by Eden Carson
Only when he felt her struggle against the restraint did he take the lobe of her ear again. He bit down carefully until he heard her suck in her breath in fascinated response. He dragged the delicate surface carefully between his teeth before murmuring, “Tonight, Ruth. No more barriers.”
Jackson’s deliberate words were barely coherent to Ruth as her body desperately tried to get closer to his seductive touch. When he continued to hold her back, pressed up against the rough bark of the tree, she stroked her hands down his chest, touching everything she could reach.
Before she stroked him and he lost all control right there in the open, Jackson pulled both of Ruth’s hands into his and held them over her head, carefully secured against the old oak. “Let me touch you, Ruth.”
“Yes, yes,” she responded, demanding he stop this torture. “Touch me now.”
He carefully took his one free hand and loosened the stays down the front of her dress. He slowly parted the midnight velvet and stroked his index finger across the bare flesh exposed by the gaping dress.
Ruth arched her back in response, her body unconsciously moving toward the source of pleasure, as Jackson continued to slide that single finger across first one, and then the other breast.
Jackson felt himself swell to the point of pain, and stopped to deliberately slow his breathing. He felt sweat drip down the back of his neck, chorded in strain as he fought for self-control.
When he heard voices approaching, he loosened his grip on Ruth’s hands until they slid down the front of him. She slowly opened her eyes in response to Jackson’s lack of touch, and stared up into his dark eyes in confusion. She was oblivious to the sounds around her, caught up completely in the moment.
“Not here, Ruth. We have to stop now and join the others. Until we’re married, we still have to observe some of the proprieties, even out here.”
He quickly helped Ruth refasten her laces, as the voices grew louder. He pushed her hands away when she attempted to put her hair up.
“Leave it. There’s no time.” Jackson pulled her away from the approaching footsteps and led her around the back of the barn, so they could enter from the other side.
Sue and Catherine exchanged a glance as they spotted the two retreating figures, neither one missing Ruth’s tumbled hair.
Chapter 58
Ruth didn’t need to turn around to know that it was Jackson who had entered the kitchen. She could sense his presence, and now recognized the slow gait of his walk.
She set out another cup and poured them both some of the hot thick brew she had grown to love in the short time since she had left her Aunt Kate’s home. Ruth kept her back to Jackson for the time it took to take the first sip, but could not remain aloof any longer. He knew as well as she that Ruth wanted nothing more than to turn and spend the rest of her days lying in his arms. She closed her hands around the second mug and slowly turned to face him.
He still had not said a word ��� not one since he walked through the door.
She slowly raised her eyes to his ever-patient ones, then held out the coffee.
Jackson held Ruth’s gaze as he slowly approached, a knowing grin slowly spreading across his face. His work-roughened hands closed gently around hers. He stroked his fingers across hers as he took the steaming mug from her and held it to his lips. He set the coffee aside and pulled her into his arms, needing her warmth against the chill in the room.
“Dance with me, Miss Ruth. Right here in my home where you belong.”
She let Jackson enclose her in his arms, knowing there was no point in resisting any longer what they both wanted. The fiddle music from Old Mike’s playing drifted in through the open window, followed by the rough laughter of the ragtag group of men and women Jackson had surrounded himself with in this new land.
Ruth felt warm and secure for the first time since losing her parents, held securely in Jackson’s strong arms.
As more laughter drifted through the window, Jackson felt Ruth relax fully in his arms for the first time.
He made up his mind.
“Marry me, Ruth.”
She stilled in Jackson’s arms, not certain she had heard him right.
The whisper in her ear left no doubt of his intentions. “Marry me. Have my children. Build a new life here for us both.”
When Ruth didn’t respond, Jackson pulled away slightly. He lifted her chin so he could gaze directly into her suddenly wary eyes.
