He sets the picnic basket down and approaches one of the horses, speaking softly.
"Hey there, pretty girl. I'd like to introduce you to another pretty girl." He tells the mare, softly stroking her nose. I approach cautiously. JJ alleviated my fears in regard to the large animal, I was still nervous. "It's okay, Skye, she won't hurt you. She's our most docile horse here. Her name is Lady."
I reach my hand out and touch her nose like he's doing, surprised at the soft, velvety texture. She pushes her nose harder into my hand, eliciting a laugh from JJ and me.
"You're so sweet." I tell her, rubbing my face against her. I reach out and stroke her mane, marveling at the difference in texture from her nose. She's just sleek and beautiful all over. "You going to let me ride you?" Her answer is a snort. Laughing, I look over to where JJ is grabbing supplies I assume are needed to saddle her.
He approaches with a blanket, and hands it to me.
"Throw this over her back. Make sure there isn't anything stuck to it that would hurt or irritate her. The last thing we want is for her to throw you because she's uncomfortable." I nod my head in understanding and inspect the blanket. Not noticing any foreign objects, I take the heavy blanket and thrown it over her back. It lands with a soft thud. I adjust it so it's even over her.
He approaches once again, carrying a large saddle. He heaves it up and over, and it lands heavily onto Lady's back.
"That doesn't hurt her?" I ask curiously. That saddle is heavy.
"Nope. Not at all. the only way it would hurt would be if there's something caught between the blanket and her." He says while he adjusts the saddle to sit just right on her. He begins buckling the straps underneath her to keep the saddle from slipping, tightening them as he goes. She stands there quietly as he works around her. Satisfied everything is as it should be, he stands back.
I glance at him, and he has a soft expression on his face as he looks at Lady. It warms my heart. He turns abruptly to get the rest of the tackle, and proceeds to get another horse ready for a ride, this time adding saddle bags. He puts the picnic basket in the saddle bad attached to his horse, then retrieves a step-stool. He brings it over to Lady and sets it down on the left side of her, just underneath the stirrup.
"To mount her," HA! He said 'mount.' "you step up on the stool so you can reach the stirrup better. Then you lift your left foot into the stirrup and propel your other leg over the top of Lady." So I do what he says, holding on to the pommel of the saddle, and launch myself into the saddle. Se shifts a little beneath me, so I adjust myself into a more comfortable position in the saddle. "Good. Now that you're up there you need to know how to control her. take the reigns in your hands. Pull back on the right one for her to turn right. Pull back on the left one for her to turn left. Both back both of them in a short motion for her to stop. If you want her to walk backward, you keep pulling on both reigns. Got it?" I nod my head, a little overwhelmed at actually being on an animal.
He goes over and mounts, snicker, his own animal.
"To get her to go, you just tap her sides with your feet." He demonstrates, and I mimic his actions, and she starts walking forward. Exhilaration flows through me. I'm riding a frigging horse! "Feels cool, huh?" He asks me.
"Yes! It's so awesome. So, where are we headed?"
"There's a small pond about an hour into the land that I thought we could eat our picnic at. What do you think? There's some beautiful trails along the way."
"I think that sounds lovely. I can't wait to see."
JJ taps his heels to the sides of his horse, and they start moving. I don't even have time to tap Lady before she's moving.
"I didn't have to tap her." I tell him.
"Yeah, she's so docile that she'll follow any of the other horses without being told to. Even ole Midnight here." He says patting Midnight's neck affectionately.
We ride for awhile in companionable silence. I'm truthfully just enjoying the scenery here. Wide open land with tall grass, some wild wheat growing in random places, and sunflowers as far as the eye can see. I look to my left at hearing a noise and see a couple of small foxes playfully jumping around in the grass. It brings a wide smile to my face.
I hear an intake of breath and look up at JJ. He has an expression on his face I can't unravel.
"Skye, you are normally stunning, but when you smile like that, you take my breath away." My face reddens at the compliment, but I can't look away from his gorgeous eyes. He's looking at me like I'm the most precious thing in the world.
