"Where are we headed, 'Tanna?" We had been riding without rest for hours. I waited for Montana to answer, but he remained silent. I stared at him riding to my left, and hoped it would press him for an answer. He just kept on.
We rode in silence throughout the morning. It made for a long and boring trip, to say the least. Any conversation I tried to start up with Montana would end up with him ignoring me, or him signaling for me to keep quiet. Some days I didn't quite understand him. What am I talking about? Most days I didn't understand him.
The sun was beating on our backs as we made our way across endless terrain. It felt as though we were getting nowhere fast-and the heat of the sun burning us from behind wasn't helping matters in the least. The scenery never changed-it just remained constant. The ground was dry and dusty beneath our horse's hooves-the grass dried up like thin shreds of straw-colored paper. The earth's condition played into my increasing sense of desolation. I was hot, sweaty, and thirsty. I needed some relief.
Montana had ridden 50 yards or so ahead of me, or perhaps it seemed that way because I was slowing down. I slowly stopped Kabaya and dismounted carefully. The heat seemed excruciating as I stared up to the sun and prayed for a change in the weather. I peeled off some of the layers, and soon found myself down to just my pants and my white cotton weave undershirt with the buttons undone. I quickly packed my shirt and coat up with my gear, dug out my canteen, and hopped back on my horse to catch up with Montana.
Kabaya quickened his pace on my command so we could catch up to Montana. As we neared, Montana turned his head briefly to flash me a puzzled look, and then turned back to his quiet watch-studying the land that lay ahead of us. I sighed in resignation. This was going to be one of the most boring and longest days of my life. There were too many things to contest with-the unbearable heat, the long journey in dirty and sweaty, uncomfortable clothing, and absolutely no company from my companion. I was ready to head back to Silveridge and surrender. Shoot me! Put me out of my misery! Anybody-please!
"Would you shut the fuck up, already?" Montana snarled through a rather disgusted glare that was directed at me.
"Uhhh...sorry 'Tanna." I didn't realize I had been thinking out loud. Montana shook his head and rode on. I again, was left to ponder my thoughts and boredom alone.
I tried to take my mind off of my discomfort by thinking about more pleasant experiences. The nice soft bed I was occupying back in Silveridge-the coolness of the feather pillow as it caressed my sleepy head; the dapple of sunlight that lit the room in the early morning. My mind drifted to Mary-Anne. I winced in the memory.
'Last night was a big mistake,' I scolded myself in my head. I wasn't referring to just the part about killing her husband, but ending up in that situation in the first place. Montana was right-I was a moron sometimes. I lived for the moment without thinking about the consequences. I barely even knew Mary-Anne. For cripes sake, I didn't even know she had a husband. Girls found their way to my bedroom, and I never bothered to ask questions. Everything revolved around the moment. I didn't even love them and I would pretend that I did. I wasn't even sure what love would feel like.
"You ever been in love, 'Tanna?" The question seeped out of my reverie into the open without my control.
"Once." His answer startled me-I was expecting him to reach over and belt me one for talking again.
I looked over at him and studied his face. I could picture many women loving a man like Montana. Yeah, okay he came off like a hard ass most of the time-well, all of the time actually-but there was more to him, and I just knew it. I remembered back at the water how his eyes burned through me; how his rough hands felt like silk over my naked back as he touched me and comforted me. It was a different side to Montana--a side I wanted to see more of, but I didn't know why. There was an unfamiliar ache in the pit of my stomach.
"So what happened?" I asked out of my daze. Montana looked at me for a long moment with an indescribable expression.
"Nothing. Nothing ever happened." He answered quietly. "Listen, if you think you're going back there for Dragon Lady, you can fuckin' forget it. I ain't draggin' your sorry ass outta that mess twice."
"Dragon Lady?" I laughed at Montana. He hated Mary-Anne from the second she approached us. "No, I don't wanna go back for her. It was just sex."
"Well, mind your pecker, would ya? That thing is gonna have us hang if you don't cool it with these whores."
"It ain't all my fault. I tried to get her outta my room, 'Tanna-honest. She wouldn't let up on me."
"You can have anyone you want, Lucky." Montana slowed his horse down and eyed me intently. "Why do you settle for these cheap women when you can have the real thing?"
I shrugged in response. I didn't even know what he was talking about. Montana seemed to read my mind.
"A fuck is a fuck. You can fuck anything, or anyone, but it's still just a fuck unless you love the person. When you love that person, it becomes something more."
"You mean like with the person you're in love with?" I could hardly believe Montana, of all people, was having a discussion about love with me. His face sparked something similar to sadness.
"Probably not. I dunno...maybe one day when I ain't runnin'. Settle down with a home and some land." He bit his bottom lip. "Mmmm...maybe..."
He stopped his horse completely and looked blankly ahead. It was like he was in a different place and a different time. I never saw him like that before-it was calming to see him peaceful instead of always angry. Whoever the woman was-I knew she was the luckiest person alive to have the affection of Montana. I suddenly felt jealous, and I wasn't sure why.
