Ball and Chain (2 page)

“No need to tell me what my job is or isn't.”

Despite Ned's cross tone of voice, Clint kept his friendly smile in place and his eyes locked upon the barber's reflection. When he saw the embarrassed way Ned kept glancing at the mirror, Clint had to fight to keep from laughing.

“Come on, Ned,” Clint said. “You're squirming worse than a boy at his first visit to a cathouse. What could be so bad?”

Ned looked around at the rest of his shop. Even though Clint was the only customer in the place, Ned glanced over at his window to make sure nobody was about to walk in. No one other than Clint was interested in the daily special, which grated against the barber for a reason other than the lack of business.

“It's flowers,” Ned grumbled.

“What?”

Speaking in a sharp growl, Ned said, “The art is flowers. I . . . cut the petals and leaves, arrange them into pictures, and fix them onto a board. Some lady up in Hinterland saw my work when her pa was riding through town and she put in an order. I finished it and she offered to pay triple what I was expecting to get and now I need to deliver it.”

Clint furrowed his brow as he tried to imagine what sort of picture the barber was describing. “That sounds . . . pretty.”

“Go on and laugh, but it ain't easy to make.”

“I'm sure it isn't. Why don't you deliver it yourself? I'm sure this lady and her pa would like to meet the artist.”

Snapping at Clint's hair with the scissors, Ned replied, “I got a business to run and I don't have time to—”

“Ow!” Clint yelped as the scissors snipped off a little chunk of his earlobe.

“Dammit. Sorry about that.” Reaching for a towel and dipping it in some water, Ned swiped at the little patch of blood. “It ain't too bad. If you want to go, you can leave. No charge for the trim.”

Clint touched his finger to his ear and only found a bloody nick. “Finish the haircut, but slow down some, all right?”

“Yeah.”

“So you'd rather be known as a barber than an artist?”

“Folks around here consider painting as something that's just done to walls and fences. If word gets out that I do . . . well . . . what I do with flowers, I'll never hear the end of it.”

“Another ten dollars on top of the original offer, huh?”

“And I'll pay for your expense, including one night in a hotel once you get to Hinterland,” Ned quickly added.

Clint had meant to accept the job without trying to squeeze the barber for any more of his money. But since Ned offered it up so easily, Clint was certain that Ned's artwork was more than valuable enough to make up for the difference. In the end, Ned seemed like a nice enough fellow and Clint was basically headed in that direction anyway. A bit of extra money in his pockets couldn't hurt.

There wasn't much to iron out about the details of Ned's delivery. It was a straightforward job that involved riding from one place to another. Ned rattled off plenty of details about his artwork, but most of that seemed to come out in a rush once he realized Clint was one of the few people he could talk to about the flower pieces. All Clint needed to concern himself with was that the art was delicate and not to be dropped. It was also going to be delivered to the stable where he'd rented a stall for Eclipse.

The back of Clint's head was still itching from his haircut when he finished his early supper. Running his hand along the fresh cut on his ear, Clint hoped Ned was a better artist than he was a barber. Otherwise, the man might be out of business real soon.

With only one saloon in town, there wasn't much to keep Clint occupied. He'd only been there for three days and the locals already knew to steer clear of him when he sat at a poker table. The beer served at that saloon tasted more like the barrel it was stored in, which didn't leave many other reasons for him to dawdle. Clint was thankful when he got to the stable and found something waiting there for him.

“This was delivered here,” a little blonde wearing jeans and a checkered shirt said as she walked toward Clint. Her boots were just as worn through as any cowboy's, but the curves beneath her shirt made her stand apart from a typical stable worker. Dot had always shown a smile to Clint since he'd first arrived. She'd also kept her short blond hair tied into pigtails, even when she'd stayed with Clint after the stables had been locked up for the night.

The package in Dot's hands was the size of a framed painting and wrapped in brown paper as well as several lengths of twine. “That's from Ned?”

“Sure is. What is it?”

