Chapter 14

Mandy had experienced a number of epiphanies that had led her to the place she now found herself. For Bob, it was completely different. One way to describe his experience was that it was like riding a rollercoaster.

He’d been drawn to her from that first time they’d met, and traded verbal barbs. At that point she’d just been interesting, a little, harmless fantasy. At the wedding his heart had gone out to her. She deserved better than that. When she accepted his invitation to the ranch, that was a little like that first fall after the coaster climbs to a peak. It was a small peak, but the onset of this new “relationship” gave him a rush. The coaster started to rise again when he found out about her miserable past with things marital and knew there were other reasons for her to be down on men. That analogy isn’t perfect, because one normally thinks of “ups” as exciting and “downs” as troubling, and it was the opposite for Bob as he hung on for this particular ride

The attraction he felt changed with the fantasies he allowed himself to have. He was well aware this was happening, but it still seemed harmless. Lying in bed and imagining she was with him sufficed, as his hand did what he never expected her body to grace him with.

The first massage he gave her was another climb and drop on the coaster, and had advanced things significantly, but he still believed all this was temporary. She was on the rebound and, while he didn’t intend to take advantage of that, she needed some intimacy. Her purchase of the sex toy confirmed she still had needs. But that was simply physical. He believed it would help her heal, emotionally, if she could be intimate with a man who cared about her and didn’t demand more than she was willing to give. Her desire for more ... but not all ... simply supported his opinion.

That had been a much higher climb on the wild ride, and a significantly steeper, rushing drop.

He’d known something had changed after they skinny-dipped in the stock tank. Her change in attitude had become palpable, and her teasing was less than that, and more toward intent. That was, in fact, what had led him to the willingness to push her limits, as she lay open on the couch before him.

That point in time was burned into his memory. He’d been astonished. When he brought her to the ranch he’d expected their relationship to be purely platonic. Sure he teased her, but friends do that - tease. And part of that was just to reassure her she was still desirable. The ‘intimate massage’ had been what he assumed would be the tallest peak on the ride, and he’d loved the rush it produced.

He didn’t expect her to accept him as a complete lover. He hadn’t honestly planned to offer her that kind of relationship. But once you board the coaster, you’re there for the whole ride.

Now, though, he felt like the car had climbed to the clouds, and the drop was straight down. Suddenly things were moving a hundred miles an hour and he couldn’t catch his breath. His stomach was somewhere close to his vocal cords. He couldn’t think. All he could do was wait for the G force to slam into him at the bottom of the loop.

But, just as some are terrified during a trip on a good rollercoaster, they are elated at the same time, grinning and laughing, loving the terror involved because they know things will turn out all right. They know the ride will end and that, if they want to, they can go again.

Mandy was taking him for this ride, and he was all of those things ... terrified ... elated ... grinning with pure joy.

He did want to go again. And again and again and again!

His course was a steady diet of exhilarating ups and downs, each one higher than the last. Hers was the slow build of pressure until understanding exploded, leaving her with the choice of whether to take leaps of faith or not.

These were the things Bob thought about as Mandy brought him back to being erect, recharged, ready to become her toy again. It would not be fair to say he snapped. Rather, he came to take a leap of faith of his own, to believe her leaps of faith had landed her where she wanted to be. And he wanted to be there, too.

The transition from docile, supine man to the beast she kept making reference to was swift enough to bring a gasp of dismayed surprise from her as he bounced up and rolled to press her into the bed. Her vocal protestations were ignored as his mouth sucked at her tender flesh, here and there, as his hands made her helpless to obstruct him. Eventually his lips found her breasts and he feasted on them as he forced a knee between stiff thighs, making her spread her legs.

He felt her resist him, but the quality of that resistance did not rise to the level of a real struggle against him, a true attempt to deny him from dominating her body. Eventually her legs relaxed and, as he got both knees between them, spread wide in supplication. Her hands went to his hair and gripped it, but did not try to force his head away from her body.

He kissed his way to her throat and sucked there, too, wrenching a soft squeal from her before she arched her neck, baring that to the beast, as well.

