Wronged (The Cuvier Widows Book 1)

by Sylvia McDaniel

  Marian shrugged and walked around the room, her hand lightly touching his books. “I don’t know. He seemed all right with the fact that you and I were kissing, yet he ran away. He’s still troubled about his father and his friends are teasing him about the Cuvier Widows.” She paused taking a deep breath. “I’m so worried about him. I’m such a terrible mother, Louis.”

  “What makes you say that?” he asked.

  She glanced at him her eyes troubled. “I didn’t know about the way his friends were treating him. I thought since the fight at school, things had gotten better. I feel so bad for not helping him and now he’s hearing gossip about the two of us.”

  He stepped toward her, his voice gentle and soothing. “People have been talking about me for years. And frankly you’ve been the center of scandal since Jean’s death. You’re not a bad mother, Marian, you’ve just been preoccupied with the business and didn’t notice the absence of his friends around the house.”

  She rubbed her hands up and down her arms as if she were chilled. “But how could I do that to my son? My children have always been important to me.” She paused, gazing at him for guidance. “What am I doing, Louis? I’m losing touch with my children, yet I’m trying to earn a living for them. I’m so confused about what’s best for them, for me.”

  Louis walked over to Marian and put his arms around her. It felt so right, Marian so warm and tender in his embrace. The urge to protect and shield her filled him and he knew this was where he belonged.

  “You’re just worried because Philip was missing this afternoon. He’s a good kid. He understands what you’re doing, but he’s struggling with the knowledge that his father betrayed his family and that everyone knows his father’s shame.”

  “But how can I protect him? He’s just a boy. He doesn’t deserve to be treated this way,” she said leaning her head against his chest.

  His hand massaged her back in a circular motion, soothing her. “You can’t defend him from life, Marian, no matter how much you want to.”

  She leaned back in his arms and gazed at him. “I know you’re right, but he’s my son. I want to keep all the bad things in life away from him. He deserves an innocent childhood and Jean has taken that away from him.”

  “I know. But he has you and his sister to help him through this difficult time.” He paused. “And you’re working to keep a business for him. You can’t be all things to him.”

  She sighed heavily and returned her head to his chest. “Since that trip we took to see your family, I can’t help but think that he may not want Cuvier Shipping at all. You don’t want your father’s business. What if I’m forcing my son into something he never wanted?”

  “Then you sell it or you give the business to Renee. Whatever you decide, accept your decision and realize you are making the best evaluation you can at the time. Quit second-guessing yourself,” he said tenderly, enjoying the feel of her in his arms.

  Leaning back in his arms, her hand reached up and stroked his cheek with her fingertips. “Why is it that you always soothe me and make me feel good about the decisions I’ve made? How is that?”

  He placed his fingers beneath her chin and lifted it up to within inches of his lips. Gazing deeply into her smoky gaze he felt as if he were lost in the depths. “Maybe it’s because we’re good together. Maybe it’s because we complement one another. Maybe it’s because I care about you more than any woman I know.”

  His mouth covered her parted lips seeking the soft, sweet recess of her mouth. Since the day that Marian came into his life, she had challenged him in ways that constantly kept him hurrying to keep up with her. Intriguing and interesting, she’d changed him. For only the second time in his life, he’d found a woman he could spend the rest of his life with.

  He suckled her lower lip, teasing her mouth as his hands molded her body against his hard one. She pushed back and stepped out of his arms to stare at him, her gaze wary. “This is not another one of your pranks? Not another one of your attempts to acquire Cuvier Shipping?”

  “God, no. No matter what happens, never forget I care about you. I’ve never felt so much fear as when they said that you were there in front of those strikers all alone.” He ran his hands through his hair; he should tell her about the sale, but not yet. He wanted and needed this moment with Marian. Not yet. Just a little more time.

  “I was such a fool, Marian, for placing you in a position that put you in so much danger.”

  He ran his fingertips down her arm and when his fingers touched her hand, he skimmed them across her palm and then entwined her fingers with his. He drew her to him and this time she leaned her body into his, touching him in all the pertinent places.

  “I want you so badly,” he said putting his lips against her ear.

  “God,” she said, with a sustained sigh. “You drive me crazy with need.”

  Louis laughed, his lips brushing against hers. He’d tell her about the sale of Cuvier Shipping in the morning, just give him tonight.

  Grabbing her by the hand, he began to pull her toward his bedroom.

  “Where are we going?” she asked, her eyes shining with pleasure.

  He raised his brows. “We’re alone and you’ve told me I drive you crazy with need. Now I need you to show me.”

  Just as they reached his bedroom, he pulled her tightly against him securing her hips with his. She felt his passion, her eyes widening in surprise.

  She glanced at his plantation bed in the center of the room. “You do have good taste in furniture.”

  “I’ve dreamed of you lying in that bed. Now we’re going to experience it,” he said, as his lips savored hers once again, pouring out his passion, making her his. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she hung limply onto him, his fingers moving over the buttons on the back of her dress.

  She clung to him, her hands reaching up to run her fingers through his hair. She gripped his head, pressing his obliging lips against her own.

