Stallions

by Jade Carr

"Quiet."

  What new kink was this? Had the shifters planned the details in advance and were moving from overloading her body to bondage?

  "You heard it?" Hah-Tee muttered.

  "Yeah." This from Nokoni.

  "Where?"

  "Not sure."

  Her channel was empty and dripping, her calf and thigh muscles struggling to support her. More important, Hah-Tee was no longer behind her. Her spine ached, and she pressed her hand against the small of her back. The pressure reached all the way to her belly, and the hunger in her sex grew.

  Hissing, she cupped herself.

  "I'm sorry," Nokoni whispered. "This isn't what we wanted."

  Then finish.

  The naked and aroused shifters headed up the slope to the west. The way they crouched with their hands fisted alarmed her.

  Before she could ask what they intended to do, Nokoni spun toward her, placed a finger over his lips, and shook his head. She could take the easy way out and wait for them to determine what, if anything, was out there, or she could join them. The sight of their perfect bodies leaving her answered her question. She yanked her jeans up over her hips and hurried after them. Her breasts bounced, and she couldn't decide whether the slide of her panties' crotch over her pussy was painful or exciting.

  She'd nearly caught up to them when she heard a faint, high whinny. Another horse answered. The deeper whinny seemed to be at a considerable distance from what had to be a foal.

  "What is it?" she whispered. "A foal got separated from its mother?"

  "No," Nokoni said.

  "How can you be sure?"

  "It isn't one of ours."

  "Which isn't?"

  Stopping, the shifters faced her. "The colt is my son," Nokoni said. "But that isn't his mother."

  "It's a gelding," Hah-Tee added.

  She'd never question their ability to identify individual horses. "A gelding? Wait. Then it can't be a member of your herd."

  "No, it can't."

  She was debating suggesting someone's personal horse must have gotten away when the gelding let loose with another deep whinny.

  "What's happening?" she asked.

  Hah-Tee pointed. "The gelding is heading toward the colt."

  Chapter 19

  It's all right, Terena wanted to say. Let horses be horses. A glance at the shifters' expressions and she knew better. Once again, she was reminded that no matter what form they assumed, at the core they were horses, and as such, more instinctive than she could ever be.

  How they could walk barefoot amazed her. She had all she could do to keep up as they climbed the slope and then down the other side. The colt was obviously excited as witnessed by how often the youngster called out. Twice she heard a soft whinny close to the little one that she suspected must be his mother. She couldn't detect any differences between the sounds the adult horses were making, let alone determine whether the gelding was still approaching mother and son, but going by the shifters' demeanor, it was.

  The three of them had reached the bottom of the first slope and were nearing the top of another when Nokoni and Hah-Tee stopped. She did the same.

  "Two," Hah-Tee said after a short silence.

  "Two what?"

  "Shod horses."

  Finally she understood what had alarmed the men. One horse might wander away from its owner but probably not two. Whatever was happening was deliberate, dictated by humans.

  Tense, she touched both shifters' shoulders. Even with everything she had on her mind, the contact brought back images of what they'd been doing a few minutes ago. Was that behind them and they'd never finish what they'd begun? "What are you going to do?"

  "Stop them."

  "Don't do anything you'll regret. The mare and colt might not be in danger."

  "We can't take the chance."

  On the verge of accusing them of being alarmists, she remembered what had happened to Red. One moment, the swift, beautiful young mare had been living free with her herd. The next, someone, maybe Ahote, had captured her and changed her life. Taken her from the world she'd been born into.

  She squeezed their arms, but her attempt to reach them didn't earn her a glance. Their erections had died, proof that in many ways they were now stallions intent on protecting those dependent on them.

  "Whoever it is might be armed," she said.

  "We know." Nokoni cocked his head, but she heard nothing. "Do you want to say it, or will I have to?" he asked.

  Please, let's don't go there. Knowing that wasn't possible, she gathered her courage. "It might be my cousin."

  "Then chances are he's here for one reason."

  "Yes."

