Chapter Six
Cradled in brawny arms, her head nestled in the crook of Colt’s shoulder, Annalee released a long pleasure-filled sigh and closed her eyes, absorbing the unbelievable satisfaction flowing through her veins. What she felt couldn’t be put into words.
“Are you all right?” he asked, one hand gently gliding up and down her arm.
She kissed his chest, loving the taste of his skin. “I’ve never felt more wonderful in my life,” she admitted truthfully.
“Me neither,” he said, kissing the top of her head.
Thrilled, she asked, “Is it like this…every time?”
The chest below her cheek rumbled as he chuckled. “I hope so.”
She laughed, feeling happier than a lark in a spring tree. “Me too.”
Twisting to lie flat on her back, she glanced around the room, wondering how it could look so normal when she felt so extraordinary. Clothes were strewn about as if a miniature tornado had spit them out as it crossed the plains. She turned her head further, and a frown tugged at her brows. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing to a rice-papered standing screen that hadn’t been there earlier.
“Hmm,” he said, shifting to lean over her. “That is your surprise.”
“My surprise?” She met his blue-eyed gaze. Loved how shiny and happy they looked. “What surprise?”
“If you hadn’t made me so hot I couldn’t breathe, I’d have shown it to you when we first came up here.” He dipped his head, kissed her breast.
The touch sent blood pounding through her body all over again. She moaned with enjoyment, ready to accept his kisses for hours on end. Much too soon he lifted his mouth and then rolled to the edge of the mattress.
Standing beside the bed, he tugged on her hand. “Come on, I’ll show you what it is.”
She didn’t move. “I don’t want to get up. I like lying here with you.”
“You’ll like this too,” he said, smiling, “I promise.”
“You promise?” she asked, already liking it.
“Yes, I promise.” He pulled her to her feet.
Feeling delightfully wanton with both of them completely naked, Annalee folded her hands around his grasp on her fingers and together they walked across the room, past the screen.
Steam wafted off the water filling the largest tub she’d ever seen. Somewhat confused, she glanced to Colt.
He leaned down, kissed her cheek tenderly. “Have you ever shared a bath?”
“Shared a bath?” Enthralled, she bit her tongue.
“Mmm-hmm,” he murmured, suckling the lobe of her ear.
Not one of her friends, married or not, had told her about bathing together. Excitement bubbled in her stomach, and lower. Breathless and thrilled, she shook her head.
“You haven’t?” he asked.
“No.”
He stepped over the edge, tugging her along in his wake. The water floated up to the rim of the tub and then sloshed about as he lowered himself behind her and pulled her onto this lap. “You’ll like it,” he whispered in her ear.
She leaned back against his chest, fully experiencing all of the wonderful sensations rippling her body. “I already do.”
His long legs, bent at the knees, wrapped around hers, and his hands cupped her tingling breasts. She wiggled her bottom, squirming so his manhood pressed against her rump. All in all, she’d never been in a more delightfully comfortable position. Using his shoulder as a pillow, she let out a long, satisfied sigh.
“Would you like me to wash you?” he asked.
“Hmm?” she asked, eyes closed, soaking up the bliss surrounding her.
A splash sounded, and then slippery, sweet-smelling suds began to cover her arms and shoulders. Her skin quivered, overjoyed by his touch. She gave up trying to decipher the amazing, incredible sensations he evoked, and simply relished being bathed from head to toe by her precious husband. Had she known how extremely wonderful being married was, she would have asked Colt to marry her three years ago. He’d have said yes, of course, since he’d loved her as long as she’d loved him.
The knowledge made her giggle with happiness.
“Ticklish?” he asked, softly pinching her sides.
Annalee squirmed, laughing harder. “Are you?” She reached down and playfully squeezed his kneecap.
Water splashed as he jerked his leg from her grasp. “You are,” she exclaimed, grabbing at him again. The tickling match grew and their laughter echoed off the walls until they were both soaked from head to toe and the room looked as if a thunderstorm had blown over.
Swiftly, laughing a baritone song of joyfulness, Colt scooped her out of the tub. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing water droplets from his shoulder and chest. Dripping water across the wood floor, he carried her back to the bed, where his playfulness became tender and sweet.
Annalee had never felt so cherished, so loved.
Colt toweled her dry, kissing each spot after wiping away the water. He took his time, working his way up and down her body, leaving waves of pleasure at every point. Eyes closed, savoring every touch, her body jolted and her lids flew open. His mouth on her breasts had been like a spring rain compared to the storm of emotions that ignited when he kissed the junction between her legs. His tongue, licking at her most private spot catapulted her into an unknown world.
