How Miss West Was Won

by Lexie Clark

  “True.” Cordelia closed her eyes and savored the feel of his hands sliding up and down her sides. It made her giggle, and when one hand dipped between her legs, she cried out in pure lust.

  Eli pushed with his hand just a little, and she took a step backward. He stood and she watched while he quickly shed his clothes. It was not the first time she had seen a man in full arousal, but it was the first time she had wanted to wrap her hands around his hard length and stroke him.

  When she came to him and did just that, Eli emitted a growl of desire so heavy she thought her needs would crumble.

  “Are you sure you’re a virgin, Cordelia?” he asked as she continued to move her hand up and down his shaft.

  “I am sure, Eli.” But right now she did not feel like it. She wanted to take her place on the bed, watch as he climbed above her and welcome him inside her most intimate of places. “But I am not sure why I am doing this. It goes against everything I said would happen while I was here.”

  “Define here,” he said, staring at her. “You mean here at the Four Fours, or here, in my bedroom?”

  “At the Four Fours,” she confirmed. “I am not sure what I was thinking when I came in here tonight, except that you needed comfort.”

  A look she could not quite identify passed over his face, but it was quickly gone. He moved to the bed and grasped the bedcovers. With a quick flourish, he ripped them toward the end of the bed and let them settle there.

  “Come and lie with me, Cordelia.” His voice was once again deep with need. “I want to show you the true pleasures of what can happen between a man and a woman.”

  Cordelia knew she should say no. When she was with William, she had feelings for him, deep feelings. And while she liked Eli, except for the times he had spanked her, she did not love him. What was about to happen should only happen because of love. When she went back to New York, she would be changed. Did she want that to happen?

  “Cordelia?” Eli held out his hand and Cordelia placed hers in his palm. He squeezed it, and his next words made her shiver. “I’ll be gentle.”

  “What about the—” She did not want to say the words out loud, to remind him they had already put blood on the sheets to fool Mrs. Dunlap into thinking they had been intimate.

  “You let me worry about that,” he said. “Come here.”

  Cordelia took a step toward him, and when he tugged gently, she tumbled onto the bed. He lay down next to her, his mouth finding hers in an instant. The kiss was deep, and oh so sweet. She opened her mouth to take him inside, feel the intimacy of joining their bodies together.

  One of his hands was on her shoulder, gently caressing while the other one had moved to her chest, finding her breast and squeezing it.

  “Eli,” she whispered against his lips. She had forgotten how wonderful a man’s hands and lips felt on her body. She shivered under his touch as his lips moved from her mouth, down her neck and back to her breasts.

  He moved slowly, licking and nibbling at her sensitive skin until Cordelia cried out with pleasure. When his lips moved to her stomach, Cordelia felt her body tighten. She put her hands on his shoulder and whispered, “No.”

  “What?” He moved above her, looking down at her with hooded eyes.

  “That is no place for your mouth,” she said.

  “I beg to differ.” He kissed her breast. “I want to kiss you everywhere.”

  He started again, moving his lips down her body toward her naval. “Eli,” she whispered as she tried to twist away from him. “Please, do not do that.”

  “Why not?” He sounded genuinely confused.

  “Lips do not go down that far,” she replied.

  His chuckle made her shiver. “For now.” He kissed her bellybutton and she wiggled to get away from him. “But next time, and the time after that, you will learn that lips do go down that far… and even farther.”

  His declaration of the “next times” made Cordelia grasp the seriousness of what was happening. If she allowed Eli to take her maidenhead, he would expect her to come to his bed again, and again. Being with him in this manner would make leaving him harder. Did she have what it would take to leave him behind?

  Yes, she decided, since there was no love mixed into the situation. She would be able to go back to New York and pick up her life where it had ended when she left.

  Eli was stroking her hip again. He was propped up on one elbow, staring down at her. “You’re a million miles away,” he said. “I want you here, in this room when I take you. Concentrate on me, Cordelia. If you are having seconds thoughts, tell me now.”

