Aja ducked under the pasture fence that separated her property and Steel’s. To her immense surprise, there was a horse grazing in it.
She stood still, careful not to spook it. Her heart thrilled in excitement. She loved horses, and always had. Who owned this one? Could it be Steel’s?
It was a full moon that night. Everything was awash in blue, but visible. Aja could tell it was a gray Appaloosa mare. She didn’t know too much about horses, but she knew that kind was rare. The speckles on its coat were dark; possibly black. It was slender and graceful.
To Aja’s surprise, a second horse emerged from the darkness of the barn to join the first. This one was heavier, with a broad, strong back and a powerful gait.
She watched them in surprise and joy. How easy would it be to saddle one up and ride away from her problems? But that was the trouble with running away, she supposed- you couldn’t take the people you loved with you.
Her heart skipped as the tall, powerful form of Steel Gray emerged from the barn. He had a cowboy hat on his head, an open button-down shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots. The dusty glint of a week-old beard shimmered on his face. She watched as he fed the horses with oats from his hands, as he brushed their coats, and examined their shoes, with an expert touch. They’re his, she realized. He must have just bought them.
Steel didn’t talk much about his childhood in Texas, but Aja could tell he’d spent his whole life longing to relive it, regretting that he’d left. The way he’d taken to life in Boyd gave every indication. He was ready to settle down, and return to his roots.
Aja also knew that the Tucker barn had stood empty ever since John Tucker died. She’d never been inside, though her little brothers had, and so had Drew. They’d said it was neat as a pin, just a little dusty, as if someone had cleaned it a final time, long ago, then forgotten. It made her happy to see Steel using it.
Aja crept around the edge of the pasture. It seemed important that Steel not catch sight of her. She wanted to see if she could sneak past his hair-trigger senses. He didn’t notice her movement; he was fixed on the beautiful horses. She smiled. She’d surprise him in the stable.
She climbed over the outer edge of the pasture fence and slipped into the stable. It was dark, but the sun was rising inch by inch and the moonlight was still strong. She surveyed it quickly. Two of the six mangers were full. There was new equipment hanging on the walls- leather saddles, rope, tack, that must have cost hundreds- if not thousands- of dollars.
A fresh saddle blanket was draped over the stall. Aja went up to it and sniffed- it didn’t smell like horse at all; she guessed it was brand new. She pulled it off and wrapped it around herself. Then she sat down and waited. She picked up the sound of Steel murmuring to the horses outside.
For some strange reason, the words of an old Christmas hymn were coming into her head.
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
Aja remembered when Drew had been small enough to rest on her stomach. Drew had been small enough to fit in a manger, too. She remembered nursing him under her Mama’s supervision, swaddling him to hold in her arms when the nights got too cold. Travis had been only three years old, and fascinated with his new baby “brother”. Is he swaddled like the baby Jesus? He’d asked. Mama had gotten a kick out of that.
Aja stared at the mangers. To think the baby Jesus had had to sleep in one of those.
Something in her head clicked into place.
“Aja?”
Steel Gray entered the stable, the budding daylight casting a halo around his golden head. He looked like he hadn’t slept a wink, but he was grinning. “What are you doing here? You ruined the surprise.”
Aja blinked. “Surprise?”
“Come outside, babygirl.”
Still wrapped in the rather itchy saddleblanket, Aja went outside with Steel to look at the horses. They were peaceful as could be, grazing in a corner of the pasture.
“Wait here.” He led the lithe Appaloosa to her, cooing and humming to it as if it were a woman. Aja’s heart caught in her throat. The horse was a dream. She had long, dark lashes, a soft muzzle and a gentle nip. Aja rubbed a hand along her velvety coat, mystified. She turned to Steel, a question in her eyes.
“She’s yours,” he told her.
“M-mine?” Aja stammered.
“Yep.”
She kept stroking the beautiful creature, trying to piece it all together. A horse like this was worth a lot of money. Then she chastised herself- why did she always have to think in terms of money? Still- this was too much. She couldn’t accept this gift. Not when she had bills to pay, a brother in the hospital, and moves to make. What would she do with a horse? She said as much to Steel, who took her hands in both of his and turned her towards him.
“Aja, relax.”
“Steel-”
His eyes were bright, and earnest. He looked at her seriously. “I paid Travis’s hospital bills. All of them.”
Aja blinked. “What?”
“These last few days I tracked down Joe Snell and I paid your debt to him, too.” He said it matter-of-factly, as if he was telling her he’d bought groceries or cleaned the fridge.
“I didn’t ask you- I didn’t mean-” This was too much. She jerked her hands from his and stepped back. What was he playing at? Was he suddenly made of money now? Did he intend to buy her loyalty? Her love?
“Will you calm down?” He said.
