“Was it a little line cabin, nothing but a bed and a cook stove?” she asked.
“That sounds like the one.”
“Where did you go in the ditch?”
I wasn’t sure, but I thought I had just passed a sign saying Rawlins was twenty miles ahead when it happened. I told her that.
“He must have known he couldn’t make the ranch. That cabin is back on a dirt path, maybe another ten miles in the opposite direction from here. He had to have ridden cross-country to the ranch, then circled back on the road to get you out of the ditch. Not sure why he headed to the cabin, though. We’re only fifteen miles out of Rawlins, and eight of them are the ranch road.”
“Oh.” That meant it was only about thirteen miles, or maybe less as the crow flew or the horse went, from where I had gone in, to the ranch. I didn’t know exactly how fast a horse could go over desert with a man Russ’s size on its back, but thirteen miles in an hour or so didn’t sound unreasonable. Well, I had my answer about the time frame, but now another mystery needed an answer, and every time I tried to talk to Russ about my questions, it degenerated into an argument about our relationship before I could remember to ask. Why had he taken me to the cabin, instead of to Rawlins? I would have received better care in an emergency room, I was sure.
I combed my memory for any hint of the reason, without success. The heavy snowpack would account for some of the delay in the thirty-some-odd-mile trip from the cabin to the ranch, but would it have taken hours? Or was my sense of time completely out of whack? Setting that question aside for the moment, I asked Janet how long she had been at the ranch.
“Thirty years, miss. Ever since the Hendersons bought the place. I was here when the Whites first brought that little tyke over to show him off.” The image of Russ as a baby entranced me for a moment. Janet was smiling fondly, her eyes unfocused as if staring into the past.
“Tell me about Russ as a little boy,” I said, impulsively. This brought Janet to her senses, and she gave me a sharp look. “Another time, miss. It’s time for me to get to bed. I have to be up at five-thirty to start breakfast.
“I’ll help,” I said firmly, though she shook her head. This time I wasn’t going to allow her to put me off. Janet may scare the cowboys, but she didn’t scare me. She wasn’t anywhere near as scary as Sister Nielsen. If nothing else, I would set the table.
§
If I was going to get up at five and be in the kitchen by five-twenty, before Janet got there, it was time for me to go to bed, too. Russ wasn’t in the library when I went in to say goodnight. I was unaccountably disappointed. Even though I had told him to stop making advances, I would have enjoyed a goodnight kiss. What a mess I was! The truth was, I didn’t know what I wanted. Or rather, I did, but it was impossible.
I took a wrong turn or two on the way to the bedroom I had slept in the night before. This house was truly a maze. I figured it was at least 8000 square feet, based on the large, multi-family houses in Bethel City. Some of the men kept their wives in separate houses, but the Prophet and three or four of the patriarchs had chosen to house their families in one sprawling, multi-wing home each. If I hadn’t known better, I would have said this was one of them. After a couple of false starts, though, I found my bedroom. The bed had been made, by whom I didn’t know. I had seen no other staff besides Janet and the cowhands.
One side of the coverlet was turned down, and a beautiful, filmy nightgown was laid out, along with a fluffy full-length robe and some slippers. Whoever had been so thoughtful earned my gratitude as I quickly showered, toweled my hair dry-ish and slipped on the lovely nightgown and robe before searching the bathroom for a hair dryer. Fifteen minutes later, I deemed my tresses dry enough, found and set a quaint wind-up alarm clock, and slipped beneath the covers, thinking it would be a miracle if I could sleep after my long afternoon nap.
Slumber slipped up on me, though. I knew I had been asleep when I awoke with a start to Russ’s spicy masculine scent and his arms around me. The man couldn’t follow directions worth a damn, I thought, but he was breathing heavily and I knew he was asleep. There was nothing to do but go back to sleep myself, cradled in his arms.
At five, both of us jumped in fright as the most awful racket woke us from peaceful dreams. At least, I was having peaceful dreams. But, the adrenaline surge that came on the heels of the racket had me ready to do battle. I jumped out of bed, panicked. After a moment, I remembered the alarm clock and groped for it in the dark, pressing on various protrusions until the racket stopped and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“What the fuck was that?” came Russ’s indignant voice from the bed.
