by Jodi Thomas
‘‘Hello,’’ she whispered, noticing his hair was still wet from being washed. ‘‘You look like my husband, but you can’t be. My husband smells like trail dust most of the time.’’
‘‘You look like my wife, but my wife would never be so lazy as to sleep during the day.’’ He lifted her hand. ‘‘But you must be her, because you’re wearing a wedding band that matches mine.’’
Kora leaned up suddenly and pulled her hand from his. Sure enough, on her left hand was a wide gold band that matched the shiny gold one on his finger.
‘‘You didn’t have to-’’ she started.
‘‘I know, it wasn’t part of the bargain.’’ He rolled into bed beside her. ‘‘But then neither was the way we make love.’’
He moved his fingers gently down her back and over the silk covering her hips. ‘‘Did you enjoy your bath?’’ His hand continued to stroke her.
She relaxed to his touch. ‘‘Yes,’’ she whispered as she stretched beside him, allowing him to move her arms and legs as he continued to touch her.
‘‘I wish I’d made it back in time to watch,’’ he mumbled between light kisses.
Gently he rolled her to face him, and moved her leg around his waist, pulling her close against him at the waist. Then he leaned her head back over pillows. For a long moment he watched her, then lightly he traced his fingers down her throat.
Kora closed her eyes as his hand slid over the silk of her camisole, touching her breasts, circling along her abdomen, and gently moving between her open legs.
‘‘You come to me so easy, Kora,’’ he whispered as he repeated the action. ‘‘You drive me mad with need.’’
She arched her back, pressing against him with her legs and straining the silk across her breasts.
He slid his hands up her thighs and pulled her tighter against him, fitting her to his need. Then he lowered his mouth and tasted her full breasts through the silk. As always, at first his hunger was rough, pulling against her tender flesh, demanding, starving.
She sighed and tried to roll away from the tidal wave of passion and need. But his hands on her legs held her to him and his mouth tasted full of her flesh. Then, slowly, like a hungry man who’d reached the banquet, he slowed, enjoying each touch.
‘‘Don’t pull away from me, darlin’,’’ he whispered. ‘‘I want all of my wife tonight.’’
She relaxed once more as his touch turned tender. He slowly unlaced her undergarments one ribbon at a time so that he could enjoy her slowly. He stopped for a long while, enjoying the sight of her camisole open to her waist and pulled wide enough apart that only the peaks of each breast were covered. Her underpants were pushed low over her hips so that his hand could cross back and forth in wide strokes below her waist, then circle back to caress her hips.
‘‘I love watching you like this,’’ he whispered as his fingers brushed the silk completely from her breasts. ‘‘I thought of it all last night and all day today.’’
She could feel his wedding band sliding along her skin as he pushed the garment aside.
Now his hands roamed over her, molding her with his need. He covered her hips with his touch and pulled her against him, rocking her to him as he kissed her throat. She hadn’t said a word, his silent wife; she didn’t have to. She brought him all the beauty and passion he could hold.
She felt her body growing warm, alive with feeling. Sighing softly, she leaned back, allowing him to lower his mouth once more to her chest.
His hand moved down as he kissed her. She felt his fingers slide inside her.
When she tried to pull away, he held her tightly, not removing his hand. ‘‘Easy,’’ he whispered against her skin. ‘‘I’m not going to hurt you, darlin’.’’
Without another word he kissed her again, drawing her into passion as she opened her mouth. His hand moved once more between her legs, and this time she didn’t try to pull away.
The third time he touched her, he was kissing her lightly on her waiting lips, but he wasn’t holding her to him at all. She could have pulled away from his probing hand, but she remained still.
He rewarded her with a deep kiss while his hand circled her breast. By the time he pulled away she was afire with desire and moving slightly against him, begging for more.
Laughing, he gave her what she wanted. Kissing her in all the places he’d tasted her the night in the study, driving her beyond all reason, pulling her into passion’s deep water.
Slowly, in the warm afternoon glow of sunlight, he made love to her. As he had in the study, his hands moved over her, touching each part of her body, readying it to be tasted. And as she had before, she set no boundaries.
