“I thought you did.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t have one of those fancy city-man suits to go with your pretty satin dress.”
“I picked out what I wanted you to wear, Jake.” She felt the back of her dress release and she turned to face her husband. “You looked just the way I wanted you to. You’re the prefect cowboy and you belong to me now.”
“And you belong to me, Rena Haywood.” He put his arms around her and pulled her to him again. “You’re going to be mine until the day I die.”
“That’s going to be a long, long time. I want us to grow old together.”
“We will. We’ll be the oldest couple in Arizona Territory.”
He kissed her forehead, her eyes and then covered her mouth. Their tongues wrapped around each other as his hands gently pushed the bodice of her dress off her shoulders. His lips then traveled down her neck and out onto her soft white shoulder.
It wasn’t long until his expert hands managed to push her dress down to her waist; it soon crumpled on the floor. There was nothing between them except the chemise, and Jake made quick work of getting it off.
Rena felt as if her body was on fire. She smiled up at him and began unbuttoning his shirt, pulling it out of his pants. She let her hands explore his muscled chest. The hair that covered the muscles was softer than she had imagined. She loved running her fingers through it.
“You’re so beautiful.” He cupped her breast in his hand and began to massage it gently. In an instant the nipple became a hard pebble between his fingers. He leaned down, kissed and licked it gently. Then without saying anything, he picked her up and carried her to the bed.
“Adela left me a nightgown,” she whispered.
“You don’t need it,” he said as he looked at her body. “I can’t believe how beautiful you are.”
“Thank you, but when do I get to see you?”
He looked at her and smiled. “Do you really want to?”
“Of course I do.”
He laid her down, but didn’t take his eyes off her as he began to unbutton his pants. Rena couldn’t resist. She got on her knees in the bed and reached up. She pushed the vest and the shirt off his shoulders and pressed her lips on his chest. “I like what I see,” she whispered. “I love you, Jake Haywood.”
“And I love you, my little wife.” He put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back to the bed as he stepped out of his clothes. “I knew from the first day I saw you, that no matter what I did, I’d end up married to you.”
“It took me a little longer, but I’m glad I finally gave in to my feelings.”
“I’ve wanted to act on my feelings for quite some time.” The last of his clothes came off and he stepped out of his underwear.
Rena looked at him and her eyes got big as she gasped. “Jake you have a perfectly shaped body and you’re so…so…”
He grinned and climbed into the bed beside her. “So what, my love?”
“You know.”
“No, I don’t. Tell me.” He pulled her to him and began to nibble her ear.
“I knew you’d be big, but…”
“Being so close to the woman I love is what makes me so big.” His lips found her waiting mouth. At first his kisses were gentle, then grew more hungry. Her mouth parted and his tongue plunged inside searching for hers. His hand cupped her breast and his thumb and forefinger massaged her nipple. It was sensitive to his touch and she flinched.
He paused and pulled away just a fraction. “Did I hurt you?”
“No.” She reached for him and pulled his lips back to hers. Lord, what this man’s kisses did to her. She felt as if her whole body was catching fire and she didn’t want it put out. He pulled his lips from hers and she felt abandoned for only a second because he began kissing her neck, her shoulder and ending on her breast. When he sucked gently and ran laps around her nipple with his tongue she thought she’d die of pleasure. Nothing had ever made her feel this way. She wanted to experience the warmth of his body against hers. She wanted to envelope him and have him envelope her, become a part of him and feel him become a part of her. Every nerve in her body raged and screamed for more of him.
He continued to tease her nipple with his tongue and his teeth. She didn’t think she could stand it any longer. Then, while one hand continued to caress her breast, the other roamed down her side and across her stomach. She knew a swarm of butterflies had managed to invade her body because she felt flutters everywhere.
His mouth came back to hers. His hand moved over her mound and a finger slipped inside her warm welcoming private area. She tensed.
“I won’t hurt you,” he whispered.
“I know.”
He found that special place which before had always been so elusive for Rena. She floated away on waves of pure pleasure. Jake moved over her. “Open for me,” he whispered.
She spread her legs and his hot swollen member began to ease inside. He went slowly at first. He pulled back and eased in again. She knew he was trying to be as gentle as possible, but at the moment she didn’t want gentle. She wanted him. All of him.
When he slipped into her a little further the next time, she threw her arms around him and arched up to meet his thrust. He pushed in deep and she continued to arch herself.
His gasps matched hers. He thrust faster and faster. He was no longer in control of his body, she realized; no more than she controlled hers. All that mattered now was the raw passion between them, the passion taking them farther into pleasure they she’d ever been before.
She was ready to go over the edge with Jake. One last surge and everything in her melted. She let out a little scream. Jake went rigid and his movements uneven. He filled her with his warm seed. Then a last wave washed over her and they collapsed together. But Jake wouldn’t let her go. He rolled to his side, pulling her with him.
Neither could speak. What was there to say after the magnitude of indescribable pleasure they’d experienced? They lay in each other’s arms letting their labored breathing come back to normal.
