Summary:\u00a0\u00a0 Plain grub and a lumpy bed were all Ben Cartwright expected when a storm prevented his return to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Set in 1882, this is an Alternative Universe story.<\/p>\n
Rated:\u00a0\u00a0 MA (Mature Audience)\u00a0 Warning:\u00a0 Explicit language of a sexual nature. \u00a0If you are easily offended by the subject, read at your discretion.<\/p>\n
Word Count:\u00a0 3000<\/p>\n
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A Blissful Night in Harmony<\/strong><\/p>\n The storm came on suddenly, surprising driver and passengers alike with its ferocity.\u00a0 When the Overland Stage pulled into Harmony, California, the station master announced that thru service to Carson City was cancelled due to downed trees on the Kings Canyon Toll Road. It would take at least a day to clear the debris, he said, quickly adding that the stage line would cover the cost of an overnight stay at the local inn including dinner and breakfast.\u00a0 For passengers who lived in or near Harmony, the point was moot, but the Ponderosa was more than fifty miles away and Ben Cartwright saw no other alternative.\u00a0 With nothing to be done for it, however, he accepted the offer, resigned to an evening of plain pub fare and a lumpy bed.<\/p>\n Whenever he traveled on business, he did not like to stay away from the ranch longer than required for he worried about what changes his sons might make in his absence or what trouble might come up while he was gone.\u00a0 Granted, Joe was forty now and Jamie in his mid-twenties, but that did not preclude a predilection for mischief on the part of either.\u00a0 Besides, he had been looking forward to a quiet Sunday night at home before the pressures of the week began.<\/p>\n Ben raked the back of his white hair with his fingertips, smoothing the strands into place.\u00a0 Who am I kidding?<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>It was his sons who did not approve of his travelling alone at his age; sons who would worry when the stage did not arrive on Sunday afternoon as scheduled.\u00a0 He did not fool himself.\u00a0 Long gone were the days when he would be absent for months at a time, selling furs or negotiating the contracts that kept the Ponderosa solvent.\u00a0 That time was past, and he was past his prime.\u00a0 Oh, they would not say it.\u00a0 No, of course not.\u00a0 But he saw the looks that passed between them when they thought he was overdoing it, taking on too much for a man in his seventies.\u00a0 It\u2019s time for you to take it easy, Pa.\u00a0 Here are your pipe and slippers.\u00a0 No need for you to worry, Pa.\u00a0 We can take care of everything.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n He shook his head and heaved a deep sigh. The responsible thing to do was to notify his sons of the delay and assure them he would be home when the roads were clear.\u00a0 Instead of taking immediate shelter at Harmony\u2019s Bliss Inn as the station master had suggested, Ben asked for directions to Western Union and exited the stage office.<\/p>\n The frigid air took his breath away. \u00a0He turned up the collar of his coat and looked skyward at the roiling gray clouds shrouding the crowns of the stately pines that surrounded the hamlet.\u00a0 Tugging his hat lower on his brow, he hunched his shoulders forward against the wind.\u00a0 He had gone only a few steps when big drops of rain plopped on the dusty wood planks, leaving brown splatters on his black boots.\u00a0 By the time he arrived at his destination the ensuing downpour had washed his boots clean.<\/p>\n He did not know what possessed him.\u00a0 Maybe it was his now-shiny boots that said nothing was permanent, or a reminder of the inconsequence of man\u2019s plans in the face of Mother Nature, but suddenly the allure of some quiet time away from the ever-watchful Hop Sing and his boys was a welcome\u2014if unexpected\u2014opportunity.<\/p>\n Guilty thoughts wormed their way into his conscience as he stared at the blank paper the clerk had handed him.\u00a0 I am entitled, aren\u2019t I?<\/em>\u00a0 A few extra days to myself with no decisions to be made; no ledgers or contracts to review; no disgruntled employees; no familial discord to mediate.<\/em><\/p>\n Resolved, he filled out the form advising the family of his delay.\u00a0 Not to worry, he wrote, he would be home by Tuesday.<\/span>\u00a0 Wednesday<\/span>.\u00a0 His hand hovered in mid-air.\u00a0 Saturday.\u00a0 Saturday at the latest\u2014and handed the slip to the clerk with the requisite coin.<\/p>\n Telegram sent, Ben stepped onto the boardwalk and breathed in deeply, invigorated by the crisp pine-scented air.\u00a0 Not the ponderosa pines he was accustomed to, however, as the scent was vanilla.\u00a0 Jeffrey pines.<\/em>\u00a0 With a sure foot and determined stride he set off towards Bliss Inn.\u00a0 The rain had slowed to a fine prismatic mist bathed in the colors of the rainbow.