There were no words of love, no whispered endearments, no promises voiced. Only the loving, pure and silent, as wave after wave of passion passed over her. When he entered her, he did so slowly, allowing her to accept him without pain.
She moved her hands over his shoulders, loving the feel of him above her, loving the way he made her feel all warm and protected and afire.
The pleasure she brought him was doubled when he felt her passion explode. She held tightly to him and whispered his name as he brought her back down to earth.
Then, without a word, they cuddled in each other’s arms and fell asleep.
• • •
Kora awoke to the night sky. Something Jamie said had haunted her dreams. Jamie had made the point that Winter never went back on his word. He’d never said he loved her. He’d never told her to stay forever. But he had told her he wouldn’t try and stop her if she wanted to leave. He had said he wanted her gone when the six months was up. He had told her over and over that he’d never love any woman. But he called her his wife. He’d given her a ring.
She dressed and tiptoed down to Jamie’s room. ‘‘ Jamie?’’ she whispered as she opened the door. ‘‘Are you asleep?’’
Jamie stretched and sat up in bed. ‘‘Why would I be doing a fool thing like that?’’
‘‘I have to talk to you.’’
Jamie moved over. ‘‘All right. I’ve been waiting all my life for you to come to me for advice. I’m a sage, you know.’’
Kora smiled. ‘‘All right, tell me what to do.’’
Jamie rubbed her eyes. ‘‘Shoot.’’
‘‘I love Win, but I’m not even sure if he’d follow me if I left here.’’
Jamie didn’t waste any time thinking. ‘‘Then let’s leave and see.’’
‘‘What!’’
‘‘Trust me, Sis.’’ Jamie jumped out of bed with a loud thud. ‘‘Go up and get your coat and I’ll get the wagon. We’ll take Dan for a ride.’’
Kora thought this was probably the dumbest idea she’d ever heard, but maybe Jamie was right for once. At best, Win might miss her. At worst no one would notice them gone and they would have had a little drive in the middle of the night.
Jamie stomped into her shoes and opened her door. ‘‘Go on and pack,’’ she said too loudly. ‘‘It’s time we were moving on.’’
Kora went upstairs for her coat, wondering why Jamie was acting as if they were leaving for good. As she walked down the darkened stairway, she wondered why she was even bothering to listen to Jamie.
A chair from the study blocked her path at the opening of the foyer. Kora circled it and found Win, wearing only his jeans, sitting in the wing back chair with his feet stretched out on one of the stair’s steps.
‘‘I said I wouldn’t say a word if you decided to leave.’’
His words were cold as they drifted across the darkness to her. ‘‘But I lied.’’
‘‘If I just rode off one night,’’ Kora tested him, ‘‘you could have the house.’’
‘‘I don’t want the house. I want you to stand by our bargain.’’ He wasn’t saying the words that would make her stay, and they both knew it. ‘‘I was working in the study and couldn’t help but hear Jamie shouting you were leaving.’’
‘‘But I’m bad luck. Look at all that has happe
ned since I’ve been here.’’
Win was silent for so long she wasn’t sure he’d say anything.
Just as she turned, he whispered, ‘‘You’re the only luck I’ve ever had.’’
‘‘Then tell me why you want me to stay, Win,’’ Kora whispered.
‘‘We had an agreement. The six months is not up yet. I need a wife.’’
Kora fought back the tears. She’d been wrong-she did need to hear words of love, but he wasn’t saying them. How could he have made love to her so completely and not voice the words?
‘‘Why else?’’ She had to give him another chance.
‘‘I’ve never felt the way I feel when I’m with you. I’ve a hunger for you that may never be filled from a lifetime of sleeping with you.’’ He was trying, but she was asking him to speak a language he’d never had the time to learn.
Kora held her breath, waiting for the words. Three words that even this strong, powerful man should be able to say. In the final hour the decision wasn’t hers, but his. She suddenly realized that if he couldn’t say he loved her, she couldn’t stay.
The door swung open and Jamie stepped through with a lantern swinging at her side. ‘‘Kora,’’ she whispered, without seeing Win sitting in the chair. ‘‘I’ve put Dan’s chair in the wagon twice, and Dan keeps taking it out.’’
