Slims froze when he saw her, curled on her side, asleep. Her chest rose and fell in an even cadence, and he shook his head in disbelief. “Why wouldn’t you sleep with me, Dav?” he whispered.
He stood for long minutes, watching her sleep, and then he spun out of the room to pace the small front room. Eventually he decided to ready for bed. After he had shucked his pants and shirt, but kept on his underclothes, he pulled down the blankets and the top sheet on the big bed. On tiptoes, he crept into the back room and eased her into his arms. When she wrapped her arms around his neck, whispering, “Simon,” a fraction of the anger and the hurt he felt eased.
“Come, love. Time for bed,” he whispered, kissing her head.
He settled her in the larger bed and climbed in after her, wrapping an arm around her waist as he pulled her against him. The blankets were tucked around them, and the fire was strong enough to keep them warm for a few hours. He fell asleep, at peace with her in his arms.
* * *
Davina woke, grumbling her protest as the arm around her waist slipped free and the warmth along her back eased from the bed. “No,” she murmured, her hands reaching out and grasping at air. “No,” she cried, tears coursing down her cheeks as she pushed her face into the pillow. It had all been a dream. Laying in Slims’s arms, feeling cherished and adored by him, feeling wanted for the first time in so long. Nothing more than a fantasy. Why could nothing in her life ever measure up to the dreams she created while she slept?
She squealed when the bed sagged beside her, and a large body rested beside her again. Rolling over, she bashed into his chest. “What?” she gasped. “Ye’re real?”
Chuckling, Slims swiped at her tears and then at tendrils of her hair that had escaped from the hasty braid she had tied when she went to bed. “Of course I am. What did you think?” he whispered, his brown eyes filled with concern, as he seemed to understand she was on the verge of panic. “Shh, Davina, I’m here. You’re safe.”
She pushed forward, wrapping her arms and legs around him. “I thought ye were a dream,” she whispered into his neck. “Sent to torment me but never to be real.”
“No, my little one, no,” he murmured, kissing her head. “I’m very real. A man of flesh and bone, who will make mistakes and disappoint you.” He paused as he felt her calming in his arms. “I upset you last night because you went to bed in the other room.”
She let out a huff of disgust as she looked up at him, now fully awake. “Of course I did. Ye looked like a man bein’ led to the gallows.” She nodded as he gaped at her. “Any self-respectin’ woman would be angry. Especially when it’s her weddin’ night!”
“I couldn’t have looked like that,” he said, as he cupped her cheek. He gripped her shoulders to keep her in place when she huffed out a breath and moved to turn away from him. “Look at me. Listen to me,” he said in a deep, melodious voice.
She stilled as she stared deeply into his gaze, lit by the faint light of the fire.
“I won’t lie, Dav. I won’t.” He took a deep breath and expelled it. “I was terrified but not because I’d married you. Because I’d married at all.” He waited a moment, as though hoping to see a softening in her expression, but all he saw was wariness and uncertainty. “I’d sworn never to marry, and, within weeks of meeting you, I was standing in front of a preacher, vowing to protect you, honor you, forever. I fear that you’ll be gravely disappointed in your choice of me and that I’ll fail you.” He closed his eyes a moment.
“Do ye think I dinna feel the same?” she asked, as she ran her fingers over his whiskers.
His eyes flew open, as he gazed at her again. “I’ll never be disappointed in you.” He kissed her fingers as they neared his lips. “And you’ll never fail.” He watched her with fervent intensity, as her eyes shone with unshed tears at his avowal.
She marshaled her courage at his words. “Why would ye no’ carry me over the threshold? Why would ye no’ touch me once we left Cailean’s house?”
His hand that had drifted to her hip tightened its hold on her there. “I wanted you so much, Davina,” he breathed. “I didn’t want you to see that side of me.” She frowned, and he dropped his hands away. “I’m sorry. I’ve offended you. I should never have forced you to sleep beside me. It was selfish …”
She covered his mouth with her soft hands, her eyes beseeching him to quiet. “Hush, Simon,” she whispered. She took a deep breath and flushed, her gaze never wavering from his. “I fear I very much want to see that side of ye. I want to ken ye have a madness for me that I do for ye.” Her eyes filled. “The thought that ye did no’, that I was the only one mad with the need to touch ye …” She shook her head as tears leaked down her cheeks. “I could no’ bear such a marriage again.”