He doggedly pursued his case. “I’m not a rich man, and I can’t promise you the excitement of the city you’re used to. But in the short time I’ve known you, I see you here in the West. Your soul belongs here, just like mine. Our life would be hard, I won’t tell you otherwise. Hard and dangerous at times, but I can promise you this: I’m loyal to the core, and I’d never betray your trust or your heart. As long as I live, I’ll be here for you and our children.”
Ruth struggled to hold back tears, knowing she couldn’t say yes to the most amazing man she’d ever met.
“Jackson, I can’t. I’m honored more than you could possibly imagine, or will ever understand, but the choice isn’t mine. My past won’t let me go. I should have told you everything from the beginning, but I just –.”
He shook his head in outright denial of what he was hearing. “Every man and woman here – including me – has a past they’d rather forget. There’s not a soul for a thousand miles who hasn’t been torn apart by that bloody war, and done things they’d never admit at Sunday Service. But damn it, Ruth, that’s why we’re all here. That’s what lured folks to the middle of a wilderness, overrun with outlaws and Indians and wild animals. The pureness of nature might be harsh, but it’s liberating. I believe that if a man or woman has what it takes to survive out here, God has something more in mind for their future. Let your past go and stay here with me. I swear you won’t regret it.”
He did not give Ruth a chance for second thoughts, tightening his arms around her softness, pulling her lips to his.
She could not resist Jackson’s kiss, or the lure of the new life he’d painted in her mind and heart. Maybe he was right, she thought. Maybe she could start a new life here, where no one knew her or her past. In that moment, she shut her mind to any resistance and opened her heart to his kiss.
Jackson felt her softening instantly and rejoiced at his triumph. He gave up all thoughts of holding back, and pushed for her final acquiescence. “Say you’ll marry me, Ruth. Take a chance.”
He slid his hands down Ruth’s shaking arms, over her hips, and stroked slowly back up to cup the swelling sides of her breasts. He pressed his heated lips against her neck, leaving her mouth free in hopes of hearing the words he wanted and needed.
Her body was on fire, and her heart was open to Jackson for the first time. The heady combination was overwhelming. And rash words tumbled from her lips as she gazed into his demanding eyes. “I do want to marry you. I do. More than anything, I wish that could happen.”
“It can. It will – just as soon as I find a preacher.”
He swept her up in his arms and started up the back stairs. Now that she would marry him, the last vestiges of restraint fell aside. He had Ruth warm, willing, and able – and he was not against seducing his soon-to-be wife out of any second thoughts.
Jackson knew more folks than he could count on both hands who had arrived in this world about a month or so early. And every last one had a mother he admired and respected. So he had no real qualms about securing his place in Ruth’s life the old fashioned way. His mind made up, he kicked open the door of his room, then shut it firmly behind him. He slowly lowered the warm, pliant Ruth back against the oak door he had carved himself during his first winter here.
Jackson cautioned himself to go slowly, wanting her first taste of him to be so good she would never again spare a thought for her recently retired fiancé. Jackson stroked his large hands down the sides of Ruth’s hips and back up again to curve around her swelling breasts. His hands swept back and forth slowly, s
etting the rhythm of things to come. He leaned in closer, taking slow, deliberate bites down the side of her neck, never breaking the rhythm of his hands stroking the sides of her hips, thighs, and slowly back up to cup the undersides of her breasts.
Ruth could feel herself ache, and Jackson’s hands were barely touching her. She tried to twist to the side, so his hands would cup her fully, but his strong arms kept her immobile.
“Kiss me,” she whispered, not wanting him to see the lust he could so easily conjure in her.
“No. Not yet. I want to see you,” he replied, staring intently into her startled eyes as he finally stroked his hands across the front of her taut nipples. “Watch me touch you, Ruth.” He lightened his touch, barely skimming the tips of her nipples back and forth, until they hardened under his heated palms.
When Jackson saw Ruth’s flushed cheeks, he caught her gaze, wondering if her heightened color was from embarrassment or heat. When he saw her partially closed lids still holding his gaze, he smiled slowly in triumph. He knew she was ready for more, but held himself back. She was still fully-clothed, and he intended to keep her that way until she was too wet and hot to stand the softest fabric against her skin. He firmly cupped her breasts from below, stroking the undersides over and over again, careful not to touch her now straining nipples.
