DarkPrairieFire

by Arthur Mitchell

  I snuggled tight into his vast shield of a body, loving the way he warmed me as he flanked my backside. Ethan kissed me in the middle of the neck and laid still.

  A mellow summer breeze sauntered in through the window. It showered both of us with its airy kisses, as if to say, don't worry. Everything is gonna be alright.

  Our first night together truly sleeping as a couple, rather than spending our nocturnal hours doing something else, was divine. So calm, so peaceful, that I couldn't remember the last time I'd drifted off to sleep so quickly.

  Everything existed in a tenuous balance, though. I woke long before morning, into a living nightmare.

  I noticed Ethan's side of the bed at once, cold and empty. I sprang up, glazed with cool sweat despite the pleasant summer night.

  A dark shape lingered at the window, a hand raised to his face, as if he were trying to see a great distance.

  “Baby? Hey!” I swung my legs off the bed and let my feet fall to the floor.

  His head spun to its side and shushed me at once. I knew then that something wasn't right – far from it.

  “They're out there,” he said.

  I froze, just inches behind him, my heart beating so fast that I thought I would faint. They were the worst words a woman in my position could've heard in the night.

  All at once, he pivoted around. The severe line in his brow made me gasp.

  I barely noticed how hard his hand was pressed into the pocket of his jeans before he moved forward, gently brushing me aside.

  “Where are you going?” I whispered after him, quietly running to the edge of the stairs.

  He didn't answer. I took a deep breath and followed him down into the living room. Each creek of the old wood on the steep steps felt like stepping on bone.

  “Ethan?” I peered into the kitchen and noticed that the door was slightly cracked.

  Oh, Jesus. No. He didn't just go outside, with them out there, did he?

  My eyes clouded at the worst possible time. I tried to wipe the tears, forcibly lifting my feet off the ground and moving toward the door.

  I was about to fling it open, leaving nothing between me and the dangerous outdoors but the thin screen exterior door, when a blast rang out.

  I screamed, deathly startled even before I realized it was a gunshot. The shot emanated in my head like a cannon whisper, stalling any recovery.

  Several more deafening blasts rang out, and then the furious growl of an engine. I couldn't see what had happened, even through the kitchen window.

  Ethan's truck was still parked in its place. Someone else had taken flight, barreling back onto the little gravel road outside the ranch as fast as their wheels would carry them.

  Adrenaline shocked my system for the thousandth time when the door swung open. Ethan dived into the house and slammed it shut, breathing heavily.

  The handgun he'd drawn lay at his side, tightly gripped in one hand. It seemed like a whole minute passed before either of us moved again.

  Finally, his huge shoulders relaxed, and he slowly turned toward me. I watched his chest rise and fall like small mountains.

  “They're gone. I gave them the closest warning shots I could manage. Hopefully that'll keep those fucking creeps away for awhile.”

  I slumped against the refrigerator's white door, feeling the smooth coldness through my thin gown.

  He laid the gun on the table and crossed the small distance between us.

  Soon, I was wrapped in his arms, shaking with miniature seizures and bawling into his broad chest.

  When his sweet lips met my forehead, I shook a little less, but the tremors just wouldn't die.

  “God, what are we going to do if they come back?”

  “It's okay, Cat. We're both okay. If they show their ugly faces around here again, the shots I fire won't be warnings. I'll aim straight for any shadows creeping around, and I don't give a damn what the police have to say about it. Nobody's gonna come prowling around this property when my girl's asleep. These bastards give a warning? Well, I'll extend the same courtesy, but nothing else.”

  His words were like stones, the determined cadence in his voice piling them high into a wall, so strong and sturdy that it felt like the whole world had been sealed off.

  He'd managed to awe me in the worst circumstances. No, more than that.

  Ethan had just exposed his strength in a way that wasn't playful. He'd single-handedly driven off God knows how many ruthless invaders coming to do me harm.

  “Cat?” He said my name softly, uncertain, probably wondering why I hugged him so harshly right above his hips, almost to the point of scratching him with my nails.

