Part Six:

Wild Oats

The rain came down shortly after they left town which made JD glad that the idea of a ride had been abandoned although they were going to get just as wet riding to the farm as they would on any outdoor excursion. Fortunately, it was a light summer shower and the rain against their skin felt quite refreshing as opposed to cold and uncomfortable. Casting his eyes on the grey clouds overhead, JD could tell that the weather was mild in comparison to the rest of the territory which was no doubt storming if the cumulous clouds in the sky were any indication of the weather.

Although they rode briskly towards Nettie’s farm, JD could feel the rain making its way through the fibres of his clothes and chilling his skin beneath. Casey’s hat was slouched over her face as it became saturated with water and JD wondered why she was so unusually quiet. Albeit the rain did not lend itself much to conversation but he still expected some kind of chatter from her. Casey rarely found it easy to be quiet and she was always going on about one thing or another. He wondered if she was still angry with him for taking to Jillian.

JD frowned, hoping the rest of his afternoon was not going to spent justifying how he was not interested in Jillian Carr when Casey should know better by now. Of course, he could not blame her for not trusting him to keep his eyes from wandering after the whole mess with the female bounty hunter called Maddie. JD had gotten involved with the woman after she and her sister had ridden into town supposedly searching for a bounty although the truth was far more sinister than any of them had envisioned.

Maddie had been a woman who knew what she wanted and when she wanted it. This included her sexual encounters and she had settled upon JD simply because she liked the look of him and for no other reason then that. Later on JD had realised that her choice of selecting him had been worth even less than he could have imagined. It could have been anyone who had walked into the saloon and caught her eye. Unfortunately, JD had been so nervous during the entire encounter that when he finally got around to resigning himself to the fact that their joining was one of simple lust and not much else, Casey had walked in on him and Maddie before they could get down to it.

Before that point, Casey and he hardly had what was called a sexual relationship. He had kissed her a couple of times but little else and JD understood that Casey was a proper young woman who was not prone to bandying about her attentions on just anyone. He appreciated that he had to earn the right to take such liberties with her and probably not even then. JD had the oddest feeling that the only way he was going to get to know Casey in the biblical way was after they were married. JD could not say he minded, after all Casey was a complicated girl and what she wanted was no different than most of the girls of her age.

In retrospect, he was glad that she had walked in on himself and Maddie, even though he felt like an absolute crumb for the next few days. He had never forgotten the expression in her eyes when she had seen them both and while he had not even got around to getting out of his long johns, JD felt inordinately guilty for betraying her. Especially with a woman who saw fit to shoot him in the stomach at first opportunity, simply because she was embarrassed that she might have cared about him.

"Casey." JD looked to her as they took the familiar turn off the main trail towards the Wells’ place. The rain had made the track towards the farm rather muddy so JD saw no need to push his horse any faster than need be. Besides, he liked looking at Casey with the rain against her skin and thought that she looked really pretty even though hair was plastered to her face and her cheeks were red from the cold. "There’s nothing going on between me and Jillian."

Casey blinked and turned to him, an expression of surprise on his face as if she had no idea what he was talking about. In truth, her thoughts were centred on the momentous decision she had made earlier today and she was still feeling butterflies in her stomach even though she had every intention of going through with it. She had been thinking of all the reasons that Aunt Nettie had said a proper young lady did not give herself to anyone until marriage. While she had never discussed the subject with Nettie because the old lady would have been horrified just to hear her talking like that, Casey found that Alexandra Styles were surprisingly frank with her.

Casey supposed that it was because Alex was a doctor that she did not mind discussing sex with Casey and much of what the young woman knew came from her talks with the doctor. Although Alex was never overly descriptive, she did explain a few fundamental truths and the fact that while keeping one’s virtue until marriage was a good thing, it was never possible to truly know a person until that final barrier had been breached. As Alex had put it, it was best to make such discoveries before wedding vows set a relationship in stone rather than after when it was too late to do anything about it.

"I know that." She replied, wondering why he would think that.

"Then what’s wrong?" He asked somewhat exasperated, wondering what secret annoyance she was keeping from him now and more importantly, what he had done to inspire it.

"Nothing is wrong JD." She looked at him with puzzlement.

Ahead of them, the track leading towards the farm was fast running out with the pave of rocks they had lined some part of the path to keep the ground solid appeared in the mud. She could see the faint outline of the farmhouse and the barn in the distance, surrounded by tall trees and golden fields that had been browned by the summer heat. The rain had turned it into a dull greyish sort of colour and Casey looked forward when the sun came out again because the place always looked better when everything was dried out.

"You ain’t said nothing since we started riding out from Four Corners." He pointed out.

"I’m sorry," she offered him a faint smile. "I was just thinking."

"Thinking?" He asked suspiciously. Casey’s random thoughts were far more dangerous than any foolishness that he might have done to anger her. There was something about women that allowed random thinking to ignite into an inferno of misconception. In Casey it was especially so. He hoped this time whatever random thought she had would not cause too much difficulty. He really did not have the energy for it. "What were you thinking about Casey?"

"Nothing." She said with a mysterious smile and all the more convinced JD that he had reason to fear. "It can wait until later." Casey answered and then decided to change the subject for a while. "So where was everyone today?" She asked instead.

JD was still staring at her, trying to decipher the reason for that smile and found that he could not. After a moment, he decided it was too much effort to try and unlock a secret from a woman especially if she did not wish to let it be known. In that way, Casey was typically female as Buck was found of saying. Women and secrets were like men and guns, the Lothario was known to brag on several occasions.

