Animal Heart (Beast & Beauty) (5 page)

“
Boy, our Lukey's a quick worker,” Shane chuckled.

“
I know. He had me in a tight bear hug against the fence within a minute of starting our after-dinner walk. I do like him though. We'll see how it goes, eh?”

She spent a few minutes more chatting with her two new friends and then got up to leave.

“I'll get a movie and watch it in bed,” she announced.

“
Good idea. Time for us to turn in too, isn't it honey?” Shane said with a big yawn.

“
'Night, then.”

“
Yeah, sweet dreams Maddy,” Shane said, as she left to look through the movies.

She sat on the floor and looked through the shelves. Shane was right. It was full of horror films. Every vampire, werewolf, and creepy monster film she'd ever heard of was there. Plus a lot of comedy, children's films, and quite a few well known Hollywood blockbusters. Someone must like Will Smith a hell of a lot, she thought, as she looked through, as he featured in many of them. She smiled to herself and chose 'I am legend', one of her favorite weird apocalypse films, and carried it off to her room for a spot of night-time horror.

She woke with a sudden start, her ears picking up a sound. It was still dark. She could have sworn she heard howling, not the dogs... but real howling, outside. Wolves. She strained her ears and there it was again, in the distance. She shot out of bed and looked out of her window. The perfect half moon shone brightly above in the starry sky, and she stood and watched for a while. She leant back, preparing to return to bed, when something caught her eye. A pair of wolves shot across the paddock, side by side, towards the trail and the woods. She stared in wonder as they bounded along with huge strides, leaping the boundary fence with ease. She knew a little about them. Wolves had always fascinated her, ever since she was a child. They were the epitome of the wild. She loved the concept of the close knit pack, roaming the forests, foraging and hunting. Squabbling and fighting amongst themselves over the females, food, and leadership. They weren't that different to humans in that way, she thought with a wry smile to herself.

But these two were most unusual looking. Very long limbed and sleek, with big ears, smallish heads, and extremely long tails.
Very odd looking indeed.

They finally disappeared from view.

Probably some kind of maned-wolf... They had long legs...

Her feet were suddenly cold, standing on the wooden floor. She padded back to bed and snuggled down under the warmth of the duvet. She looked at her travel clock. Five O'clock, much too early to get up, her alarm was set for seven. She drifted back to sleep for a few hours, her mind full of wonderful wild things. Wolves, unpredictable beautiful white horses, acres of land, forests, mountains, and lakes...

This was her kind of place. Seriously.

Aden stood in the yard waiting for Madison to arrive. He'd saddled up Oberon, a large black stallion with a gentle nature, but a fast pace. He hoped she liked his choice. He paced up and down the yard feeling nervous, but not knowing why. Just thinking about her disturbed his peace of mind. A lot. Last night's less than satisfying activity with Grace had obviously done nothing to calm his erotic thoughts about her, hopefully his body would behave itself today.

He heard the chatter of voices and Lucas appeared with Maddy, entering the yard. They carried on with their conversation, heads close together and smiling conspiratorially at each other as they arrived at his side. He narrowed his eyes at Lucas. He didn't like the way his arm was slung around her shoulders. It was far too friendly.

“I'll see you later Mads. Have a good day you two,” Lucas added, placing a big smacker of a kiss on her cheek. Aden's blood suddenly boiled unexpectedly. Now he was going much too far! He knew he wasn't supposed to hit on the guests. Not that he could blame him. She was well worth being ticked off for. His stomach squeezed uncomfortably with reaction to their sudden intimacy, and his chest ached painfully. He took a deep breath and pulled himself together.

He tried not to stare too hard at her as he said hello.

“How are you today Maddy? Looking forward to our trip?” His eyes raked her up and down in a frenzy, all control gone in an instant. Her tight riding britches, v-neck black t-shirt, and padded black fitted jacket looked so good on her. Desire started to build rapidly inside him, stirring him to life.

“I'm fine, and yes, oh boy... I can't wait!” She replied enthusiastically, with a wonderful big smile that lit up his heart. “Oh my God, he's just beautiful. What's his name?” She gasped, finally catching sight of the black horse half hidden behind Storm, and rushing around to stroke his nose immediately.

“Oberon... So you like him, do you?” He was overly pleased about that and couldn't stop a little smile escaping.

