by Vanessa Vale
It only took three or four passes and she came, her entire body tightening as she called out my name. I couldn't hold back, couldn't resist another moment and I plunged into her, bumping her womb again and again. My balls tightened, my seed boiled and I erupted, the days of abstinence having me coat her insides copiously.
Rose slumped down on the blanket, ass in the air, fingers relaxing on the blanket. Her eyes were closed and her breathing began to slow. Recovery was difficult, as I was still hard and wanted her again. Pulling my cock and thumb free, I watched as my seed slipped down her folds. It was such an intensely manly feeling, seeing my wife sated and marked, knowing she was mine, that this seed perhaps would take root.
I sighed and stood, fixing my pants and tucking my shirt in. No matter how much I wanted to stay on the banks of the creek and have my way with Rose again and again, the herd was moving closer to home and we needed to catch up.
I went over to her saddlebag and dug around, surprisingly finding a skirt. I pulled it out and walked back to Rose, who now lay on her side watching me.
"You want to go on the cattle drive? Very well, but you must wear this skirt over your pants. I will think about what is beneath the entire way home, the men will not." I growled the last, for Rose was a beautiful woman and I knew wearing the skirt for additional modesty would not help in this matter.
ROSE
The cattle drive was worse than I could have imagined. I'd envisioned spending the days riding on the beautiful prairie, watching cows plod along until we were on Goodman pastureland. This was a ridiculous fantasy and a complete fallacy. From the moment we returned to join the men, I was miserable. Besides having a sore behind and having to sit a horse, we never rested and the food was dried beef, tinned beans—cold and eaten directly from the can with a spoon—and water. Chance didn't leave my side, giving any other man who even glanced my way a look that would have cut a weaker man dead. And so within the first hour, the men avoided me as if I carried the plague.
When we crossed a creek, swollen from consistent rain, one of the calves lost his footing and was washed downstream. Chance and I followed the line of the creek until it widened where he was able to rescue the wayward animal. Once free of the water, it found a way up the far bank to venture off in search of its mother, lowing pitifully. Our horses weren't so dexterous and as my animal began to climb the bank, it lost its footing and I lost my seat, toppling headlong into the water.
Chance, who'd been beside me, strode up quickly to ensure my wellbeing, but when he discovered my pride was injured more than any other part of me, couldn't help but laugh. I sat in the moving water, soaked from head to toe. My bottom was sore, perhaps from landing upon it, but it could have also been from Chance's spanking and then having to seat a horse directly after.
I stood, the water dripping off me, wanting to grumble, but knew I couldn't. I could be comfortably ensconced at the Lenox ranch, instead of soaked to the skin, but I'd made my choice. I'd wanted to be here with Chance. I'd wanted to lead our cows to our ranch. Complaining would do me no good.
Fortunately, the water was shallow and warm, the sun hot. I sloshed over to my horse and climbed back into the saddle, which was difficult given my sodden skirt and pants. Kicking my mount into motion, I followed the creek bed further down until there was a more accessible slope. Chance followed, but I could feel his grin and mirth behind my back.
The only pleasure I found the rest of the day was when Chance led us through the inky darkness far from the men, near a different stretch of creek where we washed the sweat, dirt and miles from our skin. I was glad to be stripped of my soggy clothes and Chance provided me with one of his shirts to wear from his saddlebag. Like the one I'd worn a few nights before, it came down almost to my knees and I rolled the sleeves back. This time, however, I did not have a skirt or any undergarments to wear with it. Fortunately, it was soft against my skin and had Chance's distinct smell to it. I reveled in the way his scent wrapped around me. Beneath the moonlight, I watched as he laid out his bedroll once again, and I clenched my bottom remembering what he'd done to me upon it earlier.
"I've never fucked while on a drive before today, kitten. With you here, how can I resist?"
I should have put him off for his brutish display of dominance when he’d spanked me earlier, the intense way he'd taken me and delayed my pleasure, but I couldn't. I wanted him just as badly, and resisting would only prevent me from getting what I wanted as well.
