Esmaralda didn’t believe in past lives. She didn’t believe in sectors or hauntings or time travel. Yet, here she was. She knew she was dreaming. This couldn’t be real. She couldn’t have lived another life, with this man. He couldn’t possibly have waited, caught between life and death, in this house, for her to return, as she had promised him.
As the memories of Sadie came crashing over Esmaralda, so too did the woman’s emotions. Esmaralda stared at Jack, a strange love for him coursing through her veins. Her heart hammered, her body ached for his. Grief and love and hard, hot desire warred in her veins. Her Jack. He was hers. She was here at last, after a century and a half and this beautiful, sensual, golden haired man belonged to her.
“Jack,” Esmaralda whispered. “I want you. I want you so much. I… I love you. I’ve missed you so dreadfully. I’m sorry it took me so long…”
“Shhh…” Jack took Esmaralda into his arms. He stroked her back lovingly, pressed her into the safety of his chest. The proximity stirred a fire inside Esmaralda’s belly. She wanted this man to take her. She ached with a terrible, unsated need. She desired his body, desired him most of all. His love had spanned two hundred years. The thought of his loneliness, his terrible grief, his awe inspiring depth of love, wreaked havoc on Esmaralda. She pulled away and peered up, her dark eyes staring into his fiery grey orbs.
“Jack… I want you to take me. Please. Take me and teach me. I remember, I remember our first night together. Teach me what it was like Jack. Me, Esmaralda. I’m… I’m a virgin Jack.”
“Yes, Esmaralda. Yes. Come.” He took her hand and pulled her through the house. She stared in awe at it, stunned at the grandeur and majesty of it. It had once been beautiful. Utterly breathtaking. This man, he had built this house for her as proof of his love.
She was shocked when Jack led her out the back door, out into the yard. It was fragrant with rosebushes and flowers from two large gardens. There was a bench to sit and gaze at it. The whole thing was manicured to perfection.
The light of the moon lit their way as Jack pulled her further down the yard. Esmaralda saw shadows of buildings that were no longer there, in her time. She was sure she had gone somewhere else; back to a time when Sadie had been alive and she had Jack had been so terribly, wonderfully in love.
Jack led her over to a huge structure. Esmaralda realized that it was a barn. He opened the door and it creaked a protest but went willingly enough. He shut it behind them, reached over and lit a lamp to illuminate their way.
Esmaralda stared at the piles of hay, the stalls, and the roughhewn wood inside. “You’re going to make love to me… in a barn?”
“Yes, my dear. Yes. I… want nothing more than to tumble you down in the hay and worship you.”
Esmaralda shivered at the passion in his voice. She wasn’t sure what she had expected but it hadn’t been this. It was quite unexpected and not a little taboo. Her breath caught. She found she liked the idea very much, even if it was a little intimidating.
“I wanted to take you… out of the house… to a place where… where I can love you as Esmaralda.”
She understood then. The house was Sadie’s domain. It had always been hers. She had asked Jack to make love to her, to take her, as a virgin, not as the wife that he had once loved. She had asked him to make love to Esmaralda, and he was going to honor her request.
Jack stepped forward. He laid a hand gently on her shoulder and guided her to him. She went willingly, the fires of desire and shivers of anticipation already running through her body.
Jack tangled his fingers through Esmaralda’s thick, dark hair. She tilted her face, her mouth parting as if she already knew what he was going to do. His lips descended on hers, hard and fast. Esmaralda opened herself to him. His tongue entered her mouth. The insistency of kiss brought Esmeralda’s world down around itself. She could think of nothing but the heady desire that was sweeping over her.
Never before had Esmaralda been kissed like this. Never before had she felt like this. The sensations sweeping through her were wild and frightening yet somehow so familiar. Her heart pounded with love, her body turned into a liquid pool of burning passion. The room began to spin and Esmaralda reached up and locked her arms behind Jack’s neck. He broke the kiss at her touch. His grey gaze was filled with raw hunger and a desperate need for her. His breathing was as ragged as her own.
Jack picked her up in one sweep and carried her over to where the hay was mounded. He set her down gently, his hands roaming over her body. The swell of her breasts stuck out brazenly above the neck of the gown. Jack could have undone the dress but his need was as great as Esmaralda’ own.
