He wanted to see all of her, feel all of her. He rose and yanked her nightgown above her breasts. She sat up enough for him to pull it off over her head. For a second, they both froze and he took in her naked beauty. Letting her nightgown fall to the floor, he fondled her breasts, teasing her nipples until they turned into hard beads between his fingers and she moaned.
His blood boiled with pent up passion. He couldn’t hold back much longer, aching for release. Picking up the lantern, he blew out the light. Shrouded in darkness, his actions grew bolder.
Knees inside her splayed thighs, he positioned himself at her entrance. “Are you sure?”
Her hands gripped his arms and he hissed. Her every touch was his undoing.
“Yes. Now.”
He didn’t need any more reassurance. The tip of his cock pressed against her moist opening. He poised to thrust and then pushed inside her with raw need. He felt the barrier tear and her whole body tensed.
His mouth clamped against hers to stifle her scream. He paused, realizing she was no longer a virgin. He was the first man she’d given herself to. His heart beat with joy, overcome by the meaning of this gesture. Surely that meant this was more than fulfilling a lustful desire. She’d saved herself all these years for the right man. Did she think he was the right man?
Since he’d broken through her barrier he hadn’t moved. Fear flashed in her eyes and it took the breath out of his lungs. He wanted her to enjoy their time together. Desperate to erase her worry he’d do everything in his power to fill her with pleasure. Why hadn’t she said this was her first time? He would have moved slower, tried to ease the pain.
Thrusting inside her gently, he let her get used to the feeling.
Jaw tight, he concentrated on holding off his coming orgasm. She needed to come first.
This night of passion would have repercussions. Hopefully she felt the strength of their growing connection same as him. Their relationship would never be the same after tonight.
April was no longer hired help, no longer just his nanny; they had formed an intimate bond.
*
Wasn’t lovemaking supposed to be pleasant? She hadn’t expected so much pain. Should she tell him to stop? The weight of his body on top of her, he continued to move inside her and with each stroke the discomfort lessened. Her body heated and she relished the fever.
Perhaps it just took time for her body to adjust. She trusted Mr. Seever. He wasn’t like most men only concerned about themselves. No, he would make her feel good.
Gradually he picked up his pace and white hot need shot through her like a bolt of lightning. Suddenly she craved his contact, unable to get enough. Sweat formed on his brow. His hands dropped to her bottom and raised her up, pushing her toward him.
She gasped.
“Shh, it is all right. Wrap your legs around me.”
She circled his waist, taking him fully inside her. Her body stretched naturally molding around him.
She felt herself building toward something. He continued stroking, her temperature rising until the heat took over her senses. “Oh,” she said again, climbing a cliff to an unknown peak.
She reached the top and teetered for a moment before plunging into an abyss. Her body exploded in sensations. She moaned, her body tensing as the ripples of pleasure washed over her.
Mr. Seever withdrew his hand, his manhood probing her harder, faster. He squeezed her bottom, renewing her burning desire.
Finding his release, he spilled hot seed inside her. “Caroline,” he moaned, collapsing on top of her.
“Caroline?” she shrieked. She pushed him off her and threw his nightshirt at him. “Get out!” She wished she could wash his filth from her body. He’d sated himself and left her feeling dirty and used.
How could he do that to her? She’d given him her virginity and he couldn’t even say her name! She wanted to curse. Had he been imagining his dead wife this whole time? She wasn’t good enough for him. After all the time she’d spent cleaning his house, cooking his meals and taking care of his children. Her anger continued to build up like steam under a lidded pot. If he did not get out of the loft soon she’d likely say how she really felt, and get herself fired.
The children still needed her, even though he clearly did not. She could never live up to his sainted Caroline. “Get out now.”
Chapter 15
Damn it! Why did he have to ruin the moment? He knew his blunder as soon as he said it. Caroline’s name had been the only one on his lips for years. It had been a long time since he held another woman in his arms.
He instantly wanted to correct himself, but he couldn’t. He could say “April” again and again while he held her tight. She did not give him that chance.
It was an honest mistake, but the anger in April’s eyes told her she didn’t see it that way. He put on his nightshirt and climbed down the loft without saying another word.
She wasn’t in the mood to listen to reason. In the morning they’d discuss the consequences of their actions.
He returned to his cold, lonely bed, wishing April was lying next to him. He closed his eyes and tears moistened his lashes. She’d let him deflower her. After waiting all these years to be with a man, it couldn’t have just been a wild whim.
Her sensual expression, the tenderness in her touch told him more than she’d ever had. She’d secretly had feelings for him, too. Now he needed to water their relationship and pray it would bloom.
Lying with April had been so beautiful. Had she enjoyed the experience or had he soured her memory?
Matt beat himself up for hours unable to fall asleep. He knew the answer. Pressing the heel of his hand to his forehead he dragged it down his face. He’d dreamed about being with her for so long and then when she was ready he blew it. In the height of passion he’d forgotten who he was with. Just for a second. But it was the most important second, and he’d sullied their whole lovemaking.