It would be the second time he took me in the outdoors and I reveled in it. There was something different, something almost primitive about being with Chance without a roof over our heads or a bed beneath us. The crickets chirped in the darkness and there was a slight breeze to the warm air.
His hands were working the buttons of my shirt, his knuckles grazing my skin as he did so. As the garment slipped from my body, I felt the freedom I'd craved for so long. I felt uninhibited, naked as I was, outside and exposed—yet only with him. I thrilled at the dark gleam in Chance's eyes, knowing he wanted me so desperately. He stripped quickly, then stepped close so our bodies aligned, his skin hot against mine, our mouths merging in a kiss. This wasn't an angry kiss, but an assault nonetheless. It was akin to possession. His tongue licked over mine, and I couldn't help the moan that escaped. Tugging at the ribbon at the bottom of my braid, he let the locks unravel, let them all fan out over my back.
"I can't get enough, kitten." He leaned his forehead against mine, breathing hard. "I don't think I'll ever get enough."
"Chance, please," I pleaded, wanting his mouth on me again. My lips, my breasts, my pussy, anywhere he wanted.
"Last time was quick. This time, I'm going to go slow. Run my hands over you, then my mouth, then I'm going to fill you with my cock. But first, I want you on your knees and sucking my cock again. I'll come in your mouth, then I'll be ready to go all night."
The idea of fucking all night had my pussy dripping. Chance's hold pushed me down gently and I lowered to my knees on the blanket. From this position his very erect cock was within inches of my mouth and I licked my lips. I remembered what he tasted like, how he felt against my tongue. "Tell me...tell me how you like it," I said, looking up at him.
He growled deep in his throat. "Lick it, kitten. Run you tongue over the head."
I flicked my tongue out. He was hard, yet silky soft. There was wetness on the tip and it tasted salty.
"Good girl. That fluid is my cock readying for you. Lick it all up."
I did, running my tongue over the broad head as if it were a candy sucker, the taste of him coating my tongue.
His hand slipped into my hair, tangled there and held me in place. "Just like that. Now take me into your mouth."
I listened to his directions and took him deep, the need to cough made me pull back and my eyes water. "You're...you're too big."
"Grab hold of the base. Yes, like that. Tighter. Yes. Now slide your hand up and down the shaft." He hissed out a breath as I did so. "Keep doing that and put my cock back in your mouth. Fuck me with your mouth, kitten."
Gripping the base as I was, it allowed me to take him into my mouth without choking and I was able to work him as instructed. I felt the thick ridge of a vein up the length and let my tongue slide over it. Once I realized Chance liked what I was doing—the hand in my hair tightened and started to move me on and off him, silently guiding me—I let go of my worries over whether I was doing it correctly and focused solely on pleasing him, on making him come.
I clasped his thigh in one hand to keep my balance. I listened as his breathing changed, felt his cock thicken and lengthen within my mouth, could distinguish his clean scent of arousal on the night air.
"I'm going to come, kitten, and I want you to swallow all my seed. Yes. Good. I'm...coming."
I continued to move my grip as I felt a thick jet of seed coat the back of my throat and I swallowed. Again and again he filled me and I worked to take it all. Finally, his hand relaxed and he exhaled, stepping back
so his cock slipped from my lips.
I wiped my mouth with my fingers, feeling a few sticky drops of his seed. Dropping to his knees before me, he stroked my hair back from my face. "You're very good at sucking cock, kitten." I could see in the pale light of the moon the way his mouth quirked up. His tone was gruff, relaxed and it made me feel incredible knowing I'd done this to him, made him sated and yet still aroused. Now that I wasn't focusing on him, I noticed that my nipples were tightly furled, my thighs were slick with my own need.
"With that first fuck out of the way—a delectable mouth fuck—it's time to focus on you. We've got all night."
The very idea of that had a small moan escape my throat. He pushed me back onto the blanket, his dark figure looming over me.