The unfamiliar ache in the pit of my stomach returned. When I looked up, Montana's green eyes were on me. He reached over and cupped my face with his hand-his thumb rubbing back and forth against my chin. The gesture half-frightened me. It wasn't something Montana would do at all, and the way it was lighting a fire into me was just as scary. I was wide-eyed.
"You can have anybody, Lucky. You're so beautiful. Don't settle."
Montana seemed to remember who and where he was, and stiffened up. His eyes lost their warm glow and became icy again before he straightened up on his horse and took off ahead of me. Kabaya and I stayed some distance behind-my stomach and mind reeling in confusion. Why did Montana say all those things to me, and why was I feeling like a giddy little kid about it? What I really wanted to know, was why my heart raced when he touched me like he did, or better yet, why my dick sprang up like salmon swimming upstream?
"You're an idiot," I scolded myself once more as I kept my distance behind Montana. I don't know why I said it-it just seemed like the thing to say to myself at the time.
A gust of wind blew through my thin undershirt, and I immediately regretted wishing for the change in weather. I snapped out the spell I was under for what had to be a few hours and realized the sky we were under was no longer blue, but instead an angry shade of grey.
I looked out and saw Montana a generous distance away, and picked up the pace with Kabaya so we could catch up. It took a few minutes, and by the time we reached him the rain was coming down in big blobs. Montana was flipping the collar of his coat up when I reached his side.
"Jesus Christ, Lucky! Where the fuck's your clothes?"
"I was dyin' of heat." "Well put 'em on dammit. You'll die of cold!"
"They're in my pack. Let's stop-I'm tired."
"No way! We're almost there!" Montana pointed out to the horizon in front of him, and I could see the clearing end where an endless gathering of trees stood. Behind the trees were fortresses of rock. Normally such beauty of nature would impress me-but my body started to tremble, and I knew we needed some shelter for the night against the rain.
"Let's go!" I hollered over the pounding of the wind. Montana shook his head.
"Lucky, goddammit! You're fuckin' crazy! Get your fuckin' coat on!" He yelled back, but I already nudged Kabaya and we were off in a steady gallop towards the trees. I was tired and didn't want to waste time and tearing through my gear would only postpone us from finding somewhere to sleep. It would most likely be wet from the rain anyway. I could hear Montana yelling my name after me, but the only thing I cared about was getting some shelter.
It took some time to reach the safeguard of trees. The clothes I was wearing were soaked right through, and the only thing I could hear were the chattering of my teeth, and the steady stream of cussing coming from Montana. I'm sure I was called every filthy name in the book by the time the rain started to soften to a light trickle.
"Ugh...you're so stupid." I muttered to myself quietly as I felt like I was going to freeze to death. I let go of the reins and slumped forward onto Kabaya-trying to get some warmth.
"You won't have any disagreements from this end." Montana muttered. "I'd get your coat for you but it looks like your bundle's as wet as you are."
I tried to ignore him as I hugged Kabaya's neck tighter-willing the damned horse to warm me up. I remembered how hot the sun was earlier, and kicked myself from wanting the heat to go away. I suddenly felt something warm covering me. I sat up as Montana was moving away from me, to get off of his horse. He had covered me with his coat.
"Hey, it's okay..." my teeth were chattering between words. "It's my fault, 'Tanna. Take your coat." Montana shook his head.
"It's stopped. We'll sleep here."
I leaned forward again to rest against my horse as the sound of Montana setting up filled my mind. I could hear the sound of water dropping off of the leaves, as I started to feel warm and lazy, and my eyes slowly closed. My mind drifted away as my eyes shut, and immediately I pictured Montana as his hand touched my face in the heat of the sun. It felt so good when he touched me, but I wasn't sure why. I played back his words-he said that I was beautiful. What did he mean by that? I remembered earlier in the morning as he watched me dress. There was that funny look in his eyes. My stomach knotted-I was falling...
I jolted up as I felt myself falling off of Kabaya. My eyes popped open, and I tried to somehow stop the fall from happening when I felt strong arms behind my back and under my legs.
"It's okay." Montana reassured, and I immediately relaxed. I looked towards where he was carrying me, and was surprised to find he had a fire started, as well as a place to sleep set out.
"I can walk, y'know." I stated tiredly, although I had no intentions of letting him put me down. Montana must have read my mind again. He chuckled lightly and kept walking until he reached the pad of hide and blankets. He set me down gently and removed his hat.
"You need to get those wet clothes off. You're liable to catch death." He unbuttoned his shirt as he waited for me to make a move. All I could do was hug my legs to my chest and shiver.
"Serves you right, y'know?" Ahhh...the sermon I was waiting for.
"Not now, 'Tanna. I'm cold."
"No shit, moron! I told you to put your coat on and..."
"Look, can we do this tomorrow?" I cut into Montana's lecture, and watched him bite his lip in silence. I pressed on. "I'm cold, I'm soaked, and I'm fuckin' tired, so let's can the crap and get some sleep. You can nag me to death tomorrow if you still feel up to it."