"Well Chris and Mary were going to Sweet Water," JD answered deciding to take the safe approach and just go along with her attempts at conversation until she stewed enough to let him know exactly what was on his mind. "Didn’t seem to happy about it from what Buck tells me."

"What do you mean?" Casey inquired, unable to imagine Chris and Mary ever unhappy about anything when they were together. If any couple were more suited for each other, it was the gunslinger and the editor of the Clarion News. At first sight, they did seem a very unlikely pair but on closer observation, it was not hard to see how much love there was between the two. Of course, that did not mean that they did not have spectacular arguments. Casey had been in the company of Mary enough to know that when the lady’s mind was set on something, there was nothing anyone could do to change it.

Not even one as formidable as Chris Larabee.

"Well Buck said that Mary was hollering at Chris about something when he met up with them on their way to Sweet Water. Buck didn’t want to stick around to find out what’s wrong." JD replied, understanding that sentiment all too well. He would not want to be anywhere in the nearby vicinity of either Chris or Mary if they were having an argument. Besides, it could cause unnecessary bloodshed. Namely his.

"Oh they’ll work it out," Casey remarked as they reached the farm. The place seemed unusually quiet despite the pitter patter of rain and JD guessed this was mostly because he was so accustomed to seeing Nettie on the porch or Casey doing chores around the place whenever he arrived. "When is Nettie due back?" JD asked, as he thought about the lady, painfully aware that Casey was out here alone because he worried about her faring all by herself so far from town.

Unfortunately Casey was too independent to stay in town and had insisted on remaining at the farm on her own and nothing JD was able to say could convince her otherwise. He knew that part of her decision had to do with her determination to prove not only to Nettie but everyone else the she could be left alone on her not own and that she was not a child that needed watching over. As the youngest member of seven men who often felt the need to protect him from the evils they faced on a daily basis, JD could understand that with perfect empathy as well.

"The day after tomorrow." Casey answered as they nudged their horses towards the barn in order to give both animals some shelter from the rain. Both animals were starting to breathe hard and it was obvious the weather was beginning to take its toll on them.

"You been okay on your own?" JD asked without sounding too condescending. If he did, Casey would react badly as she often did when her ability to look after herself was called into question. The entire purpose of remaining at home when Nettie had left was to prove to everyone including her aunt that she could take care of herself alone. However, JD’s question was not merely to inquire how she was handling the solitude. He knew how overwhelming it could be when one was accustomed to it and could not deny that even now, he had a great deal of difficulty being by himself. In the days before the seven had binding ties to Four Corners, JD had constantly worried about the group going their separate ways unable to comprehend the horror of loneliness again after experiencing the camaraderie of being in the fellowship.

JD had struggled with loneliness throughout most of his young life but had never known how truly empty and devastating it could be until shortly after his mother had died.

He had spent most of his life until that point living with her in their small house on the grounds of the fancy school in the East at which she worked. For as long as he could remember there had just been the two of them. The loneliness of that life had been made tolerable by the indulgence in his daydreams at the sufferance of his schooling and also by his mother. He never knew his father, not really, aware only that he had died when JD was too young to remember him. While his mother’s position at the school saw to it that he received the benefits of a good education, he always knew that he was not apart of the elite that paid for the privilege. The other students kept away from him, aware that he was not of their station and treated him as the outcast, the usurper in their midst they had to tolerate but never accept. JD was always treated as the help and his only friends back in those days were the horses whose care was his responsibility in his role as stable boy.

In this instance, Casey’s life was not too dissimilar from his own. As far as he knew, Nettie was the only family Casey had ever known. From what Casey had told him about her parents of whom she remembered almost nothing about them except that her mother had died too early. As was the case with many women who came out toe the West to fulfil their dreams, the reality was an existence too harsh to survive. While Nettie had thrived in the West, Casey’s mother had not and passed on soon after the husband who had died and left her alone. JD knew that nothing like that would ever happen to Casey because Casey made of the same steel that had forged Nettie thanks to the lady’s upbringing. Casey was made of sterner stuff than that and he knew that she could hold her own anywhere.

"There’s some firewood in the house." Casey remarked as they rode across the small homestead that made up the Wells’ property. "We can warm up in there." She suggested they continued up the track towards the barn.

Upon seeing shelter ahead, the horses, familiar with terrain, immediately trotted forward quickly, eager to escape the rain and the cold. JD had to admit that he would not mind getting dry himself as the chill of the rain had seeped through his clothes and he could feel in it his bones. JD suddenly found himself longing for a hot cup of coffee and reminded himself to make the suggestion to Casey once they were inside the house.

The barn smelled of wet hair and animal spores but it was dry and a fraction warmer once they were inside its confines. He rubbed the flank of his mount and felt the coolness of the animal and knew that it would require at least a few hours of rest before forcing it into this weather again. Although his horse had been through much worse, JD did not like to make the animal suffer any more than it had too. It was still afternoon even though the sky was dark outside due to the thickening of the rain soaked clouds that kept the sunlight from breaking through its dense covering.

"Hey Casey," he asked when he dismounted the saddle and a thought occurred to him suddenly. "Is it okay that I’m with you alone in the house? Nettie wouldn’t think we’re getting up to any funny business, would she?" He knew Nettie was extremely protective of Casey’s virtue and JD would hate for the lady to think he was anything but a gentleman when left alone with her niece.