“April, I am sorry,” he whispered. “Please understand and forgive me.”
*
In the throes of passion he’d said her name. April’s heart clenched and she didn’t know whether to cry or scream. “Your morning coffee, sir,” she said to him, pointing to it on the table refusing to hand the cup to him today. She didn’t want their fingers to accidentally touch. Right now she didn’t even know if she wanted to see him.
Mr. Seever didn’t say a word. He picked up the coffee and took a drink, not meeting her wounded gaze.
“Is that why you’re attracted to me, Mr. Seever? I remind you of your precious Caroline?”
He raked his hand through his hair. “In some ways you do. But I know you are not her. I’m attracted to you, April. I can’t make love to a ghost.”
“And you won’t be making love to me anymore either.” Her voice rose in volume with each word. “I suppose you were picturing her face? Imagining you were in her arms instead of mine!”
“No, April. I wasn’t. It just slipped. I haven’t been with another woman in a long time.”
She huffed. “I don’t believe you. I often wondered why a handsome white man would want to have anything to do with me, and now I’ve found my answer. You were looking for a replacement for Caroline.”
“April,” Mr. Seever pleaded, remorse written all over his face. “I’m not looking for a replacement for Caroline. Honest I’m not. She can never be replaced.”
“Oh I see. I’m second fiddle is that it? Well, I’m not going to take second seat to a dead woman!”
Mr. Seever shut his eyes tight. “That’s not what I meant, April. You’re twisting my words, not giving me a chance to explain.” His voice was choppy, pinched with emotion.
“I’m not sure how you can explain everything to my satisfaction.”
He opened his eyes again and she saw tears hovering in the corners. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life alone. It takes a special woman to love another woman’s children. I can see you care for them, April. I want my children to have a mother figur
e in their life. Will you deny them that?”
“Don’t make this all about the children.” She folded her arms across her chest. “This is between you and me.”
“Yes it is. What do I have to do to earn your forgiveness?”
“Forgive you? Oh, no this goes much deeper than that,” she fumed, her words racing out of her mouth. “I had a lapse in judgment. It will not happen again. I will be gone in a couple months as originally planned.”
“No you won’t, April,” Mr. Seever said. His sorrowful voice suddenly turned rock hard.
The gall of the man! He was so infuriating. “I’d like to see you stop me!”
“I’ll do everything in my power to keep you here—”
“Oh I see. You’re showing your true colors now. Everything in your power, hmm? I suppose you’re going to lock me in a room.”
“I hope it won’t come to that.” He reached over and grabbed her arm, but she twisted her upper body and pulled away. He didn’t try to hold her again. Instead he motioned to a chair. “Please settle down. Can I get you a glass of water? A cup of tea?”
She laughed. A cup of tea was not going to make everything better, but she allowed him to guide her to a chair at the table. “Water would be fine, thank you,” she said in a stiffly formal tone.
He went out to the pump and returned with a cool glass of water. He handed her the glass and then sat in the chair next to her. “I’m not going to keep you here against your will, April.”
Isn’t that what you just threatened to do? “You implied you were considering locking me in a room,” she said with all the venom she could muster. Wouldn’t that be just like a conniving white man? He was just using her body.
“I was angry and worried.”
“Worried?”
“Yes. You might be carrying my child.”
She stared at him not even able to blink. Pregnant? I don’t even want to be in the same house as him, and I could be pregnant?
He reached over and took her hand in his. “It only takes one time.”
She swallowed hard and her voice came out in a loud whisper. “That worries you?”
“Having another baby would be a blessing. It would please me very much.” He brought her hand to his lips and chastely brushed her skin. “I’m worried if you are carrying my child you will go away, and I won’t be able to be a part of his or her life.”
“I would never do that to you, sir or to the child.”
“Good.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “If you are with child, know I take care of my own.”
“You put your children in an orphanage!”
Mr. Seever cringed. “Yes, but I made sure they were well clothed and fed and I saw them whenever I could. I didn’t just lock them away and disappear.”
She sighed and nodded. I have to give him credit for trying.
“I will pay for everything the child needs and visit him or her. I will want them to know Seth and Hannah.” He pulled his hand away and April enjoyed the lingering warmth.
She put her hand on her stomach. Was she pregnant? He might be ready for another child, but was she ready? She couldn’t run off and leave her child if he or she was too difficult. When they reached that age and wanted to argue and defy her at every turn she’d have to find a way to deal with it.
“I understand.” She took a drink of water. Her cycles had always been regular. “I will know in a month.”
He nodded.
After hearing the tenderness in his voice her anger ebbed. He looked at her with eyes full of sincerity, hope, and love.
She didn’t know what the future held for them. A baby would tie them together forever.
Chapter 16
Matt paced Boyd’s office. Another theft. Half of the next shipment of rifles had disappeared.
“Half!” Boyd shouted. “I don’t know why they stopped there. Might as well have loaded all the crates into a wagon and hauled them away.”
“Anyone see a wagon at the warehouse last night?”
