by Myla Jackson
A hill towered above the prairie grasses, the base of which was surrounded by a copse of sturdy oak trees.
“Is this what you wanted to show me?” Julia demanded. “Okay, it’s a bunch of trees and a hill. Now can we go?” Before I forget that I’m not a whore and ask you to take me here and now.
“Not yet. Whoa!” He tugged on the reins, bringing the horses to a stop. “We walk the rest of the way.” Leaping to the ground, he held out his hands to her.
Julia scooted across the seat as far away from those open, tempting arms as she could get, her mind telling her to take the buggy and run, her body urging her to fall into his arms and take whatever he offered. “Walk? Oh no, I’m not going into the woods with you. I want to go home. Now.”
“After you see this.” He reached up, his hands circling her waist, and dragged her to the edge of the seat.
“I’m not go—” One final tug sent her over the edge and toppling into his arms. He held her against his chest, her feet dangling above the ground for a long moment. Long enough for her skin to tingle and all her nerves to ignite. Then he let her drop to the ground in a slow glide down the length of his body.
The hard ridge of his cock pressed against the front of her dress, making her cream in remembrance of where it had been the night before. By the time her feet touched earth, her knees were too weak to hold her up and she leaned into his broad frame, forgetting all her promises to remain aloof. The man was the devil and she wanted nothing more than to burn in hell with him.
He leaned forward and wrapped her in his arms, his lips claiming hers in a deep, sensuous kiss, robbing her of her breath and her senses. When he let her go, she swayed, the world a rosy haze around her.
Before she could protest, he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the trees. “I’ll take you home after you see this.”
Dragging her feet, she followed, determined to dislike whatever he showed her, resolute in her decision to go home and forget about Richard Rayburn, who only loved his land and cattle. A man who could never love a woman nearly as much. Could never love her as she longed to be loved.
After marrying a man because her father had chosen him for her, Julia refused to marry for anything less than love. Even lust couldn’t tempt her.
Well, maybe a little. Okay, a lot.
Following a narrow trail through the shadows of tall oak trees, the woods opened into a secluded glen at the center of which was a creek. The sound of rushing water echoed against a rocky bluff rising out of the trees where a gentle waterfall spilled out of the rock wall into a deep, crystal clear pool large enough to swim in.
Julia drank in the enchanted glen’s beauty. “It’s lovely.” And it was more than how it looked. Cool air rose off the water, gentle sunlight made the water sparkle and the surrounding trees wrapped her in sense of warmth and well-being she’d never felt before.
Richard stripped off his boots and rolled up his trousers. “Come on.” He dropped to his knee and lifted one of her feet, tugging her feet from the shoes he’d found for her to wear. Too big for her tiny feet, they peeled off without unlacing them all the way.
Then he waded into the water, pulling her in behind him, his face hopeful in the speckled sunshine. “My mother and father fell in love here.”
“Here?” she asked, hiking her skirts up to her knees to keep them from being drenched in the water. The cool liquid around her feet and ankles reminded her of when she was a little girl running barefoot through a stream with her father. The memory made her smile. “Is this the parcel of land you’ll lose if you don’t marry?”
He stared up at the falls without glancing her way. “Yes.”
Well, damn. One more nail in her coffin. If she didn’t run screaming now, she’d fall under the spell of the magical glen and the cowboy who’d brought here her.
Or was it already too late?
Chapter Four
Richard knew it was a long shot, bringing her here. Why should Julia care if this place was part of his family, part of his fondest memories? She’d already told him no, so why did he feel compelled to show her this special place? Had he hoped she’d be as captivated as he was and capitulate, agreeing to marry him even if she didn’t love him?
The clock was ticking. If he didn’t marry today, he’d lose this land and all the memories associated with it to a rancher who barely knew the meaning of family and heritage. He certainly didn’t know how to farm or ranch, as evidenced by starving cattle and meager crops.
Staring across at the ebony-haired bandit who’d stolen into his life, Richard came to a realization. He hadn’t brought her here to fall in love with the place, he’d brought her here to fall in love with him. Like his parents had fallen in love. They’d sworn that the magic of the hills, the water and the secluded glen wove a spell over them, making them fall in love when they’d both sworn they wouldn’t.
After knowing Julia for less than a day, he’d come to realize she was serious about marrying for love. If she couldn’t have it, money be damned, land be damned. If she couldn’t have love, she’d rather remain a widow than ever marry again.
Now all he had to do was convince her that they stood a chance of falling in love like his parents.
“My parents married because their parents arranged it when they were children together back east. My grandparents migrated west, but remained in touch with her family in Pennsylvania. When she came of age, her parents made her come out west to marry my father. She was mad and didn’t want to, but they told her they’d disown her if they didn’t follow their wishes.”
“That’s terrible.” Julia’s dark brows drew downward. “How horrible for your mother.”
Richard smiled. “At first, yes. The life was difficult, but my father showed her the beauty in living out here. He brought her here and shared his vision of their future. It was here on this rock where they first made love. I was conceived here.”