Casey gave him that look once again. The wistful one he did not understand and only left him wondering what was behind her eyes when she stared at him that way. Her expression was unfathomable and at that moment, she did not look like Casey the girl but rather like Casey the woman. For a moment, he was captured by the mystery she exuded until it was almost something palpable that was tangible to the touch. JD could not decipher that enigmatic expression on her face and noted a few seconds had passed before she answered.

"Of course not silly." She replied shaking her head as if he had said something inordinately absurd and further convinced JD that she was hiding something from him, although he could not fathom what that could be in the slightest. Once again, he was reminded of what Buck had said about women and their secrets and decided it would take a better man than him to unlock them.

"Casey, is there something you ain’t telling me?" He asked after they had finished tending to the horses, providing the animals with an adequate amount of feed and hay to warm themselves after being in the rain.

Once they were stabled and comfortable, Casey started towards the barn door. She had yet to answer his question and appeared as if was contemplating her answer, making him question what it was there was to consider. Normally, if she had something on her mind, Casey just came out and told him. Sometimes even when he did not wish to know. He felt into stride with her, staring in expectation of her answer until finally Casey came to the conclusion that he would not relent until she answered him.

"JD," Casey let out a weary, wishing he would desist with the questions until she was ready to show him what had occupied her thoughts during their journey back to the farm. If he could just wait a little, there would be no need for questions. After all, she was nervous enough about this as it was and knew that if she delayed any longer, she might start to reconsider her decision and Casey did not want to do that. She loved him and she wanted to show him that she loved him in the most purest expression of her love that she could imagine.

Besides Casey did not want to delay any longer.

Aside from the timing being perfect since Nettie would be away for at least two more days ensuring their complete privacy and keeping JD from being killed if the lady found them, Casey wanted their coupling to take place in familiar surroundings. Casey wanted to love him in the bed she had shared so many of her dreams about him. Besides, as Ezra Standish would not doubt reply if faced with the same situation, Casey had no wish for her first experience in love making to occur in any place as undignified as a livery stable.

"Everything is fine, will you quit your worrying?" She cried in exasperation as she emerged into the rain and started running towards the house, leaving him behind.

JD rolled his eyes in similar frustration and decided to give up arguing because it was obvious; she was not going to tell him anything until she was good and ready to.

Whatever it was.

************

A short time later, JD found himself seated in front of Nettie’s fireplace, enjoying the delicious heat against his skin and warming up after being in the rain. Although he would have preferred a bath, he knew he would just have to wait until he got back into town for that. Unfortunately, he was not about to risk getting killed by having one here should Nettie return home unexpectedly. Still, toasting himself before the cackling fire was more than enough compensation for the lack of a bath at the moment.

His fingers were wrapped around a steaming cup of black coffee that Casey had made for him once they had entered the house and JD took a deep breath of the aromatic beverage, allowing it to fill his senses. Instinctively, the awakening of his senses to coffee had also made him long for something to eat and he wondered if Casey would not mind if he helped himself to a quick bite to eat. Good manner made him wait until she had emerged from her room where she was no doubt engaging in a change of clothing.

His own were still fairly damp although removing them and drying them before the fire was out of the question. JD had to be satisfied with pulling off his coat and leaving it to hang on a chair facing the fire so that it would hasten the drying process. He did not mind it since he was perfectly aware that it was not at all proper for him to disrobe when he was alone with Casey in Nettie’s house. However, the likelihood of Casey allowing him to take any liberties with her were so astronomical that JD was rather sceptical at why he was being so cautious in the first place. Nevertheless, he contented himself with sitting before the open flames, knowing that the cackling fire would do the job soon enough.

He looked around and wondered why Casey was taking so long and realised that she was still in her room. He could not imagine what could be taking her so long because when it came to clothing, Casey did not indulge in wearing layers upon layers of clothing being most comfortable in pants and a shirt most of the time. He appreciate that her dress sense was borne out of her need to be comfortable since much of the chores she undertook around the property should have been for a man to do not a young girl like herself.

However, JD could not deny that she had been acting strangely today.

Her behaviour today had been peculiar enough without adding a mysterious disappearance to it as well. JD was starting to worry that something was seriously wrong because Casey was not normally this puzzling in her mannerism. Sure she had the ineffable quality to drive him absolutely insane with her reasoning at times but for most part she was not flighty like most girls. If there was one thing that JD could count on with Casey, it was that she was not as insipid or uninteresting as some of the other young women her age in Four Corners.

Case in point, Jillian Carr.

Jillian with all her fancy trimmings that really hid the fact that she was no personality and it did not say much for a young lady that needed so much decoration to be attract the opposite sex. Casey who hardly exerted her sexuality was far more capable of making JD aware of her sexuality then Jillian could ever dream of doing in a hundred years. Therefore it was always a mystery to JD that Casey could find such a vacuous specimen like that competition for his affections when in truth, Jillian could never hold a candle to his Casey as far as JD was concerned.

Tired of waiting and speculating at what her intentions might, JD rose to his feet and walked to her bedroom door, pausing at the doorway before tapping lighting against the wood and calling out. "Is everything alright in there?" He asked.

Despite himself, JD felt slightly uncomfortable about being alone in the house with Casey like this. If Nettie came home suddenly, the youth was certain the lady would not view his presence here favourably and Nettie’s wrath was not something he wanted to inspire. When Nettie Wells made her will known, even Chris Larabee was known to take a step back in caution and nothing ever spooked Chris. Besides, he felt ridiculous standing at her door like this. Why couldn’t she just answer him and let him know what the hell was going on?

