by Nora Nolan
"When we rode up, I told Evie that all my best friends were here in this house. I think she believes me now." She nodded yes. He lifted his glass. "I salute you, my friends, and from the bottom of my heart, of our hearts, we thank you for tonight. To steadfast friends!"
A chorus of "here, here" went up as people sipped. Jim jumped up. "I have a toast, too. Amy's wanted to see Aaron married ever since we got married. I'm glad to see he took care of finding his own bride because I've been afraid she might have even sent off for a mail order one on his behalf in desperation." Everyone laughed at that, and Amy grinned and shook her head. "It looks like you found yourself a winner, my friend." He took Amy's hand. "I wish you both joy in a long and happy life together. Know how blessed you are to have found a companion, friend, lover, and helpmate in each other as you travel through life. Here's to a new life together!"
This time, there were some calls of "amen" in addition to the "here, here" responses.
Jim continued. "I can't leave it on a mushy tone. Aaron, I noticed you've been checking your pocket watch ever since you sat down to eat. Yes, I think it's now socially acceptable for you to make your escape with your bride. Now, you two, go, get on out of here. And don't get too eager and pull over on the side of the road now, because Amy and I won't be far behind you. We don't need to see that." The men hooted at that, and Evie grinned up at Aaron.
After more hugs, handshakes, good lucks, and goodbyes, Aaron and Evie found themselves pulling out onto the road from the McBrides' drive. Both breathed in the cool, fresh night air. "It'll be about an hour and a half more before we get home."
"That's fine. Although, I got to sit closer to you on Big Boy. I did like that a lot."
"So did I, wife, so did I. Believe me, we're going to get as close as two people can get in just a couple of hours. It's been all I can think of since the pastor first started questioning how close we'd been in the last few days. I have to confess something. I was hoping it might turn out this way."
She looked at him quickly. "Me, too! I was telling myself I was crazy to think I was in love after only days, but Aaron, deep down, I couldn't bear the thought of going on to Laramie by myself. Of going anywhere by myself. I didn't want to be apart from you."
"Sounds like we should have talked it out, doesn't it? Maybe that should be a lesson. We should talk to each other about things on our minds, even if it seems crazy."
"I promise I will."
"So, Evelina, huh?"
"Yes. Evelina." She drew a deep breath. "All my life I've been called Lina. Nobody's ever called me Evie before. That afternoon at the cabin when you asked me my name, I knew I never wanted to be Lina again. I never want to be that girl again. And that's how Evie was born."
"Jim and I recognized the name Goodacre from the wanted posters. That's not a very common name. Evie, I promise you, I'll see to it that none of them, or John Walters, bothers you again. I take my responsibilities as a husband and as a deputy very seriously. Especially the husband part. I'll keep you safe. You just have to mind me. You understand?"
She smiled and took his arm in both of her hands. "I understand and I welcome it. I think it might be nice to be protected for a while and not have to worry about keeping myself safe."
"It may be a hard thing to do, suddenly having someone you just vowed to obey when you've been on your own for eight years. It might be more of an adjustment than you realize."
"Will you be patient with me?"
"Patient? Yes. But a fool? No, ma'am. I'm not a tyrant or anything. I want a happy home with you, not a prison. But know this, little girl, I will be unyielding when it comes to anything that affects your safety. You mean too much to me."
"I like it that I mean that much to you."
He smiled down at her and pulled her closer to him. "You might not think that when you're on the receiving end of this belt."
"Your belt, huh?"
"Yes, ma'am. Or my hand. Or a paddle. Or a wooden spoon. Maybe my razor strop. Oh, I might make you go cut your own switch. I had to do that a few times as a kid." He chuckled, remembering. "There's probably no end to the methods I might use."
"Aaron! That all sounds awful!"
"That's the idea, sweetie pie. It's got to be something you never want to happen again."
"So, basically, I should concentrate on being a good girl. Is that what you're saying?"
"Yes, ma'am, Mrs. Glover. That's exactly what I'm saying."
