Over the Barrel Read online

Sloan led her to the bedrolls and sat her down in front of the flickering fire. He guided Blair's hesitant fingertips to the engorged nub of dark pink flesh and touched it. Her excited clit responded by swelling even more, and she felt a flood of wetness overflow her lips.

  "Do you feel it?" Sloan asked.

  "Yes," said Blair, "it's sticking out. What exactly is it? You called it a nub earlier."

  "Your clitoris," Sloan sighed, "the place where a woman finds her pleasure. That is why my kiss brought you to being spent. Go ahead and touch yourself. It will not cause you harm."

  "Is it crass of me to ask that you touch me, instead?"

  Sloan smiled, sliding his hand up with excruciating leisureliness against her soft thighs before he separated her damp, engorged lips. Blair moaned aloud as his fingers gently isolated her swollen essence, involuntarily spreading her thighs wider as he grew more insistent.

  "Do you like that?" Sloan asked, innocently.

  "Dear Lord, yes. Please, Sloan, continue."

  "I want to show you something more," Sloan said, giving Blair's throbbing clit a final, teasing caress.

  Blair groaned, her frustration building as her entire body tingled with need. Her breasts stood before him with her nipples erect and hard as pebbles, framed by soft, pale shoulders that gently sloped to a delicate swan-like neck. Sloan kissed her full on the mouth as he brushed his lightly furred chest against Blair's breasts.

  "Trust me?" he asked, as he gently held her hips. Blair hesitated before nodding. He turned her back to him and caressed her from behind, kissing the nape of her neck. Gently, he pushed her to her hands and knees and rubbed her flanks. He trailed his lips down her spine, his teeth slightly scraping over her skin. Goosebumps followed the path of his touch, and she shivered when he raked his nails lightly over the heated skin of her freshly-spanked bottom. He pressed her face slowly to the blankets beneath her and stroked her shoulders, reassuring her that there would be no invasion of her nether region this time.

  Blair held her breath as she felt his warm body lean across her back, and bit her lip as the long, velvety pole of his rigid manhood slipped into the space between her legs. It nestled parallel to her body and pressed lightly against her throbbing clit. Sloan wrapped his arms around her torso and began to move his shaft back and forth over the entry of her wet slit and swollen knob.

  As Sloan's rocking and rubbing his cock against her clit grew more insistent, and Blair's moans of ecstasy were held captive as guttural grunts and growls in her throat. His scrotum bucked against her spread bottom, and the soft skin of his lower abdomen slapped gently against her reddened cheeks. Blair dug her fingers into the fabric below her chest, panting for air as her body began to tighten and heave with promise of upcoming release.

  "Let yourself go, Blair. Don't hold back," Sloan growled as his pace increased.

  Blair felt his cock grow harder as it rubbed against her slit and she bore down, trying to grab its length with the muscles of her inner lips. A trembling wave swept over her with hundreds of tiny vibrations that rippled from her core to both ends of her physique. It rumbled like a thunderstorm from her lungs and out her mouth, exposing itself as a splitting cry. Blair's muscles stiffened and locked as she was taken to the heights of glory, leaving her completely unaware that Sloan had joined her in her release. She finally caught a breath and dropped onto her belly on the blankets.

  Sloan collapsed on top of her, his spent manhood still warm and nicely tucked between her thighs. Blair shifted to turn to her back, her naked body pinned securely under his. She wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled his mouth to hers, spreading her thighs to allow him to rest comfortably between them.

  "That was incredibly pleasing," she whispered. "It made me long for more."

  "Greedy little wench," Sloan chuckled, flipping to his back and bringing Blair with him. She sat herself up, straddling his abdomen, and ran her fingers across his nipples.

  "Are a man's breasts as sensitive to touch as a woman's?" she asked, fingering the tiny bumps.

  "They can be. Especially after coming," Sloan said, grabbing her hands and kissing the fingertips.

  Blair looked down into his eyes and blinked innocently. "Are they more sensitive to the fingertips or the mouth?"

