by Caleb Borne
“I know, my love, I know.”
In one smooth motion he rose to his feet, the foam rolling down his body and mine like crystal lava. His arm slipped beneath my bottom and he stepped over the edge of the tub onto the rug that was supposed to look like bear’s fur. Michael carried me to the bed and laid me on my back, spreading my legs wide and kissing me there, his eyes wide open. I tried to pull my knees together, but he was firm. “This is mine,” he growled, his hands roving over my body as though memorizing every curve.
And then… before I realized what was happening, Michael moved over me and arched his back. I looked up into those midnight blue eyes and saw a new sparkle. It was passion. “Just a pinch and then you’ll feel wonderful,” he said in a low voice. I felt him guide his penis between my woman’s lips and slowly, but evenly press into me.
“Ah!” That was the pinch. I clenched for a few moments but he repeated my name over and over as one would coo to a frightened horse. “There now,” he soothed me as he pressed in more deeply. He was right. He filled me, pressing all the way to my backside. I feared he would push right through me but logic and pure lust took over and calmed my irrational thoughts.
Michael’s hips rocked back and forth and each time he pressed into my tunnel, the better it felt. My hands grabbed for him as I flailed from side to side, calling his name. I wanted more and more and harder. I wanted something, something to burst even though I had no idea what. The sensations were growing, his stroking my insides with power and knowing and at which I could only wonder.
“I want…want something so badly, but I don’t know what. Help me, Michael!”
He laughed softly and increased the rhythm of his penetration. That’s when I felt it. It truly felt like a lava made of stars, beginning in my belly and shooting outward and upward until it burst. I screamed, despite myself. I was convulsing from the inside out and it felt unbelieveable. This was what the girls whispered about. This was the cement that held a marriage together. It raged through my body, feeding off my love for Michael and his tender, primal love for me.
He stiffened, his head rearing back as I saw the cords in his neck stand out. I reasoned he must be feeling something to what I’d just gone through. I hoped he was, because that would make him love me more. How could you not love a creature who caused the oceans in your body to erupt?
As though he’d reached a peak, Michael collapsed next to me, pulling my body to lie atop his own. He wrapped his arms over my back, pulling the other half of the spread over us to ward off the cool of the room. His hand rooted through my hair, gripping the crown of my head and pulling me down to be kissed, over and over again. Finally, he allowed me to roll off and he stood next to the bed, in his naked splendor and I felt the yearning begin again just at the sight of him. I reached for him desperately, but he grinned. “You’ve had enough for your first time, darlin’. But, don’t worry. Tonight is only the beginning.
As I watched he walked throughout the suite, turning off lamps until he came to the windows, still uncovered and framing the brightly-lit world below. “Come to me, Katie,” he called softly. I went to him, shy in my nakedness but he pulled me against him and crossed his arms over the front of my body. “Look at it. Look at the world out there, Katie. All that in the middle of the desert. Can you imagine, for just one moment, what our world will be like. I want to take you on a warm night in the grass of our home. I want to smell the scent of horses around us and someday to feel a swell of your belly as our child kicks inside. Give that to me, Katie, and I will give you the world, and more.”
I nodded silently and a great peace came over us both.
He picked me up and carried me back to the bed, kicking back the covers with his foot. He slid me inside the envelope of sheets and pushed in next to me, pulling me against him so that my cheek rested on his chest and his arm cradled my shoulders. His fingertips grazed my swollen nipples and with a content sigh, he closed his eyes.
I finally knew who I’d always been meant for. For him.
Michael
God help me, but I took her home to Kentucky. A smarter man might have delivered her safely to her parents and ridden off with his sword to vanquish the enemy on their home turf. The blood and the memory of it would be left behind and peace would be restored in his own kingdom. Michael Quinn may be a king in his own mind, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave Katie alone, unprotected.
She didn’t even know where I lived. I was willing to bet the same wasn’t true of Colin. Therein lay the difference between the two people closest to me; one loved without boundary and the other pushed them every chance he got.
We flew into Standiford Field. It had been a bumpy flight and Katie had clung to me almost the entire way. We were both exhausted and agreed that Las Vegas had been a spectacle, but we preferred the bluegrass. Katie had admitted somewhere over Iowa that her dream of being in the movies had dimmed considerably now that she’d seen what Hollywood was like. She couldn’t have given me a bigger wedding gift. We’d keep the California house to visit when snow blanketed Kentucky, but our life would be built among the white board fences and barbecues.
Rather than dragging her around, we stayed at the Galt House that night. We had what few clothes we’d brought to Las Vegas, but the night didn’t need clothing. It needed warm, loving, inviting skin—so we shared a slow and gentle loving that night. I marveled how quickly I could grow accustomed to having her warm body next to mine. I got up once in the night to the bathroom and returned to find her arm stretched over my pillow with wanting, even in her sleep. There was no amount of money in the world that could mean more to me. Having come from a rather loveless childhood, I’d worried that being as close to someone would be difficult. I may be too set in my ways. It wasn’t like that. Katie didn’t rob me of independence; she filled in the holes with love and support unlike any I’d ever known.