Tearing the bodice of the dress open, Jack’s eyes glowed at her firm breasts, pushed up by the corset she wore. He trailed his finger over and along the creamy swell of flesh. He palmed one breast, pushing the corset down to free it. He took one pink nipple in his fingers, plying it until it was a hard, aching point. Esmeralda moaned, shivers of relentless pleasure sweeping through her body. She felt herself grow wet at Jack’s touch, prayed it would not be long before he took her.
“Oh my dear,” Jack growled. He seemed to understand what she was thinking. “I am going to make this exquisite for you. I am going to do everything I always wanted to. I am going to make you scream and beg and shatter a thousand different ways. There’s no part of you I will leave untouched. I will give us both the heaven we seem to have been denied for all these years.”
“Yes,” Esmaralda whispered shakily, her whole body thrumming with pent up desire. “Yes darling, I want you. I want every part of you. Make love to me Jack. Fuck me Jack. Do as you wish.” Esmaralda was overcome with the love Sadie held for her husband. It warred with her modern, shivery, brand new feelings, the unexplored sensation that was Jack. He was familiar and comfortable yet also dangerous, sensual, tempting in a new, exotic way.
Jack growled, a primal sound. His eyes narrowed then closed as he let the weight of her words wash over him. He led her over to the hay and Esmaralda sat, expectantly. She was surprised when Jack went to the far wall of the barn. There were horse halters, bridles, ropes, tools and other implements there. It was the trappings of their life, a shared life that they, through some miracle, were to experience one more time. He chose the riding crop then came back over to where Esmeralda lay in the hay. Her eyes widened when she saw what he had.
“Love,” Jack smiled, his eyes glowing. “Just trust me. I won’t hurt you.”
Closing her eyes, Esmaralda nodded. Jack reached out and she took his head, letting him pull her to standing. He pulled her into his arms, bent his head, and kissed her. He plundered her mouth, his kiss bruising, intense, and insistent. Esmaralda’s head spun. She wasn’t expecting him to break the kiss and spin her around, roughly, against the wall of the barn.
Her hands landed on a thick, roughhewn beam, her chest pressed into the wood. Behind her Jack buried his hands in her full skirts. He lifted them over her hips, revealing a garter and stockings, and a thin shift. He pulled up the undergarment as well, exposing Esmaralda to the cool air of the barn. Jack groaned when he looked at her creamy skin.
“God Esmeralda, I’m so damn hard already,” Jack said, his heady words washing over her.
Esmaralda felt her legs quiver. She could recall, in vivid detail, all the times she and Jack had made love. He had been Sadie’s first and only, the only man she had ever loved, ever wanted. She could never get enough of him. Never. Not if he took her six times a day, which he sometimes did.
She wanted to cry out for him to relieve the horrible building pressure between her legs. Instead she remained quiet. Jack had said he would bring her the ultimate pleasure… again and again, and she would let him. Esmeralda herself was woefully inexperienced and she craved more than just Sadie’s memories of Jack’s love. She wanted to experience everything firsthand.
Jack ran his hand over the curves of her bottom. His fingers delved between her legs, teasing her hot, aching flesh. Esmaralda
moaned at his sweet touch. She glanced over her shoulder, saw Jack put his finger in his mouth and taste her. His eyes closed in pleasure.
“So sweet,” he murmured. “So very sweet.” He picked up the crop and ran the cool leather over the same pattern as his hand had traced. Esmaralda gasped when the hard edges trailed over her core. She braced herself against the wall, closing her eyes, waiting for the first blow to land.
The crop sailed through the air, a sharp snapping sound. It struck Esmaralda’s flesh just hard enough to sting, never hard enough to break the skin or mar her tender flesh. She jumped, her body quivering with the sting. Jack raised his hand and the crop fell again. Esmaralda gasped, quivered, her body shaking at the sharp shock of the pain. Mingled with her overheated skin, the pain dissipated to leave a streak of hot, hard pleasure in its wake.
The crop struck again, a little harder this time. Esmaralda moaned, her body on fire. She would never have expected such pain to leave such sharp, thrilling pleasure in its wake. Jack was breathing heavily behind her. He brought the crop down on her tender flesh three more times before he fell to his knees behind her. His hands traced the red spots where he had struck her, massaged her tender flesh.
