by Alix West
He sat on the edge of the bed. Pulling her between his knees, he gathered her gown, tugging up. She gasped softly and instinctively recoiled, but he held her firmly.
“Ever since I first laid eyes on you, Laura, I’ve wanted to have you and, I especially wanted to take care of you. You can fuss about that all you like, but it’s going to cost you.”
“Cost me?”
“With a trip over my knee. For your own good.”
She blinked, trying to discern his meaning. He’d used the same phrase before and she hadn’t understood then.
“I’d never want to hurt you. Just a little sting on your sweet ass so you know I mean what I say.”
She froze and waited for him to say something more. Did Seth intend to spank her?
Disbelief flooded her thoughts. Her words lodged in her throat. When he lifted her, and draped her face-down across his lap, she tried to protest but couldn’t.
He gathered her gown and pushed it over her bottom. Mortification burned her face, but when he tugged her panties down, desire flooded her body. She closed her eyes and moaned. While the lantern offered only shadowed light, she knew the wicked display she offered Seth.
“Seth,” she said softly.
He didn’t reply. Instead, he brought his hand down on her bared bottom. It didn’t hurt exactly. It was more like a sting just as he promised. In all, he swatted her five times before he lifted her to her feet. Her bottom burned but the sensation that she felt most acutely was the warmth between her legs. The slick heat that made her feel restless and needful.
He pulled her closer, a smirk curving his lips. “You’re wet, aren’t you?”
His filthy words shocked her almost as much as the spanking he’d just given her. She shook her head. “No. Not really.”
“I can’t let you go to bed that way, Laura. That wouldn’t be very hospitable your first night in my home.”
He lifted her again, but this time setting her in the middle of the bed, stretching out beside her. Mesmerized by him, she lay still and drank in the way he looked at her. His gaze made her feel as though she were the most beautiful, desirable woman in the world.
She cupped his jaw. “Seth, you make me feel things I’ve never felt.”
“You do the same for me, sweetheart.” He kissed her and undid the buttons of her gown. He moved down her body as he loosened the gown from her shoulders. His mouth on her breast drew a trembling cry from her lips. He teased her with his lips and tongue. Her core grew wetter with each tormenting stroke of his tongue.
She writhed beneath him, wanting something more.
Moving away from her breast, he nudged her thighs apart with his shoulders. With a quick jerk he tore her panties free, tossing them aside. She gasped with surprise, but when he began kissing the inside of her thigh she understood his intention.
She tried to edge away, but he stopped her with a growl and pinned her hips to the bed with his powerful forearm. When he kissed her core, she stilled. The sensation was too wicked for her to comprehend.
He growled again, this time deeper and longer and she knew it was because he’d discovered how wet she was. She moaned softly as he licked her. He took his time, teasing her with slow strokes of his tongue. He found her swollen nub and sucked it and then with deliberate, measured strokes returned to licking her.
She writhed beneath him, running her fingers through his hair and clutching his forearm. He seemed to be waiting for something. Did he want her to beg? The moment the idea flitted across her thoughts, she let out a strangled cry.
“Please, Seth…”
He chuckled and with that, began to give her what she craved. He stroked her with his finger and his tongue with a cadence that made tendrils of pleasure tighten and twirl. She panted, each breath punctuated with a small cry. Her pleasure erupted. She cried out his name as she arched beneath him.
The world spun around her. Closing her eyes, she waited for everything to stop whirling. The girls at the Magnolia would sometimes talk amongst themselves about pleasing men. They never spoke of men giving them pleasure. With a trembling sigh, she opened her eyes to find Seth gazing down at her.
“You’re a virgin,” he said quietly.
She flushed and nodded.
“A virgin bride,” he mused. “I’m glad I know now. We’ll take it slow tomorrow. I’ll make it good for you. I’d never hurt you.”
“You just spanked me, Seth.”
“I spanked you for your own good. But now I might spank you just because I like it. Your ass was made for my hand.”