The next morning she shopped a bit to get an appropriate travelling suit and we took a taxi to the storage company where I’d left my Mercedes. With a bouquet of flowers in hand, we made the drive to Tipperary.
“How are we going to tell them?” Katie had asked.
“Would you like to do it, or should I?”
“The whole thing is really outside the bounds of customary and it’s important to me that they understand I was chaste until my wedding night and that I’ve not turned into a harlot.”
“Don’t even use that word, Katie. Promise me? Las Vegas was the first place where we could be married the same day. I needed you to belong to me; for us to belong together, without delay. Colin is out of control and I won’t allow anything to happen to you. The best way to do that is to make you a part of me.”
“Michael, do you think Colin would hurt me?”
I lied. “No, of course not. It’s not about you, darlin’, it’s about me and what’s precious to me. If something happened to you, I’d hunt him down and he knows that would be his end. That said, Colin’s friends don’t have the same loyalty ties. I can’t predict what they might do. So, it’s better to keep them at a distance.
She seemed satisfied and I hated that I wasn’t telling her the truth about Colin. She was safer if she didn’t know and at that moment, that was uppermost in importance. I changed the subject.
“Have you heard from your friend, Della?”
“Yes, I called to check on her. She’s fitting right in at the Beverly. Apparently someone called himself a director and started giving her big dreams. So, she’s decided to hang around a little longer and see if there’s anything to it.”
“Does this bother you?”
“Not really. Della has always been a little jealous of me and that’s probably part of the reason she’s staying. But does it bother me? No. It wasn’t the glamorous land of magical discoveries and movie stars I thought it was. I don’t know what I expected, but not that. What I saw was more like a bad party that never seemed to end. Della can have it. Won’t bother me a bit.”
I reached over to pat her l
eg. “That’s my girl. No one could have told you that—you had to see it for yourself.”
“I know. I can be a little stubborn, okay, maybe even a little willful sometimes. I like to try things for myself.”
“Nothing wrong with that.”
“Okay, here goes nothing,” she said as Tipperary came into view and I turned into the driveway. “It all looks the same.”
“We were gone as long as it felt.”
“They don’t know where coming, do they?”
I shook my head. “We are all family now, remember?”
She nodded. I could tell she was holding her breath and her face was a little pale. “It will be okay, I swear.”
I pulled to the side of the drive, closer to the porch and shut off the motor. It’s gentle rumble had a comforting sound that was now replaced with the sound of the wind blowing through the dogwood trees and the occasional snort or hoof fall from the horses grazing nearby. Katie’s hand was quivering as I helped her from the car. I wished I had told her about my acquiring the farm and my deal with her father, but to destroy his reputation with his daughter was beyond cruelty.
Katie went to the door. She turned to look at me. “Am I supposed to knock now?”
“Up to you, but remember the message it sends.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a mark of respect to knock. They’ll do the same for you at our home.”
She nodded and rapped on the door. Bella opened and she was clearly taken by surprise. “Katie?” She looked at me briefly, but wouldn’t say my name. “Honey, are you home?”
I saw the flicker of stiffening in Katie’s shoulders. “In a manner of speaking. Michael and I came to speak to you and Daddy. Is he home?”
Bella rolled her eyes and held the door open with her ample backside. “I was dreading this,” she said. “Come on in and I’ll get your father.”
We went through the house to the back patio. I liked that Katie chose that; confrontations in tight spaces ate at my gut. Always need a door at my back.
I settled on the aluminum lounge chair with the yellow and orange tufted cushion. I remember thinking that it was too cheery. Katie paced, looking longingly over the pastures. I wanted to tell her it would all be hers still, but that needed the right timing. I caught sight of O’Hara then, coming in from the closest barn. Katie full out ran to him and he held her tightly, kissing the top of her shining blonde hair. No matter what he was to the world, he would always be her protector. He came close and I stood up and extended my hand. He shook it, just to make it look good. “Quinn,” he murmured and went back to hugging Katie. The sliding door screeched, and Bella had joined us, a tray of sweet tea and a plate of some kind of cookies in her hands. She handed around glasses. I would have preferred bourbon, but again, this wasn’t the time to throw my weight around.
“Daddy, Mother, I have something to tell you,” she began.
They looked at one another and there was a quiet exchange of almost sadness between them.
“Michael and I just flew in from California, by way of Las Vegas. We’re married!” she gushed, holding up the hand with her ring.
You’d thought they’d been told someone died. They’d seen it coming, of course, but Katie didn’t know that. I approached Bella and bent to hug her. She turned her cheek away at the last second. O’Hara coughed and looked away. Katie—was crushed.
I caught O’Hara’s eye and stared hard. He shook my hand, patted me on the shoulder and then hugged Katie. “That’s real nice, honey… real nice.”
“I think I hear the oven timer,” prevaricated Bella and disappeared inside.
“Tell your father about California and your decision,” I suggested in an insistent voice to Katie.
That cheered her. Even Bella stepped back out to hear about movie stars, beautiful clothes and the casting couch. Bella covered her mouth at this last. “Don’t worry, Mother. I’ve changed my mind. I’m coming back to Kentucky permanently. Michael and I have a life to build.”