“No. And the police don’t give a damn.”
“Whoever this thief is he’s getting bolder,” Matt said.
“He or she.”
Matt stared at Boyd like he’d grown a second head. “You honestly can’t believe a woman might behind this.”
“Well there is someone else who has relatively free access to our warehouses we haven’t considered yet.”
“Who?”
“April.”
“April!” Matt shouted. “I know you don’t like her, but that is ridiculous and you know it.”
“It might not be as ridiculous as you think. How much do you know about your nanny?”
Matt glared at his brother. He didn’t really know a damn thing about her. He couldn’t admit that to Boyd though, the man would tear him to shreds knowing he’d put his trust and the lives of his children in the hands of a perfect stranger.
“Did you see her references?” Boyd asked.
“No,” Matt replied. “She’d lost them. We had a long interview and I was satisfied with her answers.”
Boyd grunted. “I should have known.” He opened his desk drawer, pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to him. “Here…read this.”
Matt glanced at the paper and his nostrils flared. His head snapped up. “You sent a telegram inquiring about April?”
“There is no harm in that. I just sent it to the police station asking about her.”
“You had no right! How’d you know what police station to ask? I never said what town she came from.”
“I know. You made it more difficult. So I just sent it to all of them on your route. Cost me a little money, but it was for your own good.”
“My own good?”
Boyd let out an exasperated sigh. “Yes. And I had every right. Did you even read the response?”
“Yes, I read the response. She supposedly stole five dollars. Even if that was true five dollars is a long way from stealing rifles, bullets, and gunpowder.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Has anything gone missing from your house?”
Matt rolled his eyes. “You know my house. There isn’t a single thing in there worth stealing.”
“That’s true. My little brother lives in squalor.”
Matt’s hand clenched in a tight fist and he pulled it back ready to strike his brother, but stopped. Damn him and his smart remarks.
“Who of our employees do you think is responsible?” Boyd asked.
Matt crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it across the room. “I don’t know, Boyd. We don’t have any proof.”
“You do realize I’m paying to replace the stolen goods? If I didn’t we’d lose business. It is really cutting into our profits. Breaking even is not good enough anymore now that we have loan payments to make.”
“Maybe we should look into insurance.”
“It might be cheaper than replacing the stolen goods, but it is still an added expense. I’m in this business to make money.”
Money. Was that all his brother cared about? “Got any competition in the warehouse business?” Matt asked a crazy thought forming in his head. “Maybe whoever the thief is wants us to default on our loan.”
Boyd burst out laughing. “And you thought me accusing April was ridiculous!” Yes, that was probably a real stretch. Both men fell silent for a moment, thinking.
“What about the bank?” Boyd asked.
Matt arched an eyebrow. “Why would Mr. Baxter want a warehouse? We don’t own a prime piece of land.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“Since neither of us can support our theories, I think we’re even.”
“I guess,” Boyd said. “It is going to be tight. We need business to keep up. Just be careful with April. I hope she’s not a bad influence on the children.”
“Bad influence? She’s much better than that witch at the orphanage! Hannah and Seth know right from wrong, and April does, too.”
“I just don’t want you to get hurt. April might not
be who you think she is. I know you’re starting to like her.”
It had gone way beyond like. Matt held his tongue.
Damn, Boyd. The man was already looking for a way to get her out of his life.
*
April left Hannah and Seth’s primers sitting open on the table. They both studied hard, but were starting to fidget. She let them play outside for recess. Seth had drawn hopscotch squares in the dirt with a long stick and two of them were taking turns jumping.
April ran her hand down her cheek. Playing in the dirt was a sure way to require another bath. All it took was one fall. Oh, to be a child again and not have all the work and responsibility. She watched the children with a wistful expression. She couldn’t leave them. They were so much a part of her life now.
And so was Mr. Seever. Even when they didn’t exchange words she sensed his presence in the house, the heat from his body, his masculine scent. When she caught him eyeing her, her heart fluttered.
She pretended not to, but she liked the attention. Her prickly demeanor kept him at a distance. Kept her heart safe. And yet it also hurt. She longed for more of a connection with him.
The children smiled, laughed, and hopped. April sat on the porch step, breathing in the summer air. When they went inside she needed to make them a noon meal. Mr. Seever seldom came home in the middle of the day, so she’d just set three plates.
Hannah jumped on one foot, lost her balance and toppled to the ground. She burst out crying, holding her skinned knee.
April rushed over to her, picked up the girl, and cradled her tightly in her arms. “Shh,” April said, “you’re all right.”
“I—I hurt my knee,” Hannah said through her sniffles.
April looked at Hannah’s skinned knee. It wasn’t even bleeding. She kissed it. “That will help it heal,” she said. “Kisses are like magic.”
“Really?”
“Mmm-hmm. Shall we go inside and have a glass of milk?”
Hannah offered a small smile and nodded.
“Time to come inside, Seth,” April said.
“Why?” he whined. “We haven’t been playing very long.”
Midnight Kiss (Moonlight Romance) Page 10