  I realized that I never wanted him to leave. And not only because of the danger, but because he'd shown how awesomely rare he was.

  Men like Ethan Hartz didn't circle the countryside everyday, easy pickings for any woman with a good appetite and a little determination.

  He was vastly more special than that, and even more importantly, he was mine.

  I silently vowed never to let him go. Inside me, a commanding and primal voice welled up, ordering me to bind him deep into my life forever, permanently intertwined with me.

  I had to have this beautiful cowboy's baby. Much sooner than just “someday” too.

  The scary intrusion hadn't just dragged me out of bed – it showed me what I really craved in the deepest way possible.

  I knew, and no amount of threats, doubts, or common sense would stop me any longer.

  VI: Sweet Obedience

  I wasn't sure how I managed to resist him for two more nights. Maybe something about the near attack by our enemies had frozen my lusts. Or else I'd mentally decided what I was about to do, but getting my body to act took something more.

  Regardless, I had to have him, more than I'd ever wanted anyone or anything in my entire twenty two years. It got to the point where I could hardly think during the day.

  I'd stare out the small window next to the kitchen, my laptop and a bunch of bland tax books laid out in front of me. I knew I should be crunching numbers and triple checking expenses before I sent everything off in a neat package to my accountant.

  But all I could think about was sex, sex, sex.

  Sex for pleasure, so vivid and blistering hot that every inch of my flesh pulsed in a painful hum, sweeping in thick waves through my whole body. I had to have it.

  Sex for creation. I visualized myself spread out beneath him in the taut ropes, but I'd fight him binding my legs if I needed to.

  I had to have them free and open to hold him inside me, not letting up until I'd taken every molten drop of his seed.

  Muscles deep within me clenched and rolled, quivering with hunger. I had to take him bare, had to have his come, the same way parched earth cries out for furious rains.

  Tonight's the night, I told myself. I'm going to rock your world, Ethan Hartz, in a way that won't let you pull out or seal off your perfection with dull rubber.

  Beneath the table, I pressed my legs together with a purr, coldly trying to get a grip on my lusts. The nighttime incursion by the drug runners hadn't given me any time for rest.

  Jimmy knocked at the door as afternoon dragged into evening. I answered it, annoyed that someone just had to bring me back from being locked in my own humid fantasies.

  “What do you want first, lady? The good news, or the bad news?”

  One eye snapped shut and opened as a sharp reflex sliced through me. I leaned on the frame and looked at him.

  “Good news.”

  “Combine's working like a charm since the repair. Trouble is, now the tractor's blown a fuel line.

  Good thing we've got all the parts, but we're gonna need another mechanic out here, and soon too.”

  The unexpected blows kept coming. Maybe I was used to it by now, and that's why I shook it off with a smile.

  Jimmy gave me a strange look – probably wondering if I'd heard him right.

  “It's in your hands, Jimmy. You know what you'r
e doing. It's too late in the day to get started on all this, but tomorrow we'll figure it out.”

  He smiled and tilted his old cap. I felt the inward relief evaporating off his skin.

  “Guess things have been too quiet around here for a few days. It was just a matter of time, but we'll plow through it, won't we?”

  “We sure will,” I said, giving him one last wave and closing the door.

  Yeah, quiet. I've almost forgotten what that is. It's a miracle a veteran like Jimmy hasn't figured out all the stuff that's brewing beneath the surface.

  I should've been thanking my lucky stars, or else my unseen guardian angels, that no one else knew about the dust up with the gang.

  So far, everyone else remained oblivious. I don't think any of the men suspected much about my new relationship either. Or if they did, they were smart enough to keep their gossip to themselves.

  I thought harder, and knew there was only one man who fit an archangel's profile, my private and personal protector. He came not long after he resumed his rightful place in my mind, parking his chariot-like pickup in its usual slot.

  I greeted Ethan with a kiss and invited him to sit down and rest in the living room while I freshened up. A steamy shower wiped all the worries away, past and present, allowing me to focus on the intensely pleasurable trial I had planned for tonight.

