Page 10 of Hoof It

Ten

Chapter 9

Darcy

I knew when I woke up this morning that something important was going to happen. But I hadn’t imagined that I’d meet the goatman face to face. Or that I’d feel such a soul deep need to touch him. I never imagined that he’d speak at all, let alone speak English. My mind is still reeling. Jimazu is smiling down at me, and the longer he smiles the more the anxious feeling in my stomach eases. It’s only been a few moments, but I’m already more comfortable and at ease with him than I’ve ever been in my life.

I finally break the eye contact between us and bring my face back to his chest. I take a deep breath in. His scent fills my nose with hints of petrichor, oranges, and untamed forests. It’s a scent I want to smell for the rest of my life. He makes a sound, a cross between a chuckle and a goat’s bleat and his body bounces. I look up at him and have to crane my neck to see his face. Our height difference is mind blowing. He’s easily seven feet tall from the bottom of his hooves to the top of his head. His horns add another couple inches of height as well.

“Are… are you laughing at me?” I run my fingers up and down his back muscles.

“I think so? I love that you can’t keep yourself from touching and smelling me. You amuse me, little mate.”

Before I can respond, my stomach growls again and now I’m laughing. Because of course my stomach would interrupt such a cute moment. Ugh. I take a tiny step backwards and unclip then slip my backpack off my shoulders. I unzip the main pouch and dig through it, hoping for a granola bar or some trail mix. The protein bar this morning was godawful. It left a filmy taste in my mouth, and I’d rather not eat another one so soon. I groan when I realize that I don’t have either in my pack.

“Allow me to feed you?” Jimazu’s voice rumbles from above me. “I have an abundance of food stored and I’d love to provide for your needs.”

I turn my head towards Lexi and Frankie. Lex shrugs and takes a step forward. Frankie looks a bit hesitant but follows her girlfriend. I turn my head back to Jimazu and nod. “Okay.”

He picks up the mask he’d thrown to the ground when I first approached him, turns around, and holds his arm out for me to grab onto. I take it in mine and walk next to him.

We walk to the far side of the trees nearby and just as we pass them, I see a small cave. Rather than walking into it, we stop beside it. Jimazu turns towards me and asks me to sit and wait while he grabs what he needs from inside.

I sit off to the left of the cave. Lexi sits on my right side, and Frankie sits across from us. She leans in and whispers, “Are we really sitting outside a cave in the middle of the forest because goatman offered us food? Have neither of you ever read any books involving the fae? You’re not supposed to eat their food.”

I can’t stop the snort before it leaves my nose and throat. Lexi cracks up too. “Babe, he’s not a fae. He’s a cryptid. Besides, I get the feeling that we can trust him. Look at how he is with Darce. Jimazu wouldn’t hurt a fly. I think we’re safe from unseelie tricksters.”

Jimazu chooses that moment to walk back outside, arms full of fruits and wood. His mask is nowhere in sight. “You saw an unseelie? It didn’t try to trap you with mead and dance, did it? They’re supposed to stay away from my territory.”

Lexi and I are stunned into silence, our mouths hanging open. Frankie however, not so much. “Hold on. You ask that so casually. Does that mean that the fae are real too?”

Jimazu drops the wood to the ground, then gently places the various fruits next to me before he answers her. “The fae folk are as real as goatkind and humans. Most of the creatures you all refer to as cryptids are real. The fae used to keep to their own realm, but over the last hundred years they’ve been coming here in droves. They assimilate into the human towns, and most humans don’t even know that they encounter them in their day to day lives.”

Not realizing that he’s just dropped a whole ass bombshell into our laps, Jimazu returns into the cave. As Lexi looks between Frankie and myself she says “I don’t think that he’s kidding.” I shake my head slowly.

Jimazu walks back out of the cave. This time he has two rocks and a metal grate. “I haven’t been a kid for several hundred years, Lexi. Though, I fail to see what that has to do with the fae folk?” He places the items down and begins arranging the wood to start a fire.

I realize that he misunderstood Lex, so I explain. “No, she means joking. Kidding is another word for joking.”

He looks away from the wood for a moment before responding. “You will have to forgive me. I haven’t spent much time around humans. I also haven’t actually spoken with another being in many years.”

My heart breaks a little for him. I want to stay around him so that he always has someone to talk to. I want him to never be alone again. I want to teach him all of the words he doesn’t know, and remind him that it’s okay that he’s unfamiliar with humans. I want him to know he’s important and his existence is just as valid as mine is. I want him to feel loved and wanted.