“I do. Almost as much as Storm,” she added pointedly. “He's gonna be a hot ride, I can feel it.” Before he could utter a reply, she stuck her foot in the stirrup and leapt up astride him with ease. He was a tall horse and she surprised him with her mounting agility. She picked up the reins and turned him, and trotted around the yard, coming to a neat halt in front of him.

“A real good mover, aren't you, Oberon my boy.” She patted his ebony neck appreciatively and began stroking his wild black mane. “Come on Aden, let's go.”

“You need to wear a hat,” he said, offering it up to her.

“You don't wear one,” she pointed out.

“I know, but you should,” he insisted.

“No thanks. Not today. I'm going hat free,” she replied in a rebellious tone.

“Don't blame me if you fall and crack your skull,” he snapped back.

“I've never fallen, not even once,” she announced, slowly and proudly.

“Well you know the old saying, 'There's always a first time for everything',”

“Oh do stop lecturing me and get the fuck on your horse, will you?” She snapped out with fire in her eyes and a hard glare.

“Yes ma'am...” he replied, taken aback somewhat by her sudden domineering and rather coarse attitude. He mounted, turned Storm quickly, and left the yard ahead of her, trotting swiftly down the trail towards the woods ahead. He was just picking up the pace a little, as a sudden rush of air took him by surprise. She shot past him at a full gallop, giving him a sly sexy smile as she passed. He couldn't help returning a tiny smile in return at her cheek. He watched her cute tight ass bound away from him on Oberon with an amazing graceful beauty, her hair flying wildly around her like a flaming cloud. God, she was so damn gorgeous, she made his heart weep with want. He knew in that one second he had to have her. He'd need to break his own damn rules about fraternising with the clients. It was rare for him to feel such an attraction as this, and he was going to follow it through. His cock hardened painfully against the constraints of his pants, and the saddle and he shifted to accommodate it. His imagination began to run wild, his mouth watering as he mentally tasted her body, his tongue running everywhere. She brought him out of his highly sexual thoughts with a bump.

“Come on slow poke, show me what you've got for crissakes, where's your pride?” she called over her shoulder, disappearing into the darkness of the trees lining the narrow trail ahead. He sped off in hot and angry pursuit, chasing her tail like a demon.

He almost caught up to her when they reached the wide brook that crossed the trail.

“Mind out for the...” But he didn't finish. She jumped Oberon in the style of an Olympic equestrian, sailing high over the brook, and landing perfectly on the other side and steaming off.

“Mind out for the what?” she shouted and laughed out loud. He followed her over and after pushing Storm a little, he finally caught up with her.

“You're an annoying little madam, aren't you?” he said, catching hold of her reins and pulling them both to a stop.

“It must be the present company I keep. It brings out the best in me.”

“That mouth of yours is going to get you in deep trouble one day,” he growled, trying to keep calm as he looked into her pretty blue eyes, which were alight with mischief.

“Awww, have I upset you somehow, my dear Mr Carr?” she purred slowly and sexily, licking her lips at him.

“No, not at all. It'd take a great deal more than you to upset me. Now then. Let's take a nice slow walk. You'll be able to see something then, won't you?” he added pointedly, his stomach and everything else heaving inside of him in reaction to her close company. Upset? He was far more than that. He was in a state of aroused delirium. How he wanted to throw her off her horse and have her, here and now, on the bare earth of the forest floor. His eyes were glued to her breasts, rising gently up and down with her breathing. He was imagining his hands upon them, and his mouth sucking at them while he pounded inside her mercilessly.

Her voice brought him out of his sexually obsessed state, which she thankfully seemed to be oblivious of. He placed his hand strategically, to obscure the view of his very large and hard arousal.

“Talking of seeing things, I saw something interesting early this morning. Actually, I heard a howling sound first and got up to look. There were two wolves. Going down this very path in fact.”  His heart beat very rapidly all of a sudden, at their discovery.

Who went out without his permission?As if he didn't know...

“We have a lot of them about these parts,” he replied carefully, hiding his concern, his eyes averted from hers.

“They were really ugly as well. Long and thin, with big ears,” she remarked. He tried not to laugh. A few of them certainly were a little on the ugly side. Some more than others. He wasn't that attractive himself. Very tall, broad, and huge eared.