\u00a0 Perhaps the food would not be as bad as he had thought.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n He was both pleased and a little disappointed to see that the Bliss Inn was a proper hotel.\u00a0 If truth be told, the idea of a roadside saloon with all-too-willing females available to occupants of the upstairs rooms had crossed his mind.\u00a0 It had been far too long since he had last enjoyed the pleasure of a woman. It was not the actual sex he missed so much.\u00a0 If that were all he wanted, there were any number of women in establishments from Denver to San Francisco to San Diego who would be delighted to service him.\u00a0 No, not that.<\/em>\u00a0 What he pined for was the simple touch of a woman. Her scent.\u00a0 The warmth of her body next to his.\u00a0 That was what he needed . . . to again be the object of a woman\u2019s desire.\u00a0 In his experience, few women had had his third wife\u2019s insatiable appetite for, and enjoyment of, sex.<\/p>\n Since Marie\u2019s death there had been other women who had shared his bed\u2014some who might have even become the next Mrs. Cartwright if not for circumstances beyond their control\u2014but none of them had fanned the flames the way his hot blooded, creole French wife had.\u00a0 Just thinking of the way her hands and mouth had caressed his body sent waves of desire rippling through his loins.\u00a0 He despaired to ever feel such ecstasy again.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n It began innocently enough.\u00a0\u00a0 Two solo strangers having dinner in an otherwise empty dining room at the Inn.\u00a0 It seemed silly to stare at each other across the room, so he rose, begged her pardon, and asked if he might join her.\u00a0 As anonymity suited both of them, no formal introductions were made.\u00a0 Polite conversation ensued over a dinner better than either had expected. \u00a0The lady ordered prime rib; he had venison as good or better than anything Hop Sing could prepare.\u00a0 She was a widow; he a widower, both with grown children, but no grandchildren.\u00a0 They talked of the weather, politics, the price of cattle, the theater, and what they were currently reading.<\/p>\n When he accidentally brushed the back of her hand as they both reached for the saltshaker at the same time, an electric shock coursed through his veins. Too startled for words, he mumbled an apology but did not immediately remove the offending hand.<\/p>\n He held his breath.\u00a0 She flushed.\u00a0 Their eyes locked.\u00a0 She stood.<\/p>\n \u201cA delightful evening, sir,\u201d she announced to anyone within earshot.\u00a0 \u201cThank you for the dinner conversation, but it\u2019s been a long day.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRoom six,\u201d she whispered as she excused herself from the table.<\/p>\n Ben signaled the waiter for more coffee and waited until the uncomfortable bulge in his pants eased before standing.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n He tapped lightly on the door of Room 6, unsure if he understood her meaning.\u00a0 He barely heard her husky response over the blood rushing in his ears.\u00a0 Tentatively, he opened the door and gaped.<\/p>\n \u201cLock the door.\u201d<\/p>\n She stood in front of the small fireplace.\u00a0 A dressing gown\u2014oyster to match her gray eyes\u2014caressed the curves of her body, slightly thick around the middle but still firm.\u00a0 With one hand she undid the tie that held her robe together allowing it to fall away revealing lacy lingerie that did little to conceal the body it covered.\u00a0 The firelight played on her alabaster skin making it appear almost translucent.<\/p>\n With the other hand, she removed the comb that held her long, white hair in place.\u00a0 The relaxed curls tumbled down over her shoulders brushing against her erect nipples.\u00a0 His pulse quickened as the lacy bodice strained against the rising of her ample bosom.<\/p>\n He did not recall crossing the room.\u00a0 In the next heartbeat she was in his arms pressing her lips against his.\u00a0 His right hand moved instinctively to cup her breast.\u00a0 She murmured, opened her mouth, seeking his tongue with her own. \u00a0Her breaths quickened.\u00a0 She threw back her head exposing her long, elegant neck and Ben smothered it with biting kisses.\u00a0 When he felt the thrust of her hips against his hardening member, he reached to turn down the kerosene lamp on the bedside table.<\/p>\n \u201cNo!\u201d she said, licking her lips.\u00a0 \u201cI want to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n He kicked off his boots and removed his vest swiftly before her hands stopped him.<\/p>\n \u201cLet me.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben paused, uncertainty in his eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cI insist.\u201d<\/p>\n Her breathing now under control, she began undressing him at a pace that drove him mad with desire.