If Buck were here, he’d make her tell him. JD grumbled.

"JD," Casey’s voice suddenly responded and almost startled him by appearing out of nowhere so suddenly. "Can you come in here a moment?" Her voice was calm and devoid of any emotion that could tell him what would precipitate such an invitation.

JD had not been in her room before and a part of him was curious to see the place where she slept and dreamed her dreams. Reaching for the doorknob instinctively, he was about to push his way inside when he considered if this was the proper thing to do. It was bad enough being here without Nettie let alone entering the forbidden bastion that was Casey’s bedroom. After a second, JD told himself that he was being foolish. Casey probably wanted his help with something and most likely a perfectly innocent reason for inviting into her room which could be easily explained in the event that Nettie came home unexpectedly.

Pushing the door open, he step inside the doorway like a man about to take a step into some mysterious place around which legends and myths revolved. Perhaps he was even stepping through the looking glass, he thought absurdly and wondered how there could be so much mystique about a place. Upon entering, he soon realised that it was not the doorway into Shangri-la or Xanadu but just another room, like any other in this newly built house.

The inside of Casey’s room was slightly dim because the floral curtains were pulled back, keeping what natural light there was out. Still, there was enough illumination for him to make good observations as he took his first step in. It was very much a girl’s room with flowers in a vase sitting on top of the night stand as well as an ornate basin and pitcher for washing. He could see pretty things hanging on the walls and the scent of rose water lingered in the room, pulling him deeper like an invisible chord with its enchanting fragrance. It was just how he had imagined her room to be and knew that despite the fact that she had only modest means to make it homely, she had nonetheless made this room very much her own. It was such a far cry from the practical young woman he knew JD had to admit to a certain amount of surprise seeing how feminine the decor really was.

At first, he could not see Casey and his eyes searched the small confines of the room, furnished by a bed, a night stand and a bureau where her clothes were kept. He noticed the scarf he had bought her for Christmas hanging over the dressing table mirror and her hat her was drying on the chair sitting under the window. It was another full second before he realised just where she was and when he did, he could only react by allowing his jaw go slack with astonishment.

Casey was in bed and she was naked.

For a minute JD thought he had walked in on one of his midnight fantasies but through the window outside, he knew that it was still daylight so this was no dream. Her clothes were hanging neatly on the edge of the bed and he knew she was naked because he could see the outline of her body through the covers. The sheets had fallen into a very tantalising representation of her figure with every curve accentuated until he could hardly breathe.

"Casey what are you doing?" He asked cautiously, trying to keep his eyes averted even though his was fighting the urge not to look at the promise of what lay beneath those covers. His body was starting to react and JD knew that if he was not careful, he was going to embarrass himself in front of her although at the moment that seemed incidental when she was waiting for him in bed naked.

"I want to be with you, JD." Casey said shyly, trying not to let her cheeks burn crimson as she waited in anticipation for him to do something because she had not the faintest idea how to begin. Whether or not he could tell, she was shaking slightly because she was scared and the expression on his face was unfathomable so she did not know whether she had done the right thing or not.

Oh God. JD felt his insides melt as he heard her say that. He felt himself hardening just at the thought of lying with her in those sheets, feeling the smoothness of her skin, still cool from being caught in the rain, next to his. "I want to be with you too Casey...." He stammered, not trusting himself to speak because his physical urges were starting to overtake him. "But why now."

"Why not?" She asked pulling the cover slightly apart so that he could get a better look at her and hoping that the sight of her bare skin would make his own hesitations disappear. "We’ve waited long enough and I love you."

"I love you too." JD stuttered as he saw what lay beneath the fabric of her sheet. While he did not see all of her body, he did see the curve of her hip and a perfect length of leg, beginning from the supple thigh right down to her toes. His eyes could not move away from the sight of her naked flesh and he swallowed thickly as he felt a churning in his gut and the all too familiar pull in his loins that signalled the beginning of his erection. After what he had seen and what she was proposing, he could do nothing but be swept away by the anticipation of their possibly coupling.

"Are you sure?" He asked after a moment, his heart pounding so loudly in his chest that he was rather surprised that she could not hear it.

"Yes," she smiled at him and sat up in the bed, the cover falling from her chest and revealing her bare torso.

If there was any resistance it him at whether or not this was the right thing to do, it more or less crumbled when he caught sight of her breasts exposed to him. The air was relatively cool inside the room and the slight chill made her react as the rosebud colour skin of her nipples contracted and stood erect. He envisioned what it would to touch them and immediately felt a surge of intense feeling rushing to his cock. His jaw dropped for an instant as he saw her waiting for him to touch her and knew that if he did not he would spend the rest of his life regretting it.

Taking a step forward, he could not move his eyes from that naked torso and he managed to whisper as he started undressing to join her. "You’re so beautiful Casey." He whispered, feeling the bulge in his pants pressing hard against the fabric until he needed to be free of it.

Casey noted his erection as he drew closer and smiled with pleasure as she saw his fingers trembling as he pulled off his coat and started unbuttoning his vest. It was nice to know that this was going to be as unnerving to him as it was to her. When he was close enough to touch, she reached out in fascination, allowing her hand to mould over the ridge of flesh pushing against his pants. JD reacted immediately upon feeling her palms against his hard length. He shuddered visibly, lost for a moment in the sensation until his hands forgot what they were doing and clenched into fists.