He went up on all fours and looked down at her. Her face was pink, her eyes alive and sparkling.

“Put me in you,” he growled.

“You’re a beast,” she whined.

“Put me in you, woman!” he said, his voice louder.

She reached for him instantly and he knew everything was fine when, instead of just holding his manhood, she pulled, gently.

“You want this,” he panted.

“Yessss,” she hissed.

“You’re going to want this every day.”

“Oh yes,” she almost sobbed.

“But if I’m too tired, you’ll love me anyway,” he said, more softly.

“I won’t let you be too tired,” she said, her voice impish.

“I’m not going to try to please you this time,” he said. “You had your fun. Now it’s my turn.”

“Yes, master,” she whispered.

He leaned forward then and, as soon as he knew the tip was in her, powered forward cruelly. Her response was a gasping groan, but there was no pain in it. He started sawing in and out of her instantly, pounding her until her whole body shook as if made of jelly. He was elated when her hands went to his hips and tried to help. His thought processes, as she’d sucked him back to life, had led him to a place where, at least in this moment, he now had the right to inseminate her, and he was almost frantic to do so. He didn’t try to kiss her. He simply lay upon her and tried to fuck her silly with bruising jack rabbit strokes. He hoped he finished soon, before he scared her.

He didn’t know ... not then ... that no man had ever treated her this way and that it reached to a place inside her that wanted exactly this. She wouldn’t always want this, not every time, but occasionally it would release something primal in her, as well. For her, it was like being force fed an orgasm through a fire hose, and in the two and a half minutes it took him to start pumping his seed into her, intentionally, for the first time, she had her own orgasm, which lasted roughly two minutes and was devastatingly satisfying.

They stayed in her bed and, pressed up against each other, slept.

Waking held no awkwardness at all. Mandy woke first. They had rolled apart during the night, but the covers were still over her and she felt warm and toasty. She took inventory of her body, expecting to feel something different. His rutting had been violent and powerful. She smiled as she remembered the sound he made as he released himself, a whine that held the character of a scared little boy. There had been nothing ‘little boy’ in his actions, though. She stretched, and everything felt fabulous.

She needed to get up to visit the bathroom, but paused, supporting herself on an elbow to survey her bedmate. He looked bearish even in sleep, covered in fur, but that he was a man was also clear, since she could see through that pelt to the pale skin below.

After using the bathroom she stood, naked, trying to decide whether to get dressed, wake him up and move on to breakfast, or get back into bed. She wanted to get back into bed. But major repairs to one end of the barn were on the schedule for today, where wind had ripped boards loose or even off, and part of the tin roof was mangled, needing replacement. She had no idea how long all that would take, because she had no idea how it would be fixed. She would learn, though. After today she could add those skills to her inventory. Her resumé would now also contain, “Can fix a roof.”

She crawled onto the bed and nuzzled his cheek, licking his ear. His hand came up to bat at her head, but he rolled over.

“You keep doing that and you’re going to find out how much I like sex in the morning,” he said.

“When was the last time you had sex in the morning?” she asked, smoothing her hand over his chest and tugging gently at the hair she found there.

“I can’t remember, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like it ... love it... crave it.”

“I’m here,” she said, kissing his cheek. “But the barn is out there.”

“Curse you, woman. You come along and snare me in your web and then remind me I shouldn’t be there.”

“All it took last night was a couple of minutes. Surely you can spare a couple of minutes.”

“About that,” he said, rolling over. His eyes were clear. When he woke he was ready to go, alert and fully engaged in the world. “I’m sorry I got so...”

“Beastly?” She smiled. “Beauty loves her Beast, even when he acts like one.”

“I’ll try to be better in control. You excite me.”

“I’ll tell you when you’re out of control. Now ... barn ... or me?”

“What a ridiculous question,” he snorted.

Within thirty seconds she was under him, spread wide in welcome, and his lance was at the portal of her opening.

“Wait,” she said, gently. “I need to get prepared. In case you’ve forgotten, you’re rather large and a little lubrication is in order.”

“I am a thoughtless cur,” he said. “Shall we engage in some foreplay?”

