Pushing the thong off the hammer of his colt, he switched the reins to his left hand and rode down carefully, pulling up occasionally to look over the ranch. What was it, what was bothering him? He stopped again and searched the lawn and outbuildings. Suddenly he saw what had been bothering him. The watering trough in the front of the house was empty. A dark patch of muddy ground surrounded the empty trough. And even though it was evening, feeding time for the livestock, the horses were stretching their necks through the fence, feeding on what little grass they could reach. It had all the earmarks of a house under siege. Now it was his job to search for those besieging the house and decide if they were the law, or lawless. "Easy boy," he said, reining in the horse. The horse was very eager to be off. Mat could hardly control him. Upon a sudden inspiration Mat slid off the horse, wound the reins around the saddle horn, and slapped the horse on the ass. It took off like a scalded rabbit. It took only a moment to reveal several of those hiding around the ranch. Two tried to stop his horse as he barreled into the yard. A man in the loft of the barn changed positions to get a shot at whoever may be riding the horse. He lowered his rifle when he saw it was riderless. This helped to make up Mat's mind. Very few lawmen ambushed riders from hiding. These men were not the law, he would bet on it. Voices called back and forth. Questions which went on unanswered. Finally two men cornered and caught his horse, tying it near the watering trough. His horse pawed at the muddy ground, drinking what little water it found in the mud. "Three men," Mat mused. "There's probably more around somewhere. I'll wait until nightfall." Mat's ears perked up at the sound of a female voice. He spun around, looking over the log he had been resting against. The voice was coming from a shattered window in the house. One man with a deep voice answered. If it weren't for the echoes from the outbuildings, he may have been able to understand what was being said. As it was, there were only echoes. Mat decided it was time to take a hand. He pulled his pistol from the holster and stuck it down into the back of his pants. He stood in plain sight and began walking toward the house. He stumbled, as if tired, then swore and beat against a dry bush to make noise. He heard a mumbled question. "Hold it," a voice came from the darkening yard. It was near the corn crib. "Have you seen my horse?" Mat called. "No. Go away." "I can see his tracks right here in front of me," Mat lied, "horse theft is a crime, you know." "Who you calling a horse thief?" a second belligerent voice asked. "You if you have my horse." "I don't. He's over there by the watering trough. Get him and get out," the same voice threatened. "Thanks kindly," Mat said, advancing toward his horse. It was too dark to see anyone by now. There was no light from inside the house. There had been no voice coming from there. Were they smart, or just afraid? "Hey, there's no water in the trough," he pretended surprise. "I know it," the same voice growled. "We ain't got any." "You ain't got a well? How do you water the stock?" Mat was talking to keep them off balance. He looked toward the broken window. There had been almost no glass hanging from the frame. It had probably been knocked out from the inside by a rifle. If he was quick, and accurate, he could dive through without a scratch. He dropped the horse's reins and took several steps toward the house. He saw the reflection from a rifle barrel as he neared the house. "I'm a friend," he whispered, then dove through the open window. His dive had been accurate, but it landed him against a solid body inside. He heard a woof of expelled air. He felt cloth, then glass against his hand. He raised it carefully to avoid cuts. The person on the floor struggled, then stood. The rifle swung toward him. He batted it down. "I told you, I'm a friend," he whispered urgently. "I've got no friends," a female voice whispered back. He was thrilled by the husky, sexy quality of her voice. He would have given anything to see the face that belonged to the voice. From where he sat, near the wall, there was enough light to show him a slender figure. That was a good start. "You seem to be surrounded by men of evil intent," he whispered, while brushing the broken glass from his hands. "You are outnumbered by at least three to one. I am a friend of anyone facing such odds." "Thanks," she sighed. "I could use some help. I could use some sleep," she admitted. "It's been three days. I could also use a bath," she said, sniffing something in the darkness. He could see her upraised arm and chuckled, knowing what she was sniffing. "You do what you have too," he said. "I'll keep watch." "Thank you sir, you are a gentleman." "At times," he admitted. "At other times I'm a downright scoundrel." She giggled as she left, a delicate and beautiful sound, like one of those fancy glass wind chimes he had seen outside of a store in St. Louis. He settled in by the window for a long night. Dozing lightly, Mat was startled awake by a horrible screeching sound. He stood and looked into the next room. A woman, naked from the waist up, was working a hand pump over a