Excerpt 2

"Thank you," Zver said, "Now before desert why not have fun with your little pet? Put on a nice show for all of us." "Huh?" Mickey asked stupidly. He seemed to do that a lot and Galina couldn't tell if he was just that stupid or pretending. There was a good chance he just hadn't been paying attention, he seemed like the type that would be distracted for a good five minutes by anything shiny. Yet, at the same time he was obviously intelligent, very intelligent. It was like if he applied himself he could do amazing things but somewhere along the way decided to stop trying and take the easy way out. That certainly would explain how he ended up working for the mafia when he could clearly be in a much better walk of life. As much as she didn't want to be impressed by anything he did, nor had she ever thought she could or would be, she was. "Oh right uh yeah that's fine I guess I mean what were you looking for?" Zver looked at the other men at the table and started to talk to them in Russian. "Really? What in the hell made you think asking them what to do was a good idea?" She growled under her breath. She kind of meant for Mickey to hear it but kept it low enough that she wouldn't be surprised if it was missed. "Do something to scare or hurt her into pissing herself." Zver said. "Excuse me, why in the world-" "Shut it, bitch." Mickey cut her off. She really wanted to scream at that point even if she also was aware of why she needed to shut up. It was an insane request but maybe she could understand why, it was certainly very humiliating. In fact, oddly enough, despite everything he'd done to her already she hated this idea the most. It was probably exactly why he said that. "Not a problem, I'm good at this." "What?" Galina breathed and looked over at him. Why did he say this as if he was an expert in the subject anyway? Was he into this? Not that she'd never heard of such a thing, she wasn't born yesterday. However, as she thought about it, what he'd done earlier with the knife when she'd been restrained. How close that was. The look on his face. Seemingly something he wanted but she didn't think it was literally about the act of pissing as much as it was about the power. The control. Getting another person to fear him to such an extreme level. She could even see why too. The fact that he was such a low level lackey. Everyone kicked him around. He had no power either with her father or this man. Giving him just a small dose of it at any point must have been a huge rush for him. Even if the act was consensual, and if he did know how to do it, was good at it like he said it meant he'd done it before. She could tell he wasn't a psychopath or a rapist so that meant only one thing. He was into kink. He was into domination. He was into BDSM and he had vastly more experience in it than her. Both good and bad. Good because he could keep it relatively safe while making it look brutal, bad because it may end up fueling him enough to change his mind entirely and actually take sides. "Can I have a gun?" He asked. "Do you think we are stupid?" Zver asked. "Not at all, but do you think I am?" He asked, "That man, that man, and those two have guns. Now, admittedly I haven't had that much practice shooting, not yet and them? They are trained. I think I'd be the idiot to actually use a gun against any of you right now. I hate to say it but trust is a two way street, there's going to be a time and a place where you will have to test it if you want to move forward with this business relationship. The way I see it, there's no better time than now. I have everything to lose if I fuck you over, you have nothing." As Galina listened to him speak, make his case, she was once again reminded of his intelligence. If anything she was impressed at his negotiation and manipulation skills. Not to mention how observant he was. He knew the score. She didn't think he would try to do anything stupid right now. He would do what he was told. Though she really didn't want him to, the idea here was to build up trust fast. The sooner he could be trusted with a gun, the better. They weren't going to be able to leave there if at least one of them couldn't shoot. "So we give you gun, you do as told and then you give it back. No tricks? No attacks?" Zver asked. "Look man it's going to be a lot easier for me to do it with a gun plus I can even fuck her with it." Mickey grinned, an expression that was a good combination of perverted and evil. Very genuine looking too. He could definitely pour on the charm when he wanted. "Fuck me? With a loaded gun are you out of your mind?" She shrieked at him. There was no doubt in her mind she didn't have a choice. The thing was, she was very aware that the more she appeared to fight, the more she didn't want something, the more it would drive them to do it to her. All she had to do was keep up her own act. The appearance of it all would aid Mickey in looking like he really was breaking her spirit. "It's up to you, sir, I would just recommend it but whatever I have other methods. Can someone at least unchain her? Wouldn't want to ruin that nice chair." Mickey told him. Zver looked over at the men at the table and there was a quick discussion in Russian. After that, one of the others got up and came over to her to unlock her wrist from the cuff and yank her to her feet. She took a few steps back and away from Mickey watching him closely as she rubbed her wrist. "Pretty little bitch...where do you think you're going?" He asked, palming his cock quite lewdly through his pants as he looked her up and down. "Doesn't look like you're getting a gun so good fucking luck." She sneered at him and took another step back. "Mickey!" Zver called to get his attention. As he turned to look a gun was tossed his way and he caught it expertly. "Use wisely, I would hate to see you do something rash." "Don't need to worry about me, Boss. Already said I was on your side." He grinned. Galina's eyes went wide. This had worked? How? She wouldn't say Zver was stupid by any means, more that Mickey was that convincing. Hell, half the time she didn't even know what side he was on and that kind of included now. Mickey looked at the gun and turned it so she could see it clearly. Safety was off. He unloaded the clip and showed that to her too. She continued to back up as she saw the clip was loaded, which it would be since these guns were definitely used for self defense. He racked the chamber next to pop out the round already in the gun. Making a real show of this. Eventually she had backed up so much she was against the wall next to the large ornate fireplace. For every step back she took, he came closer anyway, so it wasn't like she was getting anywhere with this. He got right into her face holding up the clip and the gun. "Ready to get started, Princess?" "Mickey..." She whispered. He growled at her, quickly slammed the clip into the gun and racked a bullet into the chamber. He then jammed the gun up under her neck, his finger on the trigger. The metal pushed in so tightly it was painful. "I'm sorry what the fuck was that?" He asked. "D-Daddy..." She whimpered. "How much pressure you think the pull on this gun is? Hmmm? Five pounds? Ten? How hard do you think it would be for me to mistakenly pull the trigger? Especially if I got startled? A bit too excited? You really trust I won't make that mistake even if I don't mean to?" He purred in her ear getting close enough to press against her. Not only could she feel he was aroused, even worse, she was too. Something about the way he was talking to her combined with the fear of the situation. The way he spoke. His tone of voice. All of that. It was just the right combination to drive her wild. "You're aroused..." She whispered. "So fucking what?" He snarled, staring right into her eyes. "They didn't drug you this time, this is all you." She muttered back. "And your cunt's gotten wet every damn time so who the fuck are you to judge?" He spat, using his free hand to shove her dress up above her hips, running his fingers over her cunt roughly. She moaned involuntarily at least for a second before making herself stop. He wasn't wrong, she'd already felt the arousal surge through her. She was surprised it hadn't started to drip down her thighs. Almost instantly she found herself trying to rub against him, wanting even more. This was so wrong but it was so very fucking right. "How the fuck is this supposed to work if you're a total whore?" "I don't know but you better deliver what you promised them...Daddy." She growled in a very snide tone of voice. He glared at her intently, his hand moving away from her cunt to claw at the cut he'd made in her thigh earlier that day. She screamed out in pain and he grabbed her by the hair, yanking her head back to smear some of the blood over her face before forcing her down to her knees roughly. She was shaking in terror and arousal and with his bulge in her face she now only craved him more. She looked up at him, unaware of how desperate she looked in the moment and not because she was pleading for him to stop. "You need it that bad, Princess?" he taunted her, "If you just gotta have some long and hard in your mouth I have the perfect solution right here." He held the gun up so she could clearly see it, his finger still on the trigger. She squealed, tearing her head away and sliding herself back. Since her hair was considerably shorter now he'd not gotten a good grasp on it. To get away she had to let him rip her hair out but there was no way she wanted that thing in her mouth even if it was him holding it. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" She yelled at him. This, of course, didn't work, and he stepped towards her as she scrambled back more. It only took a few more strides for him to catch up and get her by her hair again. "STOP IT! MICKEY STOP IT!" "Don't get shy on me now..." He snarled. She squealed and squirmed in his grasp before he backhanded her hard enough to daze her. It was hard enough for her ears to ring. To make her eyes water. She blinked a few times trying to focus on him, somehow having the wherewithal to shut her mouth tightly, clenching her jaw and closing her lips a split second later. "You really think that's going to work?" She nodded her head. He snorted and let go of her suddenly then took a few steps back. She watched him, breathing heavily through her nose. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop shaking. He turned away from her and paced for a moment, almost like he was a caged animal. Why the fuck was that turning her on? The others just stayed silent, studying this as if they were very interested in what might happen next. Without warning he turned and came at her aiming the gun right at her face, his hand shaking with all the rage she could clearly see in his eyes. "OPEN YOUR FUCKING MOUTH GALINA!" He roared at her, and she did, because she was startled enough to scream, even worse, piss herself immediately. She became convinced in that moment he had definitely worked himself up into such a state of frustration with this, even fear of failure in front of these men that he really could accidentally pull the trigger. She never got a chance to scream because the gun was jammed in there next, as deep as he could reasonably get it. "Ready to learn a fucking lesson you dirty bitch, cause I goddamn know you just pissed yourself." He grabbed the back of her head, forcing the gun in more causing her to gag and choke. Sliding it back and forth as if it really were a metal cock. Some kind of twisted extension of himself. She tried to fight against this, put her hands on his legs, squirm away, but he had her tight. "Well done," She heard Zver say loudly after nearly a full minute of this. As if this were some kind of trigger phrase, or rather, anti-trigger phrase, Mickey let go of her and stopped what he was doing. He blinked a few times and looked at her, seemingly horrified that he'd done this in the first place. She wasn't unaware of the stress he was under. The type of energy it took to rebel against every natural instinct he had not to fight them. What it had to take to mask his feelings to get into the right type of place to do this. It was clear he hadn't meant to take it that far and yet he had. She wanted to be angry with him but at the same time she understood it and more terribly...she liked it. He cleared his throat and shifted his expression to something more smug and confident before turning around to address them. "Told you I could do it," He said casually, his voice shaking just a bit but nothing that would be a dead giveaway to his true emotions in the moment. He walked back to the table, set the gun on it and slid it back towards Zver, "Sorry she had to ruin your floor like that, though. You'd think she'd be trained better." "Bitches never learn," Zver shook his head, "But you...you are very impressive. A man who knows exactly how to get what he wants I see. Take orders well. Maybe...I was wrong about you." "Don't blame you much," He said, "I can see why you might think my loyalties were somewhere else but that...that was just a job. I think this could be family. Can really be myself in this place you know." He sat down at the table and picked up his glass of wine then took a few gulps before setting it back in place.

Excerpt

“Open your mouth.” 

It was Christopher’s silky smooth southern accent that roused her from what had probably been a light sleep. Her eyes opened and then her mouth, mostly out of reflex than anything else. She hadn’t ever been hostage to a crazy psychopath like him but she had spent days in a dungeon at a time, playing submissive and following orders. Being woken from sleep like that was familiar to her but as reality started to set back in she realized that her reflexes may just be a blessing and a curse in this situation. He placed a small plastic cup to her bottom lip and poured something in her mouth. It was thick and it did not taste good, she also couldn’t identify what it was for the life of her. 

“Swallow.” He commanded next. She did, without hesitation but not without fear because for all she knew he’d just given her poison. It was doubtful but she had no reason to trust he wasn’t trying to harm her with that. “Well now, aren’t we a good girl for Daddy this morning?” He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head to the side to expose the wound on her neck, causing her to let out a small yelp of pain. Keeping her pinned that way, so she couldn’t see much, she saw his hand out of the corner of her eye and then felt something on her neck which immediately started to sting like hell. 

“What are you doing?” She gasped, attempting to jerk away from the sensation but he wasn’t letting her. All he did was move in closer, pinning her down with his own body so she wasn’t able to kick at him with her legs. Not that she believed she had the power or energy to do that even if she’d thought it was a good idea to fight back. 

“Don’t need this to get infected,” He said, “Usually I’m much better restrained with my toys but there’s something about you that…I just can’t quite put my finger on. I do have to make sure you aren’t going to get sick before I’m ready to dispose of you, don’t I?” 

“Wasn’t it my choice…if I wanted to die or not?” She whispered. 

“Hmm, I see you were paying attention.” He replied then chuckled darkly, “I do wish I could find more like you. So naturally obedient and very pretty. Like Mickey over there.” She assumed he made a motion with his hand towards the guy but she couldn’t tell because of how she was being held in place. He continued to do whatever it was he was doing to clean the wound on her neck and she bit her lip tightly to keep herself from screaming from the pain. It didn’t help that she was getting aroused from the way she was being manhandled and talked down to. 

“He seems like a tool.” She muttered honestly. This made Christopher laugh then he pulled away and released her hair from his grasp. 

“Yes, the boy can be very trying at times. I won’t deny that.” 

“Fuck both of you.” Mickey spat. 

“Now, you stay right here while I go and get your breakfast. Sound good, sweetie pie?” He asked. It was very tempting to say something to him that would definitely get her a slap to the face and piss him off but instead she just nodded her head and forced a smile. He smiled back at her, though his expression was much more genuine, and he headed out of there with a bit of a bounce in his step. She looked over at Mickey, noticing the pain in her neck was slightly less intense than it had been before he started to clean it. 

“He gave you a painkiller.” Mickey said once Christopher had gone upstairs. 

“That’s what that was?” She asked. 

“I’m kind of shocked. I don’t think he expected you to open your mouth but you did..he’s right about this obedience thing.” He replied. 

“He said the same about you.” 

“Yeah but you have to admit most people aren’t great at taking orders when they first wake up. How did you do that?”

“I don’t know, I guess I forgot where I was for a moment.” 

“I wasn’t born yesterday.” 

“Even if I knew the answer, and I’m not saying that I do, why would I tell you anything?” She hissed at him angrily. He smirked at her, almost looking smug but didn’t reply other than to shrug his shoulders. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to compose herself. This guy was an ass and at the same time very informative if he intended to be or not. She heard the door open again and looked up as Christopher came down the stairs. He was dressed in a very nice outfit that morning. What she would call a grandpa sweater over a collared shirt with some khakis and a belt. His shoes were still expensive and probably Italian. With his hair slicked back the way it was on top of all that he looked better than she wanted him to. It would have been much easier to resist him if he wasn’t nearly as sharp or as charming as he looked and sounded. He was carrying a plate with a sandwich on it and he came right towards her, ignoring Mickey for the moment. He got down by her and picked up one of the two halves then took a bite, starting to chew just inches from her face. “Uh…Daddy, I have to pee.” He continued to stare at her and kept chewing for another second or two, not reacting to that information like he’d even heard it. 

“Open your mouth.” He said, his mouthful of food she could smell it on his breath. Her best guess was that the sandwich had to be peanut butter and jelly. Her gaze shifted as she tried to look at Mickey behind him for guidance but it only got her backhanded across the face. “I don’t know why you’re looking at him for an answer, either open your mouth or take a punishment. I won’t remind you again.” 

“Yes, Daddy.” She whispered and opened her mouth slowly. He leaned in and very carefully spat out what he’d just chewed up onto her tongue. Her first instinct was to spit it out, the second was to vomit, but she knew that either wouldn’t be a good idea. He pulled back and she didn’t move at all. She really wished she could have said she’d been forced to taste more disgusting stuff than that but the truth was she hadn’t. Not with what she was into with her personal life. 

“Finish it.” He ordered. “Go on, eat up.” He was staring right at her, his breathing heavy and his voice gruff. She closed her mouth slowly and started to chew, looking right back at him without flinching even though every inch of her skin was crawling with disgust. She really had to force herself to swallow but somehow she managed.

“Done, sir.” She said softly then opened her mouth to show him that it was actually gone. 

“You are a real treasure aren’t you?” He purred then grabbed the sandwich and held it to her mouth. “Take a bite, you’ve earned it.” She took as big of a bite as she could fit next because she didn’t really know how much he was going to let her eat. It was big enough that she’d almost managed to get the rest of the half in her mouth and she probably would have crammed it in there entirely if she’d had her hands to do it. 

“I…really…really do have to pee, Daddy.” She tried repeating. 

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” He warned. She glared at him but kept chewing quickly, attempting to get the residual taste from the first “bite” out of her mouth. Luckily, peanut butter had a very strong scent and texture to it so it easily covered the sensation of the chewed up and spat out garbage that she’d been introduced to first. When she finished swallowing, he held up the last part of the sandwich to her and she took it into her mouth quickly, starting to chew it again. He patted her on the cheek and moved back from her then walked over to Mickey. She guessed he was getting the second half. Well, half of a sandwich was better than nothing at all. Even if some of it had been pre-chewed for her she supposed. “You should take some lessons from her.” 

“Bite me.” Mickey snapped. 

“I see someone doesn’t want to eat today.” He laughed and then without a single warning punched the guy in his side with enough force that she could hear the air rush out of his lungs. She winced and pulled her legs in closer, pushing them together tightly as the urge to pee wasn’t going away. Christopher stood up and took a bite from Mickey’s half of the sandwich and walked back over to where she was looking down upon her as if she were no more than a dirty stray dog. Mickey groaned in pain then coughed and wheezed as he attempted to get air back into his lungs. “Open your mouth.” Not wanting to risk being punched like that because it could potentially break a rib, she did as she was told only to have more food spat into her mouth. She started to eat it, silently, a few tears running down her face as she did. 

“Where did you find this one?” Mickey laughed breathlessly, “Or are you cheating to get rid of me?” 

“She’s a genuine find I assure you of that.” He said, “I probably just got lucky, it does happen from time to time.” He smiled and finished off the rest of the sandwich before throwing the plate at Mickey’s head. It smashed into the post behind him, shattering into a bunch of pieces as the guy tensed up and ducked down trying to avoid being hit with it head on. He then turned back to her and clapped his hands together. 

“I still have to-” 

“I heard you the first time, darlin, and I do not like repeated attempts at begging. It’s pathetic.” He warned. She nodded, starting to realize that it was probably why Mickey hadn’t said anything about the same predicament he was more than likely in. Either something would be done about it or nothing would. He slipped his hand into his back pocket and pulled out a key which he used to unlock one of the cuffs from her wrists before pulling her to her feet. She was then turned and he locked her wrist back in place again before slapping her across the ass. “There are a few things you need to learn, I'm afraid and I can’t make too much of a mess in this cabin. Leaving evidence and all is not how I’m going to stay a free man. Besides, I’m sure you’ll appreciate a nice little walk in the fresh air now won’t you?” 

“Yes, Daddy.” She agreed quickly, not wanting to anger him. He took her by the arm again and started to pull her out of there, towards the stairs. It wasn’t easy to walk as fast as he wanted her to and she tripped over her feet a few times as they went. If this was bothering him, he didn’t let on to it as he was practically dragging her through the house and out through the sliding back doors in the room she once called her own. He shoved her forward onto the grass in her bare feet and she stumbled before regaining her balance and turning to look at him. He approached her and motioned ahead of them towards the trees. 

“Start walking.” He said. She almost started to protest this, since she was barefoot and it was going to hurt walking into the forest like that but she realized it was probably the point so she did as she was told. He stayed right behind her, close enough that she could feel his breath on the back of her neck as they moved. She considered running but she didn’t know where she was or even what direction to go. Depending how long he’d been out there he’d do a much better job chasing her down than she’d do running away. She knew she’d have to look for a far better escape route than that. 

After a few minutes of walking they came to a bit of a clearing with a large tree stump in the middle. There was an eye bolt in the center of it which she was pulled to. One of the cuffs was detached from her wrist then locked around the bolt. This left her leaning forward, bent at the waist and kind of resting on the top of the flat surface of the trunk since she was a lot shorter than him and it had been a very large tree. He got behind her and shoved her shirt up enough to expose her back. She shivered in the chilly morning air of the fall day which was deceptively sunny for how cold it actually was. 

“Scream all you want out here, no one’s gonna hear it, darlin.” He said. She turned to look over her shoulder at him but he only grabbed her head and forced it back to a forward position so she was staring at the trees in front of her. “No one told you to look at me, but…I will tell you if you’re a good girl for Daddy you’ll get the relief you want once he’s finished.” 

“T-Thank you.” She whispered, assuming he was talking about letting her use the bathroom. This wasn’t really new to her either, she’d been in situations where everything about her was controlled, even when and where she was able to piss. Though she didn’t want to do anything like that with him, it at least made the situation easier on her, having been through it before. She closed her eyes and tried to relax as much as possible as she heard him moving around her. Branches snapping under his feet. She only became concerned when things got silent. Her body started to shake and moments later without any warning she was struck across the back. She screamed and jerked, pulling at her restraints tightly. He must have cut a switch from somewhere around there when she couldn’t see what he had been doing. He struck her again, and again, each time harder than the last. She could feel her skin opening with cuts from the impact of the branch. He was relentless with it too, never striking in the same spot, never with any sort of warning. Just over and over as she writhed in agony, crying out and praying that he’d run out of energy sometime soon. Her fear and pain only fueled the arousal she was feeling and the awkward position was putting a strain on her legs and back but she couldn’t properly move away or collapse, to do anything about it. 

By the time he had decided he was finished with this little activity, she was burning hot and sweating from the torture. Her body was shivering with pain and yet, even still, she found herself attempting to rub against the bark of the tree for some type of stimulation. Her orgasm was close, far more than she wanted it to be but she was desperate. Why did he have to stop? If he’d continued she could have hidden it in a scream but it was almost like he knew…or had figured it out. He came around to the front of her so she could see him again, getting down at her level to make eye contact with her. 

“You took that very well,” He said, “Don’t think I can’t see what you’re doing either. I don’t quite understand how you ended up here but I think we’re going to have fun with it. Aren’t we?” 

“Fuck…you.” She panted. 

“Yes that is the plan of sorts. Eventually.” He replied sounding amused, “Now, piss yourself for Daddy.” 