Ruth couldn’t stand the teasing any longer – not after weeks of Jackson’s careful seduction, teaching her body the pleasure his hands and lips could bring her. “Jackson, kiss me now. Please. I can’t wait any longer.”
When he didn’t immediately lean in to take her parted lips, she opened her eyes. She watched his thick, black hair lower to take her distended nipple into the warmth of his mouth. She felt the surge of heat in both nipples, almost to the point of pain. Until he began to gently suckle, surrounding her with moist heat that quickly pooled between her legs.
Ruth’s back arched of its own will, thrusting her burning nipple further into his suckling mouth. It wasn’t enough, so she slid her fingers into Jackson’s thick hair in a vain effort to pull him even closer.
Jackson pulled away and took three gasping breaths, trying to re-gain his quickly slipping self-control.
“Don’t stop,” she begged. “Don’t stop.”
“Unbutton your dress,” he whispered the demand, needing Ruth to take the lead this once.
She flushed solid red again, whether at his provocative words or the sight of her dress soaked through and molded to her puckered nipples, even she did not know.
“Take off the dress. Let me kiss you again with nothing between us.”
Jackson strained to keep his hands away from those buttons, not sure he could wait much longer if she didn’t move.
Slowly sliding her hands out of his hair, she brought them to the first button, hesitating until she saw Jackson’s dark eyes deepen to purest black at that tiny gesture. His obvious desire gave her the courage to be bold and undo the first button.
He could not resist placing the lightest of kisses on the spot of flesh exposed by that first un-fastened button. She smelled like the wildflowers the women had picked that morning for the dance. He placed one more kiss, slowly parting the wet fabric with his tongue before kissing her lingeringly that second time. He caught her somnolent gaze and urged her to undo another button. “More, Ruth. Show me more.”
She touched the second button, then the third. Her shaking fingertips fumbled when she realized that Jackson was staring hard at the strip of flesh she was slowly exposing to his needs.
The dress gaped to her navel once she undid the last stubborn button. She had to peel away the damp fabric from her flesh, so Jackson could kiss her aching breasts once again.
He did not hesitate at her blatant invitation. He gathered her nipple in with his tongue, circling just the tip until it was tight and straining once again. He did the same to her other nipple, then kissed each inch of exposed flesh that had quickly swelled to his touch once again. When he finally pulled her breast completely into his mouth, he suckled in an endless rhythm, until he felt himself harden almost to the point of pain.
Ruth could barely stand, as her quivering thighs softened with every thrust of his hips against her soft core. When Jackson bent down to sweep her off her feet, he placed a soft kiss at the juncture of her thighs, igniting Ruth’s imagination as she felt herself carried over to his waiting bed.
As Jackson gently laid her down on the soft feather mattress, the sides of her dress parted. Never taking his eyes from hers, he slowly reached for the remaining buttons, undoing them to expose the bare flesh of her hips and thighs. When the last of the cloth came apart, he placed his large, rough hands gently on her collarbone and slowly journeyed down her chest, to the gentle curve of her waist. He rested just a bit longer at the juncture of her thighs, absorbing the heat and texture of his woman.
Ruth did not realize she sighed in disappointment when his hands moved down her legs to settle on her feet, but Jackson heard the telling noise.
He smiled quietly in satisfaction, knowing her first time with him would bring her pleasure. He pulled off his shirt, compelling Ruth to watch his every movement through half-slitted eyes.
Her curiosity at seeing the rest of his body up close would have to wait as Jackson knelt, facing her. He straddled her thighs, carefully balancing his greater weight above her. He placed his hands on her thighs and slowly stroked upwards.
She sucked in her breath as she felt Jackson’s hand slide to the juncture of her thighs and deliberately part her lips, exposing her sensitive flesh to his stroking fingers. She felt the lightest of touches glide across her, continually stroking, up and over, until she could not hold still any longer.
