She shivered as her body chilled without the warmth of him against her skin. And then he lifted her bottom and adjusted her against his hard arousal. One hand opened her, the other eased his member into the tight opening, and he slid his way within.
Sarah caught her breath, feeling a fullness she had not expected. In fact, she hadn’t known what to expect, except for Sierra’s warnings, but none of her sister’s words had prepared her for this thrill of being possessed by the man she loved. Nothing had readied her for the pleasure of his body there, in the depths of hers, and the knowledge that he was truly becoming her husband, even as he pressed farther into the place that had been designed for him to claim.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice strained, his arms trembling as he leaned over her once more. It seemed that he was well in possession of her, for she felt the fullness almost beyond bearing. Then there was an edge of pain that drew her deeper into the chasm into which he’d thrust her, and finally, a sharp knifelike shock that drew a gasp from her lips and a cry of distress from her depths.
“I’m sorry, Sarah,” he whispered against her ear. “It’ll never hurt again. Just this once.” And so saying, he thrust farther, beyond the barrier of her virginity, into the farthest reaches of her womanhood. His groan was one of completion, his movements strong and fervent, and she clutched at his back, aware of a new yearning, one that seemed to be centered there, where he’d secured himself in her, where his flesh was so securely meshed with her own.
She wiggled against him and he moved again, thrusting against her, where her body cradled his weight. He lay above her, sheltering her beneath the cover of muscles that flexed and provided a haven in which she was secure. Broad hands lifted her against him as he knelt once more and his palms spread wide over her slender form, his fingers exploring every inch of her body, even as his arousal seemed to come to life once more deep inside her. She felt new waves of pleasure begin as he found those secret places that responded to his touch, and then stilled herself as the response of her body swept her upward. She cried aloud as spasms of pure joy took possession of her, filling her with an ecstasy she could not have imagined.
“Sarah…” His voice broke, as if he were touched to his depths by her pleasure, and Sarah reached for him again, tugging him to lie upon her, holding him fast against her body.
“I love you, Brace,” she whispered. “You don’t have to love me in return. Just know that I’m happy right now, that you’ve been all I ever wanted, all I ever thought to have as a husband.”
He held her, rolling to his side and carrying her with him. “Ah, Sarah. I knew there was a storehouse of passion in your warm little body. I had no idea it was so easily aroused and so readily satisfied. You’re perfect.” He lifted himself a bit and his mouth touched her eyebrows, then her temple and cheek, finally possessing her mouth with an avid kiss that told her, more readily than words ever could, that he was pleased with her.
The knock on their bedroom door came early. “Aunt Sarah. Aren’t you going to cook breakfast this morning?” Stephen’s treble voice sounded loudly through the wooden panel and Sarah sat bolt upright.
“I’ll be down in a minute, Stephen,” she said. “Go on downstairs and wait for me.”
“All right. I’ll put two pieces of wood in the stove, just the way you do,” he said cheerfully.
“This wasn’t what I’d planned,” Brace grumbled, tumbling her back into his embrace. “I’d planned a long session of loving you before I let you out of the bed.”
“Weren’t three times last night enough to last you for a while?” she asked, feeling the heat of embarrassment flood her cheeks and then move down to her breasts.
“No, not hardly,” he told her. “I’ll never get enough of you, Sarah. I waited a long time to have you in my bed.”
“Not long,” she countered. “I’ve only been here a short while.”
“I know that,” he said, “but some things can’t be measured by weeks or months. I always knew there was a woman out there somewhere made just for me, and it took a long time to find you.”
“You truly believe that?” she asked, cuddling closer, unwilling to leave the warm nest of their bed.
“Yeah, I guess I do,” he said. “My mother told me when I was just a boy that somewhere, sometime, a woman would love me just the way I am.”
“Well, I do,” she said firmly. “I wouldn’t change a hair on your head.”
“You make me feel like a king, as if my life has taken a total about-face, and I’ve been given a kingdom right here in my own home, with you and Stephen.”
