by Kris Tualla
“I’ve made a decision, soldier,” she said softly.
“What decision is that?” he asked, his forehead resting against hers.
Her jumping pulse reflected both her eagerness and her apprehension. “We are never going to find a more comfortable and intimate setting than this one until we reach St. Louis. Am I correct?”
Reid pulled back so he could meet her eyes. “Quite, I’m afraid.”
“Then tonight I believe we should finish what we started,” she stated. “That way, we will have a few more nights to practice before boarding a ship. Even the best ship’s cabins are neither spacious, nor soundproof.”
“Are you saying that I tonight I may make you fully my wife?” Reid murmured.
Kirsten was surprised at the peace which washed through her. This was the right decision and the right time. She laid her palms on Reid’s cheeks.
“I am,” she whispered, and pulled his face down to hers. This kiss had an entirely different taste. It was flavored with potential, and spiced with urgency.
“I’ll make certain to call a reasonable end to our evening,” Reid pledged. “Otherwise, my family could keep us entertained until dawn.”
Kirsten chuckled. “If I’m going to be entertained until dawn, I want it to be by you.”
Grinning, Reid pulled her into his embrace. “I’ll do my best.”
*****
Supper was even more chaotic than at his last homecoming.
Liv’s husband Alex had returned safely from his army post in New York. Her two sons, now fourteen and twelve, seemed to have grown half a foot each in the past five months. Alex queried Reid repeatedly about the explosion, the trial, and his decision to leave the army.
“Might you speak later about that?” Liv interrupted. Her glance jumped to her sons, who devoured their Onkel Reid’s tales with far more enthusiasm than their meal.
“I believe this war will be over before long before these two can enlist,” Reid assured his sister. “It won’t last another year.”
“I agree with you, Reid,” Karan’s husband Arthur concurred. He grabbed one of his three children who bolted past the table. “We will be the victors, as well.”
Reid watched his brother-in-law pick up the boy and plant him back in a chair, deciding on the spot that his own children would never be allowed to be so unruly.
His consideration moved to his wife. Knowing they might never become parents was a heartache that truly paled when compared to the soul-deep pain of living without her. Kirsten glanced his way and smiled.
Thank you, God.
Reid’s youngest brother Tobias tapped his arm. “I wish you could stay for the wedding, Reid.”
Tor’s fiancée Caroline sat close by his side. “Is there no way?” she pleaded. “It’s only two weeks away. Anna and Sean are coming and bringing their new baby girl.”
Reid shook his head and gave the young couple an apologetic look. “It will take us three weeks to sail to New Orleans, and another four weeks to travel up the Mississippi River to St. Louis,” he explained. “If we can leave by the end of this week, we’ll arrive at the beginning of October. Any later than that, and I won’t have the cabin ready for winter.”
“You do what you must, son,” Martin ordered from the head of the table. “We all understand.”
“I'm sorry to miss Anna and Sean—and my niece,” Reid said truthfully. “But you see our predicament.”
A commotion at the front door stilled the crowd around the huge table. Martin stood and Reid followed suit, ready to confront whatever danger might present itself.
A tall, thin, unkempt man strode into the room, rifle at his side. He stopped short, obviously surprised by the nine adults and five children gathered around the meal. His eyes widened along with his grin.
“Nils!” Dagny cried. She leapt up and launched herself at her second son. “Å min Gud! I was so afraid…” Her voice was swallowed by her sobbed relief.
Reid set the rifle aside and pumped his brother’s freed hand. “Where have you been all this time?”
“Prisoner,” he yelped over Dagny’s emotional display. “But we got ‘em in the end.”
If Reid believed the dinner was chaotic before, the explosion of greetings and questions and congratulations which ensued was deafening. He pulled Kirsten to his side and held her close until Nils’ attentions landed back on him.
“This is my wife of ten days, Nils,” Reid announced. “Kirsten, Nils is my parents’ fourth child, and the second son.”
Nils’ surprise was almost buried under his beard and filth. “Well, will you look at that!” he exclaimed. “How’d this stubborn old man win you?”
Kirsten slid her arm around Reid’s waist and tucked herself under his arm. “I married him for his money, of course.”
The tiniest moment of silence preceded Reid’s explosively raucous response. He laughed so hard his belly hurt and he had tears running down his cheeks.
“There—there is so much—so much more to that story!” he stammered between guffaws.
“I suppose I’ll hear it later,” Nils chuckled. His gaze moved to the table. “Is there any food left?”
Martin and Dagny shuffled Nils to the head of the table and pulled a chair next to Martin’s. Liv piled a plate precariously high and sat it in front of her brother. Nils patted Olav’s shoulder as he passed by the silent brother, obviously noticing the man’s missing arm, but not mentioning it.
“Reid was just telling us why he and Kirsten can’t stay for my wedding,” Tobias announced.
Nils’ fork paused briefly in its heavily-laden journey toward his mouth. “You’re getting married?”
Tor nodded. “This is my fiancée, Caroline,” he continued, pointing a thumb at the blushing girl. “It’s in two weeks. Anna and Sean are coming.”
