by Unknown
Her gaze flew to his and her body tightened around his finger. He drank of her mouth again, sending his tongue to stroke and circle in a slower, soothing speed until she was lost in the drunken sensation of his ministrations. Relaxing against his mouth, against his hand, her limbs went numb and the only feeling to surface was disappointment when he removed his hands from her womanhood and smoothed them down the backs of her thighs.
He pulled his mouth from hers and lowered his knees. Soon, her feet left the ground as he lifted her to place her legs around his waist. She gasped, wrapping her arms around his neck. His face was level with the base of her throat and he suckled the spot as he walked forward until her back pressed against the wall.
In wanton fascination, she watched him work his tongue over her skin across her collarbone before he dipped down and took her nipple in his mouth. Her head fell back against the wall and she moaned. A wave of hot ecstasy spread like tongues of flame from her chest down to the sweet clenching between her thighs and she pressed her hips against his until the rock hard evidence of his desire moved against her in teasing fashion.
“Dalton,” she breathed. “Let me see you.”
He looked up with that smirk that always made her melt, and carried her to the bed. Gently, he deposited her against a pile of pillows before removing his shirt. His chest was covered in a thin patch of dark hair, but through it she saw the twin mounds of muscle that stretched out into equally strong shoulders and arms. Tight and corded, his torso was a beautiful landscape of dips and rises, ridges and swells, sculpted beneath the sweat of hard work and bronzed by the sun.
With deliberate slowness, his fingers worked the buttons of his trousers until they were free enough to slide down, and her breath caught at the sight of his erection. Longer and thicker than she’d imagined, a slight trepidation had her nibbling on her bottom lip. It was impressive. It was intimidating.
He climbed onto the bed and lay beside her, combing his fingers through her hair. “Are you nervous?” he asked.
She laughed softly. “I’m always a little nervous around you.”
He laughed in return. “Still?”
A shrug lifted her shoulders. “Different reason this time.” She couldn’t speak her fears, the insecurities that plagued her in such a moment. But Dalton cupped her cheek and warmed her with the love in his gaze.
“I’m nervous, too,” he said, and she raised a skeptical brow. “This is my first time making love to someone.”
There was such tenderness, such sincerity and love in his eyes. She reached up to caress his cheek before she touched her lips to his.
“Make love to me,” she whispered, and felt his knee urging her legs apart a moment later. He moved atop her and broke their kiss long enough to whisper.
“Always you, only you.”
Tears rushed to her eyes and they kissed warmly again as he slid inside of her. The pain was brief, and paled in comparison to the feeling of their bodies being wholly connected. As one, they lay together, kissing and touching until he began a slow undulating movement that stroked more of her pleasure sensors to life. He moved in and out of her, pulling and plunging in a slow, pleasing rhythm until she moved her hips to match his.
A low moan escaped her throat and she gripped his tight buttocks, filling her hands with the muscles as they flexed. His hand slipped between their bodies and reached down to stroke her center again. In an instant, she was inundated with pleasure, waves and waves of it until it became too much to bear, too much feel.
Pressure and pleasure converged inside of her, building and building until it finally collapsed upon her, seizing her lungs and even her voice. She gasped, clenched, shook and then flooded with the sweetest sense of relief as she sank into the mattress. But Dalton wasn’t finished. He continued to kiss and caress as he maintained his rhythm, and when she finally saw his jaw clench and felt his hot, stilted breath wash over her face, she knew he had found his own release.
He collapsed beside her, panting yet still planting tiny kisses upon her arm and shoulder. “Good God, woman, you’re worth waiting for.”
She laughed, even as she filled with pride. “I didn’t do anything, although I hope you’ll help me remedy that very soon.”
He raised up on his elbows and cupped her face. “You did everything, Marlena. I can’t tell you how much you mean to me...how much…” He swallowed several times and she reached up to grip his face.
“Hey. It’s just you and me. Two kids from Virginia City.”
