of his wife’s body, the pleasure of her scent, and the comfort of her slow, steady breathing as she drifted to sleep.
* * * * *
Zach competed in ten competitions that winter. He and Sophia traveled to the tropics often, since contests were unheard of in the north during snow season. By the end of winter, Zach and several other pullers had arranged for a competition to be held in Red Pebble Hill, one of the largest cities in the north. Their Chieftain was wealthy and owned a palace with a vast courtyard, which, after careful negotiation, he allowed the pullers to use for the contest. He received half the price of the fees charged for admission. Though Zach and the other competitors knew they wouldn’t gain much in coin, they considered it a good business investment. If they proved people would attend competitions through the winter, maybe other cities and villages would host contests during the off-season.
In spite of the snow, there was a decent turnout to the Red Pebble Hill contest. The Chieftain was pleased and the pullers enjoyed competing in cool weather. Zach agreed to plan at least one competition each winter, even after his retirement.
Spring came early that year. When not training for competition, Zach cleared more of their land for farming while Sophia continued her work as seamstress. Susana and Moor had their first child—a daughter—in
early spring. Sophia longed for children of her own, and she knew Zach felt the same. As often as they tried, they were bound to have them someday, at least she hoped.
At midsummer that year, Zach and Sophia traveled west for a pulling contest in the rural town of Deer Valley. Determined to fulfill his plan to enter as many as possible, Zach had engaged in over thirty competitions since the first of the year. At first Sophia worried the pace would be too much for him, but he seemed as powerful as ever. His life in the mines had been far more grueling. He told her as pleasant as his life was now, he felt he could compete indefinitely, and she rarely doubted him. In addition to fair contests, three top-pulling Highlanders had challenged him to matches. Zach had won all three. Though his reputation was known throughout the world, he took his fame with the same easy strides that he pulled his heavy loads.
After the match in Deer Valley, he accepted the crowd’s congratulations along with his prize money, then he and Sophia went to their rented box in the local tack house.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of watching you compete,” she said, rubbing ointment into his equine forelegs as he placed his tack aside.
“I’m glad. I keep thinking you must be so bored with fair after fair.”
“Impossible.” She slid up his body and pressed a kiss to the center of his broad, sweat-beaded chest. Her fingers traced light circles over his ribs. “Just watching all your gorgeous muscles when you’re pulling makes me lusty.” She playfully bit his left nipple.
“Gods, Sophia.” He bent and kissed her mouth then her throat while one arm snaked around her waist. “Keep this up, and I won’t bother waiting to cool down properly. I’ll change shape and take you here and now.”
Sophia’s eyes slipped shut. “But that’s not good for—”
His entire body trembled and the floor shook as he changed to Huform. Her eyes flew open.
“You shouldn’t have done that!” she scolded in spite of the desire pulsing through her body.
“Once in a while doesn’t hurt, and I need you so badly, Sophia.” He panted in the aftermath of the change combined with desire. The heat of his hands seeped into her waist as he lifted her onto a trunk and tugged her dress over her head. His huge, sweat-dampened body pressed her against the wall. Sophia shivered, just feeling him enough to push her to the verge of orgasm. His mouth covered hers with gentle yet demanding pressure. He took her lower lip between his teeth and nipped it playfully before running his tongue across it. He grasped her sides, his thumbs caressing her ribs and straying lower. Cupping one of her bottom cheeks with one hand and grasping her crotch with the other, he kneaded back and front. Sophia panted, her legs weakening, her pussy aching and dewy with passion. She slid her palms up his steely arms then rested her hands on the sides of his wet, pulsing neck. Her fingertips traced tendons and veins, feeling his strength.
“Zach, I want you!” she gasped, one hand reaching between them and clasping his cock. He groaned as she pumped him, her thumb stroking the velvet tip before guiding him inside her.
She felt his powerful muscles bunch, tensing as he flexed his knees and thrust into her.
“Sophia, love. Gods, Sophia, I can’t stand how much I need you!”
She clung to him, pressing her lips to his shoulder and neck. Her legs slipped around his waist, squeezing hard enough to hurt a human male, but Horsemen were different. They were incredibly powerful, particularly a Highlander like Zach. She could cling to him with all her strength around his waist or neck and do him no harm.
He thrust faster and that marvelous throbbing pressure built deep inside her. Even as she pulsed and panted, he continued pounding into her, pushing her toward another climax. Though the excitement of competitions usually aroused him so much they shared magnificent lovemaking soon after, it was rare that he didn’t wait to properly cool down. Today his desire seemed ferocious. He gripped her buttocks with both hands as his tongue traced her lips and tasted every corner of her mouth.
Sophia tried to stifle a cry as she burst in another climax that sent waves of tingling pleasure through her from head to toe. Her nipples tightened to hard nubs that rubbed against his hair-matted chest.