"I should be obedient and mind you. Right?"
He could hear the mischief in her voice.
"To the letter."
"Will you ever order me to, say, stop whatever I'm doing and kiss you?"
"I just might. And you better hop to it when I do, if you know what's good for you."
"Oh, I'd be afraid not to. Will you ever say something like, 'Wife, show me your breasts.'?"
"It's entirely possible that I will. I might tonight, even."
"I'd be too fearful not to obey. What else might you tell me to do that I should immediately obey?"
He was liking this game, and the proof was in his britches.
"Well, I might say something like 'Wife, take off all your clothes while I watch.'"
She knew she could do that. "Tell me what else."
"Well, if you haven't obeyed as you should, I might say 'Little lady, take off every stitch of your clothes and go stand in the corner until I say you can come out.'"
"Really? Stand in the corner naked?"
"Yes, ma'am. You definitely don't want to disobey me. I'll make sure it's not fun for you."
"Just to round it out, though, will you promise to order me to do some fun stuff, too? You know, like the kissing thing? And the sex thing?"
"Oh, sweetie, that is a promise. And if I decide you aren't doing it well enough or fast enough, even the consequences can be fun. How about that?"
"Interesting."
They both were lost in their thoughts for a while. Before long, they had made their way into town. They could see lamps on inside some houses along the way. He pointed out a few houses and businesses as they passed them. They took a couple of turns before he pulled up in front of a nice, neat little two-story house with a small barn out back. "Welcome home, Mrs. Glover."
"Aaron, it's wonderful! So much nicer than the old cabin I grew up in." She started to tear up a little bit. "I didn't dare dream I'd have something this nice."
Aaron knew that, in reality, it wasn't as nice as she made it out to be. But he tried to look at it through her eyes and see it as she did. She probably wasn't used to anything much better than a two-room version of his hunting cabin.
"It's the house that's provided by the town for the sheriff. But Jim has his own home, so I live here. Evie, one day I'll build you your own house, and it'll be just the way you want it."
"This is perfect. Anywhere you are is perfect for me. Show it to me?"
"I will. Let's get the wagon unloaded onto the porch, then we'll take the horses back to the barn and tend to them. Then, I'm going to bring you back here and carry you over the threshold."
"Why?"
He thought and laughed. "I'm not sure, actually, but it's a tradition. I guess, for good luck. A groom is supposed to carry his bride through the doorway or, as it's called, over the threshold."
"Well, imagine that! Here, let me help unload the wagon." She first grabbed the carpetbag that Molly sent. Other than some dresses, she had no idea what all was in it and looked forward to unpacking it. Aaron picked up the heaviest things, while Evie was happy to carry the several smaller bags and packs.
When the wagon was unloaded, Aaron pointed to a chair on the front porch. "Sit. I'm going to light a lamp inside, then we'll go out to the barn."
She ran to the chair. "Yes, sir. Did you see that? You got that, right? You told me to do something and I obeyed!" She had them both laughing.
They rode the wagon back into the barn where Aaron unhooked the team, and together, they took care of the horses. When they got
back to the porch, he lifted her up onto the first step, so he wasn't quite so much taller than she was, and kissed her. She sighed into the kiss and reached her arms up around his neck. He reached down his long arms and put his left one across her upper back, and with his right one, he lifted her under her knees. He carried her up the steps, across the porch, and into the house, where he gently put her down.
Aaron suddenly wanted to rush things, to rush her, to take her and make her his wife in every way. He forced himself to slow down. "I can give you the grand tour in the morning in the daylight, but for now, I'll just show you what you may need tonight. This, of course, is the kitchen."
"Oh! A pump in the house in the sink! I saw that at Molly's, too, and thought what a great idea it is."
He had to remind himself to see things through her eyes.
"The similarities may end there. This house isn't as nice and modern as theirs, you know."
"Oh, it's wonderful, Aaron. I'm going to enjoy cooking for you in here. Look at that stove! It's a nice one."
