by Paty Jager
“It’s what two people who are courting do,” Hank said.
Kelda drew in her breath, but the sparkle didn’t diminish in her eyes.
Karl stalked up to him. “Courting?” His gaze drilled into Kelda. “When did this happen? What did you do in the city?”
“We had the long ride to Baker City to talk. The more time we spent together, we realized what we felt for one another needed to be explored more. So we’re courting.” Hank released Kelda’s hand and held out her coat. She slipped into the garment and he put his coat on.
“Make sure the men you take to town tomorrow don’t get into trouble. But be sure and eat at least one meal at Myrle’s place. She’s got the best cooking and she’d appreciate the business.”
Hank opened the door and ushered Kelda out into the crisp night air. The nights were still freezing, but the warm days didn’t keep the mud solid long enough to help their logging. Kelda linked her arm in his, and they walked through the camp to the cabin she now occupied alone.
The thought of what they could do all alone simmered his blood. At the door, Kelda stepped in and grasped his hand, tugging him in behind her. She slipped the board into the brackets on either side of the door and smiled.
“This is the first time I’ve lived in a place all by myself.” She slipped off her coat and hung it on a peg.
Hank removed his coat and hung it beside hers. He liked the image of their clothes hanging side by side.
She moved to the potbelly stove and added wood. “Do you want me to make coffee?”
He nodded and sat in the only chair in the room. Two small half log benches lined the small table. Two cots sat on one side of the cabin and a third was shoved into a corner. “We’ll get that third cot out of here tomorrow,” he said, to make conversation.
“Why not take two out? It would give me more room.” She sat on his lap.
The warmth of her round bottom settling on his lap and her arm slung around his neck, pressing her breast against him, drained his brain and engorged another part of his body.
He couldn’t speak staring into her glittering eyes and watching them darken with the same desire scorching his body.
Kelda sat on Hank’s lap to be playful. But as soon as she saw the heat of his eyes, felt the bulge against her thigh, and the tingle of her nipple where it pressed against him; her body yearned to be touched by him. Ached with need.
Sitting on his lap made her taller, but with Hank she didn’t mind. He made her feel like a cherished woman not a gangly giant. She lowered her head and placed her lips on his. A chaste, testing kiss. Her mind said go slow, but her body raged with need and begged to move fast.
One of Hank’s hands gripped her hip, while the other worked at the buttons on her shirt. She glanced down at his hand working the fasteners loose. Her heart raced as each inch of her shirt splayed open. His dark hand against the white of her chemise enthralled her. While her hands were also darker than most women from working outside, her fingers were long and slender and his while not short and stubby were wider, thicker…masculine looking.
He stared into her eyes as his fingers pulled on the tie at the top of her chemise. She shivered with anticipation, and his hand slipped between the fabric and her skin. His warm hand cradling her breast filled her with the sensation of being treasured.
Kelda slipped her hand through the buttons on his shirt and undershirt, touching his warm skin, feeling the tickle of curly hair, and solid muscles that bunched and made ridges. Her mother’s words, “Don’t let him compromise you” didn’t place any guilt on her heart. She wanted his touch, his body. If he bedded her, maybe having created the bond between them he would be more accepting of her working in the woods. For her to give him her body would show she trusted him, and she did. With every vibrating muscle in her body and every emotion in her heart she trusted him.
Hank pushed her chemise down exposing her breast. She sighed as he ran his tongue around the nipple and kissed the end. He took the nipple in his mouth and suckled. The sensation caused her breasts to ache and tingle and the junction of her legs throb. She squirmed in his lap trying to find a way to relieve the pulsing.
His lips released her and he groaned. “Sit still, you’re making this hard for me to bring you pleasure.”
“I ache.” Kelda placed a hand between her legs. She could have sworn she felt the pulsing in her hand.
“There’s only one way to take care of that and I’m not going to bed you.” He grasped her hips to lift her off.
“Don’t leave me like this. You have to do something, I…” She raised pleading eyes to his and fisted her hands in his hair, dragging his mouth to hers. Thrusting her tongue in his mouth she went with instinct and the desire thrumming through her.
The ache between her legs built, and she realized Hank’s hand was inside her pants. His palm cupped her, enhancing the pulse and adding the rhythm to the swooshing in her head. A finger slid between her folds, moving back and forth. She rocked against the hand and finger enhancing the sensations. Kelda pulled out of the kiss, closed her eyes, and focused on Hank’s touch.
His finger slipped inside of her. One minute her body welcomed and exalted the entry, the next she vibrated and shimmered with sensations that sparkled in her head. She sighed and dropped her head to Hank’s shoulder. She’d never experienced anything so wonderful or body draining.
Wet kisses climbed from her breast, up her neck, and stopped in one drugging kiss on her lips. By the time she could open her eyelids, her pants were in place, and her shirt was buttoned up.
“That was incredible. Is that what people who are courting do?” If so, she was going to like courting.
Pounding on the door jolted both of them to their feet.
“Kelda, open this door.” Karl’s voice bellowed.
“What the hell.” Hank crossed the room, pulled up the board, and flung the door open. “What’s the matter with you?” he growled, yanking Karl into the cabin by the coat front and slamming the door shut.
