“I do.” He nodded and moved toward the pink bedroom. He paused in the doorway. “And then I want to tuck you in bed.” His husky voice rumbled through the quiet room.
Faith blushed at the idea, but didn’t try to dissuade him.
“And Faith?”
“Yes?”
“I want to undress you. No nightgown and no braid.”
“Anything else?” Her voice was a breathy whisper.
He grinned. “Leave a lamp burning. I want to be able to find you.”
* * *
Faith paced the length of the bedroom. She wasn’t sure quite what to do. Her husband wanted to undress her. How was she supposed to occupy her time while she waited for him to tuck Joy into bed?
She walked to the bed and flipped the covers back. The sun had been down less than an hour. It seemed indecent to go to bed so early. She looked down at the bed, then quickly made it up again. She paced the room twice more, pulled out a couple of hairpins, then put them back again. He wanted to undress her. She wanted him to take down her hair. She turned her gaze back to the bed. It was hard to ignore it. It dominated the room. She turned the covers down once again, debated a minute or two, then started making it up―again.
“Leave it.” Reese stood in the doorway. He was smiling at her. “I think we’ll be able to make better use of it if it’s turned down.”
Faith dropped the corner of the blanket, then turned around. “How? Is…?”
“Joy’s sound asleep.” He stepped into the room and closed the door. The click of the lock sounded abnormally loud to Faith’s sensitive ears.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Faith admitted. “I’m not used to having idle hands.” She gestured with her hands, waving them, palms upward, in the direction of the bed.
“I know what you mean,” Reese replied solemnly.
“You do?” She stared up at him.
He nodded, once. “I’m not accustomed to having idle hands, either.” He grinned suddenly, showing a flash of beautiful white teeth. “Come here. Let’s put these idle hands to work.” He reached for her and Faith walked into his arms.
“What do I do?” Faith whispered.
Reese smiled. “Anything you want.” He plunged his fingers into her hair and began searching for the pins, while his mouth sought hers.
Faith reached up and pulled the silk tie away from the neck of his shirt.
Reese froze. His lips ceased their exploration of her mouth. His heart pounded loudly inside his chest. He waited.
Faith looked up and met his gaze. He seemed puzzled, unsure. She smiled shyly. “You said I could do anything I wanted.”
He nodded once, without speaking.
“I wanted to take off your shirt. To undress you.” She hid her face in the white linen. She could feel the hot, flush of color staining her cheeks.
Reese began to breathe again, in quick erratic fashion. “Go right ahead,” he instructed, as Faith pulled his shirt from inside his trousers and began undoing the buttons, one by one.
He found it hard to concentrate on unbraiding her hair. Faith pressed warm kisses against his chest as she released each button, exposing more flesh. He wondered what she would do when she ran out of buttons.
He was barely able to breathe when she went down on her knees in front of him to undo the last button.
She pressed a kiss against his navel, then boldly dipped her tongue inside, touching, tasting.
Reese’s heart skipped a beat. He grabbed her arms and jerked her to her feet. There was no time for Faith to protest his rough handling of her, as his mouth found hers. He kissed her hungrily, demanding a response.
Faith kissed him back, as hungry as he, nipping at his bottom lip with her teeth, invading his mouth with her tongue, tasting him, marking him, branding him with her flavor, as he branded her. Her knees buckled as her blood surged through her veins. She locked her arms around his waist, pressing her breasts against his naked chest. The jet buttons on her bodice bit into him, leaving a row of tiny indentations.
He pushed away, putting his hands between them in an in an effort to unfasten her dress and rid himself of those sharp, little buttons.
Faith whimpered her displeasure as he moved away. Her legs wobbled unsteadily, hampering his attempts to unclothe her.
Cursing profusely, Reese made a grab for her before she slipped out of his reach. He turned and pressed Faith firmly against the hard wood of the bedroom door. He wedged his leg between hers, using his thigh to keep her upright while his mouth continued its passionate assault. His hands busied themselves with the stubborn little buttons.
