Rated NC-17
From the Author--
Gentle Readers: This episode, the consummation sequence, was perhaps the most difficult thing I've ever written. The assignment seemed easy enough, yet when I sat down at my little wooden desk with my slate; I found that I was dumbstruck. The idea of paying homage to this couple with this kind of scene was both daunting and humbling. I am quite sincere when I say that I wanted to do a really good job for these characters but perhaps like "The Powers That Be," I found that this was just too difficult a task for a mere mortal. There will be many love scenes in upcoming episodes and they will come easier. In addition, your author decided to try to use only those words in use during the 1870s; this exercise also proved frustrating and very time consuming. Finally, I threw up my hands and said oh well! So, bear with moi for this episode and throw me a bone if you please. Thanks as always for reading.
Marshall Santos is kneeling down beside a grave marker in Boot Hill Cemetery just outside Dodge City. He mulls over a few things.
"Around Dodge City and in the western territories, there is just one way to handle all the killers and the spoilers, and that is with a US Marshall and the smell of gun smoke. This is Mannysmoke, the transcribed story of the violence that moved west with young America and the story of a man who moved with it. I am that man, Danny "Matt Dillion" Santos, United States Marshall. Out here, I remind myself of how violence always ends, buried in the rim of a nation on the edge of the wild frontier. Some were slaughtered aimlessly, the rest I killed. I'm a lawman and a US Marshall. Law comes hard to the frontier and men like these did not want it. And there are more men alive today who will come to Dodge City that do not want it. They are the drifters and the lawless and they have to be dealt with. I am the first man they look for and the last one they want to meet. It is a chancy job, and it makes a man watchful and a little lonely."
***
The Marshall pulled her into his arms while lowering his lips to hers in attempt to draw upon her nectar. He was like a starved bear presented with a jar of honey, he wanted her madly, his hands roamed and caressed her body while his kisses grew more intense demanding release from her very soul. Danny slowly lifted the muslin sheet from her body and saw an almost transparent confection of lace tied together at indiscreet places with little blue ribbons. The effect of what he could see, what he could just make out and what lay hidden from his sight made him dizzy with longing and anticipation, he wanted to reach out and yank the garment off of her. They had waited so long to be together like this, too long.
He saw tears glistening upon her face in the moonlight and he felt her tremble underneath his hands. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and she began to lure his with her own. Danny was lost and began to fumble about touching her body through the nightgown. Michelle's hands were stroking his arms, back and neck. He took one of her hands and moved it down to his masculinity and he felt her shudder again.
He moaned and broke from the kiss, "Michelle wait up, you are shaking like a leaf. Is this too fast for you, shall I stop, do you want me to stop?"
Michelle looked up at him and he saw her indecision. He pulled away and let her speak, "I am so confused Danny, I thought I wanted this so much but I am scared."
Danny gathered her once again in his arms and held her. "Sweetheart, it is all right. Truthfully, I am glad to finally be in the same bed with you. There have been times when I thought this was never going to happen. We have not had what one could call a fancy courtship and everything has happened powerful fast. Back in St. Louis, a fellow probably would not have held your hand yet. Lets just hold each other and try to sleep. I've gotten so used to wanting to be close to you, I need you near me."
"Thank you Danny," Michelle said and then added, "forgive me, I am sorry."
Santos nestled down and rested his head upon her chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist all the while saying, "Shhh, baby, everything is going to be just fine." Then as an afterthought he said, "Just don't wear this gown again until you are ready, okay?"
The Marshall was soon fast asleep. The warmth of their embrace no doubt lulled him to sleep. Michelle was a little nonplused about this. She expected that Danny would be angry with her; she had no idea that he would understand and be so sweet about all of this. In truth, it made her want him more. She watched him sleep and thought of the irony, before he watched her sleep now the tables were turned so to speak.
During long talks out at the ranch during his recuperation, he told her that all he ever wanted was to find some solace, some protection to rest from his weary days. Michelle realized quite plainly that she wanted to be that someone for Danny. She wanted to be the one he came to find serenity and peace. She wanted Daniel Santos; she was finally ready to accept this marriage.