  Fear for the man who'd once been her only companion chilled her. "If he's here to capture another mustang, it's because he's desperate. He's a good shot."

  Hah-Tee looked down at his naked body. "And we're easy targets."

  "Only if they see us first."

  They. That's right, there were two people out there.

  "Let me talk to him," she offered. "If he'll listen to anyone, it's me."

  "Like that?" Nokoni jerked his head at her bare breasts.

  "What choice do I have?"

  The colt let loose with a loud squeal. The sharp sound was followed by a nicker.

  "Is the little one scared?" she asked. "His mother's trying to calm him?"

  Hah-Tee shook his head. "The colt is excited. Mama is insisting he stay where he is, which is not what he wants to do."

  "Like kids the world over. What are you going to do?"

  "First we learn. Then we act."

  She watched as the men continued their climb. With each step, the muscles in their thighs and buttocks contracted. She started after them.

  Nokoni stopped with one knee bent and his head turned toward her. "No. You need to stay here."

  And leave you? I can't. "The hell I will. This—I mean, I might be able to talk sense into him."

  "Unless he kills you."

  Ahote would never do that. He loves me as much as I do him. Teeth clenched against the words that might no longer be the truth, she resolutely shook her head. "I can't stay behind. Not knowing what's happening will kill me."

  Hah-Tee looked as if he had no idea what she was saying while Nokoni gave a slow and reluctant nod. "This isn't what I wanted to have happen today," he said.

  "Neither did I."

  The colt snorted. Thoughts of anything bad happening to the little one had her taking another step. She'd nearly drawn abreast of the shifters when they took off at a trot. Not long ago, Nokoni had crouched before her with his mouth on her sex and her mind splintering. Then his stance had had her drawing comparisons between him and a cougar. She now saw the same feline grace in how he and Hah-Tee leaned over to keep as much of themselves hidden as possible. She tried to duplicate their movements, but her smaller and slighter body lacked their fluid quality. Maybe the difference lay in their muscle structure. More likely they'd never make a complete transition from stallion to man.

  Little vegetation grew at the top of the second hill, but there were enough boulders to provide them with protection. Nokoni and Hah-Tee chose separate boulders. She couldn't decide who to join so she hid behind a third. Much as she wanted their energy to blend with hers, she'd do everything she could to avoid distracting them.

  Wishing she had sunglasses, Terena strained to bring the view into focus. The land, as she well knew, wasn't as level as it first appeared. It randomly buckled and lifted. A person could practically be at a canyon's edge before he or she knew it existed. Between that and the terrain's varying colors and cloud-caused shadows, she knew better than to jump to conclusions about what she was looking at. To the left was a thin, worn trail that might be the work of hikers or mustangs, maybe both. A deceptively bare-looking area in the distance to the east was probably where a Hopi farmer had planted his corn. If she was closer, she'd be able to see the hardy, widely spaced plants that, thanks to their deep-root structure, survived despite the scant
rainfall.

  Peaceful. Deceptively peaceful.

  As a child, she'd learned to let the land talk to her. Today, half naked with the men who'd taken her body to a point where it had never been before, she listened. It didn't take her long to spot the colt and mare near some bushes. She was tempted to heave a rock at the pair to make them leave but couldn't throw that far.

  "There."

  Nokoni was still crouching, making her envy the strength in his legs. Sunlight spilled over his dark, perfect body. When he pointed, she crawled around her boulder. Two barely visible men on horseback were heading toward the mare and colt. The length of maybe two football fields remained between the horsemen and their prey, if that's what the mother-son pair represented. Sunlight glinted off metal on both saddles.

  "Rifles." She could barely get the word out.

  "Yes."

  She stood. Maybe it was her imagination, but she was pretty convinced Ahote was the lead rider.

  "What are you doing?" Nokoni demanded.

  When she looked at the shifter, her mind briefly went blank while her body leaped to life. This man and the one who was both his rival and companion had touched her deeply, completely. She didn't know where this relationship might go, but she did acknowledge to herself that the journey might never end. They needed to be safe.