  I wasn't normally the type to indulge in lingerie and scented perfumes. Hell, I'd only dolled myself up and visited the lounge with my girlfriends exactly three times during the college years.

  I'd never brought anyone home to show for it. Something about the city boys, no matter how smart or successful, just never seemed authentic to me.

  Their battles were fought in offices and academic towers. They had sex the same way they worked, like it was something they were trained to do to impress someone else.

  With Ethan, everything came natural. He was passionate, spontaneous, unafraid of my body or his own.

  He didn't need a users manual or a men's internet forum to know how to dominate.

  And he didn't need handcuffs or black masks to do it. Everything came with its own hidden intent, its own flow, just like the coyote's ability to light up the night with his dark song. And that's what I loved about him most.

  My baby was born and raised with his primal senses tuned perfectly. I only hoped that mine were just as good to get what I wanted so badly.

  A honey thick moan burbled out my lips after I dried myself and began to dress. I'd picked out a dark black bra and panties lined with frilly lace.

  Black was the only color that seemed appropriate for him in the bedroom and outside it. Like it or not, Ethan was impossibly tied to darkness, a fact that would've made any sane girl quietly cut her ties to him.

  My old girlfriends always had a rebound guy during times of trauma. To me, the idea was strange, alien, and wrong.

  If anything, Ethan came into my dark time as a light, blinding in his strength.

  I wouldn't have him any other way. I reveled in the blackness, as long as he was there, drinking in his aura the same way he devoured mine. He owned them and tamed me in a way no one else could, and now I wanted him to possess me like no other man; past, present, or future.

  The snap of fabric against my most sensitive places resonated through my body. With a sly smile, I spun around in the mirror, peering over my shoulder.

  Yes, this will do. This outfit will do nicely, and I hope he'll agree.

  A flowery summer dress slid over my scantily clad frame. The last thing to go on was a pair of dark sandals. They made me walk unsteadily on the old stairs, but the added effort was worth it.

  I slowed my steps before I arrived in front of him. Suddenly, I'd grown self-conscious. This was easily the most femininity I'd ever shown to him, and I didn't fully know what to expect.

  I was only in his sight for a couple seconds before he let out an ear ringing whistle. “Holy hell, little Cat. What's the occasion?”

  “Nothing particular,” I lied sweetly, trying to hide the redness dotting my cheeks along with the mischievous glint in my eyes. “Just wanted to look nice tonight.”

  “Shit, that's the kind of nice that deserves to be taken to a fancy restaurant instead of eating here.

  Only problem is this place doesn't have much in the way of fancy.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Tell me about it. That's one of the last things I miss about the city.”

  We walked into the kitchen together and started preparing dinner. Like most nights, we kept it simple, a big slab of seasoned meat with some carbs and a side salad.

  Tonight, I'd decided to change things up with a roast Athenian chicken and a Greek style salad. Ethan balked when he saw the heap of cucumbers and tomatoes mixed with feta for the first time.

  I giggled. “Don't tell me you've never eaten Greek before?”

  “Uh, can't say that I have.” He bashfully slid his hands into his pockets. “Smells good, at least.”

  I watched him walk over near the oven and breathe deeply. When he turned his face toward me, he was all smiles, and I briefly wondered if it was just the chicken responsible for such a mouth watering look.

  “Hell, if that tastes as good as I think, then I'm all ready to go to Athens. Sign me up!”

  The food satisfied us both. Even I was surprised at the flavor, considering the weak range of special ingredients available at the general market in town.

  The salad had the perfect blend of crispness and tart. My first attempt at Athenian chicken roughly a year ago had turned out pretty mediocre.

  Thankfully, this was much, much better – succulent and satisfying in a way that had us both reaching for seconds.

  “Don't fill up too much.” I said with a joking smile, but part of me was serious.

  Tonight, nothing could be more disastrous than having him conk out on me. I needed him to savor my body the same way he was gnawing that meat to the bone.