“Stephen.” Sarah jerked upright again. “I’ve got to get up. I told him I’d be right down.”
“I’ll go with you,” Brace said. With easy movements he slid from the bed and found his clothing. The fact that he was buck naked seemed to be no deterrent, Sarah noticed, and he donned his clothing without haste. She, on the other hand, held the sheet close as she groped for her gown at the foot of the bed and pulled it over her head. Her robe was nearby, and she wrapped it around herself, tying it firmly in place.
She was out of the room first and halfway down the stairs before Brace caught up with her. He waited until they reached the hallway below before he seized her and turned her to face him.
“You haven’t kissed me yet this morning,” he told her, pulling her to rest against him and remedying the situation with haste. His mouth claimed hers, and his body hardened against her.
“How can you do that already?” she asked, and he did not pretend to misunderstand her meaning.
“It’s all your fault,” he told her soberly. “You have this effect on me.”
“I suppose I’ll have to stay clear of you, then. I wouldn’t want you embarrassed out in company.”
“You’re not going to be farther from me than the end of my arm from now on,” he told her, his eyes dark with emotion, telegraphing the message. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, sweetheart. I’ll keep you safe, even if it means taking you with me everywhere I go,” he said bluntly.
“I’m safe enough here,” she said. “The doors have locks and there are three guns that I know of—one in the pantry and two in the parlor closet.”
“True,” he admitted. “But a man could get in if he really had a mind to.”
“I think Lester has given up the fight,” she told him. “Stephen and I are safe.”
The stove was warming up nicely when they arrived in the kitchen, and Stephen had begun to set the table, finding plates and silverware in the buffet. He carried the butter plate and sugar bowl, placing them squarely in the center of the round table, then sat quietly atop a high stool that Sarah had moved against the far wall. His gaze never straying from her, he watched as Sarah moved back and forth, sorting out bacon and eggs and mixing batter in a large bowl.
The pancakes were light and fluffy, and Stephen made much of them and then grinned at Brace. “My mama used to say that Sarah’s cookies were the best in the world. And these pancakes are almost as good as cookies. Grandma sure taught her to cook real good.”
“I’m with you on that one, son,” Brace told him. “I’ve found out already that your aunt catches on real quick to everything, and she’s the best at whatever she sets her hand to.”
Sarah cast him a glance that promised retribution, but he smiled with pretended innocence and made his way to where she stood before the stove. His hand on her shoulder was firm, his body behind her warm and strong, and she was reminded of the hours of the night when he’d claimed her over and over again. He bent to whisper in her ear and she flushed, dipping her head at his words.
“Are you all right?” he asked in a whisper. “I’m afraid I took advantage of you last night.”
She merely shook her head, glancing up to see Stephen watching them with a wide grin.
“How come you don’t kiss Aunt Sarah?” he asked innocently. “I thought married people were supposed to kiss and hug a lot, just like my grandpa and grand
ma do.”
“I like that idea,” Brace said quickly, and slid his arm around Sarah’s waist. “I just thought your aunt was too busy with breakfast to spend her time kissing me.”
Stephen laughed aloud. “I’ll bet she’d like it if you kissed her. She always likes it when I do. Just don’t get in her way while she’s cookin’ the eggs.”
Brace reached for Sarah’s chin and tilted it upward, bending to touch her with tenderness, his mouth blessing her with but a trace of the passion of his caresses during the night just past. “How’s that?” he asked Stephen.
“Not bad,” the boy replied, swinging his legs from the stool he’d perched on earlier. They were eating in shifts this morning, the pancakes being the first course, the bacon and eggs to follow.
“I’m not very organized today,” Sarah said, carrying the eggs to the table on a platter. The bacon was crisp, lying on brown paper to drain, and she brought it from the warming oven to where they sat, Stephen moving from his stool to take a chair across from Brace.
“What are we doing today?” he asked, looking at Sarah for direction.
