by Alix West
“You’re still dressed,” she said drowsily. “And I’m naked.”
He kissed her. Her eyes widened, and she lifted her hand to her mouth.
“I love the taste of my bride.”
She opened her mouth, but with no response ready, quickly closed it. Instead, she smacked his shoulder, shock etching her eyes. He loved undoing her prim sensibilities. From the first moment, he’d enjoyed teasing her, and having her all to himself, naked in his arms, made him think of a thousand dirty things he’d like to tell her.
“I imagined what you would taste like the first time I met you. What you would sound like as I made you mine.”
She pursed her lips. “Wicked man.”
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her. “Love of my life.”
With a soft look lighting her eyes, she smiled at him and stroked his jaw. Her hair spread around her like a halo spun from golden-red silk. Her milky skin held a blush.
“I am all yours,” she whispered.
Her sweet words shot a surge of possessive need through him. He rose from the bed. “You want me undressed?”
“Seems fair. You’ve seen me naked.”
He smiled at the memory of stripping her down, after pulling her from the river.
She pouted. “I might not know much about the particulars of the marriage bed, but it seems to me, things might be easier if you wore less clothing.”
“All right, sassy girl. Then come undress me.”
She came to the edge of the bed and stood beside him. First, she took off his shirt. Taking her time, she ran her palms over his chest before slipping it from his shoulders.
“I think you’re teasing me,” he growled, tossing the shirt aside.
“But I haven’t said a word.”
He kicked off his boots and narrowed his eyes. “Come on. Pants next.”
Biting her lip, she tugged the belt from its buckle. Her fingers brushed his stomach. His body felt like iron. He curled his hands into fists. A bead of sweat rolled down his spine. She slid the belt from the loops and when she began rolling it up, he snatched it and threw it the direction he’d tossed the shirt.
She sighed. Her warm breath fanned over his skin. One by one, she undid the buttons of his trousers. Her fingers skimmed his erection, drawing a groan from him. The smile playing on her lips made it clear she was enjoying this torment far too much. Swatting her hands away, he stripped off the rest of his clothing.
She laughed softly, but her mirth gave way to a gasp of surprise when he tossed her to the bed. She was about to protest, but he silenced her with a hard kiss. He stroked her mouth with his tongue. When he skimmed his hand over her thighs, she parted them. Her sweet and inviting response broke the last of his self-control.
Settling between her thighs, he cupped her face between his hands. Their gazes locked, he entered as slowly as he could. She was impossibly tight. When he slowed, she pressed her fingers into his shoulders.
He eased into her body, met with her virginal barrier and took her with a gentle thrust. She let out a soft huff. Her eyes watered and she tried to blink back the tears.
“It’s done,” he said.
She bit her lip and nodded. He lowered and kissed the tears that fell. He steeled himself to hold back the savage lust gripping him. Instead, he took gentle strokes, easing into her a little at a time. When he’d entered her fully, she relaxed beneath him. He hadn’t expected her to sigh or to entice him. Not the first time. But she clasped his hips between her thighs.
With each stroke, her small cries became more desperate. She arched beneath him, growing wilder. He felt her pleasure build. She made him feel like a ravening beast, and when she climaxed, he could hold back no longer. He snarled as she cried out. He thrust hard. She gasped beneath him. He fell over her, as he filled her with his seed, the last of his strength ebbing.
He rolled to her side and, cupping her chin, turned her to face him. “Cora?”
She smiled. “I’m fine. Wonderful, in fact.”
Closing his eyes, he drifted for a time, vaguely aware of her nestling closer. He held her in his embrace, and they dozed off. When he woke, sometime later, he tended to her, soothing her when she grumbled sleepily. A streak of blood across her thighs was the only evidence of her lost innocence. He turned down the lamp and lay in the darkness, listening to her soft breath and the rumble of a distant storm.
