The Winner (Romantek)

by Patricia Green

  Could he write “The End” on the chapter with Audrey? Shouldn’t he before she had even more dirt on him? He could see the headlines: “Owen White, Owner of Triple Crown Winner, Slick as a Whistle, Caught Battering Girlfriend on Cruise Ship!” Perhaps it might be, “Owen White—Will Marriage Be Next for Horse-Racing’s Most Eligible Bachelor?” What about, “Owen White Proves Stallions are not Only in His Stable!” It would be a publicity nightmare.

  It seemed more and more intelligent to avoid Audrey Beacon in the future. He didn’t know if he could keep himself away from her, but he had to try.

  Chapter 9

  After her treatment with some smelly liniment, Audrey was taken off of rug-beating duty and replaced with the other new girl, Rosemary. Clarissa gave Rosemary gloves. Rosemary gave Audrey a very disapproving look before she took the first whack at the rug. It almost felt like she was pretending to hit Audrey with the rug beater! Maybe the young woman was resentful at having to take on the dirty duty, or perhaps because she’d have to share a room rather than have it to herself. Audrey tried to shrug Rosemary’s animosity off.

  It became Audrey’s duty to head to the bunkhouse and collect blankets to be washed. It was a chore that wouldn’t hurt her hands. She noted, however, that the blisters were healing fast, too fast for it to be explained by anything other than Romantek’s interference. It was something of a relief to be rid of the pain so soon.

  The bunkhouse was down a long path, past the corral, the horse-training ring, and a couple of big barns. Farm machinery of ancient design sat idle near the barns, waiting for their turn to be used on the ripening fields. She passed lots of cowboys and ranch hands along the way, noting that White Star was busy in the training coral working with a skittish horse. He was gentle with the animal but firm, reminding her a bit of his treatment of her. Her bottom smarted in response. Too bad that hadn’t healed as fast as her hands. What did that say about Romantek?

  The afternoon was warm, but there was a soft breeze blowing. As she passed the barns, she could smell the sweet smell of hay and animals. Audrey was tempted to pause and peek inside, but the ranch hands were coming and going from that area and she didn’t want to be conspicuous.

  A long building past the barns was the bunkhouse. She tapped at the door, but no one answered, so she went in cautiously. No one was there.

  There was a long row of bunk beds, twenty of them. Some of the men’s kit laid about, some guns hung on the bedposts, and some grainy brown pictures were tacked to the walls. The blankets were willy-nilly on the beds, and there were no sheets, just a single blanket, and a lumpy pillow at each place. She wondered which place was White Star’s, but after a moment, recognized his gun belt hanging on a post. Audrey could never forget that carved leather holster and the black-handled gun it held inside. It looked so innocent there, just a piece of metal in a sling, and yet she knew it was deadly dangerous.

  Audrey filled her laundry basket to overflowing with the blankets and, balancing it precariously on one hip, started back toward the house and the washing station in the yard there. As she passed the barns, she heard a commotion coming from the training ring. Oh, no! Was the horse attacking White Star? That animal had looked so big!

  Dropping her basket, Audrey rushed to the training ring and gasped at what she saw. White Star, was outside of the ring, hands held up and forward, trying to ward off a young man who’d drawn a gun. The other ranch hands had moved a safe distance aside and were watching.

  “Now, young fella,” White Star was saying. “You don’t want to shoot an unarmed man. ‘It wouldn’t enhance your reputation none.”

  “I’ll shoot you dead unless you marry my sister like you promised, you scoundrel!”

  White Star frowned in puzzlement. “Your sister?”

  “You pretend you don’t know her? That’s a lot of gumption, Smith. Her name’s Mary and you done left her with a bun in the oven and no husband to show for it!”

  “That weren’t me, boy. I don’t know any Mary and I ain’t done what you say.”

  The boy looked a little confused for a moment. “You’re White Star Smith, ain’t you?”

  White Star nodded. “The same. But I ain’t been with your sister.”

  “Liar! She said you was, so you was.” He waved his pistol around menacingly.