Although Ned hadn't spelled it out as such, Clint knew well enough that the barber wasn't anxious for anyone to know that he put together frilly designs made out of flower scraps. Keeping his poker face intact, Clint shrugged and said, “Just a picture of his shop he wants delivered to Oregon.”

“A picture of his shop? Who does he know in Oregon?”

“I don't know. Maybe he's comparing notes with some other barber.”

It wasn't a perfect explanation, but it was enough for Dot. She shrugged her shoulders and handed the package over to him. “Well, here you go. Are you fixing to leave soon?”

Clint accepted the package that was all but tossed his way. Doing his best to put it under his arm without looking like he was cradling a baby, he nodded. “I've got business of my own in Oregon. There are some old friends of mine who need someone to watch their backs for a while.”

Dot sidled up to him and ran her hands down along Clint's chest. “Sounds exciting.”

“Not as such. They're trappers looking to strike out into uncharted territory. I'm a little more familiar with the area, so I offered to go along as a guide.”

“More than just a guide, I'd wager,” she said as she reached down to touch the modified Colt holstered at Clint's side.

“Things could get rough,” he told her. “That's why they want me to go along instead of just anyone with a sense of direction.”

Dot's face was smooth and her rounded cheeks made her look at least five years younger than she was. Now that she was close enough, Clint could even smell the fresh scent of her hair. “Still sounds exciting to me. But I'd prefer it if you stayed around for a while to watch my back.”

Clint felt his body responding to her. He hadn't been in town for long, but Dot had caught his eye the moment he brought Eclipse to the stable. Every night since then, they'd been spending plenty of time together. They usually spent some time in the mornings as well. He set the package down so he could place his hands upon Dot's hips. Clint had felt her body plenty of times over the last few days and nights, but the way she wriggled between his hands still put a smile on his face. His smile grew a bit more when he moved his hands down to cup her firm buttocks and pull her closer.

“Does your back need watching?” Clint asked.

“Of course,” Dot replied as she leaned back so she could pull her shirt open to reveal a thin cotton camisole. “But you could also watch my front if you like.”

Clint watched Dot's back after all.

He watched her back arch as he grabbed hold of her hips and entered her from behind. She was on all fours in the corner of one of the empty stalls at the back of the stable. Dot stretched out both arms and rested her chest against the floor as Clint slid in and out of her. When she straightened her arms again, Dot snapped her head back and got her pigtails to wiggle against her naked shoulders.

“That's the way,” she said. When she felt Clint grab her pigtails and pull her head back a little, she grinned and added, “You know just how I like it.”

Dot's pigtails were long enough for Clint to hold like a set of reins. He pulled them back just enough to lift her chin, but not so hard that it hurt her. It was something that took a bit of practice, but he must have gotten it right because Dot had worn her hair in the pigtails every night since the first one they'd spent together. She even had a special little groan that came up from the back of her throat whenever Clint tugged those pigtails from behind. He pulled them now as he drove his cock all the way into her until he heard that moan once more.

Dot nudged her head forward until Clint let go of her hair. As soon as she was free to move, she crawled toward the wall and then turned around to look at him. “So you're really leaving?” she asked.

Clint had to suck in a breath to answer her, but he nodded and replied, “Yeah. More than likely at first light tomorrow.”

“Then I want to get a good look at you before you go.” With that, she guided Clint toward a pile of loose hay and shoved him toward it.

He let himself fall into the hay and then nestled his back against the rough padding. He didn't have to wait long before Dot climbed on top of him and straddled his waist. Dot positioned herself so Clint's rigid penis rubbed between her legs, but didn't quite go in. She wiggled her hips back and forth as if to tease him for a while before allowing him to fully indulge in what she was offering.

Dot's body was lean and getting close to being considered skinny. Her trim figure was tight and a bit muscular from spending her days doing the work needed to keep her stable running. She had slender hips that were just wide enough for Clint to hold onto them. Her thin arms and legs wrapped around him nicely without feeling too bony. Even her small breasts were more than perky enough to match the rest of her. Little pink nipples stood erect like bits of candy.

