RESCUED: CHAPTER 4

Exhausted after her all-day adventure, Sara was asleep before they even got her out of her bath. Thanks to the amazing button on the wall and the rising room, the bell staff had Matt and Kitty's big tub filled full with their own delightfully steamy hot water in under ten minutes.

Kitty swished it with a finger. "Oooooh! That's much too hot to get in!"

"Gives me a little extra time, then. Thought I might peel the layers off you one at a time, like you peeled that orange in the park today."

She reached up and kissed him, an open invitation to proceed.

"Love these new dresses with the buttons in the front."

"You haven't given any thought to why, have you?"

"Not really. I just like how easy it is for me to get you out of them. None of those silly little buttons in the back."

"Sara requested them. Real quick access to a meal when she needs one." She wore a coy smile, but by this time in nothing but her chemise.

"Remind me to thank her when she wakes up." He went in for a neck nuzzle. "Real quick access to what I want, too. And then there's this little thing." He ran his fingers lightly down the full length of the flimsy undergarment, then back up to pause on the delicate lace top. "I hope you never wear one of those stiff lace-up things again. Not ever!" His roving hands were gently lifting her breasts from under the lace.

"Another promise so simple to keep." Her eyes fell from his face to watch what he was doing to her, gently circling each nipple with his fingers.

"So easy for me to get right to what I want."

"Of course it is. I have a baby to feed, remember?

"And here I thought you chose this just for me."

"I chose YOU just for me. The rest just came naturally."

It was more of a challenge for her to unbutton his shirt while he was having his way with her. She was going much too slowly, fumbling, somehow unable to concentrate. His touch was magic on such a sensitive part of her body; the stimulation starting to cause an ache that traveled from her nipples down through her belly. Her partner, on the other hand, was still in full control of his faculties. He reached down and kissed a breast.

"You want my map?" He offered invitingly.

The last button finally removed, she pulled on his belt.

"Very funny. I have this territory memorized."

"Sure you wouldn't like some help there? It'd go a lot faster."

"Who's in a hurry?"

So he did what any resourceful man would do under the circumstances: He went right back to circling her nipples with the gentlest of fingertips.

"You win." It was almost a groan.

"Win what?"

Her eyes were closed now, his belt buckle released but nothing else. This time it was a real groan: A full-on, no mistake about it groan. Her breath hitched as his dexterous fingers found their way under the chemise and toyed with her softness there. No mistaking her willingness. She grabbed his arms and hung on while his fingers danced and probed into the most delicate orifice of her body. Her head rocked back . .

"Hurry."

He pulled the chemise off but continued the delightful torment.

"The bath," she mumbled as the room started to spin. "Matt!"

He continued, watching her euphoria as the waves of pleasure engulfed her one after the other, until he felt her grip on his arms turn limp. He pulled her into his embrace to keep her from falling, mesmerized by what he'd just witnessed and the power he had over her. He felt her heart pounding against his chest. She was panting, flushed.

"I had to." She gasped.

"I know. I made that happen, remember?"

"Really?" She said coyly, starting to get control of her brain again, ready to torment the big man. "Was that you?"

Her reward was a deep kiss, but she had more to do, so she pulled away. He stood motionless while she unbuttoned his pants and slid them to the ground.

"Oh, look at YOU, Cowboy! Just look at YOU!" Her eyes were aflame as though she'd never seen his pounding desire before.

"That happened while you were busy."

They were so practiced at the routine that it took only seconds to be shed of the rest of their trappings. Desire overcame routine, evidenced by the rumpled pile of clothing tossed on the floor. The water temperature was ideal when Matt stepped in and submerged himself. Kitty took one more longing look and climbed onto his waist, perfectly positioned over his manhood. With not one but two bars of vanilla soap and two sponges cleverly left by the staff, the conventional reason for their bath went quickly, but its tonic only heightened their passion. She gave him a gentle splash in the face, and when his eyes closed instinctively, she took his eager hardness into her hands and guided him.

"That wasn't fair! You made me close my eyes!"

"The better to surprise you, my love. You surprised me, now it's your turn."

She tenderly took him with both hands and rubbed his tip on the softness of her flesh, while she watched those blue eyes widen.

"You're going after me!" He managed to mumble.

"You went after ME! I'm not the only one with hands."

"Please, Kit."

