by Lacey Thorn
Her hair was slipping free of its binding. Her legs were braced about shoulder width apart. Her hands on her hips and her chin back as she looked up at him with fire in her eyes.
With a deep breath he nodded and rode forward leaving her to cool off and giving him a few minutes to deal with what had just hit him. Jacob Donavan was going to fall in love. And he was going to fall hard.
Chapter Two
Daisy didn’t know what to think. Her breathing had increased. Her breasts ached. And she wanted the man who was now her husband like she had never wanted before. His kiss had awakened something inside her, something scary and yet exciting. She found herself wondering what it would feel like to let him touch her as a man touched a woman. How it would feel to let him see her body unclothed, to run his hands and mouth over every inch of her skin. She shivered and it was just as much from her thoughts as from her wet clothes in the cooling evening air.
His horse was ground tied just ahead in a cluster of trees. She could tell that he intended to spend the evening here and wondered if he had more than one bed roll or if she was supposed to share with him. She gulped as she realised that she didn’t know which one she wanted. She started picking up kindling as she headed to the camp and he smiled at her as she dropped it when she reached him.
“Do you know how to make a fire?” he asked.
“Yes,” she nodded thinking of Saviour and all the things that he had taught her. They would come in very handy now.
“We are on my family’s land now,” he said. “We’ll be safe enough here.”
“If your family owns this then why don’t we just go to the house?” she asked suddenly, wondering if he was ashamed to show his lottery wife to his family.
“The house is still a good ride from here and you’re falling asleep as it is,” he stated. “We’ll pass the night here and go the rest of the way tomorrow.”
She nodded once, still uncertain but not willing to ask him yet. She couldn’t blame him if he was having second thoughts about her as his wife. She wasn’t sure she’d make a good one anyway. She knew for a fact that she would not be able to tolerate the things that her sister had. No man would ever strike her in anger. Not as long as she could move.
“Start the fire and I’ll grab some bigger pieces of wood,” he grunted throwing his saddle down beside her. “Then we’ll fix something to eat.”
She nodded again and knelt to do what he said. She would rather be busy than just sitting around not knowing what was coming. She was nervous, scared, and heaven help her even a little excited. Jacob Donavan honestly seemed like a good man. He hadn’t yelled at her or struck out at her for slowing him down on the trail today. He had been patient and silent which she much preferred.
A loud shot jerked her from her thoughts and had her up on her feet instantly searching for any type of weapon that he might have left behind. A rifle lay next to his saddle and she grabbed it with both hands and tucked it close to her shoulder just in case.
Jacob came back into camp with his game only to see his new wife holding his gun on him. Not exactly the way he wanted this evening to go. The sheriff had told him that she confessed to murdering a group of men. Jacob had thought he was joking but then Duckett had never really been known for his humour.
“Want to ease that down, sugar,” he said calmly as he walked up next to the fire she had built. She did appear to know how to do some things.
“I heard a shot,” she whispered as she eased the gun from her shoulder and then being sure to keep the barrel down handed it to him. He took it and laid it back by his saddle before looking up at her.
“You know how to shoot that thing?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said and there was a fire in her eyes. “I practiced every day my brother-in-law was gone.”
“You any good?” he had already skinned and cleaned the rabbit and now made a spit over the fire and put the rabbit on to cook.
“I can hit what I aim at,” was her only response but he noticed the shiver that went through her and wondered if it was from more than the cold.
“Why don’t you get out of those wet clothes,” he told her turning towards his saddle bag and rummaging inside. He pulled a clean shirt out and held it out to her. It should cover her well enough. “This will have to suffice until your clothes dry out. Then we’ll worry about getting your stuff once we reach the house.”
“My stuff?” she queried as she took the shirt he held out to her.
“I figured you’d want your clothes and personal stuff from the house you lived in,” he said and looked up in time to see one tear leak from her eye and trail down her cheek. She wiped it away and staunchly held back the rest he could see shimmering.
“Thank you,” she said. “I’d like that.”
She hadn’t actually thought that he was going to leave her with just the clothes on her back, had she? What kind of men had she known in her life? Obviously not very good ones. He had his work cut out for him where his new bride was concerned. But then he figured she’d be worth it.
“Go on and change,” he said turning his eyes back to the rabbit cooking. “Hang your stuff over the lower limbs to dry and then you can lay the bedroll out and go ahead and climb in if you want.”
“Is there only one bedroll?” she asked.
“I only carry one,” he said and wondered if now would be the time that she told him she would not sleep with him.
She said nothing and it took all he had not to turn and watch her as he heard the rustle of her clothes coming off behind him. It was long agonizing minutes later before he heard her finally grab the bedroll and smooth it out. She cleared her throat twice before he heard her say, “You can look now.”
He turned and lost his breath. She sat on top of the covers with her knees tucked to the side. His shirt was long but every time she shifted it did as well giving him glimpses of her creamy flesh. She was unbraiding her hair, a brush in her lap. He loved the way her full breasts pressed against the material of his shirt and knew that she had no idea just how gorgeous she was.
