MountainStallion (2 page)

“Please call me Gayle. I’m trying to get to
know everyone in town.” She offered him her hand.

He took it gently in his, surprised by the
little thrill that shot through him at the feel of her soft flesh against his
calloused fingers. He bowed over her hand and said, “Welcome to Fernwood,
Gayle.”

“Thank you. And you are?”

“Pace.”

She nodded and narrowed her eyes in question.
“Pace. That name sounds so familiar, but I know you haven’t been in here
before. I would have remembered… What I mean is I don’t forget a face.”

“I’m sure we’ll see each other again. Perhaps
when I need to buy more salve?”

“Yes. Good evening, Pace.”

“Gayle.” He bowed from the neck again, paid
her the two copper pieces and left.

* * * * *

Gayle closed her shop after Pace left. Since
moving to Fernwood, she’d been working nonstop. She’d spent days cleaning the
house and shop she’d bought from a family who had moved south. She’d unpacked
her belongings and stocked the shelves but the supplies she’d brought with her
hadn’t lasted long. The nearest town with an apothecary shop was a forty-five
minute flight by Horseman. Needless to say the local healer as well as the
other citizens had happily welcomed her.

Already she knew the Horsemen, particularly
the workers on the mountaintop forge, would be her best customers. She’d always
felt a special attachment to those noble beasts. As a child she’d once been
saved by a Horseman. She’d seen that same Horseman mistreated by his employer.
Since then she’d found abuse of workers or apprentices intolerable.

Over the past week she’d formed an unfavorable
opinion of the owner of the mountaintop forge. After today she decided she
completely disliked him. Meeting Pace had sealed her opinion of the rich ogre.

When the handsome palomino had walked into her
shop, she could scarcely believe her eyes. She’d seen attractive Horsemen but
Pace had actually taken her breath away.

Despite his disheveled appearance, the tall,
lean Horseman carried himself with grace and dignity. The cropped hair on his
head and the scruffy beard dusting his face were a shade darker than the golden
coat covering his equine body. The only Horsemen she’d seen with such a
combination of athleticism and elegance were the magnificent Fighting Carriers.
The idea of a Horseman like Pace toiling for the profit of another man sickened
her.

Until she’d set eyes on him, she’d been
focused on closing her shop for the night and getting some much needed rest.
Just looking at him prompted a rush of desire she’d never experienced before
but also incited her anger. He’d looked even more tired than she felt. Most of
the craftsmen from the mountain seemed badly overworked. The way her salves
practically flew off the shelves told her the proverbial King of the Mountain
was nothing more than a slaver.

After locking the door behind Pace, she
hurried to the window to watch the gorgeous palomino trudge wearily toward the
village Running Way. Even tired he exuded power and vitality that made her long
to mount his sleek back and fly with him through the summer sky.

From her shop she had a clear view of the
Running Way. She watched Pace gallop for takeoff. He spread his beautiful
wings, the same cream color as his equine legs and tail, and ascended.

Gayle watched until he disappeared from her
view. She drew a few deep breaths, trying to calm her pounding heart.

“Pace,” she whispered then sighed. Thinking
about him would do her no good. Most likely he had a wife and possibly children
too.

Besides she couldn’t waste time fantasizing.
Not when so much still needed to be done. She had to renovate the shop as well
as the house, not to mention she was out of salve and didn’t want to disappoint
the workers when they came looking for more.

She’d eat a quick dinner then rest a bit. That
would leave her enough time to walk to the valley to gather the herbs she
needed for the salve and return home before it got too dark. One thing she
enjoyed about summer was the longer daylight hours.

Gayle ate a tasty meal of bread and fruit,
then settled onto her favorite chair. She’d intended to rest for a short time,
but with a full stomach and lulled by some rare moments of total relaxation,
she soon drifted to sleep.

* * * * *

On his way back to the mountain, Pace tried to
sort out the strange feelings coursing through him. How could he be attracted
to a woman who irked him? Not that the attraction mattered. She thought him a
greedy, slave-driving beast. He had best forget about Gayle and perhaps
continue shopping in Hornview.