“Of a sort,” she said, reaching to run her index finger in circles around her clit. “Answer some questions?”

“Now? Like this?” He fisted his cock and stroked it to keep it nice and hard.

“Are you going to put that thing inside me?” She had changed her voice, making it sound younger.

“I want to,” he answered.

“But it’s big! It won’t fit! And I’m a good girl.”

“I hope you’re going to be a very good girl,” he said, catching up with her. “It will fit. I promise. And I promise it will feel really good and you’ll be really happy you let me put it in you.”

“I don’t think I’m supposed to let you do that,” she moaned. Now her finger was sliding in and out of her. She could already feel the moisture this little game was creating. “I could get in trouble.”

“Well, if we don’t ever tell anybody about it, then nobody will ever know and you won’t get in trouble,” he said, lowering his hips so he could rub the tip of his cock against her hand.

“Are you sure?” She felt slippery enough. The game had done its job. It was time to move on.

“I’m sure.”

“Okay,” she said, happily, removing her hand. “Be gentle,” she added.

He was only semi gentle. He did work the head past her pussy lips gently, but then bored deep inside her in a long, slow thrust. When it couldn’t penetrate her any further he still pushed, and her head moved four inches up on the pillow.

“Ohhhh fuck, that’s good,” she groaned.

“I told you you’d like it,” he said, smugly.

Her hands went to his face.

“I like you,” she said. “That’s why I like this.”

“I love you,” he said, beginning a series of slow, rhythmic strokes. “That’s why I’m doing this.”

“You know I can’t go back ... not if life can be like this,” she panted.

“Then don’t go back,” he said.

Even as little as they’d engaged in this kind of behavior, he sensed she was close, and bored in to grind in little circles. Her anguished wail of completion, and the feel of her muscles fluttering all around his rod made him smile. He was astonished to find that the urge was upon him almost instantly, and uncontrollably. As her orgasm matured, and her cries became frantic, he continued to dig the tip of his cock into her cervix and, almost languidly, released himself into her. His grin showed white teeth through his dark beard as hot jets of his love gushed into her.

Their collapse was as rapid as the rest of their lovemaking had been.

“I’m sorry,” he gasped, lying beside her. “I can normally go a lot longer than that.”

“You can work on it later,” she panted. “I’m not complaining, though, just so you know.”

“It can be better than that,” he insisted.

“I don’t need better than that,” she sighed. “If it gets better than that I’ll never get out of bed. Now. Get up. The barn awaits.”

“Who is Simon Legree now?” he grumbled.

She bounced up out of bed and stood, hands on hips, glorioriously naked. She felt strong.

“That’s Simone Legree, my little fur ball.”

Mandy decided working on the barn was fun. She liked the feeling of power she got from wrenching nails out of old wood with a crowbar. She understood the concept of leverage and enjoyed applying it. Hammering nails was an issue. She bent the first ten or so she tried to pound in. Bob explained the problem and she understood it, but getting the head of the hammer to strike the nail flat, instead of at an angle, eluded her for a while. She was able to tap the nail most of the way in, but it took forever. She envied Bob’s ability to slam the hammer down four or five times and seat a nail effortlessly. In the end, she decided to start nails, and then let him finish them. That worked fine.

They’d been at it for two hours when Bob said it was time for a break.

“We should have brought something to snack on,” he said.

“I’m a little thirsty, but that’s all,” she said. “I’ll run up to the house and get something. What do you want?”

“The sheepherder’s breakfast,” he grinned.

“Naughty, naughty,” she chided. “We have work to do.”

“All work and no play...” He grinned.

“Why do I suspect you’ve only recently adopted that outlook on life?” she said.

“Since a little red-headed girl sashayed into my life and upset everything,” he said.

“Well, while I go get us a snack, you can take care of things like you did before your red-headed girl complicated your life so much.”

“That was fine, then, but not anymore,” he growled.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I paid fifty bucks for my rabbit, and I’m eventually going to get my money’s worth. I’m pretty certain the geezer who’s taking care of me won’t be able to keep up with my needs, and I’ll need it from time to time.”

“That geezer may surprise you,” he said.