He laughed and wiped at the sudden wetness in his eyes and she smiled, having noticed it. His fingers clasped around the ruby necklace and he lifted it to inspect it.
“You were my ruby. Now, you’re the world’s ruby.”
She frowned. “Is that why you never called me Ruby in Virginia City?” He nodded and she laughed before she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him closer to her. “I’ve always been your ruby. You should be proud to call me that. It wasn’t me pretending to be someone else. It was me announcing to the world that I’m yours.”
His face twisted in confusion and she took the pendant from him to lift it into the lamplight. “You told me that real rubies are cracked, that they are made more valuable by their fissures. But you were wrong. Real rubies are not cracked at all. What appears to be cracks are actually infusions of another mineral, named rutile. So, you see? A real, valuable, ruby is that which is fused together with another mineral, making it stronger, more vibrant and everlasting. Marlena and Dalton fused together make Ruby. Your ruby. Always yours, only yours.”
A slow smile crept along his lips until he lavished a soft kiss upon her lips. “I like that.” He rolled over onto his back, bringing her with him to nestle against his side. “I hope you don’t mind, love, but I could sleep like the dead right now.”
A soft chuckle shook her shoulders and she placed a kiss on his chest. “Love? Is that another nickname? Have you replaced Little Miss finally?”
He held her close and looked on her with tired, red eyes. “Not yet, but I was hoping to soon. I was thinking of...Little Mrs. What do you think?
A rush of tingles spread across her body. “Now, that I like the sound of.” He smiled as his eyes closed and she ran her hands through the fur of his chest. “Sleep, my love. You’ve earned it.”
Within moments, Dalton’s snores whispered across the room and Marlena’s stomach rumbled with hunger. She rose and put her clothes on, stealing the lamp to guide her way back down to the kitchen. Sarah and Hazel sat at the table, eating plates of potatoes, beans and ham. Marlena’s eyebrows rose at Sarah.
“I’m surprised. I expected you to starve before finding your way around a kitchen.”
“I didn’t,” Sarah replied with a sheepish grin. “Hazel made this.”
Marlena rustled Hazel’s hair as a flash of lightning lit up the home. The thunder came seconds later. “Well done, Hazel. Is there enough left for me?”
“Plenty,” she said as she scooped a bowl full.
Marlena shoveled a spoonful into her mouth. “There are two guest bedrooms upstairs. You can each have one if you’d like or you can share a bed.”
“Please, can we share?” Hazel asked, eyeing Sarah, who nodded eagerly.
Marlena noticed Hazel’s bowl was empty, so she took her dishes and handed over the lamp. “Here. There are three rooms upstairs. Two of the bedroom doors are open. The third, the master, is closed. Choose one of the open rooms for you two.”
Hazel nodded and went upstairs, leaving Marlena with only Sarah and the thick tension between them. Indigo was out cold before the fire, stretched out on his back, bandaged paws sticking straight up in the air. Marlena noticed the bandages were clean and she nodded toward them.
“Thanks for changing his bandages,” she said.
Sarah shrugged. “Hazel did that, too.”
A smirk tugged at her lips and she didn’t force it away. “That girl is going to be good for you. I can already see it.” They laughed brie
fly before Marlena pinned Sarah with a direct stare. “Are you going to tell her the truth?”
Sarah shrugged. “I don’t know. She adored her adopted parents. They were all she spoke of on the ride here. I can’t imagine destroying her reality.” An awkward silence fell until Sarah broke it. “Marlena, I’m so sorry…”
“I was wrong,” Marlena interjected. “I shouldn’t have said what I said about you. You are a good woman. You just...make some really poor decisions sometimes.”
“And I’m aware of it, believe me. But I’m going to do better. I’ve got a second chance sleeping upstairs and I’ll make the most of it. Nothing means more to me than her, I want you to know that.”
Marlena nodded, watching a curious shift in Sarah’s eyes.