  “Haven't eaten something so tasty for a long time. You're quite a cook, little Cat.” He paused, sipping a small glass of beer. “I wonder what other surprises you're gonna draw out your sleeve one of these days?”

  We ate in silence for a minute longer. I closed my eyes, cleansing my palate with a small cantaloupe slice.

  Outwardly, it looked like I was enjoying a quiet moment, letting the cool flavor rush across my tongue. But actually, I was trying to keep a lid on the ferocious tempo in my blood, and I was about to blow.

  “You asked about those surprises,” I said coolly, letting his awe struck eyes fill mine. “Well, I've got at least one more waiting for you. Leave the dishes and join me upstairs.”

  I slid my chair away and rose, flashing him the tender backs of my calves as I slowly walked out of the kitchen. I heard him cautiously get up and follow.

  Ethan's footsteps thundered across the floor. He stopped once to inhale the trail of my perfume, and perhaps the wild pheromones swarming in the fragrant cloud too.

  He must've breathed in something because I heard his footsteps quicken. I inwardly grinned, satisfied that I'd done something to activate his more primal senses – exactly the kind I needed to get ravaged and bred like a fragile creature in heat.

  Ethan stretched his arms out in the doorway as I crumpled into bed. I saw his biceps bulge, as if he somehow knew that tonight wasn't going to be like any old sex, however amazing.

  Tonight, things were going up another level. And we both knew it.

  “What'll it be tonight, sir?” I cooed. “I'm ready to obey all your orders. Anything you want.”

  Just as long as I get what I want in the end. Preferably more than just once, all night if I have to, until he sends me to the fields tomorrow dripping with his come.

  My body jerked at the naughty visual. Ethan circled the bed, his footsteps slow and steady, prowling toward me like a big cat making its last observations before it pounced.

  “You look good enough to eat, little Cat.” The bed sank beneath his weight and he slid off his belt,
filling up the room with a familiar snap. “And that's exactly how we're gonna start.”

  I held out my hands with a smile. Before he began the ritualistic binding, he flipped off the dress straps around my shoulders, but didn't move to my breasts. Not yet.

  The cool leather contrasted sharply with the hot blood coursing through my hands, a long lasting recoil that didn't stop, even as he placed my bundled wrists up along the headboard.

  He reached for me, grabbing and pulling me up to his lips. We kissed – wet, aggressive, and deep, relishing the nascent fires blazing behind our lips.

  His tongue worked its way into my mouth, searching out its conquest like it always did. He corralled my tongue, roughly shoving it aside, filling my small mouth with as much of him as I could take.

  I moaned, voicing my pleasure louder when his hand unexpectedly shot up my skirt. He lifted my ass with his free hand and hiked back the hem of my dress.

  His fingers went for my soaked panties immediately. He didn't even stop to play with the lacy frills, and I didn't care one bit.

  I'd had the slow and sensual. Right now, I wanted to be fucked, fast and savage, without any time to think about him erupting inside me.

  Fisting my panties, he shoved them to my thighs, making way for his eager fingers to plant themselves inside me.

  He swallowed my deeper, throatier murmur when he slipped his fingers in, positioning his thumb around my clit like he was readying a trigger.

  My eyelids fluttered, lost in the fast acting pleasure roaring through my body. Okay, maybe a little warm up wasn't so bad after all.

  Jesus! And we're actually going all the way tonight. How will I survive it, if I can barely keep it together during foreplay?

  He kissed me harder as my hips started rocking. Only his thumb ran circles around my swollen nub.

  His fingers were stationary, deep inside me like warm ridges I had to bump and grind against to drink in my bliss the way I wanted.

  Ethan's unused hand ran higher, feeling the tension winding around my spine. He pulled back and bit into my bottom lip, sending me over the edge as his hand kept up its relentless rhythm on my sex.

  My pleasure spat into his mouth, echoing back into me, all shrill satisfaction as savory as melted honey. I swallowed it as though it were magic ether, some secret nectar that would keep my climax going.