Somehow, Shirley had been told of Melissa’s return, and she waited there as well, smiling and sniffling herself. Melissa hugged her.
“Do you love him?” Shirley whispered in her ear.
“More than I ever thought possible.”
“He loves you too, Lissa. I saw the looks he gave you every day working in the general store. He’ll make you happy.”
“I know.”
Pulling away from her, Melissa wiped a few tears from her eyes and turned to face the man lying on the bed. He was smiling weakly at her, propped up on the pillows. His bandage was fresh, and she surmised that Timothy must have changed it before she’d returned.
Pastor Robinson looked back and forth between them, and a look of confusion crossed his face. “Lissa, you’re marrying Marcus?”
She turned to him with a happy smile. “Yes.”
“But what about Timothy?”
Dr. Newcomb put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “She loves him. What can I say? Besides, I think I’ve caught the Widow Skaggs looking my way more than once.”
Everyone in the room laughed, and Marcus patted the bed next to him. “Come here, sugar.”
Licking her lips, Melissa sat tentatively on the bed, not sure what to do. But Marcus slowly stretched his right arm across her shoulders and pulled her back on the pillows with him. Blushing to her roots, Melissa lay beside him on her side, watching as he winced and turned toward her as well. He laced his fingers with hers and smiled bravely.
Melissa barely heard the pastor as he began his prayers. Marcus’s gaze held hers, and she shuddered under its intensity but didn’t look away. It was all too surreal, marrying him on the very same bed where they’d first made love, with her father and sister smiling down on them. She felt a pang of guilt for hurting Timothy, but her thoughts of regret left her when Marcus recited his vows.
When it was her turn to speak the words, she wondered if she’d be able to choke them out. Tears fell freely as she lay there, her head sharing a pillow with Marcus’s. His eyes were shining as she pledged her life to him, and she hoped he could see the love brimming in her eyes.
A few more prayers were said as she held his hand, still gazing into his eyes. As she drew a ragged breath, she heard Pastor Robinson utter the words she’d dreamt of hearing ever since the first day she’d laid eyes on Marcus.
“I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. McCaide. You may kiss your bride.”
Letting go of her hand, Marcus curled his arm around her waist and drew her close to his body. Smiling as his own tears fell, he kissed her tenderly.
He was her husband! She could hardly believe it.
Marcus pulled away slowly, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “You’re mine now, sugar.”
“I always have been.”
He smiled.
“Well, I think we’ve overstayed our welcome,” Chuck said. “We should let these two lovebirds rest for awhile.”
He ushered everyone out of the room, then he returned to the bed, kissed Melissa’s cheek, and shook Marcus’s hand.
“Welcome to the family, son,” he said proudly. “You’re a damn fine man, and I couldn’t wish any better for my daughter. But if you break her heart again, McCaide, I won’t be so merciful next time.”
“You have nothing to worry about, sir.” Marcus smiled, still stroking her cheek.
“Call me Dad.” Chuck winked and closed the door quietly behind him.
With everyone gone, Melissa found herself suddenly shy in her new husband’s presence. It was hard to believe they were married and that Marcus had indeed given her his life as well as his heart.
“What are you thinking about?” he whispered.
“I’m thinking about how much I love you. About how happy I am to be your wife. What about you?”
“The very same thing. You’re Melissa McCaide now, sugar. And I’m going to spend the rest of my life thanking you for marrying such a hardened, foolish, dangerous, lovesick man like me.”
Melissa giggled and gave him a quick kiss, but when she tried to pull away, his hand on the back of her head stopped her. He kissed her slowly and thoroughly, making sure she couldn’t get away until he was finished.
“I’m sorry, Lissa,” he said, tracing the lines of her face with his finger.
“For what?”
“For not giving you a proper wedding night.”
Touching his face, she looked into his golden eyes and saw his pain and sorrow at not being able to make love to her. She smiled and shook her head.
“You already did.”
When he gave her a confused look, she stroked his hair and explained.
“The night in the foothills--the one that should have been my wedding night with Timothy. That was our wedding night. We said our vows to each other under the stars.”
Marcus pulled her closer, resting his forehead on her shoulder. She could feel his body trembling as she caressed his wide back and kissed the top of his head.
“I love you, Lissa,” he said in a shaky, muffled voice.
“I love you too, Marcus.”
Pulling the blankets over them both, she relaxed against him and soon fell asleep.
Twenty-three
Over the next two weeks, Melissa left their room only long enough to get food, water, and books for them both. The first few days after he was shot, Marcus slept most of the time, yet Melissa refused to leave his side. Whenever his bandage needed to be changed, she washed his wound and dressed it herself, content to be nursing him back to health.
He’d lost some weight from not eating much, but after about a week, his hunger returned with a vengeance. It seemed to Melissa that the man would never be full, even with the amount of food he was eating. But she would smile and think to herself that he couldn’t be on death’s door with such a hearty appetite.
Her dresses and other clothing were moved to their room by Shirley and her father, as well as Marcus’s supplies from Pete’s saddle. Fortunately, her father had taken care of the horse, leading him to the livery stable and putting him in the capable hands of Butch.
