Chapter 1 Save a Horse…
"How much longer until the next stop, do you think?" Kitty shifted on the uncomfortable seat as the stagecoach found yet another of the seemingly endless supply of potholes in the road. At least they had the stage to themselves, so her long-legged man could stretch out a bit.
Matt turned away from gazing out the window. He smiled down at her indulgently, blue eyes twinkling. "About 10 minutes less than the last time you asked."
"Matt!" Kitty whacked him lightly on the arm.
He grinned, then tried to look contrite. "I'd say about another half hour."
Kitty sighed loudly. She really hated stage travel, but it was the only reasonable way to get to Garden City if she wanted to go with Matt, which she most definitely did. It would be worth it once they arrived, she reminded herself. He'd have to be at the trial during the day, but she wanted to meet with some suppliers there anyway, and then they'd have at least two, maybe three whole evenings to themselves, with no deputies, no drunks, no drifters – nothing to interrupt their time together.
She smiled to herself at the thought. If Matt had his way, they'd be making very good use of the hotel room the state was paying for. She figured they'd be spending most of their free time there, in fact. Too bad they had to waste money on a second room for her, but even outside of Dodge, the proprieties had to be observed, just in case.
Of course, they'd take advantage of the nicer restaurants to enjoy dinners out – after all, she wanted to be sure her big cowboy kept up his strength! Yes indeed, it was definitely going to be worth the bumpy stage ride once she got her man alone for some quality 'together' time…
"What'cha thinkin', Beautiful?" Matt's eyes were twinkling, and Kitty realized that she was smiling like the cat that caught the canary, courtesy of the intimate scenario playing out in her imagination.
Stretching up, Kitty put her lips to Matt's ear. As she whispered the details of what she wanted to do later that evening, an adorable blush crept up his cheeks. The arm draped around her shoulders tightened its hold reflexively as he processed her suggestions.
Matt cleared his throat and shifted slightly on the hard seat. "By golly, Kitty," he murmured, "I'm thinkin' I'd best take a nap before dinner, 'cause I won't be getting much rest after!"
"You complainin', Cowboy?"
"No ma'am." Matt's warm baritone and heated look sent a shiver down her back. "We aim to please."
Kitty pitched her voice at a low purr. "Oh you do, Marshal, you most definitely do!" Her use of his title was deliberately, unabashedly provocative.
"Kitty…" Matt's soft growl was equal parts come-on and warning.
"Yes, Matt?" Kitty let her gaze rake down the long length of his body. Yes indeed, her man was clearly both ready and willing to please… and really, why wait until tonight?
As if of its own volition, her hand reached out, stroking slowly down the length of his chest, liberating his shirt buttons from their buttonholes on the way. Parting the material, her fingers skimmed across the planes of his chest, tracing a slow, winding path back up to his taut nipples. Matt sucked in a breath, mesmerized by the sure, deliberate movements of her fingers on his bare skin.
Leaning in, she captured one of the small brown buds between her lips, teasing it with her tongue and teeth. Matt hissed in pleasure, his head falling back against the seat. His arm tightened around her instinctively, pulling her closer. Pulling his shirt open completely, Kitty worked her way across his chest to offer equal attention to its mate, then let her lips wander over the broad, muscled expanse, tasting and teasing one of her favorite parts of her man.
"Kitty, if you keep that up…" Matt's big hands on her shoulders pulled her up to face him. His eyes were dark and intense, his breathing rapid.
For an answer, Kitty simply leaned in and covered his mouth with hers, her lips soft against his, her tongue hot and seeking. Groaning with desire, Matt gave up any attempt at restraint, pulling her against his body and kissing her back fiercely.
Feeling his big fingers pulling at the buttons that ran down the front of her bodice, Kitty quickly undid the top half-dozen for him, and knowing his purpose, loosened the top of her corset. Grunting appreciatively, he slid a big hand inside her garments to caress what she knew to be his favorite part of her anatomy – which completely worked for her, she thought, as his callused fingers stroked and fondled her sensitized skin, sending lightening bolts of pleasure straight to her core.
As his mouth roamed her neck and shoulders, Kitty kept one hand anchored in her big marshal's curls as she let the other slide down to stroke him through the taut material of his pants. Matt groaned loudly at the contact, involuntarily starting to move against her hand. Yup, ready and willing.
Kitty smiled in anticipation. It had been a while since they'd done something this daring, but she was pretty positive that her sometimes too well-behaved marshal was now beyond worrying about propriety.
Sliding her fingers firmly up the length of him one more time – a little insurance never hurt – she slipped her hand around his belt, deftly unbuckling it, and then without pausing slipped her fingers inside his waistband and made quick work of the buttons on his fly, already straining at their holes.
"Kitty…" Apparently Matt still had some thought for their location. Kitty slid her hand beneath his clothing, wanting him to feel her cool fingers against his heated flesh.
"Kitty…" This time her name was a ragged moan, signaling his surrender.
Pulling back slightly, Kitty captured his lips for a quick, intense kiss before moving in to whisper seductively in his ear. "Help me mount up, Marshal. I want to take Deputy Matt for a ride."
