The Copper Horse #2 Pride (29 page)

Reuben nudged
him with his forehead, ready to listen to any worries he might
have. His heart fluttered when he saw Erik smile.

“What do you
think, darling?”

Reuben whinnied
in response and caught one of the straps on his outfit with his
lips.

Erik
absentmindedly traced his jaw with his fingers. “You want us to
betray Frey?”

Reuben
swallowed. Would his opinion matter? He was afraid that if they
ignored Deverell’s offer, they might get the short end of the
stick. And then hadn’t Frey betrayed them already? Deverell said
so. He looked into Erik’s eyes and slowly nodded.

Erik bit his
lips and kissed Reuben’s cheekbone. “I can’t ask him if it’s
true.”

Reuben sighed
and drew his eyebrows close. Truth was he didn’t know what the
right thing to do was. Deverell’s offer seemed like a dream, but
what if it was a lie? After the way Jacob’d treated him, he’d be
suspicious of any offer that seemed too good to be true.

“Are you
scared, Copper?”

Reuben looked
into Erik’s eyes and nodded. He didn’t want to lose Erik. He wanted
things to stay the way they were. If there were a revolution, would
they still be allowed to be together the way they were now?

Erik leaned in
to press a kiss to Reuben’s temple. “I’ll work something out.
Promise.”

If Erik said
so, it would happen, Reuben was sure of it. He smiled and closed
his eyes. He’d already entrusted Erik with his life.

The rest of the play
was amazing fun, and Reuben enjoyed every second of Percy Preston’s
performance. All the laughs he shared with Erik helped him forget
the dark cloud that was Ferris Deverell’s offer. Spending time with
his master outside of the mansion gave Reuben a thrill of being
worth showing off. They engaged in some hot fondling during the
next break, and the wait was slowly stretching Reuben’s patience.
As much as he enjoyed prolonging pleasure, having his ass teased
every now and then for three hours got him hot, bothered and ready
to hump the life out of Erik’s leg. He wasn’t embarrassed by it at
all, embracing his shameless animal self. And that animal within
him could already feel an ache in its balls.

When the play ended,
they had to wait for the lower classes to leave the theater. Erik
used that time to put the muzzle on Reuben again, but he was
visibly anxious.

“Did you enjoy
yourself, my Ruby?”

Reuben whinnied as
well as he could through the muzzle and leaned down to nudge Erik’s
head with it. Erik pulled him into a tight embrace, resting his
head on Reuben’s chest.

“You’re so beautiful
today. No stallion has ever made me as proud as you.”

The praise was hot
butter melting on Reuben’s heart. He was exactly what he wanted to
be: special. He closed his eyes for a short moment, enjoying the
closeness and sniffing his master’s fluffy hair. Erik eventually
drew back and gave him a smile as he tugged Reuben toward the door.
Followed by gloomy Hans, they made their way down; but instead of
walking back toward the entrance, Erik strolled through a door and
then descended another staircase. The air smelled of mud and was
much colder than in the upper parts of the theater.

Hans didn’t look happy
about having to help Reuben down the stairs, but he kept his
thoughts to himself. Stone wasn’t the best of surfaces to walk on
with hooves, but with Hans next to him, guarding his every step,
Reuben could relax.

Erik glanced back at
him every now and then, whistling a melody Reuben didn’t recognize.
He was unusually cheerful considering the grave perspective
Deverell had painted for them.

In the corridor at the
bottom of the stairs, a new kind of crowd walked past them. It had
to be the actor’s backstage quarters. People half dressed, or still
in costumes, in wigs, with heavy makeup, shouted at each other and
rushed around. Reuben didn’t know where to look. What if Percy
Preston was somewhere around?

He had to bow his head
so that he wouldn’t bang into the ceiling, but Erik seemed to know
where he was going and led him straight past the theater staff, all
the way to a thick-looking door. He knocked.

Reuben’s heart skipped
a beat at the sight of a golden star on the wood. Was it
possible…?

Without waiting for an
answer, Erik pushed the door open and then dived into a messy,
fragrant room with a ceiling slightly higher than in the corridor
outside. Each surface was covered by several layers of fabric, or
numerous props. Reuben felt like he’d entered the Cave of a
Thousand Wonders that Pegasus helped Erik escape from in the
book.