Kelda hurried to stand between the two. “What do you want, Karl?”
“The boss has been in here long enough to say good night.” Karl’s gaze bore into Hank.
Kelda kept her eyes on Karl and his fisted hands. “We were talking. I have coffee on would you like some?” She didn’t really want her brother to stay, but she didn’t want him to get wind of what she’d just done with the man pressing against her back and heating her body.
“I told you we’re courting. We’re getting to know one another. It takes more than a ten minute discussion to discover those things.” Hank put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed.
Her face heated knowing they hadn’t discussed much of anything in the time they’d been in the cabin. But she knew one thing; she liked courting and wanted it to continue.
“I’m taking this courting thing up with Far tomorrow. I still say you need to be chaperoned.”
“If we were both ten years younger, I’d agree with you. But we’re grown adults who know the consequences of our actions.” Hank’s tone sent her stomach vibrating. Did this mean he’d take things even farther if they had the chance? “I’m sure your father will agree we’re past the age for the need of a chaperone.”
Kelda knew Karl’s interference came from jealousy she’d found companionship. “Did Lars tell you he’s going to ask his wife if her sisters or cousins would like to correspond with you and Dag? If you like them we can help bring them to America.”
Her brother’s glower lightened and his mood improved. “He didn’t say anything.”
“Maybe you and Dag should write letters talking about yourselves and what you do. Lars can send them to his wife to let others read and find someone who would like to write back.” Kelda stepped out of Hank’s hold and opened the cabin door.
Karl sent one more scathing glance at Hank. “I will, but this doesn’t mean I won’t bring up the need for you two to have a chaperone with Far.”
“Do what you feel you must do.” Kelda sw
ept her brother out the door and closed it, placing the board across once more.
Hank’s arms circled her waist and pulled her back against him. “That was close. If he’d have shown up any sooner we’d have had a lot of explaining to do.”
Kelda spun in his arms. She slid her hands up his back and pressed her body against his. “I’ll talk to Far tomorrow and ask him to put a chain on Karl so he leaves us alone.” She kissed Hank’s scratchy cheek. “I want to spend more time alone with you.”
“If I spend too much alone time with you, I’ll have to keep a bucket of cold water handy.”
“That’s a funny thing to say. Why?”
Hank shook his head. “For all the time you’ve spent around men you sure don’t know the first thing about us.”
Kelda pushed on his chest. The mocking in his voice irritated her.
His arms banded around her, not allowing her to get loose.
“Let me go.”
He pressed his lower body against hers and the moment the hardness touched where his hand had cupped her, the throbbing started.
“What?” She pushed back and rubbed. The sensations were nearly as exhilarating as his hand.
Hank groaned and stepped away. “That is what I’m talking about. A man has needs just like you do.”
She stepped closer and put her hand on the hardness. The solidness felt like an axe handle in her hand.
“That’s a man’s vulnerable spot. Touching me like that I’m ready to rip your clothes off and bed you.” His teeth gritted and he stepped back. The pain on his face and heat in his eyes stopped her motions of following him.
The dawning came slowly. She knew a bit about making babies from animals and the conversations between the loggers she walked up on in the woods. The axe handle in his pants was his male member. Her palm itched knowing she’d touched such an intimate part of a man. Her gaze flicked to the area, and she studied the rise in his pants. Hank clearing his throat brought her gaze to his face. He wanted her. She studied his glazed eyes and feral smile.
Heat sparked behind her belly button, spreading and building in intensity.
“If we bedded would you still need a bucket of cold water?” she asked low and husky.
Chapter 20
Hank couldn’t believe Kelda was serving herself up just to ease his discomfort. “I’ll not bed you just to satisfy my needs.”
She took a step toward him. He put up his hands to keep her away.
“If I bed you, they’ll be no going back. Once we’ve joined that way, you’ll have to marry me.” He wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince—the woman backing him into a corner or himself.
“Why do I have to marry you if you bed me?”
Hank stopped and stared into her round green eyes. Did she really not know about being compromised and how a man covets having a maiden for his wife? And what about her morals? If she was willing to bed him so easily how did he know she hadn’t been with other men? Could she be not as innocent as he thought?
He glared at her. “Have you bed other men before?”
“How dare you!” She swung a fist at his face.
Hank caught her wrist in his hand and held her arms behind her back as he peered into her face. “You’re being awfully bold for a woman who’s innocent.” He spun them around, backing her into the wall. Holding her arms together at the wrists he raised them above her head even though his muscles screamed from the added activity. His body pressed her to the wall. He kissed her neck and behind her ear. Her arms stopped straining against his hold, and he released her, running his hands down her sides and settling on the curve of her hips.
He slipped his hands under her shirt and chemise, running his palms up her sides and leaning back to cup her breasts. Her arms rested on his shoulders. Small puffs of air against his cheek proved his hands had her panting. His thumbs rubbed the nubs of her nipples, and she moaned in his ear. The sound charged his senses.
