Afterward, we drove a few miles to a sort of museum, a working farm in the middle of one of the closer suburbs, where an elaborate haunted house was set up for the entire month before Halloween. Russ told me that there were several others, but this one had been his favorite as a kid, a tradition his parents kept every year. He enjoyed squiring me through the attractions, laughing uproariously at my screams when someone jumped out of the shrubbery with a chain saw and drove me to take refuge in his arms.
It was more fun than I’d had since I was a young girl, and the delight on Russ’s face every time I shrank into his protective embrace made me love him all the more. In a sober moment, I realized that our mutual enjoyment of this silly entertainment might mean we were compatible out of bed, too, and that gave me hope that someday I could be worthy of his love. It was a wonderful evening, marred only by the realization that I would soon be on my way to an unknown fate.
§
The drive south was uneventful, a different sort of scenery than that which I had driven through on the drive north. Utah is a mountainous state in the middle, with large areas of desert on both the east and west borders. I had driven a tortuous route through the mountains, skirting them on the east side once I got through them. I15, however, slashed down toward the southwest corner of the state, with the peaks a few miles to the east where they were easily visible, but not for the most part in the way of the road, which stretched straight and level into the distance.
Russ explained that most people ignored the speed limit in a headlong rush to get from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas, six hours away, in only four or five hours. I could believe it as car after car passed us. Russ seemed to understand I was in no hurry to make it to Kingman, so he kept to the speed limit, in spite of the people who tailgated him until they could make their way into the faster lanes to the left.
We lunched in St. George, which I remembered as a rather small town. Apparently there had been a building boom that took advantage of its year-round mild temperatures; it was much bigger than I remembered. I gave a passing thought to Johnny, but said nothing to Russ. Johnny was my past; Russ, with any luck, my future. After I had weathered my legal storm, educated myself and proved I was an adult by getting a job, of course.
We arrived in Kingman just before four, and before he made his way to the district attorney’s office, Russ checked me into the nicest hotel he could find. Kissing me gently, he told me not to worry, handed me the TV remote, and left. We had arranged that he would call me if the news was good, and come straight to the hotel to get me if not.
Russ was so confident that it would be good that we hadn’t discussed whether he would run away with me or have me turn myself in if it wasn’t. Unable to concentrate on any of the silly TV programs, I stared at the set without seeing it until the phone in the room rang, making me jump.
“Hello?” I could barely hear myself. I cleared my throat and tried again. “Hello?” Stronger this time.
Russ spoke from the other end of the line, “Kitten, you’re all set. We have a meeting with the DA in the morning to take your deposition. I have a written memo of immunity for you in my hand. Put on your favorite of your new dresses, we’re going to paint the town red!”
From what I had seen of Kingman on the drive to the hotel, I seriously doubted if there was anything worth painting, but I was so happy in my relief, that Russ’s request for me to dress up matched my need to celebrate perfectly. I was putting the final touches on an elaborate braided up-do when he strode into the room and ruined my effort by picking me up and twirling me around before I had enough pins in it to hold it. After which, he set me on my feet and finished the job by running both his hands through it and tugging slightly as he devoured me in kisses.
“Russ, if you ruin this dress like you just ruined my hair, I’m going to be very annoyed,” I said, having no more dire a threat to match my severe tone. His wonderful laugh rang out, and he apologized for ruining my hairdo.
“Leave it down, Kitten, I love it that way.”
I tried to explain that waist-length unruly red hair didn’t go with the elegant green silk dress, but he took my face in his hands and said to me very earnestly, “Whatever you do, from now on, know that you will set the fashion, not follow it. There are still things you don’t know about me, woman. I’m going to take you on the ride of your life.”
I couldn’t imagine what he meant, so I just smiled at him. He had bought me the elegant dress. If he wanted me to wear it with my hair flying around my shoulders, then so be it. I was seriously overdressed, even for the best restaurant in town. Embarrassed at the stares, I ducked my head and looked neither left nor right, but when I sneaked a peek to see how Russ was taking it, he looked proud to have me on his arm, so I stood taller and tried to match his confidence.
