Mail-Order Groom

by Lisa Plumley

  “There.” Finished, she leaned back. “Was that better?”

  A nod. “You’re a natural talent. Soon you’ll be instructing me.” Adam’s hooded gaze lowered to her lips. “But we’d better make sure of that. We wouldn’t want to get lackadaisical.”

  “I’m nothing if not thorough,” Savannah agreed.

  He kissed her again. She wriggled with delight, making her skirts swoosh sideways. Beneath those layers of worsted wool and lacy petticoats, her loins felt heavy, her bosom full and tingling. All over, she felt warm—but not in the ordinary way she did while cooking or riding to town in the sunshine. This warmth felt far more pleasurable than that. It felt…essential somehow. Craving more of it, Savannah crowded closer to Adam, daring to splay her hands over his broad shoulders and chest.

  Carefully she stroked him. He murmured his approval, so she did it again. He felt hard and solid beneath her palms. Warm, too. She wondered if he experienced the same warmth she did.

  “Is this…enjoyable for you?” she asked solicitously. “Or would you rather be doing something else? I’m not quite sure what to expect with regard to our wedding night, so—”

  “All I want is to be with you.” Adam cradled her face again, leaving her feeling as though his thoughts were only for her. “But if this is happening too quickly for you—”

  “Oh, no! No.” Vehemently Savannah shook her head. “In fact, I’m very much enjoying myself. You’re an excellent…partner.”

  She bit her lip, distressed that she didn’t know how to properly address him under these circumstances. Adam only smiled. “That’s very generous of you,” he told her with heartwarming courtesy…and adorable roguish pride. “Thank you.”

  “You’re certainly welcome.” She gasped as he kissed her neck again. Momentarily her thoughts fled. Savannah tried mightily to muster up more conversation. “It’s only the truth.”

  She tried to keep talking, but her words stuttered to a stop as Adam slowly, methodically, undid the buttons on her dress, kissing her all the while. Cool air touched her skin as he spread apart her dress. Carefully he scooped her hair over her shoulder, stroking her heavy locks as he did. But then he dipped his head to kiss the back of her neck, and she forgot about being chilled altogether. All she could think about were the soft impact of his lips, the subtle rasp of his beard stubble, the ticklish teasing of his tongue and teeth.

  “You know,” he mused as he dragged his mouth pleasurably and slowly along her bare shoulder, “you don’t have to keep talking. You’re allowed to simply feel. Feel this, for example.”

  His hands followed his words, sliding down her back in a warm, gentle caress. With surprise, Savannah realized that Adam had bared her entire back. She hadn’t even noticed. Even as she marveled at the sleight of hand he had exhibited, she was startled to feel her very best dress fall in a puddle at her feet. With a chivalrous gesture, Adam helped her step out of it.

  Suddenly Savannah felt exposed. She felt, despite her chemise and drawers and layers of petticoats, almost naked.

  But Adam had the cure for those feelings. His eyes shone with affection as he gazed at her. His attention lingered complimentarily over all her barest, most tender places. And his hands, when he came nearer again, touched her with something very much like fascination. Caught up in his reverence, Savannah felt cherished…and downright beloved.

  Raptly Adam stroked her shoulder, then her arm. His heated gaze dropped to her bosom. To her astonishment, Savannah yearned for his hands to follow that same path. She wanted to feel his hands all over her, to allow him to touch her even more boldly.

  As though he’d somehow guessed her thoughts, Adam murmured something, then cupped her breasts in his hands. Carefully he stroked her. In response, her nipples budded. The heat between her thighs increased. The pace of her breathing quickened, just as though she’d run a mile. Even more than those things, a sharp yearning came to life deep inside her, urgent and undeniable. Savannah had no idea how to satisfy it, but she hoped Adam did.

  Helplessly she closed her eyes. This was beyond wonderful. This was…sublime. Surely a woman could not be expected to withstand much more pleasure. She must have reached some sort of apex of sensation—from here she would simply return to living her everyday, normal life in her everyday, ordinary body. But as Adam went on caressing her, Savannah discovered she was wrong.