Julia closed her eyes, her body swaying to some imaginary tune. When she opened her eyes again, she walked across the ground, climbing up on the huge boulder. “They made love here?” She sat down on the boulder, her hand splayed out beside her.
Hope sprang in Richard’s chest. Could she be comparing her life to his parents, maybe even adjusting to the idea of their union? Accepting it as inevitable?
When Richard laid down beside her and reached out to capture her hand, he imagined they were his parents, a young couple forced together by circumstance. Destined to live their lives together whether or not they loved each other.
Her hand squeezed his. “And they fell in love despite what your grandparents did to them?”
“Yes.” Richard rolled to his side and trailed a finger along her jaw line. “Yes, they fell in love.”
For a moment, Julia’s eyes misted, as if she were lost in a past that wasn’t hers. Then she stared up at him as if seeing him for the first time since they entered the glen. “I did what my father asked of me by marrying my first husband and trying to make a life for us. But there was no love, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t feel any more than obligation. It wasn’t right for me. I couldn’t live that way. I deserve someone I can love with all my heart. Doesn’t everyone?”
“I’m not your dead husband, Julia. We’ll learn to love each other just like you said.” He’d only known her for several hours and he was hesitant to commit to more aloud. Deep in his heart, he knew he could love this woman, given half a chance.
Richard’s fingers edged toward her collarbone, releasing the buttons down the front of her dress, desire building inside him like a raging forest fire in a Santa Anna wind.
He wanted to drown himself in her, run his fingers across her skin, make love until she couldn’t think.
“No.” She sat up, brushing away Richard’s hand.
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t.” She leaped to her feet and jumped off the rock, running barefoot down the path they’d walked in on.
His heart leaped in his throat a
s she disappeared down the trail. “Julia!” Richard staggered to his feet and leaped from the rock, running as fast as he could, afraid she’d get away before he could stop her. He knew that if she left now, he’d never get her back.
When she reached the buggy, she climbed up, grabbing the reins in her hands. Before she could slap them across the horses’ backs, Richard was there, his hands covering hers, prying them loose.
“Give us a chance, Julia.” He pulled her from her perch and into his arms.
“I can’t. If I marry you today, I’ll never know love.” Tears welled in her eyes and fell down her cheeks.
“How do you know?” He cupped her cheek in his hand, pushing her hair from her face. With a gentleness he didn’t know he could possess, he brushed a kiss across her forehead. “How do you know if you don’t give us a chance?”
“I won’t be pressured into marrying you or anyone else.”
“No pressure.” His lips found hers and he pressed into her, one hand cupping her buttocks, urging her closer to his full erection.
She fell into him, returning his kiss until she finally pushed against him. “I can’t love you. I don’t even know you.”
“What’s to know?” He bent and scooped her up into his arms. “I’ll show you what you need to know.”
This time she didn’t protest when he carried her back along the trail to the boulder by the pool. There he deposited her, laying her gently against the cool stone. Then he settled between her legs, inching her skirt up over her calves, nipping the smooth skin of the inside of her knee. “We could make love like this every morning.” His tongue flicked a path up her inner thigh.
“Making love is not the same as being in love,” she said, her voice fading off into a breathy whisper.
“No, but if it’s good enough, you’ll be in love with me before the first week is over.”
“You’re an arrogant bastard, aren’t you?” She laughed, her breath catching as his fingers scraped against her pussy.
“Ah there you have it wrong. My parents were good and married when I was born.” He delved in to touch his tongue to her pussy. “Arrogant, yes.” He thanked to the good lord that he’d been unable to provide Julia the usual underclothing and petticoats. She lay bare and ready for him with nothing standing in the way of his prize.
Richard spread her thighs and thumbed her clit, dipping his finger into her moist cunt and drawing it out to spread a creamy coating over the tight entrance of her anus.
“Remember,” he said, tonguing her nether lips and delving into her pussy, one stroke at a time. “I know what a woman wants.”
“Ah yes, Tessa gave you lessons.” Julia’s hands tangled in his hair and pulled him closer. “What else did Tessa teach you?”
While his tongue hovered over her clit, his fingers poised outside her pussy and his thumb pressed against her anus. “Are you ready to learn?”
Her body tensed. “Maybe. But no matter what you do, I won’t marry you today.”
“I can live with that,” he lied. “Can you live with this?” He tongued her clit, stroking it, laving it and finally sucking it full into his mouth. At the same time, he shoved his fingers into her cunt all the way up to his knuckles.
When she arched her back, pushing closer, he slid his thumb into her anus, angling upward to where his fingers filled her channel.
“Oh Richard, by all that’s holy!” She cried out, her hands pulling against his ears until he thought she might pull them off.
He eased off the suction, his tongue taking over in a full licking motion, swirling the swollen nubbin around in his mouth, loving that her reaction was as uninhibited and full of joy as a wanton woman in love. The sound of her screaming out his name served as an aphrodisiac so powerful, his cock hardened into a steely pike. He wanted to make her scream out his name over and over again.
Her body rose, jerking against his fist, drenching his hand in a fresh wave of sweet juices. Her scent filled the air, making his blood run thick and hot.