“I’m sorry, Rena.” His words startled her when he broke the silence.
Confused, she asked, “Why are you sorry, Jake. Was I that bad?”
“You were wonderful, darling. It was me. I didn’t mean to take you like a hungry animal. I had every intention of going slowly and giving you all the pleasure I could, but when I got you in my arms all I could think about was how much I’d wanted you. I got carried away quicker than I thought I would. I promise to make it better next time.”
“Jake, there’s no way it could be better.” She ran her hand through the smattering of soft black hair on his chest. “You were wonderful.”
“We’ll do it again and you can compare.”
She punched his stomach playfully. “When?
“Soon, my love. I promise.”
It was sooner than either thought it would be, but Rena would’ve been hard pressed to choose which time was better. She knew without a doubt that every time with Jake was going to be wonderful.
Jake fell asleep before Rena. Lying there in his arms, she smiled into the night. She thought of her friends Cassie and Barbara. She wondered what happened to them after she was lost. She wished them well, but most of all she wished she could tell them that cowboys in the 1800s were just as wonderful as those western romances promised they would be. At least hers was.
Chapter 16
Jake went into the kitchen the next morning and found Silas alone at the table. “Where’s everybody?”
“The men have been fed and are at work. Adela and Leona are milking and feeding the chickens.” Silas grinned at his brother. “Where’s your wife?”
“She dozed off and I decided to let her sleep.” He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat at the table.
“Well, was it as good as you thought it would be?”
Jake grinned back. “Better than I ever dreamed possible.”
“I’m glad for you, brother.”
Jake took a
swig of coffee. “What are you doing here? Why didn’t you go out with the men?”
“I was going to, but Adela said there was something important that she and Rena wanted to talk to us about.”
“Rena didn’t say anything about it.”
“I figure from the moans and groans coming from your room, you had Rena too busy to think about anything except what you were doing to her.” Silas lifted an eyebrow.
Jake shot him a look then chuckled. “I guess turnabout is fair. I’ve heard those moans and groans from your room.”
“I’ll say no more.” Silas drank from his cup.
Adela came through the back door. “Good morning, Jake. Let me get these vegetables put away and I’ll fix you some breakfast.”
Jake stood. “I’ll see if Rena’s awake.”
Rena was in the process of dressing when Jake eased the door open. Her dress was over her head and she didn’t see him come in. “Now this is a sight I can get used to,” he said.
Rena jumped and wiggled the dress down. “You scared me.”
“Sorry.” He walked over to her and took her in his arms.
“Now, don’t start that. You snuck out of here and left me alone. I thought you’d tired of me and taken off to parts unknown.”
“No chance of that, baby.” He slipped his hand inside the bodice of her dress and cupped her breast. “I love feeling of these.”
“Jake!” She laughed and pulled his hand away. “We need to get busy. It’s a work day, you know.”
“I know, but when I get close to you…” He leaned down and kissed her.
She gently pushed him away. “I said stop that. You’re going to have to wait until tonight.”
He screwed up his face. “That long?”
“Yes. That long.” She began to button her dress. “I’m going to hang up my wedding dress and then we’re going to have breakfast together.” Rena picked up the ivory satin dress from the floor and turned to the wardrobe to hang it inside.
“By the way, Silas is waiting in the kitchen. He said you and Adela had something to discuss with us.”
“We do.” She closed the wardrobe door and turned to him. “I’m ready for a big breakfast now. I hope Adela cooked a lot.”
“Not going to start getting fat on me are you?” He slipped his arm around her shoulder and led her out of the room. “I like you the way you are.”
She looped her arm around his waist. “I don’t plan to get fat, my dear, but after the workout you gave me last night and this morning I need the food for energy.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “Then eat a lot because I plan to give you another workout tonight.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” She looked up at him and winked.
He laughed and kissed the top of her head as they crossed the parlor and entered the kitchen.
Adela was setting plates for them. “Good morning.”
Rena smiled at her. “I could’ve fixed our breakfast, but I appreciate that you did.”
Leona came in the back door. “I sent Billy to the creek to put the milk jars there to cool. Hope that was okay. I did keep enough for that chicken gravy you wanted to make for dinner, Adela.”
“That’s great, Leona.”
She looked at Rena and Jake. “Good morning, you two.”
They nodded at her between bites.
“I’m going to the bunkhouse and check on things. I’ll be back in time to help you cook dinner.”
“Thank you, Leona. We appreciate the help.” Adela closed the back door when she went out.
“Lord, woman. Don’t you know it’ll get as hot as blazes in here with that door shut?” Silas frowned at his wife, but his voice was gentle.
“I’ll open it back up, but we need privacy for what we have to discuss with you.”
“My curiosity is getting the better of me.” Jake pushed his empty plate away and held his cup for Adela to refill.
She poured his coffee, then filled cups for all of them and sat. “This happened yesterday, but I refused to let Rena tell you about it then. I didn’t want you thinking about anything except your bride last night, Jake.”