“That's a local breed,” he said quietly.

“Really? I didn't know there was such a thing as local breeds of wolf?”

“There's lots you don't know about the wilderness, I'm sure.”

“Teach me some stuff then. While we walk. Please?”

They settled into a comfortable pace, walking their horses side by side, as Aden pointed out items of interest. The cool morning air was fast disappearing as the day's sunlight flooded through the trees, lifting the dampness from the ground in a misty haze. The warmth filtered though and she took off her jacket, laying it across her lap. She sensed his eyes upon her, travelling over her body and lingering over her snug fitting top. She had the distinct impression that Aden was having naughty thoughts about her. In truth, she was having extremely naughty thoughts about him. His presence disturbed her. Deeply. In both an emotional and sexual way. She was intrigued about him. He wasn't an open book like Lucas. He had a dark side, and she felt he had secrets. She didn't intend to have too much to do with him personally, after all she was only here for a short time, and he had enough women beating a path to his door. And what's more, he unnerved her more than he should. But she could look, couldn't she? And fantasize. That's what being on vacation was all about, wasn't it? Enjoying yourself and savoring new experiences. Aden was certainly a new experience. She'd never met anyone like him before.

She subtly turned her head to look at his handsome profile, and at that second he turned too, and caught her eye. They both stared openly, unable to break their gaze. No one, and nothing existed, but the pair of them in that one moment, and her intentions went up in smoke. Her whole body caught fire and she sighed deeply, her chest suddenly heaving of its own accord. Her muscles clenched up tight inside her pelvis, and her heart beat wildly, out of control, blood rushing through her ears in a whoosh that made her feel lightheaded.

“
Maddy...” he whispered hoarsely, stroking her hand with his fingertip. Her skin tingled so pleasurably at his touch, and she wanted more. A whole lot more.

Panic stricken, she took off again, trying to get away from him for a few seconds, to think.

My God, I'm so in lust with this man... Heaven help me... I can't believe this...

She suddenly knew why Aden was so popular. He had 'it', whatever 'it' was, the powerful male gene that had women panting at his ankles, begging for his attention. The dark moody, serious look he wore covered his very passionate inner self that she instinctively knew was just underneath the surface. But it was more than that. Something primal was lurking inside him too. He had an underlying animal air about him. She couldn't explain it. In a room full of equally good looking men he would stand out.

He was an alpha male. That was what he was... The leader of his pack, and that turned her on like nothing else ever had.

She slowed, taking a deep breath, and looked over her shoulder as he approached.

“I need a drink of water,” she said, trying to bring a note of normality between them.

“
Yeah, me too.” He pulled a couple of bottles out of his saddle bag and handed one to her. At that moment, a deer darted across the path in front of them. Aden noticeably stiffened in his saddle, seemingly having a problem with it. His face was tight as he stared at the beautiful pale brown creature as it disappeared into the trees. His brow was furrowed, sweat breaking out across it, and she swore she saw a weird flash of orange in his eyes.

“
Are you okay? Got a deer phobia or something?” she asked with a small nervous laugh. He cleared his throat noisily before answering.

“
Quite the opposite. I love deer. They're one of my great loves in fact. I've got a cramp, that's all, too much breakfast.” He laughed heartily and she smiled widely at his sudden change of mood. What a beautiful laugh he had. He should do it more often. He was far too serious.

They moved on for a while, making their way down to the lake. They wound their way through the tall trees, negotiating the bushes and bracken that covered the ground lushly beneath the firs, at a slow even pace. They arrived at the shore and he stopped.

“Let's have a rest. I often stop here. It's a great view across the lake, don't you think?” He dismounted, wrapping Storm's reins around a nearby tree branch loosely. He climbed up on a large boulder that was partially submerged in the water and sat down on top of it.

She swung her leg over Oberon and dropped down daintily, as he watched her intently. She tied up her horse and made her way to his side, sitting down on the boulder, leaving a decent space between them.

She gazed up and down the lake with a deep sigh. The dark blue shimmering water contrasted so beautifully with the green of the trees surrounding it, and the stunning azure of the sky above, she was almost awestruck with its beauty. She was just thinking this could well be paradise, when the following scene sealed it as a certainty. A small flock of beautiful white snow geese glided in low and landed, one by one, upon the water not far from where they sat.