  Honesty was the best policy. “I am nervous, yes, but that does not mean I do not want to be with you.”

  “Shall I continue?”

  “Yes,” she said without hesitation. She spread her legs and stared up at him. “Come inside me, Eli. Take me.”

  He moved so fast that Cordelia was worried he would take her before she was totally prepared. She was wet, true, but still a little jittery.

  But when he was above her he kissed her, over and over as his hands stroked her body. When his length was positioned at her opening, Cordelia stared up at him. He looked down at her, his gaze tender and inquiring. Cordelia nodded and he pushed inside.

  At first there was no pain, only the feeling of utter fullness as he pressed into her soft folds. But then he stopped, licked his lips and she felt him push harder. Sharp, stabbing pain shot through her and Cordelia cried out.

  “Shush, I am sorry,” he whispered in her ear. But he did not stop pushing, and the pain continued to throb through her as he slid his entire length into her folds.

  “Hurts,” she whispered against his shoulder.

  “I know, Cordelia,” he said. “I am sorry. The pain will be over soon, I promise. Just stay still for a few moments.”

  She did as he said. Cordelia kept her face buried in Eli’s shoulder. The fullness of having him inside her was not what she had expected, but the pain that had turned to a throb was soon only a slight discomfort.

  When she moaned softly, Eli started to move, sliding in and out of her wetness. At first she did not care for the sensations this movement produced, but then the irritation turned to something she could not quite identify, not total pleasure, but a strange enjoyment that spread to her legs and her belly.

  Eli started to move faster. His breathing was heavy and he was panting. Cordelia tightened her legs around him, wanting to feel close to him, as she knew his climax was about to happen. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders to hold him tight; moments later his body shuddered, and she knew he had filled her with his seed.

  That thought made the excitement of the event turn sour. What would happen if his seed took hold and they made a child together? Perhaps if she washed herself soon, it would prevent it. Cordelia wished she had thought about that earlier, but it was too late now. The dam had been breached, and when Eli left her body, he would leave behind part of himself. They would deal with the consequences later, if it happened.

  “Do you hurt?” he whispered in her ear.

  “Just a little,” she replied.

  He pulled away from her, and when his length left her body, Cordelia felt a different sort of ache. She wanted him back inside her. She watched as he walked to the dresser and dipped a towel into the water in the washbasin. He used the cloth to clean himself, and then he picked up another one and dunked it in the water before he turned toward the bed.

  He sat beside her and ran the cloth over her thighs. “I can do that,” she said as she reached for his hand.

  “Lie back,” he commanded, his voice soft yet firm. “I spilled the blood, and I will clean it up.”

  Cordelia closed her eyes and let him do as he asked. He cleaned her thighs and the intimate spot between her legs that he had just left. When he was done, he spread her lower lips and fingered the hard bud at the top of her vagina.

  “No,” she said, trying to sit up.

  Eli gently pushed her back down. “Yes.”
He continued to stroke it, and Cordelia was no stranger to what happened when that particular part of her body was stimulated. William had taught her, and she was ashamed to say she did it while she was alone, when she missed him.

  But now, Eli’s hands were caressing her, gently moving the bud from side to side, pushing down on it and then stroking the blood vessel that fed it. Before long, Cordelia’s hips were moving. She clutched the sheets as her breathing intensified.

  She finally exploded when Eli took the bud between two fingers and pinched. Ribbons of pure bliss wrapped themselves around her and squeezed. It was the most incredible climax she had ever experienced, and she never wanted it to end.

  “Eli!” she cried out as her hips moved up and down repeatedly as her orgasm raced through her. She felt wonderful, incredibly sleepy and beautifully content.

  When she was still, Eli stroked her gently. “No more,” she whispered.

  “For tonight,” he said. Then he leaned over and kissed her again. “We’ll go sleep in your room. Tomorrow, we’ll try and figure out what to do about the situation we are in.”