Nils turned to Reid and spoke past the shovelful of victuals. “Why can’t you stay?”
“We must return to my home near St. Louis in order to be prepared before the weather turns,” he answered.
“Your home?” Nils stopped chewing. One furry cheek bulged with food and he spoke from the other side of his mouth. “When did you move to Missouri?”
“In May.” Reid paused. He glanced across the table at his beaming wife, savoring the next bit of information. “I have five hundred acres in Cheltenham.”
More chaos erupted as everyone tried to speak at once. Reid gazed at Kirsten, wondering how soon after supper they might be able to make their apologies and go to bed.
To bed.
CHAPTER THIRTY NINE
Reid climbed the stairs to their room behind Kirsten as the clock below chimed three-quarters of an hour past eight. He was gratified to see fresh water and linens on the washstand, and the bedclothes folded back in invitation.
“Are you exhausted?” he asked her as he latched the door from the inside.
Her shoulder slumped a little but one side of her lips curved upward. “Perhaps. Perhaps not,” she teased.
Reid shook his head. “I have stopped saying that.”
Kirsten giggled. “I noticed.”
He crossed the room and rested his hands on her narrow waist. “What does that mean?”
“It means,” she began as she slid her hands up his arms to loop them around his neck, “that whatever I do next, I want to do lying down.”
Reid’s body jumped to high alert. “Let me help you with your gown.”
Kirsten turned in a slow circle. Reid untied her laces and pushed the dress off her shoulders. Kirsten left off wearing a corset once they were gone from Philadelphia, so when she stepped away from the circular pile of pink cotton fabric at her feet, she was clad only in her chemise. It was the closest to naked she had yet been in his presence.
“I’ll wash first,” she said. Reid noticed a little tremor in her tone.
“We don’t need to do this if you aren’t ready,” he offered, hating every single word that left his mouth.
“No. I’m ready,” she insi
sted. “See?”
In one swift, smooth motion, Kirsten pulled the chemise over her head and let it float to the floor.
Reid’s breath blew out in a whoosh which left him light-headed. For the first time he saw his wife completely unclothed, and the sight was exquisite. She turned and walked to the washstand. Her next words floated back to him, surprising him with their playfulness.
“I hope I’m not going to be the only naked body in this room.”
Reid began untying his shirt with one hand and fumbling at his flies with the other. His cock was already stiff, hampering his hurried efforts to free it from restraint. While Kirsten attended to her toilette, Reid hung up their clothes and waited his turn.
When she finished, she tiptoed to the bed and climbed onto the big mattress. Reid moved to the washstand and carefully cleaned the travel dust from his body. He noticed his mother had given them rose-scented soap and smiled. He might smell feminine now, but his wife would feel pampered.
“I wish it was cloves,” he said, smiling at Kirsten.
She smiled back. She sat on her knees on the mattress. Her thick blonde hair spread over her shoulders and fell to her waist, bending at angles which reflected the way it had been bound up all day. In the light of the oil lamp, she looked like some ethereal creature too beautiful to be real.
“I know this has been the bane of your existence,” Reid began as he approached the bed. “But I cannot spend the rest of our lives pretending you aren’t a stunningly attractive woman.”
Kirsten’s cheeks dimpled. “Now that we are married, you may say that as often as you wish. I won’t stop you.”
Reid slid onto the bed. He wrapped one hand around the back of Kirsten’s neck and pulled her into a teasing kiss. As he brushed his lips over hers, she chased after him, until she grabbed his head and held him still. Her fingers twisted through his hair. Her tongue twisted though his mouth.
“Lie down,” he whispered after a pace.
She did so. He lay alongside her. She reached for his erection, but he stopped her.
“This is about you now.” His hand skimmed over her belly and moved to her bosom. “I am going to love you well.”
He massaged her breasts and teased their tips with his palm before taking one, then the other, in his mouth. Kirsten moaned and buried her fingers in his hair again.
Reid’s hand moved downward over her body before settling between her thighs. “If you are readied before I enter,” he murmured in her ear. “There is no pain. Only pleasure.”
Kirsten’s legs parted, giving him room. As he kissed her and fondled her deeply, he felt the readiness in her quim’s response. Still, he waited for her to invite him to do more.
She whimpered against his mouth. Her hips pressed against his hand. It was as though she couldn’t lie still.
“Please…” she breathed.
Reid shifted his position. “Wrap your legs around me,” he instructed.
She did. The tip of his cock rested against its target.
For the first time this evening, Reid allowed himself to consider what he was about to do from his own perspective. The anticipation of loving this woman with his body was many months old, but until this moment, it was nothing but a hope or a fantasy. Now that he was poised to enter her, his arousal vibrated through his body and his cock grew so hard it hurt.
“Do you want to guide me in?” he asked.
The sudden inspiration was grounded as much in his flaming desire to feel her hand on him, as it was in giving her control over this joining. She was not the victim in this bed, she was the instigator. Reid knew instinctively that the distinction was crucial to her response. Kirsten said nothing, but she reached between her legs and gripped him.
“When you’re ready,” he said softly, then leaned down and kissed her.
He pressed forward a little. She adjusted his aim. He pushed farther. She held him at the right spot. He breached her opening. She let go.