“We’ll see,” she said, gaily. “I’ll be back.”

“I’ll fix us a place out of the sun to enjoy our repast,” he said.

She ran to the house, feeling strong and alive. It felt odd running in boots. Her feet felt heavy, but it was good to run. There was a can of mixed nuts on the shelf in the pantry and she grabbed that. Then she mixed up lemonade in the sun tea jar and, carrying it by the handle, hurried back to the barn. When she went in, the change from bright sunlight to darkness blinded her and she slowed.

“Where are you?” she called out.

“Up here,” he said from the loft.

She thought it was odd that he didn’t come to help her as she climbed the vertical wooden slats that led to the hayloft. She had to cradle the victuals in one arm while she used the other to climb, balancing as she jumped her free hand from one slat to another. There were sunbeams, full of drifting motes of dust, coming through the damaged side and roof at the end of the room. she could see better as her head cleared the opening in the floor.

What she saw when her head cleared the opening in the floor was Bob, standing in profile to her, a black silhouette with sunlight behind him. The shape of crumpled jeans were around his calves and his hand was moving along the black shaft protruding from his groin.

“I was kidding, you horrible beast,” she yelled.

“A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do,” he said, his stroking uninterrupted.

“Do you do that in front of all your interns?”

“Only the gorgeous, sexy ones,” he said.

“Well stop. That’s not fair.”

“Why? Did you forget to bring your bunny with you?”

She walked through loose hay on the wooden floor, watching swirls of dust motes explode into the beams of sunlight.

“At least let me help,” she said, putting down the jug and can on a saddle blanket Bob had obviously laid out on a tier of hay bales two-high.

“Not there,” he said. “That’s for us, not the food.”

“Oh?”

“I’m not wasting this on my hand,” he said. “Not with you here. Ever had sex on a pile of hay?”

“I have not,” she said. “There are very few piles of hay where I come from.”

“Then I have a treat for you,” he said.

“You call lying down on a scratchy, smelly horse blanket a treat?”

“City girls,” he snorted. “They’re so pampered and helpless.”

“I could kneel on a pile of hay,” she offered. “I wasn’t hungry, but now, for some reason, I am.”

“A tempting offer,” he said. “But I have something else in mind.”

“Something that doesn’t involve my tender skin against a horse blanket?”

“I’ll provide a buffer. How’s that?”

“What kind of buffer?”

“Our clothes, of course,” he said.

“I don’t know,” she said, making sure she sounded hesitant.

“Trust me,” he said. “It will be fun.”

“I heard that this morning,” she teased.

“And was it fun?”

She unbuttoned her shirt, pulling it apart to display her naked breasts.

“It was,” she said, her voice now husky.

“I’ll try not to scratch you up,” he promised.

He didn’t let her suck him. Instead he pulled her jeans down to her calves, like his were, and had her lean against the bales, with two layers of their shirts between her skin and the blanket. He knelt and pushed his face into the juncture of her legs, using his nose and tongue to split her labia and tickle her clit.

“This is fun, but can I at least take off my pants?” she sighed.

“No need. This is a barn. We can do it like horses do it,” he said, standing and stroking his stiff prod.

None of her previous lovers had taken her doggy - or horsey - style. What she thought of was Matt, taking her from behind. It had been her introduction into anal sex and she’d been afraid, the first time. But Vaseline had made it go much better than she’d imagined. He’d never penetrated her vagina completely, but after they decided to stay together she’d obtained Harold, so she knew now what a nice, long, stiff thing felt like in her sexual channel. Matt’s penis in her rectum felt completely different. It wasn’t unpleasant, once she learned how not to fight it, but it wasn’t satisfying, either.

Still, she’d done it for Matt. She was willing to do it for Bob.

“I didn’t know we were going to do this,” she said. “I didn’t bring any Vaseline.”

“I don’t think we’ll need it,” he said.

She wasn’t so sure about that, but leaned over the bales and presented her firm, round ass to him.

She was both surprised and relieved when she felt his wide knob push between bulging pussy lips, to slide effortlessly into her vagina. His hands came to cup and gently maul her hanging breasts. It felt very different than the other ways she’d had this lovely thing inside her. At this angle her channel wasn’t lined up with his prick, and that thick thing had to bend as it penetrated deeply. It didn’t go as deep as it had in the past, either.