She reached for his forearms, needing something to anchor her as her hips thrust upwards, wanting something more, but not knowing what.
Jackson knew.
He leaned slowly over her, until his mouth was just inches from her growing wetness. Her hips strained against his greater strength, not wanting to be held back, but he refused to rush. He blew gently against the source of her heat and wetness until her moans filled the room. Her scent nearly drove him to thrust into her, but he held tight to his self-control.
When she felt Jackson’s warm breath on her, Ruth nearly screamed in pleasure. She moaned incoherently, not caring if the sounds carried to the party-goers outside. She felt his breath once again, before his fingers parted her even further, giving his mouth the access she desperately craved.
He kissed her as he would her mouth, starting with gentle touches of his lips. When he sensed her restlessness growing, he slanted his mouth across her, over and over, drinking her in greedily, until finally he touched her with his tongue.
Ruth felt her body begin to shake and burn uncontrollably, as she felt his rough tongue licking her slowly, endlessly. She felt his breath again, more intensely than before, and the burning moved up her breasts and chest, flushing her face to scarlet. As she dug her aching fingers into Jackson’s thick hair, she rubbed his scalp in encouragement, asking for more of his touch. She felt him respond as the now familiar feel of his hot tongue slid across both lips, and slowly parted them.
She thrashed against the bed in need, wanting relief from the heat and pleasure. Then she felt his tongue stroke down even further to firmly thrust inside her soaking body. With that, the feelings inside her burst in unimaginable pleasure, and her body shuddered in release over and over, moving in the rhythm Jackson demanded with each thrust of his tongue.
When Jackson left her body to stroke his hands up her swollen breasts and cup her still-heated cheeks in his hands, she smiled in pleasure. She felt too deliciously languid to be embarrassed.
She opened her heart to him when he kissed her mouth and whispered his love for her.
“Again,” he demanded into her fully-sated eyes. “I want you to come for me again.”
Ruth’s eyes dilated in anticipation, knowing now that Jackson could make her feel this pleasure over and over again. When he
latched onto her nipple, the heat surged up her sensitized body, faster than before. Her feeling of languidness quickly evaporated, as her body, with a will of its own, responded to his every touch.
Thinking of the pleasure he knew how to bring her, Ruth responded without hesitation. She touched and stroked Jackson with sensitized fingertips. She took free rein with his flesh, finally stroking the muscled back, chest, and arms she had hesitated to touch before in the woods.
When she felt him part her legs further and settle his body at her entrance, she sighed in anticipation. Ruth ran her nails down his muscled back as she felt him slowly enter her, feeling her wetness surround his hardness. He was larger and wider than she had imagined and felt a tiny moment of panic, wondering if she could take him completely. Jackson had no such reservations and thrust the last bit, fully encasing himself in Ruth’s heat.
She responded to Jackson’s moan of desire, taking satisfaction in his pleasure. She squeezed him tightly, in a delicious rhythm, experimenting with parts of her body never before explored.
Jackson thrust up hard into her tightening grip and lost his battle to go slowly. He withdrew and entered her again, over and over, until without conscious thought, he slowed his hips, reaching a perfect rhythm with his lover.
Ruth felt herself respond in step with Jackson, following his movements, until the heat and strength of him made all thought evaporate, and once again, she only felt. His every thrust moved her closer to that feeling of release, which her sensitized flesh now craved. She burned stronger, pushing her hips closer to him at every thrust; stroking her hands down his slickened skin; pulling him closer and further into her heart.
When he paused, only half-embedded in her aching flesh, she protested and made a futile effort to pull him back to her. When he easily resisted her efforts, she opened her glazed eyes to demand his return.
His eyes burned, focusing on her wanting gaze, as he reached between them and gently stroked her swollen lips, parting them as before – spreading her aching wetness up and over her until her eyes closed of their own volition.