Bella nodded absentmindedly, but was looking at O’Hara. I knew what she was wondering. Would they have a house still when everything was said and done? Maybe I was being an ass, but I enjoyed those little moments when they felt insecurity. At the very least, it might generate a little gratitude.
O’Hara cleared his throat. “Michael, could we have a few words?”
I nodded and he turned toward the barn, so I followed.
He kicked at the straw on the floor with the toe of his boot. “You’re going to be good to her.”
“A lot better than you’ve been.”
He blanched at my words. A little more gratitude just spilled over him. “I needed to say that.”
“No, you didn’t, but I get it. Is that it?”
“Not entirely. I’m sure you can appreciate that Bella and I are up in the air about where we’ll welcome, now that the farm is in your name. You and I hadn’t worked all that out.”
“Actually, we did. I told you that if you’d manage the farm as you have been, keeping it intact, you can stay. I don’t want anything to change. Katie is not to know about this. If she finds out, and I find out one of the two of you told her, then you’re out that day. I want her world intact and you accept me as though you’re happy about it. Got it?”
“Got it. How about farm expenses. If I don’t have the income—”
I cut him off. “I’ll open an account at Cattleman’s and you get receipts. I’ll have my business manager contact you. Again, not for your personal use or…”
“I’ve got it. Michael, you’ve got to see how hard this is on a man like me. I’ve always owned this place; it was in my family.”
“You should have thought about that when you bought those track tickets. You should also be thanking your daughter. If it weren’t for the fact that she’s my wife, the banks would have this all by now.”
He nodded. “I suppose you’re right.”
“I know I am. Remember. Katie doesn’t find out.”
I obliged him to show me the horses in that particular barn. I would, if necessary, get another farm manager. Everything appeared to be clean and well-maintained but it didn’t belong to O’Hara anymore and people don’t take care of what isn’t theirs.
I decided to leave. “One more thing, O’Hara. You can call me Michael. I’ll call you Stanley and Bella. That will please Katie.”
He nodded. I walked out and back up to the house. Katie and her mother were on the patio, talking. “Katie, darlin’, it’s time to go. We have things to do today. Bella, it was pleasant to see you again.”
Bella frowned as I cut their visit short. Katie smiled and stood up to give her mother a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll stay in touch, but we’re going to be busy,” she told her. Bella wasn’t happy, but her life was of her own making.
* * *
“I don’t think Mother and Daddy were too pleased,” Katie ventured as we were heading back toward town.
“They’ll come around.”
“You’re not worried?”
“No. I’m married to you, not to them.”
“But it would really hurt me if they alienated me.”
I lifted her hand and kissed it. “Not going to happen.”
She sighed, leaning back against the cushions as she watched the scenery flow by. “Where are we going?”
“Home.”
“Okay, I’ll play. Where might that be?”
“Just relax and let me surprise you.”
Katie laughed. “This must be your playful side. I’m game.” She went back to enjoying the view. “Oh, will you look at that? The Hill is up for sale. I never thought I’d see that. I understand that Mr. Hilburn has nobility on his side, even though his family has been here for generations. What a shame. It easily the nicest farm in the bluegrass area.”
“Yes, it is.”
She gave me a sidelong look. “How long have you lived here?”
“Long enough.”
“Oh, Michael, no,
you must have meant to turn further down the road. This is the drive to the Hill.”
I said nothing, but continued on until we were pulling into the covered parking just to the side and rear of the original house.
“Michael? Do you know the Hilburns?”
“Only slightly. I spoke with them for just a moment.”
“Oh? Where was that?”
“At the attorney’s office when I signed the closing papers.”
The upper half of her body rotated toward me with a snap. “You don’t mean to say…”
“Yes. It’s your wedding gift, Katie. The Hill belongs to you now. I take it you’ve been here before?”
“Oh, Michael, you can’t be serious. This isn’t just a house or a farm; it’s an estate!” Her eyes regarded me with curiosity bordering on suspicion. “Do you really have that much money.”
“Yes, we do.”
I helped her out of the car the unlocked the front door, scooping her up in my arms as we crossed the threshold. “Some things are traditional,” I said as I kissed her. “For tonight, I’ve had a bed delivered and the basics. Tomorrow morning we’ll begin ordering staff and I have a designer coming who will help you pick out whatever you want to furnish the place. Your style, your choice. Except for one room, and that will be my office. I’ll handle that. Once we’re settled in, we’ll look into horses and a farm manager.”
“Michael, I love you, but you’re taking my breath away. I had no idea.”
“Happy?”
She walked toward me slowly, her lids lying heavily on her cheeks in a seductive move that made my blood run like lava. “Why not show me that bedroom?”
“Soon. A few things first.”
A shadow of disappointment flew over her face, but she quickly recovered when she thought of the possibilities.
“Take off your shoes and stockings,” I growled.
Her nostrils narrowed like a young filly, full of herself and unwilling to give up her power. Her eyes held mine with deliberate revolt, but yet she did as I told her. It was a supreme act of trust on her part and if possible, I loved her more in that moment than ever before.