by Mary Burton
She chuckled, marveling in her womanly powers. “Salt balances the sweet and makes it more flavorful.”
He removed her chemise. She stood in front of him, naked from the waist up. He caught a nipple in his callused hand and then lowered his mouth to it. He suckled, teasing the tender pink flesh with his teeth.
Ellie felt an ache at her very core. She yearned for him to be inside her and to give her the climax she’d heard so much about. But as much as she wanted the release, she also wanted to savor this moment as long as she could.
She cupped his face in her hands and brought it up to her face. She kissed him on the lips and smiled. “Now, it is my turn.”
Ellie was all bravado, but this all felt so natural and right, and that knowledge made her bolder than she’d ever dared dream she could be. She unfastened the buttons of his shirt and then pulled it over his head. Dark chest hair blanketed his broad chest. Her boldness seemed to shock and please him.
She took the same path he had. First, she kissed the hollow of his neck and then she began to trail kisses down his chest. She captured his nipple between her lips and worked her tongue around the tender flesh.
Nick hissed in a breath. “If you keep that up, this will go much faster than I’d planned.”
The strain in his voice made her smile. She pulled away from his chest and circled his wet nipple with her thumb. Growing up in a brothel did have some advantages. She knew how to satisfy a man. And she intended to give all she had to Nick.
Her gaze locked on his stormy eyes and she reached for his belt buckle. With deliberate slowness, she unfastened the belt loop. He sucked in his flat belly as her knuckles grazed his skin. She undid the top button and then the second.
He captured her hand and banded his arms around her, crushing her breasts against his chest. He kissed her deeply, longingly, as if trying to regain a handle on his fragile control. He gripped her buttocks and pressed her against his hardness.
She slid her hand down the back of his pants and squeezed his tight buttocks.
In that instant, whatever hold he had on his control snapped. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her to the bed and laid her in the center. He loomed over her, his dark gaze burning into her skin, and then he reached for the hem of her skirt and pulled it up to her waist.
Through her pantaloons he pushed the heel of his hand against her moist center. Her throat went dry. She had never known such intense wanting. She pushed her hips up, pushing into his hand.
Nick stepped back and yanked down his pants, not bothering to take them completely off. She kept her gaze locked on his, not daring to look at his hard sex, fearing she’d lose her nerve. So far, instinct and second-hand knowledge had driven her to be bold. Now, she knew she was out of her depth.
She did not need to worry. Nick worked his knees between her thighs and pressed them open. He pushed the tip of his penis between the slit of her pantaloons and positioned it against her. Ellie opened her legs wider.
In one thrust, Nick pushed inside her. A wave of pain rocked Ellie’s body. Every muscle tensed and for a moment she couldn’t breathe.
ELLIE was a virgin!
The realization sliced through Nick’s brain.
Every one of his muscles urged him to seek his release. She was so tight, so lovely and so moist. But the desire that had driven her had been doused by pain.
Nick remained inside of her but he didn’t move so that she could adjust to him. He kissed her closed eyes. “Give your body time.” His voice was a hoarse whisper and he barely recognized it.
“I didn’t know it would hurt so.”
“The pain will fade quickly.” Nick licked his fingers and began to slowly rub circles around the tip of her womanhood, now swollen with desire.
A soft sigh escaped her lips and, slowly, the tension in her body began to ease.
“Better?” he whispered in her ear.
“Yes,” she said, a bit breathless.
He waited for her to become more comfortable. “Does it feel good?”
“Yes.”
Her honesty stoked his heat. Most women would have blushed or shrank away in shame, but Ellie didn’t deny herself these earthy pleasures.
Gently he began to move inside her. At first she tensed as if she expected another wave of pain, but when none seemed to come, she relaxed. His circles grew tighter and he pressed harder.
Ellie lifted her hips. A moan rumbled in her throat.
His own desire, which he’d barely been able to restrain, broke free. He began to move in and out of her in a rhythm that was as old as time.
Ellie bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know what I’m feeling.”
“Do you like it?”
“Yes. But I want…more.”
Sweat damped his back. “Then you shall have your release.” He moved faster, holding off his own pleasure until she found hers.
Then, suddenly, her body tensed. The muscles in her neck strained as she arched her head back. He savored the raw pleasure on her face. When she called out his name and gripped his back, he drove into her one last time, allowing himself his own release.
Nick was certain his heart stopped for a moment as the pleasure seized him. He collapsed against Ellie, resting his face in the crook of her neck. Sweat mingled between their half-dressed bodies. Their heartbeats thrummed in a wild rhythm.
Slowly, his mind cleared and reason returned. “Ellie?”
She drew small, lazy circles on his back with her fingers. “Hmm?”
“You were a virgin.”
“I know.”
He hoisted himself up on his elbow. Her eyes were closed and a satisfied smile curled the edges of her lips. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She opened her eyes. Desire still lingered in her gaze. “You said we were starting over and that the past didn’t matter.”
He stroked her cheek. “But if I’d known, I would have gone slower…taken more time.”
“If you’d taken any more time, I think I might have exploded.”