§
That night, back in the hotel, Russ had me stand still in the middle of the room while he undressed me, slowly and reverently. He steadied me as he lifted each foot and removed the shoe, dropping me a good four inches to my normal five-foot three. Lifting my hair, he combed through it with his fingers, sniffed it and sighed, “You smell so good, Kitten!” I signaled my happiness by reaching to hold his hand against my cheek and pressing into it, content to immerse myself in the exquisite pleasure he would bring to me.
Turning me so that my back was to him, he slowly unzipped the long zipper, letting his hand linger on my bottom when he got there. Turning me around again to face him, Russ gazed into my eyes while he lifted the straps from my shoulders and slid the dress down my arms. He kept his eyes on mine as he dropped the dress so that I could step out of it.
Only then did he drop his eyes to my breasts, spilling out of a half-cup bra that was designed to push my cleavage to the strategic cut-out in the bodice of the dress. Green satin, to match the silk of the dress, the bra was edged with lace that he ruffled with his thumb. Everything this man did when we made love set me on fire, but this time the heat would have melted diamonds.
My nipples wanted to escape that bra so badly that I threw my shoulders back in an attempt to push them out over the tops of the cups. I needn’t have worried. Russ’s thumb dipped into the bra and flipped out a taut bud, rolling it between thumb and forefinger, before doing the same with the other breast. I moaned, and leaned into him.
His grin was lazy and oh, so sexy as he put both arms around me to release the catch on my bra, allowing my straining breasts to spring into his chest. He tossed the bra aside and returned his attention, and his hands, to the slow exploration of my breasts and nipples that sent electric sparks through me and started the melting in my core that he’d soon savor. Drawing me with him, Russ sat on the edge of the bed, with my body positioned between his knees, and took one nipple into his lips.
A flick of the tongue, a nip of his teeth, and I was arching helplessly into him, begging him to take the nipple and areola fully into his mouth and suck.
“What will you do for me if I do, Kitten?” His voice was soft, as were the feather-light strokes his hands were giving my nipples.
“Anything. Whatever you want. Please, Russ.”
“Call me your love.”
“My love, please.”
His mouth engulfed one nipple as I clutched his head to my body. If he hadn’t been holding me, I wouldn’t have been able to stand, my knees would have buckled at the sensation of pure pleasure flooding me. Pushing back against my hands, he moved to the other breast, giving it equal attention, as one hand crept around to push my panties down and dip into the gathering moisture he found between my thighs.
Now I was having serious issues standing up, and a burning desire to kneel and take him into my mouth overcame me. As I sank to my knees before him, he whispered, “Ah, god, my Kitten, that’s so good.”
He allowed me only a few moments to pleasure him, though, before he got up and lifted me easily onto the bed, turning me onto my stomach and capturing my arms behind me with one big hand around both wrists. He nudged at my calves unti
l I got the idea and pulled my knees under me, gasping with raw sexual need when his tongue worked between my innermost folds and traced a trail of fire up over my perineum to the small entrance above.
At the touch of his tongue on my anus, I flinched, lifted my head from the pillow and gasped, “Russ, what are you doing?”
“This is what I want, Kitten, but not now. Someday you will beg me to take you this way. For now, you aren’t ready.”
How could he read me so well? I hadn’t objected, only questioned. I would have given him what he wanted, because my heart was overflowing with love and gratitude, even though I didn’t think I would have enjoyed it. He couldn’t see my face, how did he do it?
My thoughts were interrupted by the tongue of fire tracing back down and into the exposed entrance to my core. Thrusting with his tongue and wiggling inside me, he drove me to biting the pillow under my face to keep from shrieking my pleasure and bringing hotel security to our door. Then as abruptly as it had entered me, his tongue was gone, and I felt the engorged head of his shaft pushing where it had been seeking entry.