Chapter Seventeen
Cora
When Cora woke the next morning, she was alone. A note from Nick sat on her bedside. He wrote that he’d woken up early and was in the barn. A warmth bloomed in her chest, both at the sweet note and the small sketch of a heart beside his name, and the memory of the prior night.
Her body felt sore. A faint streak on the sheets made her draw a sharp breath. It was to be expected, yet the sight of it filled her with the realization of a new chapter in her life. She was now, officially, Nick’s wife. For better or for worse. The way he’d looked at her last night as he cupped her face made her shiver with pleasure. His gaze burned with possessiveness and raw desire. She’d never imagined her husband might look at her in that way.
She dressed and looked in Justine’s room, but the girl wasn’t there. Cora went downstairs, checked the rooms, but found no one, so she set off for the barn, concern starting to enter her mind. The door was heavy, and she struggled to open the latch. After a moment, it opened. Henry appeared with a smile, wishing her a good morning.
Stepping inside, she took a moment to allow her eyes to adjust to the dim light. Before she could see properly, Nick wrapped his arm around her from behind and spun her around to receive his kiss. He set her down and grinned. She recovered from her shock, then turned back to scan the barn. Henry busied himself grooming a horse, and Justine sat on a chair, pointedly ignoring both her and Nick.
Nick turned her to face him. “Don’t you worry about Henry and Justine. I can kiss you whenever I want.”
She blushed and laughed. “All right.”
“Besides they’re too busy bickering to notice us.”
“They are?”
Justine scowled. “Silas lent me an old violin last night. I tried to play it this morning and Henry said it sounded like a dozen cats dying a slow death.”
Henry stopped brushing the horse and shook his head. “That’s not exactly right. She started playing and it sounded pretty bad. Then she asked Nick if the barn cat had her kittens yet. So, that’s when I said the momma cat was probably moving her kittens as far away as possible on account of Justine’s screeching.”
Cora stared in disbelief, not just at his teasing of Justine, but that he’d spoken so many words at once. Since his father had died, Henry had spent more nights in the small cabin than not. He’d coped with his father’s death and the departure of his younger siblings with a quiet, brooding melancholy. Nick responded by keeping the boy very busy.
Henry was part hired ranch hand and part newly-adopted family member. His teasing Justine was novel. It was also the first time she’d seen him smile.
Justine, on the other hand, glowered. “And you said it sounded like cats dying.”
Cora laughed, but put her hand to her mouth when Justine glared at her. “I’m sorry, Justine. I wish I could hear you play. I’d give anything to listen to you make music.”
Justine’s scowl softened. Cora noticed the small, dark case on the ground. She crossed the barn and knelt beside Justine. She ran her fingers over the case.
“My father played the piano,” she murmured. “Sometimes, I think I can still hear him.”
Justine set her hand on Cora’s shoulder. “I’ll play for you later. If you like.”
“I would like that, very much. If I can’t hear you, at least I can watch.”
“I’m not allowed to play in the barn. Nick made me put it away. He said it’s too dusty here and Silas wouldn’t want his violin to be played in a horse barn.” She directed another fierce look at Henry, but he’d resumed his work and appeared to ignore
the girl. Cora noted the small tug at the corners of his mouth.
Cora smiled and rose. “I’ll make us some breakfast.”
Justine followed her back to the house and set her violin in her room. She came to the kitchen and made biscuits, while Cora made bacon and eggs. They worked side by side. Cora always cooked twice as much as she thought they’d eat, but with each meal, she understood more about the appetites of a man and two growing children.
When the meal was ready, Justine went to the back porch and rang the dinner bell to summon Henry and Nick. Over breakfast, Justine and Henry’s feuding resumed, when he asserted that she ate more than any girl he knew. Justine flushed and looked to Nick for help.
“Can’t you make him stop?”
Nick grinned and shook his head. He slathered butter on a steaming biscuit and winked at Cora. “Haven’t you noticed the color of Justine’s hair?”
“What about it?”
“She’s a redhead. Just like my lovely wife.”
“So?”