He frowned. “I was too rough.”
“You were wonderful.”
He captured a piece of her skirt between his fingers. “I’d have at least undressed you properly.”
She chuckled. “You can still do that.”
He ran his hand up her leg. Damn, but he was growing hard again. “Aren’t you sore?”
She stroked his buttocks. “Not really. Should I be?”
“Hell, I don’t know. I’ve just heard that women needed a rest after.” His late wife had begged a week’s respite from his advances. “How did you manage to stay a virgin?”
“Miss Adeline didn’t pay much attention to me when I was little. I was a scrawny child with wild red hair, so she put me to work in the kitchen. And I know there were times when I got older that Miss Adeline wanted to put me to work, but Chin Lo said he would quit if he didn’t have me as his assistant. She needed Chin Lo more than she needed another working girl, so she never crossed him.”
“I thought you two were lovers.”
“Chin Lo and me? No. He treated me like his child.”
“I’m truly indebted to the man for keeping you safe.”
She sighed. “I knew my days were numbered after he died. It was a matter of time before she put me to work upstairs. Even then, I couldn’t seem to find the courage to leave. Then Rose was born and I knew I couldn’t stay.”
He kissed her on the shoulder. It was a miracle she had survived at all. He was so thankful she’d been spared the upstairs rooms. “You should rest.”
“I can rest later.” Her voice had grown husky. “I’m anxious to show you a few things I learned at the Silver Slipper.”
He lifted a brow. “You learned things?”
“Mind you, I’ve no practical experience, but the girls talked and shared some of their secrets. I must admit that I’m anxious to try a few of those ideas out on you.”
He chuckled as he rubbed his hand under her s
kirt and up her naked thigh. “Like what?”
A faint blush colored her cheeks. She tracked her fingertip over his flat belly and then to his open belt and pants. “Well, I’m not very good at talking about such things. But I can show you.”
Nick grew hard. Ellie had the power to drive him insane. He sucked his breath when her hand slid into his pants. Her fingers circled around his manhood.
And she spent the next hour showing him what she couldn’t put into words.
WHEN ELLIE WOKE, the sun was streaming into the room. Nick’s naked body was spooned against her buttocks and his hand curled around her breast. An undeniable sense of peace washed over her. Never in her life had she felt so safe and so wanted.
For the first time in her life, she did not fear tomorrow.
FRANK LIFTED his face to the bright, warm sun. His visit to the mining town had been downright pleasant. He’d had a bath and a good meal. The food wasn’t as good as Ellie’s and the cook wouldn’t let him sit in the kitchen while she cooked, but it was all passable. He was more than ready to find his Ellie and his baby girl.
He shifted in his saddle and sucked in a deep breath. This was his favorite time of year. Traveling was easy, the night chill didn’t keep him awake and the hunting was good.
Anticipation coursed through his veins. He was only a day’s ride from the Spring Rock coach stop. Soon he’d find Ellie. Soon his life would be perfect.
Jade and Monty had thought they’d outsmarted him. That Jade was a sneaky bitch. If not for her meddling, he, Ellie and Monty would be in Missouri living on the farm he and his brother had always talked about owning.
Frank sighed.
Monty. Remorse swept over him as he thought about the last terrified look in Monty’s eyes. “Dumb son of a bitch.”
Damn Jade.
There was no getting Monty back, but the rest of his family would soon be together again.
“I’m coming for you, Ellie,” he said to the wind. His pure, sweet Ellie. “We’re going to be together real soon.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
ELLIE WOULD HAVE loved to stay in bed with Nick all day. Her body still tingled from their lovemaking this morning, yet she already ached to touch him again.
But the day’s chores and Rose would not be ignored. She and Nick reluctantly dressed and went outside.
They found Mike and Annie standing by the corral. “As much as I’d like to dally, Montana doesn’t allow it,” Mike said. Days off now would catch up to him when winter came.
Nick nodded. “I’ll give you a hand with the horses.” He kissed Ellie on the cheek and the two men headed to the barn.
A lazy smile curled the edges of Annie’s mouth as she watched her husband walk toward the barn. “My husband does cut a nice figure.”
Ellie laughed. “Where are the practical women who protected their hearts?”
Annie laughed. “They fell in love.”
“Love does have a way of changing things, doesn’t it?”
“Oh my, yes.”
They both laughed and started inside the cabin. Ellie crossed the threshold as she had done a hundred times before. But this time the cabin seemed different. Oh, it was just as she’d left it yesterday. The stove still dominated the kitchen, the great stone chimney towered over the main room and even the bread she’d baked yesterday still sat on the kitchen table under a white-and-red-checked cloth. But it was different.
For the first time since she’d arrived at the coach stop, she didn’t know what to do with herself. The house and kitchen didn’t really feel like hers now. She didn’t belong here anymore. She belonged with Nick—wherever that was.
“Why the worried expression?” Annie asked.
Ellie glanced up at her. “I’m not worried.”
Annie moved to the stove. She set a pan of milk to warm and then poured two cups of coffee into twin mugs. “I’ve never seen a deeper frown. Was everything all right last night?”
