Passion on the Ranch: Books 1-4 (4-Book Bundle) (Erotic Romance - Western Romance)

by Hart, Melissa F.

  ***

  Chapter Four

  Deputy Larson was in shock. If he hadn’t heard the information directly from Sheriff Newman himself, he never would have believed it. It was incredible to think that Suzanna Wheeler would plot with her lover Colton Stevens to steal cattle from her own father, Jeremiah Wheeler, and then turn to cold-blooded murder when her lover tried to jilt her. It just didn’t sound like something she would ever do. Still, the Sheriff had sworn it was true.

  Larson shook his head sadly and continued to search the wilderness for any sign of Suzanna. When anyone found her, they had orders to take her straight to Sheriff Newman.

  “Larson! I surrender!” Deputy Larson looked up at the sound of a female voice behind him, and turned to see Suzanna Wheeler herself standing there with her hands held high in the air. In a calm voice, she said, “I’m ready to turn myself in.”

  “I can’t believe it!” Larson gasped and fumbled clumsily with his gun in an effort to pull it from his holster. When at last he had it aimed at her, he began to recite the Miranda Rights to her and prepared to handcuff her hands behind her back.

  “I don’t need a lawyer. I want to confess right here; right now,” Suzanna said, causing Larson to pause. He held the cuffs dangling in one hand and his gun in other and gaped at her in surprise. She said to him, “I didn’t steal my father’s cattle and I didn’t kill Colton Stevens. I’ve captured part of the gang who did. They’re imprisoned in the mine, waiting for you to haul them off in your police car.”

  Larson’s expression of surprise turned to one of doubt. He chuckled and said, “I see what you’re up to and you can’t fool me. I’m not going to let you lead me on some wild goose chase just so you can shove me down a mine shaft along with your deceased boyfriend.”

  “You have to believe me. It’s true,” Suzanna pleaded. “And there’s more. Sheriff Newman is part of the plot. After you arrest me, he’s going to kill me and frame you as being the mastermind behind everything. You’ll go to prison for stealing Daddy’s cattle, the murder of Colton, and the murder of myself! Don’t you see, you’ve got to stop him!”

  Larson shook his head and slapped the handcuffs on Suzanna’s wrists. “Nice try, little lady.”

  Suddenly, Colton Stevens himself stepped out from behind a tree and put an arm protectively around Suzanna. She smiled up at him, her eyes full of love and Larson knew without a doubt that she could never kill him. Colton said, “She’s telling the truth. As you can see by looking at me, the Sheriff lied to you about me being murdered and that’s not the only thing he lied about. We’ve got Jasper, the leader of a gang of cattle rustlers, tied up in the Groghan Mine and two of his men trapped in an elevator. Gather up as many officers as you can and order them to arrest Sheriff Newman.”

  “Don’t bother!” Sheriff Newman suddenly appeared from behind a shrub and pointed his gun directly at the trio. He glared angrily at them, spit a wad of chew onto the ground, and said “Nothing has been going according to plan thanks to the two of you, but now that I’ve got you all together, I’m finally going to be able to make things right.”

  “You mean they’re right about you?” Deputy Larson cried out in horror. With sudden brutality, Sheriff Newman shot him right in the chest and the Deputy fell down dead. Suzanna screamed in terror and buried her head in Colton’s chest. He enfolded her in his arms, wishing he could protect her, but knowing there was nothing he could do to stop a bullet. This was where they probably both going to die.

  “Well, look at that!” the Sheriff said with a mocking tone. “I was able to kill the criminal Larson, after discovering that he was really the one who stole Jeremiah Wheeler’s herd of cattle and killed you, Colton. Larson had tried to frame Suzanna for it, but I used my brilliant skills as Sheriff to unravel his crimes and I shot him. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to kill Larson until after he had already shot and killed Suzanna, but I should still be considered a hero by Jeremiah for killing the man who committed so many crimes against his family. Why, I bet Jeremiah will personally fund my election campaign next year!”

  “You’ll never get away with this!” Suzanna cried out in rage and despair.

