Eric & Sookie Cowboy Up! - One Shot Contest

All Human - Cowboy Theme

Title: A Horse Is A Horse

Author: sheba6086

Beta: the lovely and talented S Meadows

Characters: Eric, Sookie, Pam, Jason, Adele

Disclaimer: I stumbled upon Charlaine Harris' sandbox, where I found these characters. I changed their clothes and built them a sandcastle, but they do not belong to me.

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Wanted: Experienced Horse Handler

Able in all areas of horse training and

care and willing to live on site. Must

work well with children.

Contact Adele Stackhouse, 555-2525

Fantasy Farm

'Perfect!' Eric thought. A job and a place to stay all rolled into one and he needed both. He wasn't sure about the children thing, but hell, if he could work with animals, how hard could it be to work with kids? If nothing else, it would be a welcome break from hitchhiking aimlessly around the country.

He picked up the phone the barmaid had left on the end of the bar for him and dialed the number in the ad.

"Damn, Sookie. I sure wish your Gran wasn't stuck in the Stone Age. I hate that she won't even let us drive up the driveway to the house," Pam said in the usual exasperated tone she used when complaining about the inconveniences in her life. "It's not like I want to go do donuts in the pasture or anything! I'd sure visit a lot more often if I didn't have to walk all the way up to the house."

Sookie just laughed and got out of the car. "Most people say it's the walk back to their car that get's them."

"Well, I'm not making either trip today. I've walked enough already," Pam pouted.

"You'd make the trip to the house quick enough if Jason's truck was out here," Sookie teased.

"If Jason's truck was out here, I could count on getting a ride back to my car."

"Uh, huh," Sookie snorted. "That's not the only ride you could count on."

"Well that would have been fun too," Pam giggled. "I'll give you a call tomorrow. Maybe we can go see what kinda trouble we can get into out at the lake."

"Okay. See ya tomorrow, Pam." Sookie waved as Pam sped away, then she turned to make the long half mile walk to the sprawling, old house. She looked up at the huge arch over the gate. Fantasy Farm it read, in huge red scripted letters. It looked like the gateway to a bordello, she thought for the millionth time, as she shoved the wide gate open.

Fantasy Farm was a pretty place, despite the garish gate arch. And Gran was every bit as proud of it today as she was the day it first opened for business, ten years before Sookie was born. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the farm opened up to tourists and groups from schools, daycares, hospitals and other mostly children's groups. They came to watch real live cowboys go about their real live cowboy business and listen to real live cowboys tell them real live cowboy stories. Sookie hated to be that way about it, but she found the whole business end of the farm terribly tedious most days.

About halfway to the house, Sookie noticed a man leaning against the inside of the front pasture fence. He was very tall, blond and tan. Most notably, his shirt was carelessly slung over the fence, leaving him shirtless and providing the best view she'd seen on the farm in quite some time. He was very handsome in a common sort of way, she told herself, standing there tapping his hat on his thigh for no apparent reason. Like he was keeping time to music only he could hear.

As she neared him, she looked a little closer, but didn't see any iPod earbud wires. Only a practically perfect set of well defined abs and a chest broad enough to lay out a picnic on. If you liked that sort of thing. It struck her as odd he hadn't even looked over at her. It wasn't as if she was creeping up on him or even putting any particular effort into being quiet. She didn't expect him to run over and introduce himself on bended knee, but to completely ignore her was just plain rude.

Rude or not, she wondered if her brother Jason knew he had stud-muffin competition casually standing around in his own pasture. Served him right, she thought. He'd been cock-of-the-walk- around here long enough. High time someone knocked him off the pedestal he'd put himself on.

The stranger suddenly stopped whatever it was he was doing. He touched the tip of his straw cowboy hat and said, "Afternoon, ma'am," as she passed.

She gave him what she believed to be a disinterested, partial nod and kept walking. She heard him laugh, but refused to give him the satisfaction of turning around to take notice of him. She didn't want to encourage him.

Sookie went straight into the back door when she reached the house, By the time she hugged Gran in the kitchen and sat down at the table, she was completely out of breath.

"What's wrong, Sookie?" Gran asked her. "You alright?"