  Kissing had always been something he’d done mostly to lead women to bed, but with Marian, he craved the taste of her. He longed for the touch of her sweet lips and he found in them his claim of absolute possession.

  They broke apart and for a moment stared at one another, their breath sounding harsh in the darkness. Without a word they begin to shed clothing, hurrying to feel fevered skin against skin once more.

  She turned around and he undid the buttons on her dress, his fingers shaking as he hurried. When all the buttons were freed, he tugged on the shoulders of her dress, which fell to the floor in a puddle of cloth. She turned to face him and he gazed at her soft curves outlined by her camisole, shadowy in the moonlight. He bent over to put his lips to the material and suckled her sweet bud, loving the way her nipple puckered in response. He laved her breast, holding it soft and heavy in his hand.

  She pushed him away pulled her camisole over her head, standing before him in her pantaloons, corset, and chemise. She turned her back to him, so that he could untie her corset.

  He hurried with the lacing, his fingers fumbling in his haste. And then he slipped the garment from her, followed by her chemise, and last her pantaloons. The pale moonlight streamed through the window exposing the supple gleam of her delicate back, and he pressed his lips along the soft curves. Shudders rippled through her as he worked his way up her spine to the top of her shoulders, where he gently nibbled on the long column of her neck.

  She moaned and turned toward him, slipping her arms around his neck, pressing her breasts against him. His lips covered hers in a slow endless kiss as he gently propelled her backwards toward the big bed waiting for them.

  How many times had he dreamed of her in this very bed? How many times had he pictured her naked and wanton between his sheets?

  When the back of her knees touched the bed, he broke free of the kiss, his breath rasping with need. He stepped back and while she watched him, he removed his underpants and shirt. When he’d shed the last of his clothing, he moved toward her and pushed her down upon
his bed.

  His leg touched her smooth satiny leg and he couldn’t help but think it felt so right to have her in his arms, in his bed. He covered her with his body, his hand caressing the side of her face, brushing back her hair.

  “God, you are so beautiful.”

  She smiled, her hand reaching for the part of him that throbbed thick and unyielding.

  Her hand closed over him, enclosing the fierce heat he felt building within his body and she stroked him, fanning the flames into a raging inferno.

  He laid back and she half covered his body with her own as each long, slow stroke of her hand was a scalding caress that took him closer and closer to the edge. There was no guarantee of tomorrow, they only had this moment and he reveled in her touch, in the soft sighs of her excitement. Nimble fingers explored him, coaxing and probing his arousal as she clasped his erection within her fingertips.

  Finally, when he could stand it no more, he flipped her to her back and put his mouth against her breast, his fingers seeking between her thighs. Gently he cupped her, stroking her moistness, wanting to give her pleasure.

  Marian had made him realize his life was empty and meaningless. She had shown him the importance of family and honor. Her courage and strength had made him stronger and now because of her, he was a better man. No woman before her had ever made him feel so complete, so strong and yet so vulnerable at the same time. He pleasured Marian, needing to hear her cry out his name, wanting her more than anything he’d ever wanted in his life.

  In the soft light he laved the pebbled kernel of her nipple. Soft sighs and murmurs came from her as he circled the hardened nub of her breast with his tongue. He pressed his hot flesh against the warm expanse of her skin, needing to get even closer to her, to be inside her.

  “Louis,” she gasped, her breath raspy, her voice husky.

  “Yes, love?” he asked, his hand closing over her tremulous breast.

  “Now!” she said, her lashes fluttering open.

  He chuckled at her impatience and brushed his lips across her breast He rolled until his body covered her own, careful not to press his full weight onto her.

  But instead of giving her the satisfaction she craved, he lingered, his lips covering hers in a long kiss that swirled him closer and closer to the edge. He wanted to prolong the moment, he wanted to resist as long as possible and give her more pleasure than she’d ever experienced, but it was becoming more than he could bear.

  Breaking the kiss she begged, “Louis.”

  Louis couldn’t wait another minute. He plunged into her slick body, the feel of her tight and snug around him, consuming him. Sensation whirled around him expanding his perceptions as he covered her lips with his own. He wanted to be inside her forever. He wanted to have her wake up with him each morning, and go to bed beside him each night He wanted her with all his heart and being, until they were old and gray, until death separated them and eternity brought them back together again.

  He needed her, more than he’d desired anything in his life and this moment, plunging into her warm body, he knew nothing would ever make him as happy as being with Marian.

  “Louis,” she cried, her body tensing around him. With each stroke, he sealed their fate until she clung to him, shudders racking her body, and his own climax came in a swift surge of power coursing through his body.

  Together they clutched one another, letting the night soothe their racing hearts, their breathing ragged and choppy.

  After several minutes of just holding one another, Louis slid down onto the bed beside Marian and pulled her tight against him, patting her gently. Feeling warm and responsive, her fear of lovemaking had disappeared.

  He kissed her softy on the lips. “I meant what I said earlier, Marian. I care for you more than anyone ever before. I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life at your side.”

  She paused, gazing at him, her eyes luminous in the darkness, her face rapturous yet contemplative as she stared at him. Minutes passed and Louis was beginning to fear her response.