"The way you enjoyed the ass play earlier, we're going to do that some more."
I clenched all of my inner walls at his words. He lowered himself to his hands so he loomed directly above me, dropped his head so he took one nipple into his mouth.
"Chance...."
After he laved the tip with tender attention, he breathed on it, the air cooling the wet tip until it tightened painfully. "If you say you didn't like it, I'll have to flip you over and spank you for lying."
He moved to my other breast and my fingers moved to his shoulders, pulling him closer.
"I...I did like it but it scares me."
He stopped at my words, lifted his head. "Scares you? How?"
There was no mocking tone. I only heard the concern in his voice.
"I don't want to like it. What does it make me when I like something as dark as that?"
He kissed me on the mouth, his tongue easily tangling with mine. Sometime later he lifted his head. "It makes you my wife. There's no shame in anything we do together, kitten. Now, let's see if I can get you to be my little wildcat."
CHAPTER SEVEN
ROSE
Dawn had just crept across the sky when Chance woke me. It was difficult to stir, for he'd been so warm pressed against me, back to front, once he finally let me sleep. I bit back a groan, knowing I could not complain; the trip was my choice. I donned my clothes that had dried during the night, although wrinkled and dirty. The two other men were drinking coffee from tin cups when we rode up. The dark smell filled the air and my mouth watered for some of the eye-opening brew.
"Want some, little lady?" Ivers asked. He was short and stocky and these were the first words I'd heard him speak.
"Yes, thank you," I replied, slipping off my horse's back.
Chance dismounted as well. "We've got another day's full ride ahead."
I reached for the cup Ivers held out. Instead of handing it to me, he dropped it and grabbed my wrist, tugging me harshly into him so the front of my body bumped his. I gasped at the surprising motion.
"Depending on the herd, we could make it to Goodman land by—"
Stills pulled a gun from his hip and aimed it at Chance. I cried out at the sight of the lethal weapon aimed his way. "No!" I shouted.
I struggled against the man's hold, but there was no give. Fear had my mind seizing, unable to make thoughts coalesce. I felt off-kilter, not expecting these men to do something that was rash and dangerous.
"Rose, stop," Chance commanded. I stilled as he bid, but my heart beat frantically.
"Ooh, I like how biddable she is. Now, this is what's going to happen," Stills said. He was tall and whip thin, his eyes narrow and beady. "The lady is going to go off with Ivers while you and I have a little chat."
Chance raised his hands slowly and remained remarkably calm considering. "Let her go. Whatever you have planned does not need to involve an innocent woman."
"Innocent?" Stills grinned as he kept his gaze trained on Chance. "She doesn't seem so innocent to me after the way she screamed last night."
Even with my panic overwhelming me, I felt my cheeks heat. They'd heard what Chance and I had done the night before! It made the acts that Chance had said were just between us seem dirty and tawdry.
Ivers chuckled. "Mmm. Perhaps you can show me some of what you did, little lady. I know I'll enjoy it."
Bile rose in the back of my throat at the way his hand moved up and down my arm. If it were Chance's hand upon me, it would be a caress. This man's hand felt obscene.
"Why are you doing this?" Chance growled.
"That's a big herd of cattle. With you dead and us to lead them, they'll be going to our spread."
Dead? They were going to kill Chance and I could only imagine what they were going to do to me. They couldn't keep me alive; I was a witness to their crime. They were going to kill me, but as I looked to Chance for help, I knew what they planned to do beforehand would make me wish I were dead.
Chance's eyes narrowed, his fists clenching.
Ivers dragged me toward a horse. "Up."
I shook my head. "No. I can't."
"Either you get on that horse or I shoot Goodman right now."
I glanced at Chance whose focus was solely on me. "But Chance—"
He nodded and I swung up into the saddle, the gun too big of a risk to argue.