Montana's mouth curled up into a slight grin as he removed his shirt. By the fire he had rigged up some makeshift clothesline to toss it over so it could dry from the heat of the flames. I watched as he carefully loosened the straps of the holster of his gun belt that were tied snugly to his thighs. He unbuckled the strap at his waist, and walked over to me to set it on the bundle we were going to sleep on.
"Get outta those wet clothes, Lucky. I mean it. And if you think you're sleeping with your boots on-you're fuckin' crazy."
"Awww...c'mon, Tanna. You know I always sleep with my boots on." I whined.
"Not with me, you don't. Last trip you drove me nuts-kicking me all fuckin' nightlong. They're off or you can sleep out in the rain. Your pick."
I weighed the odds in my mind, and decided I could stand a night's sleep without the protection of my boots. I wasn't fond of sleeping without them-especially outside. You never know what sorta things slither and crawl through the night.
"Fine." I mumbled to my knees as Montana unfastened his pants and let them slip down his long legs. He gathered them up, and hung them by his shirt. His back was to me, and I couldn't help but watch in admiration at his well-formed physique. The tightly fitted undergarment he wore beneath his clothes left very little to the imagination. The long, tight muscles in his legs and back could still be seen. The thin cotton material clung unselfconsciously to his slim buttocks. When he turned around to check on me, I could feel my face grow red. There was even less left to the imagination from this view.
"We don't have all night, Lucky."
I nodded in agreement, and weakly started tugging at my boots. Montana finally lost patience with me, dropped down onto his knees in front of me, and tugged hastily at the boots until they popped off of my legs and feet. He then pushed his coat off of my shoulders and grabbed it to hang with the rest of his wardrobe.
I looked down at my gun belt, and contemplated removing it but before I could move my hands Montana was down on his knees again tugging at the ties that held the holsters to my legs. He cussed a bit-the rain had soaked the leather and made it difficult to untie the knots. His hands fumbled between my thighs-so close to my cock that they accidentally brushed against it from time to time. Montana didn't appear to notice the contact-but I noticed, and noticed that it wasn't at all unpleasant. My face and my groin were becoming extremely warm.
"Okay." He commented as he tossed my gun belt up on the padding with one hand, as the other grabbed the waist of my pants and fumbled with the button. My cock felt like it was trying to reach for his hand as he pulled my zipper down. I got scared as my body was responding to Montana in a way I wasn't used to. I groaned and pushed his hands away. He looked at me worriedly.
"Lucky, what's wrong? You okay?"
"I can do it." I said quietly. I knew my face was as red as it felt, but thankfully Montana didn't say anything about it. He got to his feet and padded over to Kabaya-removing my bundle of soaked gear, and placing it all on the line by his things. I struggled out of my soaked pants-by the time they were fully off of my body, Montana had the saddle off of Kabaya and his own horse, and had put more wood onto the fire to keep it going.
The warmth of the fire was beginning to cover me, but for some reason this did nothing but send me into a fit of the shakes. My jaw trembled as I hugged myself for more warmth, but it wasn't helping. Montana kept his eyes on me as he hung my pants on the line and then returned. He was unbuttoning the top part of his undergarment.
"Wh-what are you doin'?" I stuttered.
"Slip the top of your underwear off." He instructed as he pushed the top of his own off. I silently gasped as I caught view of his strong muscular torso. It wasn't the first time I had seen Montana without his shirt on, but for some reason it felt like it was. My heart raced as his hands reached over to the buttons of my cotton undergarment.
"Wh-what..." was all I could breathe out as Montana gently slid the top part of my underwear off of my arms and torso. His eyes gazed over my own body, and I suddenly became very self-conscious. I didn't know why I was feeling so strange-why my body was reacting the way it was to Montana's touch. We were friends-we had been hittin' the trails together for two years now, ever since I tried to steal Kabaya. What was wrong with me?
"Come," Montana had pulled back the covers and motioned for me to get underneath. I maneuvered so that I could hide my arousal from him, and quickly slid under the warm covers, facing away from Montana so I could hide.
When I thought I was in enough control to settle down, Montana slid up behind me-his naked chest heating up the coldness of my bare back. I was still shaking, but no longer from the cold. I could feel his hot breath on my neck--sending sparks up my spine. My aching cock had taken all it could. As he wrapped me in his powerful arms, I erupted--covering the front of my underwear in my own seed. I gasped out loud.
"Lucky, what's wrong?" Montana sounded concerned. How concerned would he be of me if he had found out that he got me off? He'd probably beat the shit outta me and leave me to die.
I tried to mumble 'nothing', but I don't even think it sounded like any word in any language at all. Montana briskly rubbed my arms, and then huddled even closer to me.
"Body heat. You'll warm up in no time, kiddo." And he relaxed. I could hear his breathing change as he fell into a deep slumber. It was a long time before I could clear my head enough to drift off myself--his warm soft breath on my neck; his body pressed up against mine.