Scandal

by Molly Ann Wishlade

  It would just be a night of passion.

  One night.

  She could allow herself that after all that she’d been through.

  ****

  Clayton lowered Ellen’s hands to her lap and realised that he was shaking. It was no surprise. He’d been so worried about Stella Rose. But thanks to this amazing woman, both mother and child had come through the birthing relatively unscathed. It was clear that Stella would need to rest and heal and it would no doubt be a while before she was up and about, but at least she was safe.

  He gazed at the enchanting creature in front of him. She was beautiful. He wanted to crush her against his chest and never let go.

  When he’d first seen her earlier that evening, he’d felt like a foolish, awkward youth. At the Gem saloon, she’d seemed so attractive but so worldly-wise, tough even. But he guessed that it was how she was used to acting in that environment. A woman would need to erect a barricade to protect herself from the patrons of such an establishment.

  But removed from it. Taken from those harsh circumstances and given the freedom to be herself, she had blossomed before his eyes and in such a short time. What would she be like given a longer period of freedom?

  Her long black hair was still tucked up behind the scarf. It exposed her creamy neck and the top of her chest. The skin there bore a faint flush which he suspected might be due to arousal. His cock rolled in his pants. Was Ellen aroused because of him? Her big blue eyes were half closed and she stared at him from beneath thick dark eyelashes. The look was at once seductive and heart-warming. It made him want to take her in his arms and make love to her but also swear to protect her for as long as there was life in his body.

  What was wrong with him? He had vowed never to become involved with another woman. Vowed it upon the grave of his wife and son. He could not face the hurt and pain of loving then losing again. It had nearly broken him once and he’d had to claw his way back to the land of the living. Or existing. He no longer took joy from his life but placed one foot in front of the other and forced himself to go on.

  His wife…she had been his first and only love. They had been young, shy, innocent up until their engagement. They had enjoyed each other as man and wife should. But until he had seen Ellen, he had thought never to desire another woman again. The sexual act was one so intimate and intense that sharing it with anyone other than his wife had seemed abhorrent. Until now. Lust and guilt raged within him. If he took Ellen now, if he made love to her, would he be betraying his Maria, his childhood sweetheart? Would he be throwing away what they had shared? How could he know?

  The evening had been so intense.

  Stella Rose had been lucky tonight. He was lucky that she had survived. She had been his main focus since he’d watched Maria and little Frank lowered into the cold ground. Stella Rose had been his purpose. If he’d not had to go on for her then he knew he would have soon followed his family. But someone had to be there for Stella. And even with him around, the girl had still gotten into trouble. Perhaps it had been because he’d been walking around in a daze that he’d missed what was happening right under his nose between Stella and Mitch. His brain had been addled by grief and, though he was ashamed to admit it, he’d allowed himself to wallow in self-pity.

  But falling in love again. That would be a risk too far. He would surely be pushing his luck. Something would backfire on him like a rusty rifle and he’d end up with a face full of buckshot.

  But looking at Ellen…the sweetness of her demeanour, the passion in her eyes and the creamy flesh of her bosoms as they rose and fell…he was a man and it had been such a long time since he’d been with a woman…he could not miss out on the opportunity to at least spend one night, or what remained of it, with her.

  Stella Rose needed to rest and it would be good to have Ellen at hand when she woke. It would be good for him to have Ellen in his arms. To feel hers wrapped around him. He had not felt such security and pleasure in so, so long.

  Besides, Ellen had told him that she was leaving. So there would be no chance of really falling for her. They could enjoy each other without the hindrance of attachment, without the fear of love and loss.

  One night.

  What was left of one night.

  He would strive to make sure that Ellen felt the tenderness of a man who made her pleasure his priority. He would focus on her and forget himself. It would be a welcome escape from his life…if a temporary one.

  His gut tightened. But what if he failed her? His balls were so heavy and full right now, they might empty before he even got his pants down. And that would be embarrassing. Maria…she had laughed with him the first few times that had happened…and he had learned to control himself. But Ellen…what if he came too quickly and she laughed at him?

