The next morning, Selena was surprised when she woke up to find that Liam had already dressed and left the tent. By the time she emerged, he had almost finished tending to the animals. She swallowed back tears of joy as she put the coffee on to boil. Over the next several days, things gradually improved. Bit by bit, she began to see glimpses of the old Liam. He started bathing and shaving again, his appetite returned and as he resumed his chores, his body began to fill out once more and grow stronger. He abandoned his pallet in the wagon and rode beside her on the bench once again. He took over driving part of the time, although he still wasn’t up to handling the team for a full day. Each day, he drove for longer periods, as his stamina gradually increased, and they began to converse like before, swapping stories to pass the time.
At night, they slept side by side. Selena was careful not to pressure Liam, but she always gave him a goodnight kiss. He held her in his arms but his manhood stubbornly refused to rouse, so he didn’t attempt to do anything else. He was still plagued by doubts, but they were far less frightening when he held her in the darkness.
A week after their argument, Selena was driving the team down a particularly nasty incline. The trail was steep and the wagons tilted precariously as they made the descent. Liam noticed that Selena was straining to hold the reins tight enough, and when she gave a small squeak of panic, he quickly grabbed them from her grasp, leaning back heavily against her as he hauled back on the leather straps. They both held their breath until the wagon had leveled out once again.
Of a sudden, Liam noticed his position, lying halfway across Selena’s lap. Her breasts were flattened against his back and arm, and her breath tickled his cheek. From over his shoulder, he turned to meet her gaze, and when he saw a hot blush crawl up her cheeks, he felt the tiniest stirring in his loins. It was faint, but definitely there, and his heart pounded in his chest.
“Sorry,” he mumbled as he straightened. “Did I hurt you?”
“No, of course not. I was glad you helped. I felt like I was losing control there for a minute,” she replied breathlessly.
Selena’s senses were leaping from his nearness. It had, after all, been weeks since they had been intimate, and her desire was becoming increasingly strong.
Liam cleared his throat. “You’d better let me drive. The trail is pretty rough through here.”
He drove for the rest of the day, but while his hands were busy with guiding the oxen, his mind was busy processing this new development. Hope flared even brighter than before, but he made no mention of it to Selena. He was afraid to get ahead of himself and disappoint them both.
That evening, they finished dinner and leaned back against a log to relax. Liam saw a shooting star and reached to point. He turned to find Selena’s face very close to his, her lips slightly parted and her gaze riveted on his mouth. Their lips met in an achingly sweet kiss. Once again, he felt a familiar stirring, this time stronger than before. Their gazes locked, and it seemed like an eternity before Liam cleared his throat and rose to his feet.
“I’d better go take a bath, it’s getting late.” He walked away without another word, leaving Selena staring after him.
She hadn’t imagined his reaction, and as she looked at him, she noticed a slight bulge in the front of his breeches. Maybe…just maybe, she thought hopefully. Perhaps it was time to provide a little temptation and see how far it took them. Selena nibbled at her bottom lip, smiling secretively as she washed the dishes and made out their pallet for the night. When Liam returned, she was still bustling around, getting things ready for the morning.
“Go on to bed. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” she murmured, without looking at him.
Liam had undressed and settled in bed before Selena entered the tent. A thin stream of firelight filtered through the gap between the flaps. Selena stood in that narrow shaft of light to undress. She took her time undoing the buttons on her bodice. As she slid her chemise down over her breasts, the material hung momentarily suspended over her nipples. When she finally revealed the taut peaks, she heard a muted groan and she cast a surreptitious glance at Liam from beneath her lashes. She knew she had his undivided attention, and she inwardly smiled. She leaned over to slowly roll her stockings down. A dark silhouette of her body was displayed, and Liam cleared his throat and squirmed a little on the pallet. Finally, she freed her long hair and spent several minutes brushing it before she slid between the blankets.