"I'm fine, Gran." Sookie assured her. "It was just a little hotter than usual this afternoon and Pam and I had already done a lot of walking today."

"Oh, why didn't Pam come up to the house with you today? I'm expecting Jason any time now and I hired a new hand today who I'm sure she'd like to meet."

"A new hand?" Sookie asked nonchalantly. "I didn't realize you had an opening. Did somebody quit?"

"Yes. I need someone to get Specter to take a saddle. It's about time he pulled his weight around here, doing something other than letting people take his picture.", Gran said. "You want some freshly made lemonade, Sookie?"

"Sure, Gran, thanks," Sookie answered, wondering if Mr. Half Naked, 'afternoon ma'am,' was hired to pose with Specter, since that's what he appeared to be doing when she saw him. Well, he was posing anyway. She hadn't noticed if Specter had been in the pasture or not.

"Here ya go, honey," Gran said as she sat a glass of lemonade in front of Sookie. "He started this morning. He's out in the front pasture with Specter. Didn't you see him when you came up the drive?"

"No," Sookie lied. "I didn't notice anyone. Maybe I'll see him tomorrow." She took a sip of the lemonade.

There was a loud knock at the back screen. Sookie turned, and to her horror, there he was with his T-shirt over his shoulder. She nearly choked on her lemonade, but she swallowed hard and managed not to spit it back in the glass.

He grinned like a cat that'd just caught a canary as he forced his shirt over his biceps and chest.

"Sookie, why didn't you get the door?" Gran scolded before she called out toward the door. "You come on in here, Eric. Come on."

After getting his shirt on and wiping his feet on the large mat, Eric took off his hat and let himself in. "Thank you, Mrs. Stackhouse. I just wanted to come let you know that Specter is a fine animal." He turned to look at Sookie, who diverted her embarrassed gaze from him, but from the corner of her eye she could see him taking a long, leisurely account of her. And he didn't even have the decency to pretend to be discreet. What a pig!

"A very fine animal," he added before returning his gaze to Gran. "I think he'll do just fine. I got exactly the response I was lookin' for today."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. And please, call me Adele," Gran looked to Sookie. "And this is my granddaughter Sookie. I guess you were on the other side of the pasture when Sookie came by a little while ago."

"Yes ma'am. I'm sure I would've noticed a woman who looked like Sookie here if she'd come anywhere near me." He winked at Sookie and she felt herself go pink.

"Sookie, this is Eric Northman, our new hand," Gran announced.

"Hello," Sookie squeaked.

"Pleased to meet you, Sookie. I look forward to not missing you walk up the drive next time," Eric said with his hat held over his heart, a flirtatious nod of his head and that drop dead sexy grin.

"I'm uh, I'm sure we'll see each other again," she sputtered and nearly knocked her chair over as she stood. "Gran, I have some things I need to tend to upstairs. I'll be down after while." And with that, Sookie almost ran from the room.

Eric took the seat Sookie vacated. He sat his hat in his lap and stretched his long legs out in front of him.

Adele brought him a glass of lemonade and asked how long he expected it to take Specter to take a saddle.

"If someone he recognized did it in his stall, I imagine you could get him saddled right now. But he wouldn't take a rider. I expect he'll let me ride him within only a few days. Shouldn't be too long after that for him to tolerate any competent rider. I don't think I'd let kids on him any time soon, maybe never. He's real high spirited."

"He is that," Adele agreed with a chuckle. She looked wistfully toward the stairs in the next room. "A lot of spirits run high around here."

"Sounds like this is the place to be then," Eric said. "Never break 'em. Just show 'em how to be comfortable in their life. They'll warm up. Some horses take a little longer than others, that's all."

Adele smiled at him. "Yes, the horses. We all work hard to make them happy."

Pam was excited to see Jason's truck when she and Sookie pulled up to the driveway gate. "I think I can count on today not being a total loss," she said, twisting the rearview mirror so she could check her make up. Sookie grabbed the big beach bag holding their towels and clothes, while Pam touched up her blood red lipstick in the mirror. "It was genius of you to insist that we not change before we left the lake," Pam said as she adjusted her boobs in her bikini top so as much as possible of her was spilling over without all of her actually spilling out.