“W-what?” She panted. 

“Darling girl were you not listening when I told you about not repeating myself?” He sighed then stood up. He started to walk behind her and she screamed, out, not knowing or wanting to know what he planned to do since she hadn’t immediately listened to his order. Mickey was right about that and she was going to have to do a much better job than she was doing. 

“I-I’m sorry…please I’m sorry Daddy I’ll…I’ll do what you want.” She spat out, trying to turn again just to get a glimpse of what he thought he was going to do. 

“HEAD FORWARD!” He roared at her and she whined but did as he wanted, turning to look back as directed, not wanting to incur his wrath more than she had. She felt a hand strike her ass roughly causing her to scream again, her throat raw and aching from the effort. “I’m not going to tell you again.” She closed her eyes and with a terribly humiliated sob she did the only thing she could, she stopped trying to hold her bladder and let herself go. It wasn’t easy at first but once she started she wasn’t able to stop. It seemed to go on forever, but probably only because she knew she was being watched and that fucking pervert was getting his rocks off to it. As she finished, she laid there shivering, covered in blood and her own urine, helpless to move from where she had been restrained. 

“There…I…I’ve finished…sir.” She said bitterly through clenched teeth. 

“Good.” He said and slapped her ass again, “Now, I need to go deal with that little problem of mine in the basement so you’ll just have to wait here for a bit. If you even think about making yourself cum before I get back just know you’ll regret it. I’m onto your little masochistic streak. You did well trying to hide it though.” 

“What? You’re leaving?” 

“Did I stutter?” He snapped, “You’ll be fine out here for a while, and perhaps laying in your own filth will force you to realize who’s really in charge here. I’ll be back. Don’t you worry. There’s still so much to be done with a treasure like you.” 

“Please…please don’t fucking leave me like this…please!” She screamed. Though it seemed to be too late. As tempted as she was to glance over her shoulder to see if he had left, she didn’t. The silence was all she really needed to confirm that anyway and if he caught her disobeying him she didn’t want to consider what else might be in store for her. That didn’t stop her from screaming and kicking her legs angrily, frustrated about the predicament that she’d been left in. Alone, cold, suffering, and painfully horny she had no choice but to lay there and take it. There was no doubt in her mind he’d be back sooner rather than later and she couldn’t help but at least partially look forward to it as much as it sickened her to know that eventually from all of this pain would at least come a brief moment of pleasure. 

Wild Hearts Chapter Nine

The next few days were the hardest for her, mostly because they had to get back to work. Bill was still very happy. More so than he’d ever been. They had a ton of fun at work, probably more than they really should be having. The best she could figure was he finally felt not only free but at peace with himself and his life. She could only imagine getting to live out one of his biggest fantasies, at least in part, played a huge role in this. She was more than happy to be the one to help him with it. Not only that, but learn more about herself through the whole experience and make the connection with him. They didn’t talk about Aurora, ever. It was just them. He even got her off the set one day for a picnic in a nearby field. Something he’d planned entirely. She’d never had anything like this in her entire life. Scott had never been this romantic, even when they were just dating. 

On Wednesday, she was giving a brief rundown of everything going on to the executive producer. More or less a progress report on Bill and the status of the other horses, when Bill entered the stable with another guy. Someone she hadn’t ever seen before. That wasn’t saying much because she assumed when it came to production stuff there were a ton of people she was never going to meet. He motioned over in her direction and they came towards her. 

“You wanna be in the movie?” Bill asked her. 

“Hold your horses there Bill,” The other guy laughed, “There’s a whole process before that point.” 

“Yeah but she’ll do great.” Bill insisted. 

“I’m sorry what’s this about?” She asked, she couldn’t exactly say she didn’t want to be in a movie. It had been a dream of hers long ago but she’d written it off for a myriad of reasons. The most she’d ever done were a few plays in high school and one stage production locally right after she’d been married. She would have continued but Scott had put an end to that too. That was five years ago and she’d given up on all of her dreams entirely shortly after. 

“Bill here thinks that you may be a better onscreen match for him than who’s supposed to play his wife.” The guy said, “The only reason I’m here right now is I kind of agree with him. Their screen tests are lukewarm at best.” 

“You want me to play his wife?” She asked, “In the movie?” 

“If you show any more promise than that annoying Amber Slate woman, yes.” He said. She looked at Bill, kind of stunned to hear this. More than that. Outright shocked. This wouldn’t just be her first movie but she’d be right up there next to Bill. Could she actually pull this off? He seemed to think she could. 

“I’ll be working with you too, see? You trust that I know what I’m doing, right Chris?” Bill insisted, “If she can teach me all this shit about horses which she did, I can teach her everything I know about acting.” 

“Honestly I believe if anyone can do that, it’s you, but it’s more about chemistry. You gotta give me something here.” This guy now known as Chris said even though she still had no actual idea what his role in any of this film was. 

“One day,” Bill said, “All I need is one, then she’ll audition.” 

“Alright, I’ll want you in my office tomorrow at nine. Got it?” He asked, “I’ll get the others there too, casting, producers...whatever.” 

“Thank you, so much.” Bill said. The guy gave her another look and then walked out of the stables looking like he was not very comfortable being in there. She couldn’t imagine he would be given his designer suit and all the smells around them. “How fast can you learn a Russian accent?” 

“Not in 24 hours. You’re insane.” She laughed and shook her head, “As nice as this idea is-” 

“I’ll call my dialect guy.” He said, “I learned it.” 

“No offense but you’re already from Sweden and that accent is weird anyway.” She said, “Right now you’re workin with a girl from the south. Dallas. I gotta lose this accent in 24 hours to audition? Ain’t no fucking way, Bill.” 

“Do you want this?” He asked, “Don’t lie, I saw how your eyes lit up. Whatever it is, you like the idea you just don’t think you can do it. Is that right?” 

“It’s not as simple as all that.” She said, “Besides what if they don’t think we got chemistry anyway?” 

“For one, we do, I know what on screen chemistry is. I’ve had plenty of it. Secondly, if you really want this I can teach you what you need to know. You have to believe that.” He insisted. She sighed. She guessed that it wasn’t really going to hurt her to try. 

“If I don’t get the part I still get to keep the horse job right?” She asked, “And what about that anyway? I can’t just go from lead horse wrangler lady to...what? Supporting actress? I got no time to be doing both.” 

“If you don’t get the part I’ll make sure they let you keep your job. If you get the part you’ll be replaced. Please? That actress is...she’s not a bad actress but we got nothing between us. It’ll ruin the movie.” He insisted. This seemed very important to him, just like all the kinky pony stuff. At that point she definitely trusted he knew what he was doing and saying. The world of acting was his expertise, not hers. Though it did kind of get her wondering what his on screen chemistry with any woman was like. She still hadn’t even seen a full movie that he’d been in. All she had seen were some clips of Pennywise. There wasn’t time to sit down and watch a two part movie that would amount to being four hours of her day. At night she was just too exhausted and during the day she was busy. She’d thought about asking to watch it with him then thought that would be weird. 

“Fine, I’ll give it a try but on the condition I get to watch you in some movie somewhere and you don’t get all squirrely about it.” She told him. 

“I was never stopping you in the first place. Might want to start with Hemlock Grove.” He said, “Come on, we have a lot of work to do.” He took her arm and started to pull her out of the stables and back towards his trailer. She supposed that was the best place to work and prepare for this. It was exciting even if it also made her kind of nauseous with anxiety. Was this really happening? Even worse, what the hell was Aurora going to think when she got back. If things went the way he seemed to want them to go this was only going to make his life worse. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be a catalyst to that sort of situation. 

*****

The rest of the day was grueling. Far more so than just working with horses and training Bill how not to fall off of them and kill himself. She found she actually wasn’t bad at acting, not with him. He made it so easy. Probably because he was so talented. Hearing him with a Russian accent was constantly driving her crazy. There was no way that hurt the performance because whenever he did it she got turned on and couldn’t stop looking at him with such a hunger that it made her soul ache. 

He laid out the movie for her and went over the script. The role was indeed supporting, not close to main. Enough screen time to make her character important but not enough to draw focus away from him. The good thing about the story was that the husband and wife were very much in love. Two very psychopathic people who enjoyed the hunt. Somewhere along the lines they’d grown bored with dangerous game and turned their attention to humans. The movie made it seem like it was some sort of foreplay for them. It was a dark and gruesome plot, but it was very well written. Her character was cunning and dangerous. A woman meant to compliment everything that his character was. 

The worst part was the dialect coach. Not that he was bad at his job but she was terrible at changing her speech patterns. She was pretty sure both Bill and this new guy, Matt, were about to wring her neck for not being able to get anything right. She could deliver the lines just fine if she didn’t have to do that Russian accent. That was what they spent the most time on. Over, and over, and over. She just couldn’t get her mouth to do any of that. Especially not the whole rolling R thing she was supposed to do on quite a few of the words. 

It probably wasn’t until around nine that night that she started to kick her brain into gear to function correctly enough to start, just barely, doing it right. The first line she actually spat out correctly made them cheer loudly. It also made her laugh because she was relieved that it had even worked. They’d spent ten hours discussing this, trying to teach her, even over lunch and then dinner. It just never stopped. It gave her a whole new appreciation for the dedication that Bill was putting into his work. 

“Good just keep doing that.” Matt told her, “Don’t stop, keep speaking in that accent so you don’t lose it if you have to.” 

“I’ll keep her on her toes. Don’t worry.” Bill said. 

“I don’t think it matters because I’ll probably go to sleep and it’ll all be wiped from my brain.” She said and yawned. 

“Then I will just have to speak with a Russian accent all the time until after the audition.” Bill said, using the accent exactly as he was explaining. She wasn’t even going to complain about that because it was so fucking hot. She didn’t think it would help her one bit but if it wasn’t a big deal for him there was also no reason to make him stop. 

“You think that will be a punishment for me?” She laughed. 

“Well, whatever you two got going on here, he was right. He has no chemistry with Amber. I’ve seen them.” Matt said, “But, I got shit to do so good luck let me know how it turns out.” 

“Of course,” Bill said, “We’ll get lunch or something.” 

“Sounds good. Have a good night.” Matt told them and then headed out of the trailer. Krystal looked over at him and sighed. 

“It will be a borderline miracle if we pull this off you know.” She said, “It’s not just my acting it’s the chemistry...the fucking chemistry.” 

“Then there’s no reason it shouldn’t work. We got this.” He said putting an arm around her and pulling her close. She laughed softly and leaned into him, resting her head against his chest and closing her eyes. It felt good to be in his arms like this again, even if she knew there was no way this could actually last. It relaxed her, though, and she was definitely going to need that to be able to get enough rest to pass the audition in the morning. 

*****

At nine o’clock sharp the next morning, they were at some large office in downtown L.A. It was big enough for a group of people and here she was supposed to perform these lines with Bill. Prove to everyone who was probably investing an ungodly amount of time, money, and effort into this project that she was worth it. She was barely worth her weight in horse manure so she also wasn’t sure why Bill was trying to sell her so hard on this. Maybe to him she was good but he had to be biased right? Maybe it was some kind of rose color glasses or he was just drunk on whatever lust she’d been providing him. She was so nervous she also thought she might puke. She hadn’t been able to eat anything for breakfast. Her only saving grace was that she didn’t have to do this audition alone. He would be there and he’d help her keep focus. At least she hoped. 

The introductions were very quick. She was aware they were busy because they made that abundantly clear. It seemed they were really only putting up with this based on Bill’s word and the level of respect they had for him. She didn’t play into the equation at all because they didn’t know her nor did she have any clout in the industry whatsoever. She heard Bill talking to them, explaining the situation. From what she understood, the guy she met the day before had been the director. Also in the room was the casting director, a few of the producers, and the lead script writer. It seemed that if this was going to be decided it would be all of them who chose her, even though she knew that she’d already won Bill’s vote. 

“Alright are you ready?” Bill asked, turning to her. 

“Not really but guess there’s no better time than this.” She said and laughed nervously. He put a hand on her arm and turned her to face him, so the men who were watching were in the corner of her eye. They’d still be able to see her and what she was doing but she wouldn’t need to focus on them. He put his hands on her face and moved her head to look into his eyes as he looked down. 

“You can do this, just us here okay?” He said, “Deep breath, I’ll read you in. Like we practiced. Remember?” He was nodding his head a bit as he said this like he was trying to convince her. She just nodded and took in a deep breath. He dropped his hands and stood up quite a bit straighter. His posture took on the confidence of the man she’d seen in the bedroom in that equestrian outfit in the bedroom. He was dressed normally hear but picturing that certainly helped her to loosen up, even if it only was a bit. 

“This? This is the one?” He asked angrily, “This one, he will be no fun. Weak.” He motioned as if he was holding something in his hand. She knew that according to the script they were supposed to be looking at pictures or something to decide on their next target together. It was somewhat of a chilling discussion to establish them as horrible elitists who only ever others as below them. Cattle. Or worse. 

“No this one, very deceptive.” She said, “Maybe small but crafty. Give us a challenge.” She motioned to his hands as if he actually had a photograph there. 

“You are mad, I could snap his leg like twig.” He insisted. 

“Perhaps,” She said, “But he is a thinker, educated. We need to worry about this one, I told you...I have seen him sniffing around. We invite him and take care of problem ourselves.” 

“Hardly any meat on this one. I shoot him when he comes in the door. No effort.” Bill scoffed as if what she was proposing was ridiculous. 

“No fun in that,” She shook her head, “When have I made mistake before? Hmmm? Tell you what, if I wrong about this then you choose next pig. It is my turn and this is the one I want.” He laughed and grabbed her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her in close. His hand stroking gently over her cheek as he looked into her eyes. 

“How could I ever say no to you?” He purred, “My sweet princess can have this poor cow if that is her wish.” He pulled her into a kiss because that’s what they were supposed to do and she kissed him back eagerly. After all, they were supposed to have something resembling chemistry here and it really wasn’t hard to fake it while kissing him. He released her a moment later and she found herself trying to catch her breath. She turned to look at the rest of the men there. 

“Give us a moment please, outside.” Casting director said. She was fairly sure his name was Kevin or something. She hadn’t really been paying attention thanks to how on edge she was. He nodded and took her arm, pulling her out of there before she could think of anything to say in her defense. 

“Shit that’s bad right?” She asked once they were out in the hall. 

“Trust me if it was that bad they’d have stopped us from saying our lines way before the kiss.” He laughed, “It’s normal, they are just going to discuss it. You don’t have anything to worry about, I swear.” 

“And if they say no?” She asked. 

“They aren’t going to say no.” He told her, “Come on, want some coffee or something?” He motioned to a table that was set up just outside of there that had an assortment of refreshments. 

“Water is fine, I think I’ll puke if I have anything other than that.” She told him. He nodded and went to grab her a bottle, holding it out in her direction. She took it from him and opened it, taking a small sip to help deal with how dry her mouth had gotten. The door opened and the director poked his head out and looked around for a moment until his eyes landed on Bill. 

“Bill, can we see you in here a minute? Just you,” He said. 

“Yeah, Krystal just have a seat okay?” Bill told her and headed back into the office. That was easier said than done so she didn’t do it. She just paced instead. It seemed like eternity before the door opened again and Bill came out of there he was holding something in his hand which he then held out for her to take. It was a large packet of stuff. She looked at him but took it anyway. 

“What is this?” She asked. 

“This is the part where you find out about all the paperwork that comes with being in a movie, that and your copy of the script.” He said. 

“Are you serious?” She asked, “They...they want me? They said it’s okay?” 

“Yes,” He smiled, “We’re going to need to do a lot of work for this but it will be worth it. I promise. You’ll even get your own trailer, well, it was going to be Amber’s but they don’t need her around anymore do they?” 

“Yeah but I don’t want her to-” 

“Truth be told she wanted off the project.” He said, “Look, it’s no hard feelings between any of us. She’s not even a bad actress but sometimes the chemistry just isn’t right. I think we both knew that and she already had something lined up. Her schedule was pushing filming really thin for her. She wasn’t sure after finding this out, it was worth it. She’d mentioned maybe trying to sweet talk someone into a replacement and I thought you were perfect. I can have her tell you herself if you don’t believe me.” 

“Oh...really?” 

“Sometimes that’s just how it is.” He said. “Besides, the last thing I’d want to do is start your career by making you an enemy if that was the case I’d have had them bring in another professional. No offense.” 

“None taken because I still think that might be a better idea.” She laughed. 

“You’re working with me, I’ll teach you everything I know, and you’re going to do just fine. I promise. Have I steered you wrong yet?” He asked. 

“No, but in all fairness it’s only been a little over a week so you have a lot of time to fuck something up.” She joked and punched him in the arm playfully. He stumbled back, all dramatic, as if she’d actually hurt him then started to laugh. “Oh shut up.” 

“Come on, we have a lot to do and very little time to do it. We need to get started. Are you ready for this?” He asked. She nodded. In all honesty she didn’t think she was ready. What she thought was that he would show her the way. Guide her. Help her learn everything she needed to know in order to be able to do this. She did trust that he could do that, could get her prepared. In that moment she was very unprepared. More so than she’d ever been but she had faith he could get her to where she needed to be. This seemed to be like all the good karma she’d been waiting for after so many years in that nightmare she called a marriage. 

Wild Hearts Chapter Eight

The next day was very normal. For the most part. He took her out shopping for a bunch of new clothes and paid with everything using cash. The only reason she noticed this was because she had been routinely forced to do the same thing in order to hide purchases from Scott. He had always questioned everything she bought even if it was as mundane as a pack of gum or a soda. She wasn’t sure if Aurora was the same with everything Bill did but she knew that it would be a bad idea to have charges show up on a card for a few different women’s clothing stores. She hadn’t really gotten anything too expensive. It was nice enough for him to do it but beyond that she didn’t have expensive tastes. Other than her equestrian gear she was more or less a simple country girl. Comfort always won over design or style. She got a few different pairs of jeans, some shorts as well. A couple of tank tops and t-shirts. A new bikini because he wanted to go hang out on the beach with her. 

The only thing he was very insistent on her getting was a dress. A good one. Not fancy, actually it was more something that looked like it was supposed to be for clubbing. That and heels. He was very big on that, specific too. Like he knew exactly what he had in mind. The weird thing was that when he did this, she knew it should have annoyed her but it really didn’t. Maybe it was because he didn’t do it in a controlling way with no room to say no. He was insistent, certainly, but he wasn’t pushy. She didn’t feel anywhere near pressured to go get these things or try them on but there was something about how excited he seemed when he brought it up. Talked about taking her out. Like a puppy almost. She was the prize winning show horse and he just happened to have the pleasure of taking care of her. It made her feel more spoiled than controlled. Besides, he hadn’t chosen out any other clothing for her at all, and she knew very little about dresses for clubbing because she’d never done that. She kind of felt maybe he was the one who would know what would look great. She wanted to look great for him. 

There was no talk of pony anything over that day. They went to the beach, got food, walked up and down the boardwalk together. They had a good time. The only thing that bothered her was the total lack of mentioning that they’d done anything in the first place. She certainly didn’t need anything like that all the time but the way he had been talking, she had assumed it would be a topic of discussion far more than it was. When he didn’t even try to bring it up on Sunday and she knew that would be her last night there with him before she’d have to get back to work, she decided to do something about that. 

“Hey so...wait here I have a surprise for you.” She told him. 

“How could you possibly?” He asked with a laugh. 

“Just trust me I promise it’ll only take like five minutes at most okay?” She asked, “Just get yourself comfortable. Relax.” He nodded and finished his glass of wine before getting up and starting to clear the table. 

“Alright, I’ll humor you.” He said, “Five minutes though or I’m going to assume what you’re actually doing is snooping.” 

“Me? I would never.” She said with a smirk and hurried to the bedroom. When she was sure he hadn’t tried to follow or even pay attention to what she might do, she shut the door and went to the closet where he’d put the black box of stuff for the pony play they had been kind of getting into the first night. She opened it up and took out the entire outfit. She could actually see the way the teddy was made there was a specific clip right at the small of the back where the tail was supposed to go. The hair color of which definitely matched her own. Not that it was too surprising, brown wasn’t the most uncommon hair color in the universe. 

She carried everything into the bathroom, grabbing the new heels he’d gotten her along the way and started to get dressed. The teddy fit her alright, it was a bit too tight, kind of pushed her boobs up uncomfortably high because it was something with built in support but she figured she wouldn’t have to be in it too long and she did like how it looked. She hooked the tail into the back after taking time to brush it out. After that she put the head harness on and adjusted her hair as well as the horse ears on the top of her head to make them more realistically positioned. It definitely looked better with some minor work. When she was done with that she threw on the black heels. They matched everything. The teddy, stockings, and garter belt. Last but not least was the hoof gloves. Hard to get on by herself but not entirely impossible since she figured out how to used her teeth to fasten the second one. 

“Krystal?” Bill called from the bedroom. “It’s been way over five minutes, well..maybe not way over only ten but still. What is this about? You okay?” He was headed for the bathroom door. She took a deep breath and turned towards it. She didn’t know how good of an idea this even was but the full length mirror in the bathroom told her it was great, because as odd as the outfit was she also looked pretty damn hot. 

“Actually...need a bit of help can you get the door for me?” She asked, realizing there was no way she could open it now. 

“Okay…” He said. She took a step back and a moment later the door opened up. He poked his head open and looked so shocked she thought that he might very well pass out. “Fuck me.” He backed up quickly. It was a very weird reaction. She pushed back the door and stepped out more into the bedroom but he took another step back. His arousal was very much there though she could see it in the jeans he was wearing. 

