"Not yet beautiful, there are a few things I must see to first, before you get your chance," he kissed her deeply once again until she relaxed in his hands.
"Well, get to it then. I want a chance to examine you too," Serena commanded imperially.
"Demanding wench," Alec laughed "hang on to your stockings, my love."
Before Serena could wonder what could possibly come next, Alec positioned himself between her splayed legs and had his mouth on her wet core. She was shocked breathless.
"Breathe sweetheart," he ordered her before going back to his ministrations.
Serena dragged in a ragged breath as he parted her feminine folds and caressed her gently. The flick of his tongue on her hidden pearl nearly made her scream. The hoarse wail that she did emit was loud to her ears and embarrassed her. She did not have long to dwell on that as he drew her attention back to him, with another lash of his tongue.
His slow devouring of her body was pure sensual torture as he used his teeth to pluck at the swollen nub. Her body began to buck against his mouth wildly. He used one large hand to push her body back down and hold her steady as he continued on. One large finger from his free palm slid easily into her opening, joining in on the delightful game. The friction of the in and out motion of both the thick digit and the flick of his tongue, sent tingles straight through her.
Serena felt completely out of control of her own body. Never before had she imagined that you could make love in this way.
"Sweet jumpin' warty toads!" Serena grabbed a good fistful of his thick hair, and howled as she felt her climax build.
"Warty toads... really?" Alec's head shot up, and he cocked a brow incredulously. That was definitely a first for him...warty toads indeed.
His finger continued its thrusting as he added another into her wet opening. Using two fingers now, he played with her stretching her sweet valley further readying her body for him. He watched her beautiful face as he quickened his pace. She was so near her orgasm he could almost feel it. The tight walls of her body clenching around him and Alec groaned. He could barely wait to be inside of her.
"Don't stop!" she wailed, thrashing her head wildly about.
"Never, Sugarplum," he promised her.
Moving faster his thumb shot up to press hard against the sensitive bead he had been tonguing. Within seconds, she flooded her release against his hand and mouth.
"Allllec!" Serena wailed his name as she experienced her first orgasm.
Unable to wait any longer, Alec rose above her and positioned her legs high above his waist. He loved the way she instinctively wrapped around him, hooking her feet together against his upper back. She fit him perfectly as if her body had been made just for his.
Alec sunk into her body slowly, inch by inch, savoring the sensation. She was so ready for him that his intrusion was easy until he came up against the proof of her virginity. The precious gift that he had no right to, but he would claim all the same. He was beyond caring about the consequences of his actions. He would do the right thing by her, and that erased his guilt as he reared back and thrust into her tearing the barrier as he fully embedded his thickness inside her. All of these months they had danced around this... now he was where he was destined to be. He was home. Their fates in his mind were sealed.
"Alec!"
Serena bit her lip against the quick pinch of pain that she had felt. There was a strange feeling of fullness that was a bit uncomfortable, but not too unpleasant. It was not nearly as painful as she had heard whispered about between newly married ladies. Squirming a bit, she tried to move against him to ease a bit of discomfort and found that if she moved a certain way against him, tingles built once again where their bodies were joined.
"Don't move love," Alec groaned "wait a bit for the pain to ease. I will make you come again I promise." Alec kissed her forehead, both eyelids, the tip of her nose before settling on her mouth again. At the first sign of her body's relaxation, he began to slowly pump himself within her. His mouth moved to latch onto one nipple as he thrust over and over again.
"More!" she cried.
Serena's hands splayed over his buttocks. She squeezed the warm flesh of his muscled bottom as she urged him to drive deeper into her. The bed squeaked with every thrust as he took her higher and higher into the realm of seductive bliss. She felt herself cresting the peak of climax once again and whimpered as she tried to reach the goal.
Alec, aware how close she was to fulfillment, rose to his knees bringing her body to sit astride his lap and pushed hard into her. His hands gripped her hips firmly as his thrusting became shakier as he fought the urge to spill himself inside of her.