  Cordelia sat up and watched as he took the stained cloth back to the dresser. When he crossed the room and offered her his hand, she did not hesitate. She knew what they had just done was wrong, but she did not care.

  They went into her room and Eli climbed into her bed, totally naked. She took his hand and lay beside him. It was the first time in her life she had ever slept without clothing on, and it made her feel free, and just a little shameless. And she loved it.

  She would not change what just happened for all the treasures in the world.

  * * *

  When Cordelia woke the next morning, Eli was gone. She knew he would be, because when he got out of bed, when it was still dark outside, he had kissed her gently and told her he would see her that evening. There were quite a few things that needed to be done on the ranch, he told her, and he knew she had things to finish before Saturday’s party.

  The thought of the party made her want to crawl under the covers and stay there. With the things that were happening, Cordelia was sure people would show up just to gawk. They would want to see Eli’s wife, and his second wife. They had to figure out a way out of this mess, and soon.

  She was just about to give in to the temptation to sleep some more, when there was a knock on the door, and it swung open. Mrs. Dunlap stood there, a frown on her face.

  “I need you downstairs,” she said, her voice gruff. “You have two visitors, one a very nice little girl who said she is making a party dress for you. The second is… her.”

  Cordelia held the covers close to her chest, hoping it would hide the fact that she was naked. She thought about the bloody sheets in Eli’s room, and how she needed to take care of them before Mrs. Dunlap saw them.

  “Um…” Cordelia ran her fingers through her hair. As she moved, she noticed a twinge between her legs. She knew it was from where she and Eli had played last night. It was not an acute pain, but it did hurt when she moved. “Tell Constance she is not welcome here, and to leave. Eli is not here to speak with her.”

  “She has come to see you, or so she says,” Mrs. Dunlap replied.

  Cordelia let her gaze wander to the door between the two bedrooms. “Um…”

  “I’ve taken care of things in there,” Mrs. Dunlap said. “I’m glad to see the two of you are finally acting as husband and wife.”

  “Um…” Was that the only thing Cordelia could say this morning? “How did you—”

  “I was not fooled by your earlier ploy,” Mrs. Dunlap said. Then her voice lowered. “By the way, the soreness will lessen as the day goes by.”

  “Thank you,” Cordelia said, softly. “Tell the ladies I will dress and that I will be down there shortly.”

  “Should I offer them refreshments?” Mrs. Dunlap asked.

  It was on the tip of her tongue to tell the housekeeper to offer something to Melody, but not to Constance. But that would only start more troubles.

  “Yes, you can offer them refreshments.”

  Cordelia could hear Mrs. Dunlap muttering as she closed the door, but Cordelia could not make out what the housekeeper was saying.

  It took Cordelia almost an hour to get up, clean herself properly and then dress. By the time she got downstairs, she noticed that Constance was pacing the library. Melody sat in Eli’s chair near the chessboard. She was studying the pieces as she clutched a parcel in her lap.

  “Mrs. Bannister,” Melody said quickly, standing as she said the words. “It’s good to see you.”

  “It’s about time,” Constance said, and Cordelia noticed that her English accent was fainter than it had been. “How dare you keep me waiting?”

  Those words were more pronounced.

  “How dare you show up uninvited?” Cordelia said. “What do you want?”

  “I want to speak with you.” Constance glared at Melody. “Alone.”

  “I am sorry, but that is not possible,” Cordelia said. She crossed to the tray Mrs. Dunlap had set out. There were glasses, a pitcher of lemonade and some cookies. “I have an appointment with Melody, but not with you. If you wish to speak, now is the time to do so, because there will be no private time.”

  Cordelia could tell by the look on Constance’s face that her words had hit the other woman hard. But she did not care. Cordelia did not care about Constance. The only thing that mattered was that the other woman went back to England.

  “Very well,” Constance said. “I want to know what it will take for you to leave.”

