Lost under the tangled waves of my own hair, I struggle awake. I huff out a breath to blow some of them away. I turn and see the chest of a horse facing me within my blanket cocoon.
Oh... right.
Feeling mischievous, I reach forward with a single finger and tuck it into the pit of a foreleg. They both kick out on either side of me, making me yelp. The top of the blanket gets pulled down and I see Andrius staring down at me.
"Did you just tickle-"
"It was an accident."
"I don't believe you," he says with a smirk.
Before I can respond, his strong arms wrap me up in the blanket. I feel myself lifted off the floor.
"Ah!" I squeak, "What are you doing?"
"Taking you back to the ditch I dug you out of."
"You wouldn't!"
"Oh, I don't know. I'm very temperamental before I have breakfast."
His hooves clop slowly against the floor.
"What if I told you there's snacks in my backpack?" I venture.
The movement stops.
"Well, that changes everything."
He lowers me to the ground and I wriggle until my face is free from the blanket. Andrius' head tilts as he watches my feet to make sure I can stand on my own. I snatch my backpack off a hook on the wall and dig a hand inside. I can feel through the paper wrapping that some of the shortbread cookies are cracked into pieces from my fall. The centaur puts a hand over my mouth just before I bite into a piece.
"Can't have cookies without tea," he wags a finger at me.
I smile under his hand and let him help me to the kitchen. As he reaches up into one of the too-high cupboards, I unfurl the paper wrapping and lay out the collection of cookies. Sweet, crunchy and stamped with the framed image of a leaping bunny.
"Chamomile or star anise?"
"Chamomile!"
He nods and situates the kettle over a stovetop flame. A low table, low enough that I can only imagine he lays in front of it, is to the side in the kitchen. I didn't notice it last night.
Movement in my periphery catches my attention and I turn to watch Andrius pull the leather strap out of his hair. Waves are kinked into his hair where it dried against the tie. He digs his hands in and rubs at his scalp and combs his fingers through the little tangles. The open V of his tunic gives me a window to the movement of his muscles.
I bite my lip and let my eyes trail hesitantly over the rest of his form. His hooves are polished and clean, I imagine in part from the coverings he wears when he goes outside. He's not wearing any covering on his lower... his horse half. I suppose it wouldn't be possible. Or would be too complicated to be worth the trouble. A tapering expanse of soft flesh angles up against his belly between his back legs, hiding whatever manhood he has. Except for the close to his body testicles that sit behind it. I blush and snap my eyes away from him.
"Which one do you want?"
I try and fail to stop blushing before I look back at him, "What?"
"Which color?"
I stare back at him confused, forcing my gaze to go to where he holds the steaming kettle with a potholder and to the two ceramic mugs on the countertop. One green, one blue.
"Oh. Um. Blue?"
He fills mine first and slides it to me.
He's really kind, I begin to justify to myself, And he is very pretty. For a centaur.
He finishes filling his own mug and follows to sit across from me at the low table. His shining hair bounces around his face as his legs bend and plop him down into a lying position.
Okay, so he's very pretty for a no-matter-what-he-is.
I bite my lip and pretend to sip at the tea to hide any evidence of my thoughts that may be written on my face. He takes a biscuit and I mimic the action. He reaches across the table to tap his against my own in a crumbly cheers before dipping the cookie into his tea and taking a bite, followed by a sip.
"I think we should have sex."
In the same instant his eyes go wide, I hear the tea snort from his throat into his nose. Andrius' coughs and covers his face with his hand. I sit, leaned back and awkward and silent. Maybe I could have said it more subtly.
"Ow," he moans, "Ugh. It went up my nose."
"I'm serious," I say, less confidently than I would like.
"So am I. It really burns." He pinches his nose and squints his eyes.
"So... Do you want to?"
"The fuck? No. Where did that even come from?"
"Claudius is all about appearances and tradition," I explain in a rush, "He won't want anything to do with me if I'm not a virgin."
"Can't you just fuck some prostitute in your town?"
"No one would do it. They'd either be too afraid of my father or Claudius or both. You're perfect."
"I can assure you I'm not."
"I disagree," I say haughtily.
"How do you see this working exactly? You expect me to fuck you. Then parade you around your hometown and let everyone know we fucked?"
"I don't know. I'll show them bloody bed sheets or panties or something."
"I'm happy to prick my finger and rub it in your underwear."
"What if they want to inspect further? Wouldn't my body... look different?"
"After bedding a centaur for your first time? Yeah. I fucking bet it would."
"You know," I inject some smugness into my voice, "Most people consider me very attractive."
I sit up and let my cloak fall open a little, let my ample, perky bust show over the neckline of my dress. Andrius' gaze slides over the curvature of my body before he shakes his head and squints his eyes closed.
"You are very beautiful. But... that doesn't really change what's possible."
"Possible?" I tilt my head.
"A human female cannot bed a male centaur."