“You aren’t, Dav.” He sighed, resting his forehead against hers. “You aren’t.” He sat back a few inches. “There’s something I very much want to do, something only a husband should do, but I don’t want to offend you.”
Her eyes sparkled with humor and mischief. “Aye? An’ what’s that?”
His large hands rose to trace over her head. “I very much want to see your hair unbound and in my hands. Let me free it.”
She closed her eyes with pleasure at the soft touch of his hands on her head, gently massaging her scalp. “Oh, aye, husband,” she gasped, as his fingers loosened the braid and moved through the silky strands. She sat, with an expression of supreme pleasure as he played with her hair, sighing with delight as he eased her onto her side so he could loosen her braid.
“How beautiful,” he murmured. “I never thought to be the lucky one to see it free again. That day it fell loose, that first day in Fred’s living room, I thought my heart would stop at the beauty of it,” he rasped, as he leaned forward and kissed his way down her spine, his mouth following the path of his fingers.
“’Tis terribly heavy,” she said. “I’ve thought of cuttin’ it off.”
He finished loosening her hair and spread it out, letting it fall though his fingers. When she had turned to him again, he looked deeply into her gaze, as though assessing her real question. “I’d want you, with or without your beautiful hair, Davina. What matters to me is the woman you are, in here.” He placed a hand over her heart, frowning as he saw her eyes shimmer with tears. “You are a remarkable woman, and I’m the luckiest of men to call you my wife.”
Her eyes shone with pleasure. “Kiss me,” she whispered.
Tracing a finger over her cheek, he leaned forward and paused inches from her lips. “If I kiss you, I won’t be able to stop. I want you too much.”
A tremulous, hopeful smile bloomed. “There’s no such thing as too much,” she whispered. “Be darin’, Simon.”
Callused fingers scraped over her silky skin, and he breached the last few inches, “I will be. Only for you.”
* * *
Slims rested with a slumbering Davina in his arms. He knew he should try to sleep, but it eluded him. Every soft breath, each quiet snuffle, or shift of her head captivated him. He feared the day this fascination faded and worried what it would mean when the ability to hold her in his arms was not a novelty. Saying a silent prayer, he hoped he never took his beautiful wife for granted. That he always gave thanks for her presence in his life and in his arms. For his life had been a long and lonely one, and he had no desire to return to such a life.
She murmured a soft word and shifted in his arms. Kissing her head, he whispered soothing words, and she calmed. He found himself praying again that she would always find solace in his embrace. That she’d never look to another for the comfort she should find with him. She moaned in his arms, and he rubbed his hand down her side. “Shh, Davina, you’re well. You’re safe.”
“Simon?” she whispered.
“Yes, sweetheart,” he murmured, kissing her head again. “I’m here.”
She moved and then groaned with the slight movement.
He grimaced. “Forgive me,” he murmured, kissing her head softly and
wrapping his arms gently around her. “I was not as gentle as I should have been. I promise you’ll never ache again.”
She kissed his forearm and snuggled back into him. Her voice was slurred with sleep, but he could make out what she said. “Ye should apologize,” she said around a large yawn. When he froze at her words, she giggled. She squirmed until she faced him, and she cupped his face, the touch of the soft skin of her palms making him groan with pleasure. “Ye’ve made me crave ye.” She arched up and kissed him. “Never before have I felt such passion.” She kissed him again and smiled, as he stared at her in wonder. “Or such pleasure.” Another long kiss. “And now ye say ye’ll no’ love me like that again?” She stared at him with hurt in her gaze. “Whyever no’? Did ye no’ feel—” She bit her lip as insecurity and embarrassment filled her gaze.
“Davina,” he breathed. “I worried I hurt you.”
