The Copper Horse #2 Pride (11 page)

“I think... I’m
not in the mood for fucking anymore,” muttered Erik.

Reuben laughed,
for a moment unsure what he should do, but finally picked up Erik
under the knees and carried him. “Do you want to stay here, or do
you want me to take you to your bedroom... Master?” It only
occurred to him then that while he spent so much time in this
mansion already, he had yet to see Erik’s bedroom.

Erik’s breath
hitched. After an agonizing couple of seconds, he leaned up to
press a kiss to Reuben’s lips. “Bedroom.”

Reuben rewarded
those words with a smile and prolonged the kiss to Erik’s dry lips.
“Guide me,” he said, making his way to the door.  

“You’re really
getting big and buff, my darling Copper.” Erik gave him a look that
could only be described as dreamy.

“I suppose
that’s what good food and honest work do to a horse.” Reuben
couldn’t suppress the grin. Erik had to want him so badly, if he’d
agreed to the caning!

“You’re a very
honest horse, Copper.”

“I told you on
the day we met, didn’t I?”

“Oh, just take
me upstairs, silly.”

When Reuben
pushed the door open, Jack looked up at him as if he’d seen a
ghost. He was practically shaking, but when Erik told him to fetch
a set of shackles, some ice and wine, he rushed to get them without
hesitation. Following Erik’s directions, Reuben carried him
upstairs, past the office he’d already been to, and straight to
Erik’s bedchamber. It was tall and fairly large for its purpose,
with white relief pillars framing walls covered with blue velvet
wallpaper. Lifelike statues of naked men and the creatures Erik
called centaurs were scattered all around in a way that made them
look like they were interacting, arguing, and touching one another.
Reuben carried Erik to an elevated bed in the far end of the room.
It looked otherworldly: big, chunky posters resembled arched trees,
their crowns joining at the top and sheltering the mattress from
bright daylight that shone through tall windows and reflected off a
set of framed mirrors hung on the walls.

Reuben was so
enthralled he almost dropped Erik, standing in front of the bed
with his mouth open as he took in all the opulence. There was no
other furniture around. Just the massive bed  in a garden of
statues. It seemed wasteful to use so much space for sleeping, but
then again was there anything in Erik’s life that wasn’t excessive?
The thick draperies shielding Erik’s bed on three sides were
probably more expensive than Reuben’s whole bakery.

“Do you like
it?”

“It’s
beautiful, and so... expensive.” Reuben took a deep breath and
carefully helped Erik stand on his feet.

“No, the dining
room was far more costly.” Erik laughed, still holding on to
Reuben’s neck.

Reuben didn’t
know what to say. Erik either trusted him suddenly, or was too
dizzy after the caning to think about possible dangers of being
alone with a horse.

“What?”
muttered Erik, cuddling his face against Reuben’s chest.

Reuben licked
his lips, looking down into the swollen eyes and for lack of a
better answer, kissed him again. He couldn’t put a name on the
things he felt for this man.

Erik brushed
his fingers over Reuben’s cheek. “Do you want to stay with me?”

“I would like
that. Your bed does look very soft.” Reuben closed his eyes with a
sigh. He felt the warm body slip from his arms, and when he looked
up again, Erik was already crawling on the bed, into the dark cave
created by the velvet draperies, his buttocks red enough to make
Reuben squirm just looking at them.

It felt strange
to have so much freedom around Erik, but he slowly made his way to
the mattress. He could imagine five people easily fitting into this
bed. It was soft, but no more than necessary, and the thick,
luxurious bedspread covering the mattress had to be velvet. It was
almost as soft as the fine hairs on Erik’s body.

“How do you
feel?” Reuben asked then, lying down on his stomach. With the bed
open only from the footboard side, the warm darkness covered him
with a thick blanket. Erik hummed, hugging the pillow.

“Sore.”

“You’ll think
twice next time.” Reuben smirked but held out his own hand to touch
Erik’s fingers.

Erik chuckled,
stroking them over Reuben’s hand. “You’re such a cruel master.”

“Only when I’m
pissed off.” Reuben couldn’t stop smiling. There were many pillows
here, most with intricate designs, and they were all so pleasant,
smelling of the perfume he could sometimes sense in Erik’s hair. It
was heaven.