  Before he could respond, she was flicking his nipples with the tip of her little, pink tongue. She closed her lips and began to gently suck, mimicking what he had done to her.

  "Blair … dang it, you are making me hard again. You need to stop this, or I am not going to be able to resist you."

  "Does it cause a man to ache with need when he is touched and then released?" she asked, as her hand made its way down to his growing manhood.

  "Blair, don't go teasing me," Sloan warned.

  Blair grinned as she fondled the mushroomed cap of his shaft. "I am not teasing, I am studying. That is what you wished me to do, was it not? You wanted me to learn about what men wanted and how my body works."

  Sloan groaned as her grip tightened and began to stroke him. "You must stop this. I will not be able to control my actions."

  "No? Why not?" Blair asked, backing up so that she could lean across the length of his body. She placed his rod between her breasts and squeezed them together. "Does this bring pleasure?"

  "Lady, that sword you are holding so boldly in your hands is going to pierce you. That is enough for now." Sloan grabbed both her wrists and gently pulled her hands away from his cock. He pulled her into his face and kissed her briefly. "Teasing earns more spankings, young lady."

  Blair giggled. "Do you promise?"

  Chapter 8

  Three weeks later, Blair awoke with a horrid backache and eased herself from Sloan's possessive arms. She crept towards the dying fire and stoked it, all the while rubbing her aching flanks. After putting the kettle to boil, she silently picked her way to the stream to freshen herself and groaned when she noticed that she was taken by her monthlies. Several unladylike words slipped from her lips as she settled in the water. This predicament was going to make the next few days very uncomfortable, and she was not in the mood to tolerate it.

  At least her physical state explained some of her recent irritability, but what was Sloan's excuse? Was it that she continued to refuse his suggestion of allowing that massive rod of his to invade her nether parts? No, Blair shook her head, she had been the one to bring it up. He had not said anything since it was first mentioned weeks ago. They had continued to 'satisfy' one another on a frequent basis, but Blair had noticed him growing more distant. He talked less to her, praised her efforts infrequently, and had not shown any interest in her improvements.

  Blair grunted. Even though Sloan might not appreciate the changes she had made, she was proud of her accomplishments. She had learned to do everything needed to care for herself on the trail, including cooking palatable meals, cleaning pebbles from Skinwalker's hooves, and starting a fire using an Indian firebow. She had also become quite proficient in striking her target using his gun. He had called her a natural and said that with a bit more practice and a weapon better suited for her size, she would soon be able to knock a flea off a toad's ear. She lamented over his surliness, however. It was not his nature.

  The dull hum of a nearby wild beehive caught her attention. Maybe with something sweet, Sloan's recent bouts of prickliness would be cured! She dressed quickly, tiptoeing so as to not awaken the snoring man and grabbed a thick piece of wood from the fire. After covering her head with a thin piece of material salvaged from her underskirts, Blair silently approached the hive. She placed the wood, surrounded by mountain pine branches, in the hollow base of the tree and watched as smoke began to rise. The bees grew agitated at first; Blair stared in fascination as they began to gorge themselves on the honey before they began to calm. She cautiously approached the hive and very slowly cut off a large portion from the bottom. Receiving several stings, she bit her lip while easing the honeycomb into her canvas bag, and then she carefully backed away.

  Blair plu
cked the stingers from the back of her hand before grabbing a handful of the yarrow flowers that they had been using to repel insects. She tossed the flowers into the hot kettle, dribbled the sweet honey over the water, and waited for it to steep. She poured a bit into the tin cup to taste and was elated! It was delicious! After drizzling honey on a slab of flatbread, she left it to soften over some hot rocks and went to awaken Sloan.

  "Sloan? I made something special for you. Wake up. It will be ready in a couple of minutes."

  "Why did you let me sleep so late?" he asked, sitting up.

  "You were tired. Go get freshened up and see what I did!" Blair said, excitedly.

  Sloan's eyes widened as he sipped the tea. "Blair? Is this what I think it is?"

  "Honey! Here, I made the honey-drizzle bread you had told me about. Taste it!"