“This is what you wanted right? You picked it out, I just put it on.” She laughed a bit nervously. He took a deep breath and stepped closer to her. He grabbed the back of the head harness and firmly tilted her head up to look at him. She swallowed hard, feeling the arousal shoot through her like a thousand different knives. Her whole body was on fire. 

“I do want it, I just don’t think I’m ready. Nor are you.” He said. 

“Ready for what?” She whispered. 

“What level of control I’ll be able to keep if we move this quickly.” He said, she could feel his hand starting to shake as he brought her in closer. “I don’t want to rush you, scare you off...anything like that. You said we were going to go slow.” 

“Well yes but-” 

“For me this isn’t slow.” He muttered, pushing her into him. Once again he started in with that firm rubbing against her he had done before, his hand slipping down over her back, down to the tail, she could feel him give it a bit of a tug. 

“Exactly what is it that you think is going to happen that will upset me?” She breathed, starting to rub back against him to provide a bit more friction, “Tell me what you need. I'm more than eager to give it to you. Show it to me Bill, show me what the fuck you got I can take it and if by any chance I was wrong, I’ll only have myself to blame.” 

“Fuck…” He panted, “You know what a safe word is right?” 

“Not...really but seems self explanatory. Guessing it’s some kind of code word you call if you wanna stop things from happening?” She asked because that seemed about right if she had to take a wild guess. 

“Right, choose one.” He said. 

“Okay but-” 

“Choose one and I’ll show you exactly what I mean but I won’t do it if you don’t have a safe way out.” He cut her off firmly. His tone of voice was arousing but at the same time almost scary, in a good way. Her heart was racing but she only wanted more of this, whatever was driving him to become almost feral. 

“Mayberry.” She said. 

“That’s what you’re going with?” He asked, “You’re sure of it.” 

“I’m sure.” She nodded. 

“Anything you want to add before I get started here?” He asked, his breathing increasing along with the movement of his hips. 

“No slapping my face, no hard restraints, no gags. I’m on birth control. That’s all I want to say.” She breathed. He nodded and used his grip on her head harness to very easily force her down onto her knees. 

“Stay.” He told her very firmly, holding up his hand like he was talking to an animal. She was too curious as to what the hell he thought he was going to do after that point to consider disobeying him so she nodded. He grinned at her and headed towards the closet before stepping inside. It was, indeed, a walk in closet. More than enough room to get changed into a different outfit and be comfortable while doing it. The only reason she’d chosen to move to the bathroom was because that’s where her brush had been and she’d needed to fix the tail a bit. She was more or less expecting him to come out of there, once again dressed in his riding gear, and her arousal only climbed as she waited for that very moment. 

The door opened once again and he was standing there, a complete equestrian outfit again but different from the first one. She wasn’t sure why he was so insistent on literally getting dressed for this specific activity but she also didn’t think she could complain. Not only did he look amazing in these perfectly form fitted clothes but it really helped to sell the fantasy to her as well. She found that as aroused as she had been before he went in there it just increased ten fold, seeing him reveal himself again. Unconsciously, she started to rise to her feet but he came towards her quickly, grabbing the head harness to force her down again. She let out an odd whine of frustration that sounded very similar to an animal, which may have been the intent. 

“Down,” He ordered her. 

“No!” She whined, “I want you.” 

“Of course…” He laughed, “But can you learn to control it yourself?” 

“I think the better question is...can you teach me?” She breathed, once again struggling against his hold. It was a firm grasp, nothing she couldn’t break out of if she didn’t want to. She also found that she didn’t. She kind of liked the push and pull of this power struggle. Also, this wasn’t very easy to do with the heels she was wearing. They were the usual footwear that she was accustomed to wearing. Not by a longshot. 

“Oh so that’s how you want it to be huh? Good, I like a challenge.” He chucked then shifted to step behind her before yanking her upwards. He grabbed her arm firmly and shoved her towards the wall near the bed, pinning her there almost with his full weight. Right after she felt the crop he had been holding in his gloved hand slap over her ass. She yelped and turned to look at him. The snap and the sting of it startling but not scary, no, it was far more sensual than that. Before she could recover he did it again. “You can make horse noises right?” 

“Is that what you want?” She panted. 

“I mean if...you don’t mind.” He leaned into her ear to speak, his voice smooth as silk. She pressed her face against the wall and groaned softly. She had to admit it was kind of weird but she didn’t really hate the idea either. 

“Can I still speak?” 

“You can do whatever you want, I’m the one who has to tame you.” He growled. She smiled but had very little time to rest as he pulled back and slapped her ass with the crop a third time. Instead of yelping again she decided to whinny softly then stomp her foot. “Fuck.” 

“That’s what you want?” 

“Keep going.” He whispered, striking her again. She repeated the act, getting louder and tossing her head like she was annoyed. She snorted at him and he slapped her again, she whinnied and kind of arched back against him almost like a buck, an attempt to throw him off of her. Either it was unexpected on his part or he was just playing along but he did stumble, taking a few steps back. “So that’s how it’s going to be?” 

“No gonna make this easy, Bill.” She breathed, “It’s not what you wanted.” 

“Damn right it isn’t.” He hissed, stepping back up towards her to pin her again, “So...let’s try something else.” He tossed the crop onto the bed and slapped her ass with the full force of his large hand. She let out a strangled cry as he kept it in place, giving the cheek that he’d grabbed a very nice, firm squeeze. His hands slipped down to her hips, grabbing them to pull them back towards him so she was more bent at the waist almost as if she were presenting her ass to him in a far more formal fashion. She turned to look at him over her shoulder, then wiggled a bit, mostly to shake the tail attached to her back. She stomped her foot again. 

“Wanna go for a ride?” She taunted. 

“I don’t think you want that…” He panted. 

“Why not?” She asked, “Don’t think you can handle it?” 

“You really think you’re gonna buck me off?” He asked, his grip around her getting a bit tighter. She tried to wiggle but it wasn’t easy in that position. One of his hands moved down, slipping between her legs, slapping roughly at her inner thighs to get her to spread them a bit which she did. Then his fingers ran over the crotch of the teddy firmly. She moaned, pressing her forehead to the wall and closing her eyes. After that, she snorted softly, tossing back her head. He gave her ass another slap. He moved the fabric at her crotch to the side, slipping in a finger immediately after. She groaned again, it was like his hands were made for exactly this purpose. “I see you’re definitely ready for me...you want it pretty fucking bad don’t you?” 

“Why don’t you stop fucking teasing me and try it?” She snarled at him. 

“Is that a challenge?” He asked, “You might want to learn pretty quick not to challenge me.” 

“Might wanna teach me an actual lesson before you say that, Bill.” She warned him with a breathless laugh. She heard him chuckle as well. The finger slid out of her, moving to tease her clit for a moment, sending a spark of pleasure through her. Not enough to make her cum but daringly close. It was as if he knew the exact right amount of pressure to use to be as completely annoying as he possibly could be. 

“Fine...if that’s what my little pony girl wants.” He growled. He pushed the tail off to the side so it was more over her hip before he shifted to get his cock out. “Might want to hold position there.” 

“Or what?” She breathed, “I can make it much easier you know.” 

“And what do you mean by that?” He asked. She glanced at him, his hand was already steadily working his cock as he stared at her intently. His eyes tracing her body like a hungry wolf staring a fresh cut of meat. She slowly put her hooves up on the wall to balance herself and slid down, bending more at the waist. She had to spread her legs a bit more to do it but this put her in a position that was far more similar to being on four legs instead of two. She was incredibly flexible and the only reason for this was that being loose was always a good idea for horseback riding. Especially if she was thrown. She found that not tensing up lessened the chance of injury so flexibility had always been a priority for her. “Shit...was not expecting that…” he muttered and she wasn’t even sure she was meant to hear it because it sounded more like he was talking to himself. 

“Gonna take me for a ride or what?” She asked, once again glancing at him from over her shoulder. He gave her a wicked grin and stepped up closer, sliding his cock in quite easily since she was very nearly dripping wet at that point. She moaned loudly, but it wasn’t nearly as loud as the groan of pleasure he made. Her ‘hoof’ slapped against the wall roughly, with a loud thud. He grabbed her hips firmly and gave one firm and deliberate thrust. She moaned and he did it again, then again. Very slowly starting to pick up the pace, as if going from a walk to a trot. His rhythm spot on. Completely perfect. “Oh fuck…” 

“How long can you hold this position?” He panted. 

“Long enough for a nice ride.” She breathed. 

“Good.” He said, a hand coming up to grab the back of her head harness like a pair of reins. He yanked her head back a bit, not uncomfortably so but almost as if he intended to use this as some sort of leverage. “It’s gonna be a rough one.” Before she could even attempt to consider the implications of that he started to really thrust into her, very much like he was actually riding her. Everything about this seemed very smooth and calculated, and it felt amazing. This wasn’t at all a position that she was familiar with for this act but it seemed like the perfect one to hit every spot inside of her and more. 

One hand at her hip, gripping it tightly, he pumped in and out of her rapidly. Holding her head back in position, restraining her to an extent but in a way that really only enhanced the experience. Like he was trying to maintain control of an unruly animal. She did struggle and pull at his grasp. Moaning and jerking, giving him a fight, not just because that’s what he seemed to want but she found she liked it as well. The struggle to find some kind of balance, decide who really was in charge here. His moans were quickly eclipsing hers, as he worked his hips harder and harder, pounding into her fiercely as if trying to combat her movements, win her over and break her. 

“God I’m close…” She cried when she didn’t think she could take much more of this. He was one hell of an expert mounting her pleasure and keeping her on edge but not doing much to help her find release either. 

“Oh...now Pony wants to behave, is that how it is?” He panted, “What makes you think I’m even close to done?” She knew that had to be a damn lie but fuck did she like how he said it. She whined and moaned, trying to thrust back towards him to speed the process up but he somehow, just with the grip of one hand, managed to steady her so she couldn’t. Not really. That didn’t stop her from trying though. 

“NOT FAIR!” She screamed. 

“Master is going to ride you until he’s fucking done riding you…” He growled. “Be a good little pony…” He slapped the side of her thigh roughly. She let out a strangled cry and moaned again, pressing her head into the wall as she attempted to steady her breathing. He slowed down to an achingly painful pace before speeding right back up again. Her moaning, almost continuous as he went through this process, whatever it was. Keeping her right on the edge of her climax almost as all times. It was horribly frustrating and yet one of the most amazing things she had ever experienced all at the same time. 

“PLEASE!” She screamed at him, her legs were starting to tremble and go weak, she wasn’t sure how much longer she could take this. 

“Please what?” He asked, “You can do better than that.” 

“Please let me cum!” She pleaded. 

“Who? Who should let you cum?” He demanded. Despite everything he was doing and all of the sensations her body was bombarded with at the moment she realized, just barely, what he wanted. He wanted to hear her call him Master. He didn’t want to tell her to do it, he wanted her to choose it. Even if part of her did wonder how much longer this could continue if she refused to meet his demands she found that he was right about this. Not only that but he deserved it. If anyone really was owning her ass right now it was him and she wanted to give him that power. 

“Master…” She whispered. 

“I’m sorry...what was that?” He asked with a bit of a breathless laugh, still moving his hips in all of this. 

“Please let me cum, Master.” She begged loudly thinking that was what he wanted to hear. 

“Good girl,” He purred a moment later. He released the grip on her head harness and move both hands to her hips. It was only then that his thrusting changed from a rough but pleasurable and deliberate pounding to something far more smooth and sensual. Something that was seriously intended to cause them a more mutual pleasure to reach climax. She moaned again, closing her eyes. He pressed into her forcing her forward so she slid up and was flatter against the wall again instead of bent at the waist. He pounded up into her, in and out, very quickly, his mouth moving to her neck licking and sucking. His moans breathless in her ear, coupled with grunts here and there from the effort of what he was doing. 

His hands slipped up from her waist, over her body sensually, pulling the teddy down more to expose her breasts. A hand grabbed her right tit and started to massage it expertly, his fingers working over the nipple as his other slipped over her stomach, then abdomen down to her aching cunt. 

“Ready?” He breathed in her ear. 

“Yes...yes please…” She mewled pathetically, ready to come undone with his touch. 

“Good, cum for me.” He purred. His fingers found her clit just as he bit into her shoulder. She screamed out in pleasure and pain. The combination hitting her just perfectly to send her over the edge. His movements becoming far less controlled and more like spasms as the waves of his own climax hit. His incredibly loud moans of pleasure muffled against her skin as he kept working her body through a second and then third orgasm before his hand moved away and he started to slow. He came to a stop shortly after, for the most part. His hips still seemed to be jerking a bit, involuntarily, as a few aftershocks of pleasure hit him until it was over. 

When it was, he rested against her, once again it was very nearly the full weight of him. He seemed to be aware he shouldn’t completely crush her but she was thinking that she probably wouldn’t even mind it. She liked the closeness, even if it was smothering. There was something very comforting about it. Almost protective. He pulled his mouth away from her shoulder and kissed at the skin where he’d bitten down. With the way it stung she was pretty sure that she was bleeding, there was definitely going to be a mark. She didn’t care. She wanted it there. 

“That was perfect.” She muttered once she could find her voice. 

“You’re telling me.” He replied and leaned in to kiss her cheek, “Sorry, didn’t mean to bite you so hard there.” She laughed and turned her head to look at him as best she could he straightened up a bit, his cock slipping out of her, causing her to whine ever so softly. 

“Thought you were going to be much worse with how you were talkin before.” She said, “I don’t mind though. Feels nice.” 

“I could have been a lot worse.” He said, gently moving back from her, straightening up and making himself decent once again. “Didn’t want to startle you or anything, I knew it was a bad idea.” 

“That was you holding back?” She asked, putting her ‘hooves’ on the wall to help straighten herself as well before she pushed back and turned. Her knees nearly buckled when she did that but he was very quick to catch her in his arms and steady her. “Fuck, sorry.” 

“Don’t be...glad to see I can actually do this to someone for a change.” He laughed and pulled her close to him. “Come on, let’s get you into the bathroom okay?” She nodded and smiled up at him, deciding not to address the first comment he had made. It was too painful to think about what he must be going through with that Aurora woman to cause him to also believe that he had no idea how to pleasure women. Maybe this would be exactly what he needed to come to his senses. Together they headed to the bathroom, his demeanor far more gentle and caring at that point. Making sure that she was okay, everything was good, and that she wasn’t feeling any sort of remorse or shame for what had happened. He was definitely the perfect gentleman, that was for sure. It was too bad that he was attached to another horse. 

Wild Hearts Chapter Seven

“What comes next then?” She asked softly. He couldn’t seem to stop staring at her but in all fairness she couldn’t exactly stop herself from staring at him. It was almost as if now that he’d actually taken the chance, gotten someone on board with this, he hadn’t figured it out. She didn’t blame him. She knew less than he did and he probably hadn’t considered he would or could get to this point. It seemed like it was something they were just going to have to learn together. How far did he want to take this though? It was obvious sexual to him, it definitely was to her. That simple fact denoted that neither of them should be in there doing it. He was in a relationship. A considerably toxic and abusive relationship but that was still a thing. She had never been the type to allow this sort of thing. Infidelity to this level, but she couldn’t help but think if she did this with him, for him, that maybe he’d wake up. He’d see everything going wrong with Aurora and he’d finally cut her loose. It was something that she decided, in her desperation, may be the best course of action. Stupid but still the best. 

“I uh...well you said no restraints right and I can definitely respect that but what about uh…” He went to the box and pulled something out and set it on the bed. That wasn’t what he seemed to be asking about as that was the fabric she’d seen before. It just seemed to be a pretty standard Teddy, black lace. Stockings. Possibly a garter belt. It was what was under that which he grabbed next and held up. It appeared to be gloves. Not just any gloves but ones in the shape of hooves. They were black and extremely beautiful. The hooves were gold plated. There was even something resembling an actual horseshoe under them. They would render her hands useless in way of grabbing anything because they’d essentially be hooves. However, should she want to be dangerous with those on, she very well could be. “I know that they will take away the use of your hands but feel them, here.” He held them out. She took them from him. They were heavy. 

“These were expensive.” She said softly, “You really went all out on this and without having a clue that it could ever work out. This is a big thing for you.” 

“You have no idea.” He replied. “I don’t know why either I think sometimes things just are the way they are.” If he wasn’t intent on restraining her but wanted her to wear these gloves, should he do anything she didn’t like she’d really be able to hurt him by slugging him in the face with one of these things. It would be like hitting him with a huge hunk of metal. She was fairly certain it wouldn’t come to that but he was giving her the option. In a weird way it definitely made her feel safer, she could do more damage to him with these things than with her bare hands. 

“I’ll need help getting them both on.” She said tossing one onto the bed as she pulled the other onto her left hand and fastened it around the wrist snugly with the strap there. It fit her perfectly and she took a moment to marvel at the craftsmanship of this. Maybe he was onto something here. There was a kind of unspoken sensuality to this. A weird eroticism that she’d never considered before but could feel in her soul. Her whole life had been horses. She’d always had an intense admiration for them, since she was young. Spent her life around them. As she’d gotten older they’d symbolized so much to her. Especially power and freedom. Not to mention some sort of magnificent beauty she felt she could never attain. In an odd way he was offering her so much more than he realized. More than maybe even she had known. He grabbed the other glove and she held her hand out towards him. 

He put the glove on it carefully, his hands were far from steady but he fastened it into place anyway. She held her hands up, or more accurately hooves, flexing her wrists and arms a bit until she took a position which was meant to kind of mimic a horse rearing up, like she very well could smack him in the face with one of her new hooves even if she didn’t intend to. Oddly enough he hadn’t even attempted to request she get more undressed. She was still in her jeans and t-shirt and he was very aroused. Something that wasn’t hard to miss with how tight those damn riding chaps were. 

“Perfect.” He muttered. “Absolutely...perfect.” She lowered her arms and tossed her head back a bit, more to get some hair out of her face because she didn’t have her hands to do it now. Then she smiled at him. His enjoyment of this only increased hers, for whatever reason. Probably had to do with the fact that they’d found this strange kinship between them. A very kinky match made in heaven. 

“What next?” She asked. 

“I never thought I’d get this far to be perfectly honest with you. Not that I’m disappointed by any means you look amazing. Just...this is even better than I’d hoped.” He stepped closer to her, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her in closer to him. “I guess what needs to happen now is a discussion about what is and isn’t okay.” 

“I should warn you I may not even be the best to attempt this with after...with my history.” She said. He moved in pressing his mouth to her neck, kissing and biting at the skin there a bit. He was rubbing into her firmly, his movements getting more and more intense. He started to groan and she kind of wondered if he even intended to stop. She honestly didn’t mind it, if anything it was extremely arousing. A man like him reacting like this to her. It was almost as if he couldn’t control himself. “I mean that’s what he wanted me to be you know...a pet.” 

“That’s not what this is not really…” He breathed in her ear, “Fuck...I need a moment.” He gently moved back from her and ran a hand through his hair while he bit into his bottom lip. He took a deep breath and headed around the bed towards the bathroom shutting the door behind him. It was obvious what he was going to do in there, and that thing would prevent him from ruining that nice outfit. Against her better judgement she walked over to the bathroom door but didn’t attempt to enter, she did knock softly though. 

“Need...help?” She asked awkwardly, not even sure how to phrase this. She’d never initiated anything in her one and only relationship. It was always initiated for her, even if she didn’t want it. As much as it was obvious he was supposed to be the dominant here, at least in her mind, he was handling it far differently than she expected. 

“Help? I uh...you don’t have hands.” He replied back sounding breathless. She looked down at her ‘hooves’ and smiled. 

“Thought that was the point.” She told him. She heard him groan, that sounded more breathless than the laugh. “I may not know much about this, Bill, but I know it’s highly charged and sexual for both of us. We should probably stop avoiding the acknowledgement of that part. However, uh...what’s the deal here? Can you explain it to me?” 

“It’s not just as simple as all that.” He said after a moment. 

“You’ve come this far and I’m not runnin away screaming. Maybe try. I want to help you or I wouldn’t be here dressed like this.” She said, “I also don’t want to pressure you and it’s obvious you aren’t here to pressure me. Tell me what you need me to do and we’ll go from there okay?” There there was silence for another long moment then the sound of water running before the door opened and he looked at her again, he was still very much aroused but seemed more in control of it by that point. 

“It’s not really about ownership that’s probably why it’s horses.” He said. 

“What do you mean?” She asked. He moved past her to sit on the bed. She turned to face him but remained standing. 

“First off I really don’t know much about horses so don’t laugh this is just how it all works in my mind. It’s not about accuracy as much as perception. That’s pretty much how fantasies work, right?” He said. 

“No I...I get that.” She nodded. 

“Well with a horse it’s like more of a working relationship of understanding than ownership. Yes I guess you technically own and train them but you kind of also are aware of their power and strength. That they could just trample you, throw you, kick you. It’s more mutual. I mean I’m sure that in reality you’ve come across some horses that were outright difficult to you and some that it just seemed to work better with. It feels like, maybe there’s a choice there or there should be a choice that you believe that you want to do this for me and with me because it’s also what I want. Not force but a...like an agreement that you are powerful and...and strong but you allow me to...uh...be in control.” He said. From her perspective what he was saying wasn’t entirely incorrect about horses. It was an interesting way to think of it, but one could really also think of dogs that way too, if they wanted. Any domesticated animal. For whatever reason his mind had settled on horses being this way though. Not that it mattered. It certainly fit with her own interests. 

What she found more interesting was how he’d come to think of this relationship in his mind. That it wasn’t about force, ultimate domination, it was about a mutual arrangement. Somehow, horses represented this arrangement and it became his ultimate fantasy. She looked down at her hoof gloves. The ones she was sure if she swung on him with she could floor him just because of how the were weighted. An element of danger there. Something where he’d always know in the back of his mind that the potential was there. Almost like when she’d warned him about his horse getting spooked out on the trails. The question of how much she could or would tolerate, how much control he had. 