His groin throbbed, his thigh muscles quivered, and his hands shook as he struggled with the buttons. His precarious control was rapidly deserting him.
Faith pulled her mouth away from his. She kissed the side of his neck beneath his ear, then moved higher. Her hot, inquisitive tongue tasted his earlobe, then began an excursion into the circular maze of his ear.
His control shattered. He tugged at her bodice. Jet buttons dropped to the floor, scattering in all directions. He shoved the fabric off her shoulders, then down her arms, baring her chemise, and the rounded tops of her breasts.
She pulled her arms out of the sleeves of her dress, then pushed his open shirt off his shoulders. It slid down his arms, coming to a halt at his wrists. Impatient, Reese jerked the cuffs over his hands without bothering to undo the cuff links, then tossed the garment in the direction of the chair. He turned his attention back to the battle at hand―the hook on her waistband.
Her busy tongue left his ear and began a trail of fire along his jaw toward his chin. The slight rasp of his beard teased her taste buds. Faith flicked her tongue along the corner of his mouth. He tasted tangy with sweat, and a flavor that was recognizable only because it belonged to him. It was the essence of Reese.
Reese tilted his head slightly, and caught her teasing tongue in his mouth. She tasted wonderful. He couldn’t get enough. He was greedy. He wanted more. He drank in the intoxicating sweetness of her mouth, grinding his hips against her belly.
Faith moved against him, welcoming the feel of his firm length pressing into her.
“God, stop that!” he managed. “It feels too good!”
She snuggled closer, testing his limits.
He moved his hands down to hold her hips steady. “Dammit, woman, stop!” He muttered, his breath fanning her lips and chin. “My hands are shaking so badly I can’t get your skirt off! I feel like a callow schoolboy.”
She slipped her hand between their bodies, grazing his thigh as she moved to press her palm against him. Her voice was deep, husky, triumphant. “You don’t feel callow to me.” She traced the hard shaft with her knuckles to illustrate her point.
Reese raised his head and arched his eyebrow at her comment. He had heard similar remarks over the years, but somehow, he’d never expected a woman like Faith to say such a thing. She was a lady. He studied her features. Her face was flushed with pleasure, her eyes sparkling with triumph, yet darkened to a smoky shade of gray. He was witnessing a transformation. A wonderful transformation. She had become a seductress right before his eyes, beneath his hands. She teased, she tantalized, she seduced.
Reese chuckled softly. “How many callow boys have you felt?”
“None,” she admitted, tangling her fingers in his dark hair.
“Then how do you know?” he teased, resisting her attempts to kiss him.
“No callow youth could feel like this,” Faith told him with complete certainty, raising herself on tiptoe, bracing her back against the door, seeking his lips.
“You would be surprised.” He allowed her a brief, unsatisfactory kiss. “Callow youths are just as hard. They have no control and no expertise, but they’re just as hard.”
“How do you know?” She nipped at his chin in frustration as he continued to evade her kisses.
This time he laughed. “I was one. Once.”
“You? Never!” She tried another
tack, brushing her half-bare breasts against his bare chest.
He sucked in his breath as the firm tips of her breasts inside their cotton cage brushed against him. The whisper of the cotton was almost as erotic as the bare flesh. He ached with the need to lose himself inside her, but he was reluctant to end the game. God, she learned fast! Reese was thoroughly enchanted by the seductress she’d become.
“Yes, me. Before I learned how to pleasure a woman.” His words were harsh whispers, uttered through clenched teeth. “Before I learned control.”
“Reese?” Her questing tongue left his lips and concentrated on his naked chest. She lapped at the points of his nipples.
“What?” He could barely think.
“Forget control. Pleasure me.”
Reese pulled Faith away from the door, bent his knees, scooped her up into his arms, and carried her to the bed. She lay across the bed, looking up at him. He kicked off his shoes and socks, then fumbled with the buttons of his fly, his usually adept hands, clumsy and shaking.
She sat up in bed, then crawled on her knees to the edge of the bed. “Let me.” Faith reached for him.
