Dragon of the Prairie

by Sarah J. Stone

  A few minutes later, she heard himascending the stairs and coming into the room. She pretended to be asleep as he climbed into bed and seemed to fall asleep. After a while, she grew weary and joined him, trying to sleep for as long as she could before it was time to climb from the warmth beneath the covers and start what only promised to be another long day of toil. The one thing she could say about all the work to be done on the farm was that at least it kept her mind from who might still be on her trail.

  Morning brought yet another surprise. Looking out the kitchen window as she prepared their breakfast, she could see that much of the debris that had been scattered about the property was now clear. It hadn’t been when he had come in for the evening yesterday and now it looked as if nothing had happened. Had he gone out in the night and finished? Is that what he had been doing out there when she had discovered him leaving the shed in the wee hours of the morning?

  Walking to the back porch, she noted that the tin was back atop the shed. How had he retrieved it, straightened it and gotten it back on without making noise – and in the dark, to boot? It didn’t make any sense. Then, there was the thing that had been flying about prior to his return to the house. There was certainly something that lacked an explanation going on here. She wanted to ask, but she had a feeling that she would not get an answer or, if she did, it would not be one she wanted to hear. Instead, she decided to let him have his secrets, just as she had hers.

  “Margaret?” he called out to her

  “Coming,” she called back, stepping back into the kitchen to finish their meal.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “No. I was just marveling at all you had gotten done yesterday. I didn’t realize you had accomplished so much.”

  “Needed to be done so we could get right back to the real work. Now that fall is coming, we’ll need to finish getting the corn in and prepare for the winter. I’ve got the tin back on the shed, but I need to get it nailed down properly. So, I’ll take care of that this morning while you work in the house. Once I’m done, we need to finish getting what corn is still out there to the bins and then we’ll start working on mending the fences.”

  “I’ll plan on joining you this afternoon then,” she said.

  Angus left wordlessly, seeming in a hurry to put some distance between the two of them. Margaret could tell that he was uncomfortable with the discussion, but she had no idea what it was that he was hiding. Some part of her felt betrayed by his unwillingness to confide in her, but was it really any different than the secret she withheld from him? In all reality, it was probably not even as heinous as the secret she kept. In time, perhaps both of them could tell one another about those things they held close to themselves. She considered that he might need time, just as she did and tried to let it go.

  Chapter Five

  Several months passed during which Margaret continued to grow even more discouraged. Angus was a good man and always kind to her, but they were still sleeping on their own sides of the bed and all they did was work. She feared that having her here to help him was his only interest in gaining a spouse. She had to admit that it wasn’t a horrible life. The work was hard, but it kept her from thinking too much about things that did not serve any purpose but to increase her worries.

  In fact, with the passing of the fall work they had done in order to ready for the onset of winter, the work load had lessened. She had found time to make some improvements to the house and Angus had not hesitated to help her with those items that required a man’s skills with handiwork. By the time the holidays came, it was quite presentable. They had begun to take guests in, most commonly members of their church who stopped to visit them.

  Still, what she had once thought was a growing relationship began to falter. It seemed that every discussion turned into an argument and Margaret was rapidly becoming deeply unhappy with the situation. She considered just leaving, but what sort of woman runs away from her husband and where would she go? Though she had long put the men that pursued her out of her mind, there was no reason to believe that they had forgotten about her. To leave here could very well jeopardize her life. Ultimately, it had all escalated to the point of yelling at one another.

  “What aren’t you telling me?” she screeched at him as he entered the house in the wee hours of the morning after a night of having been absent from their bed.

  He looked startled as he closed the door behind him and studied her face. There could be no doubt about how angry she was as she stood there glaring at him, but he seemed to not notice. The look of surprise was quickly replaced with one of guilt as he closed the door behind him.

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “You know very well what I mean, Angus! You are constantly slipping out of this house in the wee hours of the night and doing God only knows what and with whom! Is there a mistress I’ve not been made aware of?”

  “What? Mistress? What sort of man do you take me for?” he barked at her.

  “I don’t know. I hardly know you. We have been married for months and you are so secretive. We never talk about anything truly personal. You avoid that at all costs. All we do is work, eat, sleep and go to church.”

  “And that leads you to think I’m an adulterer?”

  “I don’t know what to think, honestly. You tell me what I should think. All these months and you remain on your side of the bed, when you stay in the bed at all. We’ve not even consummated our marriage!”

  He was quiet for a moment, looking down at his feet. When he looked up, there was an unmistakable hurt in his eyes that she couldn’t deny. What was wrong with him? What did all of this mean for them?

  “I’m sorry, Margaret. It is not you and there is no one else. I don’t know what else to say.”

  “That’s it? That’s all the explanation I get?”

  “It is all the explanation I can give.”

  “Fine.”

  Margaret turned and stomped back up to the bedroom, climbing between the covers and pulling them over her head. She thought he would follow, perhaps confide in her knowing that she was so upset by all of this, but he didn’t – at least, not for a while. When he finally came in, he lay down beside her, saying nothing. She felt like she might explode just lying there with all the angst she felt. She was surprised when he reached for her, pulling her close to him to hold her. She wanted to resist, to demand an explanation rather than allow him to curl up to her wordlessly, but she found she couldn’t. It was as if her body needed his in that moment, needed it desperately.