She stirred underneath him and moved so that he would readjust his body thus loosening his hold on her. How could he sleep so soundly while she was growing more aroused by the minute wanting him? She raised up and began to nuzzle his neck. Slowly, Michelle ran her fingers along his skin, sweeping down his back and continuing downward. She felt a rush of pleasure as he began to awaken and as she brushed the back of her hands across his skin feeling slight sparks.
Her breathing grew jagged as she moved her body more aggressively against his. He awoke slowly and blinked several times looking up at her. "Michelle what are you doing?" She reached her other hand down to lightly touch his sex. Danny groaned, "Hold up, wait a second, are you sure?" He looked at her and saw her face and form now brilliantly illuminated by the moonlight. He traced his fingers across her alabaster skin as she nodded yes. Her skin was smooth, soft, and the color of moonlight. Danny wanted her badly, he was glad to be awake because kissing her and just touching her was no longer satisfying, he wanted all of her. He wanted to fill that dark place within himself that was so lonely in the deep recesses of the night.
"I want you Michelle and I am going to make you want to me too. Get ready to surrender your soul because you already have mine." The Marshall began to kiss her fervently and broke up his kisses with whispers of the sensual things he wanted them to do together. His whispered musings were met with whimpers coming deep from the back of her throat. She rose against him as he continued his slow but sure attack. Danny moved his hands from around her waist and pulled her up to sit astride him.
He began to roam his fingers up and down her arms and her spine ever so slightly sending shivers and tingles up and down her appendages. He moved his lips to begin kissing down the column of her neck first on one side and then the other. She provocatively turned her head each way liking the attention, enjoying the feelings his caresses were evoking within her body. He slowly returned to kissing her mouth and ran his hands down her form and through the nightgown. The feel of the lace was delicate and silky to the touch. She emitted a low moan of pleasure into his mouth until he stopped kissing her but then he began to undo the ribbons to her negligee. With each untied knot, a small wisp of air sent a shudder through her body quickly followed by a singing sound escaping her lips when first his fingers and then his mouth replaced the place of the ribbons.
Together they removed the slip of material from her body and she sat before him nude for the first time. Danny slowly traced his fingers up and down her unclothed body first in the back and then in the front. She advanced to touch his manhood again and he pulled her hand away shaking his head not yet, he pulled her down on the bed again and lowered his mouth to suckle her breasts.
He spent a long time on each one while occasionally raising his head so that his eyes could drink in her beauty as reflected by the moonlight. After a while, Michelle became quite petulant and started to move her hips against his, she began to pull at his hands with her own moving them lower, closer to her femininity.
Danny's refusal to move his hands and mouth caused Michelle to start moving her hips recklessly, so that they began to move against his own. Santos found that soon matters were beyond his control. He moved his hands along her body slowly tracing her hipbones and the ridges of her pelvis smiling at her sharp intake of breath. He began to stroke her inner thighs massaging them with insistent and firm kneading. His movements continued until he was touching all of her, all of her except for the innermost part of her femininity, that part which most wanted his touch now. She was moist and warm, he could sense it, he wanted to touch her but he also wanted her to be sure of him. The Marshall knew that he wanted her so badly that the fire within him might consume his core if he did not have her soon. The tension and anticipation raced between them.
Slowly he began to draw closer and closer and finally, he began to circle, press and make deft movements with his fingers at the wet opening he so wanted to invade. Michelle panted as he touched her there and he felt the proof of her arousal as he moved his fingers in and out and around her. Danny felt her start to clench her muscles around him instinctively. He could not stand much more of this torment, he removed his fingers and stopped her little moan with a deep kiss then, bracing himself above her he paused before entering her. He knew that within moments the demands of their bodies would take over all logic.
She arched against him as he looked down into her eyes, which were no longer crying tears of fear but now were lit with a fire and passion he had been unfamiliar with for too long a time. Kneeling before her thighs, he lifted her hips and entered her with a powerful thrust. He broke through her resistance and felt sadness at her cry of pain and shock. He began to withdraw but Michelle brought him back into her forcefully by locking her legs around his waist. Within a few minutes, the throbbing pain eased and as Danny bent to kiss her, again she met his embrace and followed his lead.
