by Vanessa Vale
“Lily,” she whispered.
My brows went up at the name.
“My name is Lily.” Her eyes lowered to my mouth, remained there. “I figure you should know the name of the woman you’re about to kiss.”
The thrill of triumph coursed through me and even as I grinned, I lowered my lips to hers, brushing sweetly and softly across them. Soft and warm, those were my first thoughts. Tentative, yet bold as she pressed against me, but I wouldn’t rush. Wouldn’t hurry this.
“Why are you going so slowly?” she breathed, her hand curling about my neck.
“This is my last first kiss, precious. I want to savor it.”
The sound that escaped her was part moan, part purr. While I wanted to press her into the wall, let her feel how much that sound made me hard, I held back. An alley wasn’t where I was going to make her mine. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t slip my tongue into her mouth and learn every hot, wet part of her.
She was delicious, perfect, incredible, hot, innocent, sultry. Everything, which made it so hard to lift my head, to step back.
“You get one day, Lily. One day of courting. Tomorrow, we see the preacher and I make you mine.”
She didn’t slap me this time. She didn’t even frown or shoot daggers at me. Instead, she leaned against the wall as if she needed the support and bit her swollen lower lip. “All right, but can I have another kiss first?”
It was my turn to groan. I wanted another kiss more than I wanted my next breath. “No. I’m doing this right. The next time I kiss you it will be after the vows.” When she lifted her hand to my chest, I took it in mine, held it away from me. My willpower was only so strong. “I mean it, precious.”
She pouted.
“And I thought you were a good girl,” I teased.
Her body tensed at that, but I pulled her against me, her hand trapped against my chest. “There’s nothing wrong with a good girl having a naughty side. Especially my good girl. Tomorrow. Tomorrow you can show me just how naughty you are.”
CHAPTER FOUR
LILY
Jack’s mouth was on mine, kissing me in a completely different way than the chaste peck at the end of our wedding ceremony just a few minutes earlier. My mouth opened on a gasp at the way his gentle, yet demanding mouth felt as he plundered me with his tongue. His tongue! I had no idea it would be so… carnal to have a man’s tongue touch mine, to lick every inch of my mouth. Jack was overwhelming me, surrounding me and I was sinking fast, my knees weakening by the second.
After the first kiss in the alley, he had kept his word and hadn’t kissed me again until I was Mrs. Matthews. I knew he wanted to, for his eyes had been on my mouth often enough since. I’d wanted him to kiss me, too. Perhaps because he refused to do so. But this kiss, oh, this kiss more than made up for it!
He’d opened the door to his—our—hotel room, pushed me inside, kicked it shut, then spun me around so my back pressed against it. I barely had time to catch my breath before he lowered his head to mine. His forearms rested on either side of my head and I swear I felt every long, lean inch of him against me.
“Are you sure that ceremony was legal? It was really short,” I murmured between long kisses. I barely had enough breath to utter the words. His clean, spicy scent filled my senses. Peppermint flavored his tongue.
Jack kissed the corner of my mouth, then along the line of my jaw. When his tongue licked at the skin there, I moaned. Heat pooled between my thighs and I felt my nipples tighten.
“I paid the minister extra for the short version.”
I’d never heard Jack’s voice this deep before, this rough. We’d spent the remainder of yesterday together, returning me to my house at the end of the day, then picking me up just after the sun rose. It had been a long night alone in the house, tossing and turning—Dr. Bower not yet returned from Boulder.
His breath fanned my heated skin. Opening my eyes, I stared up at the white plaster ceiling as I angled my head, giving him more room to kiss down the side of my neck. “Why?”
“So I could do this.” He nipped at my earlobe and I moaned. I had no idea my ear was so sensitive. Reaching out, I grabbed Jack’s waist and wrapped my fingers around the soft fabric of his shirt and held on for dear life. Beneath my palms, his body was hard and the muscles tensed. Heat radiated from him and into me until I thought I might combust.