Reese moved closer.
She unbuttoned his trousers. His proud jutting length spilled out into her hands. She marveled at the soft-hard feel of him, the pulsating warmth. She ran her fingertips along his arousal, then closed her hand around him.
Reese sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled, groaning loudly as his breath rushed out. He caught her braid in his hand and tugged her toward him. “No more. I can’t stand it!”
Faith released him, suddenly afraid she’d caused him pain. “Did I hurt you?” It was hard to tell from the expression on his face.
“No. But I can only stand so much.” His breath came in gasps. “God, Faith, I have to feel you! Help me!” Reese pushed his pants down over his hips, then stepped out of them and kicked them aside.
She stared at him in wonder. He stood tall and proud, bronzed by the lamplight. A lump caught in her throat. Her first brief look at him had been burned in her memory, but now she realized her memory was faulty. She had thought him perfect, except for the small crescent-shaped scar under his chin. He was more handsome than she remembered; his legs were longer and more muscular, his thighs bulging with strength. But he was also flawed. Several scars, some round and puckered, another long and thin, marred his torso. Faith ached with the need to kiss those marks and soothe away the memory of his pain. She moved to kiss the puckered circle on his thigh.
He stopped her with his hands and pulled her upward. His mouth tasted hers. He unfastened her skirt and the ribbons of her chemise, then gently, firmly, pushed her back on the bed and lifted her hips, tugging at her skirts until they came free and glided down over her legs.
When she was left with only her corset and stockings, Reese finished unbraiding her straight black hair. “Now, you look the part,” he whispered, nuzzling aside the long tresses to kiss the curve of one breast.
“What part?” Faith looped her arms around his neck.
“The seductress.” He dipped his tongue into the moist crevice between her breasts.
“Am I your seductress?” She kissed the top of his dark head.
“You’re learning.” He encircled a hard bud. His mouth left a wet ring on the white cotton. His breath fanned the damp fabric.
She shivered in reaction, arching toward him. “Teach me. Everything.”
Reese rolled her to his side. He unlaced the strings of her corset and threw it aside. He left her cotton stockings and garters in place, then pulled her atop him. He forgot control. He forgot everything except her demands and his throbbing need to bury himself in her warm depths.
She whimpered with need as he lowered her onto his arousal. He taught her the rhythm, guiding her hips with his hands until he suddenly rolled her onto her back.
Faith urged him on, digging her fingernails into his shoulders, spurring him onward with the heels of her feet. She screamed his name, crying out her pleasure as she found her release.
Reese’s control deserted him. He grasped her tightly, lifting her hips as he poured himself into her. “Faith!”
* * *
The stillness and the silence woke Reese in the gray, predawn hours. The train had stopped. He sat up and leaned against the carved headboard.
Faith groaned sleepily, brushing her hair out of her eyes. She pushed herself up to lay her head against Reese’s chest. “What is it?” she whispered.
“The train has stopped,” he told her, absently planting a kiss against her dark hair.
“Why?”
“Listen.”
She listened. At first, she could barely make out the sound, but as it moved closer she could hear the faint, tinkling sound. “It sounds like wind chimes.” She leaned closer to the window, then turned to face Reese. “What is it?”
“A rare opportunity.” He grinned at her, his face alight with boyish pleasure. “A sight you shouldn’t miss. Come on.” He got up from the bed, slipped on his trousers, then bent to put on his socks and shoes. He retrieved his shirt from the floor and handed it to Faith. “Here. Put this on.”
She slipped her arms into his shirt, while Reese pulled a quilt and the down comforter from the bed. He handed Faith her shoes and draped the quilt around her shoulders.
“Hold on to this. We’ll need it,” he instructed, handing her the comforter before scooping her up in his arms, quilt and all.
“Where are we going?” Faith asked as he carried her out of the bedroom toward the door of the railroad car.
“Open the door and you’ll see.”