She placed her arms around his neck, while he whispered promises and hopes to her, and she slowly relaxed around him. Michelle shifted her body bringing her knees up to convey him deeper inside of her body. Danny now sheathed his entire length into her tight and nubile body. He slowly pulled out and she instinctively tightened her legs around him forcing him to move inside her again. She clung to him then trying to match each of his powerful thrusts with contractions and movements of her own. They began to move together then and it was as if they had always been together making love for all eternity. Their cadenced movements made it obvious that they fit together perfectly.
Their bodies reached a fevered pitch and suddenly they both felt swept away as if the earth was moving beneath them. They felt an intense rumbling, a shaking, and a pulsing movement below their joining, this rocking sensation seemed to explode and shatter around them as they both sought and found their release. Their worlds came apart and for moments, this uncontrolled overwhelming passion caused both to lose touch of their senses and all reality. Michelle clung to him her fingernails scratching into his back as he shouted out her name.
Exhausted, her legs dropped to the side and they lay together drenched in sweat, their breaths and heartbeats matching the other. Danny looked down to see Michelle's tears of joy and he kissed the salty drops from her face. She moaned and intertwined her legs with his once again and folded herself deeper into his embrace. Finally, their breathing returned to a normal rate and both noticed they could once again form coherent thoughts. Danny kissed her head and stroked her hair and told her how much he loved her, would always love her.
Michelle said, "Danny, is it always going to be like this, so wonderful, so moving?"
The Marshall kissed her deeply and said, "Michelle please believe me when I tell you that this time was like the first time for me too. Never has the ground below seemed to move when I found my release. This time was special beyond all compare, I love you Michelle, we were made for one another, it is fate and now you know it too. All I want is to spend the rest of my life in your arms making love to you."
They drifted off to a deep slumber only to startle awake to the sounds of loud bellowing and banging sounds on their suite door. Danny recognized Miss Vicki and David Grant's voices and he staggered to the door with a quilt wrapped hastily around his body. Michelle followed him quickly tying her wrapper (robe). Danny looked back to ensure that Mrs. Santos was properly dressed. He smiled, there was no way she would look proper with her disheveled appearance, her hair was messed and her cheeks were still ablaze with passion. Anyone looking at her would think her a wanton now, no longer the innocent town schoolteacher and he or she would be right.
"Marshall wake up, there has been an emergency. Come quick please, Marshall," Miss Vicki was repeating as Danny flung the suite door open.
He blinked at the sight of them holding kerosene lamps which lit up their gravely concerned faces. "Hold up you two, I was just getting some rest," Danny said, and glanced back at Michelle with a smile.
Miss Vicki, said, "You know me Marshall, I do not care about what goes on behind closed doors, as long as you two are married legal like. What I do care about is that your deputy, Jesse Blue, has deputized Jim LeMay this being a state of emergency and all and the two of them have arrested half the town's citizens and have them all corralled over at Matt Reardon's livery. The rest of the folk are hiding out downstairs in the parlor and as you can imagine it isn't too orderly a situation."
Marshall Santos looked over to David for confirmation and Grant shook his head yes, "What's more Danny, with the explosion and all, part of the livery is sunk in and most of the folks over there are worried that their added weight will cause additional harm or injury."
Santos and Michelle both shook their heads in disbelief, "Explosion, cave-in, what we didn't know anything about this, when did it happen?"
Grant and Miss Vicki looked at one another; someone would have to be dead or in a state of total lascivious passion not to have heard all the commotion. Why the ground shook, part of the town caved in; there had been a loud series of explosions. David said, "It happened near to a half hour ago. You two did not notice it or feel it? It was powerful, like one of those earthquakes they talk about out in California. Miss Vicki is lucky that the hotel was spared because close to one-third of the town is caved in including a large square of land right around the circumference of this hotel. We were lucky as a town though; most of the land that caved in was undeveloped. At least those fools spared us that!"
