The Bride Price

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  Joel shook his head and chuckled under his breath. “You’re placing way too much emphasis on the act itself. This isn’t something that’s just a physical exchange between two people. There’s a lot more depth to it than that. It’s emotional. It’s spiritual. There are many layers to making love to a woman. I guarantee you that if you are a kind and considerate husband, she will enjoy her time in bed with you.”

  Sep groaned. “I already got that part.”

  “That’s the part that matters. If you don’t do that, you will be a complete failure in bed, and Angela won’t want to be intimate with you again.” Joel shifted in the chair so that he was facing him directly. “You tend to act first and think later. You’re impulsive. Take a look at what happened yesterday. You went out to help Owen rescue some women, and the next thing you know, you’re marrying one of them.”

  “I don’t regret it.”

  “I’m not saying you should. Angela seems like a very nice woman, just as you said. I’m just saying that this is something you do. It’s a trait you have. Sometimes, you need to take a step back and just think things through. Be reasonable about this. If you do something to goof up in bed tonight, I hope you won’t panic and think you’re a complete failure as a husband. There is a lot more to being a husband then what happens in bed. You can do everything right in bed, but if you don’t treat her well outside the bed, it won’t matter how skilled you are.”

  “Don’t you think I know this? It’s common sense.”

  “I just want to make sure you put things in the right perspective. A lot of times, people want me to take care of their symptoms instead of finding out what’s causing their illness. You can’t put the cart before the horse. Everything has its order.”

  “I’m starting to think I should’ve just talked to my sister about this.” It might’ve been a lot more uncomfortable, but he had a feeling April would have given him something useful to go by.

  Joel let out one of his familiar sighs. “I just don’t want you to put emphasis on the wrong thing. You want to know how to please a woman in bed, and I’ll tell you. You kiss her. You touch her gently. You ask her what she likes. You ask her what she doesn’t like. And if you find she likes something, you do more of it. If she doesn’t like something, you don’t do it. You take time to learn her body, and you don’t rush things. Be open with her. Talk to her. Don’t be in a hurry to get to your own pleasure first. Make an effort to make sure she is satisfied before you finish.”

  Now this was more useful. “What kind of places does a woman like to be touched?”

  “Everywhere.”

  “Everywhere? Can’t you give me something more specific?”

  “Her breasts and the area between her legs are the most sensitive. But I don’t need to tell you to spend time on those places because you’ll naturally want to do that. You don’t have those parts, so they will be the most interesting to you. I just don’t want you to forget she has more than those parts when you’re making love to her.”

  Oh for goodness sakes. “I’m not stupid. I know there’s more to a woman than those two parts.”

  “It’s easy to forget a lot of things when you’re aroused. You can get so caught up in the moment that you start thinking only about yourself and forget her. If that happens, and if you end up finishing before she does, make sure you go back and satisfy her.”

  “Let me guess. I need to ask her what she likes so that I know how to properly satisfy her. Because there’s no way you’re going to actually give me any details on how I can do this, even though you have three kids with my sister. She obviously likes being in bed with you or else you wouldn’t have that many.” Sep might not know much about how Joel was with April in bed, but he knew enough to know that Joel never forced himself on her like her first husband had. “I know not to force myself on Angela. I know that just from my sister’s first marriage. I’m not going to do anything to make Angela cry afterwards.”

  Joel stared at him for a moment then asked, “April used to cry after Harvey was in bed with her?”

  “The walls in the house are thin. I could hear a lot.”

  “She never told me that.”

  “Who in their right mind wants to talk about Harvey?”

  “You’re right. It’s best just to leave him in the past.”

  Realizing he wasn’t going to get anything else he could use out of Joel, Sep rose from the chair. “We should probably get back in there before my sister thinks we disappeared.”

  When they returned to the parlor, it was just April, Angela, Nora, and Hannah. Levi had been put to bed shortly after dinner. Nora and Hannah were telling Angela all about the different patients Joel had taken care of during his time as the town doctor.