"That's it beautiful... come for me," he rasped in encouragement.
Serena shrieked loudly as she came again. Pulsing around him, tightly squeezing and milking him as she did, she wrung the orgasm that he had been trying to withhold, from him. His essence poured intensely into the magnificent creature that he held tightly to him. Never before in all of his experience had Alec ever felt so shattered. His heart still thudded against his chest as he gently laid her down upon the bed and cuddled by her side trying to catch his breath.
Noticing the faint red stains upon her creamy thighs, Alec grabbed his shirt and trousers up and donned them out of habit. He rose from the bed and walked to her wash stand that sat in the corner. Grabbing the wash rag that she had set out for her evening ablutions, he poured lukewarm water from the pitcher into a bowl and brought his gatherings with him back to the bed. Dipping the rag into the bowl, he squeezed out the excess water and then placed it upon her skin. First washing the traces of their lovemaking from her thighs gently, he moved onto the chore of cleaning her swollen intimate flesh. He could do nothing to remove the small spots of blood that stained the bedding, so he left them alone.
Serena had her eyes tightly closed and he could tell she was embarrassed by his gaze upon her naked body. Considering he'd had his mouth on almost every part of it, he thought her modesty endearing... and arousing. Shrugging out of his clothing once again, he placed a tender kiss upon the swollen tissues of her sex. He would not take her again, for she would be too tender, but he would hold her while she slept.
Lifting the sheet that was crumpled by the foot of the bed, he got back in bed beside her and covered them both. Alec kissed her bare shoulder, and smiled at the look of wonder that was on her face. He laughed as he asked her, "Are you all right?"
"I think I am speechless," she turned her head and smiled at him sweetly.
"Another first for you... hm?"
"Shut up and kiss me again," Serena pulled his head down and gave him a slow, sweet kiss. Her arm wrapped around and she ran a hand down his naked back encountering a series of strange patches of raised flesh.
"What?" She started to ask him what she had felt, but he interrupted her.
"Don't touch it," he ordered gently and removed her hand from him. He kissed her palm.
Alec's chest felt tight. There was a strange, funny feeling that he had never felt before rioting within him. It was almost as if he had just been mule kicked. For the first time in his life, he felt awkward and unsure. He had so many things that he wanted to explain, so many things that he wanted to tell her, that he didn't know where to start.
"Serena... I, uh..."
The door burst open before Alec could say whatever he had meant, and her brother angrily charged in.
"You son of a bitch!" Mathias roared as he took in the sight of his baby sister clad only in a sheet clinging to his best friend. His obviously buck naked, best friend.
"Mathias!" Serena gasped and pulled the sheet higher the action, unfortunately, bared more of Alec's lower half. A slight tug of war over the sheet ensued as Alec tried to cover himself, but the shocked woman had a death grip on the coverings, so he gave up and reclined in all of his glory.
"I am going to kill you!" Mathias shook one angry fist at Alec, before turning to Serena. "How could you do this?" he asked of her.
&
nbsp; "Because I ..."
"I don't want to hear it!" Mathias snapped. He was stopping her from admitting that she loved the bastard, no need for her to be hurt any further. "You know how Alec is...how could you disgrace yourself like this?"
"What do you mean 'you know how Alec is'... what am I like?" Alec interrupted angrily.
"Do not speak to me, you bastard," Mathias pointed a finger and accused, "friends do not take advantage of each other's baby sisters."
"Mathias..." Serena began.
"Get up and get yourselves dressed," Mathias ordered her before turning toward the door he had earlier kicked in. "I will be waiting downstairs. You've got five minutes, or I come up here and shoot this son of a bitch."
The sound of the ticking of the clock in the drawing room was thunderous in comparison to the stillness of the room. Serena sat beside Alec on the settee awaiting her brother's wrath. Mathias stood with his strong back to the pair as he gazed unmoving out the window. She had no clue as to what could possibly be running through her brother's mind. Disappointment, she was sure. Rage, definitely. She had no words to explain her actions to him, not that he would listen anyway.