“Steel, I can’t do this. I can’t accept these- these gifts - when I have nothing to give you. I don’t know why you’re so fixed on fixing me. This is my life- I’m responsible-”
“Stop pitying yourself for one damn second,” snapped Steel, grabbing her shoulders roughly. “Who cares about that? Your brother is fine. Daniel can apply to college. You can stay in Boyd. It’s alright; everything will be alright.”
Aja swallowed guiltily. She had been letting her emotions run with her. Steel was right. Hang her pride for a second. He’d done an amazing thing. In the blink of an eye, he’d taken care of all her worries.
“I...Thank you,” she said quietly.
Steel raised his eyes to the sky, as if praying for patience. “You’re welcome.”
“But,” she swallowed, looking up at him through her eyelashes, in that tantalizing way she had, “Who says we want to stay in Boyd?”
Steel looked at her. “Damn you, woman.”
“What?”
“Are you daft? Then obviously I’ll come with you. We can move in together. Who says we have to be in Boyd?”
“What about my family?” she cried.
“What about them? They’ll come too.”
Aja was in disbelief. She searched his face for the inkling of a lie. But she knew better; this was Steel Gray. Steel never lied. He was talking about their future, a future she never thought she’d have with him. She had been so certain that he’d be gone from Boyd by next year, never to see her again. He’d forget all about the black girl who had fallen in love with him. He’d marry a rich white woman named Isabella- probably a foreigner- and go live his life in a chateau somewhere tropical.
Aja hadn’t dared to hope that Steel would stay with her. She’d learned a long time ago that hoping too hard on anything was the main ingredient for disappointment. She wouldn’t be fooled again.
Yet here he was, standing right in front of her, making all her private fantasies a reality. Aja forced herself to be calm. She still had standards. Rules for herself. She couldn’t just move in with a man, even a man like Steel, without some assurances.
In a small voice, she said, “But then we’d have to be married.”
“So marry me,” he said immediately.
Aja was lost for words. She flung her arms around his neck; he wrapped his around her waist and lifted her up. He spun her around, happiness filling him like air in a balloon. He felt like he could fly. The words had blurted out of him, he hadn’t thought about it for a second, but she had agree
d. Aja would be his, at last.
He set her down and eased his mouth over hers. His tongue probed at her lips, and she opened to him like a rose.
Her soft, plump body molded against his as he deepened the kiss, bending her at the waist. Blood surged through his veins. He could feel her heartbeat thudding against his, the heaving of her generous breasts pressing against his chest. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life; his beautiful black queen.
He wanted to keep her forever. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, and father her children- as many as she wanted.
They led the horses in and then walked back to his house; it was closer, and they both were desperate to consummate their engagement.
When they got to the house, Steel bent and lifted Aja over the mantelpiece, bridal style. He couldn’t wait to tear her clothes off. He dumped her in the soft couch and peeled them off. She wasn’t wearing any underwear, thank god. Her generous breasts splayed over her stomach- Steel could have sworn they had gotten more full. He didn’t pause to ask; he mauled them with his hands and took each blackberry-colored nipple in his mouth, suckling and lapping like his life depended on it. His fingers dipped to her creamy moistness below, the deep, soft passage that would take the full length of him soon without complaint. Aja mewled and moaned under his ministrations, her pussy gushing over his fingers, wanting him to fill her with something larger.
But of course he took a minute to taste her throbbing wetness, lapping at her folds until the fire built inside her, roaring with heat until it exploded in a shower of stars. Aja couldn’t hold back her screams of pleasure as Steel made love to her with his long tongue, plowing her secret hole until she begged for more release.
Then his cock was out, and he was guiding it towards her mouth.
“Open up, beautiful,” he murmured, his tumescent pole pushing past her lips into a heavenly, drenching heat. As much as Steel loved the feeling of stretching out Aja’s tight little pussy, he loved delving into her throat too. She had learned how to suck him off just the way he liked. Today he let her do the work. She drooled and gagged but took him all in as she always did, loving the feeling of his enormous cock wedged inside her throat. She wanted to feel him cum filling her belly again. She wanted to be his. Aja sucked and gagged and drooled all over his cock until the need in her was almost as great as his. Unconsciously one hand went to her pussy, playing with its wet folds. She found the nub of her desire and stroked it.
The sight of Aja touching herself as he fucked her mouth made Steel wild with desire. He couldn’t bear it; Steel threw back his head and exploded in her greedy mouth, ropes of cum battering Aja’s throat. He came so much it filled her mouth and spurted out over her lips. Aja drank every drop, like the good girl she was. The sight of her brown and plump body poised and ready to serve his white cock drove him to the brink again. He turned her over and released the power in his big body, spearing her with his dick until she moaned with pure pleasure and her pussy flooded around him. But he wasn’t in a rough mood tonight. He plowed her slowly, each stroke hard and deliberate. The rhythm consumed them. Aja gasped at how deep he thrusted; she felt him all the way in her chest. His invading cock stretched the walls of her pussy to accommodate his girth. She was all too willing, set aflame by bursts of ecstasy that flared inside her again and again. His need became her own. He was making her his. She belonged to him now, and she would serve his dick for as long as he wanted, just as his dick would service her. Aja surrendered to his incessant thrusts completely, letting him ride her into the heights of pleasure.