There was no point in tormenting him, he could take her instantly, any time he wanted and he had, so many times. Well, maybe it wasn't all to please him, after all, with the renewed need burning inside her. She took his size effortlessly when he pushed into her, the delightful result of Sara's birth, her lover's thrilling foreplay, and the warm bath water. He moved gradually, going deeper and deeper. When he felt her hands slip under his hips begging for more, he thrusted rhythmically, watching her eyes widen. The bath water sloshed, then became unruly as his speed increased in his effort to find relief. She leaned into him and bit him on the neck, feeling his shaft rub over and over again against the magic spot that drove her wild. The tub could no longer contain the water as it splashed wildly over the sides like ocean waves crashing onto the deck of a ship. She was relentless, pulling him into her, pumping against him while he strained, oblivious to anything besides her passion. He felt her squeeze, then her body went limp in a hopeless failure at trying to wait for him. Her eyes closed in exhilaration, she treated him to one final desperate neck bite as she felt his entire body go rigid right on cue, releasing everything he had deep inside her.

XOXOXO

"You hungry?" It was his typical man code for "I'm famished. Maybe we could eat."

"Me too! Worked up quite an appetite there, Mr. Dillon. She had the sheet pulled up to her waist, staring at him with enough residual desire in her eyes that he was ready to take her again. He gave it a good thought, but his stomach grumbled in response.

"It's still early. Should be easy to get a table at The Grill."

"They have room service, you know."

"I'd love to take you out."

"We've got the owners' banquet tomorrow night. Like it or not, we're going to that. Can we just stay here and enjoy each other?"

"Perfect. Just perfect!" Visions of his favorite kind of dessert were already dancing in his head.

The bell staff had Matt's order delivered in under half an hour. Kitty retreated to the water closet while they set up a linen covered table, adorned not just with crystal and sterling silver flatware, but a vase with a single red rose in the center. The two chairs they brought were plush and were positioned to face the magnificent view through the French doors. The coffee pot featured a small candle underneath, the restaurant's personal assurance that room service coffee would always be hot. Satisfied that he needed nothing else, Matt dismissed the men and locked the door behind him. Then he summoned his guest of honor.

"Baked chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans, my dear," he bowed graciously to his bride, who wore nothing but her blue robe. "Oh, and mashed potatoes and some ground up chicken for Sara when she wakes up. Sound good?"

"You thought of everything. It's just perfect, sweetie."

"I . . . uh . . . I ordered a whiskey for me." His tone was bashful, almost apologetic.

"I'm glad you did. You sure did earn it today."

The view through the French doors transfixed both of them, even if Matt was the only one sipping on whiskey. He gave Kitty a quick kiss, then handed his glass to her.

"No," she said softly. "You know I can't."

"One tiny taste before our food gets cold. She's eating more and more real food these days. One little taste won't hurt a thing."

It was too tempting, so she complied. And it was truly only a taste.

"I thought we'd make up your shopping trip tomorrow morning," he said while she licked her lips and handed the glass back to him. "Ava said she'd keep Sara, and we can try a different street. Broadway has some great shops. Then we can meet up with Ava at lunch so you can feed Sara."

"Really! And how exactly is it that you know so much about shopping in San Francisco?"

He gave her a love tap on her nose. "My little map, remember?"

"This is delicious, Matt. We need a restaurant like this in Dodge." She was eating like she hadn't seen food in a week.

"Trail Dust is real good. So's Sandy's Café. Delmonico's is getting better all the time."

She pointed out the French doors. "It's easy to forget Dodge when you see that."

For the third time in one day, he was apprehensive. Even though she loved how he protected her, she hadn't been concerned about the need for a bodyguard downtown. They'd started a serious conversation in the park about their future, and it was bound to come up again. And seeing how much she loved the ocean and even hearing her talk about renting a boat for a romantic tryst played with his head, when normally it would have made him wild. There was nothing he enjoyed like making her happy, but this was different. She talked more and more about retirement. Now she could see herself selling the Long Branch. Maybe he could raise his family here. Maybe he could get used to it. There'd probably be a desk job, or a place, or . . .

"Hey." She said softly. "You're lost in thought again."

"Yeah. Sorry. Looking at the ships out there and all the people down on the street."

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No. Of course not. You say all the right things. What you say makes me think a lot and I get all rattled in my head. I'm 43 years old now. If I'm done at 46 I'll have to find something else to do. I don't know anything but the law, Kitten. Odd as it sounds, I love the law."

He was rescued by Sara's soft cries from the crib across the room.

"She's hungry and she probably needs a new diaper," Kitty. "I'll clean her up while you finish eating."

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and left her to her own thoughts. "The most wonderful father in the world, she thought. "He can't do enough for Sara. If we'd married twelve years ago we'd probably have six of them by now. Doc said Matt would spoil her. Wow. She sure is daddy's girl! He'll be over 60 when she's 18. He can't even see that in his head. If we wait to try for another until he retires, who knows how old he'll be? What if Sara's 6 or 7? What if I can't conceive another one? What if I miscarry another one?"

