by Vanessa Vale
I arched a brow, unsure of what to say. Money had exchanged hands, but moving five hundred head of cattle wasn’t an easy task. I had men to muster, food to gather in preparation for the trek to my ranch, and no time to linger and socialize. But, I couldn't insult the man in his own home by declining his invitation. I could, however, resolve this situation quickly enough.
"That's mighty kind of you, Jim, and you as well, Beatrice, but I'm newly married and I have a hankering to get back to my bride as quick as I might."
Beatrice flushed to the roots of her dark hair.
"I had not heard the news. Congratulations are in order," Jim said, shaking my hand.
"While I may not be an eligible suitor, I will most certainly share with your father some names of men who I feel would be worthy of a woman such as you." She was quite fetching, and if I judged her based on her father's demeanor and kindness, she would make quite a catch.
She nodded and excused herself. I couldn't blame her hasty departure, but there was no way to make the blow of embarrassment any less. "I'm sorry if I've hurt her feelings."
Jim sighed. "No, don't be. She isn't the one pining for a husband. I'm the one who wants her to be happy."
He moved back to his chair behind the desk, so I sat again as well.
"Is it her dream to be married?" I asked. I was surprised by my own question, for it was the thought of Rose that prompted me to ask.
"Dream? She's an accomplished painter and would love nothing more than to travel around the area painting landscapes. Summer or winter she'd be with her brushes."
I looked up at a lovely painting on the wall. A winding river cut through a verdant prairie, thunderclouds building in the distance to make it striking. "Is this one of hers?"
Paternal pride showed on his face. "Indeed."
"She's excellent. Would having a husband help her with her dream or stifle her?"
Jim frowned and I held up my hand.
"I ask because I'm newly wed and I wonder if I've trampled on my wife's dreams by binding her to me."
Jim nodded in understanding. "It's all about sacrifice. Both people in the marriage will have to sacrifice. I'm guessing your wife will sacrifice quite a bit to meet your vision of marriage."
"She believes she is," I countered.
"Now, I'm just an old coot, so you can ignore my words if you wish, but my sweet wife Laura put up with not only me, the ranch, the cattle, Montana winters and everything that went along with it for thirty-two years."
He took a sip of his coffee. Nothing he'd said so far sounded any different than what Rose wanted.
"She also had to put up with birthing and raising five children."
My mug was halfway to my mouth and I paused. Five?
"Four boys and then Beatrice. My eldest son lives in his own home on the property, and the three other boys live on spreads of their own. They're all married, except for Beatrice. Seven grandchildren."
"Congratulations," I replied. "Quite a legacy."
He nodded. "To be sure. Laura wouldn't have traded the children for the world, but she gave up a part of herself in raising them. Me, I ran the ranch. Still do. But children grow, make lives of their own. I think Laura would have wanted to make her own mark on the world, instead of helping all of us make ours."
I drank my coffee as I thought about what he said.
"A woman's going to sacrifice more than a man will ever know for her children. If you're blessed with them, her sacrifice will be heftier than yours. Meet her halfway, young man, in all things."
"That's sage advice, sir. May I ask you one question?"
He nodded.
"If your wife wanted to join you on a cattle drive, would you have let her?"
His eyes widened. "Hell, no."
I relaxed in my chair.
"I did let her help sort the animals after and brand them. If your wife wants to get her hands dirty, let her. Then take her off somewhere and get the rest of her dirty."
He winked at me and I couldn't help but grin.
CHAPTER SIX
CHANCE
It was the second day out of Parsons and the cattle were fanned out in a wide line moving east at their slow, plodding pace. We followed behind on horseback, the three of us spread out to maintain control. The one on the right flank, Ivers, led a stray back into the herd. Overall, their job was to keep the cows wandering in the right direction. The sun was behind us, the air cooling as the evening began to settle. It had been a dull day, fortunately. Excitement on a cattle drive meant something was wrong. Fortunately, with the rains there wasn't any dust to kick up to choke on. There was nothing but open expanse of prairie in front of us, Cottonwood trees dotting a creek in the distance. It was while I was considering how much the creek levels had receded when I saw her. A rider at such a distance should be unfamiliar, but I knew her well. I knew every line of her body, every creamy patch of skin, every soft sigh, even her scent.