"He's seen them before, Pam. You're not showcasing any new goods there," Sookie laughed.

Pam gave her a smirk and a sideways glance. "You've seen chocolate chip cookies before too, but the baker doesn't just chunk 'em in the case," she said with a wink.

Sookie smiled and shook her head. There was no getting around Pam. All roads led to sex. And for some reason, Pam's roads always seemed to lead to better sex than Sookie's did. Which was terribly unfair since they both knew all the same people.

Sookie picked up her cell phone and called Jason. A few seconds later, she reported to Pam. "He's in the barn. He'll come pick us up in the meadowbrook. It'll just take him a few minutes to hitch one of the horses to it."

"Oh, good!" Pam squealed. "If he's bringing a two seater, he'll have to let us ride and he'll walk it back. I do love to watch your brother strut."

"Whatever rocks your boat, Pam." Sookie rolled her eyes and added, "Let's walk up to meet him. I'd rather not stand here and pose for the passer-bys."

"Fine, but I'm not walking very far or very fast. I don't want these puppies falling out of place," Pam said with a jiggle.

"Oh no! We couldn't have that!" They both laughed and headed through the big red gate.

They had only gotten about fifty yards when Pam slowed even more than their already excruciatingly slow pace. "Hold. The. Phone," she said, dropping her sunglasses to the tip of her nose and squinting in the afternoon sun. "Who is that tall drink of water?" she asked. "Sookie, you've been holding out on me."

Pam's guy-dar was flawless. She could spot a new man in a crowd of a hundred at a hundred paces. It was an amazing, if not marketable, skill.

Pam straightened up, looked down and gave a jiggle just to make sure everything was still displayed properly, before she pushed her sunglasses back up and walked directly to Eric. Sookie had no choice but to follow; leaving the lake dressed only in bikinis didn't seem quite so genius any more.

At least he's got a shirt on, Sookie thought; otherwise she'd need a spatula to pry Pam off him. He looked like a Marlboro ad, standing there with a horse, not Specter, eating something out of his hand. He looked up and offered them a dazzling smile as they approached.

When they reached him, he nodded and touched his hat. "Afternoon, Sookie," he said. Then after spending an absolutely vulgar amount of time checking out the 'chocolate chip cookies' displayed before him, he nodded at Pam. "Ma'am"

Pam was smiling too much and giving him her best 'come fuck me' stare. Sookie felt like she'd accidentally walked into a peep show. After all, where else would you encounter a woman in a bikini talking to a cowboy?

"Who's your friend, Sookie?" Pam asked.

"He's not my friend. He's the help," Sookie stated rudely. "Pam, Eric. Eric, Pam. What are you doing out here with Petals? I thought you were supposed to be training Specter?"

"Pleased to meet you, Pam," he said then turned to Sookie. "Yes, ma'am, Miss Stackhouse. I'm working with Specter even as we speak. He's coming right along." He nodded his head to the side.

Sookie followed his nod and saw Specter standing twenty or so yards away, looking in their direction.

"Clearly you and I define 'coming along' differently," Sookie snapped.

The atmosphere was definitely taking an unpleasant turn away from flirting, Pam thought. So she moved to salvage the situation. "So what have you got in your hand there, Eric?" Pam asked sweetly. She could clearly see it was oats.

"Here," he said.

Sookie watched as he took Pam's hand and poured the oats from his hand into hers. This was too idiotic for words, Sookie thought. He had to know that she knew what he had in his hand. He pulled Pam right up against the fence and held her hand out to Petals. Specter and Sookie looked on, but neither approached to participate in the little comedy playing out before them.

Pam simpered and played coy with Eric, acting as if she hadn't been feeding horses since she was two years old. And Eric repaid her by showering her with his undivided attention. Just as Sookie felt her head would explode, she heard Hickory trotting along the drive pulling the meadowbrook buggy.

"I see your ride is here," Eric said to Pam as he dusted the last few grains of oats from her hand. "It was a pleasure meetin' you, Pam. Always pleased to meet a friend of Sookie's. I mean, Miss Stackhouse's."