“It’s known as an alarm clock,” I answered, my annoyance with him remembered. “What the fuck are you doing here? I told you to leave me alone.” I was fumbling in the dark for the clothes I had discarded the night before, too disoriented from my abruptly interrupted sleep to remember that there was a closet full just steps away.
“I couldn’t sleep, wanted to be with you. Why did you set your alarm for five a.m.? Kitten, stop whatever you’re doing and get back in bed.” His authoritative ‘boss’ voice reminded me of the first time I awoke in the cabin, to see him stoking the fire, gorgeous body in full side view with that heavy cock half-engorged. A rush of lust swept through me, which I ruthlessly suppressed.
“I’m going to help Janet with breakfast. Go back to sleep.”
“You’ll do nothing of the kind. In the first place, she’d flatten you in seconds. You’ve seen the woman move in that kitchen. In the second place, you owe it to me to help me get back to sleep. I almost had a heart attack when that alarm went off.” Still authoritative. Now I tried to suppress a giggle. The image of him staggering around the room, clutching his heart, tickled my funny bone. I couldn’t help but laugh.
A menacing growl came out of the dark. “Are you laughing at my narrow escape from death, woman?” I giggled again. Russ’s arm snaked out and grabbed mine, causing me to shriek with alarm. He pulled me into the bed with him, and stripped the nightgown up above my waist. “I seem to remember you like a spanking now and again,” he said.
“No,” I gasped, but to no avail. Before I could react, he had me pinned across his lap, holding my head down with one hand while the other delivered the stinging blows that both hurt and stimulated me deep inside. Then, his big warm hand was circling on my inflamed buttocks, and he planted a kiss there before he pulled me around to meet his lips. “Tell me you don’t want me.”
“I don’t want you,” I managed. His lips covered mine, and he bit my lower lip, which was stuck out in a pout.
“Liar,” he whispered.
I couldn’t deny it, even though it was dark enough that he couldn’t see the truth in my face. My heart was racing, pounding in my chest as if it would break out and run away. Not a bad idea, actually, because I knew that what was about to happen was a bad idea. And I wanted it, oh, how I wanted it! Still, I tried to stop my own response to his hands, now pulling the nightgown all the way off. His hands, stroking my back and still-stinging cheeks, and moving around to cup my breasts, now one, now the other, with a little tweak of the nipple for good measure.
My chest heaved with ragged breaths as he pressed his assault on my senses, and inevitably, moisture gathered where I wanted him to touch me the most. With a groan that matched my own heat, Russ rolled me over so that his weight pinned me on my back, and sought the moisture, first with his hand and then, scooting down, buried his face in the furnace of my desire. No longer capable of trying to stop him, I opened fully to him and knew myself damned for the sinner I was.
All thoughts of immediate or future departure from the ranch left me in the interlude that followed. Russ played my body like a virtuoso, bringing me to orgasm time after time until I was literally screaming for him to fuck me, please, just put it inside. I understood finally that he was angry when he denied me. Instead, pulling me roughly to a sitting position, my back resting on the pillows piled high behind me, h
e offered his rock-hard erection to my lips. Driven by need as well as the salacious knowledge that this was punishment but would give us both an exquisite pleasure, I moaned as I took him deep into my mouth.
Russ made an adjustment of our position that tilted my head back and allowed him even deeper into my throat without causing me to gag, his breath grating with the effort of not thrusting too hard. I reached with both hands to stroke him, in the crease between his thigh and groin, run my fingernails lightly across his sac and up the shaft any time it wasn’t buried to the hilt in my willing mouth.
The act of sucking the silken-covered steel brought me to the brink of orgasm again, and was accompanied by a constant whimpering that I realized was coming from me. The sensations of his hands caressing my breasts, rolling and tweaking my nipples at the same time drove me mad and I prepared to swallow every rich, viscous drop that he could give me. I didn’t care if it was punishment for whatever had angered him, I wanted it.
