by Olivia Myers
Standing straight and tall, he went down to meet her as she walked through the front of his house. His housekeeper greeted her cheerfully and helped her get her bags inside.
"The room is ready for you, Miss, are you ready to meet Master Samuel?" Grace asked and smiled at the girl, not realizing that Samuel was coming down the stairs.
Jane looked up and met Samuel's eyes. She stopped dead in her tracks. He was gorgeous. The longer she looked at him, the more she felt like she'd seen him before. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, but there was a niggling at the back of her head that she should know something that was right in front of her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on.
"Nice to meet you, Samuel," she said, smiling at him as he finished walking down the stairs and took her hands in his and gave her a wide grin.
"It's a pleasure, Jane. Why don't you come with me and I'll show you around?" he asked her as he looped her arm through his.
"I would like that," she told him and let him lead the way as he gave her a tour of his house and extensive property. He didn't even get around to showing her the outbuildings or barn.
"I'm getting tired, it's been a long journey," she told him as they walked out onto the front porch of the house and stood there, watching the sun start to drop over the mountains in the distance.
"Will you tell me about it tomorrow?" he asked her. "I'll join you for breakfast."
"Tthank you so much for everything, Samuel," she said as he took her back inside and showed her to her room.
He settled her in and headed back downstairs where his housekeeper Grace was waiting for him.
"You gonna tell her?" Grace asked him, raising an eyebrow. She'd known him since he was a boy and knew his secrets. All of them, and hadn't flinched once. But bringing a woman into this who knew nothing? She frowned at him. She didn't approve and Samuel cringed under her gaze. She had the power to make him feel like a school boy all over again with just a look.
"Eventually," Samuel started to say and she put a hand up to stop him.
Shaking her head she gave him a firm look. " Sammy, I know it's not my place to tell you what to do, but you can't start a marriage with secrets. If you really want to get married and settle down, she needs to know what she got herself into before she does it."
"It's a little late for that," Samuel muttered. "She's already here and the odds of her traveling back home are slim."
"All the more reason to show her you plan on respecting her by being honest with her." Grace gave him a pointed look and stuck her finger out at him. "If you plan on marrying her, having children with her, you have to trust her or there's no point."
"What if she freaks out?" Samuel asked, worried.
"You give her time to absorb it. You give her just enough information without freaking her out and you talk to her a little bit at a time until she's comfortable with each piece. You obviously felt something for this girl or you wouldn't have brought her here. I don't exactly believe in this whole mail order bride thing, but if she works and makes you happy, you have my support. I just think you two need to actually talk, face to face, before you get married."
"I kissed her already, on the train," he confided to Grace and looked a little guilty. "Am I supposed to admit that was me, too?"
"You don't think she'll figure it out the first time you kiss her again?" Grace raised a brow up and looked at him like she couldn't quite figure out his thought process. "Do you really think women are so dumb they can't figure things like that out?"
"Well, a man can hope." Samuel grinned at her and then lost the grin and nodded at Grace. "Okay, I will talk to her after breakfast tomorrow. We have a lot to discuss."
"You sure do, my boy, you sure do." Grace turned to walk away and then gave him one last piece of advice before she left. "Don't forget to tell her about the horse herd. Even if she finds out you are a shifter, she needs to know the herd exists or it won't make any sense to her."
"I'll see what feels right. It's one thing to throw myself under the carriage like that; it's another to risk my herd mates," Samuel said, worried. He could definitely take her out to see the regular horses, which weren't shifters, but the shifter herd that roamed his land he had to protect. It was his responsibility.
Realizing that he may be in a little over his head when it came to having a mate, he didn't sleep well that night trying to figure out how to handle all of this.
***
Jane woke up the next morning and met Grace in the kitchen. She was cooking up the last little bit of bacon for breakfast and setting it on the dining table. She smiled at Jane and announced that Samuel would be down for breakfast shortly.
"Thank you, Grace," Jane said politely, and then hesitated, wanting to ask personal questions about Samuel, but not wanting to offend the rotund housekeeper who seemed almost like family to the man she was going to marry.
"Not a problem, dearie." Grace set the last of the food on the table and poured some coffee into cups.
"Do you think I'm insane for traveling hundreds of miles to come marry a total stranger?" Jane blurted out, looking up at Grace who startled and jerked the pot of coffee.
"I think you had better be a strong woman who can handle anything thrown at her, traveling here to marry a total stranger. You are either crazy, adventurous or both. It's possible you might be just what Samuel needs, but he does need someone to have his back, to support him, to love him. Can you do that?" Grace asked her bluntly.
"I hope so," Jane said picked up her cup of coffee and took a sip. She'd never had coffee before and it nearly burned her tongue. She was surprised at the bitter taste but it wasn't unpleasant. "I'll be honest, Samuel already knows why I am a mail order bride, but my family was poor. I was trying to find a way to make my mother's life easier. I was trying to find an adventure in my life that sounded like a challenge and I tried to pick a man I thought would suit me. I took a huge risk traveling this far to meet him and marry a total stranger. Some might consider it stupid but I have faith."