  Terrified for White Star, Audrey backed away while they argued, and when she thought she was far enough away, she turned and ran as fast as she could to the bunkhouse. Once inside, she drew White Star’s gun from its holster and ran back out of the room. It was a heavy gun, one she could barely manage to get her hand around. Hopefully, it worked like the last one she’d shot.

  A cloud of dust trailed along behind her as she ran, swirling around her skirts when she stopped by the training ring.

  “White Star,” she called. “I got your gun!” Turning to the young man, she pointed the business end at him. “Go away! If White Star says he’s not the man you’re looking for, he’s not.” She cocked the gun—it took both thumbs and a lot of hand strength.

  The place was silent for a moment as everyone held his breath. The horse in the training ring whickered and brought everyone back to the moment.

  “Listen lady,” the young man said. “I ain’t got no call to shoot you, nor you to shoot me. This here is an affair of honor among men! Why don’t you give that there gun over to me and get back to the house where you belong?”

  “No, and I’ll shoot you if you try to take it.” She got closer to him, figuring that she couldn’t miss at that distance. The sun seemed hotter now and a trickle of sweat ran down from her temple.

  “Audrey,” White Star said calmly, his voice soothing. “Put the gun down. This fella and I, we’re just talking things over.”

  The boy lunged while she was distracted and Audrey shot. Her aim was way off and the bullet whizzed through the air ten feet above her target. She shot again, and again it went wide off the mark, but the boy was backing up, his face pale.

  “Lady! I ain’t going to shoot no woman. Stop shooting at me!”

  Again she pulled the trigger, and this one was a little closer to her target.

  “Audrey, stop! Put the gun down!” White Star yelled. This time he sounded upset and angry.

  “He’ll take it away and then shoot you, White Star!” She shot at the young man once more, and he turned and ran away as fast as his feet could take him.

  “Run!” she shouted. “Run away, you stupid boy!”

  White Star sprinted over to her and grabbed the gun. “You damn woman! You could have gotten killed!”

  Audrey was shaking from the aftereffects of her bravado. “I didn’t. He wasn’t going to shoot me.”

  “That’s right, and if the Sheriff finds out about this, we’re going to have trouble keeping you out of jail! He said he wasn’t going to shoot you, and you kept shooting at him! It’s a wonder you ain’t dead.” White Star’s frown was mighty, his lips compressed into a straight line.

  “I’m sorry for taking your gun.”

  “Sorry! Woman, you got no idea how sorry you’re going to be.” He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into the nearest barn. Everyone had deserted it in favor of talking and sharing stories about the event that had just occurred.

  “White Star! I said I was sorry. Doesn’t it mean anything that I tried to save your life? I ran him off! That wouldn’t have happened without me.”

  “I can take care of myself, Audrey. Get yourself over to this stall and put your hands on the rail. Be mindful of your blisters.”

  “My blisters are almost all healed. Clarissa’s liniment works great.”

  “Well and good.” He stuck the gun in his belt behind his back. “But you’re going to get a spanking and we may raise up some blisters further down.”

  “But you already spanked me once today! You can’t spank me again. I did you a favor, you ignoramus!”

  “Did I ask you for favors? Did I tell you, Audrey, run and get my gun and then shoot at anything
that moves—and stuff that don’t move, too? You got no idea how to shoot a gun. You could have shot yourself, or he could’ve shot you. Heck, you could have shot me, for that matter, not to mention any number of ranch hands and horses!” He gestured. “Put. Your. Hands. On the. Rail.”

  “No.”

  “Don’t you push me, Audrey.” The menace in his voice was thick.

  Audrey took this as a moment to decide discretion was the better part of valor, but she had to try one more time. “Please? I won’t do it again.”

  “Damn straight you won’t. Do what I said.”

  Sighing, worried, Audrey turned and put her hands on the rail dividing one animal pen from another. White Star stomped up behind her and lifted her skirts. Audrey’s face felt like it was burning. What if one of the hands saw her there?

  “You ain’t got no pantalets on! What in Sam Hill are you thinkin’? No decent woman goes without underthings.”