“I didn’t think about anything else.”
“Good. Now we can tell you.”
Jake’s eyes narrowed. “What?”
“Do you remember what happened the evening the men came and wanted Rena and me?”
“Of course. I’d have died before I let them touch either of you.”
“I know that, honey.” Rena reached out and put her hand on his arm. “But do you remember everything that was said?”
“They said they wanted you. I couldn’t let that happen.”
“Do you recall the leader saying he wanted to buy us for the night and then he threw a saddlebag at you saying it was full of money?”
“You didn’t tell me that part, Jake,” Silas said.
“I’d forgotten that, but I remember it now.”
“Well, honey when he threw that saddlebag, you cursed him and kicked it off the porch.”
“Yeah, I remember it all now.”
Adela said, “When the girls were decorating with the wild flowers yesterday, one of them stepped on the bag and hurt her foot. Rena recognized it and told the child it was hers.”
Rena took up the story. “Adela and I went to our room and looked inside.”
“And what was in it?” Silas asked.
“I’ll get it and show you.”
Rena was back in less than a minute. She handed the saddlebag to Jake.
He opened it and looked inside. “Damn! It’s full of money.” He passed it to Silas.
“I’m sure they meant to retrieve it, but the shooting started and the leader was one of the first killed. It’s been lying here in our yard until yesterday.” Rena sat back and waited for the men to respond.
“Does that mean it’s ours?” Silas asked.
“I don’t know.” Jake took a handful of money from the saddlebag. “There’s several thousand dollars here.”
“We could pay off the mortgage.”
“Yes we could, Silas.” He looked at his brother. “Let me think about this.”
“See why I didn’t want Rena to tell you last night?” Adela smiled.
“I’m glad you didn’t tell me.” Jake looked at Rena. He surprised all of them when he asked, “Honey, what do you think we should do with this?”
Silas butted in. “This is a man’s decision, Jake. Women don’t know how to handle money.”
“Some women might not know how to handle money, but my Rena does.”
She smiled at him. “Thank you for having confidence in me, but I see no reason why the money shouldn’t be yours. Those men are all gone now, and there’s no way to know who it came from.”
“She’s right, Jake.”
“I know she is, Silas. It’s just hard to comprehend that we have this much money at our disposal.”
“Something just occurred to me,” Rena said. “There’s probably enough here to pay your mortgage and have some left if we kept it all. If we don’t, and you only paid part of the mortgage with your share, you could finish paying the ranch off after you sell the cows.”
“Are you saying you think we shouldn’t keep this money?” Silas looked at her.
“I think it would be the right thing to do if we shared this money with the families who have come to help us. After all, they were victims.”
“I agree with Rena,” Adela said.
Silas looked as if he was thinking and didn’t say anything.
“I think maybe the women are right. It’d sure make me feel better about taking the money.” Jake took her hand. “I knew I had a smart wife.”
“I hate to admit it, but it’d make me feel better, too.” Silas picked up his coffee. “There’s still one problem. How’re we going to explain this newfound wealth to old man Jefferson?”
“We’ve only got our portion to worry about. I think the others will keep their mouths shut. They won’t want questi
ons being asked about it.” He looked at Rena. “Got any ideas about that, honey?”
She shook her head.
“I think I do,” Adela said. They all looked at her and she went on. “Everyone who knows about Rena thinks she’s my rich cousin from Atlanta. No rich man would let his daughter marry without providing a dowry. You can say that’s where the money came from.”
“That’s a damn good idea.” Silas grinned. “My wife’s pretty smart, too.”
* * * *
Gil and Curly, along with Finn, were watching the cows that evening as Silas had requested them to do. The seven visitors were gathered at the kitchen table. After the supper meal was finished the children and women went to the bunkhouse. Rena and Adela sat beside their husbands.
“You said we had business to discuss,” Leo Fisher said. “Do you want your women to stay here to hear it?”
“Yes,” Silas said before Jake could. “It concerns them.”
A couple of the men frowned.
“My brother talks better than I do, so he’s going to tell you what’s going on.” Silas nodded to Jake.
“As you all know, when those murderers came to our ranch to get our women they probably thought they’d have an easy time.” He smiled at Rena. “They didn’t count on my wife’s skills with a gun.”
“That’s for dang sure,” Grover Beeson said.
The others agreed.
Jake acknowledged their nods and continued, “When I told you the story of what happened here there was one thing I didn’t mention. It’d slipped my mind. Before the shooting started, the leader, if you could call him that, offered to buy our women for the night. He even threw a saddlebag of money at me. I know they did it to see if I was greedy enough to take it over the women. I also know he didn’t mean for me to keep the money even if I did take his offer. I’m sure they planned to kill me and retrieve it for themselves. When the man threw it at me it made me furious and I kicked the saddlebag and it fell off the porch. Things broke loose after that and you know what happened then. The leader was killed and nobody remembered the money.”
“Then what happened?” Burt Abernathy asked.
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