It felt good in the same way a shoulder rub feels good. Really nice, but not the stuff of orgasms.

Then one of his hands left her breast and pushed downwards. A thick finger began abusing her clit, and suddenly things looked much brighter.

His finger was good, but it disappeared as his hands moved to hold her jiggling hips. Her own hand replaced his and her fingers, knowing her body better, strummed. The possibility of an orgasm bloomed closer. The only thing she wished was that she’d taken her jeans off after all, so she could spread her legs apart.

She had an orgasm, a little one, and he made satisfied grunts as he had one, too. Mandy’s impression of all this was that, while it might be fun to do now and then, she’d rather be on top of him, or have him on top of her.

They rested with their jeans back in place, but still topless. They ate a handful of nuts each and drank straight from the jug, since Mandy hadn’t thought to bring cups. Then they got back to work on the barn.

Life was like that for the next week. It was a little like a honeymoon must have been for a young married couple in the eighteen hundreds, out on the plains. There was work to do, but the couple wanted to join as often as possible, so that’s what they did. Work ... have sex ... work some more ... and have more sex.

With Bob and Mandy, of course, things weren’t as Spartan as it was for the early settlers. But their lovemaking took place in many of the same ways. Bob took a blanket with them whenever they rode out together, to take care of this or that job. That blanket got spread out on the ground, and he and Mandy rolled around naked on it, loving each other in the open air, with Father Sun beaming down at them. Once Mandy was riding him and a calf wandered over to satisfy its curiosity about this odd pair of animals. It stood, only three feet away, and then scampered away when Bob let out a yell as he spurted up into her.

Whenever they were in the house, it was likely they’d join. It wasn’t that they were insatiable, not in the way very young lovers are. They simply chose to express their love for each other physically, often, exchanging sweet nothings as their flesh became one.

This went on for almost a month, and Mandy had been at the Ranch long enough to see the beginning of a change in the seasons, when Bob surprised her once again. They were eating supper, sitting across from each other at the table, when he paused.

“We need to get away and do something,” he said. “We’ve been working too much.”

“We’ve been getting things done,” she said, thinking about how that was usually interrupted, at least once a day, when Bob got frisky. She admitted to herself that she got frisky, too, and then admitted she got that way at least as often as he did.

“This is true,” he said. “But we’ve never been on a real date. I think it’s time to remedy that.”

“How interesting,” she said.

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, traditionally, a couple dates a few times before they have sex. In our case, we’ve had sex a few bazillion times before we decided to go on a date.”

“That’s not a good reason to avoid going on a date,” he argued.

“Okay. What did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. What do youngsters like you do on dates these days?”

“Gee, Gramps,” she said, wryly, “let me think.” She put on a show of trying to think. “We go to concerts, or dancing at a club. Stuff like that.”

“Hmmm. No concerts or clubs around here.”

“Well, what did you do back when you had a pet dinosaur?” she asked, sweetly.

“We went bowling, or skating. We did a lot of riding around in cars, and then parking to make out.”

“Is there bowling or skating around here?”

“Well, I know there’s a bowling alley over in Chapman, but that’s fifty miles away. The rodeo isn’t coming up for another month. There’s a pretty interesting mining museum in Deadwood, but that’s a two hour drive.” He sighed. “It won’t be all that romantic, but maybe I could take you out to dinner.”

“I think that would be lovely,” she said.

“All right then. Dinner, Friday night.”

“Where?” she asked.

“Does it matter?”

“I need to know how to dress,” she chided him. “If we’re going to the diner in town, I don’t want to wear an evening gown, and if we’re going to someplace nicer, I don’t want to wear jeans and cowboy boots.”

“I’d love to see you in an evening gown,” he said, “but there’s no place anywhere near here that fancy.”

“Then we’ll save that for our second date,” she said. She arched an eyebrow. “Assuming of course I decide I like you and want to go on another date.”

“Hope springs eternal,” he sighed.