I stop myself before that specific thought can grow any further. He may be my mate, but I’ve only just met him. It’s far too early to be thinking of love and everything that comes along with it. I jumped into loving Mat and that one didn’t exactly turn out well for me. Except, somehow, deep in the pit of my soul I know that Jimazu is different. That he would sooner die than ever hurt me. I don’t know how I know it, but I do.

Unable to keep myself from touching him, I scoot closer and lay my cheek against his back. His bare skin is warm against mine. I can hear his heartbeat and it’s soothing. I close my eyes and sink into him as he continues to prepare food for us.

One of his hands reaches backwards and rubs my leg in soothing back and forth motions. I glance over at Frankie and Lexi. Their heads are close together and they’re whispering. Frankie still looks worried, but Lexi looks calm. I close my eyes and allow myself to enjoy the moment.

I must have dozed off because a while later Jimazu is gently shaking me. I stretch my arms up over my head and pop my neck. I glance back at Frankie and Lexi, and they both have soft smiles on their faces. I feel my cheeks heat in a blush again. It’s then that I realize I’m no longer leaning against Jimazu’s back. He’s now seated beside me. His long legs are in front of him. He has an arm across my shoulders and my head is leaning against his side.

I glace up at him and he’s already looking at me, smiling softly. “I didn’t want to wake you. Your friends said you haven’t been sleeping well. You seemed so comfortable sleeping on me. I already had them eat some roasted vegetables. Your food is near the fire staying warm. I will grab it for you whenever you’re ready for it.”

His arm shifts and he strokes a finger along my shoulder. It seems that I’m not the only one unable to keep my hands to myself. Not that I’m complaining. The more he touches me, the more I enjoy it.

“They’re right. It’s been weeks since I slept that well. I’m sorry I fell asleep on you. I hope I didn’t drool or snore or anything though.”

He does his version of a laugh and it brings a smile to my face. “Worry not, little mate. You can fall asleep on me anytime you’d like. I rather enjoyed it. I must be honest, I’m unsure what drool and snore mean though.”

“Oh. Um… Drool is the bit of spit that escapes your mouth while you sleep. It’s kind of gross. And snoring is the sound that comes from the nose while sleeping. It kind of sounds like an angry animal, I guess?”

He looks confused for a second. “You did neither of those things. I almost hope to witness you do them someday though.”

I shake my head as Lexi and Frankie crack up laughing at my expense. “Oh, she for sure snores. And don’t get me started on the drooling. I swear her pillow case needs to be changed daily. It’s gross!”

My head whips towards Lexi. “Alexiana!” Frankie laughs harder and my cheeks flame. “Don’t listen to her, Jimazu. I don’t drool that much. Just the usual amount.”

His chest bounces with laughter and he shakes his head. “I don’t mind. Drool on me anytime.”

Lexi, dirty minded person that she is, completely loses it. She falls backwards and nearly stops breathing, she’s laughing so hard. Jimazu’s face flips between confused and worried.

“Lex, come on. It wasn’t that funny.” Frankie looks appalled at her girlfriend. The longer Lexi laughs, the more confused Jimazu looks.

“She’s ridiculous, Zu. In her dirty mind, she took what you said as something sexual.” I shake my head. Jimazu looks even more confused now. “Sexual?”

I rack my brain to come up with a way to explain it. “What do mates do to complete their bond?” I ask him.

I swear his cheeks turn red before he answers, “The male presents the female with food and gifts. If she accepts, they spend every day together. He brings her more trinkets and builds her a home to fill them with. Once the home is suitable for their future family, and as long as she consents, the male will take her inside. There he will mount and rut her until she goes into a heat…”

The way he answers has me curious. It sounds as if he’s repeating something he’s been told his entire life, rather than something he’s experienced firsthand.

“Zu, does your kind only mate with one in their life? Or will you mate with many of your kind throughout your life?”

He looks confused, as if the thought of ever being with anyone other than his mate has never crossed his mind. “Goatkind only have one mate, and it’s for life.”

“So if Darcy is your mate, and you only just found each other, does that mean that you haven’t ever been with another, like you haven’t…rutted…a female, ever?”

He shakes his head. “I’ve never been with anyone, no.”

“Holy shit, D. He’s a virgin,” Lexi whispers.

My eyes haven’t left Jimazu’s face. “Enough, Lex.”