  No. He would control himself. It would be fine. He just had to take it steady. Focus on her pleasure. Delay his own. He had to have her right now!

  ****

  Ellen leant forwards and took hold of Clayton’s face. She rubbed her fingers over the shadow of his beard and smiled.

  “I could use a shave.”

  She nodded. “But not right now.”

  He shook his head. “Not right now.”

  When he pressed his lips against hers, she gasped. His mouth was soft and warm, his breath sweet and hot. He kissed her with experience and tenderness and she melted into his embrace. As if making her decisions for her, her legs parted and he slipped between them. Only the material of their clothing kept them divided.

  Her heartbeat quickened. Desire pulsed through her, awakening her senses like the rains returning life to a sun scorched creek bed.

  As Clayton’s kisses became more insistent, Ellen’s need grew. It had been a lifetime since she’d really wanted a man. Even with Mr Hawkins, her feelings had been but a shadow of the lust that now burned from her very core.

  Maybe it was due to her heightened emotions following Stella’s labour, or maybe it was due to the fact that she knew that this was for her. Not for money. Not for Al. Not for anyone else’s benefit. Just for her.

  She sighed as Clayton lifted her skirts, pushing them over her knees. He took hold of her garters and removed them before sliding down her stockings. When he ran his hands up and down her legs, from knee to ankle, Ellen bit her lip. The anticipation was too much. She felt sure that she would explode.

  She pulled him towards her and wrapped her legs around his waist. His erection bulged at the front of his pants and she ground her pussy against it, overwhelmed by the need to feel him inside her.

  Clayton kissed her then fingered the neckline of her gown.

  “Can I…” His eyes were dark with desire.

  Ellen nodded and helped him to unbutton the front of her dress. She shrugged out of the bodice before standing and sliding it down to her feet.

  “There!” She grinned.

  Clayton stared at her as if he’d never seen a half-naked woman before. Ellen wanted to sing with joy. He looked at her with hunger and need but not the regular detached lust she was accustomed to seeing. Clayton didn’t want just any old pussy. He wanted her. Her pussy.

  He ran his hands up her legs and over her hips. She held them there for a moment then pushed her bloomers down. When she unlaced her corset, her hands shook and Clayton had to help her to pull the laces from the holes.

  Then she stood before him. Clad in just her flimsy chemise.

  Every breath she took made her bosoms tremble.

  She knew that Clayton saw this.

  She was hot and wet between her legs.

  She knew that Clayton was aware of this.

  She wanted him.

  And she knew that he wanted her too.

  She lifted the hem of her chemise then lifted it over her head, pulling off the scarf that held back her hair in the process.

  Clayton gasped.

  She was about to kneel but he stopped her moving with his strong hands.

  She frowned.

  Did he not want her n
ow that he had seen her? Her heart sank.

  But when he buried his face in the ebony curls covering her sex, she understood. He intended on pleasuring her first. She shuddered as primitive need coursed through her and he took control of her body.

  ****

  Clayton took hold of Ellen’s bottom in both of his hands. It was firm and the skin was silky soft. As he pressed his mouth against her pussy, he had to stop himself from biting the velvet flesh. She was delicious. Her sweet, musky feminine scent aroused not just his cock but something deep inside him. It had been a long time since he’d tasted a woman and Ellen Finch was worth the wait.

  He kissed her outer folds then pushed his tongue through until he found the hard female bud that held the key to her pleasure. He tongued it gently. Ellen tensed. He’d hit the right spot. He pulled it between his teeth then suckled it. Ellen moaned. He brought his right hand around and slipped it between her pussy lips before sliding a finger into her warmth.

  He knew that he’d got it right when Ellen began to move with him. He slid another finger into her, savouring her heat. She rubbed against him, arching her back and entwining her fingers in his hair. He fucked her with his fingers, suckled her with his lips and tongue and felt her climb to the pinnacle of excitement.

