Saving the White Cougar by Terry Spear
Chapter 13
Later that night after the Halloween activities ended, Ted and Stella ran with other cougars across the pastureland, and then when they returned, Ted and Stella said goodnight to everyone as families left with little ones and some of the mated couples still hung around visiting, but Stella was ready to call it a night with Ted. She'd been missing him and wanted to just chill out. Sure, tomorrow, she would help to clean up things, but she wanted to make love to Ted.
The two weeks she had left at work would go by quickly as she made plans to move, but still, she wished she'd already done it and she was here and staying and not returning.
She'd had so much fun and seeing Ted again made her realize that her thinking about him hadn't been just a euphoric delusion.
"I can't believe how much you've opened my world up to the cougar happenings, and how fun it has been," she said.
"I'm more than glad you're joining us for good. And me, especially."
* * *
Ted was thrilledthat Stella was having such a delightful time with him at the Halloween festivities. He'd about knocked himself out trying to get everything ready, more than he had at any past event, wanting to thrill her and wanting her to come here to stay here. With him.
He couldn't thank Tracey enough for renovating the bunkhouse and making it a place that appealed to Stella too, enough so that she could stay there with him until they finalized other plans.
Once they were in his bedroom, that he was now seeing as their bedroom, he pulled off her cowgirl boots, glad she had picked them out for the dance, and they would be great for riding Celestina. He began to help Stella out of her long dress and smiled at the full slip she was wearing that had made her skirt have the fullness. Then she was all legs and bikini panties, not pantaloons like the ladies would have worn in the old days.
He pulled off her socks and then she helped him off with his boots. Then she was tackling his big buckle featuring a cougar, naturally, and once she'd unbuckled his belt, she slid his zipper down and he was so ready for her. Even dancing with her had turned him on, and he could have danced the night away with her.
She tugged his jeans down his hips, and he pulled them off the rest of the way. Socks were yanked off and tossed aside. Then he began kissing her again, his hands cupping her face, but she was still busy undressing him as if she couldn't wait to take this to the bed.
She was unbuttoning his vest and then pulling it off his shoulders and arms. Then she was working on the snaps on his western shirt, while he was kissing her again. He reached up and pulled her hair loose from the clip that was holding it on top of her head, letting the silky dark strands fall over her shoulders. He ran his fingers through the soft curls but had to relinquish the task when she started to unsnap the snaps on his long sleeves. First one, then the other.
Her bra was next to go, a pretty, blue lacy creation that hugged her breasts like he was about to do. Once he'd freed her of the lace, he placed his hands on her breasts and gently squeezed. She sighed against his mouth and he teased her tongue with his.
For a moment, they were caught up in the kiss, his hands on her buttocks, pulling her body closer and her hands on his face, as if she cherished him like he cherished her.
But then she slid her hands done his sides and reached for his waistband and pulled his boxer briefs down his legs until he could kick them aside. Then he was sliding her blue lace panties off her and ready to take this to the mattress. He lifted her up, her legs wrapping around him as he moved onto the bed. He was so eager to penetrate her slick sheath, but he needed to make sure she was just as ready for him as he was for her.
He began kissing her mouth again, loving her warmth and sweetness and softness. Loving her.
* * *
Stella was soready to be Ted's one and only, just as she was ready for him to be her one true love. He was everything she had dreamed the perfect—well, not that everyone was perfect—but close to it—mate would be—with the added benefit? Her dream hero was a real cowboy. And man, did working on the ranch make him ripped in all the right places. She loved that about him, running her hands over his sculpted chest, feeling his biceps tightening as he swept his hand down her breast, her belly, and worked his way down to the area between her legs that was aching for his touch, his penetration.
He began to stroke her, tentatively at first, then firmer, faster while he watched her face, looking to see her response. She was lost in his touching her nub, the way he was working her, trying to bring her to pleasure, before he began kissing her again, as if satisfied he was doing it right. As if he was hitting the right erotic spot with enough vigor and determination to make sure he attended to her needs.
