East and I go back along way. We have been friends for ages since this whole thing began but never really close. He's a quiet man on the whole and keeps himself to himself. Of course I know he's a hit with the ladies - there are few who can resist him - but he is discreet and generally doesn't flash that around in public, preferring a gentle flirting and then quietly disappearing or meeting up after hours. Women appreciate that. We might be pretty free and easy here but there are not many of us who don't like to keep out intimate secrets. East is a man who arouses strong passions in women and quite a lot of emotional connection, too. He's a very special person.

Recently I know he had made a close connection with someone and that had been moving on nicely until an evening in the week when I noticed that East was sitting alone with his beer - and I realised that he had been like that for the past few nights. I had no idea if something was wrong but wondered if he could do with a little bit of company. So I took myself over to chat.

"You on your own tonight?" I asked setting him down a fresh beer. He nodded his thanks and gestured for me to come join him.

"Anyone seen WildCardGal? Am I all alone here again? That's sad. Wonder if I could get any volunteers to go swimming with me and my horses and help me get them all cleaned up?"

He seemed really low - which is unusual for East who normally take life in his lazy stride, accepting pretty much whatever it threw at him. Perhaps he was getting more emotionally entangled than he had imagined? Nevertheless, I was surprise that others hadn't leapt at this particular offer. And then it occurred to me that I was there and I could offer...there was just the question of seeing if Zack would stay behind the bar for a while. I think he probably would. He's not such a growly bear as he likes every one to think.

"I cannot believe that there's not a list as long as my arm already...but, first come, first served, hey? May I offer my services, sir?"

East gave me his grin and winked. "You know I can never refuse you anything, Uma? I'd be as happy as a sandboy if you'd come along for the ride. Can you get away?"

I looked about me. "Zack's behind the bar now and I think I can round up a few spares to give him a hand. Now you go and round up your gee gees and slip into something comfortable - say the water? - and I'll be with you in a shake of a lamb's tail. Or should that be a horse's?"

 I dashed away, leaving him to finish up his beer and made the necessary arrangements falling back on Zack. He gave me the eye and told me not to indulge in any perversions. I pulled out my tongue and told him to stop giving me ideas. Then I got another idea. Rushing back to East, who was now standing up and draining his glass, I made another suggestion. Did I sound like I was eager, do you think?

"If you'd rather dispense with the equine voyeurs, I have a very large bath upstairs. I have been told that does the job just as well. We could always freshen up there..."

East laughed. "Don't think my horses'll fit in your tub, Uma. Poms, eh? The things they'd know about bathing horses would fill a ...." 

I punched him playfully. "You know I don't mean the horses! I was thinking maybe we could leave them in the paddock and let then play while..."

"Oh. You meant ... just you and me in the tub? Well, that's a lovely idea, Uma, but we still got to clean the horses at some point, right?" He acted as if he hadn't worked out what I had in mind. But he wasn't very convincing, with that big grin on his face.

"Besides, you have no idea what it's like. Why do ya suppose I like it so much? Imagine what it's like to be as nature intended you to be ... out there amidst other primal creatures ... experiencing what it's like to just go as wild as you want ... slipping away from all the expectations and boundaries civilization forces on a person ... dancing with desires you can't express anywhere else ... slipping nude into the coolness of clean water to let it free you of all inhibitions ... to not care one twig what anyone else might say you shouldn't do ..."

I had never heard East say as much at one go before. It was only then I realised just what a creature of nature he was himself and how at one he was with both animals and the wilderness he inhabited. I like to think of myself as a pretty abandoned woman but I am strictly a 'behind closed doors' girl. Something in the elemental scene he was describing made me realize how very inhibited I really was.

"And now picture yourself there with me, Uma." I saw it clearly before my gaze. Imagine me slipping down off a horse to begin washing him only to take notice of you ... imagine my hands on you, washing you, getting you clean ... imagine how easy it's been for me to forget the horses that move around us in the water ... imagine how I'm unable to really look at anything but you ... imagine how you'll feel as I hold you and draw you completely under the coolness of the water just to get you rinsed off ... what would you imagine happens next?"