"Let's go on to the rest of the downstairs. This is the parlor, of course. Our bedroom is back on the left, and across the hall is the bath. It has a tub but no pump. We have to carry water from the kitchen. There's a chamber pot in there, and there's also an outhouse in the back."
They walked as he pointed these things out and ended up in the bedroom. "Did you want to unpack the bag Molly sent, since you aren't sure what all's in there?"
"Do you mind?"
"No, of course not. Let me move some of my things out of the way in the wardrobe so there's room for yours. I don't have a lot in the dresser, so the bottom drawer is already empty. If you'd like, I can move my things to the bottom drawer."
"No, no, don't be silly. I'm closer to the bottom drawer than you are anyway." They both chuckled.
She put the carpetbag on the bed and began pulling out things. She hung up the three other dresses Molly had sent, wondering if most women in the world had that many outfits. There were four more pairs of pretty bloomers and three pretty shifts. She put those in the bottom drawer. Then she pulled out a beautiful sheer pink nightgown like nothing she had ever seen before. Aaron saw it and drew in his breath.
"Aaron, do you want me to put this on, or what? I'm not sure what you want me to do."
"I want you to do whatever makes you more comfortable, Evie," he said as he walked over to her. "As for that gown, it might be best to save it for later. I'd hate to get all heated up and rip it or something."
She grinned at him. "I think I can work with that. Is there water for me to freshen up with in the bathroom?"
"Probably not. I'll go bring some in."
In no time, he was back from the kitchen, carrying two buckets of water. He poured some into a pitcher that matched the water basin then showed her where the washcloths and towels were, before he excused himself to go back to the bedroom.
Aaron had left the lamp with her in the bathroom, so he lit another one in the bedroom. He took off his boots and socks and tucked them beside the dresser against the wall, then he took off the shirt and hung it in the wardrobe. After he pulled down the quilt covering and sheet on his side of the bed, he went around to hers and pulled that part of the covers down, too.
Soon, she walked in wearing only the lacy shift Molly had provided, and it took his breath away. "Evie, girl, you look beautiful. Come here. What's this towel for?" He took it out of her hands.
She was a little embarrassed. "Molly said I might bleed a little. I didn't want it on the sheets or this nice shift."
"Oh, right. I didn't think about that. I'll spread it under you when the time comes. Right now, I just want to look at you—kiss you. Oh, sweet Lord, and finally touch you."
She looked up at him with heat and adoration. "Will this help?" She reached down to the hem of the shift and pulled it over her head. "Here. Just as I was when you first met me."
He groaned and grinned and pulled her to him, savoring the feel of her skin on his chest. She let him enjoy that for a few more moments before pulling away and starting to unbutton his britches. "You've seen me in all my glory, now it's my turn."
"Yes, ma'am."
She'd already seen—even studied—his chest, that day when he lay down for a nap. But she hadn't been able to let her fingers play in his hair or touch the lines of his muscles, except in the stream. She finished unbuttoning, then fumbled and needed his help getting the britches down over the rampant length of his hardness. "Aaron, I want to explore you."
"Sweetie." He laughed. "We might be able to explore leisurely later, but this first time, I can promise I won't last long enough for you to do much exploring before the big event. We only just got our clothes off and I'm about to burst already."
"All right. You know, I, um, I don't know…"
"Then just trust me. And kiss me."
She did. They did. Aaron picked her up and put her into the bed, then he crawled in beside her. The look Evie gave him as she held out her arms to him nearly made him melt. It was a look filled with trust and longing. He kissed her mouth again as his hand made its way to her breast, where it kneaded it and teased her nipples then moved to the other breast until both nipples were hard little pebbles. He kissed down to her neck, at the base of her throat, and it made her cry out.
His mouth ventured further down to her breast, kissing and licking all around the sides until he made his way to her hard nipple. He pulled as much of her breast into his mouth as he could and sucked, and she felt it all the way to her core. He rubbed the flat of his tongue all over her nipple and sucked and nibbled it before going over to the other one and teasing it much the same way, while his hand kept the other breast occupied. He moved his mouth back to the breast nearest to him and let his right hand meander down to her thatch of light brown hair. He splayed his fingers through it before exploring lower down to her thighs as slowly as he could stand.