Justine’s expression softened. The hard look in her eyes gave way to a look of satisfaction and she nodded at Cora. A tacit understanding hung between them. It was a silly notion, that as redheads they shared a bond, but that was what had brought them together in the cold, Boston train station. Their shared trait held them together as they made their journey to Texas as their friendship deepened.
Cora’s breath caught in her throat. This unlikely group of people were her clan now. Family brought together not because of blood, or in the case of Justine, physical similarities, but because they cared for each other. Even Henry, who delighted in tormenting Justine, did so because he cared for the girl.
She sipped her tea, hiding her smile behind her teacup, as Nick counseled Henry on how to avoid the wrath of a redhead. Henry pretended to listen in earnest. Cora was certain he was simply planning more teasing comments.
After breakfast, Henry and Nick rode to the Tarrant ranch. Nick had offered to buy what was left of the herd and pay the boy for grazing rights. They set off to ride the property lines and do a rough accounting of the animals.
Justine began clearing the breakfast table, but Cora shooed her away.
“You helped cook. That’s enough. You may go back to your reading if you like.”
Cora tidied the kitchen, and set a roast in a low oven. Soon, the aroma wafted through the downstairs rooms. Nick offered to hire a cook and housekeeper for her, but Cora found she enjoyed preparing meals for her small family. Back in Boston, she’d learned to cook for herself out of necessity. She made meals that she ate alone. Enjoying food around a table filled with others felt entirely different.
Since she’d arrived, she’d cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom. She scoured the pots and pans. She’d arranged the utensils just so, and made lists of pantry items and supplies the family needed.
In the afternoon, she sat at Nick’s desk in his study and penned a quick letter to her brothers, telling them that she was safe and well and married in Texas. She hadn’t wanted to write them, but Nick insisted. Out of respect for his wishes, she told them how she’d undertaken the venture with the help of a bridal broker. She made no mention of her change in plans, or how she hadn’t married her intended, but a very different man.
She shuddered to think that she might have married David Tarrant. How different her life would be if Nick hadn’t found her. After she folded the letter for her brothers, she took out a fresh piece of paper and wrote a letter to Miss Petit. Cora didn’t want to alarm the woman, but felt she should explain how her circumstances had changed.
When she finished the two letters, she found Justine standing on the porch, playing the violin that Silas had lent her. Justine swayed as she drew the bow back and forth. Her eyes held a soft, unfocused look. She pressed her lips together with grim determination.
When Justine stopped and lowered the instrument, Cora clapped.
Justine smiled and bowed.
“We can order you some music,” Cora said.
“I’m not very good.”
“Don’t say that. I might not be able to hear you, but I can see how much you want to play. I would imagine in the beginning, that’s the most important thing.”
Justine nodded. “Maybe.”
“Go on. Play some more. Don’t let me keep you.”
Later that night, when she and Nick retired to their room, Cora spoke of Justine’s newfound interest. “It’s clear that Justine’s schooling has been more than adequate. Still, she’s only thirteen. I’d like to purchase books and music, and do what I can to help her with lessons.”
Nick unbuttoned his shirt, letting his gaze wander over her. “All right. Maybe you can do something for Henry too. Colter Canyon has a school, but it only goes up to fifth grade. If he’s going to manage a ranch, he’ll need to know his three Rs.”
Cora tugged her hairpins free. “I can see the two of them, sitting at the dining table, arguing over arithmetic.”
“Justine would argue with a haystack. She won’t let up about the litter the barn cat’s expecting, trying to talk me into a kitten.”
“Will you let her keep one?”
“Sure. That’s not the problem. She wants it to sleep at the foot of her bed.”
“Oh, dear. A cat in the house. I don’t know about that.”
Nick shook his head. “The other day she wandered the pasture, looking for baby rabbits.”
“Rabbits?”
“Henry had been going on about all the baby rabbits he’d seen hopping around.”