  "I'm going to him."

  "No!"

  Hah-Tee's outburst tore her attention off Nokoni. Even as she acknowledged that Hah-Tee's cry might have reached the riders, she couldn't stop staring. Neither shifter was what people would call handsome. They were rough and unpolished, raw around the edges, uncivilized. Why, then, did they mesmerize her so?

  "I'm the only one he'll listen to," she said.

  "You can't be sure it's your cousin." Hah-Tee settled his gaze on her breasts. "One look at you, and—"

  "Maybe I'll distract them this way."

  "The risk's too great. You—"

  "No," she interrupted Nokoni. "I won't let you risk your lives."

  "That isn't your decision to make."

  "The hell it isn't." Too much time was passing. The armed men were closing in on a mustang mare and her foal. The mare could probably outrun the would-be attackers, but maybe the foal hadn't yet discovered what its legs were capable of. "Damn it, if you two get yourselves killed, what's going to happen to the herd?" To me?

  "She's right," Hah-Tee muttered.

  Nokoni had protected the mustangs up until now, but that didn't mean he knew how to survive today. Just the same, she waited for the older shifter to speak. Studying him as he did the same to the strangers below, she acknowledged she'd never felt this close to another human being. What she was experiencing was far different from her childhood love for the couple who'd raised her. She'd thought she'd been in love several times, but compared to this, those emotions had been incomplete. This was total, a willingness to put Nokoni's life ahead of her own. She didn't have to look at Hah-Tee to know she felt the same about him.

  "Terena," Nokoni said. "Are you certain you're safe around your cousin? He'd never harm you?"

  No one could ever be 100 percent sure what went on inside another's mind, but she didn't waste time or energy explaining that. Tomorrow, if they had one, was soon enough to educate him about human complexities. "The Ahote I know will put my safety before his. He'd never raise a hand against me."

  "But he might have changed?"

  "No," she blurted, unwilling to acknowledge the possibility. "I saw him not that long ago. He's still the same nonviolent person I grew up with."

  "Maybe. Unfortunately, we know nothing about his companion."

  "What are you thinking?" Hah-Tee asked.

  Something passed between the shifters, an unspoken communication that said they were connected in ways she'd never fully comprehend.

  "I need you to remain where they can't see you," Nokoni told Hah-Tee. "Terena and I will approach the newcomers. She'll demand an explanation of what they're doing. Their answers and reactions to seeing us will determine what happens next."

  This wasn't happening!

  Hah-Tee picked up a palm-size rock and cocked his arm so he looked like a pitcher about to release a fastball. "Like we are right now, these are our only weapons. Stones against bullets."

  "I know."

  "What if you change?" she asked. "As stallions, you'd—"

  "If necessary, we will," Nokoni said. "But we need to hear what the newcomers have to say, to talk to them as equals. Terena, this isn't what we want for you. It isn't your battle. We'll understand if you leave."

  "If I did that, I'll never be able to forgive myself. Nokoni, Hah-Tee, we've already talked too much."

  Back straight, head back, his magnificent body gleaming in the sunlight, Nokoni stepped from behind the boulder. Her heart racing but determined, Terena joined him. Having the older shifter next to her kept her emotionally strong, and she stopped thinking that this moment wasn't happening. Bottom line, she was committed to doing everything she could to prevent another mustang from suffering Red's fate. This land was wild and unfenced, what the rare herd deserved.

  Yes. Certain creatures should never be tamed. Not everything had to be brought under human control. No matter how vital it was to keep her attention on the horsemen, she couldn't shake off the realization that she'd hit on something important.

  "They see us," Nokoni said.

  She acknowledged his words with a short nod. Mirroring Nokoni's proud stance, she continued toward the riders. They'd pulled their mounts to a stop and stared at her and the shifter. One reached behind him for his rifle, but the other didn't move. He was broad-shouldered with a thick neck, short arms, long hair, and a nose that was dented at the top. Familiar.