“I can’t get enough of you,” he groaned close to her ear. His steely cock slipped from her as he licked and kissed her from breasts to groin. His tongue flicked over her swollen clit. Sophia threaded her fingers through his damp hair and clutched his shoulders, her fingers biting into the slick flesh over granite muscle. Her legs trembled as another climax approached. Sophia cried out, her voice rising as she convulsed, nearly falling. Zach caught her, supporting her body with his. This time when he thrust into her, pressing her to the wall, he lunged so fast and hard she nearly lost her breath in her climb to perfection.
His mouth clamped over hers as he came, his every muscle taut. She felt his pounding heart and lust-soaked flesh.
For a moment they stood, panting, before he moved away from the wall.
“Now I really should cool off.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry, but I just couldn’t wait.”
She grinned, reaching for a towel to dry off. “I’ll try and live with it, but cooling off doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Want to go swimming?’
“Yes.”
Tapping on the door distracted them. Sophia pulled on her dress while Zach saw to their visitor.
Frederick stood outside, wearing a smile. “I saw the contest and wanted to congratulate you. You probably don’t remember me.”
Zach accepted Frederick’s handshake. “How can I forget you? If it wasn’t for you, I’d have no profession. Thank you for recommending that competition in Red Bay last year.”
Frederick winked. “You’ve done well.”
“I haven’t seen you for a long time. Are you still pulling?”
“Yes, every now and then. When I heard you were here, I had to find out the real reason.”
Zach’s brow furrowed and Sophia approached. Frederick greeted her with a smile and she asked, “What do you mean by the real reason he’s here?”
“You mean, it is just for the competition?” Frederick’s brow furrowed.
“What else would it be?” Zach asked.
“I thought you might have come for a try at His Lordship’s Column.”
“What’s that?” Sophia spoke before Zach.
“There’s an estate about ten miles south of here called Eagle Crest. It’s a huge place, owned by a wealthy older Horseman, Lord Edmond. About forty years ago, a huge marble statue fell by one of the back entrances of his chateau. Lord Edmond was a great puller in his time. He loved the sport and hosted many contests on his land. He tried moving the statue himself and when he found he couldn’t, he promised five thousand pieces of gold to the Horseman who could.”
“A team could have moved it,” Zach said.
Frederick grinned. “Of course, but Lord Edmond loved the idea of the challenge. The statue is still there, blocking the door. Even after so many years, no Horseman has been able to budge it.”
“Is the challenge still open?”
“Almost every serious puller who could travel here has given it a try. As far as I know it’s still open, though Lord Edmond’s lost hope that anyone will move it before he dies.”
Interest burned in Zach’s eyes, and Sophia’s stomach dropped. When he opened his mouth to speak, she held up her hand and said, “I know. I know. I guess we’re off to Lord Edmond’s?”
His lips flicked upward in an apologetic smile. “I can’t help myself.”
“Have you tried?” she scolded, half playful, half serious.
“Would you give me directions to Eagle Crest?” Zach asked Frederick. “I’ll go tomorrow. I want to be fresh and today’s contest was longer than I expected.”
“How about if I guide you there myself?” Frederick suggested. “I’d love to see if you can actually move it.”
“All right, and you can gloat all you want if I can’t,” Zach said.
“Deal.” Frederick
extended his hand and Zach shook it.
Some of Sophia’s earlier joy faded as she and Zach left the tack house. When was he ever going to stop with the challenges? What made a Horseman want to pull so much that he’d take on almost every crazy stunt thrust before him?
“I think it must be in my blood,” he said, as if reading her mind. “I won’t do it if it will upset you.”
“I’m upset, but I suppose how bad can it be? If you can’t move it, you can’t move it.”
“What makes you think I can’t?”
“Zach, if no one’s been able to move it in forty years, what makes you think you’ll do it now?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I can, maybe I can’t. There’s only one way to find out.”
“Promise me you won’t hurt yourself?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Zach!”
“I really will try not to.”
Sophia sighed, knowing that was the best answer she’d get.
“A year and a half ago when I had dreams about a puller, I should have just woken up!”
He held her eyes with such a hurt expression that she instantly regretted her words.
“You mean that?” he asked.
“Of course not.” She slipped her hand in his and squeezed it. “Let’s get you cooled down and take it easy for the rest of the day so you can try killing yourself tomorrow.”
“I’m not going to kill myself.”
“Uh-huh.”
* * * * *
Sophia sat on Zach, caressing his equine shoulder, as he walked across the meadow at Eagle Crest. Frederick plodded beside him. The other Highlander apparently hadn’t exaggerated about Lord Edmond’s wealth. The front of the enormous chateau loomed in the distance between two long rows of carefully trimmed trees. A small, craggy mountain rose behind the chateau. Frederick told them eagles had nested in the mountain for generations, providing the name for Lord Edmond’s land. The Horsemen’s hooves thudded on the cobbled walk that extended from the end of the line of trees to the chateau. Zach’s made a slightly different echo than Frederick’s since he’d gotten shod again that morning.