“I do know, honey, and I’m thankful for you too. You showed me what a truly virtuous woman is. She’s someone who loves her family and does her best no matter what people say about her. I think folks will come around to seeing you for who you are, but even if they never do, I’ll always love and respect you.”
Susannah let out a soft sigh of contentment. Tracing a finger around the hard plane of his chest, she gazed into his eyes and said in a teasing voice, wanting to lighten the mood, “Even when I act like a wanton wench in bed?”
Adam coughed a surprised laugh. “Especially then. I love the way you respond to me.” To demonstrate, he kissed her until she moaned with desire. He knew how to kiss her in just the right way to fuel her desire—passionately, but not roughly. His tongue teased hers, and his lips latched on and tugged, possessively claiming them as his. She felt small and protected as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
“Yuck!” Caleb exclaimed from the doorway, interrupting them.
Adam released her lips and loosened his hold on her, and she giggled like a naughty schoolgirl. When she glanced over at Caleb, he was scowling and holding a bouquet of wildflowers with the roots still attached.
“Yuck, is it?” Adam inquired in a serious voice, to which Caleb nodded his head emphatically.
Susannah stopped giggling and composed herself enough to ask, “Are those for me, sweetheart?”
Caleb nodded again but remained in the doorway with the disconcerted frown on his face.
“Well? Come on over and give them to your ma,” Adam said.
He wrinkled his nose. “Only if you’re done kissing her. Blech.”
Adam laughed. “All right, I’m done kissing her for now. I promise.”
Caleb gave him a curt nod and walked to Susannah to give her the flowers. He’d no sooner handed them over than Adam grabbed him onto his lap and attacked his cheek with rough kisses while tickling his stomach relentlessly.
“No! Stop!” Caleb screeched, squirming frantically and laughing.
Adam only tortured him for a few seconds before relenting. He held him on his lap with one arm and pulled Susannah close with his other. “You two make me crazy,” he said. “Crazy and happy.”
Chapter Twelve
The next day, Adam cut his work short and left the range early in the afternoon to ride to town. He arrived at the schoolhouse just after classes had ended and found Caleb sitting on the front steps waiting for him. The bruise around his eye had faded, and he looked to be in good spirits when he ran up to Adam. Without dismounting, Adam leaned over, grasped the boy under his arms, and swung him up to join him in the saddle. Caleb was small enough that Adam settled him in front and held him in place with an arm around his waist.
Reining the horse in the direction of the Rogers’ house on Main Street, he asked Caleb if he’d talked to Danny at school that day.
He shook his head. “I don’t want to talk to him. He’s mean and he’s not my friend.”
Adam nudged the horse into a faster walk with his heels. “All right, son. You don’t have to be friends with him, but you do need to apologize.”
Caleb muttered something under his breath, sounding displeased at the reminder.
Adam hoped that Danny’s father behaved better than Danny, but he was bracing himself for the worst. A boy tended to mimic his father, and narrow-minded people tended to stay that way.
When they arrived at the Rogers’ cottage, Adam and Caleb swung down from the horse. By habit, Adam reached for Caleb’s hand, but then decided against taking it. He wanted the boy to feel like he was standing on his own two feet, not being led to apologize.
“Go ahead and knock, Caleb,” Adam said, knowing that even doing that was uncomfortable for him. Visiting the Rogers wasn’t punishment for fighting, but it was a consequence.
Though Caleb looked near tears, Adam did not comfort him. He felt compassion for the boy, but it was no time for mollycoddling. Caleb rapped on the door and then stuffed his hand into his pocket. “I’m more scared of talking than I was of hitting him,” he confessed, his lower lip quivering.
Adam nodded. “I know, son. That’s because it’s easier for men to fight than to talk things out. But talking is the right way. That’s what I want you to learn today.”
John Rogers opened the door, and a look of surprise crossed the thin man’s face. “Hello,” he said to Adam, appearing uncomfortable, and then looked down at Caleb.