Russ kept nudging my legs with his, urging me to lift my ass higher, while his hands pushed under me to knead my breasts. Finally, he had me where he wanted me, and his hands seized my hips, pulling me into him and pushing himself into me with regular, crashing thrusts that made me gasp.
The overwhelming sensations sent thrills through my entire body, but my pussy got the best of it. Each thrust brought me to the brink until I spilled over and shook with the powerful frenzy of orgasm. Then I heard his groan that meant he was nearly there…followed by the exquisite sensation of his hot seed flooding my passage and coating me inside like thick, warm cream. Spent, I collapsed with Russ’s weight pinning me to the bed. When I could speak, all I could say was, “Oh, god!”
His chuckle tickled my back where his mouth was pressed against my upper spine. “Russ, or Lover, will do, Kitten. You don’t have to call me god.” I giggled. As a matter of fact, if he would do that again, I’d call him god and mean it. I wiggled until he rolled off of me and then turned to face him. I wanted nothing more than to bury myself in his embrace and stay there forever.
Chapter 12
The following morning found us in the office of the district attorney, where I swore to the truthfulness of the affidavit that Russ´s attorney had prepared. I was free to go, with the stipulation that I would return to testify when called. The thought had me quaking in my shoes, especially when I remembered that my dad was among the accused. Russ had asked about leniency for him, but it would depend on several factors, none of which we could control.
After our meeting, we had lunch, then started back for Salt Lake City, where we would spend the night again before returning to the ranch. I had little to say on the way back. I was depressed about my dad, and the meeting had felt like an anticlimax after all the stress I had suffered over the possibility I would be charged with auto theft.
I was also worried about the children. The DA had said that the women wouldn’t be charged, since they were victims. But their husbands, and therefore their livelihood, would be gone. In addition, made cynical by the past few years of betrayal, I didn’t trust the authorities not to remove the children to foster homes. It had happened before.
Russ seemed to understand, and left me to my thoughts as the miles passed. I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I woke with a start as we took an exit ramp near the hotel where we’d spend the night before completing our trip back at the ranch. My mood was still gloomy, as I was groggy from sleeping in the car. It didn’t help that I had begun to feel that our return to the ranch was the beginning of the end.
Now that my legal status was settled, there was no more reason to avoid getting on with my life, and that meant leaving the ranch and getting to St. Louis, if Russ would agree to lend me the money for a bus ride from Rawlins.
After checking into the hotel, Russ asked what I’d like to do for dinner and afterward. I really didn’t feel like doing anything, so I told him room service would be fine and that I’d watch TV or go to bed after that. I should have known better than to think that would be acceptable. With two swift strides, he was at my side, swinging me into his arms and tilting my chin so he could see my face. I cast my eyes down, unable to meet his gaze.
“Kitten, what’s wrong?” Such tender words, spoken in such an angry tone. I could only shake my head, because I didn’t want to cry. “Tell me,” he insisted.
“I don’t know,” I answered, knowing it wouldn’t fly.
“That’s a cop-out and you know it. Tell me what’s wrong or I’ll spank you again.” His low chuckle, meant to jolly me out of my funk, only made me more stubborn.
“I’d rather you didn’t touch me right now, Russ. Please let me go.”
“No. If a spanking won’t put you in a better mood, we’ll sit here and talk until I know what’s wrong, but you’re not going to shut me out.” Now he was genuinely angry, and I was a little frightened of the intensity he showed.
“Russ, it’s not that I’m shutting you out.” I sighed. That wasn’t going to fly. “Okay, I’ll tell you. I’m depressed about my dad’s situation, confused, tired and most of all, upset because I know I have to get on with my life and I have no idea how to do it. I don’t know what I’m going to do, other than go to my mother. I don’t know if she will take me in, I don’t know how I’ll be able to get a job, go to school, do all the things I should have been doing for the past three years and become a normal, adult woman with a future. And now I feel responsible for all those women and their kids. It’s exhausting to think about.”