  “Of course I will,” the Sheriff said cockily. The only problem is, I don’t want to have to haul Colton’s dead body all the way back to the mine, where I told my officers you’d kill him. So, we’ll have to walk back up there, and I’ll shoot him there. “I can shoot you right here, though, little lady.”

  The Sheriff tried to get a clean line of sight with his gun to shoot Suzanna, but Colton prevented it by shielding her with his body. Suddenly, a ring of officers stepped out from the wilderness and surrounded the Sheriff. They’d been searching the surrounding area along with Larson and had heard everything.

  Suzanna sighed with relief as she and Colton witnessed the officers arresting Sheriff Newman and hauling him off to jail. Deputy Larson had been wearing his bulletproof vest and wanted to be the one to lead the squadron of officers up to the mine to pick up Jasper and his two crewmen. Colton took Suzanna home to her father and they told him everything that had happened; well, almost everything.

  “Thank God you’re all right!” Jeremiah cried out as he hugged his daughter. Then he turned to Colton and shook his hand gratefully. With tears brimming in his eyes, he said, “I was a fool when I said you weren’t good enough to marry my little girl. Without you by her side, she might not be alive today. You have my full blessing to take her for your bride.”

  Suzanna squealed with joy and wrapped her arms around her father’s neck. “Thank you, Daddy! Tell the pastor to book the church and dust off your old suit! I’m getting married!”

  Just then, a knock came at the ranch house’s front door. Jeremiah opened it to find Deputy Larson standing there with a somber expression.

  “We went to the Groghan Mine and arrested the two rustlers who were trapped in the elevator car, but the third man you described wasn’t there. We found a length of cord discarded in the bottom of a mine car and footprints leading out of the cavern; but they disappeared after a while and we weren’t able to pick back up on the trail. Jasper must have escaped.”

  The three people in the room nodded in understanding. However, Suzanna wouldn’t let a dark pallor cover the room. She grabbed the deputy excitedly by the hand and said, “Well, if he’s smart, he’ll never come back here again. In the meantime, we’ve got a wedding to plan and I want you to be in the very front row!”

  Colton slapped Larson and the back and said, “Forget the front row; I want you to be right beside me as my best man!”

  Larson blushed and said, “I’d be honored. Don’t let your guard down, though. Jasper is a dangerous man and he could be out for revenge. It’s important you remain vigilant and cautious until we capture him.”

  “Thank you, Deputy. We will,” Colton and Suzanna both said in unison. Then they kissed each other passionately, their vow already forgotten.

  ***

  Chapter Five

  “It’s been quite a day!” Suzanna said with an exhausted but happy sigh as she plopped on the sofa in Colton’s cabin one evening. Several days had passed since their encounter with Jasper, and the horrors of that day were becoming blissfully forgotten as she prepared for her wedding. Playing with the end of her long blonde braid she said, “I must have tried on a hundred wedding dresses today before I chose the one you had suggested I try. I should have just gone with that one from the start.”

  “And why didn’t you?” Colton asked with an amused smirk. He loved listening to her talk about the mischief she always got into. She always had to things her own way. Somehow, he just knew that marriage to Suzanna was going to be full of difficulties, and he was looking forward to every minute of it. Her ornery nature was what he loved most about her.

  “Because, I didn’t want you to think you knew what I wanted!”

  “You are a naughty girl, aren’t you?” Colton grinned and pulled her playfully onto his lap. “You even have to be difficult whe
n picking out a wedding dress. Perhaps I should give you a spanking and teach you to listen to me every now and then.”

  Suzanna’s eyes lit up with excitement. Playing kinky sex games with Colton was her favorite way to make love! She rolled over on his lap so her stomach was flat against his thighs and exposed her buttocks to him. In a sensual voice, she said, “If you think it will teach me a lesson, go right ahead.”

  Colton rubbed his hand over the round curvature of her buttocks. He raised his hand in preparation to strike her and Suzanna held her breath in anticipation, eagerly awaiting the delicious pain. Teasingly, Colton put his hand behind his head in a casual gesture, refusing to give her the spanking she desired. He wanted to drag out their game and make her wait for what she wanted.