Rose.
Holy hell, the woman had the gall to disregard my every word and wish. The woman was going to be the death of me and we hadn't even been married a week! She rode right through the center of the cattle line and directly toward me. I spurred my horse to meet her.
Her hat was low on her head, her hair pulled back in a single braid that hung thick and long down her back. She wore her usual work attire of blouse and pants and I glanced left and right to see if the men noticed her. Of course they noticed her! They'd have to be dead to miss seeing a beautiful woman in the middle of a damn cattle drive! She was akin to a mirage in a desert; the men were probably wondering if she were real. She was beautiful, so fucking pretty it made my chest hurt. The sun was on her face, cast her in a soft glow, the long tendrils of hair that had come free of her braid looked like spun gold.
"Is there something wrong at home?" I had to be rational and give her an opportunity to provide a reasonable, logical reason for her defiance. "Is someone sick?"
She looked at me with confusion. "No, of course not. Why?"
"I wanted to see what kind of life threatening problem existed to have you show up against my wishes."
Her chin rose defiantly. "These are my cattle now, too."
"They'll be your cattle when they are grazing on our land as well. What the hell are you doing here, Rose?"
Her chin tipped up defiantly. "If we are going to run the ranch together, then I should be involved. You can't just leave me behind!"
I thought back to Jim's words, how sacrifices had to be made. Her safety was not one of them. Neither was letting the men see her in pants. Her figure, those shapely legs, were for no one else to see. Hell, I was a greedy man when it came to Rose.
I glanced left and gave a shrill whistle. The nearest man, Stills, turned my way and at my hand motion, rode over.
He glanced at Rose, even raked his gaze down her body, lingering in places that made me see red. I cleared my throat and he looked to me, although not in the least bit quick enough for my liking. I ground my teeth together, wanting to put him in his place, even wanting my fist in his nose. But neither the words nor the actions, were fit for Rose to witness.
"Can you two handle the herd for the night?" I said instead.
The man gave a curt nod.
"I need to tend to my wife." I didn't give the man more time than to tip his hat to my bride before I grabbed her reins and rode off.
We headed westward back the way we'd come, heading toward a creek and one of those groups of Cottonwoods. With the men and cows headed in the other direction and the large trees sheltering us from view, we had ample privacy. There was no one about. I dismounted, and then dropped the reins to the ground to let the animal walk to the creek to drink. I took off my hat, ran my hand through my hair, and then hooked the hat onto the pommel of my saddle.
"Get down, Rose."
She eyed me carefully, but easily swung her leg over. I put my hands at her hips to help her down whether she needed it or not.
"You're angry," she said, crossing h
er arms over her chest. Clearly she wore that wrap to bind her breasts, as I knew now the bounty they were. They were hidden well, and for once, I was thankful for that infernal contraption—glad the men hadn't seen all of her lush curves.
"Angry, kitten? Let's talk about the reasons why I might be upset with you." I held up my hand with a finger raised. "You defied me when I said you couldn't come on the drive."
She humphed, but did not reply.
I raised my second finger. "Did you even let Miss Trudy know where you were going or did you just disappear before the sun came up?"
She looked away and I knew my answer.
Another finger went up. "Did you ever consider that you could be in any kind of danger, alone on the prairie?"
Instead of looking away, she turned around so I had her back.
"What's the first rule you learned growing up?" I asked.
I heard her mumble something but couldn't discern the words.
I put my hands on my hips. "What was that, kitten?"
I took a step closer.
"I said, always tell someone where you're going." She sighed.
"Why is that, pray tell?"
