Wild at Heart

Often my ideas come to me in dreams or as a flash of a single scene and the rest of the story develops around it. This is one of those ideas...this is a First Draft of a scene from a dream. This is not a first chapter and may be something I work with at a later date.



“Where’s Ellen?”

“I think she went to the saloon, said she was thirsty.” Jim gestured with his chin back towards the building which had seen better days, before turning to look at Mac over his shoulder.

Mac stormed over and grabbed Jim by his collar, and spun him around with a shake strong enough to rattle what was left of his teeth together. “And YOU let her?”

“Like I’m going to stop that blamed woman? She near shot my balls off last time you gave me guard duty,” he defended.

“I don’t know what I was thinking when I took this job, I’ve about had enough of her headstrong ways. I’ll be damned if I am going to lose out on her papa’s reward money, because she won’t abide by common good sense. Get your gun Jim, cause this is where we get in a fight.”

Jim gave a sigh, grabbed his revolver, and hurried after the determined six foot bulk striding ahead of him. He wasn’t sure how much fight anyone would give Mac when he stormed into that saloon looking for the girl.

They heard the sounds of catcalls and men whistling long before they went through the doors. Mac strode up the steps, his hand on his weapon, and pushed through the door prepared for the worst. Through the smoky haze inside the building, he saw Ellen walking slowly on top the bar singing, her voice low, seductive, and sultry. Her emerald eyes met his briefly in challenge, before her gaze went back to the adoring, raucous crowd surrounding the bar. Mac’s gaze narrowed, trying to figure out the best way to extricate Ellen from this fine mess without getting himself and Jim shot. He swore he was going to teach the woman a lesson if they got out of this mess alive.

He turned to Jim, “Get the horses, when I come out—I’ll take Ellen with me. Don’t follow us…we will meet in Camden as planned.”

Jim merely nodded and turned to go, he knew better than to ask questions when Mac had that dark look on his face.

Mac had an idea of how this was going to turn out, he’d seen it before. Ellen was about to get her eyes opened to the way the real world worked out here in the gold towns. He eased himself around the vacated gaming tables and towards the edge of the room. He watched as his charge strutted along the bar, swinging her hips seductively for her crowd as she sung. Her admirers continued to get louder and louder in their appreciation, their cat calls getting a bit raunchier. He was certain many of them had never seen a woman as fine as Ellen, and for the rest, it had been long enough to forget their manners. He placed his back against a support, and although he appeared indifferent, he was prepared for the worst.

Ellen finished her song with a flourish, feeling vindicated as she shot a glance at Mac. His cowboy hat was low on his head, which made it impossible to see the expression in his dark eyes as he leaned insolently at the end of the bar. How dare he say she couldn’t make it out here on her own? She’d just shown him that she could walked into a crowded saloon and be perfectly fine.

“Well boys, whose buying me a beer?” She grinned as three men’s hands quickly raised in the air. Within moments a beer and a small glass of whiskey was thrust in her hand. She took a big swallow of the warm beer and tried to hide her grimace of distaste. It definitely didn’t taste like anything she been exposed to before.

“Better drink up! Wouldn’t want to offend us now,” a man to her left chided. His hand reached out for her ankle and Ellen quickly sidestepped his grasp.

She shotgun the whiskey as she’d seen men do numerous times, and immediately regretted the decision. She began to cough uncontrollably, the fiery rotgut burned a path down her throat and flooded her sinuses. The room erupted into roars of laughter, and before Ellen realized it two arms had gripped her ankle and forearm and pulled her off the bar and into the rank, unwashed crowd. She didn’t even have time or breath to scream as hands began to paw her and she battled to keep men’s hands from ripping the front of her gown.

The sound of three rapidly fired gun shots silenced the room and the roving hands around her. She felt herself fall the short way to the floor and landed with a thud onto the sticky floor. A wet heat dampened the front of her gown and to her horror realized a man above her hand was dripping with blood.

“Ellen, it’s time to go. Now,” Mac’s voice cracked like a whip and she scrambled instantly to obey, realizing he obviously shot the man which was about to expose her. When she reached his side she noticed a man slinking along the stairs to their right. Mac swiveled quickly and before the man could take a shot he had leveled his weapon and quickly fired. The man dropped to the ground holding his shoulder, groaning. The man who grabbed her ankle rushed forward, and Mac fired his next shot into his thigh and he dropped to ground swearing.