  “There was one boy who got trapped in a wagon wheel,” Nora was telling her. “When his father got him out, his leg was broken.”

  “His father didn’t think Papa could fix it,” Hannah added.

  “He did, though,” Nora said. “He can fix anything that’s broken.”

  Unable to resist the opportunity to tease his brother-in-law, Sep inserted, “Your father can fix anything as long as it’s on a person. He can’t do anything with a wagon or a door or –”

  Joel gave him a playful punch in the arm. “I’m not interested in fixing those things anyway. The only thing I care about is taking care of people. It’s why I became a doctor instead of a farmer.”

  “If it weren’t for us farmers,” Sep began, “you wouldn’t have any food to eat.”

  “Which is why I sometimes take food as payment for healing people,” Joel replied.

  April groaned. “Those two have never fully gotten along,” she told Angela.

  “Never gotten along?” Sep asked. “I was just at his office yesterday fixing his door. I wouldn’t do that for just anybody, especially for free.”

  “What do you think tonight’s supper is all about?” Joel replied. “This is your payment.”

  April went over to the two men and said, “That’s not true, Joel. Don’t lie. We’ve been wanting to have Sep over for a couple of months.” She looked over at her brother. “I worry about you on the farm all by yourself. You don’t come to town often enough.”

  Sep shrugged. “I like the isolation. It’s nice and peaceful out there.”

  He knew his sister would never understand. She enjoyed her time in town far too much. Whether it was paying Joel’s patients a visit to make sure they were doing well, seeing her friends, or taking her children to the park, she enjoyed all the things the town life offered that she could never have at the farm. He hadn’t realized that at the time, but making her and Joel get married was the best thing that ever happened to her.

  “Maybe now that you’re married, you’ll come see us more often,” April told Sep.

  “Speak for yourself,” Joel inserted with a teasing tone in his voice. “I’m hoping the wife will keep him out there at the farm more often. A newly married man has better things to do than visit his sister anyway.”

  April nudged Joel in the side but grinned. “You won’t be saying that the next time you need the door to your office fixed.”

  “I could’ve had any of my brothers fix that door. It just happened that Sep was in town yesterday. What was I supposed to do? Let a good opportunity go to waste? Besides, you’ve been at me to get him over here for a long time now. You should be thanking me.”

  “Alright. Thank you.” Then April turned to Sep and gave him a hug. “It was nice seeing you again. I’m glad you’re doing well.” In a lower voice, she added, “Angela told me what you did last night. I’m so proud of you, Sep. What you did by rescuing her and the other two women was wonderful.”

  “All I did was tell Owen,” Sep whispered. “He did all the work. I just followed his orders.”

  “You did more than that. But I understand. You never were one to flaunt your good deeds.” She pulled away from him and smiled. “I think Angela is a fine woman, and I think you two will be happy together.
”

  Joel looked at her expectantly, and when she didn’t say more, he asked, “Aren’t you going to pester him about bringing Angela back here or make plans to go out and visit them?”

  At this, Sep chuckled. Joel knew that April liked to socialize as much as possible, so he wasn’t surprised that he asked her the question.

  “I already told Angela that I will come out with the children in a couple of weeks,” April said.

  Joel’s eyebrows furrowed. “A couple of weeks? You shouldn’t be traveling all the way out there when you’re so close to giving birth. You should have Sep bring Angela out here instead.”

  “I tried that,” April said. “She wasn’t sure if Sep would want to do that or not. She didn’t want to impose on him.”

  “Impose?” Joel replied. “What else has Sep got to do but tend to the animals and his gardens? He’s not even growing a crop this year.”

  Since Sep really could not argue his way out of it, he said, “I’ll bring Angela out here in a couple of weeks. Then you two don’t have to keep arguing about this.”

