"For the last time, I said no! I do not want to see him, meet him,
or talk to him!" Inez bellowed, jerking her thick black hair into a
tail at her nape and securing it with a strip of leather.
"Inez,
you're crazy!" Susana stared at her friend in wide-eyed disbelief.
"This is your dream lover. Don't you understand that?"
"Yes. I understand. So we shared a few dreams. It doesn't mean we
have to spend the rest of our lives together!"
"Excuse me, but I believe it does." Susana folded her arms
beneath her ample bosom and tapped her foot on the shed floor.
Inez had banished herself to the shed that morning after her
Carrier, a Horseman she had been stupid enough to call her best
friend, had informed her he was pairing with another Gatherer. Why?
Because the village Chieftain had told her a Horseman called Terra
was arriving to claim her as his mate. The mention of the lover she
met almost nightly in dreams had nearly turned her legs to water.
She'd told herself they were normal dreams, though deep inside she'd
felt a spark of magic in them. Of all the women in the world, why
did she have to be among those bound to a frustrating, fascinating
Horseman?
She knew their culture intimately. Ever since childhood, all
she'd ever wanted to be was a Gatherer, to work alongside those
magnificent beasts, seeking good lives for both of their peoples.
They possessed unimaginable power, speed, and stamina, far
surpassing almost every other species in the world. Their man/beast
bodies endured hours of top-speed running and flight while bearing
the weight of riders and cargo. In spite of their superiority they
were loyal, intelligent, and usually decent. They were also
arrogant, boastful, and whether they admitted it or not, looked down
on humankind as a whole.
Inez loved them. She hated them. She admired them. But there was
no way in hell she wanted to marry one.
"Just because we've shared a few dreams doesn't mean I have to
jump when he snaps his fingers!" Inez roared, shoving her feet into
her riding boots and heading for the door. "I'm going out. This
Terror, uh. . .Terra better not be here when I get back!"
"He searched months for you. Surely you can at least say hello to
him?" Susana pressed. "Inez, he's absolutely gorgeous!"
Inez knew that all too well, not only from her dreams, but
because she'd seen him arrive. She'd been watching from behind a
tapestry -- a disgraceful position, but her curiosity had gotten the
better of her. She had to see if he was as stunning in the flesh as
he had been in her dreams. When he'd stepped into the longhouse to
greet the Chieftain and seek her out, Inez had, for the first time
in her life, felt giddy with desire for a man.
He was tall -- so, so tall. And big. His long, lean legs, curved
with muscle and encased in black trousers belted with a strip of
leather, stood braced apart. Muscles rippled beneath the flowing
black shirt he wore. The ties had been opened, revealing a good
portion of his massive, hair-roughened chest. The tips of his
pointed yet delicate ears poked through his long curly black hair,
two braids dangling from his temples. Horsemen's ears had far more
mobility that those of humans. They were able to express their
emotions through ear movements, such as twitching forward when
pleased or pinning close to their heads when angry or upset. While
some women found this characteristic strange, Inez had always
considered it endearing.
Terra's square jaw was smooth-shaven, not at all the Horsemen's
style. She wondered if he'd shaved to meet her, since he'd been
bearded in her dreams. His nose was well shaped, though on the large
side, permissible for a Horseman. At the tremendous speeds they
traveled, large noses, strong hearts, and powerful lungs were
mandatory to their very survival. The intensity of his enormous
sea-blue eyes overshadowed his other features, however. Those eyes
seemed to notice everything. Inez had actually trembled, fearing
he'd seen her behind the tapestry. If he had, he gave no indication
as he'd spoken to the Chieftain in a voice so deep and rumbling it
was as if some great animal, such as a tiger or bull, had learned to
speak in words.
Just thinking of him made Inez's legs shake, though she continued
protesting, "I do not want to get married!"
"Why?" another deep voice asked from the doorway.
Inez glanced at the dark-haired Horseman with a sturdy, brown
beast-body. Moor had been her Carrier for over ten years. He was
dependable, caring, and, like all Horsemen, quite in love with
himself.
"Because I don't!"
"You're a caring young woman and should marry," he continued.
Susana cast him an approving look. "He's right."
"I always said I would exercise my right of freedom as a
Gatherer. Most women must marry, you know that, but Gatherers have
the same privileges as freemen."
"What Terra offers is a rare thing," Moor said quietly.
"I know what he offers! He struts in here as if he's a chieftain
himself and demands my presence. To hell with him!"
