The Copper Horse #1 Fear (29 page)

Hans smirked, even though his face was usually devoid of any emotion, and Reuben quickly looked away. A deep sob was once again trying to reach his throat, but he managed to hold it in check.

He didn't recognize the power of Erik's anger until he made a rapid turn and hit the side of Reuben's thigh with the riding crop. "You ungrateful horse!"

Reuben let out a muffled scream of surprise, opening his eyes wide as he cowered a step away.

"I let you spill on my face and you refuse to clean up after yourself? How dare you!" Erik's normally pale face was pink as raw mincemeat.

When he put it that way, Reuben did see some reason for the anger, but it was still Erik's own fault. He wouldn't have spilled on Erik without his consent, because he couldn't even come on his own. If his master hadn't been holding the reins so tight, Reuben would have taken a few steps back, confused with Erik's sudden change of mood.

"You
are
going to be punished. And you will apologize." Erik let out a chuckle, resuming his walk through the mansion.

The first pull on the reins was so painful that Reuben didn't dare to lag behind anymore. He barely avoided falling flat on his face when he stopped at the stable entrance and Erik forcefully tugged him in. He stared at a piece of furniture he'd not seen so far. He didn't know its purpose, but adrenaline still rushed through his blood as if someone had injected it straight into his veins. In his experience, unfamiliar things were usually a bad omen. All the rebellious spirit he had evaporated, leaving Reuben confused and desperate to avoid punishment. In a vain attempt to apologize, he approached Erik and tried to nuzzle his ear, but his master pulled away.

"It's a bit late for that." He leaned toward the device, which looked like a triangular support frame made of wood and iron. It was long and tall enough to be likened to a bench if the seat hadn't been pointy. On one end it was attached to a tall steel pole topped by an arm, which reached out over the bench holding a thick rope loop. It brought back memories of a hanging Reuben had witnessed, and it had not been pretty.

He took one look at the frame and instantly cowered away as much as he could. He didn't yet know what the thing would do to him, but he wasn't looking forward to finding out. He made another attempt to talk through the bit and let out a prolonged wail at the end of a lispy monologue.

"It seems to me I have given you too much slack already," snarled Erik, dropping the reins, and he made his way to the cupboard.

Panicked, Reuben paced over to the door, but this was as far as he could go while Hans blocked the exit. Maybe he could hide in his stall? Would it make Erik take pity on him?

He dashed over to his hay-filled 'home', ignoring the pressure between his buttocks. He couldn't recognize what it was that Erik took out of the cupboard, but there was no time to waste. The soft, fresh hay seemed unusually inviting as he knelt on the floor and tried to make room with his knees in panic. His chest hurt as sheer horror robbed him of breath.

"I'm going to get you, Copper!"

"Nn...!" Reuben whined once more, forcing his body into the pile of hay, even though he knew it was a lost battle. He had no leverage in this place, and once again he was forced into a corner.

He tried to be as still as possible, but the sound of heavy footsteps on the wooden floor made him shiver.

"Copper, I might consider a shorter punishment if you behave."

Reuben swallowed, doing his best to calm himself before slowly peeking out from his makeshift hideout. He hadn't even noticed when the tears had started. If he could only say how sorry he was!

Erik towered over him. He shook his head and gestured for Reuben to come out. Reuben sighed and struggled to his feet with the bitter taste of defeat on his tongue. He had been planning to put up a fight, but he didn't want to be punished for
longer
! He should have learned by now there was no use reasoning with Erik. He was so shaken that even looking him in the eyes was too terrifying.

"Sit." Erik seemed calm when he gestured at the bench Jack often used.

Reuben made the saddest face he could possibly muster with the halter on, but didn't hesitate and did as he was told, maneuvering his ass so that he wouldn't sit on the tail. Erik squatted at his feet. "Give me your foot, Copper,' he said in a patient voice, putting what looked like two fist-sized leather sacks on the floor.

Reuben's imagination ran wild, envisioning crushed toes, so he shut his eyes but didn't hesitate to comply. Erik stuck the front of his foot inside the sack and he felt something hard and smooth underneath his forefoot. His master fastened the thing to his foot and ankle with a set of firm straps. The same happened to the other foot and surprisingly, no toes were crushed, so he slowly opened one eye. It was as if he had half a shoe on.

