The Legends of Loving Texas Series
Spur of the Moment
by
Kaitey Benoit
Dedication
I’d like to thank all the women at ERW who shared in the project to create historical cowboy stories with a common thread. I’ve enjoyed the experience and appreciate being accepted into the Red Rose Publishing family.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Spur of the Moment by Kaitey Benoit
Red Rose™ Publishing
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Copyright© 2009 Kaitey Benoit
ISBN: 978-1-60435-351-8
Cover Artist: Annie Melton
Editor: Ansley Blackstock
Line Editor: Monti Shalosky
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Spur Of The Moment
By
Kaitey Benoit
The Legends of Loving, Texas, are stories not about politics or wars or worldly events. The Legends are about people. About the cowboys and former soldiers living hardscrabble, lonely lives in the West in the years after the Civil War. About the women who trek west to find new lives, new futures worthy of their strength of character and spirit for survival. They are stories about love in all its glorious combinations. The bottom line is that The Legends of Loving, Texas, cover all the bases. There’s something for every taste, every genre – ménage, time travel, vampire, shape shifter, and one man/one woman.
Loving, Texas is the link: the link to the romance, the sex, the excitement of building a new life in a new place, and to happily ever after endings. So, settle in, feel the loving, and plan to read the next installment of The Legends of Loving, Texas.
Chapter One
Loving, Texas - 1878
“Howard, just because the mayor thinks mail order brides are a good idea, doesn’t mean we all have to jump on the buckboard and go along with it.”
Todd scooped another forkful of the Moonlight Hotel’s celebratory breakfast into his mouth. Since moving out of the boarding house, his breakfasts consisted of dry toast and coffee. Cooking for one in an unfinished house wasn’t conducive to hearty or healthy meals.
“But, Todd, you haven’t seen them yet. I bet they’re beautiful. And we already know they’re willing to take care of our personal needs.”
“So are the women at the bordello.”
“Sure, but we don’t have to pay these women!”
“Excuse me? We’re certainly paying for them.” He threw the fork on the table in frustration and pushed the empty plate away. He scowled as he thought of the exorbitant fee he had to throw in for his bride. It was the reason his homestead wasn’t finished yet.
“It’s different and you know it. We don’t have to court any of them, just pledge ourselves as husbands. They’ll do the housework and have our offspring without objection.”
“I can’t choose a woman the same way I choose cattle. It isn’t right.” A shiver ran through Todd’s body as he imagined the mail order brides lined up at the front of the room on display.
“You’ve already committed to doing it,” Howard slapped Todd on the shoulder and laughed.
Todd shook his head and left without talking to anyone else.
Racing away from town on his mount, Todd sought the freedom the fresh air the dry open plains brought him. The small settlement of Loving was in a celebratory mood. The next two days were declared a holiday so the townsfolk could welcome the stagecoaches bringing the mail order brides to the community. But all he could think about was his late mother’s prediction about the woman who would complete him.
When the mayor announced that mail order brides were coming to town, he got excited, but when he realized selecting a wife in such a manner was basically up to the luck of the draw, he started to turn against the idea. Even if his future bride was in this group, someone else could select her first. Because he was one of the older single men, at thirty-three, he would be at the top of the list to make a selection from the women who arrived. Knowing he was one of the first five did nothing to make the process more enjoyable. Being told to pick a wife wasn’t what he envisioned for himself. He wanted the love he remembered his parents sharing.
He kneed his horse into a gallop, before the memories flooded his mind and the pain hit again.
After a while, his horse slowed and Todd chuckled when he realized where they were. The low rocky hills sat off in the distance. Motionless buffalograss filled his vision in every direction.
“Guess we’ve been out here a time or two, huh, Blaze?”
His humble ranch was close to completion, but it was hard to build a home when he could only work at night after a long day of herding cattle. He looked forward to settling down with a wife and having children, but he just couldn’t bring himself to accept the mail order bride idea.
He’d always enjoyed being free to roam, but the space was closing in on him. He had to find a way to get out of the bride contract. He knew that by not participating in the deal, he’d soon be the only single man in Loving. Rather be alone than with someone I don’t love.
With that thought, he reined Blaze to a halt and jumped down. They were near the northern edge of his property where a small stream and some trees marked the division of the land.
Todd needed a distraction. The cold mountain water would be good for him. He stripped and waded in. The water chilled him quickly. Once he started shivering, he got out and lay on the ground. He remained there and felt the sun drying the water from his body. He let his gaze focus on the blue sky and white clouds above him as his thoughts drifted to the woman he pictured in his mind.