  Colton got up from the sofa and said, “I don’t think a spanking would do any good. Not for a girl as naughty as you are. You need a different kind of lesson.”

  “Like what?” Suzanna asked.

  Although she kept the expression her face neutral, Colton could tell from the sparkle in her eyes that she was feeling excited at the prospect of a new game. He said to her, “You need to learn to listen to me sometimes. You think you’ll get more pleasure doing things your own way, but that ain’t so. If you learn to submit to my authority and listen to my opinions, you will find the rewards are far more pleasurable than any you could gain on your own and well worth the sacrifice of any freedoms you must give up.”

  “Oh really?” Suzanna jeered. “And how do you plan to teach me that lesson?”

  “Like this.” Colton guided her into his bedroom and fitted her with a pair of soft leather shackles they’d purchased together at a sex shop. They were lined with fake fur, making them soft and comfortable, and they fit her wrists just right.

  Once the toy shackles were secured in place, Colton said, “Now, I’m going to select things that I know will give you the most pleasure. If you obey me, you will see just how right I am.”

  Suzanna scoffed playfully at him, and in the spirit of their game said, “And what makes you think you know what will give me the most pleasure? I can give myself all the sexual pleasure I need, with no help from you!”

  “Okay, prove it!” Colton jibed back. He sat back in a chair he kept in the corner of his room and prepared to watch. Undaunted, Suzanna lay down in the center of his bed and began to undress herself. As she stripped, she caressed her bare skin with her hands, rubbing herself with her hands in just the right way.

  When at last she was naked, she massaged her most sensitive folds with her fingertips. They quickly became wet with the juices of her arousal and she increased the stimulation, bringing herself to climax with frenzied movements. She cried out as her orgasm came with quick intensity, then faded away. When she was finished, she smiled at Colton with a haughty look that clearly indicated she had won.

  “See, I can get all the pleasure I need without needing to listen to the opinions of anyone else!”

  Colton chuckled as he rose from his chair, then his expression became serious. With a sudden burst of movement, he grabbed her by the hands and pulled her arms over her head. He threaded a piece of rope through the cuffs on her wrists and quickly tied them to the headboard of his bed, binding her there with a sturdy knot. Suzanna struggled against the bonds, but her efforts were useless and she knew that she helpless and at his mercy.

  “Now I will teach you how much pleasure you can receive by obeying me, and you will learn which is better.”

  Knowing that Suzanna could not escape, Colton delighted in taking his time pleasuring every inch of her. He massaged her feet and nibbled on her toes, delighting in sucking on them one at a time. He kissed intricate circles around her ample breasts, and then lapped at her nipples with his tongue until they hardened into rosy nubs.

  He kissed a trail down her stomach and ran his hands down her ribcage. He cupped her round buttocks in his hands and she spread her thighs wide for him, inviting him to enter her most sensitive folds.

  “Not yet,” he chided, refusing to enter her. “When you rush to the finish, you fail to maximize your pleasure. I know what is best for you and finally, you have no choice but to listen to me.”

  He continued to make love to her body with his mouth and hands and Suzanna writhed in pleasure under his expert touch. Every nerve in her body was vibrating with pleasure and her breathing fluctuated between rapid panting and satisfied sighs.

  When at last Colton entered her, she wrapped her legs around his waist and began to buck her hips wildly, eager for the orgasm she knew would come.

  “Not yet,” Colton said, unwrapping himself from her legs. He grabbed a length of rope and bound her ankles to the corner posts of the bed. When he was done, he entered her again. She was so wet with the juices of her arousal that he slid inside easily. He thrust slowly in and out of her, nearly withdrawing completely out of her, before entering her again fully to the hilt. The slow, deliberate movements he made in doing this drove Suzanna wild with desire.

  As he stroked slowly within her, he used his hands to massage her most sensitive folds of all, and the orgasm that came crashing upon her was the most powerful she’d ever felt. She thought she might drown as she gasped for air between her cries of pleasure, having never felt such ecstasy.