  Sloan bit into the meal and nodded. "It is perfect. Thank you, but didn't I tell you to stay away from the hives? You could have been badly injured."

  "I did just as you said." Blair looked abashed. "I covered my face; I went slowly and smoked them. I only took a small piece of the hive and stayed away from the queen. I did everything you taught me to do. Why do you look at me with such disapproval?"

  "You were told not to touch the hives. While I do appreciate the effort, you disobeyed me."

  "I cannot seem to please you in anyway, can I?" Blair stomped her foot, her eyes filling with tears. "You have been silent and sour with me, and I do not know why. What am I doing that is bringing you so much displeasure? Is it because I will not allow you to fuck me?"

  "Blair Lorraine, you are to watch your language. Sit down next to me and stop your crying. Do as I say."

  "I do not wish to sit anywhere near you," Blair crossed her arms. "You are being a very difficult traveling companion. I have learned everything you have taught me, haven't I? I never complain about comfort or ask you to do anything that I have learned to do. Why do you act as though you despise me? Except for our dalliances, you do not utter a word in my presence any longer."

  "Please, sit down," Sloan sighed. "You're right."

  "I am?" Blair looked stunned. She gathered her composure. "You had best believe that I am right!"

  "I enjoy your company—too much, in fact. I have never trailed with another person for a reason. I like to travel on my own and do things my way. With you, it has been different. You have learned my ways of doing things and I have never seen a greenhorn take to pioneer life like you have. You should be very proud of yourself."

  "Why do you treat me so indifferently then?"

  "I am feeling things for you that are inappropriate," Sloan confessed. "The more time I am with you, the more obsessed I become. I even dream about you, Blair. This is not at all good. We cannot be together, but being together is all that I desire."

  "Please explain exactly what you mean by that statement, Mr. Adkins? You said that because I lacked skills, I would have no value in this territory. I am no longer that innocent, naïve, and spoiled child that started this journey two months ago. I have obeyed every command you have given me, without argument. I have proven myself to be an amiable companion, both in the saddle and in your bed, albeit we have not completed the act which you hold so sacred."

  "Whoa, there! Why are you so angry with me? I'm falling in love with you, woman, and it has nothing to do with taking your virginity!" Sloan shouted, standing quickly and turning his back to her. "I am a man who likes to be in charge of things. It is how I am. I can barely control my body and keep myself from taking you every night, but I have no control over these feelings. It makes me feel weak, and I don't like being weak!"

  Blair stared at the ground for a moment and then walked over to him, placing her hand on his broad shoulder. "Being in love is not a weakness. I've loved you since the day you pulled me out from that saloon and put me over the barrel."

  "You are a naïve little girl. You don't know what it means to give your heart to love," Sloan said bitterly.

  "Well, neither do you!" Blair shouted. "You said yourself that your feelings for your late wife were based on the physical attraction, not your heart. I know exactly where this is going, Mr. Sloan Adkins. You, sir, are a coward!"

  Before Sloan turned to respond, Blair stomped off in a huff, using every bit of profanity that she could recall. She ignored Skinwalker's agitated nickering and picked her way down the rocky slope towards the shade of several tall pines.

  "I'm not chasing you down this time!" he called out.

  Good, she thought, because I don't want you around me.

  "You better be back here before nightfall," she heard him bellow.

  Like bloody hell I will, Blair murmured back. She rubbed her back again as she settled in a cozy, pine-needled overhang that protected her from the mid-summer sun and heat. Without supplies from camp, she felt helpless and uncomfortable. She buried her head in her crossed arms and began to cry.

  "Why are you crying, Miss Blair? Did the big bad ranger hurt you?"

  Blair's head shot up to face three men that stood lazily before her. One held a revolver straight in her direction.

  "What do you want?" she whispered.

  "What any hot-blooded man wants: a nice body to warm his bed at night. But not here," the one man announced. Blair peered at him closely. It was the man from the saloon, and he had been following them!

  "Have you been following us all this time?"

  "It ain't been easy. That horse of yours always seems to be on the watch. Get up. Don't ya even think of screamin'. Do it and there's gonna be a bullet where your pretty face was."