His knees went weak
when he realized that just behind a white wicker screen, no one
other than Percy Preston was changing. The ginger wig rested on a
mannequin to the side of the massive mirror, and all Reuben could
see were graceful limbs occasionally surfacing over the top of the
screen.

Hans once again
remained outside, and Erik tugged a stunned Reuben deeper into the
dressing room. “Mister Preston, I brought your most persistent
admirer with me.”

Persistent?
Reuben moaned. He didn’t want to come off as a creep. Heat and cold
washed through his body and only now he registered what was really
happening. He would get to meet Percy Preston. If only his mates
back in London knew about this.

His mind went blank
when he saw a familiar figure emerging from behind the screen.
Dressed in just a pair of fitted pants, he smiled at Reuben and
played with his long blond hair. Percy Preston was a god of
beauty.

“Is that huge bouquet
of flowers I got from you?”

Reuben followed Percy
Preston’s gaze to the floral arrangement he’d chosen earlier.

He swallowed and
quickly nodded, humbled by the actor’s presence. As much as he
wanted to look at Erik for permission, he couldn’t take his eyes
off Percy, his makeup-free a face so angelic Reuben wanted to kneel
and suck him off then and there.

Percy Preston smiled
and reached out to squeeze Erik’s hand. “It’s good to see you, sir.
That’s a beautiful pet you have.”

Reuben whinnied for
attention and took a step closer. How could he possibly communicate
just how much he adored Percy? When the actor smiled back at him,
his heart melted over a thousand times.

“Oh, he really likes
me.” Percy neared Reuben and placed his fair hand on Reuben’s pec,
looking straight at his muzzle.

“Copper is a friendly
one,” Erik said, and Reuben felt him stroke his back. “Well trained
and strong.”

Reuben straightened
his back even more despite his plume hitting the ceiling.

“I loved your
performance, Mister Preston.” Erik smiled, hugging Reuben from the
side. “Most impressive writing, too.”

“Thank you. I wrote a
large portion of the story, but some parts were a collaboration. I
wouldn’t want to claim all the glory to myself. Most importantly,
the public loved it.” As he was talking, his blue gaze slid down to
Reuben’s erection.

“I knew you’d like my
stallion.” Erik withdrew slightly, and his hands ran up Reuben’s
back. “Enjoy your gift, then.”

Reuben looked around,
trying to find what Erik had given Percy, but his focus shifted
back to Erik when his master began unbuttoning his horse blanket.
Reuben looked back up into Percy’s blue eyes, clear and brilliant
as a summer sky in Hyde Park all those years ago. He felt himself
flushing when realization slowly crept up to his balls.
He
was the gift.

The mantle dropped to
the floor, pooling around his hooves and leaving him bare, almost
naked considering how tight the leather outfit was. Percy’s face
became the center of his universe.

“It’s a beautiful
gift.”

Reuben looked at Erik,
his breath ragged under the muzzle, and he wasn’t sure anymore how
he should be reacting. Should he recoil and pretend he didn’t want
it? But then again, he might offend Percy, and he’d never get to
see his cock. Reuben could bet it was gorgeous, with a lovely pink
head, maybe? Curved upwards so he could kiss it?

“Give us a turn,
Copper.” Erik patted his thigh, and Reuben instantly complied,
showing off his strong body. He tensed his back and buttocks in a
bid to impress. His body was so much stronger, bigger and better
nourished than four months ago.

Percy whistled and
reached out for the reins. Erik gave them to him with a small smile
before winking at Reuben.

“Will you be a good
pony?”

Reuben looked back at
him and whinnied. His body was on fire already, and Percy pulling
at his reins was even more arousing. He loved not having much of a
choice, belonging, pleasing, being a part of a bigger plan. He
dragged one of his hooves along the floor.

“Feisty one!” Percy
cupped Reuben’s groin. “Will he let me mount him?”

Reuben snorted and
thrust into the hand, but didn’t want to be as pliant as a pony. He
was a stallion after all and just happen to love being tamed. He
glanced into Percy’s eyes and pulled at the reins.

“You have to approach
him with confidence. So he knows who the master is.” Erik patted
Reuben’s bottom, and that one move drove the tail deeper into
Reuben’s body, making him open his eyes wider and whine. It seemed
Erik needed to remind him who was the god of sex, and his master
truly was just that. He could turn Reuben into a panting,
jelly-legged mess in no time. And Reuben adored him for it.