Imagine? He had already had me when he had mentioned: volunteers, horses and water. I did not need any more images to fuel my mind - but I rather liked that he was so willing to be expansive - and so open to show me that he was intending to go much further than just wash his horses down. This was a very erotic experience in the making. Sexual discovery surrounded by the outdoors, cool, clean water and the bodies of his magnificent beasts as witnesses.

I blushed a little at his directness and he leaned on in, taking my elbow firmly but gently in his strong hand. It felt like he was gentling me, as if I were the frisky nervous horse who he was breaking in. "You know me, right? I can imagine how to make things like that come true. I always picture the classy women needing that bit of something that I know I can give 'em like no other man..."

I liked his control. I liked his arrogance. My breath caught at the low timbre of his laconic voice as he promised me his gift - and made me feel like a thoroughbred woman to boot. His lips skimmed my ear as he added: "So what's it to be then, love? Your tub or my creek?"

The outcome was not in any doubt. He was aware that one way or another today we were going to deepen our friendship into something more physical and intimate. I trusted him to understand as he trusted me to understand. This was what it was. And all the finer for the honesty and affection behind it.

I turned and bit his ear gently, licking sensuously along the lobe as I whispered my answer: "Creek!"

The day was hot, hotter than hell, a searing sun, like a fiery brand, burned into the shimmering blue of a cloudless sky. I was sitting on the banks of a creek, my legs drawn up about me as I stared out at the wide expanse of rugged landscape opened up before me. You could not mistake this for anywhere else in the world, even before you noticed the strange trees and unusual bird and animal life. There is something about rural Australia that is quintessentially unique.

The silent empty wilderness was buzzing with activity. Flies hovered around my face, forcing me to make the Aussie salute, in an absent minded fashion. Bees hummed in and out of wild flowers that grew haphazardly among the shrub and coarse grass of the small rise. Insect life teemed beneath my feet if I observed closely. In the distance on the plain a few kangaroos loped about foraging, occasionally snapping their heads up in that inquisitive expression of theirs, catching sounds or scents on the warm breeze.

It was a soporific atmosphere.  I felt my eyelids drooping and had the urge to lie back and drift off into slumber. It wasn't that I was bored of waiting - although I was nervous with anticipation - but simply that the hot and dreamy afternoon seemed fit for nothing better than a siesta in the sun.

But no sooner than my eyes had closed than I heard - or more likely felt- the vibrations of the ground. There was a distant thunder which seemed to emanate from the earth itself and then round the break in the path that led down to the water, came a horse and rider with another horse behind. I smiled at the sight. East!

It was too much fun to watch him and so I did not announce my presence immediately, merely staying where I was on my vantage point. He seemed unaware that I was there already as he slipped from the horse he was riding and led him to the water, the other following eagerly. I observed his treatment of both, his tender strokes, more like a lover's caresses, and the words he whispered as he brought them down to drink. East is a quiet man and yet he kept up a litany of encouragement; the pricked ears of his horses showed me how much they loved to hear his voice. They were not alone in that. I, too, know how that deep, husky timbre can ease my soul and quiet my fears - and do many other things as well.

The horses paddled gratefully into the creek, tossing their heads in the cool water and flicking it about, drinking and playing too. They sank down and wallowed, letting it wash off the dust of the trail and cool down their heated bodies. There was something so sensual in their enjoyment of this simple pleasure that it excited me just to watch them and I began to understand the natural freedom that East so treasured. How much we miss in our busy city lives of the wonder of this world and our own place in it!

I was so caught up in the horses that I almost forgot to look at East, a sudden movement made me turn my head. He had pulled off his boots and thrown them onto the ground and was rapidly removing his shirt, revealing the fine muscular expanse of his naked golden chest. His pants came next - he unbuttoned and yanked them off without a trace of embarrassment.