"Thank you." I tell him. "You aren't so bad yourself. Pretty sure I could stare into your eyes forever." Where did that come from? Oh, well. It's out there now, no taking it back. Oh shit! His megawatt smile is lighting up his face like I've never seen. He called me stunning? I've got nothing on this guy.
"Skye, you amaze me." He says bringing his horse over and leaning over to side hug me. It's a bit awkward since we're both on horseback, but I'll take it, and him, any day.
We ride for a bit more time when I finally see the small pond up ahead. The area around it has been freshly mowed, and there are several cows drinking from it. I immediately pull on Lady's reigns to get her to stop. My breath shortens as I feel a panic attack coming on. Lady can obviously feel my fear, as she starts to snort and whinny. At the same time JJ is looking around for the source of the fear he can feel from me.
His eyes follow my line of sight, and land on the cows.
"You're scared of cows?" I can only nod my head because my throat is closed so tightly. I glare at him and dare him to laugh, but there isn't a single sign of humor on his face. Wish he could send some o that calming energy right now, because I'm wound as tight as a spring.
He kicks Midnight into action and takes off at a full run toward the cows, yelling "HA" over and over. They look up at the sound of the thundering hoof beats, and take off in the opposite direction, their hooves making an even louder thunder sound.
As they run out of sight, my heartbeat calms and I can suddenly breathe again. This causes Lady to instantly calm, as well. JJ halts Midnight right next to me and hauls me off lady and right into his lap. I'm startled, but the warmth of his body against mine is welcoming. I snuggle against and accept his comfort.
"Can you tell me why you are this terrified of cows? They are completely harmless creatures."
"Do you have any idea how many times in my life someone has said that to me? I honestly have no idea why I'm so scared." I tell him on a sigh. I've had to explain this so many times. "I've never had a bad experience with one. As far back as I can remember, any time I've seen a cow in person, it induces a panic attack, and it doesn't go away until the cow is no longer in my sight. Made going to petting zoos really fun." I tell him with a little laugh.
His hand is moving up and down my back in a soothing motion, sending chills through me. His chest is rock hard and soft all at the same time, as I rest my cheek against it. His chest rumbles as he speaks.
"It was the same feeling as the other night, when you were at work." I raise my head up and look at him.
"You could feel that?" His chest thrums with an affirmative answer.
" It took all of our control to keep our wolves in check. They wanted to go to you immediately, but we didn't know where you were."
"Our? Wolves? As in multiple?" I am so confused.
"Yes. It's one of things I wanted to talk to you about while we are eating. Now that the cows are gone, want to have our picnic? I think you'll like what we packed." There's that 'we' word again.
I nod my head in the affirmative, and he sets me back on Lady. I get my feet in the stirrups and we take off for the pond. Once there, I dismount. My legs give out immediately and I fall to the ground.
"you're supposed to let me lay out the blanket before you sit." JJ says with a small laugh. "You'll get used to the feeling of the ground being back under your feet in a minute." He goes to the saddle bag and lifts out a blanket. He comes over to me and helps me stand. He holds one hand to help me stay upright as my legs still feel like jelly. Together we spread out the blanket. Once it's situated he helps me sit back down.
"Just relax. I'll take care of everything." He says as he goes back to the saddle bag and brings over the picnic basket. He sets it down next to me on the blanket. He then proceeds to take the bridles off both horses so they can do their horsey thing while we eat.
He comes and sits down next to me. He opens the basket, and pulls out several plastic containers I can only assume contain food. He also brings out a couple of bottles of water, and a large insulated bag. Next are a couple of plates, some utensils, and glasses.
He opens the containers. Container one looks like mini quiches. Container two contains chocolate covered strawberries. I blush a little. I've always considered them something romantic. Container number three has some kind of pasta salad, but not mayonnaise based one from the looks of it. Finally container number four is opened and there's a hard wedge of cheese and some crackers.
"Wow. this all looks really amazing."
"We have spinach and feta cheese quiche, sharp cheddar with crackers, a vinaigrette based pasta salad, and these beauties for dessert." He says gesturing to the chocolate covered strawberries. "And to drink," he says opening the insulated bag," we have water and some wine, if you don't mind. I didn't know if you drink or not."