\u00a0 After she unknotted the green neckerchief, she drew it slowly across his neck, watching his brown eyes turn coal black as the pupils dilated.\u00a0 She let the scarf float to the rug and turned her attention to his face, skimming his features with her fingertips\u2014forehead, sideburns, eyebrows, lids, his broad nose, his lips. A shiver ran through him.\u00a0 He inclined his head forward for a kiss, but she tilted her head sideways and nibbled his ear, running her tongue round the inside before blowing in it. \u00a0He shuddered. \u00a0And then she did something he did not expect.\u00a0 She inserted an index finger into her mouth and sucked on it.\u00a0 Hard.\u00a0 About to explode and desperate to kiss her again, he lunged forward, but she rubbed her wet finger against his lips and whispered, \u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n With the necktie out of the way, she started on his shirt.\u00a0 As she undid each button, she pulled the cloth gently aside, planting kisses across his collarbone and licking the sweat which trickled down his breastbone.\u00a0 A low growl rumbled in his throat when she threaded her fingers through the hair on his chest and flicked her tongue against his nipples.<\/p>\n He protested weakly when she unbuttoned his pants and nearly lost all control when she reached inside.\u00a0 He pulled her hands away and pinned her arms to her body drawing her to him, lifting her off the floor until they were eye to smoldering eye, chest to heaving chest up against the bedroom wall.<\/p>\n \u201cDown, big boy.\u201d<\/p>\n He buried his face in her neck inhaling the scent of her hair. When her feet touched ground, he slid his fingers under the straps of her gown and pulled down sharply releasing her breasts from confinement.\u00a0 She silenced his groan with a sweet and tender kiss.\u00a0 He ached for more, but she was not yet ready for him to have his way.<\/p>\n Slowly stretching as if she were a coaxing feline, she took hold of the hem of her gown and pulled it seductively up her body and over her head exposing her nether regions. She stood there naked, allowing him to drink in his prize before she sank to her knees in front of him, pulling his pants and long johns down to his ankles. \u00a0He did not remember kicking aside the unwanted garments; it was all his quivering legs could do to remain willfully still while she held his member, massaging, licking, and sucking until it stood resolutely firm.<\/p>\n Ben lifted her once again and carried her to the bed, never taking his lips from hers.\u00a0 His hands and mouth wandered the unknown territory of her body, thirsting for knowledge.\u00a0 She did not lack desire, that was certain, but what did she want?<\/p>\n Ben forced himself to concentrate on every sensation so as not to come too quickly.\u00a0 His fingers stroked her outer thighs, marveling at the musculature. A horsewoman.\u00a0 <\/em>His hands felt the weight of her curved breasts and the firm roundness of her bum.\u00a0 He savored the saltiness of her skin.\u00a0 He teased and pinched her nipples, causing her to whimper and begin to grind harder, harder against the weight of his body.<\/p>\n He ardently alternated from fondling her breasts to rubbing her mound to gripping her buttocks, but he did not hear the same moans that had earlier punctuated her passion.\u00a0 When he inserted his fingers between the folds of her womanhood and found her wet, he decided the time was ripe whether she was ready or not.\u00a0 But again, she had other plans.<\/p>\n In one swift, sure move she pushed him off, rolled him over and straddled his loins, teasing the tip of his cock with her muff, promising full penetration but withdrawing before he could come.\u00a0 Just when he thought he could not endure anymore, she slid down his body forcing his legs apart in order to kiss his inner thighs.\u00a0 His breathing became more ragged with each touch of her lips as she inched her way up towards his navel and settled into position again before guiding his throbbing member into her slick honeypot.\u00a0 She moved her hips in slow circles, tightening and loosening her pelvic muscles around his engorged cock, rocking back and forth, up and down, rhythmically increasing the urgency of the moment.<\/p>\n They climaxed together as she arched her back and cried out.<\/p>\n That is what she wanted:\u00a0 Control. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Consciousness returned incrementally.\u00a0 Ben became aware of sounds first, the chiming of a clock tower, the clopping of a milk wagon; then the dusky light permeating the room through drawn curtains and sleep-caked lashes; then, awareness that his body ached in places it hadn\u2019t for a long time; and finally, heat.\u00a0 He rubbed his eyes and when his vision cleared he saw the fireplace had gone cold.\u00a0 Still, the sensation of heat persisted.\u00a0 Where?\u00a0 My back<\/em>.\u00a0 He twisted and there she was, curled up against him.