Stolen Ecstasy Read online

  Rebecca felt ill at his incestuous confessions. He bragged, “I knows a woman’s body better’n the trails around ‘ere. You just relax and enjoy ole Jess’s tricks. Lester’s big and mean down there and hurts most women; that’s why I wanted you first. By the time I git ‘em after him, they’s no good. I can’t even make ‘em crazy for me.”

  When Jess’s slobbery mouth began to slip down her flat stomach, Rebecca was alarmed. She had to halt his ravishment. “My legs are cramping, Jess. I’m nervous about this. May I lay down?” she entreated.

  “Go on. I’ll shuck these pants and boots,” he told her. ‘Then I’ll make you relax and feel real good,” he promised with a sly laugh.

  Rebecca lay upon the sleeping mat which reeked of his foul scent. She spread her long, thick hair around her head on the rough material. Her hand secretly eased into the bushes and withdrew a heavy rock. She knew that the only way she could silence his shriek when she struck his head was by using her mouth. The thought of kissing Jess nauseated her, but it had to be done. She waited stiff and silent, the rock hidden beneath her flowing mane of auburn hair. Her timing had to be perfect. If she missed or didn’t strike him hard enough…

  The naked Jess sat down near her waist, content to stare at her for a few moments. “What’s yore name?”

  “Rebecca,” she replied just above a whisper, watching him carefully and intently. “You won’t hurt me, will you, Jess?” she pleaded as if frightened and shy.

  “Yore beautiful, Rebecca. I wish I could takes you with me, but I ain’t got no home. Since Ma and Pa died, Martha lives in a saloon. I just travels with Lester. I’m sorry Lester’s gonna hurt you, but I’ll take care of you after he finishes.”

  Rebecca stared at this crazy man. He wouldn’t defend her or prevent Lester’s assault, but he would doctor her later! What an odd sense of loyalty. Rebecca quelled her repulsion and smiled at him. “I’m lucky you came with him, Jess. Thank you.” Rebecca decided she could muffle his outcry better if his mouth was filled with a breast and she was making passionate sounds. Her vision would also be clear for her attack. Lester would think she was only trying to stimulate Jess into a quick release! She summoned her courage and denied all pride. “You really know how to make a woman feel good, Jess. Would you… would you do it some more?” she encouraged.

  As Jess began to feast ravenously upon her breasts and to labor skillfully at her womanhood with his deft hand, she writhed and moaned. She could hear Lester’s chuckles over her sounds of passion. Jess was grunting and lapping noisily, believing he was inflaming her body and mind. When he shifted to enter her, Rebecca pleaded for a little more pleasure first. Rebecca’s left hand went to the back of his head and crushed it against her firm mound as if mutely instructing him to work more swiftly and roughly. Jess was so involved in his actions that he didn’t notice when she lifted her hand with the heavy rock. As she slammed the rock against his head, she sent forth a moan of ecstasy and said loudly, “Oh, Jess, you’re so-o-o-o good. More… faster… yes…” Thankfully, he had gone limp without a sound. As she bound Jess with his shirt, she let her voice trail off to little moans and enticing words and finally to silence. Little did Lester know she was gasping with fear and moaning over the abominations she had undergone with Jess. She grabbed her dress and slipped into the woods behind her. She had to hurry.

  Just as Rebecca reached the other side of the cabin and was sneaking down its side to await a chance to bolt toward the door and safety, Lester called out, “You two ‘bout finished over there?”

  Silence came back to him, and he called out once more. Rebecca was poised and ready to run the moment Lester stepped into the trees to check on them.

  Realizing it wasn’t sex that was keeping Jess silent, he lifted his gun and cautiously entered the dark shadows. Rebecca was inside the cabin with the door bolted and barred before Lester found Jess bound and unconscious, bleeding heavily. She hastily checked the windows to make certain they were barred securely. Then she took the gun and waited for Lester’s reaction.

  Recalling the axe which Bright Arrow used for chopping wood, she quickly looked toward the corner, relieved to find it resting there. Hopefully Lester and Jess wouldn’t have an axe with them, an axe which could chop through a door or window. Rebecca was trembling; she was terrified. She knew what Lester would do to her if he got his hands on her. Worse, she imagined what he might do to her children.