“Jack.” My eyes slid closed as he kissed a very sensitive spot behind my ear.
“God, I love it when you say my name like that.”
“Like what?” I whispered.
“Like you’re going to come any second.”
His mouth took mine again, not giving me a moment to wonder what the word ‘come’ meant. I did know what to expect when his tongue slipped into my mouth and I met it and kissed him right back. It was his turn to groan. I could feel his manhood against my belly, hard and thick, but I could swear it grew even bigger as he rocked against me.
“Scared, precious?” He pulled back to look at me, his usually whiskey eyes a fathomless black. His cheeks were flushed and he watched me as if I were the only person in the entire world. His world. In this moment, I believed I was. He asked the same question in the alley. That time, I had been scared. But now…
“No,” I replied quietly. My head was angled back as I looked up at him, his large body blocking the daylight filtering through the room’s single window.
My lips felt slick and swollen and I didn’t think I’d ever catch my breath. Jack was so… virile. My body had come alive in less than a minute. I felt things I never knew even possible. My body craved his, ached for it. My nipples were hard points and between my legs, my womanhood was swollen and damp. If he made me feel this way by just kissing, I had no idea if I would survive what came next.
“Nervous?” I offered. “Hell, yes.”
The corner of his mouth tipped up. “If I weren’t about to say some pretty dirty things to you, I’d have to take you over my knee for that language.”
I arched a brow and smiled. The idea of Jack lifting my skirts and spanking me was appealing in a very carnal way. Why I reacted so strongly about something that would hurt, I had no idea. “Dirty things?” I stuttered.
He tilted his head back and laughed, then stroked his knuckles over my cheek.
“Oh, precious, only you would question that part of my statement. Aren’t you worried about me spanking that pert ass of yours?”
He dropped one arm and cupped said pert ass, gave it a squeeze.
Biting my lip, I slowly shook my head. His big hand felt good there. The slight hint of pain at his tight grip should have scared me as he’d assumed, but it… thrilled me instead.
Jack growled. “Jesus, woman. It’s time to get you naked.”
Oh, yes. Definitely. With eager fingers, I began to undo the buttons of my dress, but Jack stilled me with his hand. “Precious, that’s my job. Your job is to part your luscious thighs when I’m done.”
Pressing my palms into the cool wood of the door, I let Jack have his way.
As the upper swells of my breasts were exposed, Jack said, “I’ve been waiting my entire life for this.”
I watched as his jaw clenched as another inch of me was revealed.
“We’ve only known each other since yesterday.” My breath hitched when the backs of his knuckles grazed my skin. This was crazy. We were crazy.
He shook his head slowly as he continued downward, uncovering my cream-colored corset. “I knew you were out there somewhere. I just hadn’t found you yet. I just hadn’t expected it to be right in front of a moving stage.” The last he grumbled, still unhappy about my carelessness.
With large hands, he pushed the parted fabric off my shoulders.
I should feel modest, for we barely knew each other. I’d known Mr. Minken at the mercantile longer than Jack. I knew the farrier, the man at the livery, even the minister of my church longer. Hell, the only person I knew for less time was the hotel clerk downstairs. But I wasn’t letting any one
of them strip me bare and take my virginity. It was all for Jack and Jack alone.
Time didn’t matter, though. I’d known he was the one when I first laid eyes on him. I’d wanted him then and there, smackdab in the middle of the dusty thoroughfare. He had been the reason I’d frozen in place when he emerged from the bath house and given me the perfect glimpse of him before he put his hat on. If he hadn’t been there, I would have been safely on the boardwalk. But no. I’d practically drooled at his dashing figure and handsome face as I remained stock still. It wasn’t until he’d dashed into the dusty thoroughfare, scooped me up over his shoulder as if I were a sack of grain and away from the barreling horses and oversized stage, that my senses returned.