“You sure you don't want to stay awhile longer?” she whispered.

“I meant to leave sooner,” Clint told her. “I just couldn't tear myself away.

“On second thought,” he added as he strained to look toward the double doors leading out of the stable, “we might want to take this back to a bed before someone finds us.”

“Worried about my customers?” Dot asked as she reached down to guide him to the wet lips of her pussy. “If someone comes by to peep, we might as well make sure they get an eyeful.” With that, Dot lowered herself down until she took every inch of Clint's stiff column of flesh inside of her.

Clint stretched out and placed his hands upon Dot's waist. He rested his hands there without moving her, just so he could feel the motion of her body as she rode him. Dot's strong legs pressed tightly against his hips and her stomach clenched as she ground back and forth on top of him. She kept her eyes on him as her eyes took on more and more intensity.

Clint didn't have to do anything to point. Dot in one direction or another. She slowly built up speed as her hands rubbed up and down along the front of Clint's body. Soon, her hips were pumping in quick thrusts that got faster and faster as she built toward a climax. When the moment was right, Clint tightened his grip on her so he could pump up into her.

The move caught Dot by surprise. Her eyes snapped open and her next breath caught in the back of her throat. She tried to make a sound, but could only gasp as Clint pulled out and quickly impaled her with every last inch of his hardness. Once inside, Clint pulled her down and pushed up into her a little more. Dot's body reacted instantly as her pussy tightened around him and an orgasm swept all the way down to the tips of her toes.

“Oh, God, Clint,” she sighed. “Oh, God.”

Just when Clint thought her orgasm had run its course, he began to move in and out of her again. Within seconds, Dot's body started to shake again and she breathed as if she'd just run two miles in an uphill race. This time, Dot clenched her eyes shut and leaned down so her breasts were pressed against Clint's chest. He could feel her shaking, so he wrapped his arms around her and rolled over so they were both lying on their sides.

Keeping one arm wrapped around Dot's shoulders, Clint reached down to cup Dot's tight little backside. She draped one leg over his side and buried the other leg into the hay, which allowed her to keep moving without forcing him to come out of her. Both of them fell a bit deeper into the hay, but neither of them noticed. Clint was too busy driving his cock into her again and again, while Dot tried to catch her breath as another climax rushed through her body.

Clint was always amazed at the tightness of Dot's body. From the muscles under her skin to the warm pussy that enveloped him, Dot had a way of wrapping around Clint's body like a second skin. As she let out a loud groan, Dot wriggled just the right way to push Clint over the edge. He exploded inside of her with one more thrust. After that, he barely had the strength to move.

Dot pulled in a deep breath and let it out as she rolled onto her back. “You sure I can't get you to stay for a while longer?” she asked.

Clint let out a breath as well and replied, “I can't even recall why I wanted to leave in the first place.”

Fortunately, Clint didn't see a good reason why he should hurry away from town as if he were carrying some sort of vital information to a battlefield somewhere. All he needed to do was take a look at the tightly wrapped package that had been sent over to the stable to recall just how important his mission was.

In most respects, Clint was glad he'd accepted Ned's job offer. It was good money and was a whole lot better than some of the other jobs he'd taken over the years. Clint made his preparations, had a hearty supper, and spent his last night with Dot in a real bed. When the sun rose the next morning, Eclipse was saddled and ready to go.

“You sure that's just a picture of Ned's shop?” Dot asked as she tightened one of the buckles of the Darley Arabian's saddle.

Since he trusted her with the saddle and didn't want to mess up such an easy job, Clint tied Ned's parcel onto Eclipse's back himself. After wrapping the parcel in his bedroll, Clint used a few lengths of rope to keep the parcel in place so it could hang over Eclipse's left flank like an oversized saddlebag. He may have gone a little overboard with the arrangement, but that parcel sure wasn't going to fall anytime soon.