"Get up." Erik stood up and gave him an expectant look.

Reuben wouldn't dare to hesitate, but the mock-shoes on his feet forced him to stand on his toes, so keeping any kind of balance, especially with his hands tied, was a task for a circus performer. It was such a strange sensation.

Erik exhaled and, with a clicking sound, took off the tail attached to the back of Reuben's harness and then pulled on his reins. "Well done. I will go easy on you."

Reuben nodded, doing his best to move as requested, but his senses screamed in warning as he balanced on his toes.

"Good boy. You will be wearing those for half an hour each day, and
this
is not punishment." Erik slowly led him toward the strange device outside of his stall.

Reuben looked at him, confused. This
wasn't
punishment? He didn't dare question him though. Once they reached the frame, Hans helped Reuben throw one leg over the pointy top bar and from the half-smile on the man's brute face, it was clear how glad he was to assist in punishing a slave. The resulting position was far from pleasant, with Reuben straddling the bench on his toes, his crotch barely over the narrow bar.

Erik showed him the loop. "I will put that around your neck if you try to get off."

"Nn... oh!" Reuben moaned through the bit, his eyes already tearing up again. He didn't want to die choking! Why was he so stupid? Why didn't he just lick the fucker's face? An involuntary sob left his chest, but he nodded, willing to let Erik have his way and keep this lesson in mind for the future.

"Good." Erik patted him on the cheek and started unbuckling his leather suit.

Even the first minutes were hard to get through. Reuben was not thin, so carrying all that weight on his toes wasn't an easy task. He tried to pass the time thinking about something else and looked down to his feet, suddenly realizing that the half-shoes were a bit like hooves. The distraction didn't serve him well for too long, because minutes into the punishment, his legs were already getting shaky. And it wasn't like he could just rest on that pointy seat. At some point he tried and it was bloody painful, though at least it wasn't any sort of deadly blade. His balls would not like that.

Erik cleaned his prick with some soap and water, and then lay naked in the hay, watching his agony with a neutral expression. At this point, Reuben couldn't care less about his good looks and beautiful cock though.

As time passed, Reuben lost all dignity and once again tried to plead through the bit. His legs were cramping, and he was forced to support his weight on the metal bar between his legs. He just couldn't take it anymore and moved a few steps toward the end of the bench, his face contorted in pain. Erik exhaled, slowly getting up, and he moved toward Reuben, serene like some mythical creature.

"I think you've had enough, Copper."

Reuben didn't dare get off the thing himself, so he just stood there, trembling. Scared of another, more unusual punishment, he decided to wait for his master to approach, but Erik just nodded at him and spread his pale arms in invitation. "You can get off."

Reuben exhaled with relief, taking a few more wonky steps in the makeshift hooves and almost knocked Erik down with his full weight. It was he who'd designed this torture device in the first place, but still, the relief of getting off it was so overwhelming, he just wanted to be held.

"Easy now, Copper." Erik helped him onto the wooden floor and rubbed the sore muscles of his thighs. Reuben couldn't even sit properly because of the plug up his butt. He had to lean on the side of his ass. When Erik pulled the half-shoes off his feet, Reuben felt so relieved that it brought him close to tears again.

"Hurts?" Erik wiped the sweat off his forehead with care, as if it wasn't him who put Reuben on that bench of pain.

Reuben managed a weak nod, slouching to the side and trying to make a good impression, looking as submissive and as non-defiant as possible. He was slowly pulled into a warm embrace that didn't seem at all vicious. It was as if Erik were a loving parent who wanted to assure his child it was still loved despite a scolding.

"There, there now, it's all right." Erik kissed the top of his head so that Reuben could smell his body. The scent of leather and hay was a soothing balm to his nerves.

"I was good all day," he tried to complain, shivering with stress and pressing into Erik. He would've hugged him back, if his arms had been free. Instead though, his master freed his mouth of the gag.

"I was good all day!" Reuben repeated as if it was life-saving information, and a stream of words followed. "I worked so hard to please you, Master Erik! And I didn't mean to disrespect you, I'm so sorry, it won't happen again, I promise." His voice was shaky by the end of the sentence.