"Oh god." He moaned and looked down at her with a glassy stare.

"Are you okay?" She asked, fearful for a moment that she had done something wrong.

"Yeah," he replied hoarsely. "Let me get undressed first." He said taking a deep breath in order to control himself because the feeling of her hand on him, even through fabric, felt like nothing he had ever imagined.

"Okay," Casey nodded, deciding that she would have to explore that part of his anatomy later when he was more able to cope with her touch. He certainly looked as if he had liked it when she touched him and she was not so ignorant that she did not know what it meant when a man became rigid like that. At least Casey was assured that she had engendered enough of a reaction to understand that he wanted her.

JD undressed in front of her trying not to be subconscious about being naked but decided that since she had braved it enough to do it for him; he could not very well be otherwise. He stripped down to his long johns, aware that she was watching the removal of his clothes, transfixed by what he looked like bare. JD was still in something of a state of shock about all this and eventually started to peel them off his shoulders before stepping out of them completely. She had always been very proper about her conduct with him and although they had been together for some time now, their relationship had not progressed beyond a few heated kisses after their outings together. He had certainly not taken her to the livery stable like he had done with Maddie, not that it had turned out well and now as he stood poised to join with Casey, he was glad he had not wasted his virginity on Maddie when Casey was worth waiting for.

When he finally stepped out his long johns, he noticed Casey studying him closely, her eyes moving over every inch of his skin, pausing at his length in curiosity because she had never until this moment seen a man completely in the nude. He hoped he was not too much of a disappointment and then asked himself when she would have had no other basis for comparison. His cock was fully sprung to life now and JD could see that Casey was watching it mesmerised and he guessed that she wanted to touch it again and JD knew he wanted to let her. Moving towards the bed, he saw her slip deeper into the sheets as she made a space for him.

"Casey," JD said as he climbed in and had to pause a moment when he felt the delicious heat of her bare skin next to him as he rolled on his side to face her. "Are you sure about this?" He asked nervously.

"Yes," she nodded with a smile. "I want to be with you JD. I want you to be my first."

JD swallowed, feeling his heart swell with affection at what she was offering and realising at that moment that she believed that he had been with a woman before. Of course, considering how she had walked in on him and Maddie, there was no reason for her to believe otherwise.

"Casey." He looked at her. "I haven’t been with anyone else either." He admitted. This was a special moment and it was way too special for him to be lying to her. She was offering him something of herself that was a once in a lifetime experience and JD wanted her to know just how much it meant to him that she was his first as well.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "But I thought when you with ....."

"No." He shook his head quickly. "I never did anything with her."

Casey met his eyes and started to smile. "I’m glad." She whispered. "It makes this more special."

"It does." He nodded and leaned over, meeting her mouth in a gentle kiss.

He kissed her tenderly at first, even though he was throbbing hard with each taste of her lips against his. Casey was closing her eyes, parting her mouth gently as he continued to kiss her and JD was awash with sensation at how sweet she felt. His head started to swim as his tongue slipped past her teeth and started stroking the deep recesses of her mouth as well as savouring the feel of her tongue as she nervously began to explore him just as deeply. Instinctively, he reached for her face and stroked her hair and cheek tenderly as they continued to kiss because anything more was still too new.

JD could not believe how wonderful she felt as he rolled on top of her. All his senses were being bombarded by the stimulating sensations of her scent in his lungs, of her skin against him and the softness of her full lips growing bolder as their passion started to heighten beyond discovery into the taut singularity of need. He could feel her breasts pressed against his and he continued to kiss her and knew his erect length was pressing into her thigh. Her hands were moving over his back, rolling languidly across muscle and feeling the firmness of his flesh under her palms. He felt her shudder slightly at the feel of him, it moved through her body her like a wave and through her kisses, he heard a sharp intake of breath.

"Oh Casey." He swallowed as he came up for air. "You’re so beautiful." He whispered and saw her smile radiantly before she pulled him to her again because the pleasure of his kisses was more than she could stand to have away from her at this moment. She was aware that she stood on the periphery of something but could not imagine what that might be except for this tugging inside her that would not abated. She could feel him pressing hard against her leg and knew that they had both crossed a point of no return.

JD tried to remember all the talk that he had listened in when Buck and the others talked about women. Buck was naturally the most vocal and JD had to shift through all the advice given and cast out what was mostly bluster in order to secure the knowledge that was actually useful. Buck always said that it was always best when the woman felt good too and Ezra seemed to agree even though he never went into more detail than that. Vin and Chris did not talk about women at all except to joke about some of the ladies they had known in the past but like Ezra did not specify the more fundamental aspects of it. Josiah’s knowledge of the opposite sex was not focussed on the bedding but the courting while Nathan’s attitude was to take things slow. What would happen would happen.

He knew that Casey expected him to take the lead assuming that he had more experience than she did in these things but all JD knew how to do was to take it slow as Nathan had advised. He told himself to remember that she was here too and that Casey had needs just as demanding as his. She had given herself to him on nothing less than a leap of faith and JD had no intention of betraying that trust. Gazing into her eyes and he saw the love she had for him. JD knew he wanted this to be something they could remember for the rest of their lives, a memory they would share even when they were old and grey because he knew that he loved her too.