Each touch was new and exciting, and she wondered if she’d die from the pleasure of it all.
Breathless and quivering from tip to top, she wanted the sensations to last forever, yet, at the same time, craved for him to enter her as he had earlier. When her body screamed to be led to the top of the world again, she grasped his shoulders. “Colt, please, can we—will you…” Her words faded as he lifted his mouth, her body screaming for his touch to return.
His finger entered her then and his lips worked their way up her torso, around her breasts. “Yes,” he assured, “we can, and we will. Just not yet.”
Withering, bucking her hips in rhythm with his hand, Annalee wondered if she’d soon burst from the inside out. “Colt,” she begged.
“Mmm, not yet, my love. Just go with it, go with what you’re feeling,” he whispered against her skin.
She was going with the feeling. Couldn’t imagine there was more. As his kisses and fondling continued, she reached down and wrapped her fingers around his hard, velvety smooth, shaft.
The way he sucked in a breath of air made her smile, happy her touch was as stimulating to him as his was to her. Brazen, she admitted, “I like touching you.”
He groaned and squeezed her nipple between his lips. She giggled at the delight and began to move her hand up and down his member.
It could have been his body that trembled, or it might have been hers. Either way, she continued stroking, caressing. He arched his back, as if luxuriating in her actions.
“Annalee,” he moaned.
“Hmm?”
His eyes, sultry with passion yet dancing with delight, spoke volumes. Her body convulsed at the sight, sparks bursting in her inner being.
“You’re driving me crazy,” he gasped.
Tightening the muscles in her crotch, she held the fire blazing there, and rose so she could view his staff. “Do you like it when I touch you?” she asked, knowing the answer but feeling bold and adventurous.
“Oh, God, yes,” he groaned.
His admission filled her with joy. One of his hands went to her shoulder as if to push her back onto the mattress. She shook her head and twisted, knocking him flat onto the mattress. “Then perhaps you’ll like this as much as I do.” Leaning down, she ran tender kisses across his stomach, and then took the round tip of him in her mouth.
He moaned a deep, hot sound that encouraged her to suckle the length of him.
With an endurance she never knew she possessed, she held the excitement dancing in her body until Colt, letting out a deep groan and flipped her onto her back.
In one swift, absolutely brilliant thrust, he entered her. The feveri
sh, continuous rhythm of their bodies joining, working as one, consumed her body and soul.
Their earlier actions had been enjoyable, satisfying, but nothing in comparison to the heights she found in this time-warping merger. It was as if they became one with the universe. They journeyed upward, united together, and dancing to the gripping melody filling her soul until, with a shattering blast, she exploded into a million pieces. His body stiffened, and with a rumble of satisfaction, he filled her with a colossal rush of completion. She clung to him, accepting the beautiful, precious gift.
It was some time before she returned to earth and opened her eyes. Lying arm in arm, on top of twisted, tousled sheets, entirely sated, utterly fulfilled, and more content than she ever imagined, Annalee kissed Colt’s chest.
He pressed his temple to hers. “I love you, Annalee Severson.”
“Hmm,” she whispered, “I love you, Colt Severson.”
He moved enough to run his lips over one of her eyebrows. “Thank you for saying yes. For marrying me.”
She tilted her head, brushed her lips to the bottom of his chin. “Thank you for asking.”
He chuckled. “I am sorry, you know.”
“For what?” she asked, somewhat confused.
“For not courting you three years ago. For not taking you away from Mitchell sooner. For—”
She cut him off, kissing his lips with all the passion and love bubbling out of her.
No longer afraid of telling him everything, she admitted, “I’m the one who is sorry. My father stole your cattle, remember.”
He chuckled. “No, he didn’t.”
“Yes, he did.” She met his gaze. “He and Arnie Smith, Sam Waterson, and Skip Siver.”
He propped himself on one arm, looked down at her. “How do you know that?”
“You told me this morning. Said you wouldn’t press charges on any of them if I married you. Arnie is my uncle—”
“Your uncle?” he interrupted.
“Yes, my mother’s brother. She died when I was little, but Arnie has always been a part of our family. And Sam and Skip, well, they are about as close to uncles as they come. I’ve known them my whole life.” She frowned, all of a sudden remembering something.
He touched the tip of her nose. “Why the frown?”
She kissed his chin, hoping to soften what she was about to tell