Disclaimer: No money being made.
Warning: M/M A lil’ old OW PWP.
Pairing: C/V
Notes: Follows Palomino, but can be read separately. I suspect I have another series going here, apparently a Horses of Color series. Another one for Judy.
Feedback: Always appreciated. The Muse is hungry.
The black stallion raised his sleek head, ears pricked suspiciously as he sniffed the wind. He was a beautiful animal, his Spanish ancestry evident in the clean lines of his body, his chiseled head and long, sweeping mane and tail. The local Crow Indians had named him Raven, and he had held his large band of mares for more than a dozen years now. The scent he had picked up made him uneasy, and he moved to herd his family farther up the valley.Vin Tanner grinned from his vantage point high in the tree line as he folded up his telescope. He had been watching this particular band of wild horses for weeks now, studying their movements. He had no intention of trying to capture the beautiful stallion. The horse was too old for his purposes, besides he loved to watch him run free. No, he wanted the two-year old colt that ran along the fringes of the band.
The sleek black colt was the spitting image of his sire, except for the snippet of white down his nose. He had his sire’s beautiful confirmation, plus he was a pacer. His action was as smooth as silk. He would make a hell of a saddle horse and Vin knew just the man who would appreciate him. Not to mention, look mighty fine riding him.
The colt was of the age where the stallion was about ready to run him out of the band. Vin had studied his habits for the past two weeks and had formulated a plan for capturing the young horse. The trick was getting close enough to get a rope on him. Not only would he make the perfect birthday gift for Chris, eventually he might make a good stud to put to their own small herd of mares, passing on his legendary father’s bloodline. The herd moved slowly out of sight up the narrow valley and Vin stood up and stretched.
Turning, he made his way down the slope of the ridge to the brushy gully where he had hidden his horse. Blue Boy lifted his head from the grass he was nibbling and snorted amiably at his master. The sturdy blue roan gelding was totally unflappable. His calm was one of the reasons Vin used him when hunting, or stalking mustangs. Peso would have been bored out of his skull and had a conniption fit by now.
“Hey, big Blue.”
Vin patted the inquisitive nose and gave the horse a slice of dried apple as a reward for his patience. He lifted his hat off the saddle horn and set it on his head before gathering the reins and swinging up into the saddle. He gave a click of his tongue and nudged Blue with his heels, turning to shadow the herd.
He wanted to nab the colt soon, as he was a mite anxious to get home. He had been gone for over three weeks. He grinned in anticipation. Larabee would be getting a mite cranky now without Vin around to take the edge off. Tanner was looking forward to his homecoming.
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Chris Larabee gave an irritated huff and tossed the currycomb to one side when he realized he had been combing Pony’s mane for almost a half hour now. His mind was definitely elsewhere. He raised his eyes and swept them over the ridgeline and down the valley, for the hundredth time, then lifted a hand and scrubbed it over his face, trying to rub the weariness away. Damn. No Vin yet. Well, the sharpshooter had said he might be gone for as long as three or four weeks on this jaunt.
Still, Chris missed him.
The silence was deeper and the night twice as dark with the tracker gone. Lately, Larabee had found himself snapping awake in the middle of the night, one outstretched hand seeking warm skin across the big bed and finding only cold blankets. He had lain awake last night for a long time after that, thinking about maybe getting up and pouring a shot of redeye, but whisky wasn’t what he wanted or needed. What he needed was his man home. He missed sleeping curled around that compact body, nose buried in Vin’s hair, mouth against warm skin…
Scowling to himself at his maudlin thoughts, he turned Pony out into the corral by the small barn and headed back to the cabin.
He and Vin had built the low, sturdy log cabin on solid bedrock with its back wall set firmly against a granite slope. Set almost into the mountain itself, it was nearly invisible from three sides. The homestead itself was tucked into the south end of a small valley. There was no road in. Supplies had to be horse packed in, or brought down the river.
The shallow river that ran through the valley fed lush green meadows. Thick stands of trees grew on the valley slopes, and the large flock of crows that populated them made the best sentinels that Chris had ever seen. It would never be a huge ranch, nor was it meant to be, but it was more than large enough for two determined, hard-working men and a small herd of horses.
Over the past few years, the LT ranch was gaining a reputation for producing quality saddle and stock horses. Larabee and Tanner traded fairly with both their white and red neighbors and had earned their reputation for unflinching honesty when trading and selling their stock. So far they had been safe in their mountain hideaway. No bounty hunters had ventured this far north and it didn’t hurt that their nearest neighbors had no qualms about scalping trespassers.
Vin had quickly made fast friends among the local bands of Indians that lived in these mountains. The Crow called him Little Hawk and had damned near adopted him. Larabee smiled to himself at the memory of their last visit to the tribe. Chief Standing Bear’s plump wives had a particular fondness for the blue-eyed tracker and stuffed the young man like a turkey at every opportunity, and his little daughters adored him.