Alec grabbed her hand in a show of what she hoped was support, and squeezed lightly. Thankful for the gesture, she squeezed him back. In the many years that she had known Alec, he had come to her defense numerous times whenever her brother had been angry with her. This time however, she was determined to fight her own battle.
"You're getting married," Mathias announced aloud.
"Of course," Alec agreed just as Serena shot to her feet and disagreed.
"No!"
Smacking Alec's hands away as he tried to pull her back down to her seat, Serena approached her brother. Hands on hips she tossed her curls and faced him down. "You have no right to tell me what to do. You are not my father."
"It is my job to protect you," Mathias turned, his face a cold mask of fury, and explained to her, "Father is not here to see the job done, but I am. You are going before Reverend Peterson tonight!"
"Tonight!" Serena shook her head in denial. "Please Mathias... don't do this," she begged.
"Save your tears. They will not work on me." Turning to his so called friend, Mathias boomed. "Are we agreed, or do I have to kill you?"
"To the marriage yes, I agree. To getting married tonight, no."
Alec rose from his seat and walked up behind the obstinate woman and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Not caring for the evil glare that his friend sent his way with the action, Alec stood beside her. "Serena has a right to wait for her parents before she is married. We will wait for them before we say our vows."
"She lost that right when she allowed you into her bed. If you were so concerned with waiting...you should have," Mathias thundered. "This will be done tonight!"
"Fine," Alec agreed. He hated that Serena objected so vehemently to becoming his bride even though it was her right to do so. Regardless of how she felt, they were going to be married tonight. Like it or not, Serena Sinclair would become Serena Wentworth within a matter of hours.
"The path you walk may not have been your choosing, but walk it well for it is the only path you may receive."
CHAPTER TWELVE
The bride wore brown and the groom wore a fierce scowl. The witness sported a firearm and the reverend, woken from a deep sleep, was encased in his nightclothes. Mathias hadn't even given him the time to don his breeches. Once he had opened his door to Mathias's pounding, he had been grabbed and practically thrown into the waiting wagon. Explanations had to be given along the way, as Mathias rode hell bent toward town.
The hasty ceremony had not been the first shotgun wedding that Reverend Peterson had performed, probably wouldn't be the last, but it was the first he had not been dressed for. When it was all said and done, the couple was truly wed and it was time to leave them in peace for their wedding night. Although, the reverend thought it would be quite some time before the couple found any peace in their union, at least, not judging by the expressions on their faces.
"I do," Serena had mumbled when he had turned to her for her part of the vows. She had glared holes into her brother's hide throughout the entire ceremony. Reverend Peterson was not going to get in between the siblings, and judging by the near undressed state of the mayor's appearance... he would have been doing the same thing if he were in Mathias's shoes.
On his way home from the Sinclair household, Reverend Peterson had contemplated stopping in at the saloon and shouting the joyful news to all. His lack of decent clothing prevented him from quenching a bit of thirst, so he scowled at the man seated next to him in the wagon. A stiff drink and a good story were called for after the night he'd had. Though, he would have to leave that duty up to Mathias Sinclair. If a man ever needed to have a drink or a dozen, it was he. Fury radiated off of the young man in waves and Reverend Peterson shifted in his seat uneasily.
"I would appreciate it if we can keep this between us? I don't want my parents to hear any talk of this. They don't need to know how Serena has shamed them."
"Of course I won't speak of it, but son, there is no shame in love. They did the right thing after all," The reverend agreed as the wagon pulled up to his front gate. He had plenty of secrets to deal with in his own life, what was one more? "Don't fret son, your sister will be in good hands." Patting Mathias on his broad back, he jumped from the wagon and made his way inside.