Selena snuggled into the crook of Liam’s arm, her head cradled on his shoulder. She could feel his heart racing beneath her palm, and she wiggled to get even closer to him, bringing one knee up over his groin. She felt his manhood against her inner thigh, only partially erect but definitely firmer than in recent days. Rising up onto one elbow, she lifted one fine brow and gave him a teasing smile.
“What’s that?” she questioned softly.
“What?” Liam croaked.
“That,” she asked, grinning even more mischievously.
Selena held his gaze as she slid her hand slowly over his stomach, feeling the muscles of his abdomen twitch beneath her questing fingers. She grasped his manhood in her hand, biting her bottom lip when she felt his flesh growing even firmer as a result of her touch. Liam sucked in a breath and his body tensed.
“Selena, I don’t know if I can . . . I mean I’m not sure if . . .” he broke off on a groan as she fondled him boldly.
As she stroked him, he gradually grew firmer and hotter. Selena bent to kiss him, letting her breasts tease his chest. Her lips were moist and greedy, plucking at his senses as she explored his mouth. She trailed hot kisses down his neck, tracing his earlobe with her tongue before moving to his chest, where she suckled his flat nipples. She smiled against his chest when she heard his sharp intake of breath. Obviously, he was enjoying what she was doing to him, so she kept it up, alternately licking and suckling the tiny buds. All the while, her hand continued to stroke him, teasing and caressing, firmly enfolding him as he grew steadily harder. Liam felt as if his breath was locked in his chest as her kisses drifted even lower. She nipped at his well-muscled belly and explored his navel with her hot little tongue as she slid her body down between his legs.
Working entirely on instinct, Selena slid further down until her face was even with his groin. She remembered the feelings he had evoked in her when he had kissed her so intimately, and she hoped he might have a similar reaction. Selena rubbed her cheek against his erection, which by now had grown rigid and was throbbing against her palm. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the musky scent of him as she trailed her fingers down his length. The skin was velvety smooth, surprisingly so since it encased such strength. Tentatively, she licked him, growing bolder by the moment as she explored the ridges and crevices with her tongue.
When she took him into the sweet, hot cavity of her mouth, Liam thought he might die from pleasure. His hands clenched into the blanket as she loved him, using her lips and tongue to flay him with wave after wave of mind numbing pleasure. Her silky hair fell over his stomach and thighs, teasing him like feathers on his skin, but it did little to distract him from her mouth. Selena pulled back the delicate skin on his erection to bare the sensitive tip. Then she worshipped it.
His mind reeled as she used her luscious lips and tongue to bewitch him. Liam fought to keep from crying out as time and again she took him deep inside her mouth only to withdraw and tease, lap and suckle. It was the sweetest torture imaginable. She was enacting his most intimate fantasies . . . the ones he had never dared to voice . . . the ones he had never imagined his wife might fulfill. He trembled beneath her, squeezing his eyes tightly shut to focus on each sensation. When the tension was coiled so tight in his belly that Liam could barely keep from spilling himself into her mouth, he fisted his hands in her hair and gently lifted her head away from him.
“No more,” he managed to whisper hoarsely through gritted teeth.
“You don’t like it?” Selena asked, but her wicked chuckle told him that she knew he did.
/> She slid upward, letting every inch of her heated skin brush over his now aching and throbbing manhood until she was laying full length on top of him. She framed his face with her hands and stole his wits with a scorching kiss.
Liam groaned. She was temptation incarnate, calling forth his most primitive desires. He grasped her waist and lifted her until she was sitting astride him. Selena watched him from beneath heavy lids as she guided him to her entrance and sank down, impaling herself on his length with excruciating slowness. When he was finally seated deeply inside her, they both groaned and her eyes dropped fully closed. It had been much too long. Although the night air was frigid, neither of them felt the cold, as heat welled between them and around them.