  She was very wrong. Because in Adam’s hands, her body felt anything but ordinary. And there was definitely more pleasure to be found in his continuing caresses—in letting him untie her chemise and bare her breasts to the quiet, lamp lit night. There was infinitely, spectacularly more pleasure to be taken, Savannah realized next, in watching him lower his head, draw in a fervent breath, then kiss her in a place that until now no one had even seen, much less touched with such remarkable effect.

  Shocked but needful of more, Savannah arched her back beneath him. She closed her eyes again, caught up in the good feelings of Adam’s tongue swirling over her nipple, of his palms cradling her, of his lips kissing and kissing and kissing…

  “I…feel a bit faint,” she said in a husky voice hardly recognizable as her own. Feeling her knees tremble, Savannah gazed hazily at Adam. “I don’t know how much more of this I can stand.”

  He smiled again. “That means we’re doing this correctly.”

  “Surely not! How can we be expected to—” Abruptly Savannah stopped, belatedly becoming aware of a change in her husband. Whereas before Adam had been busy kissing her, which had provided a magnificent distraction, now he was only holding her…and all at once, she discerned a hard, hot, overwhelming firmness pressing against her belly. It felt urgent and large. Very, very large. Wide-eyed, she stared up at him. “Are you all right?” she asked.

  Unable to resist, she glanced down. Adam’s trousers were distended to an impressive degree. Even in the lamplight, she could tell that such a reaction could not be comfortable.

  “You should take off your clothes,” she decided. “Mine are already gone, mostly. And yours look…restrictive. Please.”

  “I will. But first…” With a brush of his fingers, Adam lowered her chemise strap from her shoulder. Then he closed the short distance between them. “You should be properly undressed.”

  “Properly?” Drat. Another thing she didn’t know about this marriage business. “Meaning…what, exactly?”

  “Meaning undressed by me,” Adam specified. “Meaning that I’ll remove your clothing one item at a time—”

  “That doesn’t sound particularly proper.” Still fascinated by his masculine…endowments…Savannah dipped her gaze to the front of his trousers again. “But if you say so, I suppose I—”

  “—and kissing every inch of you that I reveal,” he finished. “Slowly, gently, and tenderly.” His wolfish expression promised that he meant to keep his word as strictly and as thoroughly as possible. When she looked at him, doubtless agog at the notion, he only shrugged. “You didn’t let me finish.”

  “But when will you undress? I’m worried about your—”

  “Soon,” he said, and began with unlacing her bustle.

  As he’d promised, Adam performed his undressing duties with plenty of kisses—kisses, caresses, and more than a few murmured compliments, too…everyplace he could reach. By the time her last lace-trimmed petticoat joined the pile of cast-off clothing on the settee, Savannah felt positively weak in the knees.

  Standing only in her chemise and drawers, she decided now was the time to draw the line—else lose her wifely authority altogether. “Your turn,” she said as Adam faced her.

  “Soon,” he said. But she was unbending.

  “I do know a little about what’s supposed to happen between us tonight,” Savannah said. “And I know we’ll both need to be naked. This situation as it stands is simply inequitable. So go ahead. Take off your…” She let her gaze rove over him, taking in his tousled hair, sturdy jaw, broad chest and narrow hips. With effort, she moved her attention from the region of
his trousers. “Shirt,” she finished with a wave. “If you please.”

  To her surprise, Adam raised his arms, bent his elbows, then whipped off his white cotton shirt in a single swift motion. His disrobing revealed his brawny, hair-sprinkled chest, his assortment of enthralling muscles, and his tightly wrapped bandages. Staring at them, Savannah was reminded of what they were here to accomplish tonight: consummating their marriage.

  She couldn’t afford to waste any more time, lest Adam became skittish again, the way he had outside her room.

  “Well done.” She swirled her fingers in a signal for him to turn around. “Now if you’ll just face the wall, please?”

  The moment he did, Savannah efficiently shed her own remaining garments in record time. She dived for the bedstead, scrambled to overturn the coverlet, then made a mad lunge beneath the sheets. The mattress creaked beneath her weight.