The intimacy between them escalated. She kissed him back more passionately, seeking and gaining entrance, stroking his tongue and pulling back, enticing him to do the same with her. And he obliged as if they already knew each other's every move. Their pheromones were all over the place, the musky smell of their sex encouraging them to take this further, to keep going, to not stop for anything.
As if he were stopping, or as if anyone would call on him to stop, she figured. This was their time and the way they conquered it would be the beginning of a beautiful relationship that had begun with pain and terror.
This was what she needed in her life. Him. A cougar who saw her as being beautiful, no matter what color fur she wore.
"I love you," he said against her mouth, his fingers still working the magic down below.
“I love you too.” She felt like she was climbing to the top of the cliffs, eager to crest them. To feel the exhilaration of Ted's touch. To see the world in a different way. She was sliding her hands over his body, feeling the heat against her fingertips, the muscles rippling with effort. He was beautiful on the outside, just as much as he was on the inside.
His scruffy whiskers brushed against her cheek as he nuzzled her, and then he was kissing her again, his blue eyes like pools of deep water, heavily lidded, his every enhanced cougar sense taking everything in like hers were. His erection was pressing against her leg, steel rod and ready for action and she was ready for him. Wet. Hot. Eager.
Just a little bit more and she would reach the top of the cliffs. Just a little bit more and—she cried out, the orgasm hitting her before she was ready and she smiled at him and he kissed her mouth, moving his hand to her breast and cupping it.
"Are you ready?" he asked, in a husky, turned-on way.
"Yeah, always." And that earned her one of his sexy smiles.
He pushed her legs aside and began to penetrate her with the tip of his weeping penis, and then he was in all the way, and then thrusting hard.
Oh, yes, this was what she had dreamed of at night. Being with Ted in the throes of passion, but it wasn't anything like the real thing—of feeling his body sliding against hers and his stiff erection plunging deep inside her. Or his fingers stroking her to climax first.
She breathed in his manly scent, tasted the sweet treats he'd eaten at the party on his tongue and mouth, felt the heavenly way his hand swept down her side and then brushed away a curl on her cheek and he kissed her there. He didn't ease up on thrusting into her as if he couldn't stop himself if he tried, and she didn't want him to. And then he was slowing and thrusting hard as if he was near the end.
"Oh, Stella, yeah," he said, exploding deep inside her, groaning out the words, "you are mine."
She smiled at him and hugged him close. "I'm not giving you up for anything, yet, there are a bunch of women at work who would switch places with me in a heartbeat."
He finally moved off her and he draped his arm across her chest, smiling at her, looking as satiated as she imagined she looked. "They would never fill your shoes."
"No one would ever fill your cowboy boots either." And they snuggled for a long time, just enjoying the aftermath of their lovemaking.
She realized by making love to him, telling him she loved him, and his telling her he loved her, everything had changed between them. Now, she was truly eager to resign her job.
* * *
It was finallytime to just sleep, to dream about the changes in Ted’s life, the good changes that would last forever.
He was glad he'd found Stella to be his mate and that she'd felt the same way about him as he snuggled in bed with her for the rest of the night. He did think of all the chores the other guys would have to do without him while he was having a vacation of sorts with Stella, but this was important too and he wouldn't give this up for anything.
When he awoke in the morning, despite having felt her leg across his legs, or her arm across his chest, her head resting on his chest, as if she were afraid—like him—that the dream would end and they wouldn't be together, he realized she was here with him, perfectly happy like he was. He thought of getting up and starting their breakfast, the early riser that he was, but he couldn't move a muscle in that direction. He loved feeling her snuggling against him and didn't want to wake her. Usually, when he woke, he was out of bed in a flash, no two ways about it.
But with her, he had a damn good reason to stay in bed with her. Before he knew it, he had drifted off to sleep again, and this time when he woke, she was smiling at him.
He chuckled. "I woke earlier and thought to get us some breakfast. But skipped that notion to cuddle with you longer."