  When at last her orgasm came to an end, Colton untied her from her bonds and flipped her over onto her stomach. He pulled her up so that she was kneeling on all fours, with her buttocks in the air. Her every nerve was still quivering with the power of that incredible orgasm, when suddenly, she felt the sensation of Colton spanking her.

  The sting of the first slap came so unexpectedly that she cried out, more in surprise than pain. The next one wasn’t such a surprise, but his hand made the blow more powerful, and she squeezed her eyes shut at the pain. The nerve pathways that carry signals of pain to the brain are the same nerve pathways that carry signals of sexual pleasure.

  Suzanna’s body was still reeling from the sensations of her orgasm and could not differentiate them from the stinging slaps of the spanking she was receiving. Before she knew it, she was climaxing again, with an orgasm brought on by the sensual spanking.

  Suzanna’s voice was so hoarse from crying out in pleasure that she could hardly speak, but she didn’t care. This session of lovemaking was the most incredible she’d ever had. Just as her second orgasm was ebbing away, Colton plunged into her dripping folds again. No longer restraining himself, he thrust with great enthusiasm. He gripped her hips and drove himself into her deeper and harder than either of them would have thought possible.

  As he thrust, he commanded her to pinch her own nipples and without argument or hesitation, she complied. The pain that ran through her body as the pinching blended once more with the pleasure running through her nervous system and a third, even more powerful orgasm crashed over her.

  Suzanna could no longer even cry out as the pure ecstasy of her pleasure swept over her, enveloped her, and overpowered her. It seemed to last forever and she never wanted it to end. Finally, slowly, the pleasure of her climax began to ebb away. Her heartbeat began to slow, as did her breathing, and she found that once again her voice had come back to her.

  She snuggled up to Colton and laid her head against his sweaty chest, smiling as he put his arm lovingly around her.

  “Okay,” she admitted with a grin. “Maybe I could defer to your opinion sometimes.”

  “Sometimes?” Colton pretended to be insulted and Suzanna laughed.

  “Well, you wouldn’t want me to stop being me, would you?”

  “I sure wouldn’t,” Colton agreed whole heartedly. He kissed her lovingly and said, “I want to marry you exactly the way you are.”

  ***

  Chapter Six

  The rest of the month flew by as everyone on the Wheeler Ranch prepared for the wedding of Suzanna and Colton. Jeremiah was always a bit of a penny pincher, but for once, he didn’t spare any expense. He was more than happy to write out large checks to florists and
caterers as long as he knew his little girl was finally getting married. He’d waited twenty-one years for this day, and as hot-tempered and opinionated as his daughter was, he had feared this day might never come.

  For a while, he’d planned to marry her off to some wealthy man from another state just so he could have the peace of mind of knowing she was being well provided for, but he’d always known in his heart that she would have been miserable and he didn’t want that. When she’d first told him that she was in love with his ranch foreman, he’d practically thrown Colton Stevens out on his ass, but now he thanked the heavens that he hadn’t. Colton was a good man; hard-working, honest, and true. Most importantly, he made Suzanna happy, and that was no easy task. Whenever Jeremiah thought about that day Suzanna had nearly been killed by Sheriff Newman, and how Colton had saved her life, he had to force back the tears from spilling down his cheeks. It was going to be a real honor to give his daughter away to Colton, and he knew he couldn’t ask for a better son-in-law.

  When the big day finally arrived, everyone on the ranch was running around like a bunch of chickens.

  “I can’t find my veil! Daddy, have you seen it?” Suzanna shouted as she came running down the stairs in her gown.

  “Keep your boots on,” Jeremiah said calmly. “It’s hanging on the hat rack.”

  “Who put it there?” Suzanna asked with a touch of exasperation. She sighed with relief as she found her veil on a hook right above her favorite Stetson cowboy hat and put it on.

  “Well, it goes on your head, doesn’t it?” her father answered. “So, why not keep it on a hat rack?”

  Suzanna rolled her eyes at him, but couldn’t keep the giggle from rising up in her throat. “I love you, Daddy.”