We might have been out in the country but it wasn't entirely private. People did come along occasionally. I was there for one.  But he is so at ease with his body that it would not worry him in the least if he was spotted. Shame does not feature in his vocabulary of words. Suddenly the idea of standing out there in the open completely naked in front of a man who might possibly want to make love to me and the inherent risk of discovery made my heart beat faster. I was not sure if it was pounding in fear or in arousal - I suspect a little of both.

But I digress. East was standing there completely butt naked, his hands on his hips, talking to his horses as if they could answer him. They whinnied in response and he laughed as if he had understood their reply. I don't doubt that he does. It was entirely likely that he is so much at one with them that they do actually communicate. Anything seemed possible that glorious afternoon.

East is wonderful to behold, naked, as nature intended this man to be. To clothe him is really rather ridiculous, like dressing a horse. His body is both more solid and more slender than you would expect. The thick bulky muscles of his upper body seem more pronounced and yet are soft and rounded, not hard and worked as modern gym built bodies are. He is lightly haired - enough to make him seem exceptionally virile but not enough to make him bear-like and swarthy. His hips are narrow, giving his body a sense of hills and valleys, not so straight and linear as many young men: the curve of his buttocks is sweet and pronounced, the deep pit between his pectoral muscles makes one long to sweep one's hand over the landscape, the wide band of ripping muscle of his belly and the waves of flesh over muscle down his broad back create a smooth, undulating, almost sandy desert-like topography.

He is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. His legs are long and well shaped for a man but never feminine - the bulging thigh muscles and long shanks formed by years of gripping a horse have seen to that. They are hairy and golden and make one think of what they might feel like to wrap one's own legs around. The momentary thought made me shiver even in the warmth of the day. He was already making me languid with longing.

I stared at his cock pruriently, wondered in passing what it feels like to have such a weight hanging between one's legs and that he stands there so unconscious of it - yet it holds such fascination for me. He is thick and long, uncircumcised, and framed by a thatch of hair a shade darker than his head. His balls hang low and look soft and furry. I want to touch him there and feel him flaccid; hold him as he holds himself even if I also long to see his magnificent hardness. He is like a table of delights and I do not know which to sample first.

With a sudden leap, he plunged into the water, a fast surface dive that made the horses jump and splash away. He swam across under the water and then surfaced, shaking his head and rubbing himself clean. I noticed then that he had a bar of soap in his hand and lathered his chest and arms. I was lying on my front by now, my head resting in my hands, a dreamy voyeur almost too entranced by the spectacle to engage.

Just then he looked straight at me perched in my so-called hiding place. "Well, there you are then!" He called out and gave me a nod to bring me forward.

I was caught. Standing up, I brushed the earth from my clothes and stepped forward, a little unsure now. It was embarrassing to have been caught so obviously lusting after him, not to mention the thought of simply stripping off my clothes and letting him look at me. I was far from sure that I was going to impress. He must have seen so many lovely women naked. Would I measure up?

Down at the water's edge, I stood awhile, toeing a clump of weeds nervously. East carried on washing, soaping his groin and easing back the skin, seeming oblivious to my presence. But then he shouted over, still engaged in his ablutions. "You coming in or planning to stand and watch me all arvo? I thought you were here to give me a hand? It's bloody cold in here - just what you need today to cool you down. Looking a bit flushed already, luv!"

The moment of truth. I kicked off my sandals and began to unbutton my blouse, looking down and  by now even redder in the face than before. I sensed he was observing me and one quick glance confirmed my suspicions. As ever, East was direct. He was unashamed to wash himself naked before me and he was unconcerned about letting me know that he was watching me strip. It was unnerving but powerfully erotic.

With a shake of my head, I squared my shoulders and made a decision. No half measures. If I was going to get at one with nature - in several meanings of the phrase - then I was going to do it with pride, not like a nervous virgin. So I pulled off my blouse and shrugged out of my shorts. East grinned and raised his eyebrows. He was enjoying the show as much as I had done.

