Dakota Furcal methodically checked her shotgun again as she waited for the coffee to brew. She was positive she'd heard something outside last night but neither man nor beast had made an appearance. The daughter of a Kickapoo woman and a Mexican tracker, she had learned at an early age how to be extremely aware of her surroundings. Living alone out here in the outer reaches of Maverick County didn't bother her. She rather liked the solitude and it kept her from the questioning glances of the people in Eagle Pass.
She had already made up her mind that she would live the rest of her life in this same solitude, and was content with it. The men she'd met were only interested in her as a mixed breed anomaly, curious as to her sexual abilities. Women shied away from her thinking her strange. And she really didn't belong in either the white or Native American world. People both in town and on the rez had made that perfectly clear to her. The wild animals were more her friends than any human.
She didn't mind, though. She had her projects that kept her busy. And now, with the purchase of a second hand guitar, she had her music. It was enough for her.
But the isolation also brought its own dangers. In such a remote location she was prey to every kind of marauder, both human and animal, but she had created her own safety net. Her father had taught her to shoot both a shotgun and handgun, making her practice until she could almost hit a target blindfolded. Dakota kept the loaded shotgun with her at all times and made sure to check the area around her cabin frequently.
She had built a persona for herself that assured her no unwelcome human visitors would come sniffing around. Her Kickapoo mother had taught her how to make potions from the various plants and trees that grew wild around here. And like her mother, she sold them at fairs and market days, carrying on the mantle of "medicine woman." A strange person. One who could cast spells. Her imagined magic enough to keep people away from her.
In the past few days, however, the fabric of her hard-won serenity had rippled, disturbed by something unseen. Two days ago she'd sensed the presence of evil, a vileness so terrible it had turned her blood to ice water. The sensation had burst upon her when the viciously slaughtered bodies of the two hunters and the deer had been found. In town to do her weekly shopping, she'd heard the talk. Coyotes, everyone said. A hunting party needed to go after them.
Oh, she knew the legends perpetuated about the unseen beast. Dakota firmly believed that's all they were. Legends. But it didn't hurt to take a few precautions. She made sure the shotgun was in good working order and that she had enough bullets. Then, mixing a blend of plants her mother had taught her, she'd spread the mixture around the cabin in three rows a foot apart, and chanted the appropriate prayer. Eventually the feeling of evil faded but it didn't disappear completely.
She would need to be very, very careful.
All day she'd been edgy, wary, constantly checking for approaching animals or people but the desolate landscape remained undisturbed. The occasional javelin made an appearance and a family of foxes scurried through the brush but that was about it. She'd kept the shotgun with her while she'd worked outside with her herbs and vegetables. Now she leaned it against the bed as she pulled off her clothes.
All the tension produced too much nervous energy which in turn jacked up her unsatisfied sexual urges. The bad thing about living like a hermit and disdaining most human contact was it left the satisfaction of her needs up to herself.
When she had stripped down to just a leopard print thong, Dakota pressed the button on her portable CD player and soft instrumental music filled the room. Just because she was alone didn't mean she couldn't have atmosphere. She turned out the overhead light and switched on the bedside lamp to low. Reaching into a cupboard for a goblet she pulled a half-empty bottle of wine from the fridge and half filled it. Finally she carried it over to her bed, pulled back the covers and sat on the edge. As she sipped the wine she let her eyes roam around the one large room.
Her Kickapoo grandfather had kept it as a hunting shack, leaving it to her along with several surrounding acres when he died. Its condition had been so bad at first she'd thought about just having it knocked down. But she really wanted to be able to live out here where she might find some peace and quiet. Her home life left a great deal to be desired and she'd never been able to make friends in the small community of Eagle Pass. Even the people who bought from her at market days and craft fairs spent as little time with her as possible.
But she'd worked hard at restoring it, even got a couple of her cousins from the rez to grudgingly do the heavy lifting. Now it was a place of peace and comfort for her. Or at least it had been until the past couple of days.
When her wine was nearly gone, she reached into the little nightstand beside her bed and pulled out her favorite toys, a silver bullet and a lifelike dildo along with a tube of scented gel. When she'd ordered them she'd chosen the thickest dildo she thought she could take, based on her limited sexual experience. Almost everything she knew came from the erotic romances she downloaded through her satellite connection.
The little bit of wine had given her just enough of a buzz to relax her and heighten her awareness of a routine she followed many nights. Shimmying out of her thong, she lay back on the bed, squeezing a dollop of gel onto a palm and spreading it carefully over the dildo.
Bending her knees and planting her feet on the bed, she let the hand still coated with gel drift over her stomach down to her cunt. Idly she brushed her fingers over her clit, then spread the remaining gel on her inner lips. Not that she needed it. She was already so wet that her flesh was slick and slippery.
She closed her eyes and slowly inserted the dildo, pressing until it was fully seated inside her, the head bumping against her womb. At once tiny nerves woke up and sparked like miniature rockets. God, she loved that thing in her cunt. Too bad she couldn't have the real thing, but then she'd have to put up with whoever it was attached to. That had proven to be a disaster one time too many.
Now she just enjoyed the feel of it stretching her tissues, letting her body adjust to it. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the button on the silver bullet and rubbed it back and forth over her clit. She gritted her teeth as the familiar sensations washed over her. The pulse inside her cunt set up a steady beat, resonating throughout her body.
With her free hand she cupped one breast and pinched the nipple until fiery streaks shot from the engorged bud straight to her womb. The hot need she'd kept on a leash all week burst into flame inside her. Dakota wanted to make it last, to stretch it out as long as possible but her body was just too ready.
Acknowledging that tonight wouldn't be slow and easy, she moved her hand from her breast to the base of the dildo and pushed the button to turn it on. Now twin sets of vibrations rocketed through her, the dildo and silver bullet working in tandem. She moved the little bullet back and forth over her clit almost desperately as her climax roared up through her.
As the music swelled so did her body. When it reached the crescendo she exploded, clenching the muscles of her cunt down on the dildo. She squeezed her thighs together and rocked her hips again and again. When the last spasm finally ceased she managed to pull the dildo from her pussy, turn off both it and the bullet and drop them on the bed. She stretched out her legs, her entire body weak, her heart racing.
The music kicked into something slow again. Soothing. She sighed and tried to relax. The tensions of the day had finally abated but somehow she felt more unsatisfied, more sexually frustrated than she had before the orgasm.
And the faint sense of unease still clung to her, like a gray fog hovering in the air.
Getting up to pour herself another glass of wine, she lifted the shotgun from where it was leaning and placed it beside her as she crawled beneath the covers. She was just imagining things. That's all.
What else could it be?