"Hey, Pam!" Jason yelled as he jumped down from the meadowbrook. "You look good enough to eat, girl."

Pam cast one last glance back at Eric as she walked to Jason and turned all her charms to him. "Do I now? If you're a very good boy maybe that can be arranged" she teased.

Eric nodded to them and turned his attention back to Petals, reaching into his pocket for a fresh handful of oats.

"You comin', Sook?" Jason called from the meadowbrook as he helped Pam to her seat.

No, Sookie thought bitterly. As a matter of fact, I'm not. Though clearly the two of you will be before the night's over. Maybe even before dinner's over. "Yeah" she said miserably and tromped over to the buggy. Jason helped her up. He tugged on Hickory's bridle and they began the ride to the house.

After a few steps, Sookie couldn't resist the urge to steal a glance back at Eric. What was intended as a glance became a full on stare. Petals had been pushed aside and Specter was in her place, placidly eating from Eric's hand.

Over the course of the next several days, Sookie found herself increasingly looking for Eric, but she didn't see him. Every time she passed a window, she was compelled to look out. At first she told herself she was looking at the clouds to check the weather conditions or on the lookout for the mail or visitors. Every time the tiny voice in the back of her head asked where Eric was; she got angry at herself. She was too old for a schoolgirl crush. But she didn't stop looking out the windows and into the pasture every time she went from the house to the gate or back.

After four days, she gathered the nerve to ask about him. Gran assured her that Eric had not quit or been fired. In fact, Gran said she had spoken to him only that morning and he had reported to her that Specter was taking to being ridden really well and that he'd be trying out different riders in a day or two.

Sookie had tried to appear disinterested in this information, but she wasn't sure how successful she'd been. As Sookie was heading out the back door, Gran made a special point of saying that Jason was getting ready to drive her into town and that she'd likely be gone at least until dark.

Sookie headed straight to the barn. She told herself she was going for a long overdue visit with the horses. Eric wasn't there.

She forlornly shook a handful of sugar cubes from a box on a shelf near the door. She made her way around to the occupied stalls, passing out sugar treats and softly spoken words to the horses.

She came to Specter's stall last. She stepped into his stall and ran a hand along his strong neck. "You're the one he's here for; I bet you know where he is." She held out her palm with the remaining three sugar cubes. Specter quickly took them and sniffed her hand for more. "Sorry, no more. I guess neither of us gets what we want today."

Sookie looked over at Specter's saddle, sitting on the low wall between his stall and the next. She slowly walked toward it, almost as if she were hypnotized and being drawn towards it. "Gran said you were taking riders now. How about you take me for a ride?"

Sookie saddled Specter up, careful to follow all the steps she'd been taught since childhood, double checking each latch as she went. Specter didn't object at all. So far, so good, he thought.

When she pulled his bridle over his head, he snorted, but it was nothing major. She gathered the reins and grabbed the saddle horn. She put her foot securely in the stirrup and pulled herself into the saddle in one quick movement. She unhitched the lever for the door opener, the stall door swung open and with only a small movement of the reins, Specter walked out of his stall, then out of the barn.

"High-spirited," Eric whispered from his position in the loft as he watched them walk away. Less than fifteen minutes later, Specter came wandering back, alone.

Eric clicked his cheek and Specter casually walked over to him. Eric picked up the reins, patted Specter's cheek and said, "What'd ya do with her, boy?" Eric stared at the horse for several seconds, almost as if he expected Specter to answer him, then he mounted up and said, "Well, let's go see if there's any irreparable damage."

It didn't take long to find her. She was bent over, next to a tree, slapping at the dirt all over her jeans.

Sookie was furious. How dare Specter throw her? And to throw her into a hedge; her new blouse was now ruined! It was just too ridiculous, she thought as she tried to brush more dirt off her butt. As she twisted back to the front and started brushing at her knees, she heard Specter plodding over to her.

"Lucky for you, you came back," Sookie barked, without looking up. "Now, just stay your ass right here and don't move!"

"Yes, ma'am," Eric responded.