A shudder of desire ran through his long frame. She leaned over him, slipping her thumbs under the waistband of his pants and tugging. He lifted his hips obediently, then immediately reached for her. Pulling up her skirt and petticoats, Kitty let Matt help lift her onto his lap.
Bracing her arms on his broad shoulders, she felt his long fingers sliding up her legs to the open seam where her lacy cotton drawers parted at the apex of her thighs. Happy that this most sensible style of female undergarment did not require removal, she moaned her appreciation as his exploring fingers confirmed her readiness for him.
As always, Kitty reveled in the intense sensations of their joining. The feeling of taking him inside her, becoming one flesh as they were forever one heart, one soul, was the most exquisite experience she had ever known.
Just as they were starting to move in unison, the stage slowed slightly and then began to bounce up and down over what was clearly a particularly bad stretch of road. Kitty couldn't help giggling as the erratic motion repeatedly disrupted their efforts to set a rhythm. Matt's attempt at a stern look just made her chuckle harder. He switched tactics, increasing the intensity of his actions, and she forgot her amusement as waves of pleasure coursed through her body.
Their reverie was broken again when the driver's voice suddenly drifted down from above. "Sorry about the rough ride, folks. About a mile of this and then we'll be back up to speed!" Then as an afterthought, "Everybody okay in there?"
Matt's alarmed look sent Kitty into another spasm of giggles. His voice was a bit deeper than normal, but he managed to call out, "We're just fine – no need to worry!"
"Okay!" The driver's voice was cheery. "You all just hang on a little longer, and all this bumpin' and bouncin' will be over with."
Kitty smiled saucily down at the flushed face of the handsome man beneath her. "I'm quite enjoying all this "bumpin' and bouncin'" myself, how 'bout you Cowboy?"
"Nuff talk, time to ride" was the deep, growling reply, as he pulled her to him for a passionate kiss. And indeed there was no more talk for a while, only creaking wood and muffled sounds of pleasure.
MKMKMKMKMKMKMK
As the stagecoach lurched over the final yards of rutted road, the driver thought he heard his passengers' voices calling out each other's names. Hoping nobody had been hurt, he quickly pulled on the reins again to slow the stage. "You folks all right? Want I should pull over?" He sure hoped everything was okay with the Marshal and his lady.
Inside the coach, the Marshal in question was slumped back against the seat, a sheen of sweat covering his bared chest, trying to catch his breath. The lady in question was still in his lap, in his arms, breathing hard but nuzzling happily against his neck.
At the sound of the driver's voice, Matt's blue eyes snapped open. Surely the driver wouldn't actually stop and check on them! The man would have to be six kinds of idiot not to know exactly what they'd been up to in his stage. Matt could feel his cheeks growing warm at the thought of being caught, literally, with his pants down.
"Kitty!" he hissed, taking hold of her arms, "Get up, quickly!"
Kitty responded by lifting her head from his shoulder, dropping a soft kiss on his lips, and calling out, "Everything's fine in here, Mr. Buck! I got bounced around a little, but the Marshal took care of me, and I'm just fine! We just want to get to Garden City!" Smiling down into his wide blue eyes, she favored her man with a slow, provocative wink.
"That's good, ma'am!" The driver sounded quite relieved. "Next stop's only a little ways!" With a snap of the reins he had the team back up to speed.
Matt released the breath he'd been holding. He momentarily entertained the idea of chastising the impish redhead, currently smiling down at him like a cat with cream on its whiskers, but just as quickly abandoned the idea as both futile and ill-advised. A man had to know his limitations.
Instead he decided to focus on what she'd just said, or rather, the double entendre in what she'd said. Pulling her down to him, he gave her a very deliberate and thorough kiss. When they both needed to breathe, he pulled back a fraction and whispered warmly, "So I took good care of you, did I?"
Kitty's initial answer was a low, sultry chuckle, a sound that always sent a shiver of desire through his body.
"Absolutely, Cowboy." A slow, satisfied smile. "That was quite a ride, as usual."
His answering smile was full of satisfaction. "Anytime, ma'am. It's my pleasure to serve, as always."
Laughing happily at his cockiness, Kitty pushed herself upright in his lap and quickly refastened her corset and bodice. The top half of her clothes in place, she bent down to kiss him firmly, stifling his disappointed groan as she slid off his lap, breaking their intimate connection.
Quickly refastening his own clothes, Matt contented himself with a final look at her shapely legs as she sat down next to him to rearrange her skirt and petticoats.
After she'd returned her clothing to a semblance of propriety, he happily slid an arm around her shoulders. As she snuggled against him, he wondered how he ever got so lucky, and why he'd thought traveling by stage was necessarily such a bad idea. He smiled to himself – sure enough, this was one stage ride he wouldn't soon forget!
Up ahead, at the stage stop between Cimarron and Pierceville, a lone cowboy leaned against the hitching post in front of the weathered building, watching and waiting. His thoughts were an eerie mirror of Dillon's, except that he was sure this stage ride would not only be an unforgettable one for the Dodge Marshal, it would be his last.