  “Leave?” Cordelia laughed. “Why would I leave my husband?”

  Especially after last night, Cordelia thought. The bond that they now shared said she would protect Eli at all costs, which meant that she would have to double her efforts in ridding the area of Constance.

  “You are committing adultery,” Constance said.

  Fornication, maybe, but not adultery, Cordelia thought. “Constance, Eli and I were married, in person, by a pastor.”

  “Really?” Constance put her hands on her hips. “Because the pastor here does not remember performing the ceremony.”

  The little witch, Cordelia thought. She has been questioning the people around the town.

  “We were married in Denver,” Cordelia said.

  “By whom?” Constance asked.

  “None of your business,” Cordelia answered. “Now, my question to you is, what will it take to get you on the next train back east, and then on a boat to England?”

  “I will not leave, nor lose,” Constance said. “You need to remember that.”

  “It seems to me that I am living with my husband and you are staying in a hotel,” Cordelia said. The urge to slap the other woman was strong. “You need to remember that the next time you decide to make demands.”

  The anger that crossed Constance’s face made Cordelia fight back a smile. She turned her gaze slightly at a movement in the doorway. Mrs. Dunlap stood there, a large wooden paddle in her hand. Cordelia wondered if she expected to spank Constance or if she planned on protecting Cordelia if things turned violent.

  “Perhaps you should leave, Constance,” Cordelia said. “Your efforts to throw me out of my own home are not going to be successful today.”

  Constance’s gaze narrowed. “Maybe not today, but at some point I will see you gone from here. And I will be in your place. And it will be soon.”

  Constance pushed past Cordelia and exited the room. Soon, the front door slammed. Cordelia hurried out and watched as the English woman climbed into a carriage. The conveyance soon took off.

  Cordelia wondered what Constance had been doing before Cordelia arrived downstairs, but then she remembered that Melody had also been there. She went back into the library. Melody was sitting in her chair, her eyes wide. Mrs. Dunlap was nowhere to be seen.

  “I’m so sorry you had to witness that, Melody.”

  “She’s quite an actress,” Melody replied.

  Cordelia frowned.
She had thought Constance was many things, but never an actress. “What do you mean?”

  “I saw her on the stage, in London, about four years ago,” Melody said. “I was young, and my father took me to the city when he had to conduct some business. He took me to a play, and that lady was the star, although I can’t remember her name.”

  Cordelia sank into the chair opposite the young Irish woman. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive,” Melody said. “I remember that I fell in love with the dress she wore, and I wanted one just like it. It was a soft lilac color, and had a beautiful bustle on it. I asked my father for one, but he said it was much too expensive.”

  Her words made Cordelia feel as if she might faint. Had someone hired Constance to play the part of a woman who was supposed to marry Eli?

  “You are quite positive?”

  Melody looked offended that Cordelia had questioned her again.

  “Forgive me, but this is so…” Cordelia stood and started to pace. She needed to find the truth about Constance. “But you cannot remember her name?”

  “No, but I remember the name of the play, Aphrodite’s Garden. It was about a woman who married her lovers, killed them and then buried them in the garden. She was doing it for money. It was a murder mystery, very intriguing.”

  Cordelia’s thoughts spun. She needed to verify things before she said anything to Eli, and there was only one person she knew who could help her: Mr. Tuttle. He had contacts in London, and she could wire him and ask him to see who had starred in Aphrodite’s Garden four years ago.

  “Melody, you have been a wonderful help. Now, let me try on that dress you have made to see if it needs any alterations. After that, we shall eat lunch, and then I will accompany you back into town.”

  Melody smiled as Cordelia laid out the plans. She handed Cordelia the package, and Cordelia asked her to accompany her to the bedroom so she could try the costume on. But her mind was not on the afternoon, it was on what would happen after, and if she could actually prove Constance had been hired to try and move into Eli’s life.

  The real question was who had hired her. And why.