He slowly slid inside, all the way, until no space remained between them.
Reid closed his eyes. He breathed though his mouth. He braced himself, trembling, over Kirsten.
“Ooh…” she sighed.
He opened his eyes a slit. “I’m going to start to move.”
She nodded. “Yes…”
He began slowly, keeping as much control as he was able, wanting to give his wife her first peak before claiming his own. As his thrusts gained momentum, Kirsten groaned and twisted under him. Her breath came in spastic gusts, each exhalation a tiny cry of pleasure.
Reid felt himself losing his battle. His hips took over, pushing him deep and fast. His head grew fuzzy. He was almost there.
And then she exploded.
With a loud gasp, her body stiffened. Her fingernails dug into his arm. She tightened and quivered around him, the heightened heat of her quim seared him.
Reid let go, then. He ground against her, pumping himself into her. His release was unlike any he had experienced in his lifetime. Tossed from his body, he literally saw stars arrayed in the black heavens.
As he drifted back into his corporeal existence, he looked down at his wife’s awestruck features. Tears rolled from the corners of her eyes. Her legs fell away from him, but she kept her hips close to his and didn’t attempt to disengage.
Reid stared into her eyes. His breath still came in short heaves, as did hers. She gave him a tremulous smile.
*****
Kirsten wanted to say something to Reid, but her mind refused to cooperate. It was as if every functioning part of her had been sucked into the center of her belly before being flung outward, beyond her existence, with such ecstatic bliss.
She never imagined sex could be like this. No one ever told her. Her experience tonight with her loved and loving husband was the complete antithesis of what happened to her in Denmark. And now she was freed, forever, from those chains.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He smiled and gave her a tender kiss. “I love you so much I can’t put it into adequate words.”
“I might be wrong,” she posited. “But I believe you just told me with your body.”
Reid grinned. “You enjoyed that, then, did you not?”
She pulled a shuddering sigh. “Enjoy doesn’t begin to describe it.”
“You had no pain at all?” he probed.
“No. None.” She smiled, gratified by his consideration. “Will it always be like this?”
“I have heard it said that it gets better,” he replied. “As we learn each other’s bodies and know what sort of ministrations we each prefer.”
She stared at him, surprised. “There’s more?”
He chuckled. “Yes. We haven’t used our tongues yet, for example.”
Kirsten’s mouth fell open. “People do that?”
Reid nodded. “And there are other positions we could try…”
Laughter bubbled up from her chest. A world was opening up in front of her, one she was completely ignorant of, and absolutely interested in exploring—with this particular man.
“I am so thankful you came back for me, Reid.” She laid her hand on his short-bearded cheek. “You saved my life, do you know that?”
He kissed her again. His lips held hers for a long moment before he said, “And you saved mine, Prinsesse.”
Reid eased himself from her body. When the ridge of his softened member left her, she felt another small twinge of arousal.
“How often can we do this?” she asked, curious.
Reid rolled onto his back. “I’m not certain. At least once a day. Perhaps more.”
Kirsten grinned. “Every night while we are here. Agreed?”
Reid chuckled. He grabbed her hand and kissed her palm. “Agreed.”
He rolled from the bed and turned down the lamp. City lights glowed through the open windows, carried on a soft, salty breeze. Kirsten got up and retrieved her chemise, choosing to sleep in the light garment rather than dig out her nightdress. She washed the stick
iness from between her legs in the dim light, wondering if children were in their future.
When she returned to the bed, she snuggled into Reid’s embrace. No matter what sort of challenges lay ahead of them in the wilds of Missouri, she knew she was safe in his care.
She fell asleep, contented and fulfilled for the first time in her life.
October 8, 1782
St. Louis
Kirsten and Reid stood at the pointed prow of the keelboat which had laboriously carried them up the Mississippi River against the current. Once they arrived by tall sailing ship in New Orleans, they spent one night in a hotel before boarding this boat.
The river journey took four weeks and required the use of sails on breezy days, and poles pushed by the keelboatmen in the shallow edgewaters on airless days. The vessel did have cabins for a few passengers and the crew, so the journey wasn’t unbearable. And many times they disembarked into small towns along the way for provisions, giving Kirsten and Reid the opportunity to stand on unmoving land for a pace.
Even though the two different voyages were largely boring and uneventful, Reid insisted that their chosen modes of transportation were vastly superior to riding horseback for nine-hundred miles.
“Especially if you want to continue our nighttime activities,” he added with a wink.
“Well, there is that, at the least,” she replied with a crooked smile. Their nights were certainly not boring.
Reid pointed toward a clearing in the forest ahead, and the red brick of buildings rising on the horizon. “There it is.”
Kirsten watched the small city of St. Louis grow larger in her view. “How many people live there?”
“About a thousand, I believe,” Reid answered.
She looked up at him and wondered why she never asked before. “And Cheltenham?”
Reid shrugged. “Perhaps a hundred, spread over the countryside.”
Kirsten turned her regard back to the approaching docks. She was beginning to understand how different her life was truly going to be. There were revelations coming which she could never have imagined, she realized.