Lowering his head, his lips parted and captured the soft skin of her neck, awkwardly moving up and down the creamy flesh as he began exploring her, trying to find the secret places Buck had told him about where women could be pleasured. Purely on whim, he tried to tease the tender skin as he had kissed her, darting his tongue out far enough make contact when he heard her breath in deeply and one of her hands left his back and started raking through his dark hair. It took a few seconds to realise that she liked what he was doing and so he continued, raining soft kisses down her shoulder, moving across her neck and collar bone all the while stealing the nerve to cup the small mound of her breast.

His palm burned like fire when he felt the hard nub of a nipple under his skin and instinctively squeezed gently. Casey wriggled underneath him, feeling the previously forbidden pleasure now taking complete control of her body as JD started squeezing harder, until the breath was forced from her lungs with each tentative compression of his fingers. The sensation started to burn like wildfire, making her moan softly in his ears, even before she was aware that the sound had left her lips. She placed her hand over his, inciting him to continue even though he had no intention of stopping in the slightest now that he had made this discovery.

JD was throbbing so hard that he was almost panting with the need to find release immediately but hearing her gasp in his ears was so arousing, he knew he just had to hang on a little longer because he wanted her to experience it with him. Inspired by the response he had garnered by touching her breast, JD wondered how sensitive they really were to touch and began directing his kisses lower. She reacted to the touch of his lips with every inch of his journey and when he happened to glance upwards, noted that her eyes were closed shut and her lips were quivering with sensation.

Her nipple was like a rosebud, pulled tight into a single nub of crinkly skin, the way it would be if she were cold. The tip jutted into a small plateau. When JD brought his mouth to it and allowed a breath of hot air to pass over it, he felt her react most acutely when her back arched slightly and her legs parted so that he could feel his cock sliding neatly between them near the heated core of her. The sensation endured when the head of his manhood caressed the tender skin of her inner thighs almost made him come undone and he had to fight like hell to rein in the urges that were threatening to overpower him.

When he finally reined in his rampant desires, JD flicked his tongue experimentally over that point of contracted flesh. What he received in turn was a languid moan, like something had been awakened inside of her with that one action. Her back lifted of the bed enough to push her hot body against him while her hand in his hair pushed his head down again, wanting him desperately to repeat what he had just done.

"JD....." She pleaded. "Don’t stop."

Encouraged by her reaction, JD became bolder and sucked deeper, eliciting another cry of pleasure upon doing so. He let his tongue fully explore the tiny nod of skin in his mouth, swirling around it and gently nipping it with his teeth, testing the boundaries of what he could do to make that soft moan escape her again. His cock was hardening by the second with each pleasure gasp that sneaked past her lips until his entire body trembled in anticipation of release.

His hand cupped her other breast while his mouth did its worst and JD felt extremely satisfied that he was able to deliver some measure of pleasure to her because he had been afraid of disappointing her, especially since it was the first time for both of them. Buck’s words had haunted him that a joining like this should be enjoyable for both, not just him. Kneading the flesh in his palm gently, he felt her fingers rake through his hair and could not deny that he liked how it felt immensely.

Leaving her breast, he moved his hand downward, feeling his curiosity about the female anatomy reach bursting point because he had to know more before they proceeded to the next step, whatever that was. He wanted to be with her desperately. His entire body was aching for it. Just watching her heave in sensation as he continued to nurse on her was enough to shatter his control and he was very close to climax but JD refused to let himself give in until he was sure that she was ready for it. He was not entirely ignorant and knew that the first time for women was supposed to be painful, at least that was what Buck said and it was a man’s responsibility to lessen that pain as much as possible.

JD did not want to hurt Casey and as his hands snaked down the smooth skin, relishing in the curves that were so often hidden beneath loose fitting clothes, he wondered why she was not tempted to display that lovely figure more often. Finally, he arrived at the crinkly mound of hair and lingered for a moment as he experienced the texture under his fingertips, running his own digits through it as he she was doing to him. Casey seemed to breath harder when he reached that point and paused suddenly as if she had not expected him down there.

"Casey?" JD stopped what he was doing and looked up at her when he felt her stiffen suddenly. "Is everything alright?" He asked anxiously, praying that she had not changed her mind because he had done something wrong.

"Yes," she nodded after a minute but the apprehension in her eyes showed. She was had counted on him knowing what to do when she had made this decision but JD’s revelation that he had never been with a woman before, though wonderful, had given her cause for concern. She wanted to be with him but she was also afraid because they were both in uncharted waters with no guide except the experimentation that they had been doing to aid them in their sexual awakening.

"I won’t hurt you Casey." JD said softly, aware of the fear in her eyes and wanting to assuage them because he would just die with need if she chose not to continue. Of course, he was a gentlemen and he had no intention of forcing himself upon her if she did not wish to go through with this, no matter how uncomfortable he might become. "I promise."

"I know," she smiled, believing him when he said it. Slowly, her hand dropped away from his hair and gently urged his hand to continue what it was doing.

JD returned her smile and lowered his lips once more to capture her nipple, wanting to engender the same pleasure within her as he made this latest incursion into unknown territory. She was breathing hard but it was part pleasure and part fear as his fingers moved to her lower regions. JD noticed he could smell her very acutely now and it was not just the perfume that always seem to linger on her body after she had spent the day in the sun doing chores around the farm. It was something else, something not bottled but overpowering, like heat and sweat all rolled into one and whatever it was, he took a deep breath and savoured it in his lungs like an elixir that stoked the fire burning inside his groin.