‘‘Maybe he doesn’t want to go,’’ Cheyenne said, making everyone jump. He rounded the doorway with his arms folded as though he’d been on the porch for a while.
‘‘No one asked you.’’ Jamie set the lantern down on the stairs. ‘‘I’ll put the chair in again. And don’t you dare call the alarm or try to stop us.’’
‘‘If you’re leaving, I’ll be glad to help load the wagon,’’ Cheyenne offered.
Before Kora could join them, Win’s voice stopped her. ‘‘I want it back,’’ he whispered.
‘‘What?’’ she asked, saddened that he hadn’t attempted to stop her. When Jamie had suggested the wild plan, she’d never thought that she might really be leaving. She never should have tried to force Win’s hand. He wasn’t the kind of man to be pushed into saying something just because she thought she needed to hear the words.
‘‘The ring!’’ he demanded.
Kora sat on the step with the lantern and pulled the band from her finger. She placed it in her palm and held it up to him. In the end all he was worried about was the ring, not her. What difference did it make if she left now or a few months from now? She was only a temporary wife anyway.
The light reflected off the gold, sparkling the metal into a ring of tiny shooting stars. Kora stared at it, marveling at how beautiful it looked.
Something caught her eye and she turned the ring to the light. Letters were carved deep into the gold on the inside. She turned it, slowly reading the words aloud. ‘‘For Kora, my love, my life, Win.’’
Tears bubbled onto her cheeks. ‘‘Am I?’’ she whispered. ‘‘Am I your love?’’
Win stood then and knelt on the stairs beside her. ‘‘No,’’ he whispered, forcing each word out. ‘‘You’re more, much more. You’re all the beauty I’ve ever known. You’re my heart, my soul. You’re worth more than all I own or will ever have. If you leave, you’ll take the only key that can keep my heart beating.’’
Tears streamed down Kora’s face as she lifted her arms, and he pulled her against him.
‘‘Well, I’ll be!’’ Jamie squealed from the foyer. ‘‘Damned if you didn’t finally say the right thing, cowboy. I was about to think I’d have to hog-tie you and beat it into you.’’
Win held Kora tightly as he faced Jamie. ‘‘You pushed me as far as you could, didn’t you? When I heard you upstairs, I guessed why you were talking so loud. But when Kora came down those stairs, I couldn’t think of anything but that she might leave me. You planned it that way.’’
‘‘Right again, cowboy. I didn’t want my sister marrying because of some bargain. I wanted her to be loved and appreciated like she ought to be… like a smart man would appreciate me.’’
Cheyenne stood behind Jamie. ‘‘Dan’s out of the wagon again,’’ he complained. ‘‘Moved his chair back to the porch.’’
Jamie winked at Win and turned to the Indian. ‘‘Stop trying to slow me down, Cheyenne. I’m leaving.’’
‘‘Slow you down! I’m doing all I can to help you along.’’
‘‘Sure you are.’’ She followed him onto the porch, patting his bottom as they moved. ‘‘I know how you really feel about me.’’
Cheyenne took long strides away. ‘‘I can’t wait until you’re out of my life!’’
Jamie was right behind him, yelling what a liar he was and that maybe she’d decided she’d stay around a while just to prove it.
Win and Kora laughed as they heard Jamie and Cheyenne arguing all the way to the barn. Then Win turned Kora in his arms and kissed her soundly.
‘‘We’d better go back to bed, darlin’,’’ Win whispered.
Kora smiled up at him. ‘‘How far were you willing to go to make me stay?’’
‘‘As far as it takes,’’ he said as he lifted her in his arms. ‘‘Even if it means having to say I love you every day and night of my life.’’
Kora smiled. ‘‘That’s the price.’’
Win kissed her. ‘‘Then, darlin’, it’s a bargain.’’
EPILOGUE
‘‘MOVE THE TABLES OUT UNDER THE TREES!’’ JAMIE yelled at several men. ‘‘Hurry, she’s on her way.’’
Kora carried out plates and a linen tablecloth.
‘‘Remember,’’ she whispered to Jamie as she passed, ‘‘only the best of my new china.’’