“Is training involved in this whole situation?” She asked, “Cause that’s usually what you do when you first get a horse. Breaking it if we’re talking young or for some reason wild. If what you want is this mutual understanding thing then...is that where it starts?” 

“Yes,” He said, not looking at her, “Which...I know considering your former situation is terrible to ask you in the first place.” 

“But you did ask me. You didn’t make me or well you’re giving me a choice to try it.” She said, “Very different from where I was before. I have chosen to go this far and believe me I’ve learned well enough that I ain’t doing shit anymore I don’t want to. Especially not caving to some man no matter how tall, handsome, and well dressed he is.” 

“Would you choose to go further then?” He asked. “If I requested it.” 

“Yes, but I never done anything like this before so probably not going to make it easy. Gotta assume that’s also part of the fantasy.” She said. 

“Not wrong about that.” He laughed kind of nervously. 

“Don’t worry I’m not very surprised.” She told him. Even if she wasn’t going to get into the logistics of why. It was so painfully obvious that his total desire for this type of thing stemmed from loss of control. Loss of mutual respect. The fact that he didn’t have this one thing. She didn’t know how long he’d been with Aurora but he said something about high school. He was definitely in his late twenties. She hadn’t looked it up but she was sure of that. It was a long time to be under such a lock and key. A long time to be craving something like this. “You want to feel in control but you don’t want to feel it at the expense or fear of your partner and you want her or...well them...whoever it is to have the ability to control the experience as well. That is if they decide enough is enough.” 

“Yeah,” He said. “I know you know why.” 

“And maybe it’s the same reason I’m willing to take this to the next step.” She said, “Maybe I feel I need the same. The only problem is that I ain’t a homewrecker.” 

“No offense but do you really think anything can be more wrecked than it is?” He asked, giving her a desperate almost pleading look. She was already aware that asking him to leave this woman was out of the question. She was right back to the idea that doing this with him, allowing him to have this, could give him the strength to leave. It may not, but did she have other options? Cutting him off cold wouldn’t help either of them. Not as much as she equally desired to experience this with him. 

“It’s between us though, I don’t talk about you, you don’t talk about me. This is just us. No one else. That’s it.” She said. 

“Obviously, I’m sure I could have an NDA drawn up to protect both of us if you need that first.” He said. “Then I guess it would be between me, you, and a lawyer but that would be it.” She wasn’t even worried about her reputation; she was worried about that Aurora bitch straight up stabbing her if she figured it out. She had no intention of spreading his private business around to anyone. 

“Not necessary.” She said and stepped towards him dropping to her knees and lowering her head. She heard his breath hitch in his chest, then his hand on top of her head stroking her hair a moment later. She leaned in slowly, getting her mouth near his very apparent bulge because she honestly couldn’t keep him sitting there like that without doing something for him. The poor guy was probably losing his mind here and she liked him too much to not offer him some kind of release. Since she didn’t have her hands this was the best way to show him. That and he seemed to like the horse thing. He groaned and easily grabbed the back of the head harness, almost like they were actual reins and moved her head back. Firmly but gently. 

“No one told you to do that.” He whispered. 

“I ain’t broke yet. Deal with it.” She told him with a grin. He let out a very odd sound, half way between a moan and a whine. She struggled against his hold trying to get back to his covered cock. There was a bit of a fight there before ultimately, she allowed him to win out. Wanting so desperately to be tamed by him in so many ways it was easy. She looked up at him then, with a whine and a bit of a snort. Almost like a horse would. She’d spent so much time around them she definitely knew how to duplicate any behavior or noise they may make. 

“Oh fuck you’re really gonna need to stop doing that,” he muttered and let go of her. It was only seconds after that in which he had his cock out, and she didn’t blame him either. Her eyes went wide, it was an amazing cock. A bit larger than she’d been expecting but nothing that would turn her away from him. He gripped the harness a bit more firmly, his free hand starting to stroke himself. “This is what you really want?” 

“Yes, I do.” She whispered. 

“You want this cock?” He growled. 

“Yes, very much.” She told him, her gaze switching back and forth between what his hand was doing and the expression on his face. He pulled her a bit closer. Essentially jacking off right in her face. Not something she’d really experienced before but, at the same time easily picked up on being a daring power move. “Please.” 

“You think you deserve it?” He asked. It didn’t take much to figure out that this seemed to stem from a need to be desired. This meant the answer wasn’t supposed to be yes. 

“No...I don’t deserve it, I’ve been a very naughty little pony haven’t I?” She replied. His reaction was not only quick but it was loud. His orgasm hitting only seconds after she spoke those words. She didn’t think she’d ever seen someone cum that hard, it was insanely erotic, enough so that she hardly minded that most of it had gotten on her face, over her lips, down her chin and neck. The heat of it only igniting her own desire more. Wave after wave traveling through her body. A few shivers of pleasure soon followed. 

“Oh my god I am so sorry.” He panted, releasing her suddenly. She blinked a few times and looked up at him. 

“Don’t be…” She whispered, licking her lips slowly to get a taste of his cum. Her only regret was he hadn’t gotten more near or in her mouth. She’d never have pictured herself liking anything of this sort ever before but fuck did she now. Whatever was happening here she was feeding off of his energy like crazy. 

“You’re...okay?” He asked. 

“More than okay.” She said, “Really fucking horny if I’m going to be honest here, sir.” 

“Oh...okay okay shit...hang on.” He told her and hurried to make himself decent again then leaned over to grab a few tissues from the nightstand, obviously with the intent to clean her up. She shook her head when he leaned in to do it though, pulling back slightly. “What now?” 

“I want to taste it.” She said, “More of it...please?” 

“You’re sure of this?” He asked. 

“Like you wouldn’t goddamn believe.” She told him. “If you think I deserve it of course.” He slid down off of the bed and onto his knees in front of her. His hand moving to her face gently, to wipe off more of the cum, getting it on his fingers. 

“Of course I do,” He muttered. She opened her mouth for him without him even suggesting she do that and he very easily slipped his fingers into her mouth. She started to suck on them eagerly. He groaned softly, as he watched this, her eyes made contact with his. They held for a long moment before he removed his fingers only to repeat the act. The second time, sliding his fingers further in. Enough to make her gag, just slightly, before retracting. As if he were testing the waters of what she could or couldn’t handle. She coughed as his fingers left her mouth a second time. “You really like this, don’t you?” 

“Yes...how much...begging do you need for uh...I...please just touch me.” She begged him pathetically. He nodded, first cupping her face firmly in his hands to pull her into a passionate kiss which she returned with equal energy. His hands slipped from her face, moving to scoop her up in his arms. He got to his feet and turned, laying her down on the bed before getting over her. His legs straddling hers as he knelt there. He leaned down, kissing her again. His hands working over top of her shirt. Her breasts first. It was almost as if they were just the perfect size to caress and massage them in exactly the way she needed. She moaned into his mouth, arching her back up towards him before his hands slid down more. Getting to the waist of her jeans and opening them up. 

“Maybe...I want a bit of a taste as well.” He breathed against her lips. 

“What?” She whispered. “Bill…” 

“I won’t if you don’t want me to but-” 

“It’s just never happened before.” She said, “I uh...I’m not sure what to expect.” She started to blush, hating to have to admit that and even a bit embarrassed at the thought. She wasn’t a virgin to most things and she was aware of what oral sex definitely was. The idea that someone would want to ever do that to her, on purpose, had never crossed her mind. She almost thought she’d not be able to handle it. 

“I’ll be gentle, if you need me to stop just say stop.” He said. “Okay?” 

“Y-Yeah…” She said softly. She certainly wasn’t opposed to trying it out. How bad could it be? If anything it was supposed to be good, that was the intent, so she allowed it to continue. He made quick work of getting her jeans off, as well as her panties. Just as she was starting to second guess how good of an idea this might be, his mouth was on her cunt. His tongue working over her folds. The sensation incomparable to anything she’d ever felt. She moaned loudly, immediately arching up towards him. He grabbed her hips, his hands sliding under her to her ass which he squeezed firmly, tilting her up just a bit more to press his face in closer. His tongue sliding into her, teasing her in ways she didn’t think possible. She screamed out. Her glove covered hands slamming down into the bed under her. “Oh my fucking….God…” 

He must have groaned next or something because she could feel vibrations through his lips and possibly his tongue. There was no way she was going to last much longer. Having a climax by anything other than her own hand was completely alien to her. This was not an experience she was ever used to having with a partner. Never thought she could have, would have, but he was a fucking god with that tongue...those perfect pouty lips. Seemed to know exactly what he was doing, playing her body like and instrument, drawing her closer and closer to climax. Slowing down, speeding up. Then his tongue found her clit, he sat up a bit more and growled as he applied pressure. She gasped, letting out a strangled cry, this sound enough to actually get her to look at him. His gaze so intense and hungry that it triggered her release. She screamed out in pleasure bucking up towards his mouth heavily as he kept going. Staying there, knowing exactly what he was doing with his tongue, utilizing it perfectly to enhance every last wave of pleasure traveling through her until she was finally spent. Going limp in his hands as she tried to catch her breath. He gently released her, lowering her back to the bed. He sat back on his knees sucking on his lips for a moment before moving back over her, offering her a gentle kiss as he did. She kissed him back. 

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up, holding her against him, a hand on the back of her neck as the kiss deepened. This continued for a good, long moment before he broke away from it. A hand coming up to brush a bit of hair out of her eyes. He smiled at her and she smiled back, breathless and entirely satisfied. He reached down and took one of her ‘hooves’ in his hand and unbucked the glove, taking it off, for her. He then did the other, but this hand he brought to his lips kissing her fingertips then her palm, keeping eye contact with her the whole time before moving back. She reached up and stroked his hair softly. It was just as wonderful soft as she’d imagined. 

“That was amazing.” She told him. “Thank you.” 

“No, thank you.” He said and leaned in to kiss her cheek, “Come on. We should get cleaned up.” She nodded in agreement and he got up, reaching for her hand to help her to her feet. She found that she could barely stand after an orgasm like that but it was nice. She leaned heavily against him as he helped her into the bathroom. Even if part of her was sure that they shouldn’t have done any of that, she couldn’t feel an ounce of regret for it. It was clearly something they had both desperately needed and she couldn’t wait to see where exactly he intended to take this with her next.  

Wild Hearts Chapter Six

When they got back to the set they went right to the trailer. Bill went in first to make sure the coast was clear while she hung around a safe distance outside having a cigarette. Once he had confirmed that Aurora was gone, he came out and motioned for her to come inside. He looked happier than she’d seen him the entire week. The only real problem was that they had lied about getting him new boots and none of that had happened at all. She guessed they could come up with some sort of excuse or say they had to be specially ordered because Bill’s feet were huge but he didn’t seem too concerned with that. It was possible no one was even going to notice in the long run. 

“Alright so give me a minute okay? Need to go arrange a few things.” He said. “Get changed into...well whatever the second nicest thing you own is. Okay?” 

“It’s not gonna be more than jeans that aren’t ripped and a t-shirt.” She told him. 

“Good enough.” He said and hurried out of there. He wanted to take her out and arrange something, what she didn’t know. He also seemed to think jeans and a t-shirt were fine for whatever this was so she couldn’t really complain. With his elevated mood it was almost as if he didn’t notice he was in pain anymore. It kind of made sense because there would be a lot more  endorphin production. That and he did take two percocet on the way back to the set. They had definitely kicked in by that point since it took almost an hour. She showered and got dressed in a black t-shirt with her nicest jeans. Her best shoes were still the riding boots she owned and they were comfortable so she put those back on as well. As she was brushing her hair out he came back into the trailer. 

“So...what’s the plan for tonight?” She asked. 

“Wow you look nice.” He said. 

“I do not, you’ve just never seen me in anything other than my riding gear or with my hair down.” She told him. She always put it up because it was easier that way and fit better under the helmet. Kind of completed the whole professional look. 

“I still think it looks nice,” He said. “Anyway I’m going to get cleaned up and then we can head out. They are going to give us a few days off.” 

“Normally I’d ask if you were sure that was a good idea but…” 

“We are in pre-production. Truth be told I don’t even have to really be here to learn this stuff. I specifically requested it because I like my characters to be realistic. There’s nothing really contractual about this. I can more or less come and go as I please with some exceptions. When we start filming that will be a different story.” He explained. She nodded and guessed he had a point. 

“But you got me off as well?” She asked. 

“They don’t really need you here if you aren’t working with me, or at least that’s what I made them think. Is this a complaint or…?” 

“No, just making sure.” She laughed, “You were right back in the car, I haven’t had fun in a very long time.” 

“Then we will have to make sure you get a lot of it.” He said and grabbed some random clean clothes before heading into the bathroom. She watched him then got up and grabbed her small makeup kit once he was in there to touch up her face a bit. She wasn’t sure what this was, if it was supposed to be a date or just hanging out. Not that she’d refuse either way. The important thing here was that he wanted her to have fun and that was exactly what she intended to be doing. Having fun. It was very helpful that she’d also gotten paid that day as well. It was a once a week thing. Since she now had this trailer to stay in for the duration of filming it was going to help her save even more money. He was working just as many miracles for her as she hoped that she was for him. 

*****

“Can I drive?” He asked as they arrived at her car which was parked on the crew lot just outside of the property area. 

“Uh well-” 

“I have a license I told you it’s just easier to use the car service.” He said, “You want to see it?” She smiled. 

“It’s not you I don’t trust it’s this piece of shit car.” She laughed, “But if you insist then I guess I’m fine with it, just don’t blame me if the thing breaks down at random.” She got the keys from her pocket and tossed them in his direction. He caught them and they both got in before he started the car up and looked at her. 

“I can’t blame you for something an old car does.” He said, “Well I guess I could but I wouldn’t that would be asinine and get us nowhere.” 

“Point taken.” She said then fastened her seatbelt as he started to pull out of there. “Why do you want to drive anyway?” 

“Because I don’t want you to know where we are going until we get there.” He said with a grin. She did question if it was very smart to let him drive while also on percocet but she kind of trusted he could handle himself. Knew his own abilities and knew when it was or wasn’t okay to drive. He was doing just fine getting out of there, no worse than she’d have been driving and after more than a few minutes on the road she realized that there wasn’t much to worry about. If he was taking medication like this regularly for other reasons then he was probably used to the effects of it by that point. 

“Alright,” She said, “But we should probably stop by a bank before they close. Have to deposit my check or I won’t-” 

“Everything tonight is my treat. Don’t worry about it. I owe you for that medical bill anyway.” He said. 

“Just pay the bill and-” 

“Don’t worry I’ll take care of that too.” He said, “Just, let me show you a good time okay? Stop fighting it. You deserve this no matter what you’re trying to tell yourself.” 

“If you insist I will try to relax a bit more.” She told him. He laughed and she leaned in to turn the radio on. It was set to a station that played a mix of classic and country rock. She kind of hoped it wouldn’t annoy him too much but he wasn’t saying anything about it. Sort of set the mood for the road trip, wherever he happened to be taking her that was. She could tell that they were headed into the actual city of Los Angeles but considering how huge that place was it didn’t give her much if any details about where they might end up. 

It was nice to have someone else driving her around for a change, especially in this traffic which he wasn’t wrong about. Kind of odd since he was such a celebrity and she was a nobody but, she managed to relax and just enjoy the trip. When he entered the Venice beach area, near the pier she knew exactly where they were. He took a few backstreets and pulled into a driveway before parking the car next to a much nicer one. They were at a beach house, semi private. Something that was definitely worth millions. 

“Come on.” He said. 

“Uh…” 

“It’s my house, it's fine.” He told her heading for the garage door which had a keypad on the outside. He entered a code and the door started to open. She got out of the car kind of in shock. Not at the fact that he had a fancy house but that he’d brought her here in the first place. Then she remembered something about Aurora being in a hotel. 

“Bill-” 

“She doesn’t live with me.” He said, “She can’t get in without a key it’s fine. Really.” 

“Oh,” She said. They were just engaged after all so she guessed it made sense. She was rather surprised she didn’t also have free access to his house but if he was filming a lot then he might not also be there. She may not have seen a need to gain access to it. He was also a smooth talker. It was possible he spent more time with her or even in Stockholm. She hadn’t really asked about how much he commuted. She entered with him through the garage where there was another car, a much nicer sports car and into the kitchen through the door inside after climbing a short flight of stairs. The place was amazing. Very modern, open design. This was where he lived? “No offense but you can’t just stay here while filming?” 

“I could and will when she’s not in town.” He said, “She wants me in the hotel when...can we just not talk about her for awhile?” 

“Yeah sorry it’s not my business anyway.” She said, “You have a very nice house, I really like it but why bring me here?” 

“Quiet, private, and here…” He took her arm gently and led her through the kitchen into the living room. From where they were she could not only see the beach and the ocean but the boardwalk. In the far distance she could see the pier. He had prime realty adjacent to a bunch of stuff to do. Clubs, stores, street performers, the beach. It wouldn’t even be that long of a walk. She’d spent time here on occasion but she’d never had any money. It had been nice to look at but rather boring when you couldn’t even buy yourself a hot dog. “See? And what you’re wearing is perfect for the area.” 

“This is amazing, Bill.” She said, “Thank you so much but where exactly am I sleeping tonight?” 

“I have a guest room.” He said, “Can I get you a drink?” 

“Sure, guess a beer would be fine.” She told him and went to sit down on the couch. Glancing around the room she saw a huge flat screen TV across from where she was and in the corner a very modernly designed glass fireplace. It was so quiet there, very peaceful. She could even kind of hear the sound of the waves on the shore. He was back a moment later with two beers holding one out to her she took it and he sat next to her. “You really should rest though.” 

“Where’s the fun in that?” He replied. 

“It’s not fun, it's sensible.” She laughed. “How about you rest tonight, maybe we order in and watch a movie and tomorrow you can take me out. Okay?” She took a few gulps of beer. It was some designer hipster microbrew brand she’d never heard of but probably cost like 20$ a bottle. It was very good. 

“Fine but I really want to get to know you if that’s what we’re going to do.” He said. 

“Why?” She asked, “Think you know most of what there is to know already. Horse trainer, ex-husband, living in my car, went to nursing school, have no idea who you are. That’s about it.” 

“Yeah but you’re the first person to not...you don’t act different around me.” He said, “I know it sounds maybe like that’s a lie but you don’t understand that the circles I’m in with her and...her friends. I don’t get to really meet people like you. Not really. Sometimes on movie sets but there’s also usually not a reason to work so close with them. There wasn’t even really a reason now. They could have found a stunt double for the horse scenes they could have done a lot of shit. I just thought you know it would be something to get away. That she wouldn’t want to go out there because horses smell and it’s nature. Bad phone reception or something. It didn’t work. Worth a try but didn’t work. I honestly expected you to be like some big, burly dude not what you actually turned out to be.” 

“You want to get to know me because I don’t know you?” She asked, “I’m sorry where do you think this is going to lead exactly?” 

“Friendship.” 

“You kiss all your friends like that?” She asked him and took another gulp of her drink. “If all you’re interested in is the fact that I don’t know you then I’m sorry but-” 

“Horses.” He said, “That’s why.” 

“Horses?” She asked. “You mean the fact that we’ve both fallen off them but you refuse to shoot yours?” He laughed kind of bitterly and looked away from her. He took a deep breath then gulped down a bunch of his beer before standing up. 

“Come here.” He said, “I’ll show you.” She was kind of curious now, and found it interesting that he hadn’t said anything about what she had. It was the first time she’d made a very clear reference to Aurora being his horse and he didn’t correct it. Didn’t defend it. Didn’t justify it. She had thought it might make him angry but it hadn’t. Instead she just followed him up another set of stairs and down the hall to his bedroom. 

“I’m sorry what the fuck does being in your bedroom have to do with horses?” She asked him. 

“I’m going to show you.” He said and took another sip of beer before setting the bottle down on the nightstand. “Stay right there, or well...just get comfortable this will take a minute.” She sighed but nodded and sat down on the edge of his bed while he disappeared into what looked like a walk in closet. She took another sip of her drink and got her phone out to browse Instagram and random other things. It was then that she got the bright idea to look up his instagram. He didn’t have one. Nothing official anyway. That’s when she checked Auroras. On there she saw pictures of him from very recently. The ones he’d reluctantly taken with her and even the one where she’d obnoxiously set the flash off in his face. All of them were captioned with something obnoxiously stupid like “My man” “My Husband” “My Love”. She nearly wanted to retch. The more she scrolled down the more she saw. Bill being pulled around like an accessory, and it was obvious in most pictures he didn’t appreciate it, at all. The latest few pictures on the account were of Aurora on some fancy ass plane. Bragging about getting to go to Milan again, saying something about how she hoped it wasn’t as boring as Paris. 

“Fucking bitch…” She muttered to herself and took another drink. It was only then that she caught the picture of Bill with the bruise on his face clearly visible. Captioned: “His clumsy dumbass fell off a horse.” She nearly screamed and threw the phone, and probably would have had she not heard Bill clear his throat, causing her to look up. The phone did slip from her hand but for an entirely different reason. “Sweet mother Mary…” 

“You like it?” He asked. Not only did she like what she saw, she was pretty sure if she tried to stand up her legs would be too weak to hold her. He was dressed in one of the most amazingly stunning equestrian outfits she’d ever seen. Complete with riding crop in his hand. Gloves as well. Everything perfectly tailored, form fitted, sleek. He looked powerful. Confident. Absolutely perfect. She’d have been lying entirely if she’d said that this wasn’t one of her biggest goddamn kinks in the whole universe and he was standing there so completely smug it was like he knew. 