Grace nodded and then looked up as Samuel yawned and walked into the room. "G'morning."
Samuel plopped himself into a chair and smiled at Grace before turning to look at Jane. "Sleep well?"
"Yes, I did, thank you," Jane said as she put a bite of food into her mouth. She observed Grace quietly leaving the two of them alone, almost like a ghost as she slipped silently from the room.
"I like her," she told Samuel after Grace left. "She's nice. I take it she's been with you for a while?"
"Yes. She's more like family than just my housekeeper." Samuel drank his coffee and ate his breakfast trying to figure out how to tell her the truth about everything. "I got all the paperwork in order and we can get married anytime after next weekend. You tell me what you want and we'll make it happen."
"I appreciate that. I don't need anything fancy, I'm really just a simple person most of the time." Jane reached across the table and took his hand. "Honestly though, I would like to know more about you. I wrote you such detailed letters that I felt like I told you every secret I have and I want to know everything about you."
"We can do that. Finish your breakfast and I'll take you out to see my horses and we can talk." Samuel smiled at her and put the rest of his food in his mouth .
They finished breakfast and he stood up to walk her outside. They were silent as they walked into the field. It was sunny out, but not too hot. The horses were running through the field, ignoring them. Such majestic creatures they were. Jane was amazed to see them in their natural glory.
"Beautiful, aren't they?" he asked casually. He walked over to Jane and put his arm around her. She stiffened but didn't pull away. He knew he was pushing boundaries with her, but all he could think about was the kiss they'd shared on the train. He wasn't sure she'd recognize him if he kissed her again, but he hadn't been able to get the memory of her out of his mind. He'd stayed up tossing and turning all night, wanting to kiss her again.
Jane turned in his arms and
looked up, again having a niggling feeling she knew him from somewhere. She touched his cheek and before she could react he pressed his lips to hers. She stiffened as memories flooded her. The man in the mask on the train kissing her, the horses running next to the train...
She gasped and pulled away as realization hit her.
"You," she said, her eyes widening in shock. "You are the man from the train."
Looking uncomfortable, he nodded at her and didn't let her go. He was afraid she'd bolt like a scared filly if he released her.
"I can explain," he told her and made eye contact. "It's not what you think. I've never hurt anyone, and I don't do it for the money."
"Then explain it to me," Jane said and blinked up at him. She took a deep breath, she wasn't sure if she was scared to be faced with the man on the train, or turned on that she found the man whose eyes and lips she hadn't been able to get out of her mind.
"I have a business... associate of sorts who won't take care of his people. The gold I steal from the trains goes back to his people to make sure they can survive. He won't let me buy him out so I can make sure people have living wages, so I do what I can to help them. I don't need the money, and I don't keep it," he told her bluntly.
"What's the deal with the horses? How do you guys get to the train unseen?" she asked, trying to figure out how horses played into this.
"That's another piece of the puzzle. I will tell you everything once we are married, if you still agree to marry me." Samuel searched her face and then before she could reject him, he leaned down and kissed her. He kissed her like he did the morning before on the train. When she melted into his arms, he breathed a sigh of relief he didn't even know he'd been holding inside.
Jane pulled her head back and nodded at him. "I will marry you, but no secrets I want to understand everything. If I have to support you and be here for you every step of the way, I need to know." She put a hand on his chest and searched his face. "You don't scare me, I don't know why. Maybe I just haven't been around enough bad people in my life to have a good sense. But yes, I'll still marry you. I'll keep your secrets, but I just need to know what they are."
"I'll have another one to tell you when we are married, but I need you to show me a sign of good faith before I confide and bare every inch of my soul to you." Samuel searched her face, and saw nothing that made him feel like he'd make a mistake if he told her everything, yet he still worried. He barely knew her but from the moment he met her, he'd felt something he'd never felt before and his gut had never steered him wrong before.
"When do you plan on the wedding happening?" Jane asked him quietly and let her head fall back against his shoulder as she watched the horses frolic in the pasture. The sun was bright and the few trees that were scattered left an image she wished she could keep forever as a memory. It was one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen.
"I think it would be best to do it this coming weekend. Might as well get it over with and move forward in our life," Samuel told her. "Besides, the longer you stay at my home without a chaperone, the worse your reputation will be if we aren't married, if it gets out." Samuel stared at her and then smiled. "You are new here, this is a fairly small town, and word gets around fast with new arrivals. You won't be able to be kept secret for long, so we shouldn't wait."
"How have you kept your train secret then?" She grew up in a city so big that you were lucky to see the same people twice when walking down the street.
"By only trusting a couple of carefully chosen people." Samuel nodded at her and then shrugged. "Grace is among those people. You can talk to her, and she's an ally here."
"I appreciate the advice. Does that mean I can tell all my secrets to Grace too?" She arched a brow at him and patted his chest.
Samuel didn't get a chance to answer. One of the young colts broke off from the rest of the herd and raced right at Jane. She froze, not sure what to do. She stared at the young horse barreling right at her.
