by Vanessa Vale
"I'll go visit with Big Ed for a spell." Chance gave my arm a quick squeeze as he leaned down and gently kissed my brow, then turned and headed in the direction of the stable. Fled would also have been a more apt word. No man wanted to step foot in a house filled with ten women, especially the morning after marrying one of them surreptitiously.
"Coward," I called out.
He turned and grinned. "Self preservation," he called back. He gave me a little salute with his fingers and turned back around.
"Come inside and have some coffee."
I climbed the steps to the porch and Miss Trudy wrapped her arm about my waist as we entered the kitchen together. Once inside, I took a deep breath in fortification.
"You're married?"
"Chance Goodman is so handsome!"
"How could you not tell us, Rose?"
"I bet you wore those infernal pants to your own wedding."
"What did he do, return you?"
All of my sisters spoke at once and there was no chance to get a word in. They continued their eager questions until they realized I hadn't answered any of them.
"Yes, I married him." I pulled out a chair and sat down, my sisters following suit and sitting down in their usual places around the kitchen table. I'd expected comments about my departure or the reason for leaving, not about being married. These questions were remarkably easier to tolerate.
"Is it like they say?" Poppy asked, her voice hushed.
"Yes, does Chance make you happy...in the bedroom?" Dahlia added.
I could feel my cheeks heat and when I glanced at Miss Trudy, she didn't offer me any aid, only gave a woman's smile. She stood by the stove and poured a cup of coffee, just following the conversation from the edges. I had joined the married women's club and I now knew why the maidens remained without a clue. I had absolutely no interest in sharing any details about what Chance and I had done or what he told me he planned to do soon. How could I?
I’d not known the things we’d done were even possible, and still couldn't be sure that other couples did them. Did other husbands take their wives from behind just like rutting animals? Should I have liked it so much? Did other husbands shave their wives...down there? Did other husbands put their mouths on them? My entire body warmed at the thought. I knew if I couldn't think about it without blushing, I most certainly couldn't talk about it. Besides, most of the things we did hadn't been done in the bedroom.
"Chance is...is—"
Seven eager faces stared at me, reminding me of when we were little and Miss Trudy read us stories.
"What?" Dahlia asked. "Handsome? Smart? Funny? Nice?"
"Well, yes, but you knew all that. He's lived nearby forever."
"So why did he marry you? Hyacinth's older," Lily remarked.
Hyacinth lowered her gaze and a bright red flush crept up her cheeks. "I am not interested in Mr. Goodman, Lily, and he knows it. I think Rose is his perfect match."
Bless Hyacinth, for she was always the calm voice of reason. I hoped she found a man of her own, for she was deserving of his love.
"I'm not so sure about that, for the wedding was a surprise," I said.
"You didn't know?" Marigold asked, eyes wide. "How romantic!"
"Tell us how he found you," Miss Esther asked. She was folding clothes from a basket placed at the end of the table.
"I was in Clayton and he talked me into it." I was not going to mention my predicament with the other man or the events on the second floor of the saloon.
"That's it?" Daisy wondered. "Did he ask you?"
"Did I ask her what?" Chance came through the door and all heads turned to him.
"Did you ask Rose to marry you?" Daisy repeated.
Chance glanced at me. "Of course I did. Miss Trudy, Big Ed wanted me to tell you the wheel on the wagon's fixed and that he received a letter from his son and he'll be joining him soon. The letter was fairly long in coming, so he could arrive anytime."
"Jackson, yes. I've hired him to help out around here."
"You weren't going to tell me about him?" I felt as if she'd punched me in the stomach, the very idea she'd planned to give my job to someone else painful.
She gave a soft shake of her head. "It was only a matter of time, Rose, before you left. Besides, Big Ed isn't getting any younger. I'm sure having his son with him will make the man happy."
"Maybe he's handsome," Dahlia cooed, shifting from the claimed Chance to the possibilities this stranger possessed.