"Yeah, I drink. Are you trying to get me drunk?" I ask him, batting my eyelashes
"Absolutely not." He says with all seriousness. I look at him and there's a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I want you stone cold sober when I kiss you for the first time."
My face heats as my earlier daydream creeps back into my mind. I can't help but wonder how the reality will compare to the fantasy.
"We won't make it to the end of the date, if you don't stop wherever it is your mind is going." He warns me. My mind clears and the little glint is still there. I clear my throat.
"My apologies. I will strive to keep my mind pure until the end." I say with a fake British accent, which elicits a laugh from him.
He cracks open the bottle of wine and pours a little into each of our glasses. He raise his up for a toast. I clinked my glass against his.
"To getting to know each other." He says.
"To getting to know each other." I mimic. I take a small sip. It's really good. Light and refreshing.
He makes up a couple of plates for us, and hands me mine along with some utensils and a napkin. I set the plate down on the blanket in front of my folded legs. I lay the napkin in my lap and proceed to take a bite of the quiche. It's really good. A little moan escapes my mouth, but I can't even be sorry or embarrassed, this quiche is that damned good.
"I take it you like it." He says. It's a statement, not a question. I only nod my head and take another bite, my eyes involuntarily rolling back. JJ just chuckles as he watches me eat.
"Why aren't you eating?" I ask him after I swallow that bite. He glances down and grabs a cracker and adds a wedge of cheese and pops the whole thing in his mouth, then grins at me.
"I was too busy watching you enjoy your food, I forgot to start." He says after swallowing his bite.
"So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" I ask curiously.
"So Sally told you that you were mated to one of us, right?" I nod my head. "And based off your reaction to me the other day, I assume you think it's me?" I nod my head again. Where is he going with this? He already established I'm mated to him.
"Well, Sally wasn't entirely wrong. You are mated to me. But, you're also mated to my twin, Jamie, and our cousin, Nev." Huh?
"Hold the phone! I'm supposedly mated to all three of you? How is that even possible?"
"Let me explain." He says holding his hands out, imploring me to listen. I sigh and take a long drink of my wine. I look at him, and he continues. "Several generations ago, our pack was cursed by a witch. Our history books say that she was enthralled with our Alpha at the time. He, however, wanted nothing to do with her, as she was not his mate. Rejected, she cursed our pack. She rendered all of our females infertile, until such a time as one female from outside of the pack mates with three males of our pack. The three of us believe that to be you. We all feel you inside us."
"Witches are real?" For the moment I am going to completely ignore everything else he said. I'll analyze it in a minute.
"There weren't very many then, and they have all since died out. My ancestor killed her, attempting to break the curse, but it didn't work."
"So how does that even work? Three of you to one of me?"
"It's called polyamory, and it isn't unusual in our pack to have females mated to more than one male. Basically with each generation, we evolved to ensure our line continued. Unfortunately, the only time we had successful offspring is when a female from outside of our pack mated with our males. Also, unfortunately, any female offspring were infertile. The witch was trying to wipe out our line, but we managed to keep it intact, regardless. The magic that creates us found a loophole in her curse and made it so we could mate with non-shifters. It had never been so for wolves."
Wow. That's a lot to process. I continue eating as I mull over all the information he just threw at me. He silently watched me eat and think. I'm thankful he's giving me time to think about it. My mind went back to something he said.
"So females from outside of your pack have mated to multiple males?" I ask him.
"Yes, but never more than two at a time. We have some females from inside the pack that have mated to three or more, but it has never happened with a female from outside." Okay, that makes more sense.
"How big is your pack?"
"We have the largest in Colorado at a little over five-hundred thousand."
"Wow! And you're in charge of all of them?"
"Jamie and I are, with Nev as our Beta. Jamie and I, when we shared a womb, the magic created us exactly equal. We are identical in every single way. It will be interesting to see if you will be able to tell us apart," He says with a grin. I just smile back.
"I bet I'll be able to tell the difference right away." I challenge him.