He grabbed his erection and enjoyed his thoughts of her. She was about five foot eight, with long wavy blonde hair that hung freely down her back. Her eyes were a piercing blue and her smile, gorgeous beyond any smile he’d ever seen, was meant for him. He gripped himself harder and stroked in rhythm with his thoughts.
She had a well-muscled frame, yet was quite feminine. He imagined how her laugh would sound, how she’d react to his touch. His woman. The woman his mother predicted he’d marry. He let the fantasy run its course and groaned as cum spurted onto his chest and stomach.
Once his pulse calmed, he took another dip in the cold stream to clean off. A loud crack surprised him. He jumped to shore, grabbed his rifle, crouched and looked around.
Blaze, a hundred yards away in the shade of a large tree, whinnied and snorted.
“Get away from me, you enormous lump of dog food!” The woman’s voice carried across th
e distance.
Blaze reared up, which started Todd running toward the disturbance.
“Whoa, fella, calm down,” he said, as he approached the horse.
“Who’s that?” The anger Todd heard in the woman’s voice made him pause and it explained why Blaze was upset.
Blaze calmed under Todd’s touch and took a couple of steps backward. Todd’s breath caught in his throat. It’s her.
Chapter Two
Katie let the anger keep her from panicking. One moment she was reaching the six-mile mark in her run when she let herself think about him again. Her fantasy man breathed in her ear and reached for her breast. She closed her eyes for a moment as her nipples budded and pressed against her tight sports bra, then she slipped and fell off the trail and rolled down into the bushes. She must have been knocked out, because her head hurt.
“God,” she said, as she started to brush herself off. “If I don’t get a real man soon, I’m going to end up in traction.” Something tugged at her hair. As she reached back to remove the tree branch she assumed was nestled there, she started to a loud snort and a spray.
She scurried forward and looked behind her. “Great, Katie, now you’re afraid of a horse. What’s next? The man of your dreams appears and you get a stutter? Get a grip already!”
The horse seemed unsettled, yet approached her with his snout down.
“Get away from me, you enormous lump of dog food! You just blew snot on me!”
The horse reared back, which forced her to stumble and fall into the bramble behind her.
“Whoa, fella, calm down.” The man’s voiced sounded raspy but soothing, and the animal calmed.
“Who’s that?” she asked, while trying to see around the horse.
The horse took a couple of steps backward and revealed a man. A naked man. A breathtakingly gorgeous, naked man. Oh my God. It’s him.
She let her eyes wander over his physique. He’s as divine and decadent as a hot fudge brownie sundae with whipped cream and a cherry on top. His legs and arms were solid muscle. His stomach muscles were the epitome of a washboard and the thought of running her fingers over them caused her heart to skip a beat.
She knew her mouth had fallen open, but she felt drawn to his confidence. He appeared to be totally at ease standing absolutely, beautifully, and gloriously naked in the middle of the city park on a beautiful afternoon. Her glance finally worked its way up and locked with his. She guessed him to be about five foot ten.
The dark chocolate brown of his eyes seemed to melt and soften as he gazed at her. He ran a hand through his short, cropped, brown hair and a look of recognition crossed over his face.
He took a couple of steps toward her. “It’s you,” he said.
“Ummm, yeah, yeah, of course it’s me.” Get a grip, girl! “And you’re you.” God, can I be any more stupid? This is a dream, hello, let’s be graceful here!
Her hands wiped at the sweat on her forehead and tugged at her hair, which was askew, despite the ponytail band. Her pulse raced and her mouth was dry. The wetness she felt moisten her spandex shorts caused her to lick her lips. I want to suck that beautiful cock of yours like a lollipop. Her hands fell to her sides and she took a step forward.
She only saw an open field outside of the thinly treed area they were in. A house appeared to be off in the distance. Where’d the park go? Who cares?
He hadn’t moved, and she didn’t think he’d blinked since he saw her. “Where are we?” There, that sounded intelligent.
She turned around and looked at the stretch of land behind her. More open land on the other side of the trees and bramble. She shook her head and quickly realized she was dizzy. She held out an arm to steady herself. His grip on her arm brought her back to the moment. And the warmth spreading through her body was total lust. Thank you, Lord, fantasies do come true.
“Begging your pardon, ma’am, did you say something?” His voice felt like perfect scotch rolling down her throat.
“Thank you. I said. I think.” Shit, grab a sanity check before this guy thinks you’re a complete bimbo.
“You seem a little unsteady. Maybe you should sit down for a bit. Did you hit your head?”
“Um, yeah, sitting sounds pretty good right now.” He held her arm while she lowered herself to the ground.
He stood beside her. She focused on the stream in front of her so as not to be face to face with his fully erect cock.
