"Did you hear that Lita? Lord Nephrite says his family's raised horses for years. They bred Vega, that magnificent beast he's riding today." Minya smiled approvingly and nudged her sulky friend's arm.
"What wonders these Terrans be," Lita growled, eying the magnificent and sleek stallion appreciatively before she flicked her gaze up to register the faint amusement and satisfaction on its rider's face. She bristled, continuing not quite sotto voce. "Truly, it's not everyday you find they've bred a horse with two backsides."
The blonde Shitennou, Jadeite, who was riding beside her choked, trying to tamp down the urge to laugh out loud. Minya giggled behind her hand.
"Lita!" Amy let out an appalled gasp as their Terran guide's sapphire eyes snapped angrily at the Jovian princess' out and out rudeness. She'd been sniping at him for a month, every time their paths crossed.
"I'm sure they're very fine horses, Amity. For Terrans." Lita sniffed disdainfully, patting Fury's proud neck. The fiery black hunter she rode nickered softly and tossed her head, seeming quite put out at the indignity of being used for what was merely a sedate trot through the pastoral riding paths around Elysion castle.
Lita was fairly indignant too. Although she'd been the one to first mention her desire for a ride, he'd just had to butt in. So her solitary ride had gone to a group amble with everyone but Serenity, Endymion, Kunzite and Raye present. Then, with a high-handedness that left her breathless, he'd even tried to prevent her from picking the horse she wanted to ride, claiming she'd never be able to handle the fierce animal. She, though, and Fury had shown the stupid man. The wild creature had, in her hands, been as gentle as a child's first pony. The horse wasn't her spirit animal for nothing.
"I also personally bred and broke the one you're riding, Princess," he informed her archly, stroking a finger down the finger down his own mount's neck. Its glorious bay color was a near match to her chestnut hair. "I have a knack with handling spirited fillies, it seems." A smirk quirked up the edges of his lips as she colored deeply at the implied insult and glared at him, then swallowed hard as his hand curled in the horse's mane and he stared at her, a challenge in his eyes.
Lita felt her back teeth grind. Everything about the wretched Terran grated on her, from his too pretty eyes to his too kissable lips to his great big, nay enormous, swaggering ego that seemed to feed on her constant embarrassment. He was simply too much...of everything, for her own good. She was sick and tired of being a source of amusement to the infuriating man. Consequently she'd been acting quite unlike her normal reasonably good humored self. Amy had actually been half wondering if she was channeling Raye, who had flatly refused to join them on the ride because she refused to spend time with Lord Jadeite huffily stating in private that she couldn't warm up to the blue-eyed Shitennou unless she were cremated by him…and in any case, that was HER specialty.
"The thing about him that exhausts me most," Lita snarled waspishly to herself as her eyes snapped with green flame, "is his constant patter of little feats. Jerk!"
Jadeite, her escort and the only one close enough to overhear that crack, chuckled low in his throat. He inclined his head toward hers, drawing a fierce look from Nephrite. "Very droll, Princess. I'll have to remember to use that one on him sometime in the future when his conceited head needs deflating."
A very slight drizzle began to fall, dampening the earth and dappling the horses' coats. Very far off, a low rumble of sound on the air made Lita display her first real smile since they'd begun. She breathed in deeply. "A thunderstorm…"
"We'd better get back to the castle before that cloudburst hits." Nephrite glanced over at Minya, whose honey-colored palomino mare danced nervously, scenting the ozone in the sultry summer air. "She gets nervous in storms. Sorry."
That got Lita's attention and she perked up, looking interested. "So we're done here, then? No more kingdom tour?"
"I suppose," he replied. "Too bad about that, but…"
"Good!" she interrupted him, a wicked smile of pure satisfaction curving her lips. "Then I'll start with what I wanted to do all along…a real ride! Let's go, Fury!"