"Oh, we'll see. People who have known us our entire lives still can't.
"I like a good challenge." I warn him.
"It's on." He says as he starts packing up the food we didn't eat. We haven't got to the chocolate covered strawberries, yet, so he leaves those out. As I'm reaching out to take one, I notice a bright green color moving along side the blanket. I reach over and pick up the little garter snake. It's so cute. JJ notices and laughs.
"Cows terrify the ever living piss out of you, but you'll handle snakes?"
"I used to own a couple of pythons before I moved in with my ex. He didn't like snakes, so I had to re-home them. It sucked because I really loved them." I tell him, sounding very forlorn.
He reaches over and takes the snake from me and lets it go. He grabs the container of strawberries and takes one out.
"Are you ready for dessert?" He asks, offering me some of the fruit. I don't know what comes over me, but instead of taking it from him, I lean forward and take it right out of his fingers, my eyes never leaving his. The second my mouth touched his fingers, his eyes darkened. I started chewing. Creamy chocolate mixed with the sweet juice from the strawberry, of which a little escaped my lips. Before i have a chance to grab my napkin, JJ reaches over and swipes it with his fingers. I can only stare as he lifts his finger to his mouth and licks off the juice.
My heart starts beating a little faster, my breath comes in short pants. I don't know why, but that's one of the sexiest things I've ever seen. My 'wait to the end of the date' rule, is quickly being replaced with 'fuck it.' His gaze is smoldering. I involuntarily lean forward.
"Skye, I don't think I'm going to be able to wait until the end of this date." He says in a warning tone, and I don't care. I lean forward a little more, giving him all the opportunity.
He reaches a hand out and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, then cups my cheek. He scoots his body closer to mine, his eyes never leaving mine. He slowly leans forward, intention written plain on his face.
When his lips brush gently across mine, fire explodes inside of me. Home. That's the only word that comes to mind. It feels like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. I brush my lips against his, mimicking his every movement. I scoot closer to him, my hands reaching up to wrap around his shoulders.
He deepens the kiss, his tongue seeking entry. I part my lips. As soon his tongue touches mine, desire like I've never known before flows through me, and I'm drowning in it. I hold onto JJ a little tighter in the hopes he can keep me grounded. He emits a soft growl and pulls me closer to him. his hands are squeezing my hips, but it is far from painful. Heat scorches across every skin cell he touches. My hands are roaming all over him, but come to a stop on his hard chest.
Our tongues are dancing for what feels like hours, but in truth only a few moments go by. I start to feel a pulsing vibration deep in my chest, matching the one under my fingertips. I pause for a moment, pulling back and looking at him. His eyes appear nearly black, desire fully taking them over. He looks at me questioningly.
"This." I whisper as I tap my fingertips against his chest. "What is this? I feel this inside me, too."
"You know how I can feel your emotions?" I nod my head. "You can feel our, too, but until we have the mating ceremony, you won't feel it unless it's a very powerful feeling. He explains. I want to feel it again, so lean forward and capture his lips with mine.
His mouth immediately opens, and we battle for dominance. The pulsing restarts immediately, my desire increases so much, it takes everything over. I whimper and move to straddle him, his desire very evident. Feelings and desire, not my own, rush through every vein in my body. It's so overwhelming, I pull back, suddenly stopping our heated kiss.
I'm panting, unsure I will ever get my breath back after that soul searing kiss. I rest my forehead against his.
"I assume part of being mates, also means sex?" I ask him, already knowing the answer.
"Hopefully lots of it." He says with a grin.
"If just one kiss with you feels like that, sex is literally going to kill me." He reaches up and puts his hands on either side of my head, effectively trapping me in his gaze.
"Skye, these feeling won't be anywhere near this intense after the mating ceremony, I promise you." He leans forward and places a chaste kiss against my lips. "They are only like this because it's a new experience for you."
I lean forward and cuddle against him, his arms wrap around me in a tight hug. My heartbeat slows to a steady rhythm, and I nuzzle my cheek against his chest. I still don't know what to think about everything he told me, but i have time to figure it all out. For now, I'll just enjoy being in his arms.