  Joel shook his head. “I’m not arguing with her. I’m looking out for her best interest. If she were to go into labor on the way out of town or coming back, I wouldn’t be there to help her.”

  “That’s enough, you two,” April said. “I don’t want this to turn into a battle of wits over who can make the best reply. Sep, it was nice having you here, and thank you for bringing Angela. I look forward to seeing both of you again.”

  “I just hope Joel is busy with a patient when we return,” Sep joked before he left them and went over to Angela, who was still listening to Nora and Hannah talk about the people Joel had taken care of in the past. Sep had no idea that his nieces could talk for so long about the same thing. “Alright girls,” Sep told them, “it’s time for me to take Angela back home.” Noting the disappointment on the girls’ faces, Sep added, “Don’t worry. I’ll bring her back out in a couple of weeks.”

  Sep waited while April, Joel, and the girls said their goodbyes to Angela. He was glad to see that Angela had chosen to keep the veil off for the evening. He wasn’t sure what had convinced her to do that. All he knew was that when he and Joel had returned from the livery stable, she didn’t have it on, and she seemed to be getting along well with April and the children. Everyone seemed to get along just fine, which was what he had expected, given how nice April and Joel were. But it was reassuring to see how quickly they had welcomed Angela into the family.

  He did wonder where Angela had put the veil. Would she feel the need to put it on again when she came to town? Or would she be comfortable enough to go without it at all times? He supposed he was going to have to wait and see.

  Once he and Angela retrieved the wagon and horses from the livery stable, he was about to help her in when he thought it would be nice to kiss her. He wasn’t used to being so forthcoming in showing his emotions, but there was something about her that prompted him to go through with a kiss.

  Making sure the man working at the stable wasn’t looking in their direction, he leaned into her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. She looked surprised, so he hurried to say, “I hope you don’t mind that I did that.”

  Her cheeks went pink, and she smiled shyly at him. “No, I didn’t mind. You took me by surprise, that’s all. It was a nice surprise, though.”

  He squeezed her hand before he helped her into the wagon. “I’m glad you liked it.” Then, not knowing what else to say, he hurried to his side of the wagon, hopped in, and led the horses out of town.

  Chapter Nine

  Angela set her veil on the dresser. She glanced over at the bed. Should she remove all of her clothing, or should she put on her chemise, which she was accustomed to wearing at night? She and Sep hadn’t discussed what they were going to do. Last night, she had fallen asleep on her way to this house, so he had just tucked her into bed and slept beside her. Tonight, however, things weren’t so simple.

  She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She was going to have to consummate the marriage at some point, and the longer she waited, the more nerve-racking it was going to be. It was just like she used to tell her students: the sooner you get the dreaded assignment over with, the sooner you can go on to something you enjoy.

  Not that she was dreading being in bed with Sep. He was a very kind soul. If he could be sweet and gentle with her out of the bedroom, she had no doubt he would be the same way in it.

  That settled it. She would go to bed without any clothes on. Her hands shook ever so slightly as she unbuttoned her dress, took it off, and then proceeded to remove her undergarments. She had to keep telling herself that once she crossed the threshold into being a married woman in every sense of the word, this act of lovemaking would become a natural part of her life. This was the only time she was going to be nervous about it. After this, she would know exactly what to expect. And who knew? Maybe she would enjoy this. Maybe it was something she would look forward to. She had enjoyed the kiss Sep had given her immensely. And a kiss was just a prelude to lovemaking.

  She slipped into the bed and brought the covers up to her chest. She took another deep breath and focused on the sounds around her. If she concentrated hard enough, she might be able to detect where Sep was at this moment.

  From the open window, she heard the sound of the barn door closing. So he had finished his chores for the night. That meant he was on his way to the house. Which meant, he would soon be in this room. She took another deep breath and slowly released it. She didn’t know why the process of deep breathing didn’t do much to ease her nerves. The technique worked for her students when they were nervous. But in her case, it seemed to only make things worse because now her heart rate had sped up.