Liam’s eyes had become accustomed to the darkness, and he watched Selena as she rode him with sensuous, undulating strokes. She used her body to show her adoration, bracing her hands on his chest and rising on her knees only to sink down again, tilting her hips at the very last to take him that tiny bit deeper. Her breasts were heavy golden orbs in the firelight, wantonly bouncing with her movements, her nipples standing proudly erect.
Liam reached up to cup their fullness, to fondle their tempting pink tips, and she arched her back, pressing them into his palms, wordlessly offering them for his enjoyment. Her generosity entranced him. Every slow, sinuous movement was designed to maximize his pleasure and fan the flames of his passion.
She seemed to know his every wish, and without him asking, she granted them eagerly and joyfully. Her movements were those of a woman in love, intent on satisfying her lover’s every desire.
Placing one hand on either side of his head, Selena dangled her breasts above him and Liam devoured them. He suckled hard on her nipples until she cried out with delight. She urged him on, clutching his face closer against her breast as she stroked his hair and murmured words of love in his ear. He feasted ravenously on her bounty until her breasts were aching and her nipples were throbbing. All the while, Selena rode him with abandon, her moans and sighs of pleasure washing over him like a healing balm.
Possessed by a sudden urgency, Liam rolled to pin Selena beneath him and ravished her. Every male instinct he possessed cried out in triumph as he plundered her softness. He exalted in her eager response as she encircled his waist with her legs and tilted her hips to take him even deeper. With every stroke, she clasped lovingly around him, gasping as an overwhelming tide of intense pleasure pulsed through her body. At last, she cried out, raking his back with her nails, and his own hoarse cry blended with hers as he followed her over the edge. Together, they drifted through the mindless, weightless peace that only lovers know.
They lay still joined, his weight heavy but pleasurable on Selena for several minutes before Liam had the strength or inclination to lift onto his elbows. His eyes melded with hers, clinging, searching, and reaffirming without the need for words.
“Thank you,” he said, bending to give her a tender kiss.
Selena smiled, tracing his lips with her finger, and her eyes glowed with adoration. “No, thank you, Mr. McKenzie. I love you.”
His heart swelled with joy, knowing that she had always had faith in him. “I know,” he whispered. “I love you too.”
Selena giggled and bit her bottom lip. She toyed with the hair at his temples, raising a teasing brow.
“Aren’t you glad now that I didn’t decide to dump you and get a new husband?”
Scowling fiercely and giving a mock growl, Liam grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head, holding them down easily with one of his hands. In that position, her breasts pressed impudently toward him, and his gaze was drawn to their creamy perfection. Liam’s voice was a husky whisper as he eyed her tempting nakedness.
“Suffice to say, Selena, that should you ever entertain the thought, I would be forced to take drastic measures.”
“Really?” Selena asked, giggling again as she squirmed sensuously beneath him, causing her breasts to bounce. “Like what?”
“Like this,” he replied, running his fingers ever so slowly down her arm, his eyes alight with wicked purpose.
Selena’s eyes popped wide open, guessing his intent. She spoke sternly.
“No, Liam. Don’t you dare!” She struggled for all she was worth, but she couldn’t budge him, and his hand continued its leisurely descent of her arm. “Liam McKenzie, don’t you dare tickle me!”
His fingers reached her armpit and she squealed. Luckily he was prepared for her reaction, and he caught the sound in his mouth as he kissed her. He tortured her for a few minutes, until she was breathless and weak with laughter, his own chuckles blending with hers in the kiss. He enjoyed the feel of her soft body beneath him, squirming and jiggling in all the right places, pure feminine enticement. By the time he relented, her bosom was heaving against his chest, and he rose up on his elbows once more to enjoy the sight. He still held her prisoner, her wrists pinned above her head, his manhood embedded deep within her.
He traced the swells and valleys of her breasts, circling the nipples with lazy swirls as he watched how they tightened into firm buds in response to his touch. She shivered. He was delighted to feel his manhood stiffening once more inside her as he caressed the luscious mounds. He fondled them boldly, feeling her woman’s flesh tighten around him as he teased the impudent tips with the pad of his thumb and bent to nibble their softness. Her eyes were limpid pools of amethyst as she arched beneath him, mutely begging for more.