She drew a sharp breath.
“What’s more, I think my virgin bride really likes it.”
His smile and the gleam in his eyes made her indignation flare. “I have never heard anything so filthy or outrageous, and I worked in a brothel.”
He gave a sympathetic look. “Let’s put your gown back on. I’m not sure how long I can resist my naked bride, and I don’t want you to catch cold. I’ve got a lot more filthy and outrageous things I want to tell you tomorrow.”
She frowned, but complied. He helped her dress and get under the covers.
“What about you?” she asked. “The girls used to talk about easing a man’s lust.”
He circled the bed and lowered the lantern’s wick. In the darkness, all she could see was Seth’s shadowy figure moving to the door. He paused for a long moment.
“Tomorrow, Laura. After I’ve given you a ring and we’ve said our vows. Goodnight.”
She murmured a soft response. He closed the door. His footsteps faded, and she was left alone in her bed. Thoughts of the day’s startling events drifted through her mind, but the pleasure he’d wrung from her left her sated and sleepy. She closed her eyes, letting sleep come for her.
Chapter Eight
Seth
The wedding was set to take place at Seth’s brother’s house. Will and Charlotte had offered to let Laura and Seth exchange vows on their terrace under the oak trees. They’d also arranged for a dinner to be served after. In addition to Will, Charlotte and Nick, a few of Will’s workers attended the late afternoon wedding.
Seth waited for her, standing before the minister. Silas, his brother’s foreman, sat nearby, ready to play a tune. The minister nodded to Silas, who tucked his fiddle under his chin and began a delicate melody.
The moment Seth lay eyes on Laura, he felt yet another burst of pride and pleasure. He knew he’d made the right decision in whisking her away. She was his. He might not deserve her, but he’d never let her go, and now he was making it official and legitimate.
She wore an ivory lace gown and a veil. Nick escorted her to Seth’s side, kissed her hand and sat down by Will and Charlotte.
Laura smiled at him and through the veil he saw that she blushed a pretty pink. He took her hands in his. The minister’s voice seemed faraway. He and Laura said their, “I dos”, and Seth lifted the veil to kiss his bride.
People clapped, and Silas played a cheery tune on his fiddle. Seth cupped her face and spoke softly so only she could hear. “I loved you from the very first time I saw you.”
Her eyes shone. “I loved you too.”
He kissed her again, this time more slowly, just as tenderly as a moment before. She looped her arms around his neck and melted in his embrace. Her lips parted when he stroked her with his tongue. Groaning, he held himself back from deepening the kiss. Her sweet submission to him was the stuff of dreams, but he wanted to explore that with her when they were alone.
Reluctantly, he broke the kiss. A moment later, Charlotte drew his bride away.
“I promise not to keep her long, Seth,” his sister-in-law stated.
Nick and Will brought him a bottle of whiskey. The two brothers lifted a glass to the lovely bride and the groom, but referred to the groom in less flattering terms.
“Son of a gun,” Nick muttered. “You didn’t waste any time, did you? I was a mite worried about Laura when I heard you carried her out of the Magnolia.”
&nb
sp; Will chuckled. “She seems happy enough.”
Seth searched for her in the group of merry-makers. She helped Charlotte set out the wedding cakes. With that done, she lit candles on the tables, talking and laughing as she worked.
“She didn’t complain too much,” Seth said. “I proposed properly, even though I could have made the argument that we were already married.”
Nick shook his head. “Here I thought I’d catch hell for not only letting her stay in Colter Canyon, but forging your signature.”
Seth eyed his brothers, giving a slow and deliberate smile. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “What forged signature?”
His brothers glanced at each other, but then gave him an answering smile.
“Exactly,” Will said, refilling their glasses. “I’ll drink to that.”
The rest of the evening passed too slowly for Seth’s liking, but he resolved not to hurry his brothers or the rest of the crowd. He’d have Laura to himself soon enough, and for a long time to come. A large dinner had been prepared. They dined and had cake. After the meal Silas picked up his fiddle.