The first thing that he noticed when he finally began probing at the folds of her sex was the slick moisture at the small opening. He knew from personal experience that men were able to produce lubrication of their own when they were pleasuring themselves. He guessed it was the same for women as well but had no idea how similar it would be. He used the dampness to probe further into her, letting his fingers explore every crevice and every fold with fascination until his finger brushed over a nod of flesh and he received the surprise of his life as well as giving Casey one herself.

"Oh god JD!" She groaned and she bucked underneath him, her hands flying to his hair and back. Suddenly the gentle caresses disappeared and was replaced by fervent kneading of flesh as her fingers raked across the hard muscle of his back.

JD considered what he had discovered briefly before repeating the action to see if the same reaction would be engendered. Just as before, the moan escaped Casey with careless abandon and the surge of moisture that flooded her passageway almost tore the sense from his world as he felt his finger dampen with her juices. He realised that this was the place that he had needed to find, the one that would give her the same kind of pleasure that she had given him when Casey had placed his hands on his throbbing cock.

Deciding to take advantage of what he now knew, he continued to concentrate his digital manipulations on that one area, swirling, caressing and kneading with his fingers tips until Casey was writhing beneath him with nothing less than ecstasy. Her hands had left his back and were now knotted around the sheets. Her legs were wrapped around his thighs, with one foot gently stroking the back of his calf in complete submission to the pleasure he was affording her. When he pressed the inside of the moist passageway and felt the walls of muscle contracting around his finger, he almost came there and then and told himself that he had to hang on.

"JD," she whispered almost incoherently. "That’s so wonderful." She panted. "Oh god, that’s so good!"

She could think of no other way to describe it because it was not what she had expected. In truth, Casey had not known what would happen when she finally decided to give herself to JD but she had to admit she was pleasantly surprised by everything that was happening so far. While JD was just as new to her as this was, she could see that he was taking great pains to ensure that she enjoyed the experience as much as he and if nothing else, this convinced Casey she had made the right decision.

JD continued stroking that pearl of flesh, relishing each pleasured groan as it escaped her lips until she was riding his hand in order to experience as much as the ecstasy he was delivering to her in searing waves of erotic sensation. Her hips were thrusting gently toward him, moving in rhythm with his hand. JD had to breathe in deeply to control the almost painful ache building up in his cock as he felt her heart pounding against his when as he rested his head on her breast and continued their fevered dance.

Suddenly, he felt her tense underneath him and a shudder overcame her that JD knew all too well from too many experiences doubled over in his bed, groaning into his pillow so he would not be heard when the pleasure of his own hand allowed him to reach climax. She arched against him as her arms wrapped themselves around his back and her nails dug into the skin. The pain was strangely arousing and JD watched the pleasure overcome her face as her cheeks flushed with colour and her lips trembled as the full vent of her orgasm rushed over her body and swept her away. A gush of moisture flooded the narrow passage and emersed his finger in warmth. JD revelled in the feeling knowing that it was he who had made her feel this way.

JD pulled himself further up her body, capturing her mouth with his and reached instinctively for her leg and hooked it over his thigh. She was still recovering from the sensation of her climax and made no protest, aiding him somewhat when she positioned herself so that they could finally complete their joining. Her fingers traced slow circles over his back once she had relaxed and she gently whispered into his ear.

"Now JD." She said softly, her voice a little shaky still but definite in its intention. "Do it now."

JD needed no more encouragement because he could not wait any longer. Seeing her climax was the most erotic thing he had ever seen in his young life. He loved the way her eyes had clamped shut and her lips had puckered into an ‘o’ of pure sensation as it rushed over her. The sight of that glassy stare and that beatific expression on her face as it melted into satisfaction was something he would carry with him until the day he died. At that instant, JD had understood better than ever what Nathan had meant when the healer had said the experience was so much better with someone you loved.

Positioning himself over her quivering sex, he gently nudged his way through the heated passage his finger had taken earlier, much to the envy of his hungry cock. As the head of the swollen member penetrated the tight ring of flesh, JD thought he might just die from how it felt. The pressure against his glans, awakened every nerve inside his body until he could do nothing except groan out loud in order to keep himself from forcing all the way up her.

"Casey……" JD was almost incoherent. "Oh Jesus, Casey!"

He could not breathe. The pleasure of it! Oh dear god, the pleasure of it! It was nothing like what he imagined, not even in his wildest fantasies and he had only just slipped a little of himself inside her, to say nothing of his full length. However, despite the incredible ecstasy of her body, he still remembered he was not alone. In a raspy voice, he asked. "Is it okay, Casey?" He could hardly keep himself from shuddering as he spoke, the sensation chipping away at his composure so relentlessly that his jaw was taut with agonising attempts at control.

"Yes." She nodded. It did not hurt yet but then she was not sure it would as much since he had made her experience that incredible rush of sensation that pulled the bones from her body until she was nothing but fluidic motion wishing for him to experience the same enjoyment. She loved him so much seeing the strain of his jaw and the look in his eyes as he tried to control his entry so as not to hurt her. As if to give him permission, her palms circled his rear and pushed him towards her gently.

He continued to push, relishing each centimetre of the journey towards the core of her. She was so tight inside and while he had no basis of comparison, he had never imagined that the lack of space could produce such incredible sensation. The walls of her inner muscles clenched around him, stroking his heavy shaft as he nudged deeper and deeper into her until he could hear her starting to call her name in his ear. The feel of her breath against his skin compelled him to move faster into her when suddenly, he came against a barrier of skin.

