by Rebecca York
She nodded, then asked, “How old were you when he died?”
“Nineteen.”
“You’ve been alone a long time.”
“I got used to it.”
“I hope you can get used to having company.”
“I already am.”
“Good.”
They both ate in silence for a few minutes.
When she cleared her throat, he looked up.
“Do you have time for a shooting lesson after I clean up here?”
“Yes. Good idea.”
“You made self-defense sound important.”
Not just on the homestead, he thought, as he flashed back to the awful moment when he’d seen Jerry Costa trying to take Beka away. What had the guy been thinking? That he could somehow get out of town with a gal who wasn’t his?
oOo
When Caleb went out to feed the stock and milk the cows, Beka turned on the comms unit and found the newscast.
This time there was nothing about the incident when the guy named Jerry had tried to kidnap her. And nothing about any other disturbances at the spaceport. But there was a general item about the brides arriving and going to the homesteads. And Selma Wayland had apparently already asked to break her contract.
Beka remembered Selma. She was a pretty girl who had complained about her life back in Morgan City. She’d been looking for something better, but she might not have understood that a homestead in the wilds of Palomar wasn’t the best place for her.
The observation made Beka glance around the house. She’d told herself not to have expectations, but now she thought she might have lucked out with Caleb Raider. So far, he seemed to be a good man. Competent and careful and eager to make a good start with his new wife. And she suspected he’d gone to a lot of trouble to fix up his home before she arrived. It wasn’t exactly up to city standards, but it was probably at the upper end of the scale when it came to Palomar homesteads.
She liked him. She wanted to stay with him. And she was going to make it work.
oOo
Caleb inspected the vegetable house, making sure everything was running smoothly.
Then he set up a target against some hay bales at the far edge of the fenced yard. When everything was ready, he came in for Beka and two beamers.
“What do I need to know?” she asked as he carried the weapons to the makeshift target range.
“First, that it’s illegal to have a gun on the kill setting in town.”
“You mean like that guy Jerry did?”
“Yeah.”
“They didn’t do much to him.”
“They would if he had killed me.”
She made a snorting sound.
“This isn’t like the big city on Elmen. The laws are kind of flexible. And out here, it’s okay to use deadly force. But we don’t need to have full power to practice.”
“Okay.”
He showed her how to make sure the gun was charged and how to check the setting. “This little lever controls the amount of power,” he said, “See the red and yellow dots.”
“Yes.”
“Red is for kill. Yellow is for stun. Green says it’s off.”
“Okay.”
He’d set up round targets with rings of color and a black bulls-eye in the middle.
“The most important consideration is safety,” he said. “And there are four basic rules to remember. You treat any beamer as though it’s charged up. Never point it at anything you don’t intend to drill. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire, and be sure of your target and what’s behind it.”
“Behind it?”
“Yeah, like innocent bystanders. Or farm animals.”
He went on from there to talk about where she might carry a concealed weapon, and then explained how the weapon worked and how to check on the charge.
“It’s a lot to remember,” she murmured.
“Yeah. We can take a break before we do any actual shooting.”
“Can I see Caramel?”
“What’s that?”
She laughed. “Oh right. I forgot to tell you. That’s what I named the foal. Is that okay?”
“It’s good.”
They went into the barn and left their weapons on a bale of hay by the door before going back to see Silla and her baby. Beka spoke softly and petted both of them.
“You like animals.”
“Yes.”
“We could get a puppy if you want,” he blurted.
“I’d love that, but not right away. Let me get used to your routine before we add anything extra.”
“Sure.”
They went back out to the targets, and he showed her how to sight down the barrel. Then he extended his arm and fired at the target, hitting the dead center.”
“You’re good.”
“I practice.”
She took a shot and hit a little off center.
“Not bad.”
“Let me try again.”
She did, and this time she was very close to the black.
“I think you’re a natural.”
“I hope so.”
“Where do you keep the beamer?”
“There are two in the house and one in the barn.” The charger’s on the desk in the living room. He showed her the one in the barn. When she’d helped him put away the targets, she stood looking out at the fields beyond the fence.
He came up behind her. “Does the isolation make you nervous?”
“A little.”
“What about your farm on Elmen?”
“We could drive a ground truck into town in half an hour.”
“That’s close.”
“Elmen was a lot more populated than Palomar. The properties were smaller.”
“You could go to school in town and come home in the afternoon?”
“Yes. What about you?”
“They thought we should be what they called socialized, so we went to a collective school for three months in the winter when there wasn’t so much work to do. Then we had lessons over the comms units for four more months.”
“How was it?”
He shrugged. “Nobody gave me a choice.”
“I didn’t have a lot of choices, either.”
He waited for her to elaborate but she changed the subject and said, “Do you have flour?”
