Great and Terrible Things

I took far longer with my beautiful Abigail than I ever had with another woman. I wanted this to be one of the best moments of her life. It certainly had potential to be the same for me.

My mouth eventually drifted lower and I caught her right nipple between my teeth. She gasped as I sucked on it instead of biting down. Abigail stiffened slightly when my hand glided between her legs, but instead of reaching for her center, I began massaging her inner thighs.

They were surprisingly taut without being overly muscular. I kept rubbing them until they softened enough to let me know she was relaxed. I knew it had become something more when her scent began to fill the loft of the stable. My beautiful Abigail was ready for what came next.

I smiled and kissed my way down her belly. Abigail was in such need that she didn't even stiffen this time, at least not until my mouth found her moist center, and only then because she exploded in her first release of the night. She cried out in joy and I smiled, not stopping what I was doing, but slowing considerably.

"You've killed me," Abigail sighed happily as her orgasm finished.

"We're not done yet." I glanced up at her as I spoke and she was actually glowing, at least that's how it looked to me.

"I see you take your promises very seriously." The humor in her eyes made me feel warm all over.

"Certainly, this one," I teased back, refocusing on what I was doing. It didn't take as long as I expected for Abigail to find her release a second time.

"I want..." the strawberry blond gasped. "I want to..." My beautiful Abigail stopped, but only longer enough to regain enough air to talk. "I want to help you with your release."

In answer, I rolled onto my back and took her hand. I placed it on my stiffness and her eyes grew big. Abagail was not experiences despite her age and I was in need, so I helped her understand what I wanted. I wrapped her fingers around my shaft and started her hand stroking me slowly before letting go.

"Like this?" Abigale asked almost tentatively.

"You're a natural!" I moaned, making her laugh, which was sort of the point, not that I was lying. Abigail's warm hand felt incredible.

"It's so big!" she whispered excitedly as I grew to my full length. "I'm never going to fit this inside of me."

"Don't worry," I groaned, my own orgasm nearly upon me. "You keep doing what you're doing and you won't have to!"

"Really?" Abigail's eyes were lit with wonder and more than a touch of hunger. "When?"

"Soon!" I gasped. "Very soon!"

I was lost in the moment and didn't realize what my beautiful Abigail was doing until she took me into her mouth. Her mouth was warm and wet and as soon as her tongue brushed along my length I lost it. I came, unable to control myself or even get off a warning.

I needn't have bothered. Abigail obviously like the taste. Her mouth opened even wider and she took my entire length in, which was impressive in its own way. Not every woman I'd been with could do that. Abigail actually began sucking on my length, trying to get as much of my juices as she could. My hands were wrapped in the length of her thick tresses as I lost track of things for a few moments.

"You know," Abigail said afterward, having pulled off of me with a satisfied smile. Her lips were chaffed and damp. "I think maybe I could fit it in me now."

"Feel free to try," I laughed. I didn't think she'd take me seriously. I should have known better. Abigail straddled my hips and began running the head of my stiffness along her soaked length. It took a surprisingly short time for me to get hard again with her doing that.

I wanted to roll us over and take her, but decided this would be better for our first time. Abigail clearly trusted me, but I wanted to her be free of whatever vestiges she had left of the monster who'd raped her before I took it to the next level.

"Maybe not!" Abigail gasped when she finally let the head of my stiffness inside of her. She was obviously a little afraid again, but this time it seemed more normal. My beautiful Abigail was little more than a virgin in many ways and didn't know what her body was capable of.

"We've got all night to find out." I was looking up at her and smiling.

Abigail's eyes met mine and suddenly she was smiling too. Her body also began to relax. Ever so slowly she began to sink down on my stiffness until there was only a little bit still outside of her, but no matter how hard she tried, my beautiful Abigail couldn't get the last of me in.

"Kiss me," I demanded, wanting to reach up and pull her lips to mine, but waiting instead. Abigail smiled and fell forward, rubbing her nub like nipples against my chest, teasing me and knowing she was doing it. I couldn't stand it so I demanded once more, "Kiss me!"

Her eyes lit as her lips finally found mine. I think maybe her body started doing what came naturally almost of its own accord. Abigail started bouncing up and down, slowly at first, but faster and faster as her juices started flowing down my length.

"Yes!" Abigail cried suddenly. "You're all the way inside of me!"

She bounced a few more times before stiffening on top of me. This time her orgasm was far stronger and I reached up to help hold her in place. She drenched my hips and thighs with her release.

"You haven't had your release yet," Abigail said afterward, sounding disappointed as she climbed off of me.

"It was everything I could do to hold off," I swore, making sure she knew it was the truth. Abigail was driving me crazy.

"I don't want you to hold off." The look in her eyes told me how important it was to her that I didn't. Somehow, I stiffened even more.

"What do you want?" I was leaving it to her how I finally got my release. I wanted to do be inside of her, but that was up to my beautiful Abigail.