The words poured out of me, some of them surprising me because I hadn’t consciously thought those thoughts. By the end of my explanation, my voice had risen an octave, my throat constricted with unshed tears. I’d have given anything not to have dumped all that on Russ, but my compulsive truthfulness had once again betrayed me. Miserably, I stared at the floor.
“Kitten.” The word, the voice, were soft and tender, and served to release my tears. They ran unchecked down my cheeks as Russ pulled me into his chest to hold me. “Sweetheart, don’t worry. I’m here for you. I’ll help you with all that.”
“My god, we’ve beaten this subject to death. I can’t accept your help, beyond the loan of some money for the bus. What we feel isn’t real. It’s something that happened because of the cabin, that’s all. I appreciate all you’ve done for me, I do, but I have to move on.” Exhaustion, both physical and mental, weighed on me and I didn’t want to argue any more.
His only response was to hold me tighter. I couldn’t see a solution. With no money, no clothes of my own that he hadn’t purchased for me, no transportation even, I had no choice but to let him take me back to his ranch, where I hoped to persuade him to let me go. Failing that, I’d hitchhike to Rawlins, assuming I could get there without freezing to death, and throw myself on the mercy of Traveler’s Aid or the welfare office. Somehow, I had to take control of my own fate.
Eventually we ordered something from room service, which I was unable to take more than two or three bites of before it turned to dust in my mouth. I did finish a glass of wine that Russ had ordered with the dinner. And then a second. For someone who was unaccustomed to alcohol, that was all it took to send me to sleep, fully dressed, on the king-sized bed.
Early the following morning, I woke with a pounding head in a familiar position; naked, with Russ wrapped around me. I knew now that he would not have taken advantage of me while I slept, but he had obviously undressed me and put me to bed.
I could have complained that he didn’t put a nightgown on me, or that he was naked also, but in truth, it was comforting to wake up in his arms. I was getting used to it, and that was a dangerous state of affairs. I needed to stay strong to follow my plan against his opposition. Enjoying his nearness wasn’t helping. I shifted away from him, but Russ drew me back, like a kid cuddling a teddy bear, and trapped me there in his embrace.
; Resigning myself to remain where I was until he woke up, I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep. Before long, though, nature called insistently. I was going to have to untangle myself and go to the bathroom. Doing so woke Russ, who protested sleepily.
“I’ll be back. Just need the toilet.”
“Mmmph, ‘kay. Hurry back.” I wasn’t even sure he was completely awake, thought he would probably be asleep again when I returned. Instead, I found him propped on one elbow, sweeping the sheet and blanket out of the way so I could climb back into the bed. The sight of his cock, erect and ready for me, almost made me forget the jackhammer at my temple.
“Feel like foolin’ around?” he drawled.
“Don’t tempt me,” I said, crawling back into bed with him, but meaning that I would go along with whatever happened. My brain knew I should stop having sex with him, but my body wasn’t in agreement, and I couldn’t deny it. My nipples were harder than bullets under his hooded gaze, and the moisture was already gathering between my thighs. When Russ took my hand and guided it to his erection, the choice was taken from me. My hand contracted around it with no volition of my own.
“So you do feel like it,” Russ said.
“Not really. I have a headache,” I answered, but my hand was stroking him and my traitorous body rolled to plaster itself against his.
“That’s not very original,” he murmured.
“Not meant to be. I really do have a headache. I’m not used to wine.”
Instantly, he was concerned, and he grabbed my hand to stop its stroking. “I’m sorry, Kitten. We don’t have to.”
“But I want to.”
“You are the most confusing, contradictory woman I’ve ever known,” he said, exasperated. But his arms came around me, leaving my hand free to continue its mission, and his erection grew again in my hand.
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