“I’d thought we might go to church,” she suggested. “All three of us.”
“Sounds good to me,” Brace said amiably. When Stephen frowned, Brace shot him a warning look.
“Don’t you think it would be a good idea to please your aunt?” he asked the boy.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Stephen answered.
“If we hurry and eat, we’ll have time to check out our Sunday clothes and I’ll be able to iron whatever needs pressing,” Sarah told them both.
As it turned out, they were very well dressed without benefit of the irons and she breathed a sigh of relief that her Sunday morning didn’t have to be spent wielding hot sadirons over the ironing board. They loaded up in the wagon and Brace held the horses to a steady pace as they made their way to the small church on the other side of town. Townspeople waved and called out to them as they rolled down the street, and Sarah was hard put to look them all in the eye.
“I bet they’re thinking…” Her voice trailed off as Brace reached for her hand and squeezed gently.
“I think all the men are jealous of me,” he offered quietly. “I’ve got the prettiest woman in town, and they all know it.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I’m glad you think so, Brace. Even if I don’t agree with you.”
A tall, dark-haired man doffed his hat as they pulled up before the church and Brace climbed down from the wagon to tie his team to the hitching rail. “I hear congratulations are in order, Sheriff,” the stranger said with a wide smile. “We just heard this morning that there was a wedding yesterday.”
“We tried to get word to you, but your housekeeper said you’d gone back south for a few days,” Brace explained. “I’d have liked to have had you and Lin there, and the children, too.”
“I’m sorry to have missed it, but we’re tickled to death that you’ve found a woman worthy of you. When Lin writes to Faith, she’ll be sure to tell her. I know the news will be well received.” He looked up at Sarah. “Now, introduce me to your wife.”
“Sweetheart,” Brace began, “this is Nicholas Garvey. He and his wife have two of the prettiest children you’ve ever laid eyes on. The youngest is a boy, Jonathan, a real pistol. Amanda is their daughter. And still in the wagon is his wife, Lin, who’s way too good for him, but—” he leaned closer to speak into Sarah’s ear “—for some strange reason, she loves him.”
The dark-haired woman laughed at Brace’s foolishness and waved a greeting. “I’ll be by one day to visit,” she said. “If you don’t mind.”
“I’d love to have you. Any time you can make it,” Sarah said. Lin was a beauty, slender, with blue eyes that sparkled and a smile that lit up her face. Nicholas was beyond description, a handsome man with dark hair and eyes, a man whose gaze was pinned on his wife as she slid across the wagon seat.
“Hold on,” he said quickly, stepping to where she sat. “I’ll help you down.” And he did, his big hands almost encircling her waist, lifting her to the ground with ease. He held her before him and Sarah noted with interest the same look of intensity that so often graced Brace’s features. The man was besotted with Lin. There was no other way to say it. And with little wonder. The woman was enchanting.
Together they walked into the church, a small girl holding Nicholas’s hand, Lin carrying a little boy. “You should have let me carry him,” Nicholas said quietly. “He’s almost too heavy for you, sweet.”
“I’ll trade,” Lin said quickly and paused, handed the boy to her husband and took the girl’s hand in hers.
“I love you, Mama,” the child said quietly, and lifted their clasped hands to kiss the backs of Lin’s fingers. She looked up at Sarah. “Isn’t my mama the prettiest lady you ever saw?”
“Indeed she is,” Sarah told her. “In fact, I was just thinking that very same thing. I think she’s the prettiest lady in Benning. Don’t you, Brace?”
His eyes burned darkly as he looked down at her. “We’ve already had this discussion, my dear wife. Lin is a beauty. Of that there’s no doubt, but you take the prize as the loveliest woman I’ve ever known.”
“Hear, hear,” Nicholas said heartily. “That’s a man in love, if I ever heard one.”
Sarah shook her head and moved quickly to the church doors. “You’re a pair, you are. You should be thinking about the pastor’s sermon and the hymns and the prayers, and instead you’re comparing the assets of your wives.”