  Suddenly she realized that she was naked and her body was moist. She shivered uncontrollably. Hastily she filled a basin and scrubbed off Jess’s saliva and her perspiration. She pulled on a thin cotton chemise and bloomers, then covered them with an old, worn, faded calico dress. She listened and waited but nothing happened. She wondered if Jess was injured badly, then decided she didn’t care, for his survival gave her two enemies rather than one. She hated those two men, and she despised what she had been forced to endure for the privilege of living past this fateful night. She was only grateful that the children were sleeping peacefully, unaware of the danger.

  By midnight, Rebecca didn’t know what her two attackers were doing or plotting. She shuddered at her harrowing experience, one she feared wasn’t over yet…

  Chapter Two

  Hours drifted by slowly as Rebecca sat huddled in a chair at the small table, a gun before her. Her tawny gaze flickered from one barred window to the next, then over to the cabin door. She prayed there was no way those devils could get to her and her children, and she tried to force memories of their lecherous pawing from her mind. Every so often, a shudder raced over her stressdampened body. Although her respiration came in short, jerky gasps, she was too frightened and numbed to cry. She glanced over at her girls sleeping on wooden bunks, relieved they had not awakened during the commotion.

  She wondered why Lester had failed to react to her escape, as only silence greeted her strained ears. She knew that Lester must be furious, for she had sensed the evil and cruelty in him. And why Bright Arrow hadn’t returned still remained a mystery. Had he unsuspectingly come across Lester and Jess lying in wait for him? Something must be terribly wrong, she suspected, or he would be home where he was needed.

  One lantern cast its soft glow in the warm cabin. Fortunately, during her misadventure the open door had allowed some of the cabin’s heat to be exchanged for cooler night air. There was no light coming down the chimney or through any tiny cracks around the windows, and she prayed for morning, hoping those men would be afraid to perform their satanic evil in God’s light. She prayed also that they could not get inside and harm her family, and for her love’s safety and return. She hoped that Lester and Jess had regretted their hasty actions and had left. But what if they were lurking outside, waiting to pounce on her the moment she rashly opened the door or a window? She realized she dare not move until her husband returned.

  At dawn, Rebecca jumped when she heard a light tapping on the cabin door. Gun in hand, she hurried over and pressed her ear to it. Lester spoke calmly, “Rebecky, open this door and take yore medicine. If’n you kilt Jess acause he wuz hurting you, I’ll be of a mind to let it pass. You done set this fire in me groin and you gots to put it out afore I kin forgive you fur trickin’ me. We best finish our business afore your man returns and I hafta kill him. Them younguns needs theys papa and mama. You best pay me fur his life and yorn, then I’ll be on my way. You got me word I won’t hurt you none,” he declared, his voice slurred from heavy drinking.

  Rebecca listened without replying, her silence increasing his fury. “You hear me in there, squaw? I’ll not leave afore you pays me my due. I’m gonna have you, woman, all I wants. Did ole Jess git his afore you kilt him? You cain’t stay locked up fur long. You best do right by me afore I gits madder. I’ll leave yore chiliens be if you open this door pronto. Speak up, Rebecky,” he demanded fiercely.

  Lester gave her five minutes to think. When she failed to respond, he issued more threats and warnings, then gave her another five minutes to reconsider her position. Still, Rebe
cca remained speechless. She wasn’t going to bargain for her life with a malicious drunk. She recalled how he had crudely fondled her womanly parts, and fury consumed her as she remembered having to endure his repulsive handling. He had the nerve and stupidity to think she would open this door and subject herself to more humiliation. If she were alone, she knew she would bravely open the door and kill the villainous bastard!

  Lester banged on the cabin door, cursing her and describing horrible tortures she would undergo when she became his captive. He vowed to remain there until he had administered his particular brand of justice; he promised to slay her husband if he showed his face; he warned her of the consequences of no food, water, and air. Suddenly, she was all too aware of her sorry state.

  The loud hammering of balled fists on the door aroused the children. They were confused, then frightened. Little Feet and Moon Eyes were old enough to realize that some evil force was trying to break into their home. They cried for their father, and Rebecca was unable to console them. Their fears mounted when Lester began a routine of beating on the door and windows every hour and shouting dire threats.