Without further warning, Lita swung a lithe limb over her horse's neck, her skirts bunching up and barring her legs for all to see as she shifted swiftly from genteel sidesaddle to boldly astride. Letting out an Amazonian battle cry she dug her heels into her mount and thundered off across the pasture, her ponytail whipping out behind her. Then in one smooth motion, horse and rider cleared the boxwood hedge that edged the pasture, setting out onto the plains of Elysion at a full gallop. The lime colored grosgrain ribbon that been holding back her hair came loose, fluttering slowly to earth as she left the pasture far behind.
"Damnation!" Nephrite swore, forgetting for a moment that there were ladies present. "I knew I shouldn't have let her ride that horse! She's going to kill herself! It's going to storm. She could even get struck by lightning."
"Not likely," Amy muttered under her breath, badly disguising the comment with a cough when Minya gave a sharp shake of her head. Zoisite shot the blue-haired princess a suspicious look, but held his peace.
If he heard the comment, Nephrite did not deign to reply. He shot a quick glance at Jadeite and Zoisite. "See the ladies back to the castle. I'll go get her back." The latter was said as a grimly determined 'just see if I don't' look settled on his face.
"Ha!" He wheeled about and kicked his mount into a ground-eating gallop, chasing after the headstrong Jovian princess. The others watched, bemused and fairly oblivious to the light sprinkle of rain that began to fall.
"Well that was unexpected," Zoisite murmured, peering from Minya to Amy for explanation. "Is she always that…impetuous?"
"She seems to have had a bad effect on him," Jadeite added, looking thoughtful as he dabbed away some moisture from his face with a handkerchief. "I haven't seen anyone get Neph that mad that fast in a long time. Interesting." He smirked knowingly. "Very interesting, actually."
Amy flushed, looking down at her dappled grey as she clucked to it. "Lita's always been a little on the impetuous side and she's got a quick temper at times, though she's usually quite good natured. I think she's embarrassed that he's caught her in a few rather humiliating scrapes and that's how she takes it out." She shrugged. "Lita would rather be outrageous on her own terms than ridiculous on someone else's."
The wind whipped up, chilling them all, so they quickly turned in the direction of the stables. After their mounts were cared for, Minya grabbed Amy and dragged her off to find Raye, who had hidden herself in a small temple to consult her fire. "We all need to pray," she informed her Mercurian friend.
"Why?"
"Because when I was reading the currents between them they were a hell of a lot stormier than anything on the weather front. Unless I miss my guess they'll either come back madly in love or one of them is going to flat out kill the other."
"Are you serious?" a wide-eyed Amy asked, blinking.
"Absolutely," the Venusian princess replied, nodding. "So pray hard. Lita has been trying so hard to drive Nephrite off that she forgot the most important lesson of the man-woman game."
"And what might that be, wise Princess Minya?" a polished male voice interjected, making both women jump. Kunzite, who had appeared seemingly from nowhere, stood before them, his arms crossed over his chest, his cape draped back over one shoulder and his top tunic button undone, displaying a strong chest.
For a moment Venus found her breath taken away by the picture he made, all silver and steel and smoothness. She blushed hotly, but then smiled and answered with blunt and refreshing honesty. "That, Lord Kunzite, all men love nothing quite so much as a challenge…"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When he finally caught up with her, she was racing the storm, laughing, looking like a pagan goddess toying with the elements themselves. He did not call out, for he sensed that would only spur her on. He simply bent over his mount urging it on until he was racing alongside her. Then he hauled her bodily from her horse, ignoring her screech of indignation.
Abruptly freed of a rider, her hunter looked around, confused. Nephrite whistled a singularly peculiar tone and swatted the horse on the rump. Fury let out a squeal, wheeled about and took off for the castle on her own. Lita fumed, twisting awkwardly around to glare at him, though she dared not struggle too much until her feet were back on solid ground least she spook his horse and have both of them be thrown.
"What the HELL were you playing at, Princess?" he growled at her when they were once again on terra firma, grabbing her by the shoulders, trying to fight the urge to shake the infuriating woman until her teeth rattled. "You could have been thrown and broken your fool neck! You could have been struck by lightning! Anything could have happened!"
"Take your hands off me!" she snapped, slapping him. "You have no right to manhandle me, Lord Nephrite!"