Mathias sighed. His fists clenched in his lap as he tried to calm himself down. What was done was done, and Serena would have to live with the consequences of her actions. He was just worried what those consequences might be. Out of all the women in the world he thought he could trust, he never would have suspected this of his baby sister.
"Serena... what the hell have you gotten yourself into this time?" Mathias whispered sadly into the night.
"Are you all right?" Alec approached his new wife with a mixture of apprehension and awe. She stood gazing out the window in the front parlor. He was amazed that she had not either broken down in tears or thrown something at either him or her brother. He took full responsibility for his actions. It was his fault that she had been embarrassed tonight. He never should have made love to her.
"What now?" Serena asked waving away his concern.
"Now, we pack your things and we go home."
"Home?" Serena blinked up at him.
She looked so lost, so fragile, that he wanted to punch both Mathias and himself in the face for doing this to her. "Would you rather we stay here tonight?" Alec asked in a gentle tone.
"No, we should go to your house," Serena whispered.
"Let's pack you a few things and get going. We have a lot of things to figure out, but it will work out Serena," Alec promised her.
After they had packed a few things for her, they started on the short walk to his home. He held her small hand in his and squeezed it every now and then to reassure her. The bag in his hand barely registered, she had obviously not packed much as he had paced about her room awaiting her.
Walking up the front steps he opened the door and turned hesitantly toward her. "There is supposed to be some tradition here, so hold on a second." Tossing the satchel within the dark corridor, he turned to her, "ready?"
"Ready," Serena smiled shyly.
Lifting her into his arms, Alec carried her over the threshold and stilled. "I never paid any attention to what comes after this part," he admitted.
"You put me down silly," Serena laughed.
"Ah, now there is the problem. Maybe I don't want to let you go." Alec pretended to drop her and laughed as she squealed and held tighter to him.
"You can't hold me the entire night."
"Says who?" Alec juggled her again and nuzzled her neck.
"Says me!" A voice snapped from behind him, and Alec groaned aloud.
"Mrs. Wyatt. What are you doing up?" Placing Serena gently on her feet, he turned to face his housekeeper. She unfortunately was flanked by both Bethany and a scowling Hu
nter.
"Obviously I am up saving this girl's virtue from your lecherous intentions... never thought I would see the day that you would sink so low." Mrs. Wyatt tapped a foot in irritation. "Well? What have you got to say for yourself?" Evelyn Wyatt lifted the lantern she held higher to get a better look at the girl he held in his arms.
"It is okay Mrs. Wyatt..." Serena began to explain, but the old woman would have none of it.
"Don't you worry, honey. This rascal is going to do right by you this time. Mark my words or he will be dealing with me and the blunderbuss my pa left me."
"Mrs. Wyatt!" Alec barked. "Serena and I are married now. I don't want to hear any more talk of weapons tonight, understood?"
"Married?" Alec's mother gasped. Tears shone in her eyes, and Alec could tell she was hurt to not have been included in the ceremony. What did she expect from him? You did not invite strangers to your shotgun wedding.
Bethany came forward and stood before his wife. Alec noticed that she seemed hesitant at first to greet her son's new wife. "Congratulations," she murmured.
"You must be Alec's mother," never one to stand on ceremony his bride took matters into her own hands. Serena shot forward and hugged the woman close. "I am so happy to finally meet you. I hope you will be happy here in Liberty."
"Thank you dear," Bethany patted the girl's back awkwardly.
The last thing Bethany had expected was to be greeted so enthusiastically by the girl while dressed only in her night rail. She figured the woman would feel put out by having her new mother in law residing in the same household. Never having met her own husband's mother, as she had died when Stan was young, Bethany was unsure of what to make of her new relationship to the girl.
"Mother, Mrs. Wyatt, why don't we give them a bit of privacy? It is nearly morning," Hunter suggested as he approached the couple. "Congratulations," he said as he helped detach his mother from the woman holding onto her.
Serena clung to Bethany as if she were the only thing holding her together.
A Betting Bride Page 14