His first instinct was to pull back when suddenly he felt Casey’s hands pulling him against that inner obstruction. She stiffened under him as he did so but the sensation of her moist passage clamping down around him drove any further thought from his mind. Oh Christ, JD thought to himself. He was never going to make it to the end and he knew he just had to. He did not want to disappoint her and yet the pleasure was beyond belief. She as so damn tight! He wanted to scream that in loud ragged sobs as his cock hardened at the overload of stimulation until it was very near explosion.

This must be it, Casey thought as she felt him fill her and the pain that had seared through her as he breached her maiden head. She felt it burning inside of her and was almost tempted to push him away but knew she could not do that because he was too far along to stop. He had tried so hard not to hurt her and the pain was fading away somewhat so Casey knew she could bear it. The next time it won’t be so bad she told herself and she knew that there would be a next time because JD had made this experience so wonderful she could deny him nothing ever again.

JD reached the end of the passageway and knew that he could go no further because he was buried to the hilt inside Casey. Her fingers were raking at his back and he was aware that something had happened during the course of joining because she had stiffened enough for him to notice. He wanted to ask her but was too afraid to spoil the moment with words and the most coherent thought in his mind at the moment was this need to start thrusting into her.

He pulled back and started to pump, taking note that with the slick wet that was some stickiness as well that felt different from the other. However, sensation soon drove that observation from his mind as he started moving his hips and began thrusting into her warmth with long steady strokes. JD was realistic that he could not last for very long. This was his first time inside a woman and the anticipation that had led to this moment had almost shattered his resolve a thousand times over before he had even penetrated the sweetness of her body.

"Oh Casey!" He groaned as he thrusted into her, each stroke was pure bliss and his body was absolutely wracked with it. His eyes clamped shut as he continued pumping into her, his body performing an ancient rhythm that had been buried inside him all his life waiting for its time. All he could see before him was this heaving veil of colour, reaching epiphany with every stroke until he was knew nothing else.

Casey watched him in fascination as well as arousal. He was pushing fast and furious, beads of sweat running down his muscled arms and chest. His face was contracted into a knot of pleasure and he was panting, gasping, trying to keep control. She could see the muscles flex in the line of his jaw and the chords of sinew pulled tight in his neck as his head was thrown back in animalistic lust. She watched his skin glisten under the light and the musk of him filled the room and was almost as intoxicating as watching the pleasure on his face.

Casey felt as if she had come down from a high place and was still basking in the warmth of that descent. While she felt none of the frenzied ecstasy of his earlier ministrations, there was pleasure in this too. The fullness inside her was very satisfying and even though she still ached a little from the loss of her maiden head, she was revelling in the sight of watching him pound into her. She thrilled in his vocal expressions and how he reaching the same heights he had sent her earlier.

He was beautiful.

Casey had never understood how that could be applied to a man until this point but she knew it was an accurate description. Everything about how he looked to her now, helpless to his needs, his lips quivering and his skin flushed gave her a sense of the real JD she had never seen before. She wondered if it was this moment that finally stripped away all the pretext and words between a man and a woman and finally lay them open to each other, unable to hide nothing. Casey saw him for what he was just then, not the youngest member of the seven, not the sheriff of Four Corners or even the man she loved but rather as a boy not unlike the girl she was, trying to find his place in the world.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked at her. In the split second of time that it took for their eyes to meet, Casey saw that he was finally there. His body tensed and a long, guttural moan of pleasure escaped his throat as she felt the warmth of him filling inside of her. The sensation was like nothing she had ever experienced. It seemed to rush up within her, staking claim to her body as it warmed her insides with seed.

Oh god. Oh god. Oh god.

That was the only thing that JD could make sense of in his mind when he finally let himself go. A rainbow of colour exploded before him, blinding him to everything but the pleasure that gripped his body in a tight knot and refused to let him go. The control he had tried so hard to master snapped, like the ropes holding the mast of a ship together and the resulting chaos that followed was no less turbulent as the relief flooded his body and he spurted his seed deep inside her.

JD continued to pump, climaxing harder than he had ever done so in his life although he measured those experiences with the lonely episodes in bed where a day of pent up sexual frustration found release in his hand. JD had to say that this was so much better. His head swam as the strength drained out of him and he found himself unable to remain on his elbows any more and had to lower himself onto her. Resting his head against her breast, JD swallowed hard as he caught his breath to speak.

"Casey, that was something." He raised his head long enough to kiss her on the lips. He felt like the bones in his body were no more and he could not move. All he wanted to do was to lie against her forever and hear her heart beating against him. He had never imagined for one moment that it could be so incredible. Buck’s description did the act no justice and yet it was Josiah’s words that seemed to echo more in his ears than anything else. Josiah said that it was a symphony of souls and at the moment JD could not disagree with him more. It was like a song was playing in his ears and even though it was now over, he could hear the lilt of it humming through his soul.

"Thank you JD," she smiled happily as she brushed a strand of hair away from wet brow. She knew she was bleeding a little but the pain of the moment hardly registered when she saw how satisfied and affectionate he was following his release.

"Thank you?" He looked at her perplexed. Thank him? She was thanking him for making him experience the most mind numbing pleasure of his life? JD had to admit confusion to that and managed to exclaim. "What for?"

"For making it so wonderful." Casey said wistfully, that smile on her face again.

"You made it wonderful, Casey." JD pointed out and felt that to be the honest truth. "I was just here."

"No," she shook her head, disagreeing with him on that count and decided to make the admission that would be acceptable to him. "We made it wonderful."

TO BE CONTINUED...