"I want you to take me," she said slowly, blushing badly, but not looking away. "From behind." I'm not sure what she expected, but Abigail relaxed when I laughed in a good-humored way.

"I should have guessed. You want to be taken like a mare," I teased.

"I want to be taken by a stallion," she retorted, the challenge in her eyes. The thought excited me so much that when I shifted behind her, my stiffness slapped against my stomach. Abigail gasped, but that didn't stop her from rolling on to her stomach and lifting her hips. "Take me please! Show me how much you want me!"

She was still wet from her last release so I didn't bother making her ready. I simply thrust into her from behind. Abigail reared back and cried out, but there was nothing but pleasure in her voice. I slammed down into her over and over again, being far more aggressive than before. It didn't bother her now. Actually, she clearly liked it. My beautiful Abigail liked it a lot.

Her mass of reddish blond hair spread across her entire back as I rode her. Without really thinking about it, I pulled it into a ponytail and wrapped it around my arm.

"Yes!" Abigail cried, her orgasm taking her.

Her juices boiled free and she squeezed down hard on me. I lost it completely and came deep inside my beautiful Abigail. The moment was so intense that I didn't shift off of her when I was done. I simply fell.

"Oh my God," she said softly a few minutes later when she recovered enough to speak. "So that's what it's supposed to feel like."

"Apparently," I laughed, but quickly grew serious before adding, "With the right person."

"Josiah, I love you." Those words had caused me to run on more than one occasion in my life. Not this time.

"My beautiful Abigail," I said with as much meaning as I could put into it. "I love you too, with all of my heart." I paused, enjoying the moment before adding sadly, "But..."

"None of that tonight," she interjected, covering my mouth with her fingers once more. "Tonight, I want to love and be loved. We'll deal with the rest tomorrow." Our eyes met and I saw how much this meant to her. I tried not to think of what it meant to me. This woman had all but ruined me for other women, and the weirdest part was that I didn't care in the least.

"As you wish," I relented.

I was exhausted. So was she, but my beautiful Abigail wouldn't let us sleep until we made love one last time. This time we did it the normal way, with me on top of her. We took far longer than I'd ever taken before. In part because we were both exhausted and already spent, but mostly because we both enjoyed the deep soul kisses we shared and refused to rush it.

That didn't mean that when the time came, our bodies didn't crash together. They did. So strongly in fact, that I ached afterward. I could only imagine how Abigail must have felt, at least until she told me.

"I promised you more than a glimpse of Heaven," she said groggily when we were done. "I had no idea you'd drag me along with you."

"My pleasure." We both started drifting off to sleep.

**********

I woke up slowly and alone. The latter saddened me, but only briefly. I was too content from the night we shared together and I understood Abigail leaving. She had a reputation to protect after I was gone.

The sun was just up. I should have still been exhausted after the night I'd shared with my beautiful Abigail, but I felt oddly invigorated. The only problem was that it was tomorrow and she and I had to have that conversation that neither of us wanted.

I dressed quickly, went down and used the well outside to clean myself up. I was just finishing up when the front door of the house opened. Abigail came out wearing her typical men's clothes. I smiled. They never had bothered me before and now that I knew what was under them, I'd probably never look at them the same way, at least not when Abigail was wearing them.

"So, are you ready to talk?" she began without preamble, surprising me. I guess she wanted to get his over with as quickly as possible. The fact actually hurt a little, which was silly since I was the one leaving.

"Sure," I answered, trying to find the words.

"Okay, so talk." Her tone was no-nonsense and touch impatient.

"Abigail," I began slowly. "You already know my feelings in this issue."

"Yes, I do," she replied. "You love me. Unless that was just something you said last night in the heat of the moment?"

"No, I love you," I admitted, and suddenly she was smiling. That didn't stop her from asking her almost terse questions.

"So, if it's not that then why don't you want to be with me?"

"I want to be with you," I insisted, repeating for only God knows how many times, my reasoning. "I'm just not able to settling down. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to after the life I've led, and you deserve a man who can."

"What exactly do you mean by 'settle down'?" It seemed like a silly question to me, but from Abigail's expression it was obvious that she was dead serious. It grew worse when she added, "Do you mean that you can't commit to one woman, to me?"

"No, that's not it," I replied without thought because it was true. Hell, I was committed to my beautiful Abigail for the rest of my life whether I was with her or not. "I'd be a lucky man to have you in my life and I know it."

"Then what?" she asked. "Is it Billy? You don't care for him?"

"Of course I do. He's a great kid."

"So, we're back to what do you mean, exactly, by 'settling down'. Care to explain?"

"You're serious, aren't you?" I was a bit taken aback by her insistence that I spell it out, but so be it.

"Abigail, you and Billy deserve someone who will take care of you."

"And you won't?"

"Not in the way you deserve." I hesitated because of her frown, but decided to push on. It was time to end this as quickly and as painlessly as possible. "You deserve something solid. A home where you can raise Billy to be the man you want him to be. A place you can call your own. You deserve a good man."