"And fell back to sleep."
"Yeah, which proved to me I needed to stay in bed with you longer anyway."
"I've been awake for a while and thought to get up and make us breakfast, but I know you don't sleep late in the mornings and no way was I going to wake you because of it."
He smiled and leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Why don't we get up and have breakfast and go for a ride then?"
"Oh, yeah, I'd like that." But we need to clean up the Halloween stuff."
"Yeah, but not until a little later. Everyone will be getting up in a bit after having such a late night." But then he got a call from Hal and hoped it wasn’t work related.
“Hey, Ted, you know the offer still stands on the 150 acres. We have 800 acres. 650 is good enough for us. You carve out a section of land and build a house on it if you and Stella are heading in that direction," Hal said.
"Yeah, we are, and we're mated. We'd like a parcel of land down by the river, but high enough elevation that when we have floods, the house will be safe. You know the area I mean that I showed you before, if that's all right with you."
"Hell, yeah. You know in truth, having another home on the acreage will help to provide more eyes on the property. And more room at the bunkhouse for the two new hires we have."
"Thanks, Hal."
"Tracey and I wanted you to have it. Ever since you became part of our family, I've wanted to give you the acreage. Nothing's changed except you are mated and you need a homestead to call your own."
"Okay, well we sure appreciate it."
"Oh, and congratulations on the mating. I think you worked even faster at it than I did."
Ted laughed. "I thought you worked fast." Then they ended the call and Ted told Stella, "Hey, honey, we've got our own homestead."
"What?"
"One-hundred and fifty acres."
"Ohmigod, we're land rich." She hugged Ted tight.
He kissed her. "Yeah, we are. And we'll set the house on the property that overlooks this river, right here." He showed her a map of the property. "It's the area I had always wanted if I ever found a mate and finally took Hal and Tracey up on their offer of owning the property."
"We can fish in the river," she said.
"And paddle in it. And swim in it too, during hot summer days."
"When you took care of me in the barn, I had no idea it would mean me being mated, having a new job, a real home, and acreage. It's like a dream come true."
"You are that for me. We'll have to build some stables out there so we can have the horses whenever we want to ride. It also means we'll have to have security cameras up to serve as sentry duty, just in case any hunters show their faces out our way."
"But it's still safer than being in Grand Junction," she said. "Right?"
"You'd better believe it. We have each other and all of Yuma Town to protect us." He kissed her and she kissed him back. “We can ride out there and see the property.”
“I can’t wait to see it.”
Once they had apple cider donuts and sausages, they took the appaloosas out for a ride across the valley. The sun had already risen but it was socked away behind building clouds and it looked like they were going to get some rain.
Both horses were eager to get out and exercise and Stella and Celestina were getting along famously. "Have you thought about a wedding date and where to have the ceremony?” He wanted to get the plans rolling.
"Here. I'm not sure about the wedding date. Uhm, maybe in between Thanksgiving and Christmas? That way we can see your family for Thanksgiving, and they can return here for Christmas and the wedding?"
"Okay, that sounds good to me." Tying the knot was something he didn't want to delay doing. "And we could go over house plans this weekend while you're here."
"Yeah, that would be good. For the wedding, even Koda and Zula should be there, freshly washed, smiles on their faces, tongues hanging out, him in a bowtie and her in a lacy collar. I’ll never forget how both the dogs were sleeping by my side, as if protecting me while I was resting from my injuries.”
“Yeah, I was looking for them and Kolby said they went into the bunkhouse. I couldn’t believe I’d find them sleeping next to the guest room bed.”
“You let them stay.”
“Sure. They were worried about you.”
“Thank you.”
He didn't mean to get them all scheduled up with stuff, but he did want to iron out some things so they could begin building their own place and figure out the wedding plans. "I figure once you've moved into the bunkhouse, you can get with the other ladies and talk about the wedding. But for this weekend, I want you all to myself."