Samuel tensed, trying to decide which direction the horse was going to go before he moved Jane out of the way. Spooking the horse could make the situation worse. If it freaked out bad enough to rear up and clip Jane with his hooves, it could do serious damage.
At the last minute, he yanked Jane out of the way and she landed face down on the ground with him on top of her as the horse whizzed past.
Jane was breathing fast, and could feel the dirt and grass pressing into her face. She had a sharp rock cutting into her cheek and when Samuel rolled over and helped her sit up, he touched her now-bruised face .
"Are you okay?" Samuel helped her up to her feet. He took her out of the pasture to safety and felt guilty he’d assumed the herd would stay far enough away from a stranger that nothing bad would happen. He'd been so busy fantasizing about kissing, her hadn't noticed the colt getting spooked.
"I'll survive, thank you for rescuing me from that horse." Jane blinked in surprise. She brought her hand up to the cut on her cheek and winced. It stung a little and she felt all disheveled.
"Let's get you back to the house and get you cleaned up. Then you and Grace can start planning the wedding." Samuel took her hand in his and walked her back to the house and left her in Grace's capable hands.
***
Samuel stood in the church, facing his bride-to-be. His herd didn't show up, except for Travis. He'd invited them, but he was marrying outside of his species. They didn't approve of human brides. But they didn't have a suitable female of marriageable age and he didn't want to wait for them to grow up and pick a woman who was young enough to be his daughter. He'd picked Jane because he'd wanted to settle down, she was suitable, and when she looked at him with fire in her eyes, he didn't doubt her desire for him.
The wedding was over almost as quickly as it started. Samuel knew he owed her the rest of his secrets and he wasn't sure how she would handle it, but the week they'd spent together had given him a lot of faith in her. A few stolen kisses and some light touching had left him eager to spend his wedding night with her.
He took her home and Grace had prepared the house for them, but had disappeared for the night. He took her to the bedroom and stood there with her, touching her face. Kissing her, he only had one thought on his mind before she pulled back and searched his face for answers.
"You told me after we were married, you'd tell me everything." She took a step back, raised a brow at him, and waited. Patiently.
"Now?" Samuel asked, blinking and trying to refocus his attention on what she was saying instead of the idea of getting her naked and on the bed.
"Why not now?" Jane asked and crossed her arms.
"I'll tell you in the morning, I promise, but for now, let's focus on each other, okay?" Samuel stepped forward, putting his hands on her shoulders and pulled her up against him. Undoing the buttons on her dress one at time, he pressed kisses to her mouth while the dress slowly came undone.
Jane was going to protest, but the more his hands and mouth touched her, the less she could think straight. This was her husband, and all the fantasies in her head the last few days couldn't be forgotten or ignored when he was finally touching her all over. She wanted him.
When the dress fell in a heap on the floor at their feet, she stepped out of it. Standing in just her corset and shift, he worked the laces until he had both off and she stood before him completely naked. He touched her gently, tracing her skin with his fingers. He pressed kisses to her soft flesh as he cupped her breasts and squeezed them with his hands.
He scooped her up and carried her over to the bed and gently set her down. Then he removed his own clothes. Lying down next to her, he grabbed one of her hands and put it on his stomach, encouraging her to touch him.
Jane didn't need to be told twice. She ran her hands up and down his body and explored. He was soft and hard at the same time.Iit was a heady sensation to feel his muscles tense beneath her touch. It made her feel powerful to feel his reaction to her and watch his body break out in a sweat as he tried to control himse
lf and go slow for her.
Samuel took his hand and trailed it down her body until his fingers stroked through the hair protecting her moist heat. Spreading her lips with his fingers, she soaked the tip of his fingers as he touched her gently. Slowly inserting one finger into her warmth, he stretched her out and started to prepare her for his manhood.
She wrapped a hand around his long manhood and stroked him gently, enjoying the feel of his soft skin as it grew under her touch. Lord, he was hung like a horse.
Sammy groaned softly. Knowing she was a virgin, he wanted to be careful, go slow and easy for her, take his time. When she arched back and moaned loudly as his finger went deeper inside her, he gritted his teeth, trying not to fall on top of her and take her right now.
"That feels so good," she said and spread her legs wider, giving him more access to her body. He turned his head towards her to kiss her more thoroughly as he put a knee between her legs and halfway leaned over her body. She skimmed her hands up his body and over his neck and cheeks until she tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled his mouth harder against hers.
Samuel let the weight of his body press against her breasts for a moment and then shifted his weight so both his knees were between her thighs and he was stroking her lips with his tongue, teasing her. He pressed his cock against her thigh for a moment so she could feel him and knew what was going to come next. He thrust his hips against her thigh gently to slide his cock against her skin. When she spread her legs wider and moaned louder, her eyes tightly shut, he positioned himself at her opening and let the tip rub against her wetness. He knew with one good thrust he could be buried deep inside her, but he wanted to go slow, take his time, be careful.