  Laying there in the near darkness of their room, she could only see him in the shadows cast about him by the moon shining into their bedroom window. She turned her head to find herself looking deep into those of Angus. They were dark and lustful, a look she’d not seen in them before. His loose, dark curls fell about his perfectly chiseled face and she melted inside. How could she resist such a beautiful man even for a moment? Margaret felt like she was losing control, giving in to needs that stemmed from somewhere dep in her center. It was as if she had been frozen, turned to stone by his gaze.

  She felt helpless to hold back anything as he leaned close and kissed her.

  The feeling of his lips upon hers was a shock, at first. Her hands shot up, palms out, as though she had been caught doing something that she shouldn't. But Angus was quick to take charge, wrapping his thick, strong arms around her and bringing her close. Margaret drew in her breath sharply as Angus brought her near, pulling her tiny body against his powerful mass.

  Margaret didn't know what to do. She had never been this close to a man, never experienced this particular mystery of womanhood and she was frightened. After all of this time wishing he would take her, she found that now that he time had come, she wasn’t as sure. This might very well be an awful, terrible idea. But her body was no longer listening to the laments of her mind. It wanted nothing more than for Angus to keep going, to continue kissing her, to continue holding her close, pressing her against his solid form, hard an
d muscular through the light fabric of his night shirt.

  She let herself fall into his kiss, her eyes pressed shut, the smell of his masculinity mixing into a heavenly blend with her own rich musk. He smelled to her like nature itself, a strong, heady scent that revealed his capabilities as a man and as a provider. As he kissed her, she wanted nothing more than his touch, nothing more than the feeling of his hands on her body, his lips against hers.

  Margaret’s wishes were about to be granted. She felt Angus's hands move to the front of her body, undoing the buttons of her gown, the cool air in their bedroom brushing along her freshly exposed skin. Once all of the buttons were undone, he pulled the gown off over her shoulders. Taking his lips away, he looked upon her fully exposed breasts, heavy and ample with nipples that had retreated to hard little points and ached to be touched. A shy smile crossed his face, and Margaret took sweet pleasure in being looked at in such a way.

  There was no more holding back. They kissed ferociously, passionately, like heedless animals. Margaret went to work on his shirt, her slim fingers fumbling with the buttons, undoing them on by one. When they were finally undone, she pulled the shirt back with the same swiftness that he had shown with her gown. She continued to kiss him as she looked down at his perfect, sculpted body, his torso shapely and lean, his muscles tight and taut. He was a large man, but not fat in any way. Every ounce of him was hard muscle and she could only imagine how powerful he must truly be.

  The rest of their clothing was soon off, leaving both of them in nothing but their own skin. Margaret blushed as she glimpsed his long, thick staff protruding from his body. It seemed massive to her, but also somewhat awkward looking. She wondered if that was the way all men looked when they were wanton. She found once again that she felt unsure about all of this. There was little doubt that she wanted it, but she was also terrified now that it was finally happening.

  “Are you okay, Margaret?” he asked.

  “Yes. I’m fine. I’ve just… I’ve just have never done this before. I don’t know how.”

  “There is nothing to know. Just do what feels right.”

  Margaret tried to embrace that, allowing herself to enjoy the way he felt against her and the way he touched her, the way his kisses caressed her skin. Placing his hands on her slim, bare shoulders, Angus pushed her back softly onto the pillows so that she was lying on her back. The moonlight reflected the gleam in his eyes the hunger for her. She had no doubt that it was one that was equally matched in her own reflection.

  "You are so beautiful. I was blown away the first time I laid eyes on you by just how incredible you are," he said, his voice a low purr.

  A small smile crept across Margaret's lips.

  "Yeah? And what do you want to do with me?"

  "I think you know," he said, getting on all fours and crawling over the top of her, his muscles flexed and poised above her, as if waiting to pounce.

  "Say it,” she told him, feeling brazen.

  "I want to be inside of you," her replied.

  "How do you want to take me?" Margaret asked, a hot tension building down in her sex, an arousal that was about to reach a boiling point.

  "Hard," he said, his voice stern. "So incredibly hard. I want you to feel every inch of me buried deep inside of you. I want you to know that you are mine and no one else’s. I need for you to never want another man again."

  “I never will.”

  “Good, because you are mine, Margaret. You are my everything,” he breathed against her skin as he placed kisses along the top of her breasts.

  And that was exactly what she wanted to hear. She sank further down into the pillows as Angus positioned himself above her. She widened her eyes as she looked upon his manhood once more. It was huge, to say the least. She couldn’t help wondering if she was even going to be able to fit the entire thing inside of her, but the answer to that was soon resolved as Angus slipped his girth inside of her slippery wet center, pushing her open to accommodate every rock hard inch of him.