“There’s something else,” Sarah said. “I’m releasing you from the contract.”
“What?” Marlena shook her head, flummoxed.
“You heard me. I’m giving you your life. Live it with Dalton. I was wrong about him, as I was about a great many things. He’s the man for you. He’ll give you a life of love and happiness, and I won’t let my contract stand in the way of that. So, I’m freeing you from it. It’s the least I can do after all you’ve done for me and Hazel. You almost died saving her. I’ll never forget that.”
A great weight lifted from Marlena. Her breaths came easier and lighter. “I don’t know what to say, Sarah.”
“Say that you and I can be friends,” she replied tremulously. “I have a feeling you’ll be sticking around these parts, and I hope our paths can cross often.”
Marlena reached across the table to grasp Sarah’s hands. “The dearest of friends, but I want a promise from you in return.”
Sarah chuckled. “No more interference in your life?”
Marlena shook her head back and forth. “Write to Peter. Tell him you have Hazel and that you’re living in Virginia City.”
A deep breath filled Sarah’s lungs and she sat back in her chair, shaking her head. “He won’t want to hear from me. He wants nothing to do with me.”
“You may be right,” Marlena said with a single nod before she sat forward and put her elbows on the table. “But what if you’re wrong? Don’t you think it’s worth finding out? I wish I would have written Dalton a year ago instead of wasting all of that time fighting my heart. Promise me you’ll write him.”
Sarah covered her mouth with a shaky palm and took another deep breath before nodding. Marlena scraped the last bite from her bowl and set the dishes in the sink. “Shall we head upstairs?”
With lamp in hand, they ascended to the second floor, where Sarah crept silently into the room Hazel had chosen. Marlena went into the master bedroom and stood staring at Dalton’s naked form spread across the bed, his face relaxed in peace and contentment. Her lips spread in a smile as she scanned over every inch of him. And when a certain part of him began to rise and harden, she glanced up to find his tired eyes open. Blood rushed to her cheeks, but he smiled and beckoned her to the bed with the crook of his finger.
“Take your clothes off and come here.”
She complied with a giggle, snuggling against him. “I didn’t mean to wake you. You should go back to sleep. It’s been a long few days for you.”
“It’s been a longer year and a half without you,” he replied. “Don’t be surprised if I lock you in this room for a few weeks.”
“No objections here,” she said, yelping when he grabbed her waist and lifted her, settling her over his hardened flesh. Her body melted around his shaft, sheathing him in a tight grip. They moaned as one before he moved her up and down, stroking him, stroking her. She took over the motions, arching her back and resting her palms on his thighs as she slid up and curled down.
He kneaded her breasts, turning her nipples in between his thumbs, pressing, rolling, teasing until her body clenched around him even tighter and she quickened the pace of her passion. Her head fell back. Her head fell back, scattering her tresses over her hands and his legs. He sat up and wrapped his arms around her, claiming her mouth.
Her nipples brushed against his chest hair over and over again as she rode him. Sweat gathered on her brow, on her back. He gripped her hips and slowed her movements, pulling her over him in a hard grinding motion, and she moaned.
“God, that feels good,” she said.
“You’re telling me,” he replied with a smirk.
He leaned back and pressed his hips up against her pleasure center, grinding and circling in a sweet, torturous friction, grunting and panting at the suspension of his pleasure. She took advantage when he slowed, continuing the steady climb to ecstasy with the sway of her hips. His breathing grew shallow and his features twisted in a grimace. He gripped her legs as a shudder rippled beneath her. With a deep groan, the warm flood of his seed spilled into her.
Collapsing against the pillow, his chest rose and fell in great expansions and she smirked, knowing it was her body that gave him such pleasure. She made to move off of him, but his hands shot up and held her in place. He lifted his head and shook it back and forth.
“Don’t go anywhere just yet,” he said through pants before reaching up to stroke her womanhood with his thumb. Sensitive and deliciously tender, a spiral of pleasure burst from the area and she moved against him again, unable to stop her hips from answering the call of his fingers. He stroked and circled until her body wracked with tiny spasms and she fell forward to rest against his chest.