  Adam turned partway. “Is everything all right?”

  “It’s fine.” Lying rigidly in place, Savannah straightened her arms alongside her body. But that didn’t feel quite correct. She tried crossing her arms over her chest. But that felt even more peculiar. Oh what was the protocol for a situation like this one? Never had she yearned more for a sneak peek at her handbook. She could not afford for Adam to be disappointed in her or her first wifely performance. She inhaled. “I’m ready.”

  Eagerly Adam turned. His puzzled gaze swept over her, took in the chemise and drawers she’d dropped in her haste, then lifted to her face. His expression changed. “You look…”

  Beautiful. Irresistible, Savannah imagined. “Yes?”

  “…terrified.”

  “Oh.” Not irresistible. She’d failed. Disappointment assailed her. “I’m so sorry. I’ll try to do better.”

  With three big steps, Adam reached the bed. Before she could say another word, he lowered his trousers. Shockingly naked, he flipped back the coverlet, then got in bed beside her.

  She only had a brief glimpse of his naked form, but based on that hasty view, Savannah found him to be…intriguing to look at. Squirming with a combination of nervousness and timidity, acutely aware of her own lack of expertise in this situation, she nudged herself sideways, trying to make room.

  “Stop. I want you nearer, not farther. And don’t be afraid.” Adam smiled, then touched her hair. He curled a tendril around his finger, seeming as relaxed as a man could be. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, Savannah.”

  “I’m not worried about doing it.” She swallowed hard, then shifted her gaze to him. “I’m worried about doing it properly.”

  After all, her entire future—the happy marriage and cozy, joyful home full of children that she dreamed of—depended on it. That potential future was so close she could feel it. But her dreams of starting over had been snatched from her grasp before. They might be again, if she didn’t proceed correctly.

  For a long moment, Adam only looked at her, his expression intent and kind…and uncomfortably perceptive. Then he nodded. “In my eyes, you can do nothing wrong. Not here or ever. There’s nothing you could do that would upset me or drive me away—”

  Guiltily she shifted, knowing full well there was at least one thing about her that would drive away any decent man who’d been allowed the foresight to know it: her scandalous past.

  “—including,” Adam promised with an unusually vulnerable expression, “whatever happens between us in this bed tonight.”

  “Well…” Tentatively Savannah glanced at him. “Could it please involve some kissing? That special kind of kissing?”

  She thought that would likely relax her. Possibly it might even ease the throbbing that had taken up residence inside her like an insistent heartbeat, demanding…something. Something she knew Adam could probably give her, if he tried.

  Now, he only smiled. “You’re a bossy wife, aren’t you?”

  On the verge of apologizing for that, Savannah made herself stop. It was, quite possibly, the only time she had allowed herself to behave naturally in the past year, without guidance from her etiquette books or help from Mose or anything else. Stripped of the security those things offered and, quite literally, bare to Adam’s view, she nodded. “Yes. I guess I am.”

  She held her breath, waiting for him to disapprove—to glimpse in her some part of that tarnished background she so wanted to leave behind. Fearful yet defiant, Savannah stilled.

  Adam laughed. “I like that about you. Be sure to keep it up,” he said, “and let me know if I displease you.”

  But there was no need for that, Savannah discovered as her new husband rolled over and took her into his arms, as easily and freely as though he’d been doing so for years. Because as Adam showed her all the ways that she could love and be loved—as he covered her with his body and brought her to new realms of pleasure she’d never even imagined before—Savannah could find nothing at all to be bossy about. Beneath Adam’s tender gaze and patient hands, she learned about a part of herself that was both generous and greedy, loving and demanding. She learned that love could be naked and serious. Or it could be lighthearted and intense. It could be everything she’d ever dreamed.

  She also learned, as Adam raised himself over her, finally making their union complete with a hoarse shout of her name, that the only thing to fear about giving herself to her husband was the inevitable aftermath. Because not long after their first encounter was over, she wanted to experience even more.

  Cradled in Adam’s arms, feeling his heartbeat thunder beneath her cheek, Savannah dared to smile. Tonight, her heart had opened to Adam in a whole new way—and his had opened to her.

