CHAPTER TWELVE

Kitty woke at nine, once again without Matt by her side. No sun through the window this morning. It was a cloudy, drizzly morning. There was a hint of Fall in the air. She pulled the covers up and treated herself to a snuggle in Matt's pillow, pretending as she had so many times, that he was there. She treated herself to a replay of their long talk last night. It seemed to be just as important for Matt as it had been for her. She'd learned more about this man in the last few weeks than in the entire time they'd been together.

"Coffee service, Mrs. Dillon," came the greeting as he unlocked the door.

She hopped out of bed, wrapped her robe around her, and greeted him with a kiss.

"Good morning, love!"

"Wow, are you always like this with the room service staff?"

"Only the tall, handsome ones who stay and get in bed with me!", she grinned.

He set the coffee down on the table and took her in his arms. "Now, that's a tip worth working for, Missus."

"I'd like more room service, sir."

The banter was amusing them both, neither wanting to lose to the other.

"Service?"

"Yes, service please!"

Not to be outdone, he sat on the bed, quickly taking boots, socks, pants and underwear off. Before he could start unbuttoning his shirt, she was there. One hand toppled him over on his back. The typical one hand. She dropped her robe to the floor and lay on top of him, a sly smile on her face.

"You want your shirt off for this, mister?"

"What are you gonna do to me, lady?", he teased.

"I'm going to ravage you."

"Then no. Takes too much time to unbutton. Start ravaging."

"I thought you were here to service me?"

"I plan to. While you're ravaging me."

And so it went, the back and forth teasing, with a little tickling tossed in for good measure.

She slid back on her knees over his thighs and teased him with her hand, flicking, flipping, rubbing.

"I could cry out for help, you know!"

"Go ahead. I'll have the marshal come quickly," she got him back.

She went back to teasing, this time much more seriously, with her mouth. Licking, pulling with her lips, all in an effort to drive him crazy. Of course, it always worked. She was so practiced with him, knew every button to press.

"Ahhh, come on, Kitty!" He was ready. Definitely ready.

"May I?"

"You'd better."

And with that, she mounted him. The room went silent. The jokes stopped. Time for the serious business of becoming one. Even though she controlled it from this position, all he had to do was take both hands on her hips and pull her lower onto him when he wanted more. He didn't force her, rather he pulled slowly, asking for more. When she couldn't take any more, she laid over on his chest, protecting herself, and let him work at his own pace.

"When you lean into me like that . . . . I can get . . . . ." and he pulled out, rubbing himself on the special bud he knew so well. He rubbed with deliberation. She sat up, quickly putting him back in. Immediately, she went over the top.

"Beyond exciting, Kit!" His breathing was rapid, coming in puffs. "Stay . . . right . . . . there." And he stayed on his back. Within seconds, he went motionless inside her and she felt his heat. She collapsed onto him, both of them out of breath.

She began covering him with soft, slow kisses. His face, his neck, his chest. He groaned in pleasure. He stroked her breasts, then her back, her butt. "How was the service?"

"The perfect way to start the day. Can we do this a lot when we get home?"

"You're already thinking about that?"

"Can't help it. Want this dream to last forever."

"Big event tonight, Kitty. How about a nice, hot bath and you can model that red dress I've been lookin' at all these days."

"Didn't think you noticed."

"I noticed, Kitty. I noticed."

XOXOXO

"Bellman!," came the knock on the door. "Bellman!, Bath water!"

"Matt, what?," Kitty asked.

"I ordered it downstairs, Kitty. Hang on, just cover up and stay there, I'll get it."

Matt slipped on his pants and let the two bellmen in. They had plenty of water to fill the tub. They seemed to be aware that these were newlyweds who needed quick, private service. Matt tipped them generously and locked the door behind them.

"Remember this?," Matt asked. He pulled a small bottle from the brown bag he had bought at the bath soap store almost two weeks ago. "It's bath oil, especially for occasions like this."

"What? Really?"

"Yep. For new adventures in the bath. For lovers. Just a few drops in the water and we'll feel like silk. Especially in this dry climate, the lady said." And without getting agreement from his wife, he spiked the bath water.

"I also ordered your breakfast, my dear. We're going to eat it here, at the table by the window. Steak and eggs with all the trimmings. It'll be here in an hour, so you'd better get in this tub!"

He was right. Or at least the lady at the bath store was right. For two bodies who had rubbed together more often than usual in the past 24 hours, the silky bath oil felt delightful. Smooth. Refreshing. Sweet. The cowboy had bought it. No kidding!

"Matt?"

"Mmmm."

"When did you decide to ask me?"

"Ask you what?"

She squeezed out the sponge over his head.

"You know very well what! To marry you, of course!"

He was jolted back to reality with that one.

"In Dodge."

"Dodge?"

"Yep."

"When in Dodge?"

"Remember the party at the Long Branch when you danced with me?"

"How could I ever forget?"

"That when in Dodge."

"Why?"

If there was one thing Matt Dillon knew about women, it was that they would relentlessly continue a line of questioning until they were satisfied. Completely satisfied. He'd never been good at being on the answering side of the questioning. He took a deep breath.

"Uhhh, because I knew I didn't want to live without you anymore. I knew I didn't want to try to hide what I felt for you anymore. It wasn't workin', anyway. I wasn't foolin' anybody."

"Not at the cabin?"

"Huh?"

"You know, Charlie's cabin. When you were gone five days up there in the woods."

"Oh yeah. The cabin. Nope. Spent my whole time up there thinkin' about whether to quit or not."

"What about wanting a house?"

"Kit, it was one of those nights in your rooms, laying there looking at the ceiling."

"And the family part?"

He'd reached his limit. Wide awake now, with the bath water starting to cool, he started tickling her. She fought it as long as she could, then pulled away and rolled over on him laughing.

"Two can play this game!" She tickled as hard as she could. He grinned broadly, but he was a rock. The marshal. Not about to let this little redhead get the better of him. No way.

Kitty finally gave up and settled for the grin. She laid down, covering his body, and gave him a deep kiss. Then she pulled back and rubbed his chest and his belly with a tender touch.

"Hate so much having to be careful where you were shot, Matt. Hate so much every one of these horrible scars."

"I know, sweetheart. Thanks for taking on a beat up old lawman for the rest of your life."

"And the family part?" Cleverly, she had circled back to the original line of questioning. She was looking him straight in the eye, sitting on his thighs.

"Kitty, that would have to be our first time down at Spring Creek. The first time I made love with you. I took the risk of starting my family right there. And I decided everything would work out fine if I did. Cause I knew that afternoon I'd found the girl."

TBC