Ivers positioned himself behind me and I held myself erect and as separate from him as possible. We rode north and I looked back the entire time until we went down a small hill and Chance disappeared from view. What had I been thinking? When Chance had said there were hidden dangers on a cattle drive, I'd been flippant, thinking little of his warning. Just as he'd said, I'd grown up trained to tell someone where I was going, even within the borders of the Lenox ranch. Sad stories from townsfolk over the years put value in this effort, but I'd never personally known anyone who'd been saved from harm from heeding it.
I'd always been smart. I knew a rattlesnake hole when I saw one. I knew the clouds that threatened a bad storm. I knew how to put out a campfire to prevent it from spreading into a full-blown blaze. I knew to bring food and water in my saddlebag. I knew not to venture out during a blizzard. I knew it all, or I'd thought I did.
Chance hadn't been stifling me when he left me with Miss Trudy and the girls. He'd been trying to protect me from the things I couldn't control, like the man sitting directly behind me. I'd been bullheaded and silly, flippant even with his concerns. Tears clogged my throat at my predicament, at the way I treated the man I loved. He'd been present for me for as long as I could remember; I'd loved him for as long as I could remember. As a child, he'd most certainly humored me in my silly antics designed to gain his attentions. Even now, the silly antics continued and I was still trying to gain his attention, but I'd had it all along. I appeared stupidly at a cattle drive. I wanted him to see me, be with me. Love me. From everything he'd said and done since we rescued me in Clayton, perhaps since I was small, he did love me.
It wasn't ten seconds later that I heard the shot.
"No!" I screamed and fought the man's hold, and then the world went black.
CHANCE
I watched as Rose was taken away, with each step my anger flaring more and more, but the bastard Stills had his gun pointed at me. I could see her directly over the man's shoulder.
"Why the hell do you want to take the cattle? It's a stupid tactic, Stills. It's not as if you can hide five hundred head."
In order to save Rose, I needed to save myself, which meant knowing what the hell was going on. How desperate were these men? Stealing cattle, at least a number of this size, was downright stupid. I had to question their intelligence at attempting such a harebrained scheme. But stupid or not, Stills was the one with the gun and Ivers was the one with my wife. Was this their first theft or was it a routine for them? Was Reeves involved? Did he want the money and the cows as well?
"They're not branded and I plan to sell them, break up the herd."
That was a logical option, a more viable solution than keeping the animals together.
"They'll know I'm missing and come searching," I added. The sun was bright, even early in the morning—it was going to be a hot day—and sweat trickled down my back.
"And Rose?"
He shrugged. "They'll think she's dead as well, but she's of more use alive to us."
His grin changed from devious to dangerous. There was no fucking way he'd touch one hair on Rose's head. If Ivers did anything to her, he was a dead man. Fuck that, he was dead no matter what.
As I watched Rose and her captor disappear from view, I knew I had to act and act now. A cow moved nearby and lowed, causing Stills to turn his gaze for the briefest of moments. I took the opportunity to throw myself at him, grabbing his gun arm and lifting it into the air. I hit him full out, tackling him to the ground, which made the gun go off, the sound deafening in my ear. It missed me completely, but the animals stirred around us, frightened by the noise.
Anger fueled my motions, and I twisted his wrist until I heard his bones snap. He cried out in pain as the gun fell from his useless hand, but I wasn't done. Sitting upright, I smashed his face with my fist. Blood burst from his nose.
The cows began mooing loudly, their heavy footfall beginning to shake the ground. Looking up, I recognized the early signs of a stampede. There was no way to stop a group of animals if they became frightened. If one did, they all did, following the herd. We were on the ground, right in the middle of the cows. I punched Stills one last time and he slumped down, unconscious. Grabbing the gun from the ground, I rose to my feet, searching for a horse. Any horse. There!
I dashed to it, skirting around wide-eyed, snorting cattle. Climbing onto the equally skittish horse, I tugged on the reins and dug my heels. The cattle began running then, the sound like thunder. It was possible for Stills to have escaped the stampede, but I could only hope for his demise. He was getting just what he deserved for even considering harming Rose. I went with the flow of the animals, following their eastern direction, yet working my way at an angle toward my wife.