Matt was back to the table in record time, spooning ground up chicken and applesauce slowly and carefully into Sara's tiny mouth while he watched his wife stare out the French doors at the late afternoon sun dancing on the water.

"Now it's your turn to be lost in thought." He studied her face while Sara decided if she wanted more food.

She snapped to. "Sorry. Yeah, I was just running some numbers in my head."

"Numbers are your specialty. Like you reminded me today, this is our vacation and we're supposed to be having fun."

"Matt, I had more fun today than I can describe. It was just one little diversion with the numbers. Let me nurse her for a little bit."

"Your other specialty, sweetie." He smiled and handed Sara to her, who eagerly opted for her favorite beverage.

It didn't seem to him like life could get any better than it was right at that moment. The three of them were in complete privacy, certainly in the most beautiful place he'd ever seen. The sun kissing the soft ebb and flow of the tide, the ships off in the distance, the gentle clip-clop of horses walking on the cobblestone street below, were all the sights and sounds of tranquility to a lawman from the harsh prairie of Kansas. No one banged on the door and called for a marshal. No sounds of gunfire from the street below sent him packing. Nothing but tranquility hung in the air. . . until Sara let go a mighty belch! Kitty picked her up quickly and put her to her shoulder while her father positioned a linen napkin from the table at just the right time to protect Kitty's robe from the next round. Both of them started giggling, then the giggling became laughter until neither of them thought they could stop.

"She hasn't done that in a long time," Kitty reminded him, wiping the tears of laughter from under her eyes.

"C'mon, let's put her back to bed," Matt finally managed to say without laughing. "All this time I thought she was becoming a lady."

"I think we fed her a little too much. She'll be a lady just fine. Try to wipe that little incident from your memory."

The two parents fawned over their baby girl as they tucked her in, each smiling and cooing and giving her a kiss on the cheek. She could see them well at this age, and she responded with a beautiful smile. Matt pushed the room service table into the hallway and hung the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the doorknob before he locked the door. By the time he finished, Kitty was already lounging in the big bed. He closed the French doors, slipped out of his pants and crawled in next to her. He pulled the soft sheet over them and stroked her arm. It was his favorite time of the day with his wife.

"What was that all about when you ran in and out of the water with Sara?"

"She was so scared of the ocean, Kit. That's how Frank and I have always trained horses to get over fear of the water. You trot them in, then trot them out and let them relax. You do it over and over again until they realize it's no big deal and start accepting it."

"Matt!" Her eyes were wide as saucers. "She is NOT a horse!"

"Of course not, but she needs to have some courage if she's ever gonna get through life. You've got it, I've got it. Now it's her turn. Besides, it worked, didn't it? You thought I'd scare her and I did no such thing. She actually enjoyed it."

"But she's just a baby!"

"I don't care. What they learn now lasts a lifetime. Remember her first bath when she cried and you wouldn't let me pull her out of the basin? You gave me the same lecture about how they learn. Now she loves her bath. Learned it all from you, sweetheart."

The tranquility of the room was hypnotic, sending a swell of euphoria over him. He pulled her into his arms and stroked her hair, desperate to open his mind to her, his best friend, his soulmate. Except he had no idea how to explain the struggle in his head. Maybe it was the beating of his heart, maybe it was the way he stroked her hair like it was made of French silk. She had an innate way of sensing his need. Always had.

"We weren't exactly careful in the tub, Matt."

"Already told you I'm sorry I ever said that."

"I'm 35 now, Matt. I'm not comfortable in a corset anymore. My body has changed a lot since I had Sara. Time's getting away from us. I do want her to have a brother or sister to grow up with and love, but we can stop right now and she'll do just fine. It has to be something we both want. There's no trap here, sweetie. We both know how to not have one."

He kissed her softly on the forehead. "She should have a brother or sister. I missed that so much when I was a kid. I was around Chance some, but he wasn't even close to my age and he wasn't really my brother or I'd have looked after him more. We didn't have parents to teach us right from wrong or what love was all about. It was all just a loss, Chance included."

"We should commit to it then."

"You could already be pregnant."

She giggled at the thought. "I'm not. I won't get pregnant while I'm nursing Sara."

"Those prairie women pop one out a year."

"Matt! They're teenagers, early twenties at best! I'm a middle-aged woman!"

"And I'm beyond middle-aged. Those were the numbers you were doing, right?"

But she didn't answer. She was snuggled into his chest, and before he could figure out how to tell her what he'd already decided, she was asleep.

tbc