He danced with Laura several times. After each dance, he drew her into the shadows to steal a kiss and tell her how pretty she looked. When the hour grew late and his bride blinked like a sleepy owl, he bid the crowd goodnight. He drove them the short distance to his home on a buckboard decorated with ribbons and cowbells. Despite the racket, Laura dozed off.
After he carried her to his bed, he tended to the horses and wagon.
He returned to find her still fast asleep on the bed. He undressed her.
The buttons on her dress were tiny and numerous, a parade of confounding pearl-colored fastenings. They were near impossible to undo, and the task drew a muttered curse from his lips. Half-asleep, Laura giggled. He growled in response but continued doggedly.
When he managed to undo the final button, he tugged the dress from her and hung it over a chair. Next, he unclasped and rolled down her stockings. He straightened, tossed the stockings aside and admired his sleeping bride.
Her skin was porcelain. Her dark hair contrasted with the milky paleness. Full breasts teased him, and her narrow waist invited his hands. With a frustrated growl he set about finishing his task. Deciding to leave her chemise and pantalets be, if only for his own sanity, he freed the hairpins from her hair.
“Thank you, Seth,” she murmured.
“If my brothers served you whiskey, I might need to give them a piece of my mind.”
She didn’t reply. He lowered the wick and slipped into bed next to her. She nestled in his arms. He burned to make her his, but would wait until she was rested. Steeling himself against his baser needs, he stroked her back and marveled that she lay there in his arms. He hadn’t wooed her or won her. He’d seen an opportunity and snatched it. Despite that, he vowed he’d spend a lifetime courting his stolen bride.
Sometime in the night, she whispered. “Am I dreaming?”
He was instantly wide awake and heard the smile in her voice. She traced her fingers over his chest. Lust burned his veins. In an instant his body was iron.
“Maybe you are dreaming,” he murmured, kissing her hair.
She kissed his neck. His heart soared. Was this really the shy girl who could hardly meet his gaze?
“I’ve never dreamed of a conjugal visit before.”
He chuckled. “Me neither. Make sure none of the other men hear you.”
“Hear me?”
“Begging for me to spank your bottom.”
She gave a gasp of mock outrage and played at trying to push him away. “I’m going back to sleep.”
“Not so fast.”
He pushed her back to the mattress and claimed her lips with a hard kiss, growling his dissent. She softened beneath him and softly, shyly, set her hands on his shoulders. Angling his head, he deepened the kiss. She reached for him. Her fingers threaded through his hair and she clung to him with a sweet desperation.
Breaking the kiss, he moved down her neck, scattering kisses. “You were saying something about a conjugal visit?”
She laughed softly. “Anything to comfort my husband.”
He stilled. “Anything?”
“Seth,” she breathed. “I’m yours. I’ve always been yours.”
Her words let loose a torrent of desire. Desire he’d held back by the skin of his teeth. If she wanted him, well, he was more than hers. He slipped her chemise and pantalets from her. When her breath ratcheted up, he soothed her with gentle words, stroking her as she trembled beneath him.
Settling between her silken thighs, he felt her arousal, slick against the head of his cock. He cupped her head, kissing her as he entered her. She drew a sharp breath and he paused, holding himself back with sheer force of will.
“It’s nothing more than a moment,” he whispered.
She nodded, digging her fingers into him. He took that as both invitation and permission and pressed deeper, taking her with short, measured strokes. When he met with her resistance, he clenched his jaw and held her, pushing deeper as she buried her face in his neck.
Beneath him, she shuddered, tightening her hold on him. He murmured words of comfort and lust and love. She responded with her own words of need and yearning and love. She was impossibly tight. Soon, however, they found their cadence. She writhed beneath him and clenched his hips between her thighs.