“Sorry, no.”
“If you get some and some yeast, I can bake fresh bread. That will be cheaper—and better—than buying it already made. And I can make cakes, too.”
“I haven’t had cake in years,” he said wistfully. “My mom used to make it. Your mom taught you?”
“Yes.”
Again she didn’t elaborate.
“We’ll put flour on the list. And you should go through my supplies and see what I have—and what you want.”
“Good idea. But I think you didn’t unpack everything when we got here.”
“Right. I’ve been busy.”
“Let’s take care of the rest of the supplies. I’ll bring in the ones for the house. And you bring the stuff that goes in the barn.”
oOo
After they’d unloaded the hauler, Beka worked by herself, checking the supplies and writing down things she’d like to have in the prep area
She was glad to be alone while she considered her situation. So far, so good.
She liked Caleb, and she was attracted to him. Which was a definite plus. And he had qualities she found reassuring. He seemed steady. Capable. Even tempered. That was important. He hadn’t flown off the handle since she’d been here. He hadn’t taken offense at anything she’d said or done. And she didn’t see a stash of hooch in the storage bay. Of course, he could have hidden it, but why do that if he was living here alone? And he hadn’t acted like he’d sucked down too much.
She thought back over their few days together. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who was determined to make sure his woman knew who the boss was. On the contrary, he seemed like he wanted her to
be his partner, which was more than she might have expected. He’d come to this homestead as a kid. He’d devoted his life to making it a success. And he was offering that to her. That knowledge made her want to weep. She didn’t deserve it. But she would do everything she could to be his true partner.
She was getting to know him, and she could tell he was nervous at dinner. The nightfall syndrome, she silently called it. He was a young, vital man, and he was forming an emotional connection with her. All of that meant he wanted more of what they’d been doing sexually. But she was pretty sure he wasn’t going to force anything on her, partly because he wasn’t that kind of guy and partly because he wasn’t sure how to proceed.
His voice brought her thoughts back to the here and now.
“I’ve got to go over the accounts.”
“Okay. I’ll do the dishes.”
“Dinner was really tasty.”
“You were probably getting tired of your own cooking.”
“It’s not as good as yours.”
“Thank you.”
He pushed back his chair, stood up and exited the prep area. In the front room, he put his comms unit on the desk and sat down again.
Good, she thought. That would keep him busy.
She was already on her feet, clearing away the dinner dishes, struggling to settle her own nerves. She turned several times to watch him work. He was good with the physical labor required to run the homestead, but it seemed he also knew how to do the mental part.
And what about the husband part? She guessed she’d find out.
Chapter Seven
While Caleb was occupied, Beka slipped into the bedroom, where she changed out of her work pants and shirt and into a gown. Not the “don’t touch me” one she’d worn the night before. Something a lot more revealing. It was almost transparent, showing off almost as much as if she were naked.
She left an oil lamp burning on the bedside table, then took a deep breath and turned to the door, looking out at him where he sat at the desk, working on what was probably his profit and loss statement.
She’d been terrified the first time she’d had sex. Not that she’d had a choice about it. Caleb had no reason to be terrified, but he had to be unsure of himself. That was natural.
Barefoot, she tiptoed up behind him. She knew when he realized she was there. She saw his body straighten.
“Caleb.” She settled her hands on his shoulders and kneading muscles that had gone rock hard as he felt her touch.
She heard him draw in a breath.
“Is this a bad time to interrupt you?” she asked.
Long seconds passed before he said, “No.”
He swept his hand over the controller and the 3-D cube clicked off.
The chair was on casters, and he swung it around so that he was facing her.
When he took in the sight of her in the revealing gown, his breath caught.
She moved in close, reaching for him, moving between his legs and cradling his head against her breasts as she ran her fingers through his thick, dark hair and over the curves of his ears.
While she’d been getting ready in the bedroom, she’d determined that she wasn’t going to play the shy bride. It was better to be open about her desires, because they’d both get what they wanted. Yet now that the moment for bold action had arrived, she heard her voice waver a little.
“When I got here, I told you I was having my period,” she murmured.
“Uh huh.”
“It was finished this morning.”
“It is?”
She stroked her lips against the top of his head, knowing she was practically pressing her breasts into his face. “We can do whatever we want.”
“Yeah.”
“But I’m kind of nervous,” she murmured.
He laughed. “I know the feeling.”
She wasn’t sure how this was going to go, but she knew she didn’t want to give him a bunch of directions. Instead she said, “I’m feeling kind of shaky. I’d love it if you’d stand up and put your arms around me.”
He stood and gathered her close. She circled his waist with her arms, clasping him to her, feeling electricity vibrate between them.
Tipping her face up, she began to kiss him as she had the first night. Only now he’d learned a thing or two, and he kissed her back, his arms tightening around her as they swayed together.