He put pressure against the inside of her upper thighs and whispered, "Spread your legs for me, sweetie, let me in." His voice was raspy and throaty and made Evie wet, made her want to obey him. He ran his hand over the inside of her thighs, coming back up and barely touching her sex, going back up to her triangle of hair. She instinctively began moving her body, trying to get him to touch her harder. A few whimpers escaped her as he continued teasing all around her little bud and her slit. "That's it, baby, just let me make you feel good. You're so wet already. It's going to feel so good."
He moved his hand over her sex, the heel of his hand at her bud and his fingers extended back to her little brown rosebud. She cried out when he let his hand press down and insinuate a rhythmic motion all down the length of her slit. She thrust up against his hand for more pressure. More contact. More depth. More. "Oh, you are a needy girl, aren't you?" he whispered into the base of her throat, sending even more waves of desire through her. "So wet, girlie."
"Please, Aaron, please!"
Aaron didn't answer with words but slid his finger into her. She gasped and opened her eyes before closing them again and moaning. He began an in and out motion that she matched, meeting him thrust for thrust. "That's it, baby. You're doing it."
Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest, and she felt the droplets of her sweat rolling down her forehead and head to the pillow. "Please, please. I don't think I can take much more."
He smiled at her eagerness, delighting in making her wait in an almost perverse way. He wanted her first time to be memorable. "Sure you can, baby. Let it heat up just a little bit more."
She whined in frustration, little mewling sounds coming out of her mouth. Aaron decided to let it happen. He dipped his thumb into her wetness and watched her face closely as he found her little bud and quickly rubbed it back and forth. His Evie screamed out and grabbed the sheets with both hands, pulling them into her fists. As he increased the tempo of his thumb, her screams shortened into cries that got progressively shorter and higher in pitch until she bucked and screamed out his name. He stopped his
movements and watched as she came back down, moving up close to her face again.
He came close to her ear and whispered, "You're beautiful when you do that. I plan to see you do it a lot." She could hear the smile in his voice.
"I hope that's a promise." She had difficulty saying it because her breath hadn't returned to normal yet. She took his hand and put it at her breast. "Feel my heartbeat. Feel what you did to me."
"If that's your way of saying thank you, you're welcome. But we aren't done yet. Still so much more to happen!"
"Can't I rest a minute?"
"Hmm. No, I don't think so. You've made me hotter than I've ever been and I can't wait any longer." He was already sucking her breast and letting his hands run over her body. He raised up a little and his lips went back to hers, their tongues playing, teeth nipping. He whispered hoarsely, "I think it's time now."
Aaron reached for the towel and spread it under her. As he spread her thighs a bit more, he positioned himself between them. He sat on the heels of his feet, pleased that she was expectantly watching every move he made. Again, he put a finger inside her and, with his other hand, lavished attention on her sweet bud. She soon reached a near frenzied state again, heightened by their eye contact; it seemed so much more intimate to her and just plain hotter to him. He positioned the head at her entrance where his finger had been, looking away from her eyes only briefly. When he looked back at her, he saw her nod and he quickly pushed through, then stilled. She had a sharp intake of breath, but no crying out. "Are you all right, darlin'?"
"Yes. I want it all in me now."
He smiled. "Yes, ma'am. Let me start nice and slow. Tell me if it hurts."
He pushed the rest of the way in, slowly, as he said he would, then pulled nearly out just as slowly. Their eyes still locked, he gently sped up, waiting for any indication to slow down or stop. But none came, and soon, he was nearing his own completion. When she cried out his name again in ecstasy, he finished with powerful strokes that carried him over the edge right behind her. Breathless, sweating, hearts beating so hard that they thought they'd burst, they collapsed in place, with him still inside her. When his breath returned somewhat, he nuzzled on her neck, making her giggle. "Don't move, I'll be right back."