"Wha-!" Sookie screamed, her eyes wide with surprise. She yanked her head up and saw Eric perched there, grinning ear to ear. "What are you doing here?" she demanded nervously.

Eric took long, leisurely inventory of Sookie and when he was satisfied she had likely suffered no major damage, he answered, "Specter here was headed back to the barn on his own and I got just a might curious about where he'd been, all saddled up. Figured he hadn't been there alone. Thought I might find me a gen-u-ine damsel in distress."

There was that killer grin again. Why must he do that, she wondered? Wasn't it bad enough she went weak at the sight of him, without him throwing that into the mix as well?

"Well, sorry to disappoint, but you'll have to go damsel hunting elsewhere. Get off my horse," she ordered while gathering what little dignity she had remaining, standing up straight and meeting his gaze. It occurred to her too late that that might have been a bad idea. Her imperious glare, which had sent half the men in Renard Parrish cowering away from her seemed to only broaden Eric's grin.

He raised his right leg over Specter's head and easily slipped to the ground in one graceful movement. A man who could move like that could prob-

"Off your horse, as ordered, Miss Stackhouse," he said with a slight nod.

He was impossible. She was getting out of here right now. She stalked over to Specter and snatched the reins from Eric's hand. "Does that boorish swagger usually work for you?"

"As a rule," he chuckled.

"Well, rules change." she spat at him.

This seemed to amuse him even more. He offered her a hand up and she dodged his hand at precisely the time she stepped into the stirrup. She lost her balance and tumbled backward, right into his arms.

"Looks like those changes haven't taken effect just yet," he said, looking down at her.

"Let go of me!" she growled.

All at once, he let go, swung his arms out wide to each side and took a step back. "You got it," he said calmly. Sookie crashed to her ass on the ground.

"OWWW!" she screamed. "What the hell!" Her hand went to her butt. She looked down and when he saw her eyes again, they were filled with tears. "You dropped me," she stuttered between sobs. She tried once to get up, but it hurt, so she stayed on the ground.

"You told me too, remember?"

"I didn't mean drop me on the ground," she wailed.

"Come on now. You said let go. I let go." He got down on one knee and put one arm under her legs and the other behind her back. She tried to evade him, but it made her hip hurt and she let out a pained groan.

"Be still or you'll make me drop you again," he warned, as he effortlessly stood up with her in his arms. "You're about to cross the line between 'ain't she cute- stubborn' and 'ain't she a pain in the ass, leave her where she sits- stubborn.'"

Indignant outrage covered Sookie's face. She drew in a deep breath to launch into him, but her words hung in her throat. She could only stare as that stunning smile slowly crept back across his face.

"Clever girl," he approved. He made that clicking sound in his cheek and Specter ambled up beside them. Eric gathered the reins in the hand under Sookie's knees and the three of them headed back to the house. Specter never gave a moments trouble. He walked along beside them with no objections at all.

When they were close enough to see the barn, Sookie finally broke her silence. "Why does he behave so well for you, but he threw me?"

"I guess you could say, I've always had a certain way with wild things," he answered with a chuckle.

"I'm surprised they don't bite you."

"Oh, I've been bit plenty. I could show you the scars."

"I bet you could," she snapped.

"I've found it's usually better to let things get their curiosity satisfied. Keeps 'em from sniffing around when you're not lookin'."

"Don't flatter yourself, Mr. Northman," Sookie said coolly. "I have no curiosity about you and you won't find me sniffing around."

"You'd know more about that than me, Miss Stackhouse. I thought we were talkin about horses," he said with a broad smile. He sat her on a stack of hay bales and headed toward the barn with Specter.

"Let me get his saddle off and I'll be right back to get you to the house," he called back over his shoulder.

Sookie watched him walk to the barn with Specter. Damn, but he knew how to wear a pair of Wranglers. She felt herself flush and she looked up toward the sun. She expected to find it beating down on her and burning her eyes. It was well hidden behind the clouds. When did it become overcast? She hadn't even noticed. She decided she could make it to the house on her own.

She slipped down, off the hay, watching the ground closely so she didn't lose her footing again. No sooner had her foot hit solid earth than she was being lifted off it again.