What Mandy didn’t know was that Bob had planned for the whole conversation to end up exactly as it had. He did want to take her to some nice places, some fancy places, and some interesting attractions. Just not yet. What he wanted now was to get her in a booth at the Dew Drop Inn. Once his business there was concluded, he’d take her somewhere nicer.

His business involved making an arrangement with Charley Boon, a large man who looked like he was around great food all the time, and swearing him to secrecy.

That Friday night, when Bob parked the truck in the parking lot, Mandy turned to him and said, “I remember the last time we came here. That was the first time I kissed you.”

“Which is why I brought you here,” he said. “Perhaps we can shock the natives by having you kiss me again.”

“Cindy, the girl who rides Sinbad. She told me she’d heard about that kiss. I wonder if others did.”

“I know at least one other person did. He said something to me about it,” said Bob.

“Who?” asked Mandy, leaning toward him.

“Brad Turnbull.”

“The veterinarian?”

“One and the same,” he said. “He also said he wished he wasn’t married after he met you.”

“Oh. Really?”

“Don’t fish for compliments. You know you’re gorgeous,” smiled Bob.

“She also told me she’d heard I like to skinnydip in the stock tank,” said Mandy. I wonder how far that has spread.”

“I’m quite sure there are others who heard that rumor, but skinnydipping in stock tanks isn’t unusual in these parts.”

“Nobody ever said anything to me,” she said. She’d been to town dozens of times, to shop for various things and run errands.

“Of course not,” he said. “They’d rather talk about you, instead of to you.”

“Why?” she asked, her voice rising.

“I’m pretty sure you intimidate them,” said Bob.

“That’s ridiculous,” she snapped. “Why would I intimidate anybody?”

“You know all the hoopla that goes up around the Miss America pageant?”

“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“They see you as Miss America,” he said, gently. “You swoop into town, unannounced. You outclass even the prettiest woman in the county. Mystery surrounds you. You’re too exotic to just come up and talk to, much less ask about what you and Bob Cobb are doing out there on that lonely ranch.”

“That’s ridiculous, too. I’ve talked to dozens of people at the Safeway, and the gas station, everywhere I went!”

“That’s chit chat,” he said. “Other than me, who have you had an actual conversation with?”

“Well ... nobody I guess. But I didn’t think about it. Everybody was friendly, though.”

“Of course they were. That was just good manners, but you’re still an outsider. So people will talk about you.”

“When will I stop being an outsider?” she complained.

“Give it time,” he said. “They’ll come around in time.”

They went in. Everything seemed normal as a young girl led them to a booth. Mandy saw people looking at them, though, and imagined heads going together to whisper. She shook off that feeling, straightened her shoulders, and decided she’d just have a good time with Bob. She wasn’t aware that, in straightening her shoulders and standing tall, that thrust her bounteous breasts out proudly.

Nor was she aware of more than a few sighs that came from male throats.

A girl arrived, wearing an apron tied below a bulge that announced to the world that she was with child. She looked to be maybe sixteen.

“Hi, Bob,” she said to Bob. She glanced at Mandy and then back to him. “What can I get you tonight?”

“Evening, Charlotte. I was thinking a sixteen ounce sirloin, medium, with home fries. What’s the vegetable of the day?”

“Corn, spinach, or hominy,” said the girl, her pen poised to write.

“Corn,” said Bob. “And some of those hot rolls I love so much.”

The girl turned to Mandy.

“You’re Mandy,” she said, her eyes seeming intent.

“Yes,” said Mandy, feeling nervous for some reason.

“Welcome to Brimley. Thank you for coming. Finally somebody’s talking about something else than me.” She gave a wan smile and patted her bulging belly.

“You’re ... welcome?” replied Mandy. She shook it off. “The last time we were here he had chicken fried steak and it looked really good. I think I’ll try that.”

She answered Charlotte’s questions about what else she wanted and the girl said she’d be right back with their drinks. After she left, Mandy leaned toward Bob, whispering.

“That was interesting,” she said.

“Charlotte isn’t married,” said Bob. “The boy who got her that way ran off and joined the Army. He was nineteen.”