Susana narrowed her eyes. "He demanded your presence?"
"He said he needed to meet her and wouldn't leave until he did,"
Moor said. "What he meant was, the dreams have made him desperate
and his heart is yours."
Inez lifted her eyes skyward and snorted in disgust.
"You dare question the power of Horsemen's dreams?" Moor glared
at her, his pointed ears sweeping close to his head as his temper
reared. "And in my presence?"
Inez felt a twinge of guilt. "I'm sorry, Moor. I know how special
your relationship was with Anita."
"Part of my soul died with that woman, but I wouldn't have traded
a moment spent with her," he said. "If you give yourself a chance
with Terra, you'll know a love as great as I did."
"I think I'm going now," Susana murmured, resting a hand on
Moor's broad shoulder before leaving.
Inez wanted to leave as well, but knew Moor would follow her to
make his point. She wished he'd leave her alone. Between her lust
for Terra and the memories of true love gleaming in Moor's eyes, her
resistance was shattering.
"Inez, you're a kind, decent woman and a great Gatherer. I love
you as a daughter. Would I push you towards a man I didn't believe
would care for you? I know of Terra. His reputation -- "
"I know about his reputation. He's an elite Fighting Carrier. The
biggest, fastest, and most cunning of his kind. In short, he's
trouble."
"He is a man who has come to pledge his heart to you, who has
left his own life to seek you out. Give him a chance, and he'll give
you loyalty such as you've never known."
"But will he treat me as an equal?" She held Moor's gaze. "I've
worked very hard as a Gatherer. I'm not going to become a housewife
and -- "
"If that's his intention, then why has he agreed to become your
Carrier?"
"It's a ploy."
"No. Just a partnership. One he wants with you."
"But will he -- "
"Only Terra can answer your questions." Moor's gaze intensified.
"He's come to pledge his life to you, Inez, to protect you until his
final breath, and you can stand here denying him?"
Inez tried to think of an answer. Tried to fall back on a simple
"Yes!" It didn't work. Not when faced with Moor's powerful words,
particularly when she knew they were true. She'd sensed so much from
Terra in her dreams: arrogance, stubbornness, integrity, and
affection. He wanted to love her, of that she was certain. Even
worse, in spite of all her protests, she wanted to love him, too.
What she feared was giving up her independence, her freedom of
having no one to answer to, either family or husband.
However, with that freedom came great loneliness and an empty
space Terra -- beautiful, powerful Terra -- could fill.
"All right," she sighed. "I'll meet him."
"Good. Come with me."
"You go. I'll be along."
"No, I don't trust you."
"I'd like to fix myself up a bit first."
"You look fine." Moor grasped her upper arm and dragged her
toward the longhouse.
She jerked away, striding ahead, her chin lifted, her expression
cool in spite of how she shook inside.
As she stepped into the longhouse, the villagers mingling and
performing chores stared at her. She didn't pay attention to them,
however. Her gaze fixed on Terra.
"Inez, this is Terra," began the gravel-voiced Chieftain seated
at the head of the long wooden table.
"Yes. I know," she stated, extending her hand to the Horseman.
He grasped it. Inez tried to keep her stomach from tumbling. His
touch was firm but gentle, his palm callused. Like most Horsemen,
his body temperature was much higher than that of humans, and his
warmth seemed to spread through her hand, up her arm, and settle
deep in her pussy. Damn, she was already wet for the man and he
hadn't even spoken a word, merely held her hand and stared at her
with those huge blue eyes.
His thumb stroked her knuckles. "I'm so pleased, Inez. It's taken
us so long to meet -- at least in the flesh."
In the flesh. Gods, she wanted his flesh in hers right now!
"I suppose it couldn't hurt us to say hello."
"I'm told you don't want me."
Inez glanced over her shoulder, wondering how many of the
villagers were listening. They all pretended to work, but their ears
tilted toward the scene being played at the head of the Chieftain's
table.
"I haven't wanted a husband, that's true."
"No," he released her hand, his gaze fixed on hers, "I'm told you
don't want me in particular. Why?"
DREAM
STALLION
Kate
Hill is a thirty-something vegetarian New Englander who likes heroes with a
touch of something wicked and wild. Her short fiction and poetry have
appeared in publications both on and off the Internet. When she's not
working on her books, Kate enjoys reading, working out, and researching
vampires and Viking history. Visit her online at http://www.kate-hill.com