Mac pushed Ellen behind him protectively, “Now, this last shot won’t leave the receiver breathing. We’re leaving, and no one better follow us. If you do, when I shoot—it won’t be a warning.”

The saloon was deathly silent as Mac backed out the door with Ellen behind him. Once he was able to shut the door, he holstered his weapon and quickly grabbed her hand and ran the short distance to the horses Jim had waiting. He jerked on her arm as she instantly headed for her filly and instead threw her bodily over his shoulder and climbed onto his horse and plopped her none to gently down in front of him in the saddle and spurred his mount into a run.

Ellen allowed them to get out of town before she began to twist in the grip he had around her waist.

“MACDUGGLE! Put me down this instant! If you think I’m just going to let you manhandle me you have another thing coming.”

Mac pulled up his horse, his grip slipping as the girl struggled in his arms. “I just saved you from being a lot worse than manhandled, and this is how you thank me?”

“I would have been fine,” Ellen ground out through her teeth.

“You are a piece of work and should have your hide tanned for that little stunt,” Mac growled back angrily.

Ellen was nearly convinced he would do it. She might have pushed him too far this time. She raised her chin in defiance, “Let me go!”

“Like hell I will,” and before she could blink, Mac tossed her off balance and she thought she would fall off the horse. Instead she ended up with her stomach across his thighs and pommel of the saddle as he goaded the paint into a run once more. She would have been enraged, if she wasn’t trying so hard to keep from being sick, the ground raced by far too fast for her comfort. She closed her eyes and still could feel the sickening lurching of the horse beneath her. She was certain she was going to vomit.

“Mac, you son of a bitch! You let me up right this instant,” she screamed in desperation, as she attempted to twist within the iron grasp around her waist.

He pulled the horse to an abrupt halt, knocking the air from her lungs. She felt the tail of her skirt come up over her head before she received three swift swats to her backside. Moments later she felt herself falling and she landed with a splash into a stream, still icy cold from the spring melt. She came up sputtering and stood up prepared to let hell’s own fury loose on the demon upon the black and white paint before her.

“You say one foul word and I swear I will tan your bare hide, lady or not,” he warned darkly. Her mouth shut with an audible snap. “You have to be the most objectionable female I have ever found myself unfortunate enough to keep company with. You nearly try to kill my partner and I, multiple times with your childish notions of what you feel you THINK you can do. Well you can’t! This ain’t like your books, and it isn’t all happy endings out here. You would have found yourself beaten, raped and left for dead if you were lucky back there.“ He dismounted and strode over to her through the water.

“But I’m done shooting people to save you from yourself. Do you realize those men might not survive? I didn’t hit anything vital, but complications could take any one of them, which will leave a trail of death right behind your selfish, headstrong, impulsive actions!”

“And maybe I wouldn’t be so headstrong and impulsive if men like you and my father didn’t force my hand! You think you can just tell women what to do and they’ll do it. Have you ever considered that maybe…just maybe they might have a mind of their own and can decide what they want for themselves? Maybe I don’t want to sit at home and knit, crochet, clean up after some pigheaded man and do nothing more than bear his children. Maybe I want to see the world, actually experience life, and not sit around and wait until my father marries me off to the highest bidder!” Ellen stepped up to him her eyes snapping. “I don’t care what you think. I plan on fighting you every step of the way home.”

Mac’s jaw tightened as he fought his instinct to turn her over his knee again. Instead he simply bent down and threw her over his shoulder and walked back to the bank. She immediately began to struggle, kick, and call him everything but a motherless goat.

“Pighead...son of a…” Ellen was surprised when Mac set her on her feet on the bank abruptly. His hands didn’t leave her shoulders as he glared down at her.

“You were warned about that foul mouth of yours,” he ground out before he did the last thing either of them expected and he brought his lips down hard upon hers.

Ellen felt like her lips were trapped by a branding iron as his mouth plundered her own. The feeling of heat that flooded through her was so shocking, she didn’t even think to resist as he pulled her wet form against his rock solid frame. The warmth of his chest soaked into her own, and the contact caused a tingle of sensation to erupt in her stomach and begin to radiate in all directions through her chilled body. She sighed and allowed her body to relax against his, it surprised her when the hard pressure of his kiss gentled unexpectedly. His teeth nibbled at her lower lip, causing a shiver to run down her spine. Her hands moved upwards from the firm plane of his chest to the back of his neck as she drew his head closer to hers wanting to experience more.