“You...you have no idea.” She whispered and went to take another sip of her beer, her hand shaking more than she wanted it to. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before chugging a good portion of the drink and getting to her feet. With his height, slim build, intense eyes, and charming smile this was just too much. “No...I can’t do this.” 

“Can’t you?” He asked, stepping towards her holding the crop out expertly, placing it under her chin. She didn’t know what this was, some sort of fetish crap she’d never heard of before, seen, but she supposed she was lucky. Had she known this was a thing way before now it may have destroyed her. She wasn’t unaware of porn or even romance novels. She’d read a ton of those because her love life with Scott left a lot to be desired but she’d definitely not gotten to this part of it. 

“Y-You have a lot of explaining to do.” She said, very carefully moving the crop away from her chin even though she didn’t want to. What she wanted to do was fall to her knees and kiss the ground he walked on which was completely unlike her after what had happened. He was different too, not entirely, but it was like he’d gained a huge dose of charisma just by changing into this outfit. 

“About what?” He asked. 

“About what the fuck you’re doing with this outfit which by the way, all of it, close to five grand with how your customized it. Yet, you barely know how to ride horses, you don’t suck but you definitely needed my help. So why, in holy loving hell would you invest in that while not knowing dick about actual horses.” She asked him, her anger based way more in the fact that she was upset with herself for getting so goddamn turned on by him when she knew it was a bad idea. 

“Because this isn’t about actual horses, if you haven’t noticed most of our conversations haven’t been about real horses.” He said. “There are things about me that are...different from what I guess you’d normally find. Aspects of my personality I can’t share with just anyone...not even her but I knew...I knew it would be you.” 

“Me what? That you like to dress like uh...a fucking...fuck Bill…” She turned away from him, her face getting hot. “Well we still...I can’t.” 

“This isn’t exactly the end of it.” He said stepping up behind her and pulling her close. For some very odd reason this very action didn’t startle her. She was aware that maybe it should but there was something between them now. A weird unspoken trust. Especially after what they’d been through that day. Her hands on his skin, feeling his back over his neck. His hands in her hair, her lips pressed against his. She didn’t fear him, she trusted him and he trusted her. By random chance it had happened he felt it too. 

“There’s more?” She whispered. Fuck did she want to know the answer to this as much as she wanted to pull away. Not because she was afraid of him but because she was afraid of what this might mean. Not just about him but herself. What the hell was he doing to her? 

“A lot more.” He leaned down and breathed in her ear. “Just let me show you and if you really want to leave after I won’t hold it against you but you won’t…” 

“Confident about that?” 

“If I wasn’t you wouldn’t fucking be in here.” He said, his voice as smooth as silk. Deep. The vibrations hitting her in every single way they needed to in order to heat her up more. How was he so fucking good at this? 

“Show me then.” She said, hardly believing that she was saying it in the first place. He laughed softly and moved away from her. She turned and watched as he went back to the closet and grabbed a black box of some sort. He walked over to the bed and set it down on the bench before opening it up and pulling out just one thing. She definitely knew what it was meant to be; it was just made for a human instead of a horse. He looked at her and tossed it onto the bed. Her eyes followed it then went back up to him. 

“Leaving?” He asked. Goddammit he was right. She stepped towards the bed and reached out but he quickly slapped her hand with the crop causing her to yank it back quickly. “Don’t, unless you’re putting it on.” 

“You mean you are.” She said. 

“What?” He asked. 

“If I’m supposed to be the pony here, I don’t see how I’d have hands to do it.” She told him. What he was showing her was a face harness complete with horse ears at the top. Something that would wrap over her face, under her eyes, attach behind her head and it came complete with what looked like a bit. It was rubbed, obviously meant to be a gag, but there was no mistaking that he was suggesting that she be his pony. He stared at her for a moment like he was thinking about this. 

“You’re serious?” He asked. 

“Yes, isn’t this what you wanted?” She replied. 

“Of course but I was kind of...bluffing, just a tad.” He laughed, “I mean I wasn’t sure any of that would work.” 

“But here we are. Remind me to make a note of what a good actor you are.” She sighed, “This is what you want though? This...experience? You ever done it before? I ain’t going to be using shit that another-” 

“Never. I’ve never even told anyone.” He said. 

“But you chose me?” She asked. 

“Just a hunch.” He said, “But you don’t know what this is either do you? Did you even know this about yourself?” 

“Never really considered this side of it, no. How you are dressed yes...just didn’t really get as far as to think of what my role might be. I can’t say I’m shocked that if this is the conclusion it comes to I would like it. How did you find it out and if you’ve never done this before why do you have the outfit?” She asked. 

“This? Came up with an excuse to buy it for some Halloween party she didn’t know why I wanted it but she didn’t care because it matched her stupid princess outfit. Prince charming something I don’t know I wasn’t paying attention.” He said flippantly, “As for how I found out...well when your girlfriend is blue balling you, it’s easy to fall into some weird rabbit holes of porn. Something about it just caught my attention.” 

“But you didn’t go to her first. Why?” She asked. 

“Really?” He asked, “Is that something you can’t figure out yourself? Who do you think she wouldn’t tell and you felt my back the fuck do you think that was? You think I’m the one using the crop ever?” That outburst was so sudden and startling she actually took a step back. That was the closest she’d gotten to him admitting anything about actually being abused. 

“Sorry I didn’t mean to-” 

“I shouldn’t have reacted like that, I’m sorry.” He said, “I...I do want this. I understand if you can’t or won’t but you really are the first person I’ve ever brought in here to do this with. Check it out, it’s new. I may have had it for a while but it’s new.” He motioned to the box and the harness on the bed as well, using the crop to do it. She stepped closer and picked up the face harness first, running her fingers over the leather and the smooth rubber of the bit gag. She could find no signs this had ever been used. For one, it was leather and there was nothing to signify wear and tear or that it had even been unfastened from its original placement. She could still smell how fresh the rubber was on the gag. She glanced in the box to see what was even left. Not much. Seemed like some fabric but she wasn’t sure what, and a length of hair that was obviously meant to be a tail. The way it was folded and tied it had never been undone or brushed out either. He’d been desperately planning this never being able to really see it through until now. He was serious. 

“I’m not sure I can do the gag right away.” She said after a moment. “Restraints either not until I know you can be trusted. This has to go slow, very slow and if we’re all up in here not using specifics but dancing around it, then you can figure out why.” 

“I get it.” He said, “Suppose I can wait until you’re ready to share that part of it.” 

“Same goes for you.” She said and detached the gag from the face harness easily enough. She tossed it onto the bed and held the rest of it towards him. He looked at her for a long moment as if waiting for confirmation and she nodded her head. He took it from her hand gently. 

“Turn around.” He said softly. She did as she was told and allowed him to put the thing on her. Something he was surprisingly gentle about, even very careful not to get her hair caught. Positioning everything just right, like he was sure of how each thing was supposed to be placed. How he wanted it to look. “Face me.” She felt his hands drop, everything was definitely in place, a firm but not uncomfortable hold. She took a deep breath and turned to look at him, not even having seen herself first. What she saw was his reaction. His eyes light up with a hunger she wasn’t sure she’d ever seen from any man looking in her direction. The way she was sure her face lit up when she’d seen him standing there dressed in that outfit. He stepped towards her getting a bit closer. 

“Is it what you wanted?” She breathed softly, getting more and more nervous the longer it took for him to say anything. His hand came up to caress her cheek softly, a thumb moving over her lips. He was shaking, his eyes scanning her, taking in the view as if she were some stunning work of art like he’d never imagined in his wildest dreams. Slowly he licked his lips, his hand dropped down, and he brushed a loose strand of hair over her shoulder. 

“More,” He breathed. She couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face next. Nor could she stop the burning heat that rushed to her face, the desire welling up inside of her. Enough to make her nearly scream. She wasn’t exactly sure where it was supposed to go from here but she was very eager to find out. 

Masterlist

Wild Hearts (Bill Skarsgard x Original Female Character)

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Wild Hearts Chapter Five

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. In fact, the next few days were uneventful. Other than what she saw the first day, Aurora had been mostly tame. She whined a lot but kind of kept her distance. She never came around the horses or the riding ring when Bill was there and it made her life a hell of a lot easier. Bill seemed mostly okay. The bruise on his face was starting to heal and he wasn’t complaining about being in pain. He didn’t bring up Aurora much either. They really only talked about the movie and got to know each other better and better. The more stunts he had to learn the more trust and work went into the process. By the end of the week, she had been provided with outside location information. The property, being as huge as it was, provided a trail and different areas of the forest that they would be filming and where Bill would riding. She decided that it was probably a good idea to take him out into actual nature. There was so much more to learn out there. 

She tried to plan for any potential problems that could arise. She took some food and water, a first aid kit and a pocket knife. All of this was pretty standard to what she usually took, even when she was back home. She’d never had a real emergency situation but there had been small injuries and at least one time a snake bite. Luckily it hadn’t been anything venomous just very painful. The chances of that happening where they were weren’t high but it was California and the mountains. There were many other problems. If one of the horses got spooked and Bill had no clue how to handle that then she’d definitely have an issue. It was her intent to train him how to handle anything that could happen and make him aware of the dangers. 

She was having a cigarette outside of the stables that Friday morning when she saw Bill approaching. He was a bit earlier than usual but kind of limping. She wasn’t sure if it was a limp or not, but she was sure he was trying to hide the fact that he was in pain. She finished her cigarette and snuffed it out under the heel of her boot before approaching him with a smile on her face. 

“Good morning, we’re going out on the trail today.” She said, “They gave me a map of the locations and area gotta get you used to that.” 

“Sounds great.” He said, “Anything I need to know before we head out?” 

“Not really other than there’s a greater chance of your horse getting spooked out there and if that does happen try not to panic.” She said. 

“Guessing that sounds easier to do than it is.” He laughed. 

“Very much. You never know how bad the horse could get spooked or how they are going to react. Even after all this time it gives me problems but if you fall off you just get right back on.” She said patting him on the back, he kind of hissed in pain and tensed up when she did. “Sorry bout that. Sore?” 

“Yeah it’s...the riding. I’ll be fine.” He told her. “Come on let’s get out there.” She really didn’t think it was anything to do with the horses. He hadn’t fallen in the past few days at all. It was possible he was sore or pulled a muscle but to react like that by being touched something had happened. It still wasn’t really her business; she'd only known him for about a week. It hurt her because everything she saw in him right now she’d seen in herself. There was nothing she could do to fix it either. She took a deep breath and tried to focus on her job. Reminding herself that if he wanted anything he knew she was there. She’d been dropping subtle hints about it all week and he’d been somewhat receptive but had yet to open up entirely. She hoped she could get it to happen before filming ended but that was such a short time frame. Damage like this could take years to undo. Maybe it wasn’t an actual part of her job to fix his life but it was probably part of her karma. She knew she was bound to do whatever she could at least, as she wasn’t going to leave him alone like this. Not as she’d been left alone. 

*****

The trail ride started off slow, she was on her own horse and he was behind her because she had gotten the lead horse. The one that his horse was used to following. It made the most sense because she was the ‘expert’ and supposed to be the one in charge. She had to keep referencing the maps but they had put up different signs already to indicate different areas of where they intended to film whatever. She assumed these would be chase and hunting scenes. It wasn’t until they got to a large open field area with tall grass that Bill’s horse spooked at random. All she knew was that there had been a small breeze and the grass ruffled and waved. It was possible his horse caught sight of something in the grass or just assumed there was something there because of the movement. Either way, he took off in a panic with Bill scrambling to try to get control. 

“BILL!” She yelled and kicked her horse into gear after him. She could barely keep up, and her biggest fear was realized when his horse ducked into the trees and he was knocked clean off by a branch and slammed to the ground. The horse kept going but she stopped hers and scrambled off getting down by him quickly. He wasn’t moving, seemed to be out cold. “Fuck...Fuck oh FUCK!” She put her hand on his chest which was enough to get him to cough and then gasp. She breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that he really only got the wind knocked out of him. At least initially. She’d be surprised if he hadn’t broken a rib or two. He tried to sit up but she laid him back firmly. 

“The fuck just happened?” He coughed. 

“Horse got spooked,” She said, “Lay back I need to check you out, you took a pretty hard hit. I need to get your shirt off to-” 

“No.” He rasped, “I’m fine.” 

“Bill...you were hit in the chest I saw it. If you have a broken rib and you move suddenly it could puncture your lung.” She said trying to stay calm, “I need to check you for that, now I can do it with your shirt on, but if there’s an obvious injury it would be beneficial to-” 

“No offense but who the fuck are you that you know this?” He muttered. 

“I was a nurse. It’s been about five years since I actually practiced but you don’t just forget that stuff.” She sighed. “I don’t have to take your shirt off, it's just better to have a visual.” He closed his eyes tightly and she saw a few tears fall, but she mostly figured it was from the pain of the fall more than anything. 

“You don’t want me to sit up though.” he muttered. 

“No, I don’t.” She reached to her belt and unclipped the knife, flicking up the blade. His eyes shot open when he heard the sound then immediately slid himself back from her when he saw the knife, almost in a panic. “Whoa...hey it’s...I’m not going to hurt you.” He looked at her, like he was startled then laughed a bit nervously. 

“Sorry wasn’t expecting you to just have a knife like that.” He said. She was pretty sure it was more than that. Probably a situation where he’d been threatened a time or two with one of these. Possibly even cut. Sensing his unease with the knife she folded the blade back to where it was and clipped it back to her belt. 

“Just stop moving okay. How about this, take a deep breath.” She told him. He nodded and took a deep breath, or rather tried to before letting out a small cry of pain and laying back down again. Then he started to cough. That wasn’t good. “Okay, great thanks. Can I touch you, just your chest and ribcage. Over your shirt.” 

“Yeah...yeah that’s fine.” He rasped. 

“Where does it hurt most, when you breathe in like that?” She asked. 

“Right side, kind of lower.” He said. She nodded and scooted closer to him and placed her hand on the right side of his rib cage. She started at the top and began to gently press down. If there was something broken she didn’t want to make it worse so she had to be careful. 

“Let me know if it gets worse okay?” She told him as she moved her fingers down. 

“That’s not going to be a prob-FUCK!” He yelled once her fingers got a bit lower. She pulled her hand back. She hadn’t really felt a break but that wasn’t good either. They were in the middle of Goddamn nowhere. She wasn’t even sure where the hell they’d gotten off to with how fast the horses had been racing. 

“Okay okay...sorry.” She said, “I know it’s hard but try to relax. Going to check the otherside now. Are you ready?” 

“Y-Yeah just...one second.” He muttered trying to catch his breath from that, which wasn’t easy since he couldn’t breathe deeply. That and he was clearly panicked by the situation. She was too but somehow able to hold it together way better than him. He wasn’t going to die, not immediately. This wasn’t an imminent danger situation. That was for sure. It was even possible the rib was fractured or just bruised. All of it would cause pain. He wasn’t overly struggling to breathe and he could catch his breath so that was a good sign as well. “Okay go ahead.” 

“Do you feel any pain on the left side?” She asked, starting at the top once again and checking his ribs with her fingers. He shook his head and she worked her way down. She didn’t get any sort of reaction on that side. “Good, you’re doing a really good job here.” 

“No I’m not, at all.” He laughed. 

“Yeah well here’s the bad news, I need to feel that other side again make sure it’s not a break. I don’t think it is but...if it is we can’t have you getting up you’ll puncture something. Well, be more at risk. Can I put my hand in your shirt and touch your skin? Please? I won’t take your shirt off or even lift it.” She told him. He gave her a look, like he wasn’t even comfortable with this but eventually nodded. “Thank you.” 

“Just be careful.” He said. 

“Don’t worry, the last thing I want to do is break it entirely and I doubt I could with just my fingers.” She smiled at him. He smiled back weakly and nodded. She reached under him to pull his shirt from the waist of his pants and slid her hand up his side to where he’d reacted to the touch before. She used far less pressure on that area. As far as she could tell, everything was smooth, there was nothing jagged, no lumps or skin breakage. At most it was cracked, at least it was bruised. She breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re good I doubt it’s broken, it’s just really really going to hurt.” 

“Awesome.” He muttered and opened her eyes looking up at her, “Good thing you were here though. I don’t think I’d have been able to stop that horse even if I hadn't been knocked off.” 

“Well he’d have stopped on his own eventually if it makes you feel any better,” She laughed, then realized she was still kind of stroking his skin gently. More in an attempt to soothe him than anything else. “Shit...sorry.” 

“Huh?” he asked then looked down at where her hand still was under his shirt as she abruptly stopped doing that. He then glanced back up at her, his breathing increasing slightly. “You don’t have to stop it’s kind of helping actually.” 

“Well I mean...if it’s helping.” She said softly and went back to tracing her fingers over him, being careful to avoid the injured area she’d found. “It’s important you keep calm until we get you back on your feet.” 

“Yeah…” He agreed breathlessly. 

“Think you can at least sit up?” She asked him. 

“Maybe with a bit of help.” He said and started to try. She slid her hand around to his back under the shirt to help brace him as her free hand took one of his to get him into a sitting position. The one on his back slid up between his shoulders. She could feel marks there, honestly like he’d been whipped. The shock of this was immediately replaced with the shock of him pulling her into a passionate kiss. She basically melted into him as this happened, her brain screaming at her about how wrong this was but she was hardly able to help herself from doing it. God had she wanted to kiss him since that first day in the trailer. When he’d looked into her eyes like that. His lips were perfect. She moved her hand down over his back and forced herself to pull away after a moment that was definitely much longer than was appropriate for that to happen in the first place. “Sorry I-” 

“Are you sorry? I don’t want you to be sorry you kissed me.” She muttered, “Is it me or is it the situation?” 

“More you than anything.” He said, “But we shouldn’t so I’m sorry I lost control of that.” 

“I should have a bit more control myself.” She told him sitting back on her knees. He nodded and there was silence for another moment before he grabbed her again, getting her into another kiss. This lasted much longer than the first one before he broke away from it and shook his head. 

“Fuck...we need to get back. Fuck don’t...don’t report this.” He breathed. 

“I wouldn’t,” She said, “Look I’m aware of the situation with the engagement and-” 

“You’re not...it’s not your business and I should have kept you way more out of it.” He said, slowly raising to his feet. She scrambled up to help, managing to catch him just barely as he nearly stumbled and fell again. Her horse whinnied and stomped his foot, not liking the sudden movement of a grown adult man nearly falling on top of him. 

“Is it not my business?” She asked, “Really? You think I don’t see it?” 

“She’s not that bad, Krystal.” He insisted, gently moving away from her to slowly put his hand on the horse and steady himself while he tried to catch his breath again. “It’s...you ever think maybe I’m the problem?” 

“You?” She laughed, “I’ve not seen you do anything wrong since-” 

“You don’t see everything you don’t know us and you don’t know me. It’s been a week. I’ve known her for years. Do you think your opinion overrides that?” He asked. 

“No sir, I would never.” She shook her head. It honestly did not surprise her in the least he was suddenly getting very defensive. She didn’t think it was because he even liked this woman or he was telling the truth. She believed he was afraid, afraid of what would happen should Aurora find out about what he’d just done. She’d felt the passion in that kiss, how he was touching her, the look in his eyes. He felt something, she felt it too, it wasn’t carnal lust or an adrenaline rush. This had been building for both of them. She hadn’t intended to act on it because it wasn’t her place but now he had and now...he was scared. He jumped right into defense mode because it was all he knew how to do. If she hadn’t been through this all herself she’d have been seriously offended. If he’d done this before with other women they’d have taken it the same way. It wasn’t going to work on her because she was so familiar with it. 

“Good then...mind your own fucking business.” He said. 

“Of course.” She nodded, “I need to try to track down that horse I doubt he went far. Stay here and we’ll head back soon. Alright?” 

“Yeah...whatever.” He muttered, sounding more upset with himself than her. She grabbed a bottle of water from the bag she’d brought and held it out to him. He took it but refused to look at her, she was sure she saw another tear on his cheek before he turned away quickly, probably trying to hide it. She’d felt the marks on his back but she wasn’t going to bring it up. He knew she felt them there was no way he hadn’t and if he was going to say it then she wasn’t. She started to head off in the same direction the horse had ran, following any clues she could find for the right direction. This was going to be a long damn day. 

*****

It only took about twenty minutes to find the horse grazing in another field and he let her approach him just fine, grab his reins and take him back to where Bill was. He was sitting against a tree, his head back and his eyes closed. She walked the horse to where he was and attached his lead to her saddle to prevent this from happening again, hopefully. They weren’t too far from an actual trail, one that would definitely lead back to the estate and trailers so she wasn’t worried. She was more hungry than anything. He didn’t open his eyes again until she came over to where he was and more than likely sensed she was standing there. He looked up at her. 

“Ready?” she asked, “We can walk back or I can try to get you on a horse. Probably won’t be fun but it’ll be easier than walking with a cracked or-” 

“Don’t tell anyone about the rib I need to work.” He cut her off. 

“Bill,” She said, “You have to get this checked out. “You’re also going to need to rest. This is a minor set back but this is not something you can just push through until you know what it is. You need an xray and you need-” 

“Krystal-” 

“I can’t lie about this to anyone. If something happens to you and I neglect to report this injury then-” 

“If they take me off this project to rest even if it’s just for a day or two I...fuck.” He muttered, “Fine...fine it’s fine alright?” He got up angrily and stepped over to the lead horse before mounting it and then groaning in pain with the effort of doing that. She was pretty sure his concern was having to spend time with Aurora while also injured while he was on bed rest which he was clearly trying to avoid. She pulled herself up onto the horse in front of him and kicked it into gear. He lasted about five minutes before he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head against her shoulder heavily. 