Percy gave Reuben a
bit of slack to move around and slowly walked up to him. His hand
slid down Reuben’s side, all the way to his knee. Even through the
leather, that touch made Reuben’s skin crawl and pressed a choked
moan out of him.

“He likes to be
petted, it calms him down,” Erik explained matter-of-factly, and
Reuben dived deeper into his ‘Copper’ personality.

“Where should I pet
him?”

Erik walked across the
room and sat in a chair, not bothering to put away several costumes
that lay on it. “You’ve got it right with the front, but he mostly
likes it on his ass.”

“Does he?” Percy slid
his hand to Reuben’s buttock, setting all the pony senses
aflame.

Erik knew all of
Reuben’s secret spots so well. Reuben loved having his ass petted
in all sorts of ways. Stroked, squeezed, patted, or even gently
spanked and slapped. The way Percy’s fingers roamed over the middle
of his buttocks, promising to slide in but not yet doing it... pure
bliss. Was he so obvious? How did Erik notice it was his favorite
way to be petted?

Percy was a little
taller than Erik, so Reuben put his chin on Percy’s shoulder,
trying to breathe steadily in the muzzle. Percy stroked the
underside of his ass, right beneath the tail. Every move of his
hand shifted the tail slightly and made Reuben moan in excitement.
He loved the feeling of being stretched inside, as if the phallus
were melting his inner walls and preparing him for Percy’s
prick.

“Can you show me your
nicest gait?” Percy purred, indulging in a firm squeeze to Reuben’s
ass.

Reuben gave a curt
nod, but couldn’t get himself to start.

It was as if Erik read
his mind. “You have to step away and stop petting him,” he
explained to Percy. “He’s a little greedy when it comes to
pleasure.”

Percy chuckled and
gave Reuben’s butt a gentle slap. “Off you go! I want to see a
proper stallion walk.”

Reuben whinnied and
started his best parade walk, his knees up high and stomping loudly
with his hooves. He wasn’t ‘greedy’, he just really needed the
attention. Reuben held up his chin so his hair and plume were
presented to their best advantage. He could only thank Erik for
making him wear the tail with the smallest phallus, so he wouldn’t
wiggle his hips too much.

“Bravo, Copper!” Erik
clapped, and Percy joined him. “Now, trot.”

It was fortunate that
Percy’s room was big enough for that. Reuben did have to go around
the screen though. He didn’t mind, as it allowed him to see some of
Percy’s personal items. Like his underwear. For a moment, Reuben
considered trying to take the undergarment, but then he remembered
the muzzle and gave up on the idea.

“Copper, what are you
doing there, silly pony?”

This was time for some
fun! He snorted and hunkered down, waiting to be discovered.

“Oh, Copper…” He heard
some footsteps. He knew Erik’s footfalls so well that he
immediately recognized them, but Percy’s sounded pleasant as well.
He was barefoot, and Reuben never even noticed that! He needed to
be careful not to step on Percy’s toes.

His face warmed even
more as the men approached.

“Copper! Where are
you, silly thing?” called Percy.

Reuben held his breath
and hid behind an armchair covered in clothes. His heart was
drumming in his chest.

“I can see your plume,
darling.” He heard Erik’s laugh. “I can’t believe how bad you are
at hiding.”

Reuben whined through
his bit and let his knees hit the floor, his calves and thighs too
strained from crouching in his hooves.

“Come on, Copper.”
Percy tsked a few times and patted his thigh with Erik’s riding
crop.

Reuben’s eyes stuck to
the instrument, and he slowly shifted out of his hiding place on
his knees. Erik winked at him, but there was a familiar movement
that caught Reuben’s attention. Percy unbuttoned his fly

“Com’ere, Copper, I
have something for you.”

Reuben swallowed. He
wanted to see it so badly! He looked up to Percy’s eyes and then
back to his fly.

“Let’s take that off,
Copper,” Erik said with a smile and petted the side of Reuben’s
head before unbuckling his muzzle. “I bet you’d love to taste
it.”

Percy pushed his
suspenders down and slowly pulled his cock out, making Reuben’s
saliva glands work at full speed. The cock wasn’t hard yet, but he
loved that the sleeve of foreskin wasn’t too loose, like on some
men. It was a good sized prick, and Reuben already longed to see it
harden. Percy’s balls were still shadowed by the fabric of the
pants, but he’d see them soon enough.