Danny looked back at Michelle who was giggling, "Yes we must have been asleep, give me a few minutes and I will come down to the hotel lobby. David, do you have any objections to becoming a temporary deputy to help me put these folks at ease? A man of the cloth in a lawful position would be handy to put people at ease at a time like this. As your first official duty, I would like you to please go over and tell my deputy to calm down, will you? And I mean Jesse Blue not LeMay."
Grant answered, "Well, Marshall, I am powerful flattered you want my help. I know in the past when I was working for Alan Spaulding that we had our share of run-ins. As a minister of God now all that is in the past and I am very glad to see you welcoming the idea of bygones. I'd be proud to serve as a temporary deputy but you may need LeMay to assist you after all because in addition to the explosion there were two real bad accidents over at the Towers Saloon. Alan Spaulding and Holly Reid fell off the Water Tower when the explosions went off and it was lucky that they were fixing to climb down because they were able to grab hold of the side ladder. The two of them hung onto that ladder for over 30 minutes until Sam rescued them. Sadly, I think we have seen the last of Sam, he up and quit as the bartender over at Mrs. Drew Kitty's and she saw him saddle up and ride out of town."
David went on to say, "The second accident was that Lillian Raines and one of her best girls were shot dead sometime right around the explosion. Doc checked them out and said that they are both deader than a bug under Mrs. Reid's printing press. No one can tell who did the shooting and there were no witnesses save Ben Warren who has gone back to tend to his bank business, since the explosion blew away part of his bank building. The other witness, Beth Raines must be in shock because according to Doc and Nurse Abby, she is speechless. All she can do is flail those arms of hers around which as you know is never a pretty sight."
Santos mumbled under his breath and looked back at Michelle to gauge her reaction to this turn of events. Luckily, she seemed to be taking the news rather well. Still, the idea of staying in bed was a much better idea than dealing with an explosive situation like this one, no pun intended. "Miss Vicki and David thank you both for um waking us up. I will be right down. Try and determine for me if you don't mind what caused the explosion and once again get word to Jesse that I will see him soon enough."
Miss Vicki interrupted the Marshall, "Oh, but we know what or rather who caused the explosion, Marshall, it was the Lewis boys and those two new English chaps that talk fancy like. They confessed to it right away, they seem proud of it in fact. You should see the four of them; covered with dirt and gunpowder, drunk to the high heavens and running around telling everyone that they struck the mother lode whatever that might be."
Grant clarified, "They think they hit gold, silver, or both, whatever it is from the looks of them they appear to have indeed found some kind of mineral. You can see them from the front window of the hotel just wandering around talking about gold dust and silver ore. For some reason your deputies did not arrest them, imagine the culprits of this whole mess wandering around. Sorry for the disturbance, but as you can see the town needs you Marshall."
Miss Vicki turned to walk away and Michelle heard her say to Reverend Grant, "Can you believe that Jim LeMay, why he even tried to arrest his own daughter, Susan, claiming she looked suspicious?"
Danny closed the door and hugged Michelle who mumbled that she would wait up for him. They both chuckled, so the earth had not moved for them after all when they made love for the first time, or had it?
A few hours later, Danny returned to their suite. His clothes coated in the dirt and muck from the explosion felt as if they were now part of his own sodden skin. The last few hours had been chaotic but full of resolution. Jim LeMay belligerently gave up his deputy badge and released the townsfolk from the livery. He promised to come back any time the good Marshall (Jim's words not his) needed him and agreed to lock up his gunsmithery in the future when he was over at the jailhouse.
Jesse had wangled a couple of bottles from Mrs. Drew Kitty and plied the dirty four with enough whiskey to loosen their tongues. It turned out they were quite willing to talk and said they had just helped themselves to the needed supplies and explosive materials when Jim LeMay went over to the jailhouse to hang around every day. The Marshall did not know what to do about this development. The dirty four, as the townsfolk were now calling the group, admitted they took the explosives but Jim LeMay did have that sign on his shop door and another one on the counter that said "Help yourself to what you need and pay me later, liberal payment plan in effect." Therefore, Santos could not arrest the dirty four since they said they just followed what the sign allowed. The explosions themselves were clearly an accident. It was a case of stupid men not following the directions for combining the powder and the charger materials. The dirty four were lucky they were alive from the looks of the devices they rigged up.