“What if I take you to a doctor?” She asked, “Then only you and I will know about it.” 

“How? I don’t have a car. I use a service to get around here. Yeah kind of dumb but L.A Traffic is a bitch.” He said softly. 

“I do have a car.” She said, “I’ll drive you to some crazy county where five people live and no one is even going to notice you.” 

“How exactly do we get away with that?” He asked. 

“You’re Bill Skarsgard, going to tell me you can’t come up with something?” She laughed softly. He laughed as well then groaned because it hurt him. He was quiet for a few minutes before she heard him sigh. 

“Fine I’ll...figure it out.” He said, “Thanks.” 

“No problem.” She muttered. It was yet another pain in her ass and another thing she shouldn’t be doing but fuck did she feel bad for him. If this would help, even just slightly, then she wanted to make sure he had that help instead of being ignored. Lord only knew it would have done her a lot more good to have had an advocate when she was in her darkest days. 

*****

Somehow, Bill had pulled it together enough to appear as if everything was fine and he wasn’t in any pain at all. He went to talk to some people while she hung back and waited around to see what was going to be arranged. He was back over by her side not twenty minutes later telling her it was fine to leave. Apparently he’d come up with some excuse that she needed to take him to get more professional boots and he was insistent that she’d be the person with the best knowledge in that area. Since they had been making steady progress over the week and he seemed very committed to the role there weren’t that many objections. Especially since it was him requesting it and not her. 

They left the set shortly after that point, at least they’d have an alibi if Aurora came around asking for him. He didn’t seem even a bit concerned with that or attempting to inform her that he was going anywhere in the first place. They’d avoided his trailer where she definitely was like grim death as well. He’d warned her not to go in there until he gave her a signal that the coast was clear. Her car was a mess, because she’d been living in it, and it was old. It still got the job done and ran but it wasn’t anything pretty or to write home about. He didn’t seem to mind nor did he mention the condition it was in. This was either out of politeness or he was just too tired to care. 

She used her phone to find some random urgent care center that was far enough away from where they were that people weren’t really going to notice or recognize him. A less densely populated area. More farm country than anything. It only took them about forty five minutes to arrive and about fifteen more from that point for him to be seen. He wanted her back there with him, even as he was getting checked out. She did as he requested even if she didn’t understand why. Possibly it was so she could hear what the doctor was saying and interpret it herself so she wouldn’t have to sit through him trying to explain it. 

An x-ray was taken and there wasn’t a fracture, it was just a seriously bruised rib. He was told to take it easy for a few days. Probably avoid the horses as well, if possible. He was given a prescription for more pain medication and they were sent on their way. The worst part in all of this was her having to literally pay for everything on an emergency credit card. It was one that Scott didn’t know about but she still hadn’t wanted to use. Mostly because he’d have the ability to search if her name was out there charging anything as he wasn’t just a police officer he was the sheriff in their little town. He promised to reimburse her fully, and she knew why he couldn’t pay for it so she decided to take the risk without explaining to him the actual danger of her charging something instead of paying cash. 

“I don’t think I could ever thank you enough for all of this.” He said, having been silent in the car right until they picked up his prescription. “It means a lot to me.” 

“You don’t have to thank a person for doing the right thing.” She said, “I ain’t typically the religious type but I believe that good actions breed good energy and you aren’t supposed to ask for a reward when you behave in a moral fashion. I certainly am not doing nothin any decent person wouldn’t do when they can clearly see a man is in trouble.” 

“Then I must really not meet a lot of decent people,” He said and laughed softly. 

“Not many left in this world I’m afraid.” She told him. He opened the bottle of pills and grabbed the bottle of water they’d gotten from the drug store and took two of them before relaxing back in the seat. Before she could say anything else his phone started to ring and he groaned as he shifted to get it out of his pocket and answer it. The conversation immediately started in Swedish and he kept a surprisingly even tone as he spoke. About five minutes later he hung up and turned his head to look at her. 

“I’m taking you out tonight.” He said. 

“What?” She laughed, “You really think that-” 

“It’s a good idea if that’s what you were going to ask.” He smiled, “Aurora just got some high fashion photoshoot bullshit thing in Milan. She’s gotta fly out and will be gone for a week. This is your good karma.” 

“Can’t really argue with that. The timing is perfect.” She said. “But where you gonna take me? If you haven’t noticed I really don’t have the proper attire for much. The fanciest clothes I got is this riding gear you keep seeing me in.” 

“Don’t worry too much about it.” He said, “I’ll make the arrangements. It’s about time someone took you out for some fun.” As much as she knew this was a bad idea because of how things were working out between them, she also knew she’d be an absolute fool to say no to him. It sounded like he needed this kind of break too. Aurora was going to be out of the country. He'd have a small bit of freedom and maybe that would be all it would take to knock him out of his denial. At very least she could start to undo some of the many knots in the tangled web he’d definitely woven around himself. 

Wild Hearts Chapter Four

“Krystal?” 

She sat up quickly and gasped, backing away and putting her arm up to protect her face. Then she realized where she was and how she’d gotten there and that his voice wasn’t Scott’s. She winced and kind of gave him a sheepish look as she lowered her arm. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep like that but she also hadn’t been in an actual bed in three weeks. It was not easy sleeping in the backseat of a car no matter how nice she tried to pretend it was there. 

“You okay?” Bill asked. 

“Just kind of startled me, didn’t mean to actually fall asleep.” She laughed nervously, “Don’t...pay any attention to that. What can I help you with?” She yawned and rubbed her eyes for a moment. Her body kind of ached from the fall off the horse but nothing she wasn’t used to. She actually welcomed the feeling because of how long it had been since she had gotten to ride. It was nice and familiar. Like maybe her life was getting slightly back to normal. 

“I’m going to be leaving soon to head back to the hotel but uh...could you help a bit with um…” he motioned to his face. She nodded, she had seen a makeup kit in the bathroom there. He wasn’t wrong about Aurora leaving stuff. It seemed that she liked to invade every aspect of his life completely. To a point where she’d even brought that bag of crap to move into the trailer. That was until she was booted off the set for being a security risk. She wondered if this meant her permanent departure. It was hard to tell. 

“Yeah let me just grab the stuff from the bathroom I think I’ll be able to help.” She told him. She got out of bed and grabbed the large makeup kit which had been shoved in there. Took up more space than all the stuff he seemed to have combined. She carried it back out to the bedroom area and sat down on the bed before opening it. This woman had freaking everything. Stuff she could have never hoped to have in her own kit. It almost infuriated her that someone so terrible basically had the entire world at their fingertips. She’d never been much for the finer things in life, didn’t even mind the labor that came with caring for horses. However, she doubted this woman ever worked half as hard as her and she still got treated like a queen while acting like an ass. “Have a seat.” 

“Thanks.” He said and sat down by her. She moved in and started to apply concealer first. Luckily everything in that kit in the way of covering shades was very light. Both of them were fair skinned and she didn’t find it hard to blend things out. 

“It probably won’t be covered completely but uh...it’ll be far less noticeable. Especially if you wear sunglasses and a hat maybe.” She told him. 

“Better than nothing,” He said, “Just really need to be able to get to the car from set and into the hotel. Wouldn’t want anyone to get a really good picture of it.” 

“I understand.” She said and kept working gently. “So um...how did you two meet?” 

“Me and Aurora?” He asked. She nodded. “End of high school, mostly. We both went into acting shortly after. Both from those types of families you know? My father is...well you barely know who I am right?” 

“Sorry.” She said, “Thought you liked it that way.” 

“Trust me, I do.” He laughed, “Anyway, I guess we just really hit it off and she’s kind of one of the few people outside of my family who knew me before I got to this point so it’s nice.” She was pretty sure that he meant it was familiar. That and the fact that probably somewhere in his brain he had justified that Aurora couldn’t only like him because he was famous. That she’d been there before he found his fame so in a twisted way that wasn’t why she liked him. Krystal had no idea what the true nature of the problem or situation was but she could see how it may be in Bill’s head. It was her best theory in any case. 

“Yeah it was kind of the same with me and my ex. Met him in high school too.” She said softly and started to apply a bit of powder to set the concealer. He was doing really good through all of this but she doubted he was a stranger to having makeup applied since he was also an actor. 

“Sorry about that whole situation.” He said. 

“Don’t be. I’m not.” She told him. Maybe that wasn’t the entire truth because she did feel sorry that it ever had happened. What she didn’t feel was sorry for herself. She couldn’t. That would only hold her back. By that point she knew it wasn’t her fault that this guy had been abusive. She didn’t deserve it and the right thing to do was to leave his ass behind. It was just that much harder watching someone else go through this. Especially since it was still in the denial phase of the whole relationship. “There we go, think it looks pretty good, see?” She grabbed a mirror and held it up so he could look. The bruising was still pretty visible from up close but at a glance or from a distance no one was going to see it. 

“Wow, you’re really good at this.” He said. 

“Learned a few tricks along the way, fell off a lot of horses. As we discussed.” She said. He looked away from her for a moment and chuckled softly before looking back. His eyes met hers. They were so beautiful and intense but yet, very sad. 

“When was the last time you...fell?” He asked. 

“A few months.” She said softly as she looked back at him. Shortly before she had planned to leave she had been on her best behavior to avoid any potential injuries. She knew she couldn’t leave if she had a broken leg or arm. A visible mark on her face. Something that would make her stand out and easier to find. Not to mention, keep her from working. If she was going to be on the run, going to drive to the actual coast, injuries would not be helpful. She was lucky she managed to avoid anything serious until the point she was able to make a break for it. A few bruises here and there but nothing serious. 

“Must be a very strong woman then.” He said, “I like that.” She smiled at him softly and he reached up to stroke her cheek softly. Just staring at her for a long moment, almost as if he was going to kiss her before he suddenly stopped and stood up. Then he cleared his throat and played with his hands nervously for a moment. 

“You’re sure it’s okay that I stay here?” She asked, deciding to not acknowledge that had just happened. The best she could figure was that he was incredibly vulnerable and hurt. Probably hadn’t had anyone to relate to or understood for a long time so his emotions had to be running wild. All of this would certainly be completely undone once he went back to Aurora but he was feeling it now and she didn’t blame him.  She’d have definitely been the same had she had anyone try to come and help her when she was with Scott. The only difference was, she hadn’t. She’d prayed for it, tried to reach out to anyone who would listen but it hadn’t ever worked. Eventually she’d given up. Realized that the only person who was going to help her, was herself. 

“I took care of it, they won’t shut the power down or anything. I told them that you like to be close to the horses, get up see them early, whatever. There’s some security and other crew hanging around too because of the animals so it’s safe here.” He said, “Just uh...don’t prove me a liar by not also half looking like I didn’t make that up.” 

“You kind of didn’t because you’re not wrong.” She laughed, “Never worked with these horses before and it’s a good idea to spend extra time getting to know them when I can. Don’t worry about that.” 

“Good well I’m just...I’ll be off now so uh...see you tomorrow?” He asked. 

“Sure. Have a good night.” She told him. He smiled, a very sad smile but turned and left a second later. She frowned, wishing there was more she could do for him. It was a very slow process though and he wasn’t going to leave this woman until he decided that it was the right thing to do. She had no choice but to sit around and wait for him to come to his senses. Provided a safe space and something resembling a normal healthy friendship until his mind showed him just how bad things had really gotten. 

*****

The next morning at five someone was banging on her door yelling about breakfast for the crew being served. She groaned and pulled herself out of bed. She hadn’t yet been back to her car to get more of her clothing but she had been able to clean her riding outfit in the sink of the trailer. She’d hung it up to dry the night before and found that it was in very good condition where she’d left it to drip dry in the shower. She got herself cleaned up as best she could, deciding she’d stop by her car after breakfast to grab more of her stuff and move it into the trailer before Bill got there. When she was presentable enough she headed out to eat, going to the stables to check on everything there first. Find out the routine of the animals and what was on schedule for the day. She greeted the horses that were on rotation for them to be using then went to grab herself some food. Once again it was a hot and very catered meal which she was greatly appreciative for. 

It was about the time she was moving her stuff into the trailer and trying to hide it in a way that Aurora couldn’t find it if she came back, that Bill arrived. By then she’d been able to brush her teeth and apply a bit of her own makeup. Nothing extensive because she knew she’d just sweat a lot but enough to make her look fresher than she would have. He just let himself into the trailer like he owned the place and he kind of did so she couldn’t complain. She was just glad she was already dressed and not in any sort of state that she wouldn’t want him to see. 

“Good morning,” He said and held out a cup of coffee in her direction, “Brought you this.” 

“Thanks,” She said and took it. “Hope it’s black because that’s how I like my coffee.” 

“Good because that’s all I could figure was appropriate since we don’t know each other that well.” He smiled. 

“Well, now you do know but you’re not my assistant.” She said and took a sip. This was damn good coffee. Much better than the dollar stuff she’d been getting at gas stations. 

“I can get you coffee while I’m also getting myself coffee. Last I checked I had two hands.” He said holding up his own cup. He was dressed similar to how he’d been dressed the previous day except now he had much better boots. When he’d gotten them or if he’d already had them she didn’t know, but they were really fucking nice. “How’d you sleep.” 

“Very well, thank you. Almost didn’t want to get up.” She said, “We can get started whenever you are ready. Supposed to be nice weather today, kind of hot but not scorching. Did you already eat?” 

“Yeah, you?” He asked. 

“Yep, very nice breakfast here. Haven’t eaten this well in a long time.” She told him. “Guess we should get started then.” 

“Sounds good. Lead the way.” He said. She headed past him to walk out of the door. He seemed in much better spirits this morning but also wasn’t hiding the bruise. She kind of wondered why. He definitely hadn’t wanted people to see it when he left the night before but it may have come down to the fact that he had no real way to hide it and had to accept that it was just there. If she had to guess he was telling people it was related to falling off of a horse, which made sense for his current acting role. She guessed that they just weren’t going to talk about this anymore and that was fine. Hopefully from their interactions the day before he knew she was there to talk to if he wanted and it was best to just behave normally until he wanted to open up. 

*****

He ended up doing far better for this run than he had the previous day. At least when it came to cantering. Then they went into galloping which he also did well at. It was when he wanted to get into jumping that things got kind of rocky. She wasn’t even sure how much of that stuff was going to be in the movie, neither was he. The thing was that it definitely looked cool and if they could capture that on film for whatever reason they were going to want to capture it. More so something out in the field probably over fallen trees or rocks or something than professional jumps. She was going to have to check so she could prepare him for that too. Especially if the horse decided to rear up or throw him instead. 

Around lunch they both headed back to the trailer to get cleaned up so they could eat. He let her go first and she was sitting on the couch out there waiting for him while she looked at her phone. It was a cheap, disposable one, but still technically a smartphone. She needed to be able to browse the web to find jobs so she’d spent a small chunk of money on that as a sacrifice for other comforts while she tried to survive. It had come in handy a lot, especially with finding shelters and cheap or free food. It was only at that point that she decided to google his name. Something she could have done the night before but had fallen asleep far before she meant to. 

What came up was no less than shocking. He was much more famous than she expected. His last movie was one of the highest grossing horror movies of all time. How had she not even known that was a thing? She’d read the book more than once, but it seemed Scott had her so cut off from the world she was behind on lots of stuff. Not just pop culture but current events. She’d learned that sort of thing the hard way but she also supposed it was easier to control her if she also didn’t have information. It still made her upset that she had missed something like this because if there was a movie she would have seen it would have been the one with Pennywise. 

She glanced at the bathroom door and then went back to her phone to watch the trailer and some clips she could find. Mostly behind the scenes stuff so she could get and idea of what he was like as an actor. It was impressive, the transformation from the man she’d been working with to this demonic clown monster in these clips. She could have kicked herself for not knowing such simple things that probably everyone around her knew. No wonder Steve seemed surprised she had no idea who he was. These IT movies took the world by storm while she sat in a barn hiding from Scott and reading her books. 

“Ready to eat?” He asked. She yelped and looked up, turning off her phone quickly. “Everything okay?” 

“Yes I uh…” She laughed softly, “You were Pennywise.” 

“Yes, that I was.” He smiled, “You...really didn’t know that?” 

“I’m not lying, Bill, I don’t know who you are. Or didn’t. Might have cheated just now looking that up but that’s the first and only thing I saw. Mostly because I like the book a lot so it caught my attention.” She said. “So yeah now I know one thing you did. Can you blame me?” 

“No, I’d be curious too. That and I’m impressed you waited an entire day apparently.” He replied and headed past her. She followed after him quickly. He may have been walking normally but his legs were so long it accidentally made him a lot faster than her. 

“I told you that it don’t matter to me who the fuck you were at least not in movie roles. We are just colleagues now I guess. Maybe you’re more like my boss, the point is-” 

“I like colleagues better.” He cut her off. 

“Good but the point still is that you aren’t Pennywise you are Bill so what’s the point of getting to know fiction when I got the real thing right in front of me?” She asked. “Fictional characters you played ain’t gonna teach me more about who you are.” 

“Glad to hear it.” He said turning back to give her a bit of a smile, something that she was sure had to be almost flirty but she wasn’t sure. His entire face was so perfectly charming and seductive that she was pretty sure that was just how he always looked. She knew she shouldn’t be thinking about him like that anyway. Not with his situation. “It’ll be nice to get to know you too.” 

“Really? I’m about as boring as a frog on a log.” She laughed as they reached the craft service table. 

“Anyone who would phrase it like that, definitely isn’t boring.” He chuckled. She laughed softly as well and started to help herself to some of the food that was sitting out. Just as she was selecting a drink she heard that shrill voice from behind her. Fuck. Had he really invited her back to set? She supposed that no one said she had to leave the set entirely just that she couldn’t be around the horses or in that area. She damn well hoped it stayed that way too because she didn’t want to be anywhere near this woman any longer than she had to be. 

“So she’s back huh?” Krystal asked, trying to sound nice about it even though she was pretty sure it sounded anything but nice. 

“Don’t worry, she understands not to go near the stables. We had a talk last night.” Bill said. 

“Did you?” She asked because what she more believed happened was that Aurora told him how the fuck it was going to be and he agreed to that shit under threat of getting hit in the face again. Or worse. She even wondered if what he was saying about keeping her away from the horses was true, or if the bitch would listen. She grabbed her food and headed over to one of the empty tables to sit down and eat. Her gaze traveled over to Bill and Aurora who were talking. There was a minor discussion before he took another picture with her even though he seemed reluctant it was just less. Probably after all that happened the day before he was getting trained into not resisting her stupid social media desires. The only thing that had really changed was she was now wearing boots that pretty much matched his, they were only the more feminine version. She rolled her eyes. The leash around his neck was becoming a noose. 

Everything would have been okay from that point had Aurora not tried to come over to where she was, again. It actually seemed like Bill was attempting to prevent this but at the same time couldn’t be too weird about it or it would seem suspicious. Since she’d freaked out over what she’d seen them do during training the day before he also probably couldn’t have her think they were having an affair. He did look very apologetic as he came up behind her, almost pleading with his eyes just to be nice. 

“I think maybe we got off on the wrong foot the other day. Krystal was it?” Aurora asked. 

“Yes, Miss.” She said softly and took another bite of her food. “It’s no problem really, just can’t have you around the horses is all.” 

“Well I don’t need to be around those smelly things anyway.” She said then held her hand out, specifically the one with the very nice engagement ring on it. This was done in such a way that it was obvious she wanted it to be seen while also appearing to hold it out for a nice introductory shake. Krystal had seen women in her own town do this to show off their stupid diamonds when they thought they had something to brag about. “I didn’t formally introduce myself, I’m Aurora.” 

“Nice to meet you,” She said and took her hand, shaking it firmly even though she really didn’t want to touch this woman. “Krystal Cunningham.” 

“Interesting accent, where are you from?” She asked, sitting herself right down like she actually belonged there. She glanced up at Bill who just kind of shrugged like he had no idea what was going on either then looked to Aurora. 

“Texas. Dallas specifically. You got a nice ring there.” She replied since it was clear this was something Aurora had wanted her to see. 

“Oh this?” She asked and held her hand out again, very much presenting the ring as she motioned to it, “Yes that’s my engagement ring, Bill gave it to me. It’s gorgeous don’t you think?” She smiled brightly. 

“Yes, never seen anything that beautiful.” She said hoping that her incredibly saccharine tone didn’t come off as phony sounding as she heard it in her own mind. 

“Well guess that’s what it’s like you know, when you really love a woman. It manifests in such beautiful ways. Doesn’t it sweetie?” Aurora asked turning to look at Bill right after she did. He took a seat and set his plate down as well. 

“Of course it does,” He said, “You know how much I love you.” She smiled at him sweetly and reached to take his hand, really grasp it. The same hand the ring was on too. Krystal realized this was all just a huge show. Something to teach her who Bill belonged to and that she was encroaching on someone else’s property. 

“We’re getting married, just a few months now. After filming actually.” Aurora said. 

“I’m sure it’ll be just perfect, you two make a cute couple.” She said, feeling kind of sick to her stomach as she said it. It couldn’t be more obvious that this woman thought of Bill as her pet or property far more so than she thought of him as a person. Trotting him around like this to rub in her face as if she wasn’t already clear on the situation in the first place. No, she had to be reminded of it very intentionally so she wouldn’t disrespect this woman. Wouldn’t trespass all over her territory and her things. 

“I think so too and I’m sure one day you’ll get a ring of your own like this. You’re a good looking woman.” Aurora told her. After Scott, the last thing she ever wanted to think about was marriage a second time but it wasn’t as if this woman needed to know that part so she just nodded and accepted the really backhanded and nearly passive aggressive compliment. 