When she looked up, she was surprised to find herself face-to-face with Eric; he was holding her tight against his chest.

"Can't risk you hurtin' yourself again," he whispered, looking her straight in the eye. She could feel herself wilting against the force of his gaze. Even before his lips touched hers.

Lightly at first, almost as if he were merely breathing on her, they were so soft. Then quick, tiny kisses beginning in the center of her bottom lip and following along to the corner of her mouth. She stayed frozen in place, held by her quickening pulse and shallow breathing. His tongue slowly traced the upper ridge of her mouth and came to a stop in the middle, where he lingered to lick and lightly suck on her lip.

She gave in. Her mouth opened to receive him and her arms ringed around his neck as her fingers wound into his hair. His tongue eagerly tasted and explored her mouth as his lips caressed hers. He pushed away from the hay and put an arm under her butt, to support her weight as he carried her toward the house.

As they moved, his mouth left hers and drifted from her chin to the front of her neck, so he could see where he was going. Sookie held his shoulders and flexed her head back as a low moan slipped from her.

He entered the house through the kitchen door, but he didn't know the house. "Which way?" he asked urgently.

"Through the kitchen… up the stairs… first door on the right," she whispered between heavy breaths. He took the steps two at a time, entered her door and kicked it shut behind him. His mouth never left her neck.

When he reached the bed, she kicked her shoes off and his hand slipped up the back of her blouse.

"Front," she breathed. "It's in front."

That temporarily dazed him. What was it about a front clasping bra that made guys suddenly forget how to operate their hands?

"Here," she said and pulled off her blouse. "Watch and learn." She pinched the hook and eye between her middle finger and thumb, worked it into position and gave it a little push with her thumb. The bra fell away from her chest, and she easily slid out of it.

"I might need to get you to demonstrate that again late," he said before trying to swallow her left breast.

Sookie sucked in a deep breath through her teeth. She dug her nails into his shoulders as her back arched and her legs fell from his waist.

"Works like a charm," he said with a smirk. He laid her crossways on the bed, pulled his shirt off and dropped it on the floor.

Sookie grinned back at him and reached for his waistband.

"Ah, ah," he scolded and hopped backward. He scanned her quickly, laying her back on her elbows on the bed. He grabbed a pillow and put it beside her, on the edge of the bed. "Ladies first," he smirked as he hooked both her knees with his left arm and had the button and zipper of her jeans open with his right in a flash.

The surprise caused her to scream out and kick at him, which only served to help him as he pulled her jeans off.

"Much obliged, ma'am," he said with a chuckle. He quickly took her panties from the back and slid them off. They joined the growing pile of clothes on the floor. "Now let's see how you take to a saddle."

He put the pillow in front of him, picked her legs up, pulled her toward him and put her butt down on the pillow.

"What the hell?" she complained and started to pull back.

"Not hell, darlin'," he said in the silky tone that only a very confident man can manage. "Nothin' but Grade A heaven comin' your way."

Sookie almost died laughing at how corny he sounded as he dropped to his knees. He looked up at her from between her legs, with a huge grin on his face. "Hold my hands," he said. His arms went under her legs, so when he put his hands out on the bed for her to hold, they were raised a bit.

"Isn't a little late in the game for hand holding?" she laughed.

"I'm an old fashioned guy," he said with a wink. She leaned forward and put her hands in his. His face vanished; he squeezed her hands as his lips encircled her clit and he sucked hard. She gasped and her back arched. She had a death grip on his hands. His mouth released her just long enough to say, "And I like my hair."

Having gotten her attention and established who was running the show, his tongue joined his lips in further exploring her depths. He moved his hands, still holding hers, onto her stomach and began rhythmically rubbing the backs of his hands up and down her abs. Her labored breathing fell with that movement.

He left no bit of flesh neglected, as his soft licks and kisses made their way again and again to her most increasingly swollen and delicate surface. Each contact eliciting more urgent movement from her body as her breathing became an intensifying series of impassioned moans.

When she broke rhythm with his stroking her stomach, he guided one of her hands, then the other, to handfuls of bedding. When his hands were free, he undid his belt and jeans and pushed them down to his knees. He then began lightly caressing her inner thighs.