Honestly, he was more worried about the double murder than any long-term infrastructure damage to the town. Most of the townsfolk were hard at work repairing the damage and it looked like everything would be right as rain in a few days. The only irreparable harm was the destruction of the train depot and the railroad tracks running along Front Street. Mrs. Reid, sufficiently recovered from her Towers experience was busy telegraphing the railroad companies. Preliminary reports indicated that the companies would divert track runs around the town but it looked like rail repairs were impossible until springtime at the earliest. This meant good business for Hawk and Meta Shayne's stagecoach line. That crafty duo knew it too, they offered to post any bond amount required in order to get the Lewis boys out of jail.
Danny also received some good news, it seemed that Ross Mahler and his wife were naming one of their new little ones after him. Danny was flattered but upon thinking on the matter a bit, he wondered what with all the kids the Mahlers had to date, maybe they were just running out of names. Mahler had been busy "lawyering" as he called which was really just advising the men doing the actual work on how to best fill up the holes around town.
Danny half expected Michelle to be asleep in her own bed and to find that his earlier sensual memories were just a dream. He looked over to the fire in the sitting room and saw her curled up in a quilt. He smiled, it was true. God help him he wanted her now and the very need made his head hurt. Santos shut the door quietly he did not want to wake her up while he was filthy like this. He ran a tub of water, took a quick bath and then walked back out to the sitting room to carry her to his, no to their bed. Danny saw however, that she was gone, he turned in sadness but then he saw her reflection in the window. Santos was so shocked at the vision that he turned suddenly knocking over chairs, a table and several glasses. Michelle was standing before him completely nude save one item. It hung from her neck, a long piece of metal on a long chain. She walked forward and touched his cheek.
"How did you find that, where did you get it?" Danny was stumbling over his words; he thought he had thrown it away a long time ago after she had refused the symbolic gift of jewelry. He ran his fingertips down her neck along her collarbone and down the length of the long chain. Someone must have found the necklace or perhaps she found it, he did not know and right now, he did not care. His bride was standing in front of him undressed save the key to his heart. He bent down and kissed her long and hard and when she felt her knees buckle underneath her from the sheer passion of this onslaught, he picked her up in one fell swoop. In two strides, he had her down on the bed and he started to ravish her, madly, and passionately not at all like their first time. He was a desperate man in love and she was mad for him; their hands roamed all over each other's bodies.
He liked the way she felt in his arms, he liked the feel of the cold metal around her neck touching his skin. After Michelle found her release and he was assured that the earth moved this time only because he made it so, he held her and looked down to see that she was holding the key to his heart next to her own. This simple gesture served as an aphrodisiac and they made love again as the day's early light broke above the horizon. They fell asleep, Michelle lying on top of Danny both with their necks craned in a position so that they could hear one another's heartbeats. Santos felt as if he finally found his true north and gained a sense of peace for the first time in his life.
A few hours later, they awoke to the sound of their door breaking down. It was Jesse and Jim who stomped into the rooms and upon finding the newlyweds in bed, the two men blushed clear down to the tops of their cowboy boots. Jesse spoke, "Excuse us for not knocking Marshall, but there is another emergency you'd best see to and Mrs. Santos them classmates of mine are over there waiting for you. I tried to calm 'em down but I had to high tail it when they started pelting me with pebbles. What are you two looking so tired for and why does the school teacher have those dark shadows under her eyes?"
"Jesse and Jim, we are awake thank you very much, please go and wait for me over at the jailhouse." Michelle smiled at the Marshall and prodded him; both seemed to know that these two men were just lovable buffoons. "Um Jesse would you go back to the school house and tell the kids that class is canceled today because Mrs. Santos is indisposed?"
The dynamic duo left and Michelle started laughing. Danny playfully penned her to the bed and she cried out in mock horror, "Marshall what if someone sees us?"
"Let them for all I care Mrs. Santos," Danny replied and Michelle just knew that she planned to say something back to him as a retort but then he started kissing her again taking her breath away and she plumb forgot all about it.