He ached to be a part of her, to feel her tense around his cock. Pulling his fingers free, he climbed up her body and mounted her like a stallion, ready to rut.
“Ride me, cowboy. Fuck me like the whore I am.” She slung her legs around, locking her heels behind his back.
He rode her hard, pumping in and out of her like there was no tomorrow, no ranch and no will to make him crazy. If he had his way, he’d go on making love to her until she came to reason and agreed to marry him, ranch or no ranch.
Sensations filled him, making his body taut as a bullwhip ready to snap. As he rose to the ragged edge and shot over the top, he held her hips and slammed into her, skin slapping against skin until he came to a shuddering stop, his seed spilling inside her.
Completely drained and feeling as wobbly as a newborn calf, he collapsed by her side, gathering her in his arms, holding onto her even when he knew he couldn’t hold her forever. More than anything, he wanted her forever. How could he convince her?
His arms tightened around her. “Marry me, my little Bandit.”
“No.”
Fear and desperation struck him cold. He could care less about the ranch. If he lost this enchanted glen with its magical pool and waterfall, so what. He knew in his heart that he had to have Julia. “Marry me, dammit! Marry me today or I swear I’ll go to the sheriff and tell him everything.”
* * * * *
When Richard pulled the horses to a halt in front of her house, he sat for a long moment, fighting against a sudden desire to tie this woman up to his bedpost and keep her there forever. Had it only been last night when she’d stolen his valuables? Had she stolen something more valuable than his grandfather’s pocket watch? Could the little thief be well on her way to stealing his heart? “This is where you live?” He forced himself to study the old house with the peeling paint and unkempt yard. Clearly, the place needed work.
“Yes.” She gathered her borrowed skirts and attempted to climb from the buggy before he could come around.
Richard leaped to the ground and assisted her. “How long has your husband been dead?”
“Two years, two months and seven days,” she said through tight lips.
His brows narrowed and he held on to her arm longer than necessary to steady her. “And you’ve lived here alone all that time?”
Julia pulled her elbow from his grasp. “Of course not. My housekeeper lives with me. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
He couldn’t let her go. Not like this. And why did he feel so desperate? More than a dozen women wanted to marry him today. Why did he have to choose one who didn’t want him? Anger at her stubborn pigheadedness and his own rising desire made him want to lash out. Richard grabbed her hand and forced her to face him. “One-o’clock in the Mule Ear Chapel. I’ll expect you there.” The word please teetered on the tip of his tongue, but he refused to say it. He couldn’t let her know how much he wanted her to be there. What kind of cowboy begged a girl to marry him? Not this one.
Her glance went from his hand on her arm to his face, an eyebrow rising above one pale blue eye. “Expect all you want. I will not be forced to marry.”
This wasn’t how he’d imagined a proposal. But then he was just a cowboy used to dealing with cattle, not women. Especially not a woman as beautiful and captivating as the Widow Blackmon. She wanted love. Why didn’t he just tell her he loved her and be done with it?
Because more than words, she wanted true love, an honest expression, not so many platitudes spoken to secure a piece of property. How could he tell her he loved her when he wasn’t sure what love was? He’d never been in love before. Rather than lie to the woman, he took the only path he could come up with. “If you don’t appear on time, I’ll come with the sheriff.”
Those full, luscious lips that had kissed him with such unabashed abandon the night before thinned into a straight line. “And what makes you think I’ll be here?”
He jerked his head toward the house. “You wouldn’t have turned to a
life as a highwayman if you had money.”
She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “How do you know? I might have done it for the fun of it.”
“But you didn’t.” He forced his voice to be hard when he knew his words could hurt. “Be there at one o’clock.”
Julia crossed he arms over her chest. “I won’t be there.”
“Then the sheriff will be here, dragging you off to jail.”
“I won’t be here.”
“You’re broke. Where else will you go?” He knew it was a low blow, but he had to call her bluff if he wanted to get her to marry her.
Rather than anger igniting into a full-fledged inferno, the starch went out of her stance, her indignation seeming to leech into the ground at her feet. Julia had no money and no relatives to move in with. She was trapped without a skill or trade to fall back on and she’d been a sad lot as a thief. With a sigh, she turned away. “Just go.”
He captured her hand, refusing to let her leave. Then he pulled her forward and slipped his fingers into her hair, tugging her head back. His lips descended on hers, recapturing the magic of their lovemaking last night and earlier that morning in the glen.
When he broke away, he knew he’d done all he could to convince her. If she came to the church, he’d be there. If she didn’t, so be it.
Chapter Five
When Julia came to her senses, Richard had already climbed aboard the buggy and spun it back in the direction he’d come. She’d forgotten to be mad, forgotten to fight back, forgotten everything for a moment in that single kiss.
Her hand raised and she almost cried out for him to wait. But what would she say? Any way she turned, she bumped into her idiotic convictions. On the one hand, sex with Richard had been unbelievable. To have that on a daily basis…
Her fist clamped. Sex on a daily basis would be a waste of time. When would she get her chores done?