“Are there
times when you aren’t pissed off at me?” Erik asked, keeping his
tone neutral, but Reuben was sure it was a tricky question. He
pretended to give it a long think.

“I like to be
fed,” he teased Erik and pinched the side of his hand.

“I don’t keep
you hungry, do I?” Erik snuggled into the pillow and stared at him
from beneath his eyelashes.

“No, I have
never eaten so well in my life,” Reuben admitted in all
honesty.

After a short
knock, Jack rushed into the room with a bowl that contained the
items Erik had requested. He was obviously baffled as he looked at
both their bruised bottoms and did his best to keep his gaze on the
floor.

Erik groaned.
“Leave it to Copper and stay in the corridor.”

“Are you sure,
Master?” Jack swallowed and started fiddling with a thin leather
bag filled with ice. The same one he’d used on Reuben the day
before.

“No. Shackle
him to the bed and
then
go.” Erik changed his position
slightly, pretending not to see what Jack was doing. The boy gave
Reuben an insistent look. He wanted to know what was going on, but
Reuben wasn’t sure himself. He shrugged and held out his hands,
though he found it hard to look Jack in the eyes. The boy deserved
better than his lies.

“Um, do you
want any other services, Master?” asked Jack, but his eyes were
clearly on Reuben when he fastened a cuff to Reuben’s hand and
chained it to the bedpost.

“No, Jack, we
want to be left alone.”

“Don’t worry.”
Reuben smiled at him so the boy wouldn’t bite off all off his
fingernails in the corridor.

Jack chewed on
his lip, but left with a slight scowl.

“What a
nuisance,” muttered Erik, wiggling his butt so that it faced away
from the fabric.

“What is?”
Reuben’s gaze went to the bowl, and he grabbed the ice.

“That boy. He
worries too much. I don’t think you’re going to hurt me. Unless he
knows something that I don’t.”

“I already hurt
you,” Reuben raised his eyebrows and gently put the ice on Erik’s
ass. His master stirred with a soft groan.

“I guess I
haven’t fed you yet today.”

“You know, all
that whipping does make a man hungry.” Reuben was comforted that
they were now on the same boat, both bruised and sore.

“Tell Jack to
bring you food if you want.”

“Jack!” Reuben
yelled out, still holding the bag on Erik’s ass. When the boy
rushed in,

Reuben asked
for fruit, nuts, whipped cream, and ice cream, without any
complaint from Erik. “See what I did there?” He snorted when Jack
left without even looking at him. “
Whipped
cream. Whipped
and white like yar ass.”

“That’s the
most amusing thing I’ve ever heard. You should consider a career in
comedy,” Erik said in a neutral tone, curling his toes.

“Maybe by Percy
Preston’s side?” Reuben chirped, carefully moving the ice to Erik’s
other buttock.

“How much
exactly do you like him?” Erik shot him a questioning glance from
beneath a few strands of golden hair falling across his face.

“I—” The
question caught Reuben off guard. “I mean, I just think he’s a
pretty funny man.”

“Hn.”

Reuben pouted
and pretended nothing happened. Erik thought for a moment before he
spoke again.

“So, when else
aren’t you angry at me?”

Reuben bit his
lips. “I suppose I don’t
hate
it when you suck me off.” He
assumed it would be appropriate for any man in his position.

Erik burst out
laughing, and the rapid moves of his body made the ice bag slide
down his buttock. “I’ve been told I’m quite good at it.”

Reuben could
feel himself going hot. “Lots of practice?”

Erik looked at
him over his shoulder, his face partially obscured by the
sun-colored hair. He smiled. “I like it.”

A shiver went
down Reuben’s spine. He did too, loved sucking Erik and making him
moan. But he didn’t have the courage to admit to such a sinful
thing. He wasn’t as shameless as Erik. “Have you thought of having
someone like um... Jack, or John as a pony? You know. All the
servants are--”

“I don’t want
them as ponies.” Erik grimaced and pressed his face into the
pillow.

“Why?”

“I don’t want
them. I just don’t. It’s not something I can’t explain.”

“And... um...”
Reuben traced Erik’s back with icy fingers. “What about... if you
paid someone? Whores would do a lot, and you wouldn’t have to
shackle ‘em.”

“Wouldn’t I?”
Erik snorted. “And I don’t want a whore. I want a pony.”