She laughed. “There will be time enough when I move here to work on wedding plans."
"Right. And the weekend in between, after you give your two-weeks' notice, we'll be busy packing up your place."
"And other stuff."
He smiled. "Yeah. The other stuff takes priority over anything else."
"And then I'll finish moving the next weekend and we'll be here."
But he was thinking, unless she had a lot to move, he wanted her here for that last weekend. He’d move her Friday night and then be here for the whole weekend so they could have fun together.
"You know, I should have thought of this before we said 'I do,' but what if our kids are white cougars too?"
"They may be, and they'll be adorable. The only difference is that you have a whole bunch of cougars to love them, and they won't be given up for adoption, or served emancipation papers. They'll be loved by everyone, whether they're white furred or tanned furred."
She sighed. "Okay, good. I thought about it once, and we've had so much going on, I forgot about it. But if you hadn't thought of it, I wanted to be sure you could back out of the relationship before we got married, if it bothered you too much."
Smiling at her, he shook his head as they walked the horses through the woods. "You're mine for keeps. I did think about our offspring, but only in passing and they will be much loved no matter what."
She breathed a sigh of relief again.
"I know you've suffered from this your whole life, but you really are just one of us now," Ted said. "Nobody wants to lose you for any reason. Your parents and your adoptive parents didn't know the treasure they had in their midst. We do. I do."
"That's why I love you. You say such nice things, but you mean them too. Did you want to run as cougars tonight to the waterfall? I want to check out the area behind the waterfall and climb the cliffs to see what's beyond them."
"Absolutely. It might be rainy tonight, but I'm game if you are."
"Maybe earlier then. It would be more fun if we're not getting soaked on the run there."
"Okay, we'll think of something else to do when it's raining."
She smiled at him. "A western movie."
"And more." He planned to do more when they got home from riding and after they had lunch. Or before. With Stella, he was always just winging it. He loved doing what she loved doing, so he was good with whatever they came up with.
Then they would help take down Halloween decorations afterward.
"Did you get the fixings for the steak fajitas? Ever since you mentioned them last weekend after I was injured, I've been craving them."
"I did indeed. Would you like them for lunch?"
"Yes! I will think of nothing else until we return home."
Then he steered them to an old stone building off in the distance.
"What's that?"
"The old homestead. The Havertons have owned this property for ages."
"Oh, if I'd known of this, I could have hidden here after I was shot."
"You never would have made it. It's too far from the main ranch house and we never would have found you in time."
He dismounted from Pablo and tied him to a tree branch, and then helped Stella down. Then he tied Celestina next to Pablo. "Okay, this is a rattlesnake haven, but we can have a peek inside. They'll overwinter in old buildings like this. But as cold as it is, if there are any in there, they'll be sluggish." He used his phone light inside and they moved slowly into the building that had only half a roof, most of the walls still standing.
He didn't hear any rattling, and he figured nothing would come out to strike at them, though he was being cautious just in case. "Sometimes the kids want to come in here when it's hot, to get in the shade, but we tell them it's not a good idea because of the rattlesnakes that want to get in the shade too."
“This is so cool. I can’t imagine living here way back in the old days.” Stella shivered.
"Are you okay?" He rubbed her back.
"Yeah, it just brings back memories of being bitten."
Ted should have thought about that. He took her riding all over, showing her the pastureland and forested land, the river and the site where he would have the house built.
"This is beautiful, Ted. Can we have a rock wall around a garden too?"
He smiled. "You bet. I've often come here to view the beauty of this spot, thinking the whole backside of the house would have big windows to look out on the mountains and the river. It's high enough that the house would never flood if the water rose, but we can just run out the back door and play in the river. With kids? It'll be perfect."
"This will be perfect. And we can see the sun setting in that direction and—"
Three deer ran across the property and stopped to drink way off in the distance at the river's edge.
"And see all the wildlife too. This is just beautiful."
"Yeah, but I would never have taken Hal and Tracey up on their offer of the land until I met you. And then, I knew it would be the place to build our own home."