  Chapter 20

  Ahote," Terena whispered. "I was right, it's my cousin."

  "I thought so."

  She'd told Nokoni that Ahote cared deeply for her. It was time to prove herself right. And if she couldn't—no, she wasn't going to go there!

  "What the hell?" the rifle-holder exclaimed when Nokoni and she were close enough for a conversation. "What's going on?"

  "Terena, damn it, what is this about?"

  Ahote jerked his head, indicating her appearance, but this was hardly the time to try to explain her lack of a top or Nokoni's nudity. "I'm the one who has a right to ask some questions," she insisted. "What are you doing here?"

  This close to the horsemen, she easily concluded that the other man wasn't Hopi. Lassos were attached to each saddle. She pointed at them. "Never mind explaining, I know what these are for."

  "Give this woman a gold star," the man she didn't recognize said.

  Thudding sounds to the right had everyone turning in that direction. The mare and colt were running away.

  "Shit!" The stranger exploded. "All that work—damn it, Ahote, who's the chick?"

  Features grim, Ahote said nothing.

  "We're cousins," she explained. Much as she wanted to study Nokoni's reaction to having a rifle pointed at him, she didn't dare spend time on him. Her personal safety wasn't important to her, but if something happened to the shifter… "Ahote, we were best friends when we were growing up. We told each other everything, shared secrets because we trusted each other."

  "Don't."

  Despite Ahote's harsh order, she thought she heard pain behind the word. "We deserve the truth." She indicated Nokoni. "Him more than me."

  "Why?" Ahote asked.

  "Because you were going after my son."

  Shocked by what Nokoni had revealed, she struggled not to stare at him. She watched Ahote and his companion to see if they had any idea what they'd just been told.

  The armed man looked confused. In contrast, Ahote stared at Nokoni.

  "Shit," he muttered. "Ah, shit, it's true."

  "What's true?" the other man demanded.

  "Damn it, Wood, just shut up."

  Wood—what a strange name—glowered at Ahote in a way that made her think he'd never heard Ahote talk like that.


  "The hell I'm going to," Wood retorted. "What's with that?" He pointed his rifle at Nokoni's cock. "You some kind of back-to-nature—crap, I've got it."

  Watching Wood's nostrils flare and his eyes widen, she nearly laughed. The man might have believed he was prepared for anything that might happen out here, but doubtless he'd never thought he'd see what he was now.

  "Go on, say it." Nokoni held out his arms. "What are you thinking?"

  "Thinking nothing. The two of you were getting it on, weren't you? Where the hell did you leave your clothes, and how can you walk barefoot?"

  "It doesn't matter." Nokoni acknowledged the rifle aimed at him, but nothing in his expression indicated he was alarmed. Was it possible he didn't fully comprehend what the weapon was capable of? "What does matter is that you have no right to my colt or his mother."

  "Your—look, you're crazy, you have to be." Wood extended the rifle toward Nokoni. "You're standing there buck naked without so much as a pocketknife to protect yourself with. I've come too damn far and spent too damn much time on this godforsaken land to leave yet, got it? One way or another, I'm getting myself a mustang."

  "Go on."

  She had to hand it to the shifter. Despite his limited experience as a man, he knew how to get information out of Wood.

  "You ever see how some of those mustangs run?" Wood frowned. "You say that colt—how do you know it's not a filly—is yours, but he's part of a wild herd. He doesn't belong to anyone."

  Ahote snorted. "Damn it, Wood, you don't know what you're talking about."

  "And you do? What, you're siding with the buck-naked bastard who's been humping your cousin? This your way of getting out of your promise, by trying to make me believe the mare and her foal has someone's brand on them?"

  "What promise?" Terena demanded. "What's he talking about, Ahote?"

  "Let's call it a debt," Wood supplied while Ahote seemed to shrink in his saddle. "Your relative got himself so deep into something there's only one way out, right?"

  How long had the four of them been standing here? Despite the danger the rifle represented, she had to learn the truth behind Ahote's actions.