\u00a0 His heart leapt.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t a dream!<\/em><\/p>\n He watched her as she slept, aware of the soft snore, the noises her stomach made, the scent of her.\u00a0 He drew a fingernail down her arm and watched the goosebumps rise.\u00a0 After a time she stretched languidly and turned toward him.<\/p>\n \u201cGood morning,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cToo early,\u201d she muttered.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you want to go back to sleep?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMmm.\u00a0 Do you want breakfast?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n He rubbed his thumb across her lips.\u00a0 \u201cThe only thing I want to eat is you.\u201d<\/p>\n This time they made love slowly, side-by side, taking their time in the light of day to explore each other\u2019s body, not embarrassed by age spots, stretch marks, or wrinkles for those were the marks of a long life, well lived.\u00a0 They took turns pleasuring each other and lay locked in an embrace, content to bask in the afterglow as their beating hearts returned to a normal cadence.<\/p>\n She had quite literally conquered him; he could deny her nothing.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n In the evening, they supped with other guests at a large table in the dining room, making only cursory eye contact with each other.\u00a0 The titillation of a clandestine affair added to the anticipation of what the night ahead held in store for them.<\/p>\n Ben made a show of dismay when he learned the stage to Carson would not be running again until Thursday, but inwardly he rejoiced.\u00a0 Two more days in Bliss!<\/em><\/p>\n Over the next two days, she could not get enough of him, and he often awoke fully aroused, her hands on his manhood demanding its attention.\u00a0 Nothing was out of bounds.\u00a0 Every fantasy, every desire materialized.<\/p>\n Marie, I have met your match.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n When it came time to depart, both lovers felt revitalized and decidedly younger than the septuagenarians they were.<\/p>\n The westbound stage to California arrived first.\u00a0 The gamut of emotions Ben experienced when Marie\u2019s son stepped down from the coach nearly knocked him over.<\/p>\n Joe grabbed his father\u2019s elbow to steady him.\u00a0 \u201cAre you all right?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m fine, son.\u00a0 What are you doing here?\u201d He laughed nervously. \u201cYou weren\u2019t worried, were you?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe looked over Ben\u2019s shoulder to see a handsome woman in a lavender dress with a bemused look on her face.\u00a0 Her white hair, neatly contained in a snood, contrasted starkly with the blush of her cheeks.<\/p>\n \u201cWorry?\u00a0 Me?\u00a0 That\u2019s your job, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll aboard for Sacramento!\u201d the station master called out after the last of the bags were loaded and secured up top.<\/p>\n When Ben assisted the woman in boarding, Joe noticed that she slipped something into his father\u2019s coat pocket.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t believe I ever caught your name, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBenjamin.\u201d<\/p>\n She nodded, her eyes twinkling. \u201cSafe journey to you, Benjamin.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you are?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVictoria.\u201d<\/p>\n The conqueror.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cThe same to you, Victoria.\u201d<\/p>\n When the stage jerked forward, Ben reached into his pocket and pulled out an ivory and gold hair comb.\u00a0 On the inside she had written a date and the words \u201cuntil we meet again.\u201d\u00a0 He rubbed his thumb across the smooth ivory before placing the comb in his breast pocket close to his heart.\u00a0 He then waved with all his might as the stagecoach turned the corner and disappeared.<\/p>\n This exchange had been keenly observed by Joe.\u00a0 He had been the youngest in the family for nearly three decades before his Pa adopted Jamie.\u00a0 He had learned early on that the only way to intuit what was happening around him was to watch, listen, and keep his mouth shut.<\/p>\n The conversation between his Pa and that woman had been perfunctory, but carnal heat radiated off both of them.\u00a0 Gone were Pa\u2019s stooped shoulders and weary voice so prevalent over the last year.\u00a0 His back was ramrod straight, his eyes bright, and his face flushed.<\/p>\n Of course, it could be the cold weather that made Pa\u2019s cheeks ruddy, but Joe did not believe it for a minute.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The End<\/p>\n September 2020<\/p>\n Author\u2019s Note:\u00a0\u00a0 Written for the 2020 Bonanza Brand Anniversary R-Rated Challenge.\u00a0 The challenge words were ivory and gold.<\/p>\n