Erik smiled at him and leaned forward to kiss his pliant lips. "I'm sure it won't. You are a good horse, but you just lack proper training."

Reuben quickly kissed him back, trying to push onto Erik, who fell back with a loud groan. His hands went straight to Reuben's ass, gently squeezing the flesh around the tail. Reuben didn't mind. He forced his tongue between his master's lips, trying to show off his devotion. He was awarded with a groan of approval, as Erik lazily put his arms around him, fully relaxed, probably thanks to Hans standing just several feet away. Reuben closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his strength for another kind of assault. He started licking his master's neck and cheek with the enthusiasm of a puppy.

"I think," Erik said after a guttural moan, "I want you South."

Reuben locked his gaze with those calm eyes, which seemed more curious than anything else. He nodded, hurriedly scrambling off him and straight for Erik's cock. He didn't mind doing that since Erik had cleaned himself off while Reuben was being punished. The stress of what had happened, though, robbed him of further enjoyment. It made his stomach knot to think that it could only take one slip up for his master to withdraw his affections for him.

The cock twitched beneath his mouth, its smell thick with the aroma of leather and soap. "Good!" Erik gasped, tangling his fingers through Reuben's thick mane. "Such a good boy! Now come up and kiss me again."

Reuben stared at him in confusion but slid back up, pressing their lips together. No one ever wanted to kiss him as much as Erik, and it was so much better than he expected. Erik's mouth was soft, warm, with no missing teeth at all. When they were so close together, it was easy to get excited over Erik's smell. Sometimes the sweet and salty musk that lingered at the crook of Erik's shoulder was all that it took to make Reuben ache for his master's weight on top of him.

Reuben closed his eyes, completely giving into what his master wanted. He would even lick spunk off his face, no questions asked. Come to think of it, it was hard to remember why he'd resisted in the first place.
Damn stubborn nature.

"Ah, you like my neck, Copper?" Erik let his head fall back, exposing his white throat for Reuben.

"I like everything you say, Master Erik," he whispered and kissed his skin without hesitation. It trembled against his lips as the other man laughed.

"Oh, Copper, you make me blush!"

Reuben did feel a bit better, now that he was off that horrendous trestle, but he was still too scared to get excited. He hoped that it wasn't what his master would demand of him now.

"I'm happy you are being a good boy again." Erik was stroking up and down Reuben's torso, unwinding every tense bundle of nerves. Reuben replied with a sniff and continued the slow kiss. He didn't know what was expected of him—did Erik want a blow job? It couldn't be all he wanted, considering the way he kept teasing Reuben's crotch and arching beneath him.

Reuben looked up to him, disoriented, but didn't shy away from his hands for fear it could be considered disrespectful.

"Would you like me to suck you, Master Erik?" He hoped it was quiet enough for Hans not to hear. Erik gently urged him back for a kiss, his knee rubbing against Reuben's crotch.

"Maybe, but let's just fool around a bit. What do you say, Copper?"

Reuben sniffed again, fighting back the tears. His emotions were one big, chaotic mess right now. "I—I don't... understand." He wasn't even sure why he was so shaken. It seemed like a reasonable request.

Erik cocked his head. "What don't you understand?" He slowly got to his feet and helped Reuben do the same.

"What would you like me do?" Why would Erik not want to get some head and just keep touching him instead? And all of this after the argument they had?

Erik gave his ass a gentle squeeze and that got Reuben's attention again. "I want for us to have fun together. Wouldn't you like that?" He guided Reuben to the stall. Reuben's legs still hurt from when he walked in the strange shoes, but it was bearable.

"Maybe. I just... I've never— I dunno." Reuben was getting flustered. First Erik dressed him up in all this horse tack, fucked him, put him on that trestle-monster with feet in hooves... and now he wanted 'fun'?

"Are you angry with me?" Erik gestured for him to lie down in the soft hay.

Reuben swallowed. This definitely sounded like a tricky question. "N—no?" He slowly laid down where he was told to.

"So why are you so hesitant? Are you afraid?" His master asked and moved to a locked dispenser on the wall.