She shook her head. “Look at me,” she urged. “Do I look like I’m tremblin’ in fear at the sight of ye?” Her smile bloomed. “I might be tremblin’ because I canna wait to kiss ye again an’ have ye in my arms again, but no’ because I fear ye.” Her smile dimmed. “That makes me wanton, no? A respectable woman should no’ speak in such a way.”
He groaned in disagreement, kissing her passionately until they were both breathless. “My woman, my wife, tells me what she likes and doesn’t like. And, if she finds pleasure in my touch,” he said in a low, deep voice as he brushed away long tendrils of her hair, “then I will have to discover ways of giving her more and more pleasure every day.”
“Oh, yes, please,” Davina breathed as she arched up to his touch. “Ye dinna ken how long I’ve waited …” She gasped as he kissed her collarbone.
He kissed his way up her neck and murmured, “I have an idea, darlin’.” He met her yearning-filled gaze. “Let me love you again.”
“Yes,” she breathed.
Simon said another prayer, that her passionate honesty would never abate. For he didn’t know what he would do without it now that he had experienced it.
* * *
The following morning, bright light streamed in through cracks in the curtain, creating a kaleidoscope pattern on the floor and bed. Davina snuggled into Slims’s side, intent on remaining in bed for as long as possible.
“Are you awake, darlin’?” he murmured, his work-roughened hands caressing the silky skin of her shoulders and back.
“Aye, although I dinna want to be. I want to stay here forever,” she breathed, as she pressed into his chest. She smiled as she heard the rumble of his laughter against her ear.
“I fear I’ll need sustenance at some point, darlin’.” He kissed the top of her head. “And we should return to the ranch today.”
Davina moaned in protest, wrapping her arms and legs around Slims. “Nae.”
“Don’t you want to see your cousin?” he asked. He eased her away, brushing at her hair, tangled in knots as it framed her face. “Dav?”
“I want time with just ye, Simon.” She ducked her head. “I ken I’m selfish, but I want time to talk with ye and to sit in silence if we want. Time without interruptions.”
Sighing, he brushed featherlight strokes over her cheek. “As do I,” he murmured. “But I’m foreman of an important ranch. I need to be there, Dav.” When she flushed and seemed to deflate in front of him, he cupped her cheek to tilt her face up to meet his gaze. “My work and my duty to Frederick and the men will never be more important than you, Davina. You are my wife, and you will always come first.” He paused. “But I also must provide a good living for us, as well as be true to myself. And part of that is doing my job well.”
She bit her lip, her brown eyes filled with adoration as she gazed at him. “I have faith in ye, Simon. I ken how the men respect ye and how Frederick relies on ye.” She shrugged. “I had hoped for more than one night with ye.”
A smile burst forth as his thumb rubbed her lips. “Oh, we’ll have more than one night, my darlin’. We’ll have every night to come.”
She flushed and fell forward to again rest in his strong arms. “I … I must tell ye somethin.” She paused as her fingers played in his short chest hairs. “I’m a bit of an heiress.” When he tensed, she turned her head, so she could meet his gaze. “When I left Scotland, I sewed coins and jewels into the hem of my petticoats and cape.”
He gaped at her, before bursting out laughing. “Oh, you are brilliant.” After awaiting a long moment to see if she would say anything more, he said, “When we next come to town together, we can visit the bank and place them in a safe there, if you like.”
She let out a deep breath. “Ye are no’ angry at me?” At his quizzical expression, she whispered, “For no’ tellin’ ye afore? I let ye marry me, thinkin’ I was a poor woman.” She shrieked as Slims rolled them so he hovered over her, his eyes lit with a passionate fervency.
“If you were as poor as that destitute Mrs. Jameson, I would have wanted you, Davina,” he breathed. “You are what I desire. Not any jewels or coin you might have brought with you from Scotland. You.”
A tear trickled free, as she ran her fingers through his hair and gripped his shoulder. “’Twill take me time to understand what ye mean.”
He smiled. “Take as long as you need, darlin’. We have the rest of our lives.”
* * *
Later that morning, Davina opened the front door to the bakery and halted as the scents of freshly baked bread, cookies, and cakes wafted over her. She inhaled and then sighed with the deepest pleasure. “Heaven,” she breathed.