  Lester knew he was terrifying the children, and he enjoyed their cries and screams. He realized the best way to get to Rebecca was through her children. He concluded that she would be forced to open the door when the cabin air became suffocating, or when they needed water for survival. For certain, he surmised, she couldn’t remain inside for a week. He had enough supplies to outwait that sneaky bitch. Not that he cared so much about the attack on Jess, but she had tempted him and played him for a fool. He couldn’t get her feel and smell out of his mind. She had become an obsession to him, one he resolved to conquer.

  By nightfall, Lester was as hot and as frustrated as Rebecca. She had made no response to Lester and had tried to calm her girls by playing hand games with them. She had used the last of her firewood to cook a soup consisting of dried meat and vegetables. The cabin was insufferably hot once more, yet she dared not bathe the children’s sweaty bodies or flushed faces to cool them, for her water was very low and had to be conserved for drinking. She had no idea how long Lester would continue his malicious siege, and she was growing weary of telling her girls, “He’ll be home soon,” each time they asked about their missing father. She feared her thoughts about Bright Arrow and his reason for delay. No matter how he felt, she couldn’t believe he would ever desert them this way.

  At last, the girls were so fatigued from the heat and crying that they fell asleep, and Rebecca suddenly realized that Lester had not pounded on her door for over two hours. It was past eleven.

  Rebecca resumed her position at the eating table, as if standing guard could prevent future peril. Exhausted, she closed her burning eyes and dozed for several hours. When she awoke, she wondered why she was sitting in a chair with her head resting on the table. Slowly, the ghastly memories returned. She stood up and stretched her stiff body. Without a view of the moon, she couldn’t determine what hour it was, but she knew it was still night and assumed Lester was still outside. She walked over to check on her children. Little Feet was awake, lying rigid and wide eyed, Moon Eyes was tossing restlessly, and Tashina was serenely asleep.

  Rebecca smiled at her oldest daughter and reached for her. Before she could collect the child in her arms, Lester began to walk around the cabin, beating on the door and windows with a heavy wooden club. Little Feet squealed in panic and hid beneath the cover. The combined noises awoke the other two girls, and all burst into tears and shrieks. Nothing she could say or do would calm them.

  Rebecca silently cursed Lester. She raced toward the window he was striking ‘and yelled at him to stop. Lester laughed coldly and loudly, increasing the force of his blows. Distressed over her children’s panic, Rebecca raced from one barred surface to the next, pleading with Lester to cease his cruelty and to leave them in peace.

  Lester replied, “I ain’t stopping or leaving’til you pays me.” This time his tone was stony and sober.

  “I owe you nothing, you beast! Go away! When Br— Clay returns, he’ll kill you for this!” She wished she had the courage to inform Lester that her husband was a fierce Sioux warrior and that his father was none other than the awesome and feared Chief Gray Eagle. But she knew she couldn’t allow anyone to learn their true identity for future safety.

  “Yore man ain’t coming home. Jess and me done waylaid him. He won’t be home ‘til them wounds heal. That tale of gold was just a trick to git you to bed us,” Lester lied, though Rebecca sensed his deceit. “How much food and water you got left for them younguns, woman? Ain’t it gittin’ mighty hot in there? Theys sounds mighty hungry and sceered to me. Why don’t we end this showdown?”

  “You’re a thief and a liar, Lester! I know what you’ll do the minute I open this door. If necessary, my girls and I will stay here until we’re nothing but bones. I promise you’ll pay at Clay’s hands if you harm any of us!” Rebecca tried to retain a clear head and use words which wouldn’t overly alarm her girls, but it was hard to think when she was so fatigued and frightened.

  “Me temper is wearin’ out, woman. If’n this door ain’t open soon, you’ll all be dead. I gives my word you’ll be alive when I leaves.”

  Rebecca refused to carry on any kind of conversation with the black-hearted demon, and that day and the next passed in a similar pattern. Lester continued with his imposing threats and actions. The heat in the cabin increased, the tepid water was depleted, what little food that she had left was inedible without cooking, and she had no wood. She had broken up a chair, but it would not burn, and she knew the beds and table would be no different. She needed brush or kindling. Even if she burned all of their clothes, there wasn’t enough to keep a fire going long enough to ignite the wood or to cook a meal. It seemed hopeless.