"You're acting like a spoiled brat! Maybe I ought to give you a good spanking instead!"
She sucked in an outraged breath. "Just you try it!"
"Don't push me, Princess. Is today an example of the fantastic leadership and diplomatic skills we can expect from the Jovians in the future? If so, I fancy we'll see civil war in the future…maybe the fall of your monarchy itself."
"My people adore me," Lita informed him furiously, ignoring the goose that walked over her grave at his words. "They would follow my lead anywhere!"
"What? Out of morbid curiosity?"
"How dare you?!" She clutched her hands together against the urge to wring his thoroughly vexing neck.
"No!" he demanded, "How dare you?! I went out of my way to do something pleasant for you and your friends and you sulked like a child the whole time. Then you ran off heedlessly like a child as well." He shot her a scornful look and she blushed, shamefaced and glared back at him.
"Who asked you to?!" she finally shot back, raging at him. "I wanted solitude, not a circus parade, which is what you turned that ride into, for Zeus alone knows what reason. And I am NOT a child!"
He knew she wasn't a child. Not anymore. That was the whole problem, he thought. But she was, protected by her status and upbringing, definitely innocent. Far, far too innocent for him, but damned desirable anyway. The only reason he'd insisted on bringing along the group was because he knew he could trust himself with her when there were witnesses around. Otherwise he'd have followed her on her solitary ride, and then…
Nephrite shook himself and focused on his breathing until he had re-centered himself. He had to get a hold of himself or storm or no storm, he'd be tumbling the tempestuous little Jovian vixen in the grass. He shuddered and fought for control. The image was entirely too enticing. He could just picture her there beneath him, her damp curls tangling with the wildflowers and those bright emerald eyes darkening to jade with passion. Breathe, dammit, he reminded himself. Breathe!
"Bah," he snorted, his nostrils flaring. "You're a pampered little princess who's so young and green she's probably never properly kissed anyone."
Green? That stung. She tried and failed to come up with the perfect crusher. Finally she simply lied through her teeth. "I wouldn't say that. At least, nobody's complained before," she hissed, smirking when his face darkened with jealousy.
"Prove it." The words were past his lips before he could think better of them.
Lita's eyes blazed as she icily intoned, "I beg your pardon?"
Unable to back down without looking like an idiot, Nephrite shrugged, though his eyes couldn't help but stray down toward the soft coral pink lip she was chewing on in her agitation.
Lita was tempted. Very tempted. She had no idea what to do. Her boast had been pure bravado born of temper. But really, what the hell did it matter? If she made a fool of herself, she'd just be able to blame it on his dare anyway. She'd never get another such chance…
Without warning, Lita launched herself at Nephrite, she going up on her toes as she curled a hand around the back of his neck, pulling him to her. Her lips locked clumsily with his and the world fell away as passion flared.
They were both breathing hard when she broke off the kiss, stumbling back a few steps to stare warily at one another. "Satisfied," Lita snapped, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She could taste him on her tongue and she feared she could quickly become addicted to that rare flavor. She also feared she'd just made a colossal mistake. Sweet heaven, but he was too much. She could feel her heart pounding drum-like in her chest.
He took a long look at the wide-eyed princess, whose rich chestnut hair was curled wildly around her pink, pretty, heart-shaped face. Her breasts heaved beneath her damp riding habit as she tried to catch her breath. His breath caught for the merest moment as she nervously licked her bee-stung lips, and his eyes darkened until they were the color of a moonless night sky.
Yes, she was definitely innocent, the little liar, but her inexpert yet passionate kiss showed definite promise, especially in the hands of the right teacher. She was also his. He'd known it from the moment he'd tasted her sweetness. They were right together. And he wasn't going to let a little thing like a few centuries of political squabbling and bad blood between his planet and her alliance get in their way.
"Princess," Nephrite replied, reaching for her with a seductive smile in place. He gave her hand a sharp tug, reeling her in until her lush curves were pressed firmly against the plane of his chest. "Not even close…"