Mac was shocked when instead of fighting him Ellen instantly submitted to him. He felt the instant flare of fiery passion lance through his core as she pulled his head tighter to hers and parted her lips. What he began as a way to teach her a lesson, suddenly backfired as Ellen did the unthinkable. He took full advantage of her invitation she offered, and his tongue swept in to meet hers. He was stunned when instead of pushing him away, she met his ardor, and returned it equally with her own. Her body arched against his and he wrapped his arm around her back pulling her even tighter to him, able to feel every contour of her body through her wet clothes. He felt his body instantly react to the soft, most willing feminine form in his grip.

Ellen was drowning in feeling, she had never felt anything like the sensations assaulting her. She felt like her bones were slowly disintegrating as her senses were continuously assaulted by Mac. His hands automatically moved to the buttons on her gown, and within moments she knew he had undone them all the way down her back. His arm swept under her legs and without removing his mouth from hers he lay her down upon the soft sweet grass by the bank. His body came to rest beside hers and his mouth pulled from hers and his lips moved to her jaw and began to kiss their way down her neck. He nipped the area just under her ear and her stomach contracted, the stimulation sending a bolt of pleasure rippling through her body. She groaned softly as she shuddered in his arms.

Mac felt the sound of her groan reverberate through his body and he felt his passion start its climb beyond his careful control. His lips traveled the path of her neck down to where it met her shoulder and he again bit the sensitive flesh and was rewarded by her low moan. He never expected her to be so willing and sensitive, the two reactions made for a deadly combination as his lips continued to skim across her skin. He started to wonder if all the fire she displayed towards him on a daily basis would also erupt in his bed. He lifted his head, staring at her flushed face, her eyes still closed her wet hair splayed beneath her. Her gown was falling off her shoulders, exposing the rounded tops of her breasts, the dark red peaks showed prominently through the wet camisole. How had he ignored how truly lovely she was? His body urged him to continue what he started, but he warred with his sensibilities. He was to protect her, not deflower her innocence. His hand trembled as he raised it to her face. At his touch, her eyes opened and he felt trapped by the newly awakened passion filled gaze. “Ellie…we can’t…”

Her hand quickly rose to his lips, the tip of her finger tracing their shape. “Don’t say anything—I know what happens between men and women. I don’t want to wait until I no longer have a choice to make. I want you to make love to me.”

Mac couldn’t believe his ears, but he warred with himself, his eyes filled with indecision. The movement of her fingers upon his lips stilled and her hand moved to where his still lay on her cheek. She picked it up and slowly guided it downward to her shoulder before placing it on her bare skin. With her hand on his she pushed it slowly downwards to her chest, her eyes never leaving his for an instant. As his palm came to rest on her swollen peak, she arched upwards pressing his hand firmly against her.

“Please Mac…touch me,” she gasped as the heat of his palm upon her breast sent a surge of feeling straight through her.

Mac’s restraint snapped at her plea. His mouth swept down to capture hers once more as his hand tightened around the soft rounded flesh in his hand. She moaned into his mouth and he felt his body pulse in response. His hand swept the material downward and his lips left hers to capture the exposed peak and she cried out softly as her entire body surged upwards. He gripped her hip to control her movements as she moved restlessly under him. His tongue began to work its torture upon her sensitive tip. Her hands moved to grip the back of his head and threaded through his hair. Her soft cries and eager responses only heightened his increasing need for her.

Ellen opened her eyes as Mac pulled away from her, and blushed as his hand furiously worked to divest her of the remainder of her clothes. When she lay nude before him and his hot eyes raked over her body she felt a tremble of nervousness of what was to come. But as she watched him unbutton his shirt, exposing his tanned, hardened chest to her view, her own body urged her to continue, feeling hot and restless. She knew instinctively Mac would not be an insensitive lover. His fingers trailed down her arm as his dark eyes came up and met hers.

“Lord, I’ve don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman so magnificent.” Mac muttered mostly to himself, but he knew Ellie heard from the satisfied smile which crossed her lips. She was perfect, her body like a gift from God, and a temptation from the devil. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to go against every impulse. “Ellie…I can only give you this chance to change your mind.”

She shook her head side to side, smelling the sweet grass as she moved. “No regrets—I promise,” she sat up and placed her hand on the firm muscle of his chest, allowing her fingers to splay out and begin to drift over all of his hot, sun warm skin. She was mesmerized by the satin feel of it as she allowed her hand to drift downwards to the dark trail of hair beginning just above his navel. She was surprised when his hand grabbed hers and he pulled her torso quickly against his.