Finally, after about a week, Chuck decided to tell them about the men they’d encountered in the wilderness.
“They were the Sweetwater Boys,” he explained as he sat in a rickety wooden chair with his feet up on the sill of the nearby window.
“Never heard of them.” Propped up against the pillows with his ankles crossed and a book in his lap, Marcus watched as Melissa cleaned up after changing his bandage. He scowled as if trying to place the name.
“Came down from Colorado and knocked over a few banks and stages,” Chuck said. “It’s a good thing we found Lissa when we did. Some women have gone missing after their robberies and never been found.”
Melissa shuddered as she washed her hands in the bowl then placed the pitcher full of water back on the side table.
Marcus noticed and patted the bed beside him. She came to him quietly and saw her father smile as she tucked her head under her husband’s chin.
“I had to kill one of them,” Chuck said. “That Joe fellow was downright ornery and had a knife in his boot I hadn’t counted on. Almost met my maker soon after you two left the clearing.”
Marcus squeezed Melissa tight. “Good. The bastard deserved to die.”
“Marcus!” Melissa gasped. “He didn’t do anything other than kidnap me. Is that grounds for death?”
“He was going to rape you along with the rest of them,” he reminded her with a hard stare. “If your father and I hadn’t shown up when we did, I’d have killed them all myself for what they would have done to you.”
Swallowing hard, Melissa hid her face in his chest, remembering how he’d killed Dean without a second thought. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized how dangerous a man Marcus McCaide really was. The unguarded hatred in his eyes for her captors had been plain to see. But, in a way, it also warmed her heart to think that the man she loved more than any other would fight to the death in order to pr
otect her.
“Do you disagree?” he asked, hooking his finger under her chin to make sure she couldn’t look away.
Thoughts of what she’d known Dean had a mind to do ripped through her--of his shoving her face into his crotch, of forcing her mouth open to receive him--and she trembled. She also remembered Dean’s words that Joe would have raped her regardless of her miscarriage. Shaking her head, she bit her lip and sniffled.
“I’m sorry to upset you, sugar.” Marcus hugged her close.
“It’s all right,” she said, wiping her eyes. “I just didn’t know how… protective you are of me.”
“You are my wife, the woman I love. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Melissa blushed but gave him a soft kiss regardless.
“I turned in the other man without a fight up in Jacksonville,” Chuck went on. “Got myself a hefty reward too. Seems as if the Sweetwater Boys were worth five hundred dollars each, dead or alive.”
Melissa’s jaw hit the floor.
“Good for you, Chuck.” Marcus chuckled.
“Figure half of that belongs to you, son.” Chuck leaned over and placed the cash on the side table near the pitcher. “It’s the least I can do for taking a bullet for my daughter.”
Marcus’s eyes widened. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You can start by saying thank you.”
“Well, thank you, sir… I mean, Dad.”
“You’re welcome, Marcus.” Chuck smiled at Melissa.
“So you used to be a bounty hunter?” she asked.
Chuck nodded. “Back in the good ol’ days. Met your mama on a job. We were married within six weeks of meeting each other, and she urged me to quit. Didn’t want her husband working such a dangerous job. So I took the money I’d earned and bought the general store here in the Gulch, and that’s when we started makin’ babies.”
Melissa glanced up at Marcus who winked at her with a wide grin of his own. “Sounds like a mighty fine plan of yours.”
“It was shortly thereafter that I started getting pain in my joints. I’d been able to manage it well enough until recently when I hired you on, son.”
“How’s Timothy doing?”
“He’s doing about as well as to be expected,” Chuck replied. “He’s taking your marriage to Marcus favorably and has even called on the Widow Skaggs a few times.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Melissa said, and she was. Timothy deserved happiness. He was a good man.
“And Shirley’s enamored with Pastor Robinson’s son Christopher,” Chuck added. “Ever since your failed wedding to Dr. Newcomb, he’s been coming to call almost daily.”
Melissa giggled. “Good for her.”
“Well, you and Marcus both look tired, so I’ll get out of your hair. You two take it easy now, you hear?”
After Chuck was gone, Marcus simply held Melissa in silence, stroking her hair. She fell asleep on his chest a little while later, listening to his steady, comforting heartbeat.
~ * ~
When the second week passed, Timothy visited them to remove Marcus’s stitches. He seemed pleased at how well the wound was healing.
“You’re going to have to take things easy, Marcus. You can still hurt yourself if you do anything too strenuous, but I would say you can go for short outings as long as you take care to rest often. You no longer need the bandage, but try not to poke at the wound. It will be tender for awhile, but you’re almost as good as new.”
The scar was still a little red and swollen, and Marcus winced sometimes when he moved, but he was able to walk around the room now on his own.
“So, Doc,” he began, giving Melissa a look that burned her to a crisp where she stood. “Does this mean I can make love to my wife?”
Melissa gasped and almost laughed out loud when she noticed Timothy blushing a shade darker than she was. He fidgeted as he stood and straightened his coat.
“Well, now, I don’t see why not, Mr. McCaide. As long as you rest afterward.”
