Bound, Part 1
I had been at the mansion for a full day, by this time, and I still wasn’t at all sure what I’d let myself in for. I was a sort of “plus-one” to my friend Cory, and I had stayed in his shadow, as I usually did. He’s the self-confident young stallion,...
Baby Steps
"I didn't want you to go to any trouble." "Stop being silly." Jerry watched as the younger of his landlords continued to straighten up the living room of the big house, waiting for the auto-set electric kettle to chime its announcement that the...
Sins of the Father
Francesco LeClair tossed his duffle bag gently onto the bed and took the moment to look over his motel room. Pretty good, all in all -- king-sized bed (expertly made), comfortable work desk, a couple of chairs, the usual vid options. The bathroom was a...
Slightly Foxed, But Still Desirable
TO: Harrison Burkholder-Barrows 84 Christchurch St Radcliffe-on-Pontisbright, Suffolk ENGLAND April 27, 2015 Dear Mr. Burkholder-Barrows: I am a bibliophile and collector, interested in the occasional rare volume. Your name and address...
Safe
_"MORLOCK!"_ The wolf pup screamed the Word once, twice, three times. It was the Word, the Word he was supposed to use, but the massive malamute on top of him kept viciously assaulting his tailhole, a tirade of filth spewing from his muzzle even as...
Throwaways
The morning light stole in, as it always did, eventually, even after such a long and frightening night as Hallowe'en. For the young female rabbit crouched down behind a dumpster in the filthy back alley, the real terror was just beginning, again, as...
The Stallion's Tale, Part 1
_Eight years ago..._ Gabriel pushed the wheelbarrow carefully across the dusty expanse of dimpled hardpan, having learned the hard way that moving too quickly could cause the entire load of muck to fly just about everywhere at once. Stripped to the...
Drawn Out
Eoin McCracken hadn't done any babysitting in quite a long time. His only younger sibling wasn't so far behind him in the birth order as to need much looking after, once both had passed puberty and gotten a reasonable sense of personal responsibility...
Dispatches II
From the _Northwest Florida Daily News,_ Section C (Sports), below the fold: HARRIS OUTED Niceville High Star Athlete Subject of Controversy Local-boy-made-good star quarterback Bobby Harris figures prominently in a series of photographs put onto...
A Place for the Stranger
"Food?" "Check." "Family?" "Check." "Plates, utensils, napkins?" "Check, check, check." "Appetites?" "HELLS YES!" _"Then dig in!"_ The Lamar family Thanksgiving dinner was underway. Bobby took his cue from the rest of the family...
The Day
Gabriel lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling, trying to let his mind drift. Beside him on the bed, curled up and facing away from him, lay the beautiful cremello mare who had shared with him delights he wasn't even entirely sure he could have...
Housewarming
"Feels like Witness Protection." Mal looked up sharply at Bobby's comment. The handsome lion quarterback stood to the side of the front window of the apartment, peeking through the curtain like a spy in the old thrillers of the sixties, doing all he...