She tilted her head to the side as if she were a recalcitrant adolescent. "Because there are dangers everywhere and no one will be able to find you if you were hurt."
I took the few steps that separated us, took hold of her shoulders and spun her around. I knocked the hat from her head, letting it fall to dangle by the string down her back. "If you'd been bitten by a rattlesnake, I would have been two more days on the trail before I even knew you'd left, then I'd have had to go and search for you, over a vast prairie and by then you would have been dead!" My voice went up as I spoke. I couldn't help it. I gave her a little shake then stepped away.
I was breathing hard and I felt my pulse racing.
"I'm sorry!" she called out.
"Sorry?" I turned my head to look at her. "Jesus, Rose, you could fallen from your horse or hurt some other way and I couldn't have helped you."
"You should have taken me with you to begin with," she grumbled.
I pursed my lips and counted to ten. I went down to my horse, which hadn't ventured far eating the tall grass, and grabbed my bedroll. "We are not going to discuss my decision again." I spread the blanket out and pointed to it. "Now, you are going to get on your hands and knees, drop your pants and I'm going to give you a spanking you won't forget."
"I will not!" she shouted. Her eyes were filled with fire, every line of her body defiant.
"Where are you going to go, kitten?" I lifted my arms in the air. "There's no one here. Scream all you want, but you know you deserve a punishment. You put yourself in danger and that is not allowed."
"Chance!"
"It was going to be twenty-five, but now it's thirty."
"Chance." Instead of hearing indignation in her voice, I now heard pleading.
"Forty." I crossed my arms over my chest, not willing to back down in the slightest.
She grumbled something as she pulled the string for her hat over her head. With no grace whatsoever, she got onto her hands and knees, then looked at me over her shoulder.
"The pants, kitten."
I wasn't going to do it for her. She needed to do it herself to reinforce the consequences of her reckless actions. Coming up onto her knees, she undid the belt at her waist, then slowly worked the placket open. How Miss Trudy allowed her to wear the pants in the first place was beyond me. The fact that she'd continued to allow her to don them after she became a certain age just showed how relaxed rules had been for Rose. She needed guidance. She needed direction. She needed a firm hand. It was my job to give them to her. Right now.
When the pants were around her knees and her perfect ass was visible, I sucked in a breath. She was a sight to behold, punishment or not, and my cock didn't care either way.
"I'm pleased to see you aren't wearing any drawers."
"I don't have any," she grumbled. "It seems whatever pairs I took with me have disappeared."
"You were in a household of all women. How could you not find a pair to sneak for yourself?"
She looked at me with utter shock. "We do not share underthings."
My mouth ticked up in a smile. "I'm glad to have discovered one rule you will not break."
She frowned.
I stepped closer so she had to tilt her head to look up at me. "Hands and knees, kitten."
She continued to grumble to herself as she put her hands on the blanket. I moved to kneel off to one side of her legs, placing my hand on her firm ass with one hand, while sliding her blouse up with the other. Beneath my fingers I encountered the infamous wrap.
"Why are you being punished?" I asked.
"Because I was reckless with my safety."
Smack.
She shifted forward at my strike, but did not move. I spanked her thrice more, hitting a different place each time. Her ass was turning a lovely shade of pink and a handprint formed on the upper swell of her right cheek.
"Why else, kitten?"
"I disobeyed you."
I gave her five more rapid spanks. As she shifted, her discomfort obvious, her knees parted and her pussy became visible. I could see her perfectly shaved skin and her pretty pink folds. In the waning light I noticed the glisten of her desire. She liked what I was doing to her, dominating her as I was.
"What else?"
She lowered to her elbows, her hands tightly grasping the blanket. With this shift in position, her pussy was even more open, her petals spreading and I saw every perfect inch of her. I stifled a groan, as I wanted to lick her from clit to ass and make her come. That would have to wait, for we weren't done with her punishment.
"I...I don't know!"
Spank.