“Dinner will be ready soon,” he grunted as he shifted his position trying to find relief for his swollen cock.
“What should we do in the meantime?” she asked and he wondered what she would do if he said he wanted to take her right now, to hell with ever eating.
“What would you like to do?” he asked instead.
“We could talk,” she offered. “Maybe get to know a little about each other?”
“Alright,” he agreed. “Sheriff said you killed a group of men. That true?” He watched her closer. He was a damn good Ranger. He could spot a lie a mile away. His new wife looked him straight in the eyes, never blinked, and lied.
“Yes,” she said and he was damned if he wouldn’t find out just who she felt such a strong need to protect.
“Want to tell me why?” he asked.
He caught the flashes of emotion she was struggling to hide. Fear, anger and a deep sorrow.
“They killed my sister,” she said. “And the baby she was carrying.”
“What?” he thundered and his voice must have startled her because she jumped, his shirt riding up to the top her thighs. It was a site that had his dick jumping and begging for release. “How many men? Who killed your sister? How the hell did this happen? And how did you do it on your own?” He’d seen a lot in his life both in and out of the Rangers. Enough to know that one woman would not have been able to kill the three men that Sheriff Duckett had said were found dead. And the sheriff had found footprints to indicate that there might have been more. His new wife was about to learn that there would be no lying to him. Ever.
“I did,” Daisy stated and a calm seemed to fill her. She would never let a soul know that Saviour had been there, that he had tried to save her sister. As far as she was concerned she had killed one man so what did it matter if she claimed two others.
Jacob’s gaze seemed to probe inside her searching for the truths she couldn’t tell. “I can
spot a lie a mile away, wife,” he assured her and she felt a shiver work its way down her spine again. “You sure you want to stick with this story?”
She didn’t want to lie to him, didn’t want to start their relationship out this way. But honestly what choice did she have. No one had been there to help her and her sister. No one had cared. Until Saviour. And keeping him out of what happened seemed such a little thing to do when trying to repay him. “It was me,” she said again but even she could hear the uncertainty in her voice.
“Eat,” he said and handed her a plate. She could hear the truth of her lie in his voice and worried that she may have already killed what could have been.
They ate in silence and were done far too quickly to suit her. He took their plates and set them aside before turning back to her. He stared at her for a long moment and she couldn’t help the way she fidgeted. It was as if he was waiting for her to confess, but that was something she couldn’t do.
“Let’s just go to sleep,” he said and began to pull his boots off, removing his gunbelt and moving it by the top of the bag she was lying on.
“Where are you sleeping?” she queried though she was sure she already knew the answer.
“I only have one bedroll,” he informed her as he shifted closer. “You’re my wife and it is too cool a night to try and sleep somewhere else.”
She nodded and moved to slide in turning to her side and trying to make herself as small as possible. He moved in behind her and she trembled as she felt the hardness of his arousal along her bottom.
“Easy,” he murmured. “We’ll just sleep for tonight.”
The sad truth was she wasn’t sure if that was all she wanted or not.
Jacob just might die before the night was over. The way his wife was cuddled into him had his cock screaming in his pants. One long leg was thrown over his and he could feel the heat of her pussy. His shirt had twisted around her waist leaving her lower half uncovered and only the strongest of will power kept his hand from creeping lower to explore her. But the way she was wiggling and stroking him was about to change all that. If she was a virgin maybe it would be better to claim her while she was half in, half out of sleep, when her dreams were still fresh in her mind.
He groaned. He wouldn’t be able to take her that way. Virgin or not he wanted her wide awake and calling his name when he took her. If she moved one more time it would definitely be tonight.
Daisy sighed his name and her knee moved up to rest over his swollen groin. That was it. It was time to seduce his wife awake. She was his wife. That gave a man certain rights, and he was asserting one of them right now. the right to seduce her.
He rolled so that he was on his side and she lay on her back with one leg between his. The other was still up, bent to the side and he groaned as he glanced down at the flushed pink folds of her pussy. He could see the moisture and when she moaned again he couldn’t help but wonder just what she was dreaming. He moved his hands and slowly began undoing the buttons on the shirt she was wearing. It was his after all. The thought made him grin. Somehow he didn’t think Daisy would buy that as an excuse if she awoke while he was removing it.
Finally releasing the last button he tugged the material apart revealing his wife’s naked form to his eyes for the first time. She was gorgeous, everything that a woman should be. Soft skin and rounded curves in all the right places. Her skin was cream and tanned, her breasts high and firm topped with sweet peach tinted nipples. Even as he watched they beaded in the cooler air and seemed to point up at him begging for his touch. He barely held himself in check. But there were other places he truly wanted to touch and explore first.
He bent low and nuzzled her neck and cheek just beside her ear. He had shed his shirt some time earlier and he groaned as his skin met hers and her nipples grazed his chest. Daisy arched into his touch, moaning, and he froze in place as shock moved through him, quickly replaced by a euphoria that had him nuzzling closer to her lips. She had called his name, had moaned it as he touched her. He could only hope that meant she was dreaming of him.