That reaction gave me confidence. With panache, I reached back and unhooked my bra to let my breasts fall free. It felt good to have the sun's touch kiss my nipples and for that restraint to be removed. I stood up tall and let him look. He wasn't smiling now. Instead his eyes were narrowing slightly and his chin tilting upwards. His nature was beginning to assert itself. Bending slightly, I eased off my underwear and then straightened, giving him a chance to see me naked - as he had given me. His lips parted and the tip of his tongue peeked out as if he could not disguise his reaction to my body. I idly wondered if the water was masking another response. Time would tell.

Splashing into the water, I jumped up and down complaining of its chill. East swam forward and flipped water over me, making me scream some more. "Hey, you want to frighten the horses?" He asked with a grin.

"I fully intend to scare them witless this afternoon," I replied with a pouting toss of my hair. East grinned wider but showed me no mercy, pulling my feet from under me and dragging me under the water. I surfaced, spluttering and not so provocative as I had wanted to be, hair streaming down my face and coughing my guts out.

"Now...first lesson of swimming. Shut your mouth when I pull you in," he giggled. "Okey dokey. Now for the horses. Let's get them sorted, shall we?"

He set me on my feet and swam easily over to them, hoisting himself out of the water easily on his strong arms and onto the back of his stallion, Nero. His whole naked torso was stretched out before me, muscles rippling, sinews stretched, skin taut. As his legs parted to straddle his mount I saw the bulge of his scrotum - he swung himself down and sat firmly astride the back of the horse. I winced.

"Doesn't that hurt?" I asked.

He looked down and laughed. "Naw...used to it. Depends how you land. Makes quite a soft cushion if you get it right!" But he still rearranged himself slightly; his cock flopping to one side out of danger. "OK you. Up you get!"

Here I must confess to the one element that had worried me about today's little interlude. As much as I love watching horses, I am actually hopeless with them. I don't ride and am a scaredy cat when I get too close. I'm not very keen on cows either. So I grew up in a city? Not my fault. But despite my reservations, I was determined to make the cut this time and not look like a nervous Nellie. With the trek looming in Hawaii, I needed all the practice I could get.

I tried and tried to pull myself up on the other smaller horse I imitation of East but I wasn't strong enough and the silly animal kept whinnying and stepping to the side. I heard East laugh and circle where I was still struggling. He leaned over and simply swiped me with his right arm, lifting me out of the water and over the horse's back. Panting a firm slap on my rump, he told me to: "Get your leg over, love! Nice bum!" and watched me as I eased myself into a sit. Up there at last, water running down my nakedness, legs tight around the shiny wet flanks of my ride, the solid bulk of the horse's spine pressing against my sex, I felt that wild recklessness that I had dreamed of. The warm flesh of the powerful animal was a stimulus I scarcely needed in the presence of this beautiful naked man but it was enough to make the last vestiges of any remaining propriety I felt disappear.

The moment was like sex incarnate. The power of a wild beast and the proximity of a young god unleashed. How could any woman not feel her womanhood in that circumstance?

But East had a job to do. Riding Nero into deeper water, he let the horse sink down and slipped easily back into the water himself to hang about the horse's neck, playful and affectionate, washing the horse clean at the same time with scoops of water from his free hand. Indicating I should do likewise he dropped down under the water and swam between the horse's legs to emerge the other side, laughing and teasing. Nero seemed unsurprised by his actions as if he was used to this sort of thing - I am sure he was. East's antics were tolerated unlike is usually found among animals who can be easily annoyed by humans. But East was almost one of them.

I did the same and slipped into the water, swimming around until my horse was sluiced clean. I treaded water at a distance, still a little intimidated by their size and watched them play.

Suddenly East disappeared from view to appear all at once behind me, surfacing quickly and holding me with one arm under my breasts. I gasped.

He said one word. "Breath!" And then he submerged, pulling me under with him down to the muddy bottom of the creek where long reeds lay waving. Wrapping his legs around me he held me there and I began to panic. How long was I able to hold my breath? Just when I thought I could take no more and began to struggle against his holding arm, he spun me round and kissed me, opening my mouth with his tongue and giving me his breath. It was a shockingly intimate moment and our first kiss. Somehow the hint of danger in it made it all the more special - this was the primal force at work.