When he returned to his mountain, most of his
workers had left for the evening. Pace had built his home on the mountain so he
could be close to his work. He also loved the fresh air and the gorgeous view.
The rain had yet to start, so he decided to wash in the lake not far from his
house. He ducked in and tore a branch from a tree overhanging the water. He
used the branch to scrub his equine back and flanks. Despite their strength,
Horsemen needed to take precautions with their wondrous shapeshifting bodies.
After heavy work or exercise, they needed to properly clean and care for their
coats and muscles or else risk developing permanent soreness and other
problems.

After his bath, Pace walked to shore and shook
off. He applied Gayle’s salve, noting that she knew her craft well. Not only
did the salve have a pleasant aroma but it eased the pain in his tight arm and
shoulder muscles.

He glanced skyward, toward the dark, heavy
clouds. Still no rain. The grass near the lake had yet to cool after a day in
the sunlight, so Pace lay down and closed his eyes to enjoy a short rest before
returning home.

He must have been even more tired than he
realized because no sooner had he stretched out than he tumbled to sleep.

Heart Storm

Gayle walked through the forest, inhaling the
scent of pine and damp ground. She wondered how she had gotten here when the
last thing she recalled was falling asleep in her cottage. For some
inexplicable reason, she wasn’t afraid.

She sensed this was a dream, but the most
intense she’d ever experienced.

The trees thinned and ahead a lake stretched
across the center of a lush field. Her gaze riveted to the beautiful palomino
Horseman asleep on the grass.

Pace!

Her heart skipped a beat and she walked toward
him. Finally near enough to touch him, she merely stared, admiring the angles
of his handsome face. Asleep he looked so peaceful. She longed to caress his
sharp cheekbones and stroke his jawline to find out if his beard was soft or
rough but she didn’t want to disturb him. To keep from running her hands over
his sleek, muscular body, she curled them into fists. She wondered about the
texture and warmth of his lean, muscular man-half. Was the golden coat covering
his beast-half as smooth as it looked? Were his cream-colored wings soft?

When her gaze returned to his face, she gasped
with surprise. Those clear blue eyes stared at her, reflecting her curiosity
and desire.

“What are you doing here?” he asked softly and
pushed himself to his equine knees.

“I don’t know,” she replied, slightly
breathless. Glancing around, she noticed that the forest had disappeared.
Except for the grass and the lake, darkness bathed the rest of the mountaintop.
“I was asleep in my cottage then I found myself here. Pace, what’s happened?”

His broad chest swelled with a deep breath and
a smile of wonder touched his lips. He reached out and trailed a fingertip down
her cheek. “You’re so soft,” he said, his voice scarcely a whisper.

Gayle thought she should step away yet she
didn’t want to. He cupped her face tentatively but she pressed her cheek
against his warm, calloused palm and closed her eyes to better enjoy his touch.

“I think this is a shared dream.” His quiet
yet husky voice roused her from the relaxed stupor.

Her eyes opened wide and her heartbeat
quickened.

Sometimes a shared dream brought together
Horsemen and their destined mates. According to legend, the dreams would
continue until the couple joined in reality.

Gayle had never imagined she would share
dreams with a Horseman and certainly not one as magnificent as Pace. She didn’t
need dreams to encourage her attraction to him. From the moment they’d met he’d
stirred emotions she’d never experienced before.

“I didn’t think it would happen to me,” he
said, another faint smile touching those adorable lips framed by golden
whiskers she longed to touch.

As if sensing her desire, or perhaps
surrendering to his, Pace leaned toward her while drawing her face nearer to
his. He brushed her mouth with a tender kiss and when she pressed closer, he
deepened it.

Gayle closed her eyes and slid her arms around
his neck. Heavens he was so hard and strong. She ran her hands over his broad
shoulders and back, feeling the muscles ripple against her palms.

His firm, slightly moist lips caressed hers
and she noted with pleasure that his beard felt softer and springier than she’d
ever imagined. Moaning softly, she tightened her arms around him and opened her
lips to his gently thrusting tongue. Her tongue met it and they engaged in a
warm, wet dance that made her tremble and tingle all over.

Pace’s hands slid down her ribs and cupped her
bottom. With a little gasp, Gayle jumped a bit at the sensation of his palms on
her bare ass. When had her clothes disappeared? This must be a shared dream
after all.

He broke the kiss and nuzzled her neck.
“You’re so beautiful.” He breathed, his hands caressing her bottom and the
backs of her thighs.

“So are you,” she murmured, lost in sensation.