Inside the cabin, Chris quickly diced venison and onions as well as potatoes and carrots into a pot which he hung over the fire. Carefully, he added measures of salt, pepper and sage. He had a notion for stew tonight and fry bread. He grinned wryly to himself. It was one of Tanner’s favorite meals. Maybe the scent would lure the wayward tracker home. He grabbed a towel, soap, mirror and razor and headed for the small spring fed creek that ran down the hill near the cabin.
He knelt by the creek and peeled off his shirt for a quick splash and rinse. After that he lathered his face and with the hand mirror balanced on a small boulder, quickly shaved. He bent over the creek and splashed his face in the icy cold water, wiping the remainder of the lather off. As he sat back on his heels, swiping his wet, blonde hair out of his eyes, a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye had one hand automatically groping for his gun. He never made it.
“Oomph!”
He glared up into twinkling blue eyes.
Tanner sat astride him, looking highly pleased with himself as he smirked down at his prey.
“Howdy!”
Larabee tried to bite back a grin, then gave up, white teeth flashing at the smug look on his partner’s face.
“Howdy yourself. Where the hell have you been?”
“Here and yonder. You’re slowin’ down ol’ man. If I was a Pawnee, I’d a had me a purty blond scalp now.”
Quick as a snake, Larabee fisted his hands into Tanner’s coat, yanked and rolled. Tanner gave a surprised yelp as the two suddenly found themselves tumbling and rolling, limbs entangled, down the steep hillside, gaining momentum as they went. They landed with a crash in a tangle of bushes, scattering a startled covey of grouse, the wind nearly knocked out of them, still clutching each other. Vin gave a breathless snicker from underneath Chris.
“Hell, that was fun. Let’s do it again!” he grinned up into Larabee’s flushed face.
Chris gave him a slow leer in exchange. “Maybe later,” he murmured, and bent his head to capture that sweet, sassy mouth in a hungry kiss.
Vin moaned and wound his arms tightly around his neck as he returned the kiss with interest. His strong hands tightened on Larabee’s broad, bare shoulders, kneading and stroking the creamy skin. Larabee gave a hungry, throaty growl and nuzzled under Vin’s chin, nipping and suckling the soft flesh of his throat. Vin gasped and gave a soft wordless cry of pure need that had his partner abruptly tearing his shirt apart to reach warm, bare skin. Tanner fumbled for Larabee’s belt buckle in return and the race was on.
Tethered nearby, a patient Blue Boy and the snorting, wide-eyed black colt watched with interest as the clump of bushes, branches crackling and twigs snapping, swished, shook violently and began to disgorge various items of clothing all while emitting an amazing variety of throaty moans, deep bass grunts and wordless cries of pleasure. Two voices rose together in breathless unison, then the leaves on the branches shimmied and all movement and sound abruptly ceased except for a soft panting.
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“Damn.” Vin said softly. “Reckon you missed me.”
He dragged a palm down Chris’ bare back, and nuzzled a kiss into the sweaty blond hair under his chin. Larabee was sprawled on top of him, keeping him securely pinned in the flattened grass. Absentmindedly, he began plucking leaves and twigs out of the gunslinger’s hair.
“Reckon I did,” Larabee murmured back contentedly, as he lazily lapped the salty sweat from Vin’s throat, and then moved down to nip sleepily at an amazingly tiny nipple. He rimmed the aureole delicately then began to suck gently. Vin moaned softly and bucked beneath him. He slid a hand down and began to fondle and pull Tanner’s soft, wet cock. Vin’s breath hitched and he gave a soft, hoarse cry at the dual sensations. Before things got too interesting again, he shoved weakly at his lover’s shoulders.
“Wait, Chris…ahh!”
“Hmmm?” Larabee stopped and released his prize reluctantly.
“Got something… for ya!”
“Thanks, pard,” he purred, and dove back down and fastened onto the hapless nipple again, and gave the swelling member he held an encouraging squeeze.
Vin gave a helpless squeak and tugged weakly at the blond head, trying to pry that hot, wet mouth off his tingling chest.
“Not that!” He squawked breathlessly. “Got something else…for…for yer birthday.”
Intrigued, Larabee lifted his head to smile down into the hot face. His expression softened at the sight of Vin’s arousal, the flushed rosy skin, the sensitive lips swollen from his kisses. He had never seen anything so fine in his life. Unable to resist, he bent his head and kissed his man tenderly, deeply. When he finally lifted his head, both men were aroused again, erections hot and hard on their bellies. He kept Vin firmly in hand, stroking and pulling gently, eyes on that beautiful, flushed face. Tanner’s eyes were glazed and he had stopped trying to push Chris off, instead clutched helplessly at his shoulders, as he panted softly. Larabee grinned wickedly.
“I think I’ll have this first.” He growled down at his dazed young lover, the rhythm of his strokes increased. “I think I’ll have you first.”