Readers of Mannysmoke may wonder how realistic the portrayal of Miss Vicki Brandon and David Grant are in comparison to the real of African American settlers in Kansas during the 1870s. As it turns out the portrayal of these two is quite accurate as is their presence in a growing town like Dodge City.
African American Homesteaders
Ben Singleton, a former slave, became the leader of a movement called the Exoduster Movement of 1879 and in later years, he was given the honorary folk title of "Father of The Exodus." He began to look for land for prospective black homesteaders in the late 1860s in rural parts of Tennessee but found that whites would not sell workable land to him. He began to scout out land in Kansas in the early 1870s and migrated west with a few families. In 1874, a group formed and called themselves the Edgefield Real Estate and Homestead Association, this group helped move over 20,000 black families to Kansas by 1880. Most of the families claimed their homesteads from 1877 to 1879. In testimony given to a US Congressional Farming Committee in 1880, Singleton said he was "The sole source of Kansas immigration during those years."
The new "immigrants" included; farmers, laborers, writers, soldiers and even a few documented poets. The majority counted themselves as deeply religious Christians who viewed the beginning of their journey west as biblical, as a true Exodus. Many of their most reverent religious leaders believed the Mississippi River was tantamount to Moses crossing the Red Sea and this river once crossed, would lead their people to freedom.
The Exodusters founded over 20 towns in Kansas and settled large areas of Nebraska, Colorado, and Oklahoma. Many of the homesteaders preferred to live in homogeneous communities. One such town, Nicodemus, Kansas has many of its original buildings in tact today and these structures are designated as historical landmarks. However, quite a few early settlers blended into existing towns and did quite well for themselves operating businesses and running homesteads and ranches.
Buffalo Soldiers
Between July 1866 and April 1867, six regiments of African Americans were recruited into the United States Army. Many were veterans of the old United States Colored Troops of the Civil War. The US Army formed two cavalries -- the 9th and the 10th and men were combined to form the 38th through the 41st Infantries. Each regiment consisted of approximately 1,000 men. In 1869 the infantry regiments were consolidated into two, the 24th and 25th. All four regiments -- two of cavalry and two of infantry -- fought many battles in the Frontier Indian Wars. The men served at 59 forts throughout the western states and territories. According to legend, Native Americans gave the troopers the name Buffalo Soldiers because of their fighting spirit, which reminded the Indians of the buffalo. The soldiers accepted it as a term of respect and honor, and today it is a name of great honor for those US Army units that count themselves as linear descendants of the original buffalo soldier regiments.
Buffalo soldiers were known for their speed, bravery and daring but frontier service was just as hard, exhausting and monotonous for them as it was to other recruits. Soldiers spent long hours in the saddle, patrolling harsh terrain in every type of weather. Duties included: fighting Indians; escorting Indian prisoners to reservations; building new army posts; stringing miles of telegraph wire; patrolling the US--Mexican border; escorting settlers, cattle herds, and railroad crews; and developing and patrolling national parks. At their posts, the buffalo soldiers drilled, stood guard duty, maintained horses, tack, weapons and equipment. Most soldiers once through with their tour of duty, chose to remain in the new territories and settled somewhere in the west. These men generally found work as cowboys or settled down onto homesteads. Interestingly, a large number of these men eventually turned to the Lord's work becoming missionaries and ministers.
Official US recognition did not come to the legacies left by the Buffalo Soldier and African American cowboys until January 25, 1996, when Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi read a statement into the 104th Congress's public record session book.
Part of her statement included these lines: "Too often, the history of the Old West and the settling of the Western frontier has neglected to portray the important role played by these African American soldiers and cowboys. Sadly, most of their achievements were not chronicled in history texts and are lost forever."
More information on African Americans in the Wild West is available from the African American Historical and Cultural Society or from the Library of Congress Resource Guide for the Study of Black History and Culture at http://lcweb.loc.gov/exhibits/african/intro.html
In case you are wondering, the renowned Bob Marley songs "Exodus" and "Buffalo Soldier" dealt with the aforementioned subjects in this lesson.
Thanks for reading; I will see you all next time! Saddle up and do not forget to strap on those spurs but don't go to wearing them around the house unless you want someone to tell you to skeedaddle in hurry.