Jamie grumbled. ‘‘All right, but it don’t make much sense setting such a table under the trees.’’
‘‘It’s too hot in the house. I want her to be comfortable.’’
Ten minutes later Kora, Jamie, and Win stood on the front porch and watched Cheyenne pull Kora’s new buggy up to the front steps.
Win moved forward and offered the special guest his hand. ‘‘Welcome, Miss Rae,’’ he said. ‘‘We’ve been waiting for you to join us for dinner.’’
The old lady from the settlement smiled as she stepped out into the late afternoon sunshine. Her ragged clothes were clean, and she’d tried to comb her hair, but several strands had bindweed mentality among the strawlike gray tumbleweed.
‘‘Why, thank you, Mr. McQuillen. I’m mightly glad you sent your mute to get me.’’
Cheyenne grumbled and Win laughed. Cheyenne never talked to anyone much, except Jamie, whom he yelled at regularly.
Kora took Rae’s arm and led her through the house. ‘‘I thought we’d have a glass of apple wine first. If you’ve got the time, I’d love to show you some of the things Win and I brought back from Dallas.’’
Rae nodded as though she might pick up some decorating tips.
Win watched as Kora treated her guest with all the respect and charm she would have a queen. The cowhands joining them took their lead from Kora, and soon everyone was on their best behavior. As they sat beneath the trees, Dan carried his chair from the porch and moved it in between Rae and Logan. Jamie looked surprised, but Rae never missed a step. She began talking with Dan as though the man would answer her.
To Win’s surprise, everyone enjoyed dinner, and by the time dessert was served, the atmosphere seemed more of a party.
As the men left to have their cigars, Jamie caught Win by the arm. ‘‘Did you mean what you said about making any man who got me with child marry me?’’
Everyone including Kora froze.
Win raised an eyebrow. ‘‘I did.’’
‘‘Well, I’m going to have a child, and the father is right here.’’
Cheyenne swore, Logan swallowed his tobacco, and several of the men looked at one another trying to guess who the unlucky man might be.
‘‘Oh, no!’’ Kora cried as she moved to Jamie’s side.
‘‘Name the father and I’ll get my gun.’�
�� Win’s face was hard. ‘‘Any man who did this to you will be a husband or dead by morning.’’
Jamie smiled as if all her problems were solved.
Everyone waited silently for her to speak. Jamie lowered her head. When she looked up, she had eyes only for Cheyenne.
Cheyenne looked confused, then angry. He slammed his napkin on the table and bolted from his chair. ‘‘This is the limit, Jamie. You know damn well I’m not the father of any baby you’re carrying.’’
Kora saw the confusion in Win’s eyes. He couldn’t go back on his word, and he couldn’t shoot his best friend. She suddenly became more worried about Win than Jamie or Cheyenne.
‘‘Are you sure?’’ Rae laughed as she took the reins of the mess before her as if it were after-dinner entertainment.
‘‘Am I sure! Am I sure! It’s not something I’d likely forget happening!’’ Cheyenne shouted.
‘‘So you never thought of Jamie in that way?’’ Rae folded her arms over her stomach.
Cheyenne opened his mouth and closed it three times before he could get a word to come out. ‘‘Sure I’ve thought of her in that way, but thinking and doing are two different things.’’
‘‘Do you love her?’’ Rae became the judge.
‘‘No!’’ Cheyenne answered. ‘‘I hate most every ornery bone in her body. She’s just saying this now because she’s run out of anything to badger me about. The woman has considered it her life’s calling to pester me since the night she showed up here.’’
‘‘Well, there’s only one way to know for sure,’’ Rae said, as if she’d read the cure in a book somewhere. ‘‘Kiss her.’’
‘‘What!’’
‘‘Kiss her. I can always tell if a man cares about a woman by the way he kisses her.’’
Cheyenne took a step away. ‘‘I made that mistake once, and she won’t stop touching me since.’’
Kora slipped her hand into Win’s and tightened her grip. She wanted him to know that no matter what he had to do tonight, she would stand beside him.
‘‘Best follow Rae’s advice,’’ Win said. ‘‘If Jamie’s lying, we’ll all know soon enough.’’