  “They were sticky because of… Well, we got them dirty this morning. They’re in the laundry. I haven’t got another pair.”

  “Hmph. Ain’t no never mind. I got a mind to make it so you won’t want to be wearing them for a week!”

  “Oh, no. Oh, White Star, please don’t do this.”

  “You know I have to. You keep doing foolish things. Shooting without knowing how is about as dumb as it gets. You’re smarter than that, Audrey. I know you are. I’m just out to make you see it your own self.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Audrey saw White Star raise his right hand and let it fly. The first strike was hard, the second harder. The third, fourth and fifth on her already sore behind, brought tears to Audrey’s eyes and made her cry out in pain.

  “You done endangered yourself, Audrey. You have to get hold of your impulses, woman. This ain’t no fairy show you’re living!”

  Audrey wasn’t living in it that was for sure. But that didn’t mean the spanking wasn’t making her bounce on her toes with each smack. She tried gritting her teeth, but all that did was make her jaw ache, so she finally let go and wailed.

  Another dozen smacks and she thought her poor bottom was surely black and blue, it was screaming for respite. “Please! Please, White Star! I’m s-s-sorry! I won’t ever touch a gun again!”

  “You promise?”

  “Yes, sir! I promise.”

  The spanking stopped, and he began to caress her fiery flesh gently, small circles that soothed the smarting a little. The circles got wider, wider still, until he was tenderly rubbing all over her bottom. As he passed the place where her bottom and thighs made a T, he dipped his fingers between her legs.

  “Wet, Audrey. Something about getting spanked makes you ready for something better.”

  Embarrassed, Audrey pondered her feelings. The exposure and potential for discovery was exciting, she had to admit that to herself. And White Star’s attention to her body—even in the form of a spanking—turned her on. The mental image of his hand striking her naked behind made her belly quiver. And his voice, scratchy and low, pretty much set her up for wet pantalets. Even with the pain of the spanking, the pleasures outweighed the ouchies. Audrey didn’t know how to respond to White Star. Admitting her excitement was either a really bad idea or a really good one, nothing in between.

  “White Star…” she whispered.

  He pressed up against her back, his fingers delving deeper. “Tell me you like the spankings, honey. Admit it to me, I won’t tell.”

  Deep seated, his fingers moved inside her, rubbing her in places she hadn’t known she had—magical, erotic places. “Yes,” she murmured, burying her face on her arms at the railing. “Yes, I like it.”

  “You want me to have you now, don’t you.” It was a statement, not a question.

  She nodded.

  “I want to have you, too.” He was so close to her ear the scratchy quality of his voice multiplied, rolling over her like a warm, fuzzy blanket. “Come into the hay with me.”

  The stall was clean, the hay fresh. There had been an animal here recently, but it wasn’t smelly in a bad way. It was earthy.

  He pulled her gently away from the rail and coaxed her over to the pile of hay at the center of the stall. Dropping her arm, he put the gun aside and pulled open his belt and britches. Sitting down in the springy hay, he gestured for her to join him.

  “Astride, honey. You ride me, this time.”

  Audrey straddled his hips and lowered herself down. Her skirts came around them, a big fluffy mass that hid their coupling. White Star reached beneath her and angled himself into her dripping hole.

  “Take me in.”

  She whimpered a little as she slid him deeper, filling her, caressing her inner walls like a firm tongue kissing the inside of her mouth. Once seated on him, he reached up and loosened the bodice of her dress, pushing it off her shoulders until her breasts were barely covered by her chemise, and propped up by her loose corset.

  White Star thumbed her nipples, right through the thin chemise, hardening them to swollen points. “Rock,” he told her. And so she began to move her hips, rocking him in and nearly out of her channel. She knew this rhythm, or thought she did, but he let go of her breasts and ran his hands up her thighs to grip her hips, helping her to find the unique rhythm that was Audrey and White Star. Once she had it down, he let go of her again and fondled her breasts, pinching her nipples until she moaned.

  “Good girl,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Ride, honey. Faster.”