  “All right, Louis,” she said. “I’ll marry you.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  It wasn’t until Marian was in the carriage going home that the doubts begin to assail her. Was she crazy? She’d just agreed to marry the man who had done nothing but try to take the business away from her. Yet for the first time in her life, she felt happy. A sense of belonging enveloped her when she was in Louis’s arms that she could never remember experiencing before.

  In the last few weeks they both had changed. The last time he asked her to marry him, she’d known his declaration of love to be a lie. But this time, he seemed different and he hadn’t mentioned the word love, only that he cared for her more than anyone ever before.

  Men were certainly not good at expressing their emotions when it came to love and commitment. And while Louis did better than Jean, he still could use some improvement. But most important, he wasn’t Jean.

  Louis was a decent man, who cared about people, sometimes more than he should. He loved his family and treated her children better than their father ever had.

  And though she’d promised herself never to marry again, she decided that Jean was not going to take away her happiness any more. She had let that man’s actions influence her decisions for the last time. Yes, she’d vowed never to marry again to escape the pain and heartache that being married to Jean had brought.

  But marriage to Louis would be different, because he wasn’t like Jean. She trusted him, she loved him. And there was the biggest reason for saying “I do.”

  God, when had she fallen in love with the man? Could it possibly have been when he’d taken her to visit his family, showing a part of himself that she hadn’t expected? Or could it have been during the pretend picnic when he’d tried to show her he was sorry for his blatant lie?

  When had he broken down her defenses and claimed her bruised and battered heart? When he found her son and brought him home, giving her sister instructions to give the child love and support?

  She put her hands over her face, massaging her forehead. Marriage to Louis would be good for her children. He could ensure their lives financially and be the father that Philip so desperately needed.

  Louis had healed her wounded spirit and though falling in love with the man had never been her intention, she’d given her heart to him. And now she knew that though she resisted, she belonged with Louis.

  The carriage pulled up in front of the house on Josephine Street and she glanced at the darkened windows of her home. Midnight had long since passed. How would her children react to the news she was marrying Louis?

  Climbing out of the carriage she glanced at her servant, knowing that never before had she kept him out this late. “Thank you, Edward. I’m sorry for the late hour.”

  “It’s all right, ma’am,” he said, and clicked to the horses, driving the carriage around back.

  She tiptoed into the house and climbed the stairs to each of her children’s rooms. Slowly opening the door to Renee’s room, she glanced in at the child. Curled safely in her bed, her daughter slept soundly. Marian tiptoed into the room, leaned over and kissed her cheek, love for her daughter swelling within her. Then she hurried out the bedroom and quietly closed the door.

  Next she went to Philip’s room and found the boy deep in slumber as she peeked in at him. The urge to protect him and Renee overwhelmed her and she thought back on the last three months of everything they had been through.

  Her heart swelled at the thought of Louis and suddenly she felt certain of her decision. Yes, she would marry him and vow to stay with him until death did them part.

  ***

  Marian sat in her office several days later, reflecting on how happy she’d been the last few days. Louis had come to the house and taken Philip to a baseball game, while she and Renee had gone on a shopping excursion. Then later they met at Antoine’s in the French Quarter for dinner.

  Her children responded to Louis as if he was a good friend and h
e treated them well, catering to them and spending more time with them than their father had. They were waiting for just the right moment to tell Philip and Renee they were marrying. But in the meantime, Louis came to the house for dinner every night and later while the children were in bed, they’d sat in the parlor and kissed until their lips were swollen and they were frenzied with desire. Then she’d sent him home.

  Her heart warmed as she reflected on the way her life seemed to have changed in these last few months. Even before Jean’s death she’d been unhappy, but now she felt almost giddy with joy. Slowly her heart and her mind were both agreeing that marrying Louis was a good decision and when she gazed at him, she knew deep in her heart she really did love him. But she had yet to whisper those three little words to him. She wanted to, but somehow every time fear seemed to clog her throat and keep her from saying them aloud.

  A knock on her door jerked her out of her reverie and she looked up to see Jon standing in the doorway.

  “Mr. Fournet is not here and a Mr. Stephen Hudson is here to see him. I wondered if you could talk to him,” Jon said.

  Marian nodded her head. ‘‘All right, bring him back.”

  Less than five minutes later an older gentleman with a scruffy-looking face entered her office.

  “Mrs. Cuvier, I’m sorry to intrude. Maybe I should come back later when Mr. Fournet is here?” he said looking at her hesitantly.

  “Whatever it is, I’m sure I can help you,” she said.

  “It’s just that I didn’t want to disturb you. Mr. Fournet informed me you were in mourning for your late husband.”

  She glanced at him oddly. Why would Louis tell him she was in mourning when he knew she’d hardly grieved the death of Jean?

  “It’s all right, Mr. Hudson,” she said. “Please come in and have a seat”

  “It’s nice to finally meet you,” he said walking in and shaking her hand. “I was terribly sorry to hear about the death of your husband.”

  “Thank you,” she said politely. “How can I help you?”