I could only roll my eyes at her singular focus.
"I doubt you've had a chance to gather your things," Chance added, placing his hands on my shoulders.
I shook my head and looked up at him. I was glad he'd come inside, for the questions would have gone on forever. I stood.
"Just collect some clothes, for now. You can get your other things another time." He leaned down and whispered directly into my ear so only I could hear. "Pack a corset, kitten, or you'll go bare." His breath fanned over my ear and I shivered.
"You seem to be in a rush. Are you going somewhere?" Lily asked, completely unaware of what just passed between us. I had an inkling why he seemed to be in a rush. Lily, on the other hand, did not.
Chance looked at Lily and grinned. "Do all newlyweds get all these questions or is it just from you, brat?"
Lily grinned and flushed, pleased with the attention Chance was giving her. "Just from me."
"You're my sister now, so you keep the boys away. Or else." Lily was the youngest, although only a few months younger than me. She was also quite lovely and I had no doubt suitors would be flocking to her like bees to honey soon enough. Chance had good reason to be protective.
"You didn't answer her question," Dahlia said.
Chance came around the table and wrapped his arm around my waist. "I know," he told Dahlia.
***
"Are we really going somewhere?" I asked, once I'd packed a bag with some of my clothes. I'd hugged and kissed everyone and promised to visit after our return—from wherever it was he'd planned. Our horses plodded along side by side, the morning still cool, yet the sun warm. We both wore hats to shield our faces and necks from the intense rays.
"I've put the cattle drive on hold for two days," he replied. "Until then, we're not leaving the house and if I have my way, we won't be leaving our bed."
My mouth fell open. "What? Then why did you infer otherwise?"
"So they'd leave us alone. If they knew we were home, we'd have visitors stopping by all day long. You have seven sisters, kitten, and they'd plan the day so that each one came by at a different time. They're crafty like that. Except Hyacinth."
What he said was true. My sisters, being conniving busybodies, would invade like a plague of locusts, and bother us all day long. Hyacinth wouldn't stop by until she received a written letter of invitation or I dragged her to the house by her hair.
"You know my family well. If we're not going anywhere, then what are we going to do?"
He grinned. "It's been three whole hours since I fucked you last. I've been a neglectful husband."
"What's this about a cattle drive? I heard you mention it earlier."
We went over a rise and Chance's house—my house—came into view. The vastness of his property could be seen from this vantage.
"I see you've changed the subject. Soon enough you'll feel comfortable with your body, with the way I want you. Until we get to the house, I'll answer your questions. Once inside, the only words I want to hear from your pretty lips are Please, Chance and more. Deal?"
I couldn't help but blush and wonder what he'd do to make me utter such things. I felt my nipples tighten in anticipation. "Deal."
He sighed and shifted in his saddle. "It's a contract that I signed over the winter. I told you about this, at least in passing, and it's time for the cattle to be moved."
"How many head did you buy?"
"Five hundred."
I couldn't help being surprised by the quantity of cattle he was taking on. H
is ranch was successful—I'd always known this—but since he'd taken over after his parents died, it had thrived and grown three- or four-fold.
"When do we leave?"
"For Parsons? The men and I leave on Wednesday."
I nodded. "Good, I'll be ready."
He turned his head and looked at me. "Oh, no. You're not going."
I gave the reins a slight tug and stopped my horse. "What do you mean I'm not going? I thought I was going to run the ranch with you. This is part of it."
"Going on a cattle drive with a group of randy and unmarried men is no place for my wife."
"If I was a man you'd let me go," I countered.
"If you were a man I wouldn't have married you."
"So you're just going to leave me here to embroider?" I waved my hand at the large ranch, outbuildings and animals dotting the landscape.
"Hell, no. Your embroidery is terrible. I'm leaving Chappy and Walt behind, but you can't be alone with them. They're good men, but it seems I'm a little protective."
I'd heard their names before but never met any of Chance's ranch hands. He had quite a few with a spread of his size. I was coming to realize he'd kept me away from them on purpose.