She smiled at him. "Our first real home together, and our first real home."
"Yeah, it couldn't be more perfect." He was glad she loved the land as much as he did. He knew the whole lay of the land, or he would have asked her where she wanted to put a house. But she seemed thrilled, so he was glad.
They heard thunder off in the distance then, and Ted said, "Let's head on back before the thunderstorm catches up to us."
On the return to the bunkhouse, they spied more deer racing across the pastureland.
"I bet you have tons of wildlife here," Stella said.
"Yeah, goats, deer, bear, coyote, an occasional wolf, and lots and lots of cougars. Not to mention a wide variety of birds—several different kinds of waterfowl. It's a great place to teach the kids about the wildlife that lives in our area. We taught the kids how to swim in the lake, the ponds, how to climb the cliffs as cougars and—"
"How to ride horses," Stella said.
He smiled at her. "Yeah. I'm sure glad you love the horses."
"And everything western—one cowboy especially."
By the time they arrived at the stables, it was pouring rain and they put the horses up, rubbed them down, and fed them before they headed inside to shower and make lunch. He'd had a great time already with Stella, but he hated how fast the weekend would slip by and he'd be missing her all week long.
The Australian shepherds both ran up to greet them as they came in from the rain and Ted shook his head. "You two are a wet mess." Ted grabbed a couple of old towels and began drying Koda.
"Don't the dogs usually stay at the main house?" Stella grabbed the other towel and began drying Zula.
“Here with me usually. But Kolby’s been taking them to get them out of our hair for the time being.”
After making love in the shower—no plans were better than scheduling things out sometimes—they made the fajitas together. Usually when Ted and Kolby took turns cooking, one would cook, the other would clean. But Ted had fun actually making the meal with Stella. Though he hadn't expected her to hug and kiss him while he was cooking, when he was usually totally focused on the task at hand. And that made it even nicer.
They finally sat down to eat, and she raved about his fajitas and how they were the best she'd ever eaten.
She wasn't kidding and she placed an order for more. He laughed and obliged. They'd worked up an appetite since breakfast.
The rain was beating down on the roof and the lightning was streaking across the sky in sheets and then forking to the ground, thunderous booms sounding minutes later.
"I guess none of us will be helping to take stuff down from the Halloween party for a while," she said.
"No. It'll get done eventually. Do you want to watch a movie?" he asked, after they ate the rest of their fajitas and then cleaned up the kitchen.
"Yeah, anything you want. It doesn't have to be western, really. I love everything."
So they picked a futuristic dystopian story, he started a nice fire in the fireplace to warm them up and they snuggled under a plaid blanket on the couch, the rain pouring in waves, the wind blowing, the lightning flashing across the sky, and the thunder booming overhead. He just hoped they wouldn't lose their electricity, though he knew what he was doing if they did. Forget flashlights and lanterns. He was taking Stella back to bed.
They ended up watching another movie after that, the storm not letting up and he made mulled wine to drink while they enjoyed the movie. This was nice, being with Stella like this. It wasn't the same as watching movies with Kolby, though luckily, they liked the same kind of stories, but snuggling with Stella was super nice.
When it was time for dinner, Stella wanted more fajitas.
Ted laughed. "Sure, I've got more." He had enough to make them for Kolby and the other ranch hands too, and extras in case they wanted them. His mother had always told him it was better to have more than enough food for a meal, than not enough—when she was entertaining guests. And since Kolby was at his brother's house for the weekend, and the other ranch hands at the main house, Ted had plenty of fixings for more fajitas for Stella and him.
"Good," she said, and she was already cutting up more bell peppers, really getting into the role of being his assistant chef. Or maybe learning how to do this if he wasn't around and she wanted to fix these for herself. Like even next week while she was still at the apartment in Grand Junction.
"I'm glad you're enjoying them."
"Oh, I am. I've only had them this good on a trip once. They were out of this world, but you managed to top even those."