“What does that word mean, Darcy?”

I glance over at Lexi and shoot her a dirty look before turning my face back to Jimazu. “A virgin is someone who hasn’t physically mated with anyone.”

“Are you a virgin, little mate?” His question, while it’s expected, catches me off guard.

“No, I’ve physically mated with a man.” Fearing that he won’t like my answer, I look anywhere but at him. “Several, actually.” His hand cups my chin and he brings my gaze up to his own. There’s a curiosity and a heat in his eyes that weren’t there before.

His voice drops to a rumbly whisper. “Does that mean that you can teach me all of the ways to make you mine?”

I bite my lip and nod once before finding my voice. “Yes. I can teach you.”

I’m suddenly very aware of how close to each other we’ve moved, and just how thin my leggings are. I’m practically in his lap, and the heat coming off of his legs and torso is intense. His eyes are laser focused on my face. It’s as if he’s reading every micro-expression that crosses my face.

I start thinking about all of the ways that we could possibly have sex, factoring in our almost two-foot height difference. Which then leads me to wonder about his cock and what it looks like. Which then leads me to wonder what it feels like. My face heats and I feel my leggings begin to stick to my thighs. I shift as I sit, trying casually to peel the athletic fabric away from my skin.

Jimazu notices everything, but seems unsure of how to react. “Are you alright, little mate?”

If he was anyone else, the concern in his voice would kill the growing mood, but because it’s him, it adds to what I’m feeling. Ever the observant best friend, Lexi speaks up for me.

“She’s fine. Mildly uncomfortable. She’s thinking about all of the ways that you can mate her and it’s got her panties all twisted up. We can go on a walk for a while if you two need to be left alone?”

Jimazu looks into my eyes, searching. I can’t help but bite my bottom lip again. His thumb gently pulls it from between my teeth. He speaks quietly enough for only me to hear. “Is that what you want, Darcy? To be left alone with me so that we can mate?”

Something in me, I’m guessing the mate bond, screams for me to say yes. But instead I say, “No. I don’t want our first time to be rushed, or filled with worry that they’ll return before we’re done.”

He looks almost relieved, so I know that I made the right choice. I rise up onto my knees and kiss his cheek softly. He lets out a soft bleat and I instinctively know that it’s one of happiness. Wanting to hear the sound again, I cup his chin and turn his face before kissing the other cheek.

I turn my head towards Lexi and Frankie. “We’re fine, Lex. No mating is happening right now.” I raise one eyebrow to get her to understand that it’s time to drop the subject. She nods once. I face Jimazu again. “I believe you mentioned food?”

He leans forward and grabs a lump of leaves. He unwraps them and I realize that he used dry leaves like foil to keep the food warm. He holds out two potatoes and a small summer squash. All three are fire roasted and smell wonderful. They’re not too hot for me to hold them in my bare hands. Unsure of how to eat them without any silverware, I look up at Jimazu questioningly. “Do you have anything I can use to cut them open?”

He blushes but holds a hand out for me. I hand him the squash and he raises it up to one of his horns, and uses the point to poke a hole in it. He then widens the hole with his thumbs and easily breaks it into two halves. He repeats the process with the potatoes.

“Your horns can be used like that and it not hurt?” I ask.

“I can’t feel the tips of them. The thicker parts of my horns are sensitive though.”

“Is that why you…” I pause, unsure of how to finish the question.

“Why I bleated when you touched them earlier? Yes. You touched the most sensitive spot. It felt incredible. Like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.”

I bite into the squash as he explains more. “Goatkind all know that only mates are allowed to touch one another’s horns. And I’ve been alone for a very long time. No one has touched my horns since I was a kid and my mother was bathing me after I fell in mud.”

I’m stunned for a second as my brain catches up to my ears. I stop eating, mid chew. “Wait. Did I fuck up by touching your horns then?”

Jimazu rubs my arm. “No. Were you not my mate, I would have been annoyed that you touched my horns. But you are, and you didn’t know the customs my kind hold near to us. I cannot hold it against you since you did not know. Besides, you were doing what the pull of the mate bond called you to do.”

I swallow my mouthful of squash and reach for my water, realizing that I don’t have my backpack on. I look all around and see it next to Jimazu. He notices what I’m looking for, and hands it to me. I pull my water bottle out of the side pocket and take a drink.

“Worry not, little mate. You haven’t offended me in any way.” His smile eases my worries.