He chuckled softly and kissed her again, then
ever so gently cupped her breasts. The roughness of his skin against her
nipples made them stiffen and ache. Sighing, she arched her back, thrusting her
breasts toward him.

The gorgeous Horseman needed no further
encouragement. He lifted her breasts and dipped his head toward them. His wet
tongue flicked over the hard peaks and Gayle quivered. Desire crashed over her,
stealing her breath and making her heart beat out of control.

The wet heat between her legs told her she
needed even more from him.

“Pace, please,” she said, her hands stroking
and kneading his broad shoulders. “I need you.”

He groaned. A massive shudder rolled through
him followed by trembling in the ground around them. Gayle opened her eyes and
found that he had shifted from half-beast to his full-human shape. Instead of
his equine knees, he knelt on two long, muscular legs. From a dark blond thatch
of pubic hair rose his magnificent cock. The pink head emerged from the
foreskin and his heavy balls pulled up tightly.

Gayle moistened her lips and reached out
hesitantly, her hand stopping just shy of touching his cock. She lifted her
gaze to his and his lips parted, his eyes gleaming with desire. When he nodded
ever so slightly, she reached out and pushed down his foreskin with one hand
then curled her other around his warm, satin-skinned shaft. She caressed it
with her thumb, learning his shape and texture.

While she explored him, Pace remained still
except for the excited rise and fall of his chest. Only when her thumb tickled
the underside of his cock head did he groan with passion and shift his hips,
pumping his shaft into her hand. She tightened her grip on him and stroked
faster, her gaze drifting from his cock to his face. His impassioned look
excited her even more. Those gorgeous blue eyes had closed and the long, golden
lashes quivered slightly. His chiseled lips parted and he used the very tip of
his tongue to moisten them.

If her hand brought him this much pleasure,
how much more could she give him if she used her mouth to…

Again her heart skipped a beat. She wanted, no
she
needed
, to taste him. Placing her free hand on his chest, she took a
moment to enjoy the dusting of hair over rock-hard muscle and feel his heart
pounding against her palm. Then she pushed him, indicating she wanted him to
lie on his back. Even using two hands, she couldn’t have forced him down but he
willingly did what she desired and stretched out on the grass.

Gayle knelt between his long, steely legs and
massaged them, using her nails to gently scrape his inner thighs.

“Ah, Gayle,” he said, his voice rough and his
blue eyes smoldering.

She had never imagined feeling like this, as
if she were a pleasure slave bent on seducing a favored customer. Yet in the
presence of this gorgeous Horseman, she couldn’t control herself. She moistened
her lips and kissed the tip of his cock. Pace seemed to stop breathing. He lay
tense and waiting, his gaze burning into her.

Gayle trailed her tongue over his cock head
then teased the underside as she had done with her thumb.

Moaning, Pace arched his back and buried his
fingers in her hair.

Gayle smiled. She seemed to be doing this
right.

Her eyes closed, she focused on devouring his
cock. It quivered so she held it steady, feeling it swell even more in her
hands. The tip of her tongue tasted the ridge along the underside, then flicked
over the head, wiping away droplets of pre-cum. Over and over she lapped and
sucked until he grasped her shoulders and held her back.

“That’s all I can stand,” he panted, his blue
eyes aflame and a slight flush staining the high ridges of his cheekbones. His
powerful chest heaved and for a moment a hint of fear darted through her.

He looked ready to ravish her. Despite her
desire for him, she knew little about him. Yes he’d seemed gentle and
respectful but—

Pace released his hold on her shoulders and
tenderly stroked her face. Smiling faintly, he said, “A few more seconds of
that and we’d have had a premature crisis. This is your dream too and I want
you to enjoy it.”

He swept her into his arms and gently placed
her on the grass. Stretching out beside her, he gazed at her for a few seconds
before stroking her with his fingertips. He swept them down her throat, between
her breasts and over her belly. Tenderly he swept his thumb over her nipple
then bent to take the nub between his lips. He sucked it and Gayle mewled with
pleasure and grasped his head, pressing him even closer.

While licking and sucking her breast, he
dipped a hand between her legs and caressed her inner thighs. One long finger
slid into her pussy and explored. Gayle wriggled and closed her eyes, her hands
roaming over his big, powerful body. Everything he did felt so good that she
wondered how she could have questioned him a short time ago.