Bursting at speed to the surface, we broke and both gulped the fresh air; he ran his hands over his head and then brushed my hair back possessively. His hands then moved to stroke and caress me, much as he had done with his horses, that same intimate and masterful touch. It tempted me to do the same to him and feel the contours of his body.

With a little hop, I wrapped my legs around his hips and rested my hands on his shoulders, he swung me round slowly in the water. I sank back, still held by him but let my head touch the water's surface, my hair trailing down behind, watching the blue, blue, sky, aware that he was staring at my body. My nipples were exposed as was my groin where he held me firm against his belly. It was an uninhibited position, totally exposed, vulnerable and uncompromising. I felt one of his hands leave my thighs and then the soft smooth glide of his thumb tenderly wandering through my folds.

I looked at him, he looked at me, his thumb playing sensuously with my flesh and then he eased it in. I gasped and pulled myself up again to grind down on the welcome intrusion. It was a crude but primal sensation as I wrapped myself around him and he thrust his thumb further into me, I took his face in my hands and kissed him.

His head dropped back and he raised his lips to mine, his neck strained and sleek. I kissed a trail down his face as he nuzzled against me and then let his lips savour my mouth, my ears, my neck. The sun beat down hard on my back, the water was cool on my heated groin, his flesh was warm and wet beneath mine, the air was still but for the buzz of insects and the occasional whinny of the horse. And still we kissed.

I could feel his cock ramrod hard between us; a glance down showing me its tip protruding from the surface of the water. I whimpered at the sight of it. It overwhelmed me - just as the power and proximity of the horses has done before. East whispered "Steady, girl," into my ears and I felt him slip his thumb out of me, raise my buttocks away from him and then he jerked his hips to bring himself in line with my aching sex. "Help me?" he murmured and I dropped a hand to seize his length and find my core. We both moaned softly as he pushed in and I was filled with his virile hardness.

He moved through the water, his fingers gripping my buttocks and waded to the bank where he tipped me against the dry earth. I lay back raised myself on my elbows and let him play, thrusting slowly in and out , letting me see as he pulled out and then pushed slowly back in again. There was a soft smile drifting over his face, his eyes were dreamy and he had that same sense of comfort in his physicality as I had noticed with the horses. We were a man and a woman. Our bodies were made for this. And if we wished it then it could be so.

He pulled out and jumped onto the bank beside me; I raised my hand languidly and stroked his cock. He took my hand and we stepped back to a shady spot beneath a tree and there we made love properly, he leaning back against the bark while I made my way up his body kissing and tasting until our lips met. He lowered me down again to sit wrapped around him and lazily, hungrily, languidly, we feasted on each other as the hot afternoon waned.

Later, satiated, lying intertwined, dusty and naked and sleepy, we dozed while his horses wandered about grazing peacefully. It was like some rustic idyll of how the Garden of Eden should be, naked humans unashamed -  and nature as the witness to their coming together. Finally, East hauled me to my feet and picked me up to toss me back into the water where we washed the grass and red earth from our skin and the signs of love from our intimate parts. Sitting on the edge of the creek, we dried off and talked, completely open with each other now, me sitting cross legged, East laying back on his elbows and both of us laughing at nothing really: just the day and the sun and the easy feel of love and friendship.

As the sun began to lose its heat, I reached for my clothes; East shook his head. "Come back to my place. Make a night of it?" It was my turn to shake my head.

"I can't. Reality bites. Zack has been there all afternoon and I have to relieve him. I wish I could stay. Come back with me. Be near me?"

We dressed. He took the horses back to their stable and shortly after we made the trip back. Neither of us said much. We still haven't really discussed it. Sometimes it's better that way. We both have other people on our minds but sometimes it is good to reach out and take comfort without any claims to bind you. To be free. To be unashamed. To be pure.