Before he came, though, he pulled out of my mouth to a whimpered protest from me. He was gone from me only a moment before I heard the now-familiar rip of paper, and tensed for the sweetest pleasure of all, to be pierced by his manhood and feel, at last, the fulfillment of my deepest wish. Roughly, he took his pleasure, pounding into me like a jackhammer, squeezing my breasts. Each thrust, each twist of my nipples or bite on my neck as Russ lost himself in frenzy wrung a gasp or a muffled shriek from me. As frightening as this was, it was also somehow a fulfillment of something I had been missing for years. My orgasm was massive, bringing me to tears of gratitude and relief as Russ also came with a heart-rending grinding out of my name.
I wasn’t sure what had just happened, and was afraid to ask. We lay in silence, my contentment overcoming my better judgment, until Russ rose and went into the bathroom. Bringing back a warm washcloth, he cleaned me and himself, then tossed the cloth on the floor and rolled into the bed beside me to engulf me in his arms. I toyed idly with his spent manhood, marveling at how this soft thing, for which I had the utmost affection, could become the god-like weapon of love that gave me such exquisite pleasure. To my amazement, Russ began to harden again as I played.
“You’re causing hard feelings,” he drawled. I giggled and continued my play. In for a penny, in for a pound, I remember my mother saying. “We should get up,” Russ continued. “Breakfast will be ready soon.”
That reminded me of my curiosity about the made bed and the nightgown that was laid out, so I asked. “Russ, does Janet do everything around here?”
“No,” he said, “But, she’s the only one who lives here. She’s practically a member of the family, like a third mother to me, after my own and Eliza Henderson. A couple of women from Rawlins come out every day to keep the rest of the place tidy. Really, one would do, but in the Hendersons’ day there was a lot of entertaining, and both of them have worked here since they were old enough to drive. I can’t see choosing one over the other and putting one out of a job.”
As I listened to his explanation, the thing that struck me, after Russ’s kindness towards his employees, was that he was no longer dropping the ‘g’s in his speech.
“Hey, how come you don’t sound like a cowboy anymore?” I asked, a suspicious edge to my voice.
“Too much trouble to keep it up,” he said. “I had some East Coast influence from my mom growing up, and got completely out of the habit when I was in college. I didn’t want to sound like a hick.”
The revelations about his background only made me more curious. Since he seemed to be in the mood to answer questions, I asked them. “Where did you go to college?”
“Harvard. I studied business.” He placed no emphasis on any of his words, but they electrified me. A girl with a tenth-grade education would never be enough for a wealthy, Harvard-educated rancher. My prophetic dream of the milkmaid and the handsome prince flashed through my memory.
“So, why did you sound that way with me, while we were at the cabin?” I asked. I couldn’t help the accusatory tone in my voice, and he picked up on it immediately.
“Kitten, I’m sorry. You’ll find out I’m a bit of a recluse, and sometimes I do that to disguise who I am.”
Curiouser and curiouser. “And you did that with me, because?”
“Because, I didn’t know who you were. Have you ever heard of Good Samaritan laws, and how people try to get around them when they find out their rescuer has money?”
“Um, no. What do you mean?”
“It’s very iffy to rescue an injured person. You can do more harm, and sometimes they aren’t as grateful as you’d think. Good Samaritan laws were put in place in most states to protect someone from lawsuit if they act in good faith and without compensation to prevent further harm by assisting an injured person. Unfortunately, Wyoming’s law is a bit vague about people other than medical personnel and operators of ambulances. I’ve been burned before.”
“Is that why you didn’t get me out immediately?”
“No, I told you. That was because I was on a horse. I couldn’t tell how injured you were, and couldn’t risk making it worse by riding you across country on the back of a horse. Not to mention the fact that he wouldn’t have been able to carry both of us in time to beat the blizzard.”
“So, why did you take me to the cabin instead of to Rawlins?” Here was the heart of my suspicion. Yes, I was reluctantly in love, or at least in lustful gratitude, with this man, but my practical mind wouldn’t stop asking the questions that had burned in me from the beginning. Janet’s revelation that the cabin was in the opposite direction from my accident from both Rawlins and the ranch begged yet another question.