He withdrew his finger from her pussy and used
its wet tip to caress her clit. Gayle thought she might die then and there from
the pleasure. His finger on her sensitive nub and his mouth on her breast
pushed her closer and closer to climax.

Just when she teetered on the edge, he shifted
his position and covered her body with his. Placing his hands on either side of
her head, he braced most of his weight upon them. The tip of his velvety cock
rested against her slick entrance. Though he tried to move slowly, he slid
easily into her hot, wet pussy.

“Oh, Pace!” she cried, wrapping her arms and
legs around him. “This feels so good.”

“You have no idea,” he said, his husky voice
breathless.

“Yes I do. I do!”

She’d never imagined anything feeling this
wonderful.

He pumped into her slowly at first but with
both almost at a crisis, he soon quickened his movements.

“Don’t want to hurt you,” he gasped.

“You’re not,” she reassured him. “Don’t stop,
Pace, please don’t stop!”

“Can’t,” he ground out, trembling all over.

A few more thrusts and Gayle exploded in a
shattering climax. As she drifted into blackness, she heard his shout of
exaltation. He gasped her name and his powerful body strained into hers.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pace awoke with a pounding heart and his cock
still throbbing in the aftermath of an incredible climax. It took him a moment
to realize Gayle wasn’t actually with him.

The dream had seemed so real. He had seen
every detail of her face and form. He’d felt the softness of her skin and the
wet, throbbing heat of her pussy around his cock. Her luscious scent had teased
his nostrils as her small, gentle hands had tantalized his flesh.

Despite the cool rain pelting him, the erotic
dream had stirred his internal heat, making him perspire like he’d just
sprinted from here to Hornview—or made vigorous love to a beautiful woman.

He’d never experienced such an intense dream
in his life. He could still hear her voice, breathless and aching with passion,
calling his name as she clung to him.

“This is madness,” Pace murmured. He stood and
rubbed a hand over his face, then shook his head.

Shared dream.

You’ve been chosen, Pace. You and the
pretty little shop owner.

No!

This couldn’t be happening.

The rain fell more heavily and thunder rumbled
in the distance. Heavy black clouds hung overhead.

Pace picked up the jar of salve and cantered
toward home.

By the time he reached his destination, rain
soaked him to the skin. He entered the spacious stone house and paused for a
moment to shift to Huform—his full man shape. It took a few seconds for the
weakness that followed shape changing to pass. Next he took his cloak from the
hook by the door. He dried off, then stoked the fire that burned low in the
hearth in the great room.

He and Ardin shared the vast house, so the
older Horseman had probably lit the fire earlier.

Pace glanced at the clock and noted it was
nearly eight in the evening. He’d slept by the lake for longer than he’d
thought. He still tingled all over from the erotic dream. It had seemed so real
that he couldn’t help thinking—

No. It was impossible.

He and Gayle were not destined mates. No
matter how much she aroused him, they couldn’t be together for so many reasons.

Sighing, he settled into his favorite chair by
the fire. He stared at the flickering flames but saw only Gayle’s lovely face
and luscious form. He could still feel her soft little hands on his body and
hear her husky voice in his ear. Her alluring herbal scent still teased his
nostrils.

Pace broke out in a light sweat that had
nothing to do with the fire.

“Pace, what are you doing, boy?” Ardin called.
The older man, also in his Huform, descended the wide stone steps leading from
the upper floor.

“Just thinking.”

“I thought you’d be too tired to do anything
but sleep.” Ardin glanced at Pace’s rain-soaked hair. “Have you just gotten
in?”

“Yes. I fell asleep by the lake and…” Pace’s
voice trailed off. He longed to talk to someone about the dream, yet it was too
personal. Also he didn’t want to bring up the possibility of a destined romance
in front of Ardin.

Still, the old man sensed trouble.

“What is it, Pace?”

“Nothing. Not really.”

Ardin sat in the chair next to Pace’s. “Is it
about business? You should be proud. Not only did we deliver the order for the
Fighting Carriers in record-breaking time but it included some of the finest
equipment we’ve ever made.”

“It was excellent.”

“Talk to me, boy! Don’t sit there looking like
someone just clipped your wings.”

“Ardin, I’m sorry to bring up your wife but
when you shared dreams with her, what was it like?”

“Shared dreams,” Ardin sighed, a sad smile on
his lips, “are the hope of every Horseman. Yet not all of us are lucky enough
to have a dream lover.”