(MxM) Tales Of A Shifter (P1) - The Meeting

Chapter 64 - Tending The Horses

The next three days they returned to the horse farm. It seemed to Brandon that tending the Band of horses was Ezekiel main concern that week, and he guessed that it was because Crystal seemed just about ready to pop.

The routine that the two of them were developing was far too easy for Brandon to feel comfortable with and he was quickly frustrated to find that he actually liked the long patrols to the Farm.

The time spent out of the room gave him a chance to get out of his own head....and Ezekiel's presence wasn't wholly ignored in this. When they hung out....there seemed to be a lot unspoken, but what that was Brandon didn't exactly want to focus on....and for the most part Ezekiel seemed to feel the same. They got along well, and there was plenty of work to be done with the horses each day. So Brandon didn't have much to dwell on what was or wasn't being said.....or done.....desired or secretly dreamed about. And he liked it that way.

Most of their time on the farm was a quiet few hours spent in the company of the Leopard Clans charming mares and handsome black stallion. Or traveling in the open, the smell of pine, grass and hay all around him. The empty blue sky above him and the slow passing of the seconds. He was surrounded by horses or in truth he was surrounded by only about three mares each day. The few who had come to accept his presence among their troupe. While the rest gave their unyielding love to Ezekiel.

During their visits Ezekiel stood among a crowd of mares as he tended to Lazlo and his pregnant mare Crystal. The horses formed a wall about him nearly blocking him from Brandon's sight every few minutes. They brushed against him, sniffed and nipped at Ezekiels clothes and hair begging for his attention. Brandon tried to ignore him. But every time Ezekiel's laugh floated over to him or his voice echoed as he talked softly to each of the mares Brandon had to look his way.

"Hey Sandy."

"Good girl Trina."

"Come here April. Look at that silky tail!"

"Oh wow Crystal...look at you sweetheart."

Brandon watched him softly caress the mares bulging belly. The wide smile that came over him and the clear care that he took with the mare's stomach drew Brandon's gaze against his will. A small shiver danced down Brandons spin as he recalled having Ezekiel's warm gentle hands skinning along his chest, caressing old scars, sharing affection in a way Brandon hadn't known before...

It was maddening...but the view overall wasn't totally without its perks. Most of the time he caught himself.....just looking at the Guardian.

The Shifter was sinfully attractive. He always was, but Brandon felt the pull to look at him most when they were alone and when the Shifter smiled so carelessly and kindly as he worked. Standing in his plaid sleeveless shirt with low riding jeans and boots in the sunlight that turned his blue eyes into glassy jewels it was a losing battle where Brandon only ended up hating himself for his own responses.

He had self-control....Brandon knew he couldn't have made it so far without some control over his thoughts and will, but where on earth had it gone? With Ezekiel he seemed to have no bounds....and no clue if it was as obvious to the rest of the world. Brandon prayed that it wasn't.

"Hey!" Ezekiel called when a black horse bucked against a pair of mares that suddenly tried to muzzle in past Crystal to get at Ezekiel. The sudden sound caused a few of the more skittish beasts to scatter.

Suddenly Lazlo lifted his head from the patch of earth he had nearly chewed bare in the last hour. His black heavy front hoof lifted and pounded into the grass and soil, sounding like the thump of a log. Brandon noticed that the large stallion tended to hover even more about his mare Crystal then before. Lazlo never seed to be away from her side.