"Then what are you going to do with me?"
"Send you back to Miss Trudy."
My mouth fell open and I felt my cheeks heat, and it wasn't from embarrassment this time. "You...you're sending me back to live with the girls? What are they to think? That I've failed you? Just like I failed in leaving Clayton, is that it? You're giving me back?" I narrowed my eyes. "I see. You've fucked me and now you're going to send me home."
Chance was a peaceful man. A calm man. I'd never seen him overly riled until now. The night before in the saloon when he'd faced my perpetrator he'd been riled, but this? I'd never seen Chance like this before. There was a little tick in his jaw and his eyes narrowed. When he spoke, his voice was very, very quiet.
"You better get that horse moving, kitten, before I catch you. If you aren't in that house when I do, I'll lift that skirt and spank your ass wherever you are."
My eyes widened at his very quiet, very lethal sounding voice. I was actually a little afraid. I'd pushed him too far, but he'd done the same with me. When I saw him reach toward my reins, I nudged my horse with my heels, spurring him into action. The animal seemed pleased to be allowed his head and took off as if he were being chased. Perhaps we were, but I wasn't going to look back and find out. If Chance wanted to spank me, he'd most certainly have to catch me.
CHANCE
Rose was uncontrollable. If she thought, even for an instant, that I would take her along on a cattle drive, then she must not have known me at all. I may have let her go off on wild hairs when she was younger, but she'd been safe on the Lenox land, where little more than her pride could be hurt. But childish imaginings and dangerous antics of a grown woman were two different things entirely. The previous night, she could have been raped. Going on a cattle drive was akin to spending the evening playing cards in a saloon. The men were rough, the language crude and their sexual bents talked about over beef jerky and thick black coffee. It was no place for a lady. Hell, it was no place for a woman, lady or not.
It was no place for my wife.
I wasn't leaving her behind because I didn't want her. Hell, if she could have seen how hard my cock was, she'd have know leaving her was the last of my desires. Why would I want to leave a voluptuous and voracious lover for a miserable week in the saddle? I'd rather sink into her plush pussy in a comfortable bed than sleep alone on the hard ground with a saddle for a pillow.
Unfortunately, Rose didn't have the same perspective and that only got her into trouble, as she spewed unreasonableness that had my palm itching. And so she'd fled. Good. It gave me time to cool my head, for I would never deal with her antics while angry. I was going to spank her perfect ass until it had a pretty pink glow to it and she was limp and contrite across my lap. And then...then....
I spurred my horse to catch up and only did so when I was inside. I found her standing behind the comfortable chair by the fire. I spent many a long winter night reading in it as the weather raged outside. Now, however, her anger raged inside.
"You are not going to spank me," she vowed.
I hung my hat on the peg by the door. "I am," I countered. "You're getting five for your complete disregard for your safety last night and you'll get five more for your ridiculous ramblings."
Her eyes widened and her hands gripped the cushion of the chair. "Ridiculous ramblings? You're going to give me back!"
I slowly walked toward her and she retreated, one step back for every step forward. Her legs were much shorter than mine and I quickly gained ground. "Why the hell would I want to give you back?"
"Because you're done with me," she replied. Her gaze darted over her shoulder to look for any impediments in her path. There was only one. The wall.
I pointed to the front of my pants. "Look, kitten. See that? That's right, my cock. It's so hard it could pound nails in a fence post and do you know why?" I took one more step and she bumped into the wall. She couldn't move in either direction with a desk on one side of her and another wall on the other. "Because I want to fuck you all day long. I'm always like this when I'm around you. It's been like this for months. Months, Rose. You shouldn't be afraid I'll give you back. Instead, you should be afraid that I'll never let you go."
Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened. I'd finally stunned her quiet.
"Now you are going to turn and bend over the desk and lift your skirt for me and I'm going to give you the spanking you've been itching for."