“Kitten, why are you asking all these questions? After these last few days, do you still not trust me?” The hurt in his voice ripped at my heart.
“Russ, I just need to understand. That’s all.” I didn’t ask him to understand my need, but my voice pled for him to.
“Okay, I’ll draw you a map. But that means we have to get out of bed.” He sounded…resigned. Fear bloomed in my chest. Would the map reveal yet another reason for me to suspect him of something? Why did I need to poke at it? He had given me more than enough reasons to trust him, to love him, even. I didn’t want to hurt him, but it seemed I already had. To distract him from the conversation, I squeezed the half-erect shaft in my hand, causing him to gasp.
“If you keep that up, we’ll never leave this bed, woman.”
Chapter 10
By the time we managed to get up and make ourselves presentable, we were late for breakfast. Twenty pairs of male eyes gawked at us as we walked in together. It must have been plain for everyone to see that we had spent the night together, but no one said a word about it as we sat down and Janet served our plates. Finally, a smattering of conversation broke out, one or two said good morning to me and several greeted Russ.
The awkward moment passed, except that I detected a new energy vibe from Janet. I wasn’t sure what it was, whether the narrow look she gave me, or the fact that she didn’t say a word to me after the men left and only Russ and I remained. Russ must have noticed, too, as he sent a look of annoyance her way while her back was turned. Oh, no, I thought. The last thing I needed was an enemy. It was too likely that I had several looking for me already.
“Janet, may we have more coffee, please?” Russ’s tone would have cut steel, but Janet topped up his cup without a word. Of course, he noticed that she didn’t give me any. “Kitten, do you want some more?” he asked. Janet flinched at the endearment, but turned around to inform him that I wasn’t drinking coffee. Then she asked in a neutral voice if I wanted more tea. I didn’t want to prolong this unspoken battle between the two of them, so I declined with a thank you. Russ frowned at me, and I shook my head.
When I had finished the last of my tea, I excused myself and rose, but Russ also got up, his coffee cup in hand, to go with me into the library.
“Russ, what was that?” I demanded.
“I told you she was like a thi
rd mother. I guess she sees you as some kind of threat. She was wild when Denise left me.”
“Oh, lord, I don’t need this. Russ, we have to talk about what I’m going to do when the storm lifts.”
“You’re going to stay here and be mine.” His matter-of-fact statement frustrated me to the point of a tantrum, but I tried to remain calm and reason with him.
“Can’t you see that’s impossible? Even if Janet hasn’t taken a dislike to me, we hardly know each other. I know nothing of your world, and I’m pretty unprepared for any world except an RALDS community.” At this, his face darkened. I went on, hurriedly, to prevent the outburst I could see on the horizon.
“I need an education, Russ. I want to get a GED and maybe go to college. Find out what I’m good at besides being a little wifey, and that’s all they trained me for. Don’t you see? Here, I’d be just as isolated as I was in Bethel City. I would never be able to grow up. For god’s sake, I’m twenty and I’ll bet you thought I was seventeen. That’s when my life ended. At seventeen.
“I’m not ready to settle down, even if I were a suitable mate for you. Russ, I love you, but I can’t stay.” As I spoke, my agitation grew, until I was nearly shouting, except for the last sentence, which came out in a choked sob.
Russ’s expression had grown more and more desperate as I spoke, my tirade hitting home with each point. I could see it, especially when I said I wasn’t ready to settle down. Then it all changed. What had I done? I never meant to tell him I loved him.
His only answer was to seize me roughly and press his lips to mine, forcing them open and invading them then with his tongue. A little struggle, and then I succumbed to his insistence. That kiss sealed me to him, as the Mormons said, for time and all eternity. All the passion, all the gratitude, all the compassion for his broken heart that I felt now flooded my heart to overflowing, and I could no longer lie to him or to myself. I was in for it, now. If I hadn’t been able to convince him to let me go before, I certainly wouldn’t be able to now. And yet, I tried.
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