“Thank you but marriage ain’t really at the top of my list right now.” She said. 

“HEY CUNNINGHAM! NEED YOU AT THE STABLES!” Some guy called at her a second later. Thank God for that. 

“Well looks like I’m needed for work so uh...enjoy your lunch you two.” She said and got up quickly. She’d had a big breakfast and her appetite having to deal with that woman had been completely erased. She’d make it up at dinner, she was sure. Hopefully there would be a way to talk to Bill to maybe get rid of this one a bit more. Maybe now that she’d shown Bill off like a giant prized stallion she wouldn’t feel the need to do it again. Whatever the case, she wasn’t being paid to deal with that specific idiot and if she could find any way around it it, she definitely was going to do it. 

Wild Hearts Chapter Three

She had gone to setting up a few easy jumps in the arena since there wasn’t much else to do while waiting for Bill and she wanted to look productive. No one was really bothering her or seemed to give much of a shit about what she was doing, so that was at least a plus. She figured that more of the focus had to be on him at that point because he was the one supposed to be learning this stuff. Truth be told, he wasn’t half bad already; she probably wouldn’t need the full too weeks to do it. He’d be able to fake it. Her bigger concern was that she had to watch his life derail from the outside. That controlling bitch of a fiancee who was downright terrifying and he was apparently in severe denial about. 

“HEY!” Aurora’s voice came screaming at her. She rolled her eyes and took in a deep breath. Luckily, her back was to the woman and none of this could really be noticed. She put a smile on her face and turned around trying to be friendly. “Really? Not allowed around the horses it’s dangerous?” 

“I’m sorry Miss, you are not behaving appropriately near them. I have requested that you not be allowed in the area.” She said. Though she was kind of shaking having to do this, what she believed had happened is that Aurora hadn’t believed Bill or whatever had gone on with that and now she was going to have to back him up. She refused to be intimidated by this woman even if in the back of her mind she figured it could get her fired. 

“That’s what you’re going with?” Aurora asked in disbelief. 

“It’s true, Miss. We were tossed from the horse when you came around here screaming. They are very sensitive animals and I cannot have that here.” She said taking a few steps towards the fence. “Perhaps if you learn to control your-” 

“I don’t need to learn to control anything. Maybe you need to learn to control-” 

“Hey!” That was the voice of a man she’d never heard before but coming around the corner and out of the stables she saw him. He was a security guard. Thank fuck for that. “Ma’am you’ve been told about this. You need to leave the area please. It’s a closed set.” 

“Ma’am?” She asked, sounding offended once again. Krystal was no less than relieved that this had happened. Maybe Bill really had come through on this. “Do I look like a Ma’am to you?” 

“Regardless of the answer to that you are to be escorted from here immediately. Come with me please. This is a safety hazard.” The guy said. She screamed angrily, and moved her arm out of his reach before he could get close to touching her. “ANDRE! GET OVER HERE! WE’RE LEAVING! The hotel is nicer anyway.” She turned to glare at the both of them, and if looks could kill they’ve have both been dead. Her little man servant came running from around the side of the stables carrying her bag trying to catch up with her as she headed away from the fence and more towards the main area. She wasn’t even heading towards the trailer again. That was the wrong direction. This didn’t answer any questions about where Bill was. She finished setting up the jump quickly and then headed towards the gate. The guard was still there. 

“If that one gives you any more trouble I’ll be within earshot.” He told her. 

“Thank you, so much.” She said, “Where is Bill’s trailer?” 

“Back that way. He needs a moment he said-” 

“It’s fine just...let me talk to him. If he gets mad I’ll take full blame.” She promised and headed in the direction that the guard had motioned to quickly. There were a few signs up about cast trailers and certain people not authorized back there but she pretended to not see them. She figured since it was her first day if someone had an issue with this then she could just act like it was a huge mistake and wouldn’t happen again. That she needed to find Bill because of work or whatever and it was urgent. No one seemed to be paying attention to her in any case. She passed a few different trailers until she saw his name on a printed paper taped to a door. She walked up the few steps attached to the door and knocked on it. There was no answer. “Bill it’s me, not Aurora.” Still no answer. She sighed and stepped down, she knew what this was like there was no use forcing him to talk. 

“Take your time.” She called and then started to head back towards the stables. Surely there was a lot more she could busy herself with while she waited. 

“Krystal!” Bill yelled, he was incredibly loud which she noticed right away because she’d almost left the area entirely and still was able to hear that. She turned and looked in his direction. He motioned for her to come back in a very half-assed manner before going back into the trailer. She hurried back in his direction and into the trailer, shutting the door behind her once she got there. It was incredibly nice. She’d lived in motel rooms that were crappier than this. How famous was this guy? She was going to have to google it when she got a chance. His back was turned towards her but he was standing there, getting himself a drink. Still in his muddy clothes. 

“I uh...thank you for helping with that. She left.” She explained, “Said the hotel was nicer so um...yeah took her assistant. Andre I think was the name?” 

“Good.” He muttered and downed the drink he just poured. “You know anything about makeup?” 

“Yeah…” She said slowly. 

“Turns out that fall kind of bruised the side of my face.” He turned to look at her a bit and she could see it across his cheek and over his eye. There was no way the fall from the horse caused that. A fist either. He’d been hit with an actual object. Which one, she didn’t know, but it wasn’t good looking. It was obvious he wasn’t going to explain this to her and she knew more than anything that trying to get the truth would just hurt him more. She nodded. 

“I don’t have anything with me.” She said, “But ice would be good for that right now, twenty minutes I uh...I’ve fallen off a lot of horses.” The way she said that, she really hoped he knew what she meant. He paused for a moment, almost as if he had an idea of what she was getting at. She held her breath and he laughed. 

“I can imagine,” He said after a moment then took in a sharp breath and let out another shaky laugh. He downed the drink he’d poured and turned to face her more head on. She tried not to shy away from this or make a big deal out of it. She figured he wanted her to play along, and if not, it was probably just best to do so. Part of her believed he’d never let anyone see him like this even if he was lying. At least very few people. Then again, it may have just been easier to do this with a stranger. Someone that he was going to have to sever contact with after production. At least, that’s how it may be in his mind. “She left some of her stuff here, if you know how to uh...make it less...obvious. Bad enough I keep falling off of them I don’t need everyone to know.” 

“Yeah I get that.” She said and looked around. “Is there an ice pack or something, that would help before the makeup I mean.” He nodded and went to the fridge in the trailer and got one out of the freezer before putting it on his face and sitting down. 

“Might as well make yourself comfortable.” He motioned for her to sit as well. She took a seat across from him and tried not to stare. How had she left one nightmare only to walk right into another. “You uh...ever learn not to fall?” 

“Sometimes it’s just better to shoot the horse.” She said and laughed bitterly, “Sorry...I meant metaphorically. Not...I have a very dark sense of humor.” 

“I knew what you meant.” He said then sighed, “How long does it take to learn?” 

“As I said. Shoot the horse.” She repeated. He laughed and closed his eyes, moving to lay down on the couch as best he could. Since this was a trailer it wasn’t really a full sized couch so he kind of had to make do with what room he had. Most of his legs were kind of bent over the side and his feet were on the floor. 

“What if you’d rather learn to work with it?” He asked. 

“How long must you work with a wild animal to realize it’s always going to be wild and sometimes it’s best to just cut it loose?” She asked him. 

“What if you can’t because it...it’s been there your whole life and it’s probably the best horse you’re going to get?” He asked. If they really were talking about what she believed them to be talking about she was surprised to hear that. So he was familiar with this woman and somewhere along the line settled. Then again, it seemed that it was also kind of beaten into him among other things. If it was the only relationship he’d ever really known she could see it. The same thing had happened to her. 

“Then you force yourself to learn you don’t need that horse to live, that horse or any horse. Your life isn’t worth it.” She told him. He nodded, slightly, but then went silent again keeping his eyes closed. She watched him intently, hoping he didn’t have a concussion. She doubted he did but she wasn’t anywhere near a doctor. She had been a nurse for a while until Scott decided he hadn’t liked that. It had been years since she’d done anything other than minor first aid stuff for herself because she had to. Before meeting him, and all of the pressures her parents were putting on her, she was going to move to a bigger city. Be a nurse. Live her life. She still didn’t know how she’d gotten guilted into coming back but it didn’t matter. She had and what was done was done. Though she’d thought about going back into the field she thought it would be obvious. The first place Scott would check. Hospital employment records for her name. Even if he did manage to find his way to this set it was going to be far more locked down. 

“Do me a favor, got some painkillers in the bathroom. My name will be on the bottle. Grab one for me.” He said after another long moment, which relieved her because she feared he may have passed out. 

“No problem.” She told him and got up. It was kind of concerning that he was clearly going to narcotics for this, as well as alcohol, but that was also none of her damn business. He wasn’t obligated in any way to take her advice or listen to her. The last thing he needed was to be bossed around. That’s what he experienced every day with Aurora and doing the same thing to him would just drive him further back. He needed someone to just be there and that was what she was going to do. After grabbing the bottle of percocet, which she saw because she could read the label, she came back to him with a glass of water and the entire bottle. “Here.” He sat up and took them both from her. 

“I don’t get thrown from horses all the time. It’s not really...that bad.” He said, “I appreciate your help though.” He took a pill out and downed it with the water. She was glad to see it was only one pill and he had opted not to pour himself another drink to take it. When the water was finished he set it down on a nearby table and laid back again. 

“You know when you first get that horse you think it’s amazing. You think, hey, he’s kind of unruly but I can fix that. Just a horse right? I’m smarter than a horse. Maybe not stronger but smarter. They can be trained. And he’s just so beautiful and the right level of wild and you think you can ride it out, ride it forever. Sometimes he throws you off, sometimes you get hurt but you get right back on because that’s what they tell you to do. There will be bad days but mostly they are good. Then you buy the horse and...well there are more bad days than good. You start to fall off more and more. Things get broken. An arm, a leg. You say...well you know what I committed to this horse and I’m responsible, surely I can handle a horse. Right? How stupid am I that I can’t keep control of this damn horse and then...” 

“Then what?” He asked as she trailed off. 

“One day you wonder who the horse really is.” She muttered. “Anyway you should rest a bit maybe I can talk to someone, tell them you were injured. You did good work today so we aren’t really behind or nothin.” 

“I’d appreciate it, if you don’t mind.” He said. 

“No problem. Really. There’s probably lots of other stuff I can be doin around here anyway.” She said. 

“You need to rest.” He muttered. 

“What?” She asked. 

“You got thrown from that horse too. Won’t really make sense for both of us to be out of commission now will it?” He asked. She still wasn’t sure if this conversation was about what she assumed it was but if he insisted on speaking in metaphors instead of the actual problem then that was always going to be the case. “You aren’t sleeping in a barn tonight, right?” 

“Me?” She asked and then laughed. 

“Yeah...like where you might get trampled?” He tried to clarify. She then realized he seemed to think she might still be in her own horse situation. She wasn’t, at least not as long as Scott didn’t find her but she was sleeping in her car. Which she also didn’t want him to know. 

“I uh...I sold that shitty horse a few months back. Kind of been in between housing ever since but I got this job so that’s gonna change real soon.” She told him, trying to sound positive about it. 

“Stay in the trailer.” He muttered, “There’s a bed back there. I’ll...clear it with whoever.” 

“Bill I-” 

“I won’t tell them anything about your shitty horse okay?” He chuckled. She laughed softly and nodded. 

“Thank you.” She told him. “I appreciate it.” 

“Just doing whatever I can.” He said and closed his eyes again, “You can shower if you want too I kind of just need to close my eyes for a bit.” 

“Yeah I’ll go do that. Thanks.” She told him and stood up to head to the back of the trailer where the bathroom was. It was certainly more than she could have hoped for. Maybe he did understand where she was coming from. Either way, she knew it was going to take way more than one conversation to see anything change. He was going to go back to this hotel, she was going to apologize, swear it would never happen again. Maybe suck his dick or something. He’d get back into the familiar routine. It wouldn’t change. She knew how it was. The important part was that she was there now. He had someone he could kind of vent to. It may only be a stepping stone but it was still solid. In time, maybe it could become the rock he needed as an anchor. Then he could drop that horse. 

Wild Hearts Chapter Two

Bill was thrown from the horse three different times within the first few hours before lunch. He never complained about it though, well, not other than a comment about how ruined his jeans were. Every time he got back on the horse to listen to what she was telling him. He was getting better and better. It wasn’t easy to learn what he wanted to learn, and as quickly as he seemed to want to learn it. They may have had two weeks to work on this but it was still a lot of knowledge and practice. Around noon there was some kind of lunch break or call for lunch so she stopped him even though he seemed intent on working through it. She was starving, and probably wouldn’t have minded herself but she had to eat or she was going to pass out. 

“Come on, we could both use a break, so could the horse.” She said, motioning for him to get down. He relented and dismounted, kind of wobbling for a moment before catching his balance. “You’re doing a great job though.” 

“Why don’t I get to see you ride?” He asked as he came over to her. She opened the gate for him and let him through. He tried to brush his pants off but when he realized that was going to be useless for all the mud on them, he stopped. 

“Do you want to?” She asked. “They assigned me a horse but it was easier for me to teach you this way. At least today. I can show you after we eat if you’re interested.” 

“Yeah, might help to see someone else do it first.” He said, “Get an idea of what it’s supposed to look like. Maybe it’ll show me what I’m doing wrong.” He did have a point and it wasn’t a bad idea. All they’d really been doing was a whole walk, trot, and then canter routine. That was what kept throwing him off the horse. She thought it was because this particular horse was a dick, which she suggested to him a few times. He said he wanted to learn to work through it instead of switching out horses. Also admirable. His work ethic and commitment to this was very inspiring. She hadn’t thought an actor, especially not one as handsome as him, would allow himself to be tossed into the mud so much without having a fit. 

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” She said. 

“Go get lunch I’ll catch up with you, I obviously need to get somewhat cleaned up.” He laughed showing her his hands which were covered in mud. 

“Good idea.” She told him. He smiled and headed off in a different direction, not anywhere she’d been. She assumed he had his own area or tent or something to get changed and cleaned up in. Not something that she had but she also hadn’t really needed anything like that. She just looked around until she was able to locate the right way to the craft service area. Lunch was definitely being served and it smelled amazing. Just a bunch of different catered dishes, a lot of it easy like pasta or sandwiches. A lot of it carbs and protein. It had been awhile since she’d gotten something so fresh and well prepared. She grabbed a sandwich and a bag of chips, then a coke and went to sit down at one of the designated tables out of the sun. 

It wasn’t too long after she started eating that she heard a shrill voice demanding to know where Bill was. She looked up to see a woman who was dressed like what she’d consider to be royalty. Designer everything. She also didn’t appear to be too happy having to walk in that particular area in her shoes. It was uneven ground, not paved, and somewhat muddy. She was saying something about how her shoes were ruined and she’d nearly fallen and broken her neck. Then she said something in another language. She watched this woman for a while until some idiot had the bright idea to motion to her table. Probably because she was known to be working with Bill that day. 

“Shit,” She whispered. The woman stormed over to her, or rather tried to, but it wasn’t working out too well in her heels. She had some pathetic looking man trailing behind her carrying what looked like a bag of stuff. It seemed like that would be this woman’s personal assistant. Was she another actress? 

“You,” The woman demanded, “Who are you?” 

“Uh...Krystal Cunningham, Ma’am.” She said and stood up, holding her hand out for the woman to shake. All she got was a glance and a disgusted face. There was no attempt at a handshake. She just smiled, hoping it didn’t look too forced and sat back down again. 

“Ma’am? Do I look like a Ma’am to you? How old do you think I am?” She demanded. Krystal glanced up at her. According to the lip injections and possible botox she was thinking the answer was older than she was supposed to say. She swallowed harder and took in a deep breath. She had to play nice here or she could have her ass handed to her very quickly. 

“My apologies, Miss, it’s just the Texas girl in me. I meant no disrespect.” She said in her most humble tone. 

“Right well, don’t make that mistake again. Now, tell me where Bill is. They said you were working with him. What do you do here anyway? Clean up after the horses?” She asked then snorted like she was very much above having this conversation. The pathetic man servant behind her said something in another language. She responded quickly, sounding annoyed before turning around to glare some more. “Well?” 

“I’m the lead horse trainer, Miss.” Krystal said softly. “Bill needs to learn a lot of technical things before the movie starts.” 

“You’re the trainer?” She asked sounding like she didn’t believe it. Not that it mattered because it was the truth. 

“Hey! Hey!” Bill called out from behind her. She breathed a sigh of relief and took another bite of her sandwich. It seemed someone was here to wrangle this cow now and it didn’t have to be her. 

“Bill! Darling!” The woman said and stumbled towards him, barely making her way in the heels. She pulled him into a kiss which he didn’t seem too comfortable with but kissed her anyway then sort of awkwardly put an arm around her to steady her. “I cleared some time in my schedule, just for you.” She took her phone out after that and raised it up like she wanted to take a picture of them together. He put his hand up on the phone and gently pushed it down. 

“Closed set.” He said. 

“Come on, no one’s going to give a shit about one picture.” She told him, her tone almost vicious. He said something to her in what she could now only assume was Swedish. She’d never heard it spoken before. The thing was that he had said he was from Stockholm, and now he was speaking the same language. That was the only thing that made sense for it to be. His tone remained nice while hers got more and more scathing and vicious. He really didn’t seem to want to take this picture but she didn’t seem to care. Eventually she said something that made him relent, the picture was taken with more than a forced smile. If she noticed this she didn’t care she just giggled and went to posting it on instagram or something. Then she stumbled over to the table and sat down clumsily almost losing her footing in those heels again. 

“Might want to wear boots next time.” Bill said, leaning in a bit to kiss her cheek. She shoved him back rudely. 

“You’re covered in mud. Don’t.” She said. Bill just cleared his throat and looked in her direction instead. 

“Krystal this is Aurora she’s my fiancee.” He said. Krystal was no less than stunned to hear that because he honestly seemed to not like her that much. Either way they didn’t look like they got along. She could have easily deduced that in the few moments she saw them interact. It reminded her so much of how Scott was. Except he was her and she was watching herself. This was kind of how it started. It only got worse after the wedding. She felt her chest tighten as she began to panic on his behalf. How the hell did he not see this? Why was he putting up with her? “Krystal?” 

“Huh?” She said stupidly, her mouth full of food because she’d apparently forgotten to keep chewing. 

“You okay?” 

“Yeah, fine sorry just kind of lost my train of thought for a moment. Won’t happen again.” She said and laughed softly. 

“And this is the lead horse trainer?” Aurora asked. 

“It’s her first day she’s nervous.” Bill said. Aurora muttered something in Swedish that made Bill roll his eyes and head away from the table. She crammed the rest of her sandwich into her mouth and got up to follow him quickly. There was no way she wanted to be anywhere near this woman. She also knew she couldn’t do or say much about it, she’d just met Bill and it was none of her damn business but her heart already ached for him. He was going to be making a huge mistake soon enough if he was engaged to this witch. 

“I should get back...to the stables I mean.” She said, “Need to make sure my horse is tacked up and ready so you can watch me ride.” 

“You sure you don’t want to sit and talk?” He asked. 

“I mean that would be lovely but this is the first time I got hired and I really need this job. Wanna look super good my first day. Maybe later? Guess we might be here for dinner too with how well you’ve been doing.” She joked. He laughed and nodded. 

“Fair enough.” He said, “I’ll meet you back there, okay?” She nodded, almost telling him not to bring the bitch with him but she certainly had no say in that. She was just glad she got to leave and not deal with any of that anymore. Maybe, with some luck, she could get to know Bill just well enough to talk him into seeing it himself. The only problem was, she knew personally, people didn’t leave until they wanted to leave and this was only going to add stress where she definitely didn’t need more of it. 

*****

Just as she was leading her horse back out to the ring, she saw Bill approaching with Aurora. He was kind of hard to miss with how tall he was. She was hard to miss because she was so loud. Someone had taken Lucifer back into the stables to brush him down and get him some rest. She’d already seen on the whiteboard that his horse had been switched out to one named Roman but she could deal with that later. Her assigned horse was named Snickers. Seemed far less brutal than any of those other names. She wondered why they were giving her the nicer horses. It seemed that he should be the one with the easy animals to ride. 

“Ready to show me everything I’m doing wrong?” He asked with a laugh when he got close enough. He climbed up onto the fence and sat down to watch. 

“I keep telling you that you ain’t that bad. Certainly fall off a horse like a champion.” She smirked at him. She stopped her horse and started to check the stirrups. As she went to mount, he hopped down from the fence to give her a bit of a hand. She didn’t need one, not really, but she wasn’t going to complain because it was nice anyway. Once she was on the horse he smiled up at her and turned back to go to the fence. 

“PHONE AWAY!” He yelled at Aurora who was holding it up again. 

“Bill-” 

“It’s a closed set, you can’t be taking pictures or video!” He told her, sounding exasperated. She rolled her eyes and then seemingly, just to be obnoxious, shoved the camera in his face and took a picture of him. The flash even went off. This startled her horse who reared up and whinnied but she was able to gain control of him again quickly. “See? That’s why-” he trailed off saying something in Swedish the best she could tell. She yelled back at him, far louder and meaner than he was being. He had a point. She could see he was trying to remain calm. Finally he raised his hand and pointed away from there. She tried to plead with him and he shook his head, without a word motioning for her to leave once more. 

“Fine...but this isn’t fucking over.” She said, “I’ll be in your trailer. Probably smells better in there anyway.” Krystal was pretty sure she only said that in English as a jab at her. Not that she cared. She very much liked the smell of horses and even if she hadn’t, she was glad to get rid of the woman that was upsetting the massive animal she was trying to keep control of. 