  The children fretted until they were weak from heat and the lack of food and liquid. Drenched in perspiration, they lay quiet and listless on their beds. Rebecca was worried about them, for she hadn’t honestly believed Lester would remain outside this long. She attempted to rethink her position, but her mind was groggy and her stomach was pleading for nourishment. She even lacked the body moisture to cry.

  Three days and nights had passed; they were wearily entering a fourth night of terror. The sealed cabin was like a brick oven, the inner heat of which increased each day. Her children were suffering and possibly dying. Rebecca didn’t know what to do next. She was so exhausted that she couldn’t even remain furious. One way or another, the situation would be fatal. It simply remained to be seen for whom.

  Lester knocked on one of the side windows. “Rebecky, you wants some fresh water?” he taunted, then tossed the life-sustaining fluid on the cabin wall. A few drops entered cracks and rolled down the inside surface. Helplessly, she witnessed the vindictive sight. She heard Lester smacking his lips as he described his meal of fried salt pork, corn pones, and black coffee, all of which she could smell, though her mouth was too dry to form saliva.

  Rebecca decided that Lester must be tired, for he was quiet throughout the night. With certainty, she realized he would not give up his evil quest until he won or they were dead. She was tempted to open one window for fresh air and to sneak out for water, but she rejected her plan. Lester could be anticipating such an act by a mother desperate to save her children. If only she could be positive that Lester wouldn’t hurt her girls…

  By morning of the fourth day, the children couldn’t talk or cry with their dry throats and parched lips. Rebecca couldn’t even tell them everything would be all right, for she was filled with doubt. All three girls were steadily weakening, and it ripped at her heart. She was assailed by dry sobs when she thought of her alternatives—to have the children die in their sleep or to have them watch their mother raped, tortured, and possibly murdered.

  Could she allow her children to suffer and die? Could she trust Lester to spare them if she yielded to his savage desires? Clearly Bright Arrow was dead, or else he would have returned by now. Could sh
e live without him, with the blood of her girls on her hands? No matter what she did, she was doomed.

  The next time Lester banged on the door, she called out to him in a cracked voice. “Lester! Do you promise to leave my girls unharmed if I come out?”

  Lester halted his patrol around the cabin and lowered his club. Leaning against the door, he grinned wickedly. “You giving up, Rebecky?” he asked playfully, astonished by her surrender.

  “If you’ll give my children some water and food and promise not to harm them, I’ll…unlock the door and come out.”

  Lester glanced toward the woods and opened his mouth to speak, then fell silent with a deceitful smile. “Yep. I’ll fetch some water and put it by the door. You open up and gits some fresh air inside. I’ll hafta be taking me pleasure afore you cooks ‘em food. I hasta make sure you don’t cross me again. While I rest, you kin feed ‘em.”

  ‘They need food now, Lester. They’re very weak. Please,” she hoarsely beseeched him. “I promise, no tricks.”

  “I don’t hold to hurting little ones. I’ll fetch food and water. You gives ‘em some air. Then me and you gonna have some fun. You try anything crazy and I’ll wring ever’body’s necks.”

  Rebecca listened cautiously, but she couldn’t hear anything. She walked over to the bunks where her girls were dozing. None of them stirred as she kissed each forehead lightly. Returning to the cabin door, she summoned her lagging courage and strength, lifted the bar, and slid it aside. She inhaled deeply, then slowly released the used air. She picked up a sharp hunting knife and concealed it at her side in the folds of her dress. Placing her hand on the bolt, she closed her eyes and prayed one last time.

  When the bolt was released, she waited to see if Lester would rush inside and attack her. He didn’t. She slowly, reluctantly opened the door. Gripping the knife handle tightly, she looked outside but saw nothing unusual. She stepped into the sunlight, catching a glimpse of Lester to her right from the corner of her eye. She whirled and stabbed him in the chest before he could seize her. Shock registered on his plump face as he glanced down at the painful gash pulsing blood. Before he could react, she stabbed him again. He staggered and swayed, still finding her daring attack incredible.