One hand swept down her body stroking her flesh from shoulder to hip and then back up. He caressed the side of her breast growing closer to the turgid point of her nipple with each new stroke. His lips found hers and he licked and nipped at hers before tracing them with his tongue. When she sighed this time he used that unguarded moment to slip his tongue inside and taste her.
She was sweet and hot and more responsive than he could have imagined. She tentatively moved her tongue along his. His hand found her nipple and his fingers plumped and squeezed before zeroing in on the point and plucking it. He tugged and she moaned again and her kiss lost its tentativeness.
He opened his eyes and she was looking at him. He reluctantly pulled from the kiss but kept his fingers stimulating her nipples. He wouldn’t lie to her.
“I want you, Daisy,” he told her and she shyly nodded her head. He could see the beginning of passion darkening her eyes, the flush of desire staining her cheeks. “Will this be your first time?” He had to know, as it would make all the difference in how quickly he claimed her.
She nodded her head and he almost came in his pants at the idea that he would be her first. For a man who had never planned to get married, he was certainly enjoying his wife.
“I’ll be as gentle as I can,” he promised. “But I’ve heard that it can be hard on a woman the first time she sleeps with her husband.”
“I trust you,” she said softly and his heart melted. One day, maybe sooner than he believed, he would whisper to her that he loved her, and he would mean it with all his heart. Daisy would be an easy woman to love.
He moved his mouth back down and let it slide down her throat to her chest. He let his hand glide from her nipple down over her stomach to the nest of curls that crowned her sweet pussy. He nuzzled her flesh letting his tongue taste her as his fingers sifted through the curls. He could feel her body tensing and knew that though she said she trusted him, she was still nervous and perhaps even a little afraid.
He ran his tongue over one nipple and felt her shudder beneath him. He licked and laved at it with his tongue before finally wrapping his lips around it and sucking it gently into his mouth. She seemed to come undone. Her moans filled the air and the hands she had kept so carefully at her sides now rose to twine in his hair and hold him close to her. She arched into him and he sucked greedily at her, tugging and pulling the nipple towards the roof of his mouth.
When she cried out again he used that moment to slip one finger inside her up to the first knuckle. She was tight, so tight around his finger but so hot and wet that it was easy to slide in and out. Soon she was shifting her legs restlessly and he was working his finger all the way inside her. He switched to the other nipple and added a second finger. She tensed but as he worked slowly she gradually accepted him and soon was lifting to meet his fingers.
He trailed kissed down her stomach, loving the soft skin and slight roundness there. He inhaled the sweet musk of her sex and using his other hand opened her to his gaze. She was soft and pink and dewy. The gleaming pearl of her clitoris called to him and he licked and probed it with his tongue. He kept his fingers slow and easy inside her but he could feel her release building.
He took her bud in his mouth and gave it a soft, slow suck before licking at it again. He continued doing this going back and forth between soft and hard until she was thrashing moaning. Finally he wrapped his lips around her clit and sucked greedily at it while thrusting his fingers fast. She exploded with a harsh cry as he worked her, keeping her in the orgasm for as long as he could. When she finally softened beneath him he slowed his fingers and pulled his mouth from her.
She whispered his name and he looked up at her and thought that she was truly beautiful in her passion. Her cheeks were rosy and flushed, her eyes bright and her hair was a golden blanket around her head. Her lips and nipples were swollen from his touch and he wanted to taste her again.
He shifted over her
, reaching to undo his pants and let his cock out as he moved between her thighs. He bent to kiss her, blocking her view of his size so as not to terrify her. He would fit but she might not realise that at the moment. He possessed her mouth, claiming every inch of it as he used one hand to guide his cock to her wet pussy.
She tensed at the first probe of his cock but he held her in the kiss, stilling until he felt her relax again. There was only one way to claim her, one way to eliminate the pain as quickly as he could. He slid his hand to her hip and held her in place before tensing and thrusting hard inside her. She was slick and wet and he managed to get almost all the way in but her sharp cry of pain filled the air.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered then groaned as she tried to shift and move beneath him. “Stop,” he urged feeling his orgasm building with each wiggle. “Try to be still while your body adjusts to me.”
“I don’t think that’s possible,” she moaned. “You’re too big Jacob. I can’t take you.”
“Yes, you can,” he did his best to assure her. “Just a little more and you’ll have all of me.”
“There’s more?” she exclaimed and he almost chuckled at the way her eyes got bigger. She was certainly good for his ego.
She shifted again and he used her movement to slide the last few inches into her. She was snug and hot and so wet that it was all he could do not to just take her hard and fast until he came. She was made for him, made to cradle his flesh inside her. But if he didn’t do this right, she would fear sex with her husband and that was the last thing he wanted.
He bent his mouth back to her nipple and slid his hand from her hip over to where his groin rested against hers. He rose just the slightest bit, changing the angle and allowing his fingers to find her pleasure centre again. Jacob plucked the nub then pressed softly against it while tracing circles. He took her nipple hard, sucking greedily once more and she came back to life beneath him. He knew there would be discomfort, knew there would be pain later, but for right now he wanted to try to bring her back into the pleasure with him.