He bent and kissed that lush mouth again, even as he expertly brought Tanner to a second climax, swallowing his sharp cry of ecstasy as his hips jerked and he spurted into his palm. Quickly he coated his own erection with the slippery handful, and then slipped wet fingers under Vin’s heavy, silken sac to roughly finger him open. When Vin whimpered and lifted his legs high, he moved quickly between the strong thighs, slid hands down to cup and lift his ass and mounted him, thrusting deep into the lithe hot body.
Tanner bucked beneath him, strong legs wrapped around his back, heels digging into his bare ass, as he knelt up and rode his lover hard, grunting with pleasure as he pounded out the weeks of unwanted celibacy into the pliant body beneath him. It was over in minutes, climax ripping through his loins as his hips slammed hard into Vin, his seed shooting hot and deep inside. He threw his head back with a snarl of pure pleasure, teeth gritted against a wordless yell, then collapsed bonelessly over his man, his body sliding free from Vin’s.
They lay together, both breathing hard. Larabee’s head on Tanner’s chest. Weakly, Vin lifted a hand to stroke the sweaty blond hair, cup the nape of his neck. He peered blearily up through branches at the clear blue sky, and licked tender, raw lips.
“Damn.” His voice was soft, reverent.
Larabee smiled against flushed, warm skin and rubbed his cheek sleepily along the hard curve of Vin’s pectoral. He stroked a hand lazily down the hard muscle of Vin’s thigh. The steady, familiar beat of the man’s heart was lulling him to sleep more surely than any lullaby. He flicked out a tongue to taste the bead of salty sweat on a rosy nipple and smiled at Vin’s soft gasp. He was very comfortable, here in their half-hidden nest of crushed branches and flattened grass with Vin as his pillow. His eyelids drooped. Tanner gently continued stroking his hair, cradling him while he dozed, watching his back.
“Nap?” Blearily.
“Nap.” Tanner’s reply was soft. Calloused hands gently stroked him closer to sleep.
The curious horses snorted at the soft purring snore that issued from the shrubbery.
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Sometime later at the corral, Vin untacked Blue Boy and watched surreptitiously over his back as Larabee looked the black colt over. The sleek colt was alert and intelligent. It had taken only a few days to train him to a halter and lead, after his capture. The rest he would now leave up to his new master. The young horse snorted and sidled nervously at the end of the rope Larabee held, but curiosity won at the end and he stood long enough to sniff Larabee’s extended hand and allow him to gently stroke down his neck.
Chris’ voice was soft as spoke to the nervous animal, soothing him with a gentle wordless croon.
Tanner hid a smile, ducking his head at that seductive tone. Larabee didn’t break his horses, he seduced them with voice and touch until they wanted to please their master. He was a master horseman, using voice and touch where others used a whip and spurs. Sometimes Vin felt privileged to watch him work, catching a glimpse of the patient, loving man he had been before the loss of his young family.
Still he watched a tad nervously, although he was fairly sure that Chris liked his gift.
He was rewarded when Larabee turned the colt out in the small, reinforced corral nearest the barn, the one where they worked the horses, and left the young animal a bucket of water and an armload of hay. Tanner grinned at the anxious whicker the colt gave when Larabee walked away. The animal was already bonding with his new owner. He turned Blue out in the larger corral and watched as the sturdy roan trotted over to greet Pony and the mares, stoically ignoring Peso’s sly, jealous nip.
The big blaze-faced black stuck his head over the rails and snorted a loud, moist raspberry directly into his master’s face, then deliberately wiped a mouthful of grass-green horse slobber on his sleeve. Vin snorted back at him and scratched him roughly between the ears.
“Yeah, I missed you too, ya old gluepot.”
“He wasn’t the only one who missed you, pard.”
A warm arm slid across his shoulders and he turned into Chris’ arm, blushing when the blond dropped a kiss on his cheek. Larabee grinned at the familiar flush and pressed his lips to Vin’s brow, one hand behind his nape, keeping him close.
“Thanks Cowboy. This is the finest present I ever had,” he whispered against Tanner’s skin.
He pressed several small kisses against the hot face, grinning wider when Vin dropped his head and that shy, crooked grin blossomed. Behind them Peso gave a jealous whicker and snaked out his head and snapped big, wicked teeth at the gunslinger’s black sleeve. Larabee growled and smacked the big nose in retaliation. Man and horse glared at each other.
Vin chuckled. “You two go ahead and get in a pissin’ contest, I reckon I smell stew for supper.”
Rubbing his hands in anticipation, the tracker started to amble up to the cabin, he threw a glance over his shoulder.
“Did ya make fry bread too, Cowboy? I reckon I could eat a horse.”
Larabee gave the black gelding one last glare, then strode after his partner, throwing an arm over his shoulders as they walked hip to hip up the path towards home.
“I know just the horse!” he growled as Peso nickered derisively behind them.
As he anticipated, Vin bristled at the insult to his ornery nag and they bickered happily all the way up to the cabin. He gave his partner a one armed squeeze and shoved him cheerfully through the door. This was definitely the best-damned birthday he had ever had, and besides, he had plans for unwrapping another present tonight in their big bed.
Fini
11/26/04