“Liam!” she said breathlessly, giving him a flirtatious grin. “Again?”
“Um hum,” he murmured, taking one nipple deep into his mouth, suckling hard enough to make her moan. When he spoke, the words were muffled against her breast. “I’m making up for lost time.”
Chapter Twelve
A light snow began to fall, as they wended their way through the mountains. Liam eyed the leaden sky nervously. The snow wasn’t enough to impede them from traveling, but it was enough to raise worry in their minds. They plodded through it for the rest of the day, and by the time they made camp, six inches of snow had accumulated on the ground.
Liam and the other men did their best to provide shelter for the animals. They cut large branches and lashed them together. The end result was a rough structure where the oxen, mule and cows could get out of the worst of the snow and wind. The weather showed no sign of improving, but at least it didn’t seem like it was getting worse.
The snow stopped during the night, but there were ten inches of the white powder on the ground the next morning. Their progress was slow. They trudged along through the deep drifts, and they only covered six miles. They all prayed that they wouldn’t get any more snow, and their luck held for the next three days, but it never got warm enough to melt the snow that had already fallen. On the fourth day, a drizzling rain mixed with sleet started falling in the morning, and it got heavier throughout the day. The rain turned the snow into icy slush, and the oxen had to struggle to keep their footing as they negotiated their way up and down the steep inclines. By the time they camped that night, they were all shivering and miserable, wishing desperately to reach the end of their journey. They pulled off the trail and camped in a dense forest, thankful for the tall trees that provided some protection from the weather.
They woke up in the morning to find that nine of their oxen had disappeared during the night, three from each family’s team. Liam squinted into the predawn darkness, feeling icy fingers of dread settle into the pit of his belly. Gerald and Matthew stood beside him. They surveyed the ground and were equally unsettled.
“You don’t think they just wandered off, do you?” Gerald asked hopefully, standing shoulder to shoulder with Liam.
“No. It’s too neat, losing three from each team. Someone took them,” Liam muttered.
“Maybe Indians stole them,” Matthew suggested.
Liam shook his head. “Indians might steal an ox for food, but I can’t see them taking nine. They usually wouldn’t take more than they could use.” Liam crouch
ed down to examine the ground. The rain combined with the slush had turned the surface into a sloppy mess, but he scanned for signs they could follow. They needed those oxen back or they would have to abandon one of the wagons. “There!”
They could just make out hoof prints leading into the forest, but it was evident that a branch had been used to erase much of the signs. Whoever had taken the animals didn’t want it to be easy to follow them. More searching revealed the partial imprint of a boot.
Liam stood up and frowned at Gerald and Matthew. “Well, it’s definitely not Indians unless they’re wearing the boots of a white man. We’d better get the rifles and ask the other men to come with us. We don’t know how many there may be, and we might need all the help we can get.”
The other men nodded their agreement, and they went to talk with the others. Armed with rifles and shotguns, they set off to track the oxen. Selena, Marcia, Cassie and Susan watched them go, worry etched on their faces.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Selena whispered.
Marcia nodded. “Me too, but there’s nothing we can do but wait and hope for the best.”
“Well I, for one, am freezing,” Cassie said, rubbing her arms. “I’m going to sit by the fire where it’s a bit warmer. Do you want to come with me?” Her gaze encompassed them all.
“Sure, why not?” Marcia said, smiling. She and Susan turned to follow, and only Selena remained standing where she was.
“I’ll join you in a little while. I have a few more chores I need to take care of.”
Selena watched them walk away before returning to her own campsite. She went to see about the animals. She had told Liam not to bother with tending them, as he had been in a hurry to go and look for the oxen. Glad for something to keep her occupied, Selena fed the animals and then fetched the bucket so she could milk the cow.
Trailing Home: Liam's Bride (The McKenzie Series #3) Page 29