Esmaralda leaned against the wooden wall, savoring the feel of his hands on her. She leaned forward, her hips parted. He could take her if he wanted. Her core was slippery and wet, ready and aching for him.
From his knees in the straw, Jack trailed tender kisses over her smooth skin. He kissed the areas he had whipped, letting his hot mouth linger there, igniting a fire deep within Esmaralda. Finally he moved lower, his warm, hot mouth lapping at her core.
Esmaralda jerked as if she had been burned. A wave of delight threatened to drag her under. She moaned, leaned further forward, exposing herself completely, and giving herself up to Jack’s mercy. His mouth explored and teased her, easing up just as Esmaralda was on the verge of coming apart. When she moaned, her body quivering, Jack slipped his tongue inside. She felt the exquisite pressure of him, the warmth and wetness of his mouth against her own wet flesh.
Without any warning, Jack stood. Esmeralda glanced at him from over her shoulder. She saw him undo the ties of his breaches. He palmed his thick cock. Esmeralda’s eyes widened at the size of it. God he was huge! She closed her eyes as Sadie’s memories swept over her. She realized she knew the feel of Jack. She knew the way his body would fit hers. She craved him, craved the enormous girth of him stretching her, filling her, making her scream and writhe in wild abandon.
Jack clasped her hips, squeezing her painfully. He stepped behind her, his cock in his hand. Esmeralda closed her eyes when she felt the tip press against her wet, aching flesh. She wanted, needed him. Oh god, she wanted to take all of him. He entered her slowly, a delicious fullness that made Esmeralda cry out. Jack moaned, the sound deep and guttural.
He eased inside of her, his thickness stretching her, relieving some of the aching pressure that had built inside. Her tight, slick heat brought a hiss of pleasure from Jack’s lips. There was an invisible barrier that seemed to stop him. He pressed against it and Esmaralda braced herself for the pain. With one hard thrust, Jack buried himself inside her body. There was a feeling of tearing, a pinching, and aching pain. He paused for a moment, let Esmaralda grow used the feel of him, let the pain subside. Finally she could breathe again.
Jack gripped her hips and began to move slowly, deliciously slowly. All the pain was gone. His strokes left a shimmering pleasure in their wake. He sunk himself to the hilt then pulled out almost all the way before thrusting in again. He repeated the action, slow, deep thrusts. The fire that was consuming Esmaralda grew, spreading from her core to light her entire skin aflame.
She felt the chafe of his trousers as they hit her tender flesh. Heard the heavy rasping sounds Jack made when he breathed. His grip on her hips tightened, his fingers leaving marks where they dug in. He began to thrust harder, heavy strokes. Esmaralda’s breath hitched then became rapid, matching Jack’s.
Pleasure ripped through Esmaralda, consuming her, dragging her under. All she could focus on was Jack’s hard cock, his delicious strokes. Jack pulled almost completely out of her, sinking in slowly, inch by inch, letting her savor their exquisite joining. Esmaralda began to shake. Her whole body trembled as waves of crashing pleasure washed over her. Blinding lights flashed behind her closed eyes. She felt as if she had stepped from a precipice and was floating in the air. Floating on a sea of endless pleasure.
Esmaralda cried out, gripping the hard wood of the barn in her hands. She sunk her nails into the splintery wall and curled her hips into Jack. “Oh god Jack, yes!” He seemed to slow, but Esmeralda bucked against him, ground her pelvis into his. “Please don’t stop Jack, not yet.”
Growling, Jack gripped her tighter, his thrusts increasing in speed. He slammed against her again and again, his thrusts frenzied and deep. Jack cried out, his body shuddering against her. Esmaralda felt the pulsing of his cock, the deep hot spurts of him deep inside of her and it almost sent her over the edge again.
Jack slumped against her and Esmaralda could feel the sweat of him even through his clothing. The male musk he emitted into the air was strong, sharp, and carnal. She breathed him in like she had taken him into her body. God, she loved this man. Or rather, Sadie loved him. It was confusing, this heady rush of passion, this feeling of possession, the overwhelming, deep abiding love that was somehow hers and not hers.