  As she crashed over into climax, he increased the pressure of his mouth until he felt her inner muscles cease contracting.

  “Oh…Clayton. Thank you.” Ellen released her fingers from his hair. “I…it’s…been a while.”

  “That’s just for starters!” he growled as he pulled her onto his lap.

  ****

  Clayton’s erection bulged rock-hard against Ellen’s damp pussy. She shivered with the little aftershocks that the pressure on her swollen clitoris produced.

  She couldn’t believe how quickly he had made her shatter. She had not wanted the touch of another man in a long, long time, it was true. But desiring a man and acting upon that desire were different things. Her body had responded to Clayton as if it knew him well. As if his touch and kisses were familiar. As if he knew her body intimately and knew how to make it react.

  “I need you, Ellen.” Clayton roamed her face with his eyes.

  “Come into me then.” She smiled then reached down and unbuttoned his trousers.

  Clayton slipped his shirt off and Ellen caressed his torso. He was gorgeous. His broad shoulders bulged with muscles and as he moved she could see the same definition in his arms. His skin was smooth, his chest toned and tanned as if he’d been working outdoors all summer with his shirt off.

  She followed the line of definition from his small dark nipples to the tightly packed set of stomach muscles. He was perfectly formed and her heart swelled in awe of him as her clit swelled with renewed longing.

  She wanted him. Desperately.

  He knelt up so that he could remove his trousers. When his erection sprang free, Ellen bit her lip. He was generously endowed. His long member extended from a patch of curls as dark as her own. His balls were firm and round. A shiny bead of fluid glistened at the tip of his cock and she yearned to take him into her mouth to see if he tasted as good as he looked. She was in for a treat and the anticipation was thrilling.

  He pulled her towards him again and kissed her softly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and melted into the kiss. As he slipped his tongue into her mouth, she caressed it with her own. They sucked each other, tasted and probed. As Ellen’s desire mounted again, she pushed him onto his back.

  “Is this way all right?” she whispered.

  Clayton nodded. She climbed up his body then straddled him. Her long hair fell down over them both like a silken waterfall.

  His erection pushed against her pussy and she was suddenly overwhelmed by what was happening. She didn’t want to feel anything other than the physical urge to copulate but Clayton was affecting her in ways she didn’t know how to fight.

  When he slid into her, she arched her back and allowed him full access to her body. He filled her completely. She wriggled above him and took his hands, entwining his fingers with her own. They moved together, joined intimately, and Ellen moaned as delicious explosions began in her clit then burst forth, setting her whole body aflame.

  Her own climax heralded Clayton’s and he stiffened before pulling his cock from her body and releasing his hot male seed over her stomach. Then he pulled her head towards him and kissed her hard.

  “Well…” he gasped. “That was really…something.”

  “You were…are…really something.” Ellen smiled. “Someone…kinda special.”

  She shifted her position and snuggled into his arms. She breathed deeply of his scent, the masculine combination of musk and ejaculation.

  Her heart fluttered like a caged bird. Her stomach clenched.

  She was in trouble.

  She had only meant to surrender to him physically. That in itself was hard enough for a woman like her, soiled dove that she was.

  But the way her body had reacted…was a new experience altogether.

  And the way her heart was behaving, was a whole new worry indeed.

  ****

  Clayton blinked and looked down.

  He could see her head of shiny black hair. Ellen was still wrapped around him. The intoxicating fragrance of jasmine, rosewater and female arousal teased his nose and stirred his cock. He pressed his lips to her ebony tresses.

  She lifted her head.

  “Good morning, Clayton.”

  “Good morning.” He smiled. “I trust you slept well.”

  As he spoke the words he realised that he had slept better than he had done in years. Maybe it had something to do with exhaustion and relief that Stella Rose was safely delivered of her babe but he suspected that it had more to do with the fact that he’d made love to a beautiful woman and still held her in his arms. It made him realise exactly how much he had missed the reassuring feeling of holding another human being close through the night.