sink. Her glorious body was startling in the early morning light. Her breasts were firm, sagging only a little, despite their ample size. She turned and looked directly at him. He gasped and stepped back. He heard her laugh come from the next room. She was beautiful, he thought to himself. Her face and figure more than matched her sexy voice. So why was she alone? "You are beautiful," he said cautiously. "I guess so," she said without interest, "as are you sir," she said over the sound of falling water. "What's your name?" she asked. "Mat, Matthew Archer." "I'm Della. Mrs. Della Cage." "Missus?" "Widowed," she called. She was obviously washing her hair. "Oh," he said with sudden interest. "Where are your hands?" "Off rounding up for the fall. They won't be back for several days. My brother-in-law is outside somewhere. He was hoping to inherit from his brother, my late husband. I feel that since I was married to the son-of-a-bitch for seven years, I am more than entitled to this ranch." "Of course," he called, surveying the many hiding places outside. "How long has he been dead?" "Thursday," she called. Mat counted off the days on his fingers. Today was Sunday. She did not seem at all broken up about his death. Of course she did refer to him as a son-of-a-bitch. He leaned back and looked into the kitchen. The woman had her skirt raised, one leg up on the chair, washing her inner thighs with a white rag. He gasped again and sat erect, trying to focus his attention outside. When he turned back she was standing inside the doorway, buttoning the top of her dress. She was even more beautiful than he had assumed from that one short glance. She had black hair, smoothly tanned skin, and a light sprinkling of freckles on her nose and cheeks. She seemed to be about 30 years old. The morning sunlight, slanting through the kitchen window behind her, lit her dress from the rear, showing all of her womanly charms through the thin material. He could see most of her body in one quick glance. "My God," he sighed. "Thank you," she said with a dimpled smile. "I will take that as a compliment." She took up a broom and stood in front of the window, sweeping up the broken glass. He gasped in horror and tried to pull her away. "Relax," she said, looking through the broken window, "they won't shoot me. They need me to sign over the papers to Willie." "Willie?" "My brother-in-law." "Oh." "They would shoot you, of course, if they knew you were in here. On the other hand, they might simply leave," she said thoughtfully. "They were expecting to take over the ranch in one fell swoop. I imagine they are getting more than a little worried, and a bit thirsty," she said. "The watering trough if shot full of holes," he said, peeking out at his poor neglected horse. "I know, I shot it when they tried to sneak up and fill a canteen. I have water inside. The nearest water for them is three hours ride." "Oh. Good thinking," he said, watching her flowery dress approach his face, as she nearly backed into him. He leaned forward and sniffed her dress. He could almost smell her delicious ass through the thin material. He badly wanted to pull her to him and sniff to his heart's content. He couldn't, of course, he was a gentleman. She turned and looked down at him with a smile. "I need to sweep there," she whispered. He stood awkwardly, trying to hide his hard cock, poking against the material of his levis. She noticed his embarassment, then looked down at it's cause. Her eyes followed his crotch as he knelt on the other side of the window. "Been a while since you've had a woman?" she asked sympathetically. "It seems like a lifetime," he quietly admitted. "Would you like me?" she asked, moving closer. He closed his eyes and allowed his nose to press against the material of her dress. "Oh yes," he gasped. "Ok," she said simply. At first he didn't believe his ears, then he didn't know how to proceed. In desperation he grabbed her thighs and pulled her ass into his face. He breathed deeply, inhaling the fragrance of her womanhood through the material. "That feels good," she whispered. Mat worked up the material of her dress until he found himself facing her bare thighs. He leaned forward and kissed her left hip, then turned her so she was facing him. He pressed his nose against her cotton pantaloons. He could smell the strong aroma of woman through the cloth. He gave a shuddering gasp, pulled down the waistband and kissed her stomach. She squealed lightly and pulled his face against her. He kissed the belly button, centered in her firm stomach, then pushed down her pantaloons until he could see her mound. It was large and dark, very inviting. He pressed his nose into the patch of black hair, then lowered his lips until he touched her warm flesh. She shuddered, with both hands on the top of his head. Gently she pushed downward until his lips were firmly touching her moist petals of pussy flesh. He sucked them into his mouth. She bent over his head, crying like a little girl. Using his large calloused thumbs, he pried the lips of her pussy apart and began licking. The woman grunted and slid her legs farther apart. Mat tipped his face upward and supped on her moist loins. Her pussy spasmed around his mouth and tongue. Her