He growled. If she was going to wrap her legs around him, she would undo his self-control. More than anything, he wanted to make her first time wonderful for her. She skimmed her fingers along his back, running the tips along the bands of muscle. He tried to think of her sassing him, hoping it would cool his savage need, but that didn’t help one bit.
Small, wordless cries fell from her lips. To his amazement, he could feel her pleasure grow. Her body became taut. She arched and cried out his name. He snarled and thrust hard twice more before following her climax with his own release.
He looked down at her, hoping to see her response, but it was too dark to make out anything. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”
“Yes,” she said softly. “More than all right.”
He kissed her and rose from the bed. She protested when he tended to her, but he ignored her embarrassment, and soothed her with a few soft words. When he returned to the bed, he lifted her so that she lay, draped over him.
“I’m too heavy,” she murmured. Her voice sounded like she’d been drinking. Slightly slurred. Languid.
He laughed. “You’re half my size.”
She shifted, but he tightened his hold. “No. I want you right here, Laura.”
He waited for her argument, wrapping his arms around her protectively. She was silent. Soon the only sound was her soft breathing as she dozed. He held her close and soon drifted off as well.
Chapter Nine
Laura
The next few days passed like some sort of dream. Friends and well-wishers stopped by to leave a hot meal or a small gift for the newlyweds. Laura was astonished by the lovely linens she received and touched by the trouble folks had taken. Each afternoon a wagon or buggy arrived, a young couple or family would descend to deliver their gift.
They never lingered, but departed with smiles and hearty congratulations. Seth seemed to want to hurry them on their way. He needed her all to himself, he growled as he’d watch them disappear down the path, a plume of dust in their wake.
On the fifth morning, Nick arrived on a pretty palomino. Laura waved to him from the bedroom. She was dressed, but hadn’t fixed her hair. Seth had kept her in bed late, again, and she felt a small wave of awkwardness about not being ready to welcome her brother-in-law at such a late hour. It had to be noon, at least.
Fortunately, Seth didn’t run Nick off. She tucked her hair into a simple knot and hurried downstairs to find not just Nick but Will and Charlotte in the parlor. Charlotte rose from the chesterfield and embraced her. Will and Nick both gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
“You’re looking well,” Cha
rlotte murmured, taking her aside. “Marriage agrees with you?”
Laura blushed. “It does. Very much.”
“I’m so pleased. I’ve never seen Seth so happy. I heard a little of your and Nick’s ploy to marry Seth off while he sat in jail. I think you’re very resourceful and brave.” She gestured to a basket on the dining table. “I brought a little lunch. The men need to talk.”
“About what?” Laura asked. She followed Charlotte to the dining room. Her mind raced with all sorts of dreadful possibilities.
“Melvin Campbell is threatening to get back at the Travis family for Seth having stolen you.”
“Melvin. He told everyone in Colter Canyon that I’m soft and that only a fool would want anything to do with me.”
Charlotte waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t pay him any mind. Melvin’s all talk, especially when he’s had a few drinks. He’s angry because Clarice still won’t let him step foot in the saloon.” She drew back the cloth from the basket and a fragrant aroma wafted from the depths. Laura’s stomach rumbled.
Charlotte’s lips quirked. “Someone missed breakfast this morning.”
Laura smiled. “What’s breakfast?”
She could feel her face coloring. Seth had planned for the ranch hands to manage without him for a week after the wedding. Since she and Seth had exchanged vows, they hadn’t spent a moment apart. He was a kind and tender lover, but he was insatiable too. They made love at night and in the wee hours in the morning and sometimes again after the sun rose. They rarely got out of bed before eleven and not once since the wedding had they eaten breakfast.
“I knew you two would make a fine couple.” Charlotte took china and silver from the buffet and set the table. “Now we just need to get Nick married. And I think he might have something to tell us about that.”
Laura drew a sharp breath. “Nick’s getting married?”
Charlotte nodded. “He’s sent for a bride. She’s coming soon.”