There, I'd said it. Now she had to understand, only Abigail expression said different which only confused and frustrated me until she explained.

"You know, I thought I had all of that once," my beautiful Abigail began slowly. "I had a home and a man I thought loved me. A good man who would be there for me and take care of me, but in the end, it was a lie, all of it."

"The man I want now is the kind who will love me no matter where we are or what I look like. I want a man who treats me as an equal, yet loves me and my son enough to put our lives before his own." She stood now and came toward me, daring me to turn away. "I want a man who can face the horrors life sometimes brings and come out stronger from it, not weaker." This time her tone softened as she continued.

"I want a man who will face a score of dangerous men to save my son, knowing it's impossible, but doing it just the same." She paused to brush her fingers along my cheek in thanks briefly before continuing. Her eyes grew sad.

"My husband Jonathan was a good man. I know it's selfish of me to be mad at him for how he returned to me. It wasn't his fault and God knows, maybe given more time or his mother's absence he would have recovered. For all I know, maybe it was my fault for not being the woman he needed, but the bottom line is that I need something different now. I've seen too much. Survived too much."

"And what about Billy?" The words escaped my lips of their own accord. I felt a sense of hope that both called to me and scared me half to death as she told me how she felt.

"What about him?" she retorted. "He's eight years old. I can picture a lot worse of a man to be his father than one he worships for saving his family's life. Plus, I don't think you see it, but everyone else does. You're good with Billy. You treat him like a person, not a thing. You'd be amazed how many adults can't do that with children. Can you honestly say you don't care about him?"

"No," I said slowly, letting everything Abigail said sink in.

"Josiah, I know you're leaving," she said after a few moments of silence. "I'm not asking you to stay. I'm asking you to take Billy and me with you."

"What kind of life would that be?"

"The best kind if we love each other and take care of each other. The rest doesn't matter."

"You're serious?" I knew the answer, but I needed to hear her say it once more.

"Dead serious," my beautiful Abigail replied. "I'm actually looking forward to traveling. I'd like to meet your family and even visit back east. I haven't been there since I was a child. Honestly, I've always wanted to travel to Europe. Our lives could be one great adventure, but only if you want Billy and me with you. If not, then so be it."

I thought about everything she'd said for as long as it took me to make one simple decision. Did I want Billy and my beautiful Abigail with me despite not knowing what I was going to do with my life? The answer took all of two seconds.

"Well?" she asked, far more softly then she's spoken before. I looked at her and let a slow smile form.

"You know," I said, letting the joy slowly envelop me. "I was planning on riding off into the sunset tonight, just like what happens in those dime novels all the time. You've ruined that for me."

"No, I haven't," my beautiful Abigail disagreed, smiling now too, understanding my decision probably better than I did myself. "You can still ride off into the sunset tonight, just as long as you take Billy and me with you."

"And get married first!" William's voice came from the direction of the house. He was grinning as he added, "Don't make me get my shotgun."

"No, sir," I snorted.

"That was just beautiful," Clementine put in, wiping a tear out of the corner of her eye. "I need to go tell Miles. Don't you dare leave without saying goodbye!"

"Yes, mam." I was barely holding back my laughter now. "I wouldn't worry. We probably won't leave until after the wedding."

"Oh, in that case one of you better go inside and tell Billy," Clementine said, sounding oddly serious. "He's packing his things as we speak."

That was the last straw. I burst out in laughter. Abigail did as well as she came over and hugged me tight before giving me a heartfelt kiss.

"Hey! None of that until you're married!" I knew William was joking, mostly.

Abigail and I shared a knowing look, remembering the night before. There would be plenty more memories of that type in the coming years, but for now last night was out little secret. Well, except for the knowing grin on Clementine's face. I figured she picked the most inopportune time to blurt out what she knew, but so be it. She was family now.

William and Clementine left us after that. Abigail and I sat there by the well in a companionable silence, holding hands and staring at each other with starry eyes, as lovers were wont to do, at least until an odd thought struck me.

"Hey, you still haven't shown me where you keep your knife!"

"After we're married," Abigail teased, but then made me laugh when she added, "Maybe."

"Hmm," I said thoughtfully. "Maybe I'll search for it tonight after everyone's asleep." That made her eyes sparkle in what definitely looked like anticipation to me. I doubt she'd admit it, but then again, with Abigail you never knew. I really was a lucky man to have her in my life. "I love you my beautiful Abigail."

"And I love you, my colonel." The kiss that followed was slow and perfect.

I wasn't sure what life would bring my way, but the truth was that in some ways it no longer mattered. I was certain I'd be able to face it with Abigail at my side.

******************************************

I wanted to take a moment to thank Black Rand for inviting me to participate in this event. It reminded me of how well I did back in college with due dates for my writing...yeah, loads of fun.

Actually, I did have a lot of fun writing this and it's not Blank Rand's fault that I decided to write a 60K+ entry. The story sort of had a mind of its own, but then again, most of the fun ones do.

I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Feel free to comment. I do read them. Thanks.

Regards,

JD