Chuckling, Slims agreed. “Yes, it’s my favorite place to visit in town. Besides the café.”
She looked over her shoulder, her gaze filled with appreciation as she beheld her handsome husband. “Ye’re very loyal, are ye no’?”
He shrugged and ushered her inside.
Davina moved around the space, staring at the shelves filled with Fidelia’s fine lace and Sorcha’s beautiful wool to be sold. Davina then moved to the glass-fronted case with the pastries and breads. “’Tis a wee bit of paradise.”
Jane entered and smiled. “Davina!” she exclaimed, running around the case to pull her into a hug. “Oh, I’m so excited for you and Slims.” Her broad smile took in both of them. “I didn’t have an opportunity to congratulate you last night.”
“’Twas a bit chaotic,” Davina said, “but lovely.”
“Oh, it was a beautiful ceremony. It reminded me of mine, although Warren presided over my wedding. And we had a little less time to prepare.” She slipped her arm through Davina’s and pulled her along with her. “Come to the back. You can visit with everyone while we work.”
Davina walked beside Jane, casting a glance over her shoulder to ensure Slims followed. When Davina entered the kitchen, she paused to see Fidelia sitting in a rocking chair in a corner with Jack at her breast, Jessamine pacing as she told a story, Annabelle laughing at whatever Jessamine had said, and Leena watching it all, wide-eyed.
“Davina!” Annabelle proclaimed. “Oh, I feared we wouldn’t see you again before you left to return to the ranch.”
Davina was enfolded in embraces, each woman giving her a searching look before smiling with satisfaction. Flushing, Davina stammered, “I insisted I must see the bakery afore we left. An’ I thought we could bring back a little somethin’ for Sorcha, Frederick, an’ the men.”
“Of course,” Annabelle said, swiping her hands on her apron and then staring at horror at Davina’s clothes. “I’ve covered you in flour.”
“’Tis no bother,” Davina said with a laugh. She reached behind her for Slims’s hand, relaxing subtly when his hand was in hers. “Ye have a beautiful bakery.”
Annabelle smiled her thanks. “It’s a good business, and we have fun working here and gossiping our time away. A small room is through there that functions as a nursery. Little Aileana’s having a rest right now, and Skye insisted on watching over her.” She smiled at Davina. “And the extra income is always welcome.”
/> The bell over the front door jingled, and Jane scurried to the front, where her friendly voice could be heard as she served a patron.
“I’ve been fortunate to have this bakery and such fine friends and family to run it with.” Annabelle yawned. “Now I’d suggest bread, cookies, and one of our cakes.” She looked at Slims. “What do you think?”
“If possible, could we bring two cakes?” He smiled as the women laughed at his request.
Soon their order was packed up in a crate, and Davina faced her cousins and friends. “I dinna want to say goodbye.”
“It’s not forever,” Jessamine said, as she pulled her into a tight embrace. “It’s just for now. We’ll see you again soon.”
Fidelia squeezed her hand. “You’ll have so many adventures on the ranch that you’ll forget about missing us.”
Davina battled tears and shook her head. “I ken I’ll have adventures, but I’ll still miss ye.”
She hugged Annabelle and then preceded Slims out the door. When they were outside, she let out a stuttering breath. “Forgive me,” she whispered, as she looked at her feet.
Holding the box of goodies in one arm, he used his free hand to tip up her chin so she would meet his gaze. “What is there to forgive?” he murmured. “The fact you like, perhaps even love, your family? Why is that something to be ashamed of?”
“I’m no’ ashamed.” She sniffled and shrugged. “I’m embarrassed.”
He smiled tenderly at her. “I think, for too long, you’ve learned to hide your emotions and to bottle them up. Let ’em loose, Davina. I can handle them. And you.” He waited as he saw her eyes widen in surprise. “I’d far rather know how you feel than have to guess. I’m certain I’d always guess wrong.”
“I should no’ burden another with my emotions,” she protested.
Lassoing A Montana Heart Page 11