It doesn't have to be love. Her whiskered lips press against his ebony shoulder in a sort of soothing gesture. But it does everything to Caleb, but sooth. His skin is alight with fire from her touch, her velvet muzzle nuzzling his smooth shoulder, whiskers teasing his sensitive skin, causing his hide to twitch in response. Though his face remained passive and calm, familiar cold steel eyes suddenly morph into something intense and scorching. There was heat between them, but it was also so much more- it was conflagration. The air thickened between them, or so he thought, and the tension was driving him mad. To be able to lose himself in her once more would be a divine pleasure, though he is not sure advancing on her sexually would be productive for this new relationship, this friendship- or was it more? It wasn't an intimate, sappy relationship. What Caleb and Rexanna are doing is raw and unfiltered. Together, they bare some of their true selves to each other and are accepted. The truth is, though what they have going on is flawless on many levels, the foundation is made of lies, lust, and one deal that had been forced upon the golden mare.

"Then what does it have to be?" The lust that had slowly been building in him could be heard in his words. His voice, deep and enigmatic, never really sounded like anything but cool marble, smooth and infallible, but now it was scratchy and thick with what was most likely desire. Caleb was sure he knew his boundaries as to what he could offer her, but he was still curious to know what she expected of him- what she expected out of whatever type of relationship that they had formed together.

At her next words, a smirk played itself out on his lips. I don’t want you to do something you don’t want to do. "Darling," he called, holding out the "r" slightly longer than normal, adding a sort of fancy lilt to his pet name. "If I didn't want to stay, I would have left," and I didn't, he added secretly in his mind. He felt unsure now, still confident, but it was confusing approaching something like this. Most horses accepted the fact that he would leave, that he wouldn't stay beyond the next change of seasons, but not Rexanna. What if I don't want you to leave? It was the 'what if' that confused him. What if Caleb hated her? What if he loved her? 'What if' is the beginning to something hypothetical, and now he wonders if she is just pushing him to see how far he'll go. Today, there would be no anger in Caleb, though tomorrow is a new day and perhaps he'll be more frustrated, easily provoked. Or yet, maybe the wall he has put up for himself to hide his true self today won't be there tomorrow. Will all these 'what if's and mind games (or whatever the fuck is happenening) add up to something that damages whatever Caleb and his mare have begun to build?