“Why not? Why
not a whore?” Reuben sighed and painted circles on Erik’s back.

Erik gave a
long, shuddering sigh. “I can’t train a whore to be a pony. They
would just pretend that I succeeded. And I want someone to discover
the pleasures of being my mount.”

Reuben watched
the back of his head, unsure of what to say. “The pleasures,” he
mumbled.

“Yes. There are
pleasures, aren’t there, Copper?” Erik looked at him with his blue
eye. Reuben liked the blue eye.

“Um, I like to
feel needed. Like a I have a purpose.” he muttered.

“You like
carrying me through the streets,” agreed Erik. He reached back and
placed the bag back on his ass.

“As long as you
don’t take my— never mind.” Reuben sighed, still remembering the
humiliation and fear of yesterday. “I said I’d forgive you.”

“For ten blows.
I took twenty,” Erik reminded him, not without pride.

Reuben lay down
next to him, on his stomach. “I’ll try to find pleasure in being
your pony.” Through submitting to the caning, Erik took some of
Reuben’s burden. After all, he’d promised to try not to hate being
a pony. He could do it more freely now that he struck the deal with
Erik. His master’s mismatched eyes watched him in the dim light of
the closed bed.

“That would
please me.”

“I know it
would, you pervert!” Reuben laughed and moved closer to poke his
arm.

“My first pony
loved it.”

“Huh? How
come?”

Erik shifted,
putting his cheek on his forearm. “It was he who suggested this
kind of play.”

“He wasn’t
ashamed of it?” Reuben swallowed, completely amazed by the
concept.

“No.” Erik
smiled and for a moment, his strange eyes became soft. “He was a
proud, beautiful stallion. Absolute perfection.”

A pang of
jealousy teased Reuben from the inside. Could he ever be like that?
Proud? He wanted to be ‘absolute perfection’ in his master’s eyes.
“Did he ever tell you what he liked about it?”

Erik shrugged.
“He liked being cared for and praised.” His mouth curved into a
smile. “He loved being fucked.”

That man
sounded so familiar it scared Reuben. That was what
he
wanted: to be good at something and be praised for it, then end the
day with a good rough fuck. If that was also what Erik wanted, so
why was it so hard to admit his own secret passions to him? What
Reuben liked about being a ‘horse’ and wearing all that gear was
forgetting that he
should
be embarrassed. The moment the
tack was on, Reuben was replaced with Copper, and he was free to be
the loveliest pony. Free to nuzzle and kiss. After all, an animal
didn’t know any better. It would do what the master wanted.

Erik’s voice
brought him back to reality. “He made this... ah, saddle, and then
I could ride on his back. He’d carry me through our garden at night
when there was no one there to see, and then I’d suck him off
somewhere between the trees.”

Erik’s voice
was hypnotizing like a jewel swinging on a gold chain, and Reuben
listened in awe. He wanted that. “Do you want me to carry you some
day, Master?”

“Of course.
That’s why you need to gain more muscle, Copper.” Erik slowly
reached out to touch his bicep and squeezed the muscle with two
fingers.

“I thought that
was just for your viewing pleasure.”

“No. If I only
wanted the look, I’d take a boxer, not a horse.” Erik slid his
fingers up Reuben’s arm and then down his side.

“Are you saying
a boxer looks better than me?”

Erik’s face
split into a wide grin. “You’re getting there.”

“I work
hard.”

Erik smiled,
tracing the muscled plain of Reuben’s stomach, slowly swirling his
fingers through the red bush on his groin. The hair that had been
shaved for parasites had now grown back, and Reuben was glad his
master liked it where it was, because the stubble had itched like
hell.

Erik tickled
the underside of Reuben’s chin and said, “You know, when I was
still a boy, I often came in my pants just from sucking his
cock.”

Reuben’s lips
parted, as he was bewildered by such a shameless confession. Just
the thought of it sent sparks of excitement down to his own prick.
“Y... you did?”

Erik’s gaze was
almost innocent when he cupped the hardening flesh between Reuben’s
legs. “Most often when he spilled down my throat. He was too far
gone to be careful, and I let him.”

“You liked
that?” Reuben whispered, taking a shuddery breath. He loved Erik’s
hands so much. Such skilled fingers! Maybe it was the ink embedded
in the skin that made them so wonderful.