But he wasn’t going to bed her until he knew she loved him and planned to spend her life with him. And right now he wasn’t sure he was ready to say the words to her. He wanted her with a desire that surpassed anything he’d ever experienced and he believed he loved her. But he wasn’t sure it was the strong lasting love she sought, and he didn’t want to give her anything less.
“Kelda, I’m going to say good night now and let you think about what we talked about. I’ll only take you to bed if down the road you’ll marry me. I don’t compromise women and move on.”
He gave her nipples one more playful tug. Her fingers wove in his hair, and she pulled his head down to meet her lips. Her aggressive kiss and body pressing to his, he knew she was on fire, but he wanted to leave her that way. Make her wonder about her reactions to him and perhaps have her finding the answers he sought.
Hank unfisted her hands from his hair, kissed her knuckles, and led her to a cot. He gave her a little nudge and she sat.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He crossed the room quickly, grabbed his coat, and went outside. The cold night air swirled around him, cooling the fever she’d brought to his body. There was a lot to think about and putting distance between them was the best way he could think. He was certain she’d never been with another man, but he’d make discrete inquiries of Tobias tomorrow. If she hadn’t, then he’d uncovered the most passionate woman he’d ever had the good fortune to call his.
He stomped into the office and scowled when his gaze fell on Kelda’s three brothers sitting around the potbelly stove. He really didn’t want to converse with them right now.
Dag kicked the counter stool toward him. “Have a seat.”
Hank hung up his coat and took his time situating the stool where he could watch all three brothers at the same time. Once seated, he studied them.
“What are your intentions with our sister?” Karl finally asked when the other two started fidgeting.
“We’re working that out.” He’d always been the one to keep order among his brothers. So it pleased him to rile the Nielsen brothers.
“What do you mean working it out? Either you plan to marry her or you quit dallying with her.” Karl again, Hank guessed because he was the oldest, felt the need to exert his authority.
“How do you know she isn’t dallying with me?” Hank ran a hand over his face. He couldn’t figure the woman out. She was either a good pretender or she was a hot bloodied innocent. “She’s been like a mare in heat and makes me think that maybe she’s bedded a man or two …” Three snarls registered he’d said the words out loud.
“Why you—”
All three brothers shot to their feet and made a grab for Hank. The outrage and hurt on their faces couldn’t be faked. He’d definitely riled them raw.
“Okay, I’ll take that as an answer. Which pleases me. Very much.” She was a hot passionate woman, and she felt safe enough with him to allow herself to give freely.
“What does that mean?” Tobias backed off first and sat back down, his brow furrowed in thought.
Dag glanced at Tobias and then back at Hank. “Yeah, what do you mean?”
Karl released the hold he had on Hank’s shirt and sat hard in the chair. “It means our sister loves him if she’s willing to bed him before marriage.” He glared at Hank. “But if you hurt her, I swear I’ll bloody your face and make you wish you’d never heard of the Nielsen’s.”
Hank raised his hands in surrender. “Just because she’s willing to be compromised doesn’t mean I will. I respect your sister and your family too much for that. But she’s damn tempting.”
Dag shook his head. “I don’t see it.”
“What?” Hank sat down letting his body finally relax. He’d known stepping in the door there’d be an alteration, but he’d handled it and they could be amiable now.
“Kelda works like a man—”
“Used to. I’ll not have her in the woods.” He was firm on that and would remain so.
“Does she know this?” Tobias asked his eyes reflecting skepticism.
/>
“Yes.”
All three shook their heads.
“You think she’ll stop working in the woods for you?” Dag asked, his tone mocking.
“You don’t think so?” Worry skittered up Hank’s spine and lodged in the base of his skull.
“Ever since she’s been big enough to swing an axe all she talks about is working in the woods.” Dag studied him a moment. “I don’t think even your pretty face and persuasive words are going to stop her hankering to be out there.”
Flashes of the day he followed her into the woods to find her father ran through his head. She’d been one with the woods and the work going on. When she’d taken off her coat and swung the axe, he’d been mesmerized by the fluidity of her body and the precision of her swings. Arvid said she was one of his best toppers. His gut clenched. He refused to allow her to climb a tree dangling a saw from her belt and then saw the top of the tree off. It was lunacy to think she would be allowed to work like that.
“Then I guess she’ll have to make a decision.” Hank stood and walked into his room. He shut the door and sat on his bed. Hell. He couldn’t spend every day wondering if she was safe or not. Would she give up the woods for him? For their happiness?
~*~
Kelda rose early having been awake most of the night due to Hank’s words and handiwork on her body. He’d left her wanting and unsatisfied. She didn’t understand her body’s craving his touch or the fact he wouldn’t bed her. From what she’d overheard from the men they’d bed anything in a skirt. Yet, Hank said he wanted her and wouldn’t bed her for fear of compromising her. The only way he would compromise her would be if he changed his mind and didn’t marry her.
She thought back over their conversation for the hundredth time. They talked about bedding and marriage but never love. She knew the act could be done and love never be spoken. That’s what the soiled doves did. But could people who were married enjoy their time in bed and enjoy one another’s company and not be in love? She thought of how Far and Mor looked at one another and when younger she’d found them hidden in corners kissing and touching much like she and Hank did now.