  The kitchen door opened, and she heard the light tapping of Fred’s footsteps first, followed by Sep’s heavier footsteps. The door closed, and then things were pretty quiet. It took her a moment to make out Sep’s voice as he talked to the dog in low tones. She was sure she heard something about water and some food. Since she and Sep had had a full meal at his sister’s, she deducted he was feeding the dog.

  After a couple of minutes, she heard Sep leave the kitchen and then come up the stairs. This was it. He was about to come into this room and find her waiting for him. She took another deep breath, though it wouldn’t do her much good. The only way things were going to get easier was to just go through the process of consummating the marriage.

  When Sep came into the room, he looked over at her in surprise. “I didn’t think you were going to be in bed so early.”

  She cleared her throat. “Well, it is ten o’clock.”

  He sat in the chair and removed his boots. “Is it that late?”

  “Yes. We were at your sister’s for a long time.”

  He chuckled. “I should have warned you about her. She likes to talk. I think she was disappointed when we left. She seemed to like you a lot.”

  “I like her, too. She’s a very nice person.”

  “She is. Sometimes she can be too nice for her own good. Her first husband used to walk all over her because of it. Thankfully, Joel treats her the way she deserves to be treated.” He got up from the chair and glanced at her. “Forgive me for being blunt, but I’ve never been good at figuring out what people want. Are we going to… That is, should I keep some clothes on tonight?”

  Sounding braver than she felt, she replied, “No.”

  The room was so dark that she could only make out his silhouette as he undressed. That morning, she had seen his bare chest and his bare back. At the time, she hadn’t thought much of it because she was shocked to see the scars on his back. But now that she thought of it, he hadn’t been wearing anything but his drawers.

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. It was good that it was dark. She couldn’t bring herself to do this in the light. Thank goodness he hadn’t wanted to do this during the day. She was nervous enough as it was.

  He crossed the room, and she inadvertentl
y took a moment to scan his entire body, or what she could see of it. Since it was dark, she couldn’t make out much, but she did detect something between his legs, something that looked to be erect.

  Sep lifted the blanket on his side of the bed and scooted in next to her. He put his arm around her and drew her against him. Her face went warm when she realized the erect part of him was pressing up against her thigh.

  “I hope you’ll forgive my inexperience,” he said. “If you’ll tell me what you like and what you don’t like, it’ll help me out a lot.”

  Some of her nervousness dissipated. “I have no experience, either. I have no idea what I like or don’t like.”

  “In that case, I’ll start with kissing you, and then we’ll see where things go. Then, if along the way, I’m doing something you don’t want, you can just let me know.”

  She nodded. “That sounds like a good plan to me.”

  He lowered his head to hers, and in the next instant, he was kissing her. The kiss was just as warm and exciting as it had been when he had kissed her that day. She liked this. She definitely liked kissing. He spent considerable time kissing her, and after a while, she found herself relaxing against him. At one point, he brushed her lower lip with his tongue. She hesitated for a moment, but then parted her lips and accepted him into her mouth. His tongue touched hers, and a spark shot straight through her. She hadn’t expected that.

  He lifted his head. “Is that alright?”

  Despite her sudden shyness, she forced out, “Yes, it surprised me, but I liked it.”

  “I did, too. Do you mind if I do it again?”

  “No.”

  This time when he interlaced his tongue with hers, she gave in to the feeling of pleasure it brought. It certainly was a more intimate way to be kissed. She suspected it was a foretaste of what was to come, and if that was true, she should probably get much enjoyment out of lovemaking.

  While still kissing her, he shifted so that the erect part of him was no longer pressing into her thigh. And in doing so, he was able to explore her with his hand. His fingers brushed the side of her neck and down her shoulder where her scars were. For a moment, she tensed, but then his hand traveled downward to her breast. She relaxed. If there was anything that could spoil the moment, it would be him not wanting to continue because of her scars.