  From now on, nothing would ever be the same between them.

  “You know,” she said as she lay her hand on his chest, entirely comfortable now with touching him, “I do believe we could get even better at these romantic endeavors.”

  Adam panted. “Better?” he asked, his tone disbelieving.

  “With a little practice, I mean,” Savannah clarified. “I realize I’m new at this. However, I’ve always ascribed to the view that practice makes perfect, so…”

  “So you want more?”

  Would that be horribly greedy? it occurred to Savannah to ask. Or only if you do! A polite reply would probably be appropriate, she knew. But then she remembered that she no longer needed to be on her best, most gracious behavior at all times. Not with Adam. The realization was liberating.

  “Yes. I think I might want more and more and more!” Enthusiastically she wriggled her backside. The movement made Adam groan. “So prepare yourself, husband. I’ve already warned you that I can be very diligent in pursuit of a goal, so—”

  But Adam cut off her words with another kiss, then slid down her body with a devilish grin. “I think I can oblige you, wife.” With his hands on her hips, he lowered his head, then gave her his most scandalous kiss yet. “You’d better hold on.”

  Obediently Savannah put both hands on his head, then braced herself for whatever was to come. But she didn’t really need to, she realized with a smile. Now that she and Adam were truly together, she was ready for anything. Anything at all.

  Although she couldn’t help wondering, as Adam made her giggle, then squeal with delight as he kissed her again, if she weren’t tempting fate just a little too much these days….

  Chapter Twelve

  Adam realized something was amiss from the moment the telegraph station came into view the following afternoon. Even as he guided the horse and wagon down the road, he squinted through the trees, trying to pinpoint what was wrong.

  An overall air of stillness lay over the station, making the place appear strangely deserted. One of the windows had a smashed pane; its shutter hung crookedly. Near the barn, a portion of the fence railing was broken; it lay on the ground. Most alarming of all, no smoke came from the station’s chimney. By now, Mose should have been there, tending the wires.

  Concerned, Adam urged the horse to go faster. The wagon jounced along the rutted road, its wh
eels and springs scarcely equipped for such speed. The trees flew past in a rush.

  Beside him, Savannah grabbed her ribbon-bedecked hat. It appeared on the verge of flying away in the breeze. “What’s the matter? Are you in that much of a hurry to get home?”

  Her tone was teasing, her demeanor carefree—exactly as it had been since they’d awakened in each other’s arms this morning. Their wedding night had been more than Adam could have dreamed, full of laughter and passion and far too little sleep. Their togetherness had continued on into today, with a shared bath that had sloshed soapy water all over their hotel room floor. But he and Savannah hadn’t cared. They’d only sank deeper into the bubbles, laughing and kissing, and decided to worry about sopping up the puddles later…much, much later.

  But now they couldn’t delay any longer. Later had arrived, and with it, Adam’s remembrance of all he had yet to deal with. He could not regret marrying Savannah to protect her—nor even consummating their marriage afterward. Because of that, Savannah would not be able to obtain an annulment, the way he’d planned; that was true. But now Adam dared to hope she wouldn’t want to.

  For the first time, he dared to hope that she would want him…even after he told her the truth about who he really was.

  But the troubles they’d left behind during their wedding trip hadn’t gone away while they’d been in Avalanche—to the contrary, in fact. Judging by the wrecked appearance of the telegraph station, trouble had come looking for them.

  “Someone has been here.” At the farthest edge of the yard, Adam pulled the horse and wagon to a stop. He set the brake, then put his hand to his gun belt. He checked his knife, too.

  Savannah noticed. “What sort of ‘someone’?” She cast a nervous glance at the station. “Mrs. Finney, perhaps?”

  “I doubt it.” Grim-faced, Adam jumped to the ground.

  Savannah did, too. “Mose?” she called. “Mose, are you here?”

  She headed for the station, but Adam rounded the wagon first. He caught her arm, then shook his head. “Let me go first. As soon as I make sure everything is all right, I’ll call you.”