  Ellen sat up and Clayton’s mouth fell open. In the dawn light she looked even more appealing. Her blue eyes sparkled and her skin was fresh and pale. Her ebony hair shone as it tumbled down over her shoulders. Her lips were full, pink and kissable. And her breasts, which peeped through her long dark hair, were full, round and delicious. He hardened as he gazed at them, teased by the dusky pink nubs of her nipples that pointed like mountain peaks in the cool morning air.

  “Clayton.” She laid a hand on his chest. “I’d better check on Stella Rose.”

  He nodded. Something was lodged in his throat and he wasn’t sure that he could reply.

  “Then I’ll come back to you?” Her eyes held the question that came from her lips.

  He nodded again.

  “I’m meant to be leaving this morning.” She ran her hand over his chest and his nipples sprang to attention.

  “Ellen,” he squeaked. He had to say something here. He knew that he should encourage her to go but the thought made his heart sink. He hadn’t connected with anyone in a long time and now, after feeling so close to this woman, she was about to walk out of his life.

  “I’m packed and ready.” She ran a finger down his stomach and beneath the blanket that covered his groin. When she took his erection in her hand, he tensed. He was so hard and so full of need already that he was afraid he’d come immediately.

  Control it!

  Ellen massaged his cock with experience. Not too hard, not too gentle. Just right. Just how he liked it. But though he knew full well that she would have performed this act more than a thousand times before, the look in her eyes made him feel that for her, this was a first. She looked at him in a way that made him believe that he was more than just another erection that needed to be yanked.

  He wanted to ask her to stay, to plead with her not to leave but he knew that it would be wrong. She had come to help with Stella Rose, not to be with him. Ellen had somewhere else she wanted to be other than Deadwood. He had nothing to offer except for his love. And why would she, a whore, want t
hat?

  As she increased the speed of her hand, he slipped into the heady realm of pleasure. His thoughts became hazy and he was all about sensation. Suddenly, his cock was enveloped in heat and he realised that Ellen had ducked beneath the covers and taken him into her mouth. She worked him with her lips and tongue, suckled him greedily and gripped the base of his length with one hand. When she used her free hand to fondle his balls, he shivered. How did she know that he liked that?

  Then he lost all sense and reason and just felt. She milked him, pumping his erection relentlessly from root to tip. His cock swelled inside her and when she gave his balls a gentle squeeze, he froze before exploding into her heat. She swallowed his seed, every drop, like a woman in love.

  When she raised her head and looked into his eyes, he had to shake himself to clear the red mist of desire.

  “That was one hell of a wake-up call, Ellen.”

  “Sorry.” She grinned, not looking at all apologetic. Her eyes were lit up with mischief and she looked so young, so excited about life. He wondered for a moment if she’d looked like this before she started working at the Gem. “I just couldn’t resist. You have such a lovely cock. I had to taste you.”

  He sat up and pulled her to him. His heart was beating so hard, he thought she’d likely feel it against her bosoms.

  “You are lovely, Miss Ellen Finch. And thank you.”

  “My pleasure.”

  “Do you have to leave today?” The question escaped before he could stop it.

  She pulled away and stared at him. His stomach churned as a shadow passed over her face. Darnit! He shouldn’t have said anything. Now he’d ruined the moment. When he’d allowed himself to make love to her last night, he’d done so fully accepting of the fact that she would be leaving. That it was safe for both of them. No one could get hurt if they both knew that it would go nowhere. She was a whore. He was a widower with enough baggage to fill a train. Nothing good could come of them getting involved.

  Nothing.

  But as he watched her expression clear, then took her into his arms once more, his heart claimed otherwise. Ellen Finch was a good woman. She was kind and caring and hot as hell. So why couldn’t he enjoy her company and even, if he was really taking a gamble here, allow himself to open up to her?