That had only been for a moment as I realized the danger I’d been in and before I tilted my chin back to look at him. It was when his brown eyes met mine that I was done for. I belonged to him then and there. And now the hefty weight of Jack’s ring was on my finger.
He’d said it had been his mother’s, a ring he carried about with him wherever he went. It was a small, tangible token of her, who he said had died when he was young. And now it was mine and I wore it with pride. He was pushing my dress down over my hips to pool around my feet and I forgot all about the ring.
“Dr. Bower is going to kill me when he finds out about this.”
Jack was looking at me with such reverence as his hands slid over me, one curve at a time. While it was immodest to be seen without a dress, I still wore my stockings, drawers, corset and chemise. The only part of my skin exposed was the large expanse of cleavage pushing up from the ruffled edge of my snug undergarment.
“As a doctor he’s vowed to do no harm.” I sucked in a breath when the callused edge of one finger slid along the swells of my breasts. “Besides, it’s my Miss Esther and Miss Trudy you should worry about, along with my four brothers-in-law.”
He lifted his dark eyes to mine at the mention of my large family. I’d had to draw out a diagram for the two mothers who’d adopted me and seven other little girls after the Chicago fire, making us a big family. With Rose, Hyacinth, Dahlia and Daisy already wed, the clan was growing quickly.
“Fortunately, none of them are in Butte.”
I couldn’t help but laugh breathily. “You’re the Pinkerton and can protect yourself from anything. I should think you know how to disembowel a bear with a fork.”
Jack had told me he worked for the company known for their skilled detectives. While not law enforcement in an official capacity, they were famous for their work. Even in the territory, I knew Jack was skilled at his job. But, he hadn’t told me what that job was. He’d mentioned, often enough, that he only had two days with me before he took on a new assignment. Unfortunately, it was confidential and he refused to tell me. I wasn’t sure if it was for my safety, his or something else entirely.
He’d told me he’d be gone a week, perhaps two, then return for me. I could tolerate remaining with Dr. Bower for that duration. Knowing now what it felt like just to kiss Jack, I didn’t want to be apart from him at all. I didn’t complain, just kissed him again.
“Ah, precious, that’s quite the compliment. That’s not a skill I have happened to use… yet. Another is stripping my virgin bride.”
I gulped as he began undoing the stays of my corset. “Perhaps when we tell him, you’d best lie and tell the bear story.”
The corset parted and while I sighed in relief at being able to breathe deeply once again, Jack sighed, too. “You wear too damn much clothing.”
“You’re the one still fully dressed. I’m sure that—”
When his hands came up to cup my breasts in his large palms, he cut me off. “Tell me, precious, do you always talk so much when you’re nervous?”
I only nodded a reply because I’d lost all ability to speak at the feel of his hands on me. I’d never been touched like this before and he really wasn’t doing anything… yet. I knew what happened between a man and his wife—I was the apprentice of the town doctor and had grown up on a ranch. I had no idea that it would feel so good. So, so good.
“Then let’s get your mouth occupied,” he replied. “On your knees, precious.”
With slight pressure of his hands on my shoulders—and a slight frown of confusion on my face—I dropped to my knees and looked up at him. So dark, so handsome. And he was all mine.
His fingers were deft as he undid his belt buckle, then opened the front placket of his pants. The first thing I discovered was that he wore no drawers. The second thing I discovered was that a man’s penis was much, much bigger than I’d imagined. Or at least Jack’s was.
“By the look on your face, you’ve never seen a cock before,” Jack growled as he gripped the base. “Let me introduce you to the first—and last—cock you’ll ever see.”
He slid his hand up the root, thick with veins bulging all the way up, then let go. “Grip it.”
Tentatively, I lifted my hands and took hold of it, but my hand was too small—or he was just too big—to close all the way around. He was hot and silky soft to touch. He hissed out a breath and said, “Tighter. Good girl. Now stroke it like I did.”
I matched his earlier movements and I felt it pulse in my hold. As I did so, a drop of pearly white fluid oozed from the small hole at the tip. “That, precious, is for you. Lick it.”