“He should stop telling her stories. We’ll go into her room and find her asleep, surrounded by Noah’s Ark.” Cora smiled as she slipped out of her clothes and into a gown. When she glanced up, she found Nick eyeing her as he came to her. He slipped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. For a long moment, he did nothing more than hold her.
Gently, he cupped her chin and stroked her jaw with his thumb. “You’re a beauty, Cora. You’re the one I’ve always dreamed of. I love you with all my heart.”
She blushed and nodded. “I love you, too.”
With her hand resting on his chest, she felt the growl rumble beneath her palm.
His lips curved into a smile. “You’d better.”
Chapter Eighteen
Nick
He woke to the sound of Cora’s cry. In an instant, he was on his feet, bolting from the room. He crossed the upstairs to Justine’s room and found Cora. She stood in the doorway, staring at the bed.
“Justine’s gone.”
The bed was empty. Justine had slept in the bed. That much was clear. The rumpled blankets offered evidence that the girl had spent the night in her bed, but in the first light of dawn, it was clear she was gone.
The bedding was cool to his touch. She’d been gone sometime. The terror on Cora’s face made his heart squeeze with pain. Her eyes were wild with fear. Her chest rose and fell with rapid, panicked breaths.
“Maybe she’s downstairs.”
Cora pointed to the corner of the room. “Her boots are missing. She left the house.”
Nick couldn’t bring himself to accept her words. Justine wouldn’t leave the house. Surely. He thought of Henry. Had she left to play a prank on the boy?
He dressed quickly. Cora stood in the doorway watching with eyes that shone in the first rays or morning.
“I’ll look around outside. Maybe Henry knows something.”
Nick knew without a doubt that if Henry knew of Justine’s wanderings, the boy would have come to him immediately. Henry always sought ways to ingratiate himself to both him and Cora. Not that he needed to. Nick told him time and again that the boy was an enormous help to him.
He left the house and jogged across the barnyard to the small cabin. Almost the instant he knocked on the door, Henry appeared, dressed and ready to start work.
“What’s wrong?” he asked without preliminaries.
“We can’t find Justine.”
The boy paled. He
shook his head as his confusion clouded his eyes. “What do you mean you can’t find her?”
“She’s not in her bed.”
Henry flinched. “Damn. I haven’t seen her. I’ll help you look.”
Nick and Henry spent the next hour searching the barns and corrals and outbuildings. They went to each shed and called her name. They opened stall doors on the chance she’d gotten locked in with a horse. Then they returned to the house and looked through every room upstairs and down.
“I’ve looked everywhere,” Cora said, her face stained with tears.
“I’ll saddle up and search the pastures,” Henry said, quietly. “Maybe she’s out looking for some little critter to bring home.”
Nick went to Cora and wrapped her in his arms. She sank against him as he stroked her back. He pulled away and lifted her chin. “It will be all right, Cora. She’s around. I’m sure of it. I’m going to go with Henry and we’ll bring her back home.”
He kissed her on the forehead and left. Inside the barn, he and Henry worked quickly. By the time the sun had risen over the horizon, they were mounted. Henry rode his ancient gelding and Nick rode Halston.
“I shouldn’t have teased her about the violin playing,” Henry said. “I wish I hadn’t.”
The sadness in the boy’s tone caught Nick by surprise. Henry’s shoulders slumped. He curled his hand into a fist and hit his saddle horn with frustration.
“Quit blaming yourself. That girl’s not going to run off just because you gave her a little grief. She’s tough as any boy I know.”
Henry shook his head. “Still…”
Nick couldn’t think of how to reassure the boy. Henry had lost so much over the last month. He’d witnessed his father’s death. Then his half-siblings were carted away by their uppity family, the same folks who explained in no uncertain terms that Henry wasn’t welcome to come with them. He looked like he wanted to cry.
Nick felt a wave of irritation with Justine. Gritting his teeth, he consoled himself by thinking of unpleasant tasks he’d give the girl when he found her. He’d make damned certain she didn’t wander off again, looking for bunnies or squirrels or whatever the hell critter she’d gotten in her stubborn mind.