"You are not to wear those pants in front of the men. It shows off your woman's shape. Your body is for me to see, no one else."
Spank.
"Now, we will finish out your forty and then you will not move, for I am going to fuck you just like this, kitten, good and hard."
She moaned and turned her head so her cheek rested against the wool, eyes closed.
My palm tingled as I finished out her punishment, watching her flesh darken from a pale pink to crimson. My cock was hard against the placket of my pants, uninterested in her spanking but in the fucking that was soon to follow.
Once finished, I exhaled and ran my palm over her hot flesh, letting the sting seep in. I didn't stall, didn't even remove the remainder of her clothes, for I needed to be buried in her, knowing she was mine and that she was safe. My fingers deftly undid my pants, pushed them down enough to free my cock. Shifting on my knees, I lined up to her sweet opening, grabbed her hip, and filled her to the brim. She was so tight, so hot and slick.
She cried out and I groaned. I paused for just a brief moment, and then began to move. This wasn't going to be gentle, nor romantic. This was fucking—down and dirty fucking. She was so wet the sounds of it filled the air. The scent of her arousal was heady. My hips pumped into her at a consistent pace, my cock driving my motions more than my mind. Just the feel of her squeezing my dick had my brain going foggy. I could feel my orgasm building, the scalding heat of her hard to fight. Her hips started pushing back into me, meeting me as I filled her with the slapping sound of flesh on flesh. The sunlight made the skin of her ass a fiery red from her spanking, the remainder of her exposed flesh a bright gold. Her hair was a wild tangle, her braid sticking to the sweaty nape of her neck.
"Do you want to come, kitten?"
She nodded her head. "Yes! Oh, yes please, Chance."
I slowed my pace and ran my thumb through her wetness, stroking the flesh that was stretched wide by the base of my cock, coating the tip to bring it up to the tight pucker of her ass. As I continued to fuck her, I began to work my thumb into her, carefully, slowly, yet very deliberately.
"Oh!" she cried out, her body's motions losing their consistent rhythm. Ass play was still as surprise for her and
the feelings it elicited were new and most likely quite shocking.
"Not yet. You can't come yet."
"Why?" she cried out, turning her pleading gaze to me. Her green eyes were bright and wild.
"Do you feel out of control? Desperate? Frantic?" My words escaped with my heavy breaths. I didn't stop working her body.
Her eyes widened when my thumb breached her. "Yes," she groaned. Her hips shifted back and I sank in up to the first knuckle.
"Good. Now you feel as I did when I saw you ride up. This marriage won't work if we're both out of control. We'll both go insane." I continued my patient thrusts of my cock, the slight shifting of my thumb, but it was at a cost. Sweat dripped down my temple, my cock desperate to let my baser needs take over and shift to all out fucking. Rose, however, had to know how I felt. "God, Rose, you feel so good. This is where I belong, filling you. Do you know how hot it is to see your ass take my thumb? To see your pretty pussy lips wrapped around my cock? If something ever happened to you—"
The need for her was too much and I sank into her all the way. My thumb and cock were both being squeezed. I couldn't hold back any longer. "Do you understand?" I growled.
"Yes," she replied, her voice needy but almost a little forlorn. Contrite, perhaps? Was I naive to think a fucking alone would make her see reason? Did I always need to have her beneath me for her to understand how much she meant to me? Could I ever let her up?
I gripped her hip tightly, shifted her, as I wanted to have my cock rub just the way I wanted.
"Reach down and touch yourself. Play with your clit until you come. I want to see you do it." My words were rough as my breath soughed in and out of my lungs.
Lowering herself to a shoulder, she reached down and began to play, the sounds of her breathing changing immediately. I felt her inner walls clench tightly and I knew she was close. It never took much to take her over the edge. The little breathy sounds were an indicator and so I pulled back and made very slight fucking motions just inside her opening, using the broad head to rub over that spot that she loved so much, mimicking the same motions with the tip of my thumb in her ass.