My tongue darted out over my lips, apprehensive and eager all at once. Leaning forward, I flicked away that salty essence, but another drop returned.
“Keep licking and stroking. Yes, good. Oh, so good.”
I continued to taste the broad head of him with my tongue, and I reveled in the sight of his tight jaw, his closed eyes as I looked up at his face.
He surprised me by stepping back out of my reach. His cock had darkened and thickened impossibly further and instead of a single drop leaking from the tip, a long line of fluid dripped down over the plush crown.
“While coming in that innocent mouth of yours is a fantasy of mine, I want to fill that sweet pussy of yours, not your belly.”
Scooping me up, he spun around and tossed me onto the bed. I landed with a bounce on the soft mattress as the brass bed frame creaked loudly. “I can tell now that the other guests are going to know exactly what we’re doing.”
With one knee on the bed, Jack crawled over me, settled his forearms on either sides of my head and looked down at me. His hand stroked my hair back from my face. As he settled his hips into the juncture of mine, I felt his hot member pressing against my exposed upper thigh.
“Didn’t I please you?” I asked, worried that my lack of skill at having his cock in my mouth had been a disappointment for him. “I’ll try harder next time.”
With his thumb, he tilted my chin up so I met his dark gaze. “Precious, if I was pleased anymore I’d be wiping my cum from your lips. You had your taste, now it’s my turn.”
He kissed my mouth briefly—too brief if he really did want a taste—then kissed a path down my neck, over my clavicle, through the valley between my breasts, past my navel as his hands found the hem of my chemise and pushed it upward. His mouth landed on the flat expanse below my navel, skin to hot skin. No cotton barrier between us. He looked up my body at me as he gripped my drawers and tugged, rending the fabric from me with little effort. The shredded garment he held up before me.
“You can either skip wearing these or you will be stripped of them and then spanked every time I discover you wearing them.”
My eyes widened at the seriousness of his tone as he tossed my ruined drawers over his shoulder.
“No drawers?” I squeaked, thinking about what he said. Bare beneath my dresses or a spanking. A spanking? Why did that idea make my thighs even wetter?
“No drawers.” He pushed my thighs wide and moved down so his face hovered directly over my womanhood. I could feel his hot breath on my secret flesh and I tried to squirm away. His grip was too strong and he grinned. “It’s my turn to taste. You’ll come now, precious, then I’ll fuck you.”
>
I didn’t have time to think about that, for his nose nudged against me and I bucked. His hold tightened at the idea of his smelling me. Oh, God, and tasting me! He licked up the length of my seam and I cried out. His hands moved inward and he used his thumbs to part me. It was then that he went to work with his mouth, learning every nook and cranny of that part of my body with an unrelenting focus.
At first I was embarrassed that he would pick up the scent of my arousal, would find me very wet and sensitive. I had to wonder what he thought I tasted like, for there was no doubt I coated his tongue. When he lifted his head for a moment and I chanced a glance down at him, I could see that my… eagerness also coated his lips and chin in a glistening display.
“Sweet, like honey. I might have to call you sweetness instead of precious.”
He went back to work and I dropped my head back, my eyes falling shut. I’d touched myself before in my bed late at night and I’d found my climax, but it was nothing like this. When his finger slipped inside of me, there was nothing I could do but give over, relent and succumb to whatever he was going to do to me. And that was more than fine.
“I’m… oh, my.” I grabbed hold of Jack’s dark hair and tugged, held onto him as if he were the only thing keeping me from flying away as he made me feel the most incredible things.
“Come, sweetness,” he said, then flicked his tongue over that spot in such a special way that I did.
“Jack!” I cried, digging my feet into the mattress on either side of his hips. I clenched down on that single digit that was swirling and stroking me, just barely inside my entrance. It was the eagerness to have something more, something bigger fill me up that made the pleasure continue to pulse and roll through me.