“I think we’re both well satisfied with what we have,” Nicholas said smoothly. “In fact, I’ll have to say that our friend here looks to be pretty content this morning. I’d say he’s more than satisfied with his wife, in particular, and marriage in general.”
Brace stuck out his hand and Nicholas took it, shaking it with a ceremony that appeared to be a bonding between the two men. “I knew you’d recognize that,” Brace said. His gaze touched Sarah and his smile was for her alone. “I couldn’t be happier, Nick.”
Sarah appeared to relish the warmth and companionship of the church service. She’d told Brace it had been weeks since her last chance to enter into worship, and the young minister seemed to find just the right words to bring a new recognition of her faith into being. She seemed to listen to the prayers and the reading of scripture with rapt attention, and Brace vowed to himself that they would be regular attendants at the services from now on.
The townsfolk gathered around them after church, and the ladies all clucked and stewed over Sarah. “Do you need help getting your new things settled?” Mrs. Johnson asked. “I’ll be glad to lend a hand.”
“I’m going one day this week to spend the day with her,” Lin said, filling the silence. “We’ll have a good time getting things sorted out, won’t we, Sarah?”
It was a welcome rescue, and Sarah nodded and agreed.
Dinner was in the oven when they arrived home, a pot roast that needed to have potatoes and carrots added for the final half hour’s cooking. Preparing a meal with two menfolk underfoot was a challenge, Sarah decided, but one she could cope with. Between the two of them, Stephen was by far the most eloquent, anticipating the meal to come, but Brace made his own feelings known with sidelong glances and smiles that told of his happiness.
It was too good to last, Sarah thought wistfully. And yet she determined to gather every bit of pleasure she could from the time they spent together. Stephen told a spectacularly pitiful joke he’d heard from one of the boys after church and Brace shook his head at the punch line.
“Here’s a good one you can tell at school tomorrow,” he offered, and then proceeded to enthrall Stephen with a long tale about a boy who caught a monstrous fish, measuring the fish between two outstretched arms and causing Stephen to laugh aloud at his antics.
The boy left the table, excusing himself to feed the cats, and Sarah watched him as he carried two dishes of food and milk out the back door.
“You really like him, don’
t you?” she asked softly, her gaze resting on Brace’s smiling face.
“Of course, I do,” he answered. “Who wouldn’t take to him? He’s a fine young man, and more fun than a picnic.”
“You’d make a good father,” she said wistfully. “I hope you can make Stephen your first son one day.”
“I fully plan on it,” he told her. “In fact, as soon as the judge sets up a hearing, we should learn how the land lies.”
That day came sooner than she’d expected, beginning with the surprise appearance of Brace midmorning, walking into the kitchen, his sharp gaze scouring the room as he spoke her name.
“Sarah?”
She stepped from the pantry and approached him. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “Is everything all right?”
“Right as rain,” he said agreeably, but something about the sharp look in his eye warned her that all was not going to be smooth sailing.
“What have you heard?” she asked.
He frowned then, bending lower to look directly into her eyes. “You don’t miss much, do you?”
“You’re keeping secrets,” she said bluntly. “And I need to know what’s going on.”
“The judge is in town. He’s ready for a hearing tomorrow.”
“Where’s Lester?” she asked quietly. “Does he know yet?”
“The stationmaster said he was there late yesterday. Got a wire and seemed pretty happy with it.”
“What did it say?” she asked.
“Now, you know I can’t find that out, Sarah,” he told her. “That would be a violation of privacy if the stationmaster told me the contents of the message.”
“Would he tell you if it held a threat of danger to Stephen?”
“That’s the very thing I asked him,” Brace admitted. “And he said I’d better be on the lookout for trouble. He said that Lester had sent a wire out early yesterday morning, and the reply seemed to please him.”
“His family,” Sarah said with a sense of certainty. “He’s let his brothers know he needs their help. I’ll guarantee it.”
Texas Lawman Page 9