thighs tightened and quivered, in response to his seeking lips and agile tongue. He slid his stiffened member up inside her vagina and wiggled it around as far as it would go. The woman gave a panting gasp each time his tongue fluttered inside her. Her juices started flowing, adding a delicious flavor to her already flavorful pussy. As he grunted and nurse on her pussy flesh, Mat was bothered by the fact that he could not see the enemy outside. For all he knew they were sneaking closer, ready to shoot him when he showed. The feeling was so strong that the tore his mouth away from her pussy and took a quick look outside. All was quiet. His horse slapped it's tail at flies, completely unconcerned with the world around him. The woman was fumbling at his belt. He pulled his pistol out of his pants and pushed it down inside the holster, before removing it and opening his pants. He slid his pants down enough to reveal his throbbing cock. The woman gasped and immediately turned, placing her pussy on the head of his cock. Without warning she impaled herself on his long, throbbing manhood. They both gasped in unison. Mat looked outside, as the woman began slowly rising and falling on his cock. It was absolute heaven. Mat reached around the woman and opened the top of her dress. He filled both hands with her firm, bulbous breasts. His fingers twirled her nipples. She cried out as she bobbed on his hard cock. Her ass was being flattened out of shape on his lap. She mashed herself down as far as she could go on his lap. She felt his cock touching deep inside her. "Oh yes," she gasped, throwing her head back. He looked at her red lips and pulled her mouth closer. He kissed her passionately, trying to follow her warm lips as she bounced in his lap. He couldn't remember a more glorious fuck. His cock was throbbing, desperately trying to grow and fill her even more than it already was. He could feel the veins pulsing on his manhood. He could also feel her pussy muscles clutching his manhood as it slid up and down. He felt a distinct fire building in his loins. He ground his teeth together and tipped his head back, ready for the explosion. To his horror, he realized that the woman was already having her orgasm. She screamed when he tried to piston his cock inside of her. She held onto his legs, forcing him to remain still. Too late his orgasm waned and faded. Her hot wet pussy slowly pulled off his manhood. He whined in frustration. "Don't worry," she said with a smile. "I will take care of you." He liked the sound of that. His balls were hurting from restrained passion. He badly needed relief. The woman laid on his legs and lowered her mouth to his throbbing cock. Still coated with her juices and a film of cream, she took him into her mouth and sucked. "Oh my God," he gasped. He had never seen anything more exciting. Her mouth was filled with her own juices. She seemed to savor them. She sucked and swallowed, then looked up at him with those dark brown eyes. He exploded in her mouth without warning. He felt embarrassed, but she didn't seem to care. In fact, she seemed to enjoy his spurting cum. She swallowed it quickly in an attempt to keep up. Finally he stopped shooting cum. She took her time in sucking the full length of his cock, before she gently sucked the cum from the head of his cock and smiled up at him. "Your cream was very sweet," she said, wiping her mouth. "It had been some time, hadn't it? A man grows sweeter with age." "You are the sexiest woman I have ever seen," he gasped. "Thanks. I wish my late husband had felt that way. He was more interested in his sister." "In his own sister?" Mat gasped. "Yeah," she said in disgust. "Oh, oh, something's going on outside," she warned. Mat grabbed his pistol and looked outside. The three men were advancing across the yard. One stopped and looked at his horse in surprise, then came on with the others. "Fay!" a gruff voice called. "Hold up right there," Mat said as they reached the edge of the porch. One man started to move, so Mat put a shot in the dirt in front of him. "Who's that?" the harsh voice demanded. It belonged to a large, overweight man with an ugly face. "None of your damned business," Mat growled. "Drop your weapons." "Damned if I will," the man said. "Dead if you don't," Mat promised. "Dam you," the man shouted. "Probably so, but you are still dropping your weapons," he said amiably. It took a few minutes, but they finally dropped all their weapons on the edge of the porch. "Now turn around and start walking. Don't stop this side of Silver City, or I will shoot you on sight." "We've never seen you," the ugly man complained. "That's right, but I've seen you," Mat said with a laugh. "Now start walking." He watched the men until they disappeared over the hill. "I need to water my horse and see if they are really going," he said, standing and taking the rifle from her hands. He started to step through the window, then went to the door with a sheepish grin. "I'll be back," he promised. "Good, because we have three days until my men return. Let's make the most of it." He nodded and ran to his horse. He was half way to the hill before he remembered that he had forgotten to water his horse. Oh well, there was plenty of time for that.