The smile that spread across Marcus’s face melted Melissa’s heart and made a jolt of electricity shoot through her. Timothy grabbed his black medical bag and fled, practically slamming the door in his haste to leave the room.
Twenty-four
Crooking his finger at her, Marcus’s eyes burned as they roved over her body. Although she was fully clothed, he had a way of making her feel as if she didn’t have a stitch on her. She reached up to unravel her bun, shook out her hair, and unfastened the buttons on the front of her dress.
“Come here, Lissa,” he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
She didn’t immediately obey him. Without breaking eye contact with him, she sauntered through the room and locked the door.
“Come here,” he commanded again.
Grabbing the brush from the vanity, she took her time in brushing out the tangles from her dark red hair.
“Woman, don’t make me come get you.”
“Why not?” she asked innocently. “It’s more fun when you’re riled up.”
Marcus growled and stood from the bed, unfastening his pants and stepping out of them. Melissa gasped again at the sight of him naked before her.
“Woman, I haven’t made love to you in weeks, and I mean to love you right here and now, so get on that bed.”
“Shouldn’t you say please first?”
“Lissa, you’re deliberately provoking me.”
“Am I that obvious?”
He rounded the bed and advanced on her, but she stood her ground, lifting her chin up a notch.
“I’ll rip this one off you too if you don’t take it off, sweetheart.”
Smiling at him, she finished unbuttoning the front of it and slid it slowly off her shoulders, peeking at him underneath her lashes. She enjoyed watching him watch her, knowing full well he was trying his best not to touch her. Once her dress pooled at her feet, he grabbed her shoulders and shoved her back on the bed none too gently, making her cry out with shock. In a flash he was on top of her, ripping the ties to her corset and petticoats.
“I have a feeling that being married to you is going to cost us a fortune in new clothing,” she said as she felt his hands tearing the remainder of her clothing off her body.
“Are you complaining?” he had the gall to say.
“No.” Pulling his mouth down to hers, she arched her body as she kissed him, wanting desperately to feel him against her.
“If you didn’t take so damned long in getting undressed, I wouldn’t have to rip them off you.”
Melissa smiled, shuddering at the raw passion in her husband’s eyes.
“I’ve missed the taste of you, Lissa,” he whispered as he dipped his head and feasted on her breasts. Melissa almost climaxed at that alone, arching into him once again, silently begging for his touch.
~ * ~
As Marcus loved her nipples, his belly moved erotically back and forth against her, making her buck underneath him. But he did no more than that for now. He knew he was driving her wild if her moans were any indication. Smiling on his downward path across her belly, he opened her legs a little wider and caressed their soft skin with his big hands. He knew he would never be able to stop touching her every chance he got.
“You’re so soft, baby, you know that?”
She answered by raising her hips, trying futilely to grind against him. He decided to give her back a little of the torment she’d just put him through not more than a minute before. Kissing her down the inside of her thighs, he darted his tongue along the back of her knees, sucking and biting the soft, sensitive flesh the entire way up her leg.
She was trembling. His wife was trembling, and he could hardly contain his pride. She wanted him, she loved him, and she was his. She almost jumped halfway off the bed when he blew his hot breath along her slick folds, and it made him smile. He’d teased her long enough.
Melissa indeed tasted like honey as he held her close, pressing his fingers inside of her. It didn’t take long at all for her
to scream her release, and scream she did. He felt her hands in his hair holding onto him painfully, but he wouldn’t have complained in the least.
Once her shaking subsided, he rose back over her, still pressing his fingers gently against her, making her shudders continue. He took his time, exploring the planes of her belly before nipping and licking his way up both of her arms, smiling at her flesh that pebbled at the sensation. His wound gave him only a slight twinge as he hovered over her, tasting her neck before making his way to her ear.
“Marcus,” she panted.
“What is it, sugar?” he whispered as he continued to taste her there.
“Let me… let me… oh. God…”
He smiled down on her, kissing her cheeks, her eyes, and her chin, making his way to her other ear. “What, baby? What do you want to do?”
“I want to kiss you like this too,” she whispered, caressing his thighs with hers.
Groaning, Marcus laid his head on her shoulder. “Honey, not now.”
“Please?”
“Lissa, next time. Next time you can. If you do it now--”
“I know, I know,” she said with a grin. “This will be over too quickly?”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “Something like that.”
“Then make love to me, Marcus. Now.”
If he’d been standing, the fire in her eyes would have brought him to his knees. Positioning himself, he smiled and kissed the tip of her nose.
"Get ready, Mrs. McCaide," he said with tears glittering in his eyes. “Cause we're gonna make us another baby tonight."
He plunged deeply into her heat, muffling her pleasured gasps with his mouth. As Melissa's hands eagerly caressed his body, his heart swelled, and he knew her father had been right all along. Marcus had found the peace he’d so desperately craved.
In Lissa’s arms.
About Rebecca Goings
Rebecca Goings has enjoyed writing stories all her life. As a child, she frequently wrote romantic stories for her classmates, and still has most of them. Becoming an author has been her life’s goal for as long as she can remember, even taking a typing class along with her creative writing courses!
In Your Arms Page 13