All of a sudden Esmaralda felt very overwhelmed. The enormity of the situation washed over her. She was in another time, herself and yet not… the memories of another woman’s life, a life that had once been hers, washed over her. Jack was her husband yet he was still a stranger. A stranger who was neither alive nor dead. Except in this time. He was very much alive and well. As was she.
Jack gently set down Esmaralda’s skirts. He straightened his breaches and turned her around to face him. “What is it? Esmaralda! Why do you look like that?”
She realized she was crying. Putting her hand up to her cheeks she found them soaking wet. “It’s just… you’re…”
“Did I hurt you? Oh my love, I’m sorry.” Jack pulled her into his arms, crushed her against the hard strength of his chest.
“No… no…” Esmaralda sobbed. “It’s just….” She pulled away and stared into Jack’s beautiful eyes. She was haunted by the depth of love and emotion she saw there. Pain, regret and sorrow warred with a tremendous love and tenderness.
“I never wanted to do anything like that before… well I never would have done it. I just… I thought you would have condemned me for wanting to do it… that Sadie would have… I always treated her like a lady. Always made love to her like she was my queen, because she was. I worshipped her, Esmaralda. I’m sorry I used you like that.”
“No, Jack…” She took his face in both her hands, bringing it down so she could kiss him tenderly. “I’m still me. A part of me is still Sadie. I feel all of the love she had for you. You were her one and only love Jack. She waited her whole life for you. You said you worshipped her… she felt the same way. You didn’t hurt me and I would never condemn you for what you did. It felt… exquisite… like nothing I’ve ever felt before. It stung, but you were gentle and the pain faded and just turned into… amazing pleasure.”
Jack sighed, visibly relieved. His features melted into a soft mask of love. “I didn’t know if you would be able to feel her emotions. Remember her memories. It’s uncanny, how you look exactly like her.”
“Is any of this real Jack? Where are we? I mean… how do we get back?”
“We aren’t anywhere, Esmeralda. You’re still in your time, and yet in mine. I am endless. I once had a beginning, but I have no ending. Not a true one. You’re going to set me free Esmaralda. I could go right now but I wanted to have this time with you. One last time before I find my peace.
Chapter 5
“No! Jack! What are you talking about?” Esmaralda looked up at him, distressed. She felt her heart squeez
ing, a band of iron tightening around it.
Jack looked down at her with such tenderness she wanted to weep. “Oh Esmaralda. Don’t be sad and don’t be afraid. If only you knew how long I had waited for this… how many years I have been forced to wait to look at you. I would have given the entire world, I would trade any shot at peace that I have, to have been able just to touch you one last time. And I’ve had it now. You’ve given me the world Esmaralda. I’ll find peace, because of you.”
“Oh Jack,” Esmaralda wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed him deeply, with all the love and sadness in the world. She had never been in love herself, but now she knew a love that had lasted centuries. She felt the deep, passionate, all consuming ache that was Sadie’s. “Take me to our bedroom Jack. Make love to me one more time.”
“Alright,” Jack whispered. “The night is almost over and I only have until Dawn.”
“Spend it with me then. Wrapped up with me.” Sadie’s emotions warred and tore at Esmaralda’s heart. She had left him once and now he was to leave her. She only had a few more hours before she never saw him again.
Scooping her up in his strong arms, Jack carried Esmaralda into the huge house. She couldn’t look at the shining yellow boards, the perfect white trim, the immaculate porch and windows and shingles, without feeling a semblance of sadness for what it became. In a way, it was almost a metaphor for Jack. He was here with her, he had loved her. Their love had been new and strong and beautiful like this house and when Sadie had died, it had broken him, leaving little more than a shell in its place. A shell that had lived, haunting the house, a wraith suspended in time, for over a hundred years.
How had Sadie died? Jack never had told Esmaralda and for some reason that part of her mind, that part of Sadie’s memories were closed off to her. The thought sent a shudder racing through her body and Jack held her even tighter against his chest.
Jack stopped in the ballroom, in front of the piano, the beautiful piano that had first drawn her to him. Suddenly it made sense why Esmaralda had always loved the instrument. She had spent years listening to Jack play for her.
Adored By The Rancher: Mail Order Brides Box Set Page 16