Steel watched Aja’s ass slapping against his thighs. He wondered how many ways he could take her like this. He’d never get tired of his black queen. He’d never get tired of her pussy, so tight he felt he was digging it out with every thrust. Aja always came when she had her ass in the air like that, and this time was no exception.
Every inch she took inside of her, every sound she made fed an animal desire inside Steel. He wanted to claim her. She was his, and his alone. He wanted her like this always. He’d keep her in his bed, pleasuring her, using her when his own pleasure needed attending to.
Aja looked up at Steel and knew she wanted to be his woman forever. She had found a real man in him, someone who would love her and treat her right. She desired him physically. Her body craved the release that only his could offer. And when he drove into her, she felt him touch the very corners of her soul before she came, shaking, to blissful reality again.
They exploded with each other in a blaze of rapture, Steel unleashing jets of cum into her needy passage. Aja was filled to overflowing, both with his seed and with her emotions.
Finally they held each other, riding out the last waves of pleasure together in the comforting harbor of each other’s arms.
“Aja,” said Steel finally, when they were quiet at last. His fingertips were tracing the length of her spine, light as a kiss.
“Mmm?” She replied. Her face was buried in his chest; she was stroking the soft golden curls there too.
“I know about Drew. I know he’s your son.”
Aja froze, then breathed deeply. One breath, in and out. She sighed.
“I guess it’s time...It’s time you knew. I expected that you’d figure it out.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you care?” Her voice was small and tentative.
He raised her up to look at him. The look on his face was both incredulous and amused.
“You think I’d care about something like that?”
She looked at him seriously. Her soft brown eyes were wide.
“No. No, you wouldn’t,” she said finally.
“Exactly. Besides, at this point he feels like my kid too. They all do.”
Aja flung her arms around his neck again. He kissed her soft mouth again, his cock already stiffening for another round between them. Aja drove him crazy. She made him happy and crazy all at once. How did she do that?
Aja couldn’t express what these words meant to her; how he’d just made her the happiest woman in the world. Her whole life she’d been waiting to hear a man say that. She’d been waiting for someone to share her life with, with all it’s trials and inconsistencies. And Steel Gray had braved them all with her, the worst and the very best. He wanted to marry her and he wanted to share her life. What more could she possibly want?
CHAPTER 7
...Will Be Brought To The Light
Joe Snell clutched the rag to his nose, doing his best to take shallow breaths. Ever since his last run-in with Steel Gray he hadn’t been able to breathe properly- another tally on the long list of damages. Just thinking about that day made his blood boil over, but it wouldn’t do to slip up now, when so much relied on him keeping calm.
The gasoline splashed all over his shoes. “Fuck,” he hissed. He had about ten minutes to complete this job, then he’d be out the basement door, in his car and away from here before anyone could ever know. It was a calculated endeavor, one he’d been planning for the past two weeks as soon as he’d gotten clear of the hospital.
Joe continued up the stairs quietly, a trail of gas sloshing behind him. The container was getting lighter and lighter, which was good because he wasn’t as strong as he used to be. He doused the curtains downstairs, the sofa, leaving a nice trail to the stairs. The smell was overpowering.
The damage Steel had dealt had been mostly to Joe’s face and ribcage. What enraged Joe the most was that even as he’d laid under Steel absorbing the man’s furious blows, he could tell the big Texan had been holding back. If he had wanted to kill Joe, he would have. He could have.
The damage had been a broken nose, broken jaw, contusions on his cheeks, forehead, and chin, two missing teeth, a split lip, and a damaged eardrum. Joe still couldn’t breathe properly. He still had to keep a mostly liquid diet, and his hearing was damaged- permanently, the doctor had said. Joe might have to get a hearing aid.
Ironically, that was what sank Joe Snell’s career for g
ood. Already the regional superintendent had called for him to be put under investigation- it seemed Daniel Robinson, the uppity brat, had filed an anonymous report. Joe knew because Daniel had told him as much himself- emboldened by the Gray bastard, no doubt. The report was an incriminating piece of work, to say the least. He had wondered how on earth the kid had dug it all up. But even if Joe Snell put his connections to good use and cleared the charges- which he was sure he could have done- the loss of his hearing meant he was no longer fit to serve. A policeman needed all his faculties working. Not even Joe Snell could get around that.
Joe pushed the thought out of his mind. He had bigger things to think about right now- like getting out of this house without anyone seeing him. Like the gasoline canister in his hand, the lighter in his pocket, and the fact that at any moment, the people sleeping upstairs could hear him.
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