  Margaret took in a sharp gasp as Angus entered her, feeling him hit her maidenhead and destroying it with his large protrusion, taking her virginity forever. She dug her fingertips into his back, her eyes latched tightly shut as she adjusted to the mix of pleasure and pain that came with the incredible feeling of his hardness buried deep inside of her. She arched her back and pushed her hips forward, eager to get as much of him inside her as would fit. Angus’s eyes narrowed as he looked upon her full, round breasts, grabbing a handful and licking her nipples as he sank deep inside of her, the twin feelings of his tongue on her nipples and his rod moving in and out already driving Margaret to what felt like some sort of precipice.

  She had never experienced anything like this before. She had heard some of the naughtier girls in New York talk about it, but it never made much sense to her, not until now. The pressure seemed to build inside of her until she felt like she might explode, something that seemed more likely with every thrust of his beautiful instrument into her core. Already, it was tantalizingly within reach. She relaxed her body, wrapping her legs around Angus, pulling his hips close and tight against hers as he bucked into her body, sheathing himself deeply and fully.

  Moans slipped past Margaret's lips as Angus took her, the waves of pleasure radiating from down below making her lose more and more control by the second. Her toes curled, her heart pounded, and her thoughts melted into a blur—she wanted to thrash and kick, the pleasure was so intense. She stole glances at his incredible body, watching the toned muscles of his torso flex and tense as he pounded her. Margaret's hands slid down his sweat-slicked back, coming to a rest on his firm, bare backside. Then, just as Margaret was close, so close to exploding, he shifted. Angus, his cock still and deep inside of her, sat up, grabbing her by the hips and recommencing his onslaught, pounding her hard from a sitting-up position, her body sprawled out before him.

  Her cries of pleasure filled the room as he pounded her hard, spreading her legs apart, his hands on her ankles. More moans slipped from Margaret's mouth. The pressure was incredible, pushing outward, begging to be released. She lost complete control.

  "Don't stop. Please don’t stop, Angus," she said, the feeling of his throbbing hard staff in her almost too much to bear.

  Then, her body seem to break apart, shattered within itself and rushing through her body. It was as though a great void of pleasure opened beneath her and she was cast down into it. Warmth and pleasure rushed through her body as Angus continued to buck against her, grunting as he drove heavily into her very soul. A low groan arose from his throat as his hips settled forward, releasing a gush of his seed inside of her. Margaret’s lips pressed shut as she savored the feeling that was coursing through her body.

  Soon after, Angus's thrusts slowed, and he withdrew from her. He collapsed at her side, his chest rising and falling, his hand on Margaret's smooth stomach, which was now slick with a mixture of both their perspiration. The two of them stayed like this for a time, listening in silence to the sound of the wind as it whistled past the eaves of their home. There was nothing to be said now, nothing that mattered.

  Instead, Margaret was content to lay with him here, in the afterglow of their lovemaking. Finally, it felt like they were truly man and wife and though she had been disappointed that it had taken so long to get to this point, she was now finding herself glad that they did. It had been beautiful and wonderful. She wasn’t sure if that would have been the case had they rushed into it before it had truly been the right time.

  Chapter Six

  Though their relationship had improved dramatically with the increased level of intimacy on a sexual level, they still had secrets between them that neither seemed inclined to reveal. The winter was hard in other ways, as well. The woes of the people they had come to call friends around them weighed heavy upon each of them, as many began to fall ill during the cold months with a good number of them perishing, leaving families behind.

  Margaret had spent countless hours tending
to the mourning and the sick in their area. She had routinely taken them soup, bread and jams from the cellar. Many of them had been hit hard by the storm some months ago and food was in scarce supply. Even she and Angus had to be careful with what they had, but she managed to spare enough to help others and Angus seemed to be okay with that.

  Walking into the living room, she found Angus sitting in a chair, petting Dog. He said nothing as she passed, as was the case lately. They dwelled in a sort of a quiet coexistence. For all the improvements in their level of intimacy, there had been little change in the area of communication. She longed for a closer relationship with her husband, but it was something she feared would never happen. It felt as if all they did together was on a superficial level. Sex was intense, the only time they seemed to truly connect, but when it was over they returned to being strangers and always cross with one another.

  Today, Margaret felt as if she was at the end of her rope. She woke up feeling weary and very cranky. This was all too evident to the both of them as she walked into the parlor of their home and immediately felt annoyed.

  “Angus, it is so hot in here. Must you keep the fire built up to the point that my blood is boiling in my veins? I feel like my skin may melt right off my bones,” she said, breaking the usual silence.

  “It’s not hot in here, Margaret. If anything, it is a bit chilly,” he told her.

  His dismissive tone only angered her more. She scowled at him as she stood there, wiping away the moisture from her brow.

  “Look at me, Angus!” she replied. “I have beads of sweat on my forehead. I’m going to have to go stand outside to cool down.”

  Angus looked at her. There was something about his expression that she couldn’t quite make out and when he spoke, he seemed to be doing so from a great distance. Everything was getting fuzzy and gray before her eyes.

  “Margaret, you are flushed and your words are slurred,” he said. “I’m going to get the doctor up here to look at you.”