  Audrey picked up the pace and her belly fluttered down low, the sensation thickening and swelling. She rocked harder, faster, his cock rubbing that special place inside. He left her breasts again with one hand, and slid it beneath her skirt again, finding her most sensitive bud and caressing it.

  Crying out softly, Audrey encouraged him by rocking him deeper. The straw under them crunched and crackled as they moved. A horse across the barn snorted. But Audrey’s attention didn’t roam far, she was focused on White Star.

  The feelings rose, rose higher, until she was gasping and moaning. White Star murmured encouragement so softly that Audrey could barely hear him.

  Suddenly, the crescendo hit, pressing toward the high barn roof on a note of pure pleasure. She sparked and burned, breaking into a thousand embers, until slowly, gasping, she began her descent back into the real world.

  White Star waited until she opened her eyes and looked at him. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, Audrey.” His eyes locked on her face as he gave several mighty thrusts and pressed her down on him hard. A small growl was followed by a grunt of pleasure so deep, it send a secondary thrill through Audrey, causing a tiny little shadow orgasm that was as much mental as physical pleasure.

  After a moment, he pulled her down by her arms. “Lay here awhile, honey. Let me hold you.”

  That wasn’t a hard order to obey.

  Audrey’s breath was returning when there was a commotion at the barn doors. Clarissa stalked in, and stood near the stall, trying to avert her eyes and stare them both down at the same time. Her frown was deep, the lines around her mouth deeper still. “Audrey Beacon, you hussy!”

  Rosemary came into view behind her, her face calm except for a small, nasty smile at the corners of her mouth. Her eyes twinkled vindictively.

  “Audrey, you come away from there. I want you out! This is outrageous!”

  Audrey rose as gracefully and modestly as she could, trying to conceal White Star’s dishabille with her skirt as long as she could. He’d buttoned up and was fastening his belt when she pulled away entirely.

  Audrey knew there was little hope, but she had to try. “Clarissa, I can explain.”

  Clarissa spat on the ground at Audrey’s feet. “That’s your wage for today. Get out. Don’t you ever come back here again!” She turned and stalked away, leaving Rosemary standing there.

  “I packed up your things, Audrey,” she said, putting down Audrey’s carpetbag. “Guess White Star’s gonna stay, at least until Mr. Ryan gets back from Council
Bluffs.”

  “You done your worst, Rosemary,” White Star told the girl, his voice hard. “Get back to the house before I do something’ I’ll regret.”

  She blinked. “Okay.” Turning toward Audrey, Rosemary couldn’t resist a parting shot. “Have a nice life, Audrey. Somewhere else.”

  Audrey watched, wide eyed, tears forming as Rosemary sauntered away, brushing off her skirt as though Audrey had sullied her.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  “I’ll lend you some money, honey,” White Star told her.

  It seemed like Audrey was doomed. “I have to go. Clarissa said so.”

  “Let me give you a few dollars.”

  How much time was left on her RAVE? She couldn’t remember. One real-life day, or only half a day? In any case, she might take White Star’s money but she would never see him again once she made it back to town. Despair overwhelmed her and she burst into tears.

  “Aw, honey,” White Star murmured, pulling her into his arms. She sobbed on his chest and sniffled.

  “It’s over,” she said. “It’s all over.”

  “Doesn’t have to be, Audrey. Let me give you some money.”

  “No, it’s hopeless. I have to get back to town, I guess. I want this nightmare to end.”

  “Now, now,” he said, patting her back. “It ain’t that bad.”

  “If you only knew…”

  “Knew what?”

  “Nothing, nothing.” She turned away from him, drying her eyes and her nose on her sleeve. She took the time to re-fasten her bodice and pick up her carpetbag. “I’d best get walking so I can get there before dark. Goodbye, White Star.” He was a figment, so why not say the words? “I love you.” With that, she straightened her shoulders and walked away as calmly as she could. Her heart wrenched.

  White Star hurried behind her. “Let me take you to town.”

  Audrey didn’t stop walking. “No. No, I can’t take anymore.” She paused for a moment. “I’ll never forget you.”