  "Please, sir. I am on my monthlies and cannot travel without pain," she gulped, desperately looking for something to protect herself. She heard Skinwalker snorting in the distance and Sloan shouting at him to be quiet. Horses are the best watchdogs … how quickly he forgot!

  "You can travel just fine, ma'am. Gag her, boys, and tie up those hands. I don't want her to have a chance to grab one of our guns."

  Blair blinked back the dust from her eyes as she shifted uncomfortably behind the pack-mule's saddle. The outlaws had been careful to parallel her and Sloan and stay downwind of the skittish horse so they would not be noticed. She reddened as the men vividly described her 'pseudo' lovemaking and her reluctance to 'take it up the ass'.

  "I'll show you just how enjoyable it is, my lovely," the wretched man proclaimed, "blood makes me squeamish, so we will wait until you are done shedding. Take her gag off, I want to hear her talk dirty to me like she does to her ranger."

  "I beg of you. Please see me unscathed to my grandfather's ranch and he will reward you handsomely."

  "Malcolm? He doesn't have a penny to his name. You have no value to anyone except for what your little cunt can do," the man laughed scornfully.

  "You know my grandfather?" Blair asked, trying not to allow his words to have any impact upon her clarity of thought.

  "Everyone in these parts knows your grandpa. He's a swindler and a cheat. He also has a really nice spread of land. Where do you think we all have been hiding out?"

  Blair swallowed dryly, her mind reeling with disbelief. "How is it that my grandfather has nothing? He owns the largest bison ranch in the territory."

  "His money is wrapped up in other things than cold, hard cash. He's a conman, girl. He blocks the water rights from other ranchers and makes them pay. If he didn't drink and gamble away his cash earnings, he'd be a mighty rich man. Instead, he's a fool."

  "This cannot be true. My aunt…"

  "I've heard about your aunt. Imelda, isn't it? Malcolm's been telling the story of how she finagled her father into giving her the family fortune. He said she even spread her legs to make the deal."

  "That is not true! My aunt is a mean, bitter woman, true. But I refuse to believe she is capable of such atrocities."

  "This girl has some fire in her after all," the man said to his silent companions. "I am going to enjoy her. She is mine. Anyone who touches her is dead, got it? That means you guard
her with your life."

  "Sure, Boss."

  Blair blinked back the sweat from her eyes and surveyed her surroundings. The outlaws had pieced together a makeshift shelter in an abandoned cliff and had tossed their sparse belongings haphazardly on the ground. She was shoved to the back of the abode and banged her shoulder against the wall.

  "Have care!" she demanded, her eyes flashing angrily. "Release my hands this instant."

  "So you can grab a knife and gut me like a pig? Think again, bitch."

  Blair lifted her chin stubbornly, "No, so that I may take care of my personal needs. I am assuming you have wadding available for me?"

  The outlaw blushed. "I do not concern myself with the issues of women."

  Blair lifted her wrists, "You either start concerning yourself, or you will be attracting every coyote this side of the country. I want a bucket of clean water, rags and some privacy."

  "Now, listen here, lady; I do not follow the orders of women."

  "Consider yourself fortunate that my temper is under control right now. My orders are the least of things you have to worry about."

  "You seem to forget who the captive is here."

  "And you seem to forget that a woman experiencing the discomfort of her monthlies is a force to be reckoned with. Now do as I say before I truly grow angry!"

  The outlaw frowned and gestured to one of his men to procure the items. Blair disguised her fear with her anger, hoping to continue to confuse and bewilder him with her unexpected behavior. The thought of him harming her crossed her mind, but she abandoned the image in the hopes that he would see her to be more valuable alive and intact. The men remained silent as she forced them to turn their backs so that she could clean herself and secretly slip the small wood-knife from the thigh harness into the sleeve of her dress. She silently thanked Sloan for forcing her to carry the tool at all times.

  "What are you going to do to keep Sloan from tracking us?" she asked as she began to tidy the area.

  "What are you doing? Don't touch my gear!"

  "If you want to be able to leave here quickly, you need to keep your items together."