Her hands fiddled with the wires of her ear buds, and she fumbled for the power button to shut off the mp3. She felt her body heat up and just wanted to twist and take him into her mouth.
She turned and gave a quick glance back at him. “Um, is that erection for me?”
“Oh.” He stepped back and stumbled. He gave a short whistle and Katie turned to see what he was doing. She watched the horse come to his side and the man easily got into the saddle. “I’ll be right back,” he said.
“Now that is a sight to behold,” she said, as the naked cowboy nudged his horse into a gallop. After a minute, she saw the horse and rider stop at the edge of a stream. The man jumped off the horse and she watched him grab his pants and pull them on.
“Silly man. The horse only blocks the upper half.” She smiled and enjoyed the sensation flowing through her body. The adrenaline from the jog and the fright she had from slipping down the hill were starting to subside. I think I’ll fall off the trail more often if gorgeous naked men await me at the bot—. She grabbed her head and screamed as an excruciating pain jolted through her skull.
Todd got dressed as quickly as he could, making sure to take care when closing his pants over his stiff cock. He grabbed his hat and shirt and pulled on his socks, constantly glancing over Blaze’s saddle back at the woman sitting at the edge of the stream.
How can it be her? The hair, the eyes, the body. Oh, God, the body. His cock pressed against his pants. It’s her, the woman Mother sketched for me, even my body knows it.
As he reached for his boots, he heard the woman scream and saw her fall back.
“Shit.” He tugged his boots on, grabbed his gun belt and jumped back into the saddle.
“Hurry up, boy.”
He slid out of the saddle before the horse came to a stop and fell to his knees beside her. She looked peaceful and calm as she lay there. He slowly eased his arms under her body and lifted her. She felt so light. Strange clothes. What was that thing around her waist? The strange strap around her upper arm had strange strings dangling from a box of some kind.
He managed to get back into the saddle with the supine woman in his arms and urged Blaze into a slow canter toward the house.
Laying her on the bed, Todd stretched her legs out and covered her with a blanket. He gently lifted her head to check for bumps and noticed how soft her hair felt as he spread it out on the pillow and laid her head back down.
There wasn’t any blood and he didn’t feel a lump, so he wasn’t sure what caused her to pass out. He looked at her clothes and couldn’t figure out what the hell she was wearing. The skintight pants didn’t even reach her knees, but they emphasized her muscular legs. He shifted his position to make room for his swelling erection.
Her footwear was made from a strange leathery material, tied with laces, and she appeared to be wearing small socks that barely reached her ankles. The sleeveless shirt looked comfortable, but not typical for a woman, and he’d never seen anything in the bright shade of green before. White shoulder straps peaked out from under the shirt. His finger brushed along the edge as he tried to see what it was. Something that held her breasts in place, which certainly wasn’t a corset.
The woman moaned and he noticed a smile on her face as she reached for his hand. His breath caught in his throat. That’s the same smile.
“That feels good,” she said, without opening her eyes. “Keep going, Andy.”
He yanked his hand away and stood up.
Her eyes flew open and he could see confusion on her face as she looked at him and around the room.
She tried to sit up, but quickly grabbed her head again.
“Ow! What the hell?” She dropped back on the pillow. With both hands pressed to her forehead, she groaned. “Do you have any ibuprofen?”
“Excuse me?”
“Do you have any ibuprofen? Advil? Aspirin? Something for the pain?”
“I have tea—”
“I’m not thirsty. I have a pounding headache. I need a painkiller.”
“I can make you some willow bark tea to help with the head pain.”
“Drugs would be better.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, this ‘aspirin’.”
“Where’s your bathroom? I think I’m going to be sick.”
He shook his head. “Bathroom? You’d like a bath?”
“No, I’m going to throw up.”
“Oh, use this.” He held up a chamber pot.
“You’ve got to be kidding. You want me to puke in a bowl? I really need to use the toilet. Can you help me up and point me in the right direction?”
She held out her arm and he braced her as she pulled herself up and swung her legs to the floor. She leaned forward and put her head between her legs.
She quickly grabbed her hair and held it out of the way. “Dammit.” Todd watched as she tucked her face over the chamber pot and heaved.
He felt helpless. Where’d she come from? What was wrong with her? He didn’t want to leave her alone while he went to get Doc Wilkins, but it seemed like something was seriously wrong. Everything felt out of place, yet, somehow it all felt so right.
He grabbed a towel from the table and held it out to her. “Thanks.” Her muttered appreciation did little to appease his sense of uselessness.
“Do you have some water? I’m suddenly quite thirsty.”
Legends of Loving, Texas Series: Spur of the Moment Page 1