“Hello, John,” Adam said, and held out his hand, which John shook. “We’re wondering if we might have a word with you and Danny. I’m assuming you heard about the fight between our boys?”
He nodded gravely and stepped aside to allow them entrance. They walked into the small entryway, and Caleb stared at the floor. “Say hello to Mr. Rogers, Caleb,” Adam admonished.
Caleb mumbled “hello” without looking up, behavior that Adam would have corrected under normal circumstances but allowed to slide this time.
“Danny!” John called. “You’ve got company.”
The boy emerged from another room and trudged over to the small gathering. His lip was swollen and cut where Caleb had slugged him. He stood a few inches taller than Caleb and weighed a fair bit more, but he still appeared small and just as uncomfortable as Caleb in that moment. Placing his hand on Caleb’s back in silent encouragement, Adam waited for him to speak.
He glared at Danny with fire in his eyes. “My pa is making me say I’m sorry, so I’m sorry.”
“Caleb!” Adam exclaimed sharply. “That’s not an apology, young man. Try that again.”
His shoulders slouched and he stared down at the floor. “I’m sorry for hitting you,” he mumbled.
Adam looked at John. “My boy shouldn’t have hit your son. He understands that, but he was defending his ma and he’s still angry about what Danny said. I’m angry too, and I’m guessing your boy didn’t come up with it on his own.”
John shifted on his feet and averted his gaze for a moment before returning to look at Adam, who was giving him a hard stare. “Miss Smith has a reputation around town for being loose. Everyone knows it.”
Hearing the gossip spoken aloud gave Adam a new understanding for how Susannah must have felt over the years suffering such condemnation. It filled him with rage. “Her name is Mrs. Harrington now,” he said in as calm a voice as he could muster. All of his instincts told him to throttle the lily-livered man standing in front of him, daring to insinuate things about his wife. He drew a deep breath, reminding himself that he needed to set the right example for Caleb. “She’s a good wife and a fine mother. But we’re not here to convince you of that, only to put this matter to rest so it doesn’t happen again.” His voice shook with barely controlled anger, and he glared at John, daring him to utter another careless word.
John’s eyes widened and he shrank away from Adam ever-so-slightly. “I won’t repeat what I said and neither will Danny. She’s your wife and I know I would be tetchy if someone said a wrong word about mine.”
Adam could see this was as close to an admission of wrongdoing as he would get from John Rogers. It would have to do. He reached down and took Caleb’s hand in his. To John, he said, “Thanks for seeing us. We’ll be on our way now.”
Adam led the boy out the front door. When they reached the horse, Danny came running out. “Hey, Caleb!” he called.
Caleb looked back at him warily, and Adam’s hand tightened around his boy’s, feeling protective.
“Maybe we could go fishing sometime,” Danny said. “You can use my pole if you want, and I’ll help you find worms.”
Caleb looked from Danny up to Adam and then back at Danny. “That sounds fun,” Caleb said tentatively.
Adam felt relieved. He knew this was Danny’s way of making amends, and he thought it was well done considering his father’s inability to apologize. Smiling, he said, “That’s real nice of you, Danny. What do you say, son?” He squeezed Caleb’s hand again.
“Thank you.” Caleb�
�s response was short, but there was friendliness in his tone.
While riding back, Caleb asked, “How come Danny’s pa didn’t make him apologize to me?”
The horse clipped along for a few beats before Adam answered. “Every father is different in what he expects from his children. I will always expect you to own up to your mistakes.”
Caleb tugged at the horse’s mane, seeming to be deep in thought for a while. “Ma says you expect a lot. She says you’re hard on her and on me.”
“Oh, does she now?” Adam grunted. He was not at all pleased to hear that Susannah was having that discussion with Caleb. If she thought I was hard on her before…, he mused to himself wryly. He might just take a strap to her for bellyaching to Caleb. “What else does your ma say?”
“That you’re bossy and unbearably strict.”