Mac buried his head in her neck as their bare skin met, barely in control. “I have never met a woman who has almost undone me with a touch—and I’m not about to start now,” Mac voice lowered to a growl as his hands gently caressed her back. He could barely believe how much this girl woman inflamed him. He shed his shirt and laid it beneath her before he lay her down upon the ground once more, reclaiming her eager lips with his own as he quickly unfastened his pants and shed the offending material.

Ellen wasn’t exactly sure of his exact meaning of his words, but understood their need was mutual when his body stretched out upon hers and she felt the firm pressure of his sex upon her mound. She shifted restlessly beneath him as an intense ache welled up from deep inside her. Her hands found his hips and pulled fruitlessly, as her hips bounced instinctively upwards.

Mac groaned deep in his throat, as his hands found hers and pulled them above her head. “You will be the end of me,” he gasped, panting heavily. His passion filled eyes found hers. “The first part has to be easy—Ellie girl. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Please Mac, please…” Ellie felt like she was going to break into a million pieces, she wanted more, there had to be more.

Mac shifted position above her and placed himself at her entrance watching her face as he slowly pushed inside. He could feel her entire body quivering with excitement and he gritted his teeth to hold his base instincts at bay. He stopped when he felt the barrier inside and as he began to withdraw to allow her time to adjust. Ellen surged upward and her movement buried him deep inside her. He released her hands and swiftly grabbed her hips to still all movement, his forehead against hers as she froze and whimpered slightly in pain. “It’ll pass, my Ellie…just let it pass.”

The pain surprised her, but Mac was right. Almost immediately the discomfort faded, and the ache in the center of her being returned in full force. She could feel her body encasing his and a throbbing ache which caused her body to shiver in expectation. His lips covered hers and she kissed him back with enthusiasm her hips fighting the steel vice of his hands which held them captive. His own hips pulled back ever so slowly before sliding forward once more and she gasped and a long drawn out moan emerged from her throat.

Mac pulled back to look at her as he repeated the movement with concentrated slowness, refusing to allow her to control the pace and end the race before it started. Her head thrashed back and forth as her hands gripped his hips trying to force him deeper. Mac felt himself teetering on the edge, never before had he struggled so much to control his base instincts. He watched her eyes flutter open and shut as her head shifted restlessly from side to side. He dropped his mouth to her ear. “Don’t rush it, El. Just let it happen...” He felt her body grow still beneath his. He pressed deep inside her and they both groaned in response. Mac began to move in a slow rhythm, each time he surged forward he felt his tenuous control hover on the breaking point.

Ellen felt the fire building up inside her as Mac moved ever so slowly. She tried to follow his direction and control the irresistible urge to move her hips with his, but her body craved more of the incredible feelings he stirred within her. She turned her face to his and he captured her mouth as his hips began to rock steadily above her, building the ache and demand for fulfillment deep within. The pressure of his hands on her hips lessened and she surged upward to meet him with a guttural groan and the movement seemed to finally break Mac’s strict control. His kiss dominated her, as his body now rocked into hers with measured force, each stroke stronger and quicker than the one before. Ellen felt her core tighten with each thrust, before her body clenched around Mac’s and an incredible pleasure washed over her and she cried out. Mac rocked deep inside her with a guttural groan, pulling her hips even tighter to him as he also found release his body tensing on top of hers.

They lay locked in their fading passion for a long moment before Mac moved to her side. Ellen wasn’t sure what to expect, but was surprised when he wrapped her tightly into the crook of his shoulder, kissing her forehead. For some reason, the simple gesture made her indescribably happy. She sighed in contentment, her arm coming to rest across his waist. They lay there for a several minutes just listening to the horse grazing a short distance away and the water tumbling over the rocks in the stream.

Mac sighed, “You know, Ellie—what just happened changes things.”

Ellen felt a knot form in her gut. “What do you mean?”

“Because you were innocent, and I just took advantage of you.”
Ellen leaned up on an elbow to see his face, “What are you trying to say, Mac?”

“That before we go find your pa, we are going to have to get married.” He prepared himself for the worst.

“Absolutely not,” Ellen stated indignantly.

Mac laughed at the stubborn look on her face. “You act like you have a choice in the matter.”