“Anyway,” Bill said and got back on the fence, “Go ahead, sorry about that.” 

“No problem,” She said even though it was a massive problem and she wanted to scream at him to run as far away from that woman as he could and fast. “I’ll go through the routine again, it’s all about balance with the canter and your center of gravity well...no offense your huge.” 

“I’m aware it’s a balance issue.” He laughed. “Don’t worry about offending me.” 

“Right,” She smiled. “Just keep an eye, see what I do, hopefully that’ll help.” He nodded and she kicked her horse into gear going into the routine she was trying to teach him. Just basic stuff. She was glad she didn’t have to teach him posting, that would have taken the entire day, possibly two. The great thing about it was that once someone knew to do it, it kind of just came naturally she found. He looked magnificent doing it too. She’d found her mind easily drifting as she’d watched him. 

After she circled around the area a few times she stopped Snickers right by him and smiled. He looked no less than impressed with what she’d done even though she didn’t think there was anything to be impressed with. Still, it was nice. Scott had never watched her do anything. Had stopped coming to any of her shows once they were engaged. She’d always had to go alone. Mostly. He usually sent one of his idiot deputies for ‘security’ but she knew it was just to spy on her. Here, she was alone and it felt so much better than having eyes on her constantly. 

“Would riding with me help?” He asked after a moment. 

“Together?” She asked. “Possibly, or it could get us both tossed.” 

“You gonna chicken out?” He asked. 

“You think I never been thrown from a horse before?” She laughed, “Get your tall ass up here then.” 

“Calling my bluff then.” He grinned and hopped down from the horse. She dismounted as well and came towards him. 

“Get up there, I’ll get behind you. Try to help if you slip up. I ain’t gonna be strong enough to stop you from falling.” She explained. 

“Yeah you weigh about 90 pounds soaking wet.” He snorted and got up on the horse. She laughed and adjusted the stirrups for his length before coming around to mount behind him. He reached his hand down for her and helped pull her up. She put her hands on his hips then ran them over his back to fix his posture a bit better, failing to realize how sensual she was being until he kind of let out a weird groan. 

“Sorry,” 

“No it’s...fine. Feels nice. Is that creepy?” He laughed kind of nervously. 

“Well I didn’t mean for it to feel awful so I guess not.” She snickered and patted him on the back kind of roughly, attempting to hide what she was doing before. She was glad she was behind him and there was no way he could see how flushed and aroused she’d gotten from this interaction. She cleared her throat. “Anyway, need to use your thigh muscles better, hold on to the horse. Keep up straight, don’t lose your center of gravity. I know you gotta be good with these big ol’ thighs right.” She slapped her hands down on both of them, more to be obnoxious than anything but found that he was indeed, very muscular. She took in a sharp breath and moved them back quickly. 

“Hold on,” He said, grabbing her arms from behind to put them around his waist. She rolled her eyes, wanting to tell him she’d be fine. She was far better at this than him, could bareback at a canter, gallop, any speed. She didn’t really need to hold on but she kind of wanted to, so she did as he asked and hugged him tightly. Her cheek resting against his muscular back. He smelled amazing. She hadn’t been so close to a man she also wanted to be close to in years. It was very relaxing. Not even in a sexual way, just something that made her feel very calm. The feeling didn’t last long before they got into a canter. She felt him start to loosen up a bit and moved her hands to his thighs, digging her nails in sharply. “HEY WHAT THE FUCK?” 

“TIGHTEN UP!” She yelled at him. He muttered something that probably wasn’t in English but did as she instructed. “Straighten the back. Keep your balance.” 

“How easy do you think that is with you yelling at me?” 

“Not very but do you want to fall again?” She laughed. He laughed too but started to get in a much better position. Any time he faltered she went through the same routine yelling at him to pay attention, straighten up, whatever she had to do in order to make sure they both didn’t get thrown or fall off completely. It was going great until she heard that sharp, shrill tone of Aurora from the fence. It was enough for Bill to forget what he was doing in the first place, spaz out and slip. Unfortunately since he went down she went down with him right into a huge mud puddle. The only saving grace of this was that she’d fallen on top of him. The bad part was that she’d also...landed on top of him. “Bill!” 

“I’m fine...fine…” he gasped even though he didn’t sound fine. He sounded like the air had been completely knocked out of him. Despite this, he very gently moved her off of him and got to his feet before helping her up. The screaming continued, still in another language and Bill hurried to this woman as fast as he could without asking her much more of anything. She sighed and brushed off before trying to go after the horse to calm him down a bit. He really didn’t like how high pitched that yelling was. Just as she was grabbing the reins she turned and saw this woman raise her hand to Bill. Not just a hand but a fist. He visible flinched but didn’t really move to stop it. 

“Bill I could use a bit of help! You’re stronger than me!” She yelled quickly. This gave him just enough of an excuse to step back from her and seemingly just in time. It looked like he said something, maybe, before hurrying in her direction. She didn’t need any damn help with this horse, he was a pussycat, but she wasn’t going to stand there and watch him get punched in the face. 

“What do you need?” He asked like she totally did not see all of that happen. He reminded her so much of herself that she almost wanted to scream. It was exactly what the fuck she would have done, even if someone actually saw her get hit. It had happened plenty of times but she’d just been trained into pretending it was okay. That everything was always okay, the exact thing he was doing. 

“I uh...take the reins please.” She said, holding them out to him with a shaky hand, “Look, I know it ain’t my place but her screaming ain’t helpin with these horses. She can’t keep scarin them like that it’s dangerous. They can’t be stressed. You need to have her removed.” 

“Really?” He asked. 

“Yes I’m sorry I know she’s your-” 

“Who can you tell that to? Like...security or something?” He asked softly. 

“Uh...I can talk to the production manager, explain the situation but it might need to be you. I don’t wanna appear difficult you know.” She said. He glanced around, first to her then back to Aurora. Like he was considering something. He didn’t sound upset, if anything he sounded like this was the perfect reason to at least keep her away from the horses. He bit his bottom lip for a moment and then nodded. 

“I’ll take care of it, okay.” He patted her on the arm gently, “Just give me a bit, alright? You okay? Didn’t break anything in the fall, right?” 

“No, unless I broke something of yours. You kind of caught me.” She laughed, trying to lighten the mood a bit. He smiled, just a bit. Something genuine but a bit pained. “Don’t worry you’ll get it, we’re only on the first day.” 

“Yeah it’s just frustrating. She’s not really helping is she? I’m sorry. She’s kind of protective of me you know. Guess she got a little worried about how dangerous things looked.” He told her, but it was obviously a lie. Maybe none of that had been in English but she knew exactly what the problem was. How she’d been riding with him, yelling at him, touching him. Depending on how much she’d seen this was about jealousy. Possessive rage. Nothing else. She’d seen Scott do it a thousand times before she left. 

“She can protect you better by not getting near these horses.” She said firmly, deciding to work with him since he wasn’t willing to admit what the problem actually was. “It’s too risky, okay? It will be safer for me and for you if she’s not allowed over here.” 

“Right.” He nodded, “Just...give me...uh...uh one moment.” He stuttered but then still continued to stand there for a moment like he really didn’t want to do this. She didn’t want to make him feel awkward so she just took the reins from him gently and started to move the horse away to the other side of the ring. This seemed to spur him into action, he jogged towards Aurora. 

There was a bit more of an argument and she winced when he got slapped anyway. She knew she hadn’t saved him from anything. She shuddered to think about what the hell was going to happen in that trailer once they got there. Away from prying eyes. Probably nothing immediately visible but it was going to be there regardless. She fixed herself up and got back on the horse just as Bill was walking through the gate. He was walking off with that woman, back in the same direction he’d headed to get cleaned up before. She was going to have to figure out where his trailer was, if only to come up with 100 different excuses to pull him out of there when things got too bad. This wasn’t what she’d signed up for but she’d be damned if she didn’t do what she could while she had the chance. 

Wild Hearts Chapter One

For the past three weeks she’d been living out of her car, which was the last thing she wanted anyone to know. If they found out, there’d be no telling what would happen. She feared it could even cost her the job she was just hired for. All she really had to do was wait for the first two weeks to cycle through and she’d get a paycheck. Move into a cheap motel and start to save. She didn’t think she was going to get any better than this. She was lucky that she’d even gotten a job so quickly. Running off like she had to California to escape her abusive husband. He had not followed her, amazingly enough. She’d been applying for jobs left and right, following leads. Taking showers at shelters and gyms. Accepting under the table cash paying jobs so her husband couldn’t track her accounts. She had yet to open a new one because she’d not had the bare minimum in savings to do it. She knew she would, eventually, but she couldn’t now. Just two more weeks and she’d be home free. 

She’d managed to land a job on a movie set, of all places. She was the lead horse trainer. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have plenty of experience. Before she’d left her small town in Texas to get there, she’d been a champion. Won several national championships, prize money, trophies, had even been in the news a time or two. She’d gotten endorsement deals as well. Mostly for brands and things that only had to do with horses but it had been something. Still, leaving it all behind to get away from Scott was more important to her than anything else at that point. He was wrong. She didn’t need him and she was slowly but surely making it on her own. 

When she arrived on set that day, she was in her most professional looking riding gear. At least she’d been able to bring that with her. She’d always packed an extra set in a getaway bag that she’d hid in the barn. Little by little squirreled away things that he didn’t notice she was taking. Initially, it had only been a backup plan or a fantasy. A huge “what if” scenario. The idea of leaving him too horrifying. Yet, as the years went on, the beatings continued, and she felt more and more alone...it was enough. She figured that she could die there, trapped with that man, or take her chances. Maybe it wouldn’t work but at least she’d have tried instead of doing nothing at all. 

“Krystal Cunningham. I’m on the list.” She told the guard at the front gate. It seemed that a lot of this movie was being filmed on a huge estate. Something she’d never be able to afford in her wildest dreams. She also wasn’t entirely sure what kind of movie it was supposed to be, what it was about, or who was in it. None of those details mattered to her as long as she could do what she was supposed to and get her paycheck at the end of it. 

“Go see Steve, he’ll probably want you with Bill.” The guy told her. 

“Yeah, thank you.” She told him, knowing Steve but not this Bill guy. Steve was the man that hired her, so it was lucky she knew him and exactly where to go. There were signs up that directed her this way and that until she found herself outside of a large tent that seemed to be meant for him. Steve was the production manager. “Steve? You in there?” 

“Krystal?” She heard him call back. She’d stopped right outside since the flaps to the tent were down and she hadn’t wanted to be rude about just walking right in. It was the sweet southern girl part of her. That and the fact that she’d been legitimately punched in the face for walking through doors without getting permission first. Even if she doubted any of the men here were going to do that, it was just something that stayed with her. She was pretty sure it always would. “Come in here I want you to meet someone.” 

“Alright,” She replied and pushed one of the flaps aside to walk into the tent. Steve was in there sitting on a couch across from quite possibly the tallest man she’d ever seen in her life. He had to be almost a foot taller than her. He was stunningly handsome as well. To a point where she nearly went weak in the knees. He was dressed pretty casually, black jeans, boots, and a form fitting shirt that matched the rest. Everything dark. Everything...tight. Her face flushed and she made sure not to focus on him, didn’t want to stare and make things awkward. “This who you wanted me to meet?” She laughed nervously. 

“Yeah this is Bill. I need you to work with him, a lot.” Steve said. Her eyes went wide for a moment and she finally bothered to at least attempt eye contact with Bill. He had a smile on his face, a very warm and friendly gaze. He held his hand out to her, it was huge. She took it quickly and shook it. 

“Nice to meet you,” He said. 

“What exactly am I gonna be doing with him?” She asked, “Nice to meet you too, by the way.” 

“Well, he’s insistent he learns how to actually ride for his own scenes. He doesn’t have a ton of experience either.” Steve said. 

“First of all I’ve ridden horses before, for other movies. I just haven’t done all of this stuff.” Bill said, “He makes it sound worse than it is but I promise you, it’s not going to be that bad.” 

“Other movies?” She asked stupidly. Then she realized, the moment the words left her mouth, that this must be one of the actors. An important one too. Even worse, she’d failed to recognize that from the start. She didn’t know his last name and she was pretty sure she’d never seen him in a movie or a TV show. 

“Bill Skarsgard, you don’t know him?” Steve asked. 

“Not really, I’m sorry.” She said then looked at Bill, “But that’s good right? Means we get a clean slate and I ain’t got no preconceived notions of how you’re supposed to be.” After that she winced cause she’d been trying really hard not to speak like that. It was bad enough she still had her Texas accent but that just sounded uneducated. She had a college degree, she wasn’t stupid but being nervous wasn’t helping with her speech. 

“Honestly, I prefer it that way.” Bill told her, “So, where do we start?” She was glad he really didn’t seem to acknowledge how incredibly bad her English was with that last sentence. She was pretty sure he had a bit of an accent himself. Nothing like hers but, his pronunciation of words was kind of off. Maybe. She wasn’t well traveled enough to know. It would be too rude to ask, even if his last name was a bit odd but that didn’t mean anything. His parents could have been from somewhere else. She tried not to think about it, she was sure she’d find out in the course of working with him anyway. 

“Guess we start by getting you on a horse and seeing what you do know and what bad habits I have to correct.” She said, “So we just head to the stables then? How far are they from here anyway?” Even if this was just one estate on private property it was huge. She was sure it had to encompass miles. There was a forest around them, mountains. It was a secluded area. Enough of a front yard that they had been able to set up an area to park everything. It was where she’d left her car before walking to the front gate. There was no telling how far it expanded into the back, off to the sides either. She did know that she’d driven forever to just get out here and had definitely not passed any houses in the past ten or so miles before getting to this one. 

“I was out there earlier it’s a bit of a hike but I’m sure we can find it on our own.” Bill said, “We can get to know each other on the way.” 

“Sounds great,” She agreed, wondering just how famous this guy was. Not that it mattered too much to her. A person was just a person. Maybe he was talented and in movies but she didn’t really think that equated to him being better than everyone else. Him or any other celebrity. She’d never gotten into the whole gossip thing. Possibly because she was from such a small town where everyone knew everyone’s business, it got on her nerves. She never liked everyone knowing what was going on with her so she didn’t see why she needed to know about everyone else. Especially people she was never going to meet. That would have definitely included celebrities. At least, until that point. It looked like she was going to need to learn a lot about this in a very short period of time. 

“So where are you from?” He asked motioning for her to go ahead of him as he opened the flap to the tent so she could leave first. 

“Dallas,” She said, which was a lie. It was actually a much smaller town where everyone knew everyone else but she didn’t want to admit it. Plus, Dallas sounded a lot fancier. It was a safe choice because if Scott did come looking for her, or anyone else, she wouldn’t be walking around saying she was from that area. It worked well for her. “You?” 

“Stockholm.” He said, “Spend a lot of time in the states though. Mostly here in California for acting stuff.” 

“Oh, you like it here?” She asked, “Sweden’s gotta be like night and day compared to the US.” As they walked they passed a bunch of crew people, a few more tents, and some tables with food set out on it. The moment she noticed that her eyes couldn’t leave it. She’d been told that meals would be provided for crew members but she wasn’t sure any of the stuff on that table was for her. It was probably more for people like Bill. 

“Guess I get homesick quite a bit, have a big family but I also like acting so I guess it comes with the territory.” He said. 

“Makes sense,” She said, “I just have an older brother and me and him don’t really talk much. Parents either. Didn’t really approve of me comin out to California trying to make something of myself. You know, kinda religious folk who think that Hollywood people are the spawn of satan.” 

“They might not be too wrong about that.” He joked which made her laugh. She forced herself to pull her attention away from the food table so they could get on with the day. She could go hungry for just a bit longer. There would be actual meals later and it would be one of the first full meals she’d have in weeks. “Stable’s not that far up ahead.” He motioned with his hand and she could definitely see it up the small hill they were walking. 

“So what’s the movie about anyway? They didn’t tell us much.” She said, “I mean I guess you don’t have to tell me either but I’m going to need to know what you want to learn about riding or else I’m not going to be very helpful am I?” 

“Oh right, that. It’s a thriller movie about a man who hunts humans for sport.” He said, “I’m the man doing the hunting.” 

“Like that story, The Most Dangerous Game?” She asked. 

“Yeah, an adaptation of that.” He said, “It’s not all that modern of a setting. More of a period piece. Guess they thought it was more believable that someone could get away with it in like the 1800s or whatever.” 

“Makes sense.” She laughed, “In the story the hunter is Russian though.” 

“I’m aware of that.” He said, “It’s why I’m an actor I can do accents.” 

“Really?” She asked, “Interesting. Well, I can’t wait to see you in action but where do horses come into play? Or is it like the whole thrill of the hunt thing? Guess you will be doing a lot of riding.” They entered the stables together and just as promised there was a white board with information on it for the day. The horse that was assigned to Bill as well as herself, and other various information. Most of it didn’t pertain to either of them as filming wasn’t starting for two weeks. This was just preproduction. She figured that was enough time to get Bill into riding shape so he looked completely natural on a horse. 

“It’s kind of like a fox hunt thing, only with humans.” He said. “So yeah, thrill of the hunt or chase. Dude I’m playing is pretty fucked up.” 

“You don’t say?” She laughed, “I thought a guy who wanted to hunt humans for sport would be well adjusted.” 

“I know right?” He joked back. She smiled at him and and checked the whiteboard to make sure they took out the right horses for the day. There were a few stablehands milling around in there, tacking up and grooming. They didn’t have many horses, only about six, but all of them looked very similar. She assumed it was so they wouldn’t wear them down with all the shooting and she also guessed that some were for different levels of expertise and stunts than others. That’s when she saw a binder on the table by the whiteboard and grabbed it. “Do they really want me on a horse named Lucifer?” 

“Huh?” She looked up from the binder she was skimming and back to the board, “Looks like it. Don’t worry I’m sure it’s just a name.” 

“And if it’s not?” He asked. 

“Guess they can find some other seven foot actor to play this part when you break your neck.” She giggled and started to walk down the aisle to the right stall with him trailing behind. 

“I’m not seven feet tall but you’re probably right. Have a brother that’s not really doing anything right now.” He told her. She glanced at him, remembering he said he was from a large family. Was his brother also an actor? She wanted to ask but then felt like the answer would be obvious so she just didn’t. This was stuff she could all find out later, or maybe he’d mention it eventually. She smiled at him and opened the door to the stable where his horse was being kept. He was already tacked up and ready to go by that point. She took a moment to introduce herself to the horse and get a feel for his personality before grabbing the reins to lead him out of there. 

“See? He’s not such a bad guy.” She said as she walked out with him, “I’m sure you’ll be able to handle yourself just fine. Besides, you’ve done this before. Right?” 

“Right, been a few years but not really that hard to remember.” He replied. The funny thing was that he was nearly as tall as this horse. Though he was going to look magnificent riding it. Especially in whatever costume they decided to put him in for filming. She tried not to think about it as they entered the corral as it was causing her to blush. 

“Alright, mount the horse.” She told him, putting the reins back in position. Bill was able to do this very easily, probably because of how tall he was. Not to mention strong. She had to force herself to snap out of it and not stare at him before she got to work adjusting the stirrups for him so everything would be fine. She was going to have to make a note about all of that so the saddles wouldn’t be messed within the future. “Everything looks good from here, that feel right?” 

“Feels great,” He said, “Maybe I should show you what I can already do so you can tell me everything that I’m doing wrong.” 

“Well for starters your posture is terrible.” She grinned. He just gave her an annoyed look before sitting up straighter and looking far more proper. Like someone who was rich and from the 1800s would look on a horse. “That’s a lot better. Alright, give it a shot.” She backed up towards the fence then hopped up on it so she was sitting down and a bit more comfortable. He kicked the horse into a walk and she was kind of surprised to see that he mostly did know what he was doing. Not only that, but he was able to keep holding this character he seemed to be doing as he rode. He even knew to post when he started to trot, which he was also doing correctly. She had no notes on that. Though shortly after, he brought the horse to a halt right by where she was on the fence and smiled. 

“They never let me go any faster than that, but...pretty sure I did all of it correctly. Right?” He asked. 

“Yes, pretty impressive because I expected nothing of you.” She told him honestly. He laughed and shook his head. 

“Your faith in me is greatly appreciated.” He told her sarcastically. 

“Where I come from, you ain’t shit if you can’t ride. That and no one likes what I do. This isn’t western it’s English. I ain’t a rodeo star and don’t much care for it. You can imagine how valued my expertise is in Texas compared to that.” She replied, “Probably need to lighten up huh?” 

“No. I want to do this right so, don’t go easy on me.” He said. 

“What is it you want to do then? Everything? I don’t even know what’s in the script.” She told him. 

“Well, this guy is a seasoned rider. He’s rich as fuck. Enough to own this estate we are filming on. If he’s also hunting on horseback I’d assume he’d know everything as well. So I want to learn everything you know.” He suggested. 

“You want to learn all that in the two weeks we got before filming starts?” She asked, “Not possible but I can at least teach you to fake it. That is, if you’re anywhere near a decent actor.” She smirked at him. 

“Maybe we should use my brother instead.” He grinned. She laughed and hopped down from the fence. What she did know took years of training and practice. Luckily, Bill wasn’t entirely incompetent with horses to begin with. She didn’t think he’d have been hired for this role if they didn’t think he could act. If he was talented, she definitely could show him how to fake it and fill in the gaps between these points. It would be an incredible amount of work but it was her job and working with him was already a dream come true. She couldn’t wait to see what he could really do and how much she could teach. Maybe she’d end up impressing someone enough to get a more permanent gig somewhere. Everything was riding on this one job and her ability to make Bill look the best he could riding a horse.