When next he kissed her clit, he didn't leave it. He sucked hungrily as his tongue focused on driving wave after wave of delirious euphoria through her. Her moans became screams as parts of her seemed to try and break away from him, even as the irregular thrusting of her hips begged him for more.

After one final lapping lick and a long goodbye suck, he stood up. His pants fell around his boots, and he quickly pulled them off and kicked them aside.

Sookie was still quivering when he moved her ankles to his shoulders and slowly trailed his hands down until they rested on her thighs "Ready?" he asked between heaving breaths.

Her brain said no, but her mouth didn't respond. She reached over, grabbed another pillow and dragged it under her head. Another shudder rumbled up her spine. Her brain screamed wait, but she whispered, "Yes."

She felt him position himself to enter her and she mentally braced for a thrust, but it didn't come. At first, he teased her when only the head of his cock penetrated, then withdrew. But the next, deeper entry took her breath away.

"You alright?" he asked. His every muscle was tensed by his effort to keep from hurting her. The tight grip he now had near her knees would leave bruises, but she didn't care.

"I'm okay," she managed, staring into the blue flames burning in his eyes. He rocked further. She sucked in as much air as she could and reached for him. "More," she moaned. He was glorious, and she was determined to have every inch of him.

He pushed her up on the bed and crawled forward to join her, readjusting the pillow under her ass. He leaned down and kissed her neck, tasting the thin layer of salty sweat which covered her. He reached down and rubbed the head of his cock against her slick, swollen clit, and the length of his cock brushed against it as he pushed fully into her.

The pain she felt as she stretched to accommodate him was wrapped in an all encompassing pleasure unlike anything she'd ever experienced. As he partially withdrew, she gathered her strength and forced her hips toward him; he plunged inside her again and again. The world disappeared. All that existed was this bed, their bodies, his cock and how it made her feel.

She tried desperately to wait for him, but she lost herself to another orgasm just as he was picking up the pace toward his own. It seemed to take him forever. Her body trembled and convulsed more violently with every stroke. All she could do was scream and hold on. When he finally came, he was driving so hard and deep into her she felt as if she was coming apart at the seams.

He collapsed on top of her, unable to move, and she might have suffocated under his weight had they not both been so drenched in sweat that he pretty much slid off of her.

Every ounce of energy either of them had remaining was being spent trying to breathe. Eric recovered first. He rolled up onto his elbow and faced Sookie. He put his hand on her stomach and watched it rise and fall with her breathing.

"That was incredible," he said softly.

"Yeah," was all she could manage at that moment.

When Jason and Gran got home, Eric and Sookie were in the kitchen rummaging through the fridge for something to eat. Eric went to go help Jason carry in bags and boxes. When everything was inside, Gran asked Eric for an update on Specter's progress.

"I was just talking to Sookie about that," he said. "I believe he's ready for other riders. I was thinking' I'd put Sookie on him tomorrow and guide him around a bit myself before letting her run him."

"Do you think that's wise, Eric?" Gran asked. "You've only been riding him for a couple of days. I don't want Sookie getting hurt."

"No ma'am," he replied. "Nobody wants that, but I think she'll be alright. We'll have Specter come to her first."

"What do you mean, 'come to her?'" Jason asked.

"It's the method I use for training horses. You start out by getting' into their space and doing something distracting until they're curious and they come to you.

"Next you step away until they follow. If they're not ready to follow just yet, you show some attention to another horse. Make 'em a little jealous 'til they decide to come back. Basically you let them chase you 'til you catch them." From the corner of his eye, Eric could see Sookie glaring a hole into the side of his head.

"Then talk firm but gentle 'til they're willing to stand close to you and let you touch 'em. From there it doesn't take much work to get 'em in a saddle., and once they realize that tight pinch doesn't last long, they'll let ya ride 'em just about anywhere."

"And that usually works with most horses?" Jason asked.

"It usually works with most animals of just about any kind," Eric answered uncomfortably.

Sookie took a step forward to make sure Eric could see her fully. "And why not?" Sookie said sarcastically. "After all, a horse is a horse."