Adam groaned. “Your ma is in so much trouble. What’s she thinking, running off her mouth like that to you?”
Caleb shrugged. “I dunno. It doesn’t make much sense to me.”
“It doesn’t? You don’t think I’m bossy and strict?”
“You are,” Caleb said. “I just don’t understand why my ma says those things and then laughs and says how much she loves you. Then after that she cries and says she’s crying because she’s happy.”
Adam laughed heartily at the boy’s perspective. “Get used to it. Women don’t make a lick of sense sometimes, but life would be awful lonely without them.”
* * *
The roast Susannah prepared for supper was delicious, and Adam made sure to compliment her on it, secretly hoping that Martha hadn’t been around to assist.
“You really think it’s good?” she asked, a broad smile on her face.
“Yup. I reckon it’s the best beef I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating.” That was a bit of an exaggeration, but it was worth stretching the truth to see the flush of pleasure it gave his wife.
“I cooked it all on my own. Martha left early today.”
He swallowed his bite of food and smiled. “You did a fine job.”
Susannah plopped down happily on the stool next to him. “You’ll never believe what Martha said to me when she was here.”
“What, honey?”
“She asked me to join the cake-baking ladies at the parsonage every Saturday. They want me to be part of the club.” Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled with joy.
Confused, though he was glad to see his wife happy, Adam said, “I thought you hated baking and cooking.”
“Yes,” she admitted. “But I’m excited because they want to be friends with me.”
“I see,” Adam said slowly. “They’ll be lucky to have you as their friend. You have nothing to prove to those biddies. Don’t forget that.”
Susannah sidled up to him and sat on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m lucky to have you as my husband.”
“Are you?” he asked in a serious voice. “I hear I am bossy and unbearably strict.”
Her eyes widened and her cheeks became pinker. “Oh, well, I didn’t mean…” she said haltingly.
Adam kept himself from laughing, but he wasn’t able to prevent his eyes from twinkling. When she saw that he was more amused than annoyed, she let out a sigh of relief. “You were the opposite of what I thought I wanted, but you’re perfect for me, Adam.”
He pulled her close. “I know exactly what you mean because I feel the same way, kitten.” They sat in comfortable silence for a spell before Adam broke it by growling in her ear. “Get those dishes washed and meet me in the bedroom. You and I have a matter to settle.”
She fairly flew off his lap, looking quite excited by the prospect of engaging in whatever needed settling. When they were alone in their room, Adam tossed her over his lap, shoved down her drawers, and landed a swat on her quivering bare behind. “You’re about to find out how bossy I can be, young lady.”
She squealed and wriggled enticingly as he brought his hand down again and again in crisp swats.
“Open your legs,” he bossed.
She did so, revealing her sex to his view.
“Wider,” he growled.
She let out a little whimper as she obeyed, spreading her legs obscenely.
“You’re not allowed to move or make noise, no matter what. Got it, kitten?”
She let out a mewl. “What in the heavens are you doing, Adam?”
“I’m being unbearably strict, Susannah,” he informed her.
She giggled, which he allowed for only a couple seconds before bringing his hand down on her rump. “Silence begins now. Don’t make a peep, and don’t move either.”
She settled, and he spanked her soundly, catching the inside and backs of her thighs as well as her bottom. She took the swats stoically for some time, though he could tell by her body’s clenching that was struggling to absorb the pain. When he continued to spank her mercilessly with no sign of relenting, she eventually yelped, which was what Adam had been waiting for.
He paused. “Did you just make a sound?” A long silence lingered after the question, during which Adam rubbed her hot bottom and watched with amusement as she squirmed. “You disobeyed me, kitten,” his voice rumbled softly. “Now I have to punish that naughty cunny of yours.”
“What do you— Arrrrrrrghhhh.” Her words transformed into noncoherent sounds as he clapped his hand over her plump nether lips, spanking her clit and soaking slit. She ground her pussy against his hard leg shamelessly, desperate for relief from both the building pain and the growing pleasure.