"I do not want a—"
I held up a hand. "Not another word." I waited as she considered her options which were none. Then I watched her swallow as she thought about what was to come. I doubted she'd ever been spanked before, for if she had she wouldn't be behaving so recklessly.
She turned and placed her hands on the dark wood, then leaned forward. Her compliance had my cock press painfully against my pants.
"Lift your skirt, kitten. Show me what's mine."
She tossed a dirty look over her shoulder, but remained silent, her hands reaching down to lift up the length of her skirt, exposing her trim legs one inch at a time. Finally, the little ribbons on her stockings appeared, then the creamy pale skin of her thighs just before the lower curves of her ass, then finally the full globes. She placed her hands before her once again, her face turned away.
I lowered down to my haunches and removed her boots and stockings free before standing again.
When I placed my palm on one pale cheek, she flinched and I soothed her. "Easy, kitten. I've got you. You've been trying to get my attention since you were eight years old with your antics. I saw you then and I see you now. The difference now is that your wild deeds now will get you spanked. You've got me, kitten, all of me. You don't have to make me angry to have me take control. I'll fuck you—don't you worry none about that—but I'll decide when."
I brought my palm down onto her upturned ass. She jumped at the crack that filled the air, but the strike wasn't overly hard. Although she deserved one, this wasn't a punishment, but more evidence of who controlled whom.
"Hey!" she cried, but could do nothing with my hand at her lower back.
Spank.
"You have me, kitten, by the balls."
Spank.
"Seeing you like this, with your pretty ass turning nice and pink."
Spank.
I nudged her feet apart. "Your pussy's pretty and open. I bet if I run my finger over your smooth flesh I'll find you slippery and wet."
Spank.
"You want this. You need this. You need me to take control."
With that, I finished out the ten I'd promised her, then plunged my fingers into her sopping wet pussy, easily filling her with not one finger, but two. She pushed off the table with her hands, arching her back.
"Chance!"
"You like that, don't you, kitten? The wa
y I rule your body? You're going to come for me." I placed my thumb over her distended clit and pressed firmly as I fucked her with my fingers. "Right now."
She did. She came on command, milking my fingers as if she never wanted to let them go. Her juices dripped onto my hand as she screamed, her entire body taut. I continued to work her expertly until the last bit of pleasure ebbed and she slumped back onto my desk. I would never be able to look at the surface of my desk again without seeing her this way.
As I stepped back and lifted my wet fingers to my mouth, tasting how sweet and wild she was, she pushed up and turned around to stand before me, her skirt falling back in place. She lifted her gaze to meet mine.
"You think you control me?" she asked, her voice smooth as silk after her orgasm.
"I know it."
Her hands went to the knot at the bottom of my shirt that she wore, undid it. Then she began working free all the buttons down the front, one at a time. She didn't shift her gaze away from mine. "You think you have all the power, that I'll just bend over a desk and let you have your way with me."
I grinned, and I watched as she dropped the shirt to the floor. "I just did," I replied cockily.
She undid the knot on the wrap that circled her torso, worked it around her body with ease and proficiency, her ripe breasts coming unbound.
I stifled a groan at the sight. With the sunlight streaming through the windows, she looked almost golden, her hair wheat colored, her skin a pretty flushed pink. Her nipples were plump and I ached to suckle at one as I remembered their taste. Sweet and tart just like she was.
Next, she undid the fastening and her skirt fell to the floor.
"You have the power?" she asked again, this time stepping up to me and pressing her palm against my pants directly over my hard length. The tips of her nipples bumped against my chest.
I hissed out a breath. She pushed me back so I bumped into the wall, letting her have her way. She was correct, I may be the one who was in control, but she had power, like a sorcerer's spell bewitching me. I'd followed her to town to keep her safe. I'd spanked her ass because she needed a keeper and needed to know her boundaries, but even so, she held all the power. And now, with my cock beneath her palm, I'd let her do whatever she wanted.