Faith did as he asked. Reese carried her outside onto the porch, into the freezing cold. She burrowed deeper inside the quilt. He walked to the chair, lowered Faith to her feet, then bent to brush the thin crust of ice off the seat with a corner of the quilt. He took the comforter from Faith, spread it across the chair, and sat down. Reese pulled Faith onto his lap, and wrapped the cover around them.
The musical sound of tiny bells grew louder. Closer.
“Look!” Reese whispered in her ear.
The sight took her breath away. The ground was covered with a foot or so of powdery white snow that glowed eerily in the gray sky. The steel rails of the track were passable, but the train couldn’t move. It was surrounded by a herd of buffalo, hundreds of them, lumbering slowly across the railroad tracks. The shaggy fur covering their massive heads, withers, and backs was topped with a layer of snow, but the fur hanging from their bellies was a solid mass of icicles, which swayed with each step.
They were so close Faith could see the misty clouds formed by their warm breath. She could hear the beasts’ labored breathing as they moved through the knee-deep snow.
“Oh, Reese.” She turned her head to kiss his jaw. “They’re magnificent!” She shifted slightly in his arms so she could see his face. “You knew when you heard the bells!”
He nodded. “I suspected.”
“You’ve seen this before?” She searched for his hand amid the folds of the quilt. She laced her fingers with his.
“Once, a long time ago.” His black eyes sparkled at the incredible beauty of the scene spread before them. “Take a good look, sweetheart. The herds are disappearing. We’ll probably never have this privilege again.”
She shivered at the sadness in his voice.
“Cold?” He nuzzled her ear and tightened his hold around her.
“Not enough to miss this,” Faith assured him.
They watched the slow migration of the herd until the last cow moved out of view. The train blew its whistle one last time, then lurched forward as the engine gathered steam. They got up from the chair and moved to the rail for a final glimpse of the bison. Then Reese lifted Faith into his arms and carried her back to bed.
He made slow, sweet love to her as the sun rose over the horizon.
Chapter Seventeen
Faith had just finished her morning bath when the train rolled into the Cheyenne sta
tion. Reese knocked on the washroom door.
“Oh, no! I’m not dressed! I look…” Faith stood beside the bathtub, her face pink from the hot water, black hair loosely piled atop her head. She had wrapped Reese’s brown velvet robe around her frame and it clung damply in places. Faith’s gray eyes sparkled with happiness. Her beautiful wide mouth was bruised and swollen from his kisses.
“Wonderful.” Reese stepped into the room and placed a light kiss on her nose. “Take your time. The train will back our car onto a side track before they uncouple. The kettle is boiling on the stove. Joy and I are going to watch the horses unload while we wait for Uncle Charlie, Sam, and a couple of hands from the ranch. They’ll be here soon,” Reese told her, running a finger down her chin and neck to the enticing opening of his robe.
Faith moved closer, craving his warmth, his touch. “How did they know we’d be here?”
“I sent them a telegram from Chicago to tell them when to expect us.” Reese leaned down and captured her mouth in a hungry kiss. “Now, I wish I hadn’t.” He nibbled at her mouth. “Good morning, Miss Collins.” He stopped and thought about what he’d said. “Wait. Now that we’re in Cheyenne, you’re Mrs. Jordan.”
“Just like that?” Faith stared at him. “We’ve been married for days, but you’ve only mentioned it once. At the negotiations. Never before.”
“As far as my family and the people of Cheyenne are concerned, we were married in Richmond.”
“We were married in Richmond,” she protested. “At least I was. You weren’t there.”
“Does it matter?” He tried to kiss her again, but she turned her face away. “It was legal.”
“Reese―” Faith began.
“Look, how hard can it be?” Reese asked. “You pretended to be a widow without any qualms. You shouldn’t have any problems playing the part of a loving wife.” He caressed her shoulder in a manner meant to reassure her. “If last night was any indication, you’ll do fine.”
Faith shrugged away from his gentle touch. “Meaning I passed your test?” she asked coldly. “You must think I’m a wonderful actress.”
“I didn’t say that,” he hedged.
“It’s what you meant,” she accused.
Golden Chances Page 15