“By the way, I agree with you,” he said, continuing the spanking on her bottom, then her legs, and then her cunny occasionally, each time making her jump with the shock of it. “I am very, very bossy.” He leaned forward and spoke in her ear. “But my little whore needs a bossy man, doesn’t she?”
His words caused a shiver and a moan to come from her lips. “Yes,” she said breathlessly. “Oh, yes.”
He cupped her sex possessively. “Just look at you, spread all over me like a wanton harlot, trying to come. Do you think you deserve to come, little whore?”
“Adam…” she gasped. “I…”
She shuddered and with no further warning arched her back and cried out her release, while Adam fondled her pussy. “Oh, you bad, bad girl,” he said dangerously as she settled back over his laps.
“I didn’t know,” she gasped. “It was a surprise…”
“Bad little whores who come without permission must be dealt with firmly. What should I do with you, kitten?” He stroked her pussy and pinched her highly sensitized clit.
“Unnnghhh, Adam!” she cried.
He continued to fondle her until he knew by the sounds of her whimpers that her second orgasm was well on its way. “Get on your knees.”
She dropped to the floor in front of him, then gazed at him with wide, adoring eyes. He unbuttoned his trousers, causing his erection to spring forward next to her face. He reached down and twined his fingers in her hair. Closing his hand into a gentle fist, he said. “Take me into your mouth. Show me what a dirty little whore you are.”
She opened wide, and Adam nearly lost control as her sweet lips wrapped around his member. “God, Susannah…” he said, closing his eyes. She licked and sucked, taking him deeper and deeper into her mouth. When he opened his eyes, he found her staring at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
“You’re enjoying this too much,” he observed, closing his fist in her hair tighter. “Touch your wet cunt, you bad girl. Seek your own pleasure.”
She moaned around his cock and reached between her legs to stroke her sex. As she worked herself into a frenzy, her lips’ hold on his cock became looser, driving him crazy. He needed to feel her tight pussy around him.
With a snarl, he lifted her into his arms, laid her on her back and plunged into her drenched opening. He would’ve come then if he hadn’t restrained himself. He didn’t want to come right away. He wanted to fuck her, hard, because he could see she wanted
to be handled in such a way. He hammered into her, enjoying her gasps and whimpers and enjoying the second loud cry of her orgasm. He held her close to him as she came and then kept her crushed against him as he found his own release moments later.
When the evening turned into night and they were in bed together again, she curled up against him. He caressed her shoulders and rubbed her back, enjoying her sighs and grunts of appreciation. After being so rough with her, it gratified him to be gentle. He loved the task of handling Susannah, and he would always do so with care.
“Goodnight, bossy man,” she whispered.
“Goodnight, kitten.”
The End
Catching Betsy (Book Two)
Chapter One
Nevada, 1898
Betsy Blake walked into the kitchen and stopped abruptly as her mouth dropped open in horror. The Harringtons’ four-year-old daughter was stuffing a fistful of blueberry pie into her mouth, smearing crumbs and fruit around her face. The child had grabbed a handful right from the center of the pie, effectively ruining it.
Betsy groaned. “Oh, Mini! Your ma said you weren’t to eat that.”
Virginia Harrington, first nicknamed Ginny, which then led to the pet name “Mini” on account of her tiny stature, grinned without remorse. “It’s yummy, Miss Betsy. Want some?” She held out her chubby fist filled with crust and fruit. Blueberry oozed through her fingers, dropping dollops of goo onto the floor.
“Sakes alive.” Betsy held her palms to her face. She couldn’t believe she’d let this happen. As often as she’d watched the Harrington children, she should have known to keep better watch over the younger child, who was a peck of trouble on the best of days. But Caleb, her older brother, had needed help with his arithmetic and she’d lost track of the little troublemaker. “Your parents are going to flay me, Mini. Thanks a lot.”
Mail-Order Grooms: The Complete Boxed Set Page 10