His heartbeat thrummed against her ear. His sweat coated her skin. She was warm. She was satisfied. She was loved. And somewhere among those thoughts, she fell asleep.
Chapter 31
The evening storm left the forest damp and deep green in the bursting light of dawn. The air smelled crisply of pine and Dalton inhaled a lungful of it as he crouched behind a cluster of undergrowth and leveled his shotgun at the young buck. The animal nipped at grass and tree bark, swiveling its head to investigate noises and smells. Dalton pulled back the hammer and slid his finger around the trigger, but instead of focusing his eye on the deer, he pictured Marlena’s face as he’d left her sleeping in the bed.
Rosy, passion-bruised lips had slid slightly apart so she could breathe through them. Long wavy blond locks scattered about his pillows. His bed sheet wrapped around her torso and one of her legs, the scant covering all they could manage after their last round of lovemaking. No soreness plagued him this morning, no angst or mental burdens weighed him down. He sighed and released the hammer, setting the shotgun on the ground.
“Sorry, Indigo,” he said, petting the dog sitting beside him. “No venison today.”
He felt too alive to kill.
When he returned to the house, Hazel had discovered the pound of bacon in his ice box and was hard at work frying it over the stove. Sarah stood beside her, studying the process and chattering away.
“Good morning, Mr. Dalton,” Hazel said as he entered. “You didn’t have any eggs so we just have some biscuits and bacon. I saw you had some coffee in your stores so I’ve brewed you a cup.”
She nodded toward the steaming mug on the kitchen table and he took it with a grateful smile. “Thank you, Hazel. Much obliged.”
He strolled out to the porch and stood watching the sun light up the waters of Tahoe in golden, sparkling glory. His chest swelled with happiness. Bacon frying, Marlena asleep in his bed, Indigo by his side...the place finally felt like home.
“Nice view,” Marlena called from behind and he turned to see her standing in the doorway in her chemise and his robe, her feet bare. Nothing ever looked lovelier.
“Good morning,” he said, holding out an arm, which she slid under to hold him close.
“Dalton, I love the homestead…”
Something in her tone unnerved him and he braced himself. “But?”
She took a deep breath and looked up at him. “But I have a duty and an obligation to fulfill.”
“If you’re worried about the contract, don’t. I have enough money to buy out your
contract. If you want, your freedom is yours.”
Her eyes widened. “You have enough money to buy out the contract?”
He nodded. “That was always the plan. With my furniture commissions and the wonderful generosity of my mother, I have enough to buy it out. That is, if you want.”
She shook her head. “There is no contract. Sarah dissolved it last night.”
The shock must have spread across his face, for she nodded again in confirmation before his brow wrinkled. “Then, what obligation are you talking about?”
Before she could answer, Morgan and Val broke through the trees on horseback.
“Thank God,” Val said, sighing in relief. “We found the camp and dead bodies. The rain washed out your tracks. I figured if you all were still alive we’d find you here.”
“Good thinking,” Dalton said, shaking Val’s hand as he dismounted and climbed the porch steps.
Without pause, Val swept Marlena into his arms and squeezed her tight. “Your sister is anxious for news of your safety. We practically had to tie her to the bed to keep her from coming with us.”
Morgan was next in line for a hug. Soon, Sarah and Hazel joined them on the porch, handing mugs of coffee around while Marlena told the Kelly boys about the kidnapping and Dalton’s brave rescue. Indigo had been lying on the porch beside Dalton, but suddenly stood and ran to the edge, barking. All heads swiveled in the direction as Lila rode through the trees at a run. She pulled the reins, bringing her horse to a sliding stop. Her face twisted with panic.
“Val! You must come quickly,” she said. “It’s Jess. The baby’s coming and there are complications.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “Father sent me for you.”