Ellie sighed as she sat at the kitchen table. “I know I belong with Nick, but I don’t know where we will go or where we will live. He has said he has land near here.”
“Maybe I could answer that,” said Nick.
Annie jumped. “The Indians were right. You move as silent as a ghost.”
Ellie turned to see him standing in the doorway. The wind had tousled his hair and the top two buttons of his white shirt were unfastened. Her heart tripped. Lord, but the man had the power to turn her knees weak.
Nick strode into the room. “I thought you and I could take a ride today and have a look at our new home. Honestly, I don’t know if the house on the site is livable.”
Excitement welled in Ellie. “There is a house on the land?”
He nodded. “Brand-new. Never been lived in.”
Her first real home. “I’d like to see the house.”
Nick didn’t take his gaze off Ellie. “Annie, would you mind watching our daughter today? We’ll be back by supper.”
Annie grinned as she took the baby from Ellie. “I can think of nothing else I’d rather do.”
Ellie stood, smoothing her hands over her skirt. “It won’t be any trouble, Annie?”
Annie nuzzled her face close to Rose’s. “This little peanut is never any trouble.”
“It’s settled,” Nick said. “I’ve saddled our horses and we can leave now.”
Nervous excitement washed over Ellie. “Right now?”
“No time like the present.”
Her brain raced. She wasn’t even worried about riding on a horse. “I should pack us a basket of food.”
He winked at her. “As soon as you are packed, we can leave.”
TWO HOURS LATER, Nick and Ellie reached the ranch Bobby had left to Nick. Like Ellie, he was seeing the property for the first time. She was glad that he’d waited and they could share this moment.
Ellie shielded her eyes with her hand as she stared at the simple one-story house. The weather had mellowed the freshly milled wood to a dark brown. It wasn’t big, but there was a wide front porch and windows on every side of the house.
They dismounted and walked to the cabin. A thick layer of dust covered the porch and the windows that flanked the front door were streaked with dirt.
“Doesn’t look like Bobby spent much time here,” Nick said.
Ellie pushed open the door. The hinges squeaked.
Sunlight seeped in through the grimy windows. Dust particles danced in faint bands of light across an empty room. Ellie pictured a large bed, Rose’s cradle beside it, rugs to warm the floor and a big table that would one day be surrounded by their children.
Children.
Ellie’s hand slid to her flat belly. She could already be carrying Nick’s baby. If she were pregnant, the baby would be born in May. Spring. A good time for babies.
Ellie’s gaze was drawn to the one bit of hardware in the room—the black cast-iron stove. She walked over to it. Except for the thick coat of dust, it was pristine. “This stove has never been used.”
“Bobby always talked about marrying a woman who could cook anything. When we’d share a campfire on the trail, he’d go on and on about the dishes his wife would make him.”
She opened the oven door and peered inside. “This cost him a pretty penny.”
“The man took his food seriously.”
She laughed as she stood. “What was his favorite food?”
Nick moved behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “He was partial to steak and fries, and he never said no to a chokeberry pie.”
“Then that shall be the first meal I make.”
Nick’s eyes softened. “He’d appreciate that.”
Her heart clenched as she looked up at him. She’d never get tired of looking at him. She took in a breath and surveyed the cabin. “I used to dream of having my own home. There are so many things I want to do here.”
“Such as?”
“Curtains in the windows, a big feather bed, a large table where we can gather for meals. I
suppose one day we might even add rooms onto the cabin.”
“Children need lots of room.”
Ellie’s heart just about melted. “Brothers and sisters for Rose.”
“I miss having a family. A house isn’t right unless it’s filled with children.”
Under the words she sensed sadness. “Have you written to your family since you left Virginia?”
“Three times. I never heard back. They haven’t forgiven me for what happened with Gregory.”
“It’s been ten years, Nick. You should try again. Didn’t you say you had a sister you were fond of?”
“Julia. She was nine when I left.”
“She is a grown woman now.”
“I doubt she remembers me.”
“You won’t know unless you write her.”
He inhaled a deep breath. “Here we are in our new home and the talk has turned sad. I don’t want there to be sadness in this house today.”
There was a wall around Nick’s heart, but she sensed a tiny bit of it had started to crumble. Later, when they’d settled into the cabin, she’d bring up the letter again.
“So what are your plans for this house?” she asked. “I hope you intend to do more than help me make babies.”
He chuckled. “Very tempting, but I was thinking about raising horses.”
“No desire to pan for gold?”
“None. I’ve ridden this area enough to see that the veins are drying up. But men will always need horses. The railroad alone could keep me in business.”
“You’ve thought this through.”
“About a thousand times on the trails during the last year.”
“We can get started right away.”
“As much as I’d like to get started now, it’s too late in the season to buy new animals. I’ll have to buy what hay I need to feed my horse and a milk cow.” He walked to the window and stared at the virgin lands. Wind washed over the tall grass like waves. “I’ll start cutting wood right away and build corrals and maybe even a barn before the heavy snows set in. By spring, I’ll be ready for the horses.”
She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “It sounds like a wonderful plan.”