He was hard, his pump handle pressing against her middle. She kept her hands away from it. Instead she slipped her fingers into the placket at the front of his work shirt, tugging it open so that she could reach inside and stroke her fingers across his chest, finding his nipples, circling them the way he had done with hers in the shower, then tugging and twisting at them, feeling his breathing accelerate.
“Fates, I didn’t know about that.”
The heat coming off him was arousing.
“I don’t think I can stand up much longer,” she whispered.
“Me neither.”
“Well, I guess we can do something about that.”
She kept her arm around his waist, and they leaned on each other as they made their shaky way into the bedroom. She was still nervous, but she hoped she wasn’t going to let that show.
Beside the bed, she pushed his shirt and suspenders off his shoulders. Then she reached for the fastener at the top of his work pants. When she’d opened it, she slicked down the closing, then slid her hands inside, running them down his hips as she dragged off his pants along with his briefs. He was naked now and magnificently aroused.
He towered over her, and she told herself not to be afraid of him.
Pulling off her gown, she lay down, staring up at him, hearing his breath catch.
Quickly he climbed onto the bed beside her, but he lay on his back, breathing heavily. When he didn’t reach for she asked, “Are you worried about making a mistake?”
He swallowed hard. “Yeah.”
“You can’t make any mistakes. I mean, anything the two of us want to do together is okay.”
“Is it?”
“Of course.”
“You can see how much just being with you like this is charging me up.”
“Um hum.”
He dragged in a breath and let it out before blurting. “I read that the guy has to get the gal ready to do it.”
“Like the way you touched me in the shower.”
“What if I wanted to . . .” He stopped, then started again in a rush. “Put my mouth on your breast?”
You mean like this? She raised up and lowered her mouth to one of his nipples, circling it with her tongue before sucking on it.
He made a moaning sound.
She enjoyed the feel of the tight bud in her mouth for a few more moments, then lay back down.
“Your turn.”
He raised over her and bent his head, imitating what she had done with her tongue, then sucking her into his mouth, drawing on her, making a low sound of pleasure.
She stroked the back of his thick, dark hair, and turned her head to speak into his ear. “And if you want to use your fingers on the other side while you’re doing that, it will feel twice as good to me.”
He fumbled for her other breast, trying that out, and she arched into the caress.
“Do you mind me telling you stuff?” she whispered.
“The things you’re saying charge me up. What we’re doing charges me up.”
“Yes. A lot. Everything we’ve done is wonderful. And when you . . . stimulate my breasts, I feel it between my legs, too.”
“You do?”
“Yes. Like there’s an electric current running down my body between them.” She kept her gaze on him. “You can tell you’re arousing me because of the way I feel down there.”
As she had done in the shower, she took his hand and slipped his fingers into the folds of her sex. “See how I’m wet and swollen?”
He answered with a low sound.
“Do you know the spot that triggers a woman’s orgasm?”
“There was a picture in the book they gave us.” He slid his hand to her clit.
“Yes. But the rest of it’s good too.”
She lay back and closed her eyes, letting him explore her. “You’re making me want you inside me.”
“By the powers, yes.”
She dragged in a breath and let it out. “The first time, I think it would be easier if I’m on top. Is that okay?”
“Yes,” he answered, his voice thick.
His breath caught as she raised up and straddled his hips. The arousal on his face made it hard to breathe. Quickly she lowered her body and brought him inside her.
She went very still, looking down at him as she absorbed the feel of their joining.
“Beka.”
Deliberately, she began to move, knowing that there was no way this could last for long—not his first time. She felt his body shudder, felt him pumping into her, heard his shout of release. Leaning forward, she pressed her clit against him, giving herself extra stimulation, moving faster, striving for her own climax. She gasped as orgasm seized her.
He reached up, pulling her down so that she sprawled on top of him.
Holding him tight and keeping him inside her, she shifted to her side, stroking him, kissing him.
He returned the kisses, one of his hands finding her breast, the other drifting down to her butt to hold her in place.
When she felt him hardening inside her again, she smiled. They kissed and touched, stroked and sighed, deep arousal building again between them. As he began to thrust, she matched his rhythm. This time it was slower, sweeter, a confirmation that they belonged together. This time she climaxed first, and he followed, his body shuddering in her arms.
They remained joined together until finally he slipped out of her. But she stayed in his embrace, snuggling against him.
He kissed her cheek. “Thank you.”
“Thank you,” she answered, raising up to look down at him. “I didn’t know it could be that good.”
“You didn’t?”
She shook her head. There was so much she wanted to say to him, should say to him. But she was still afraid to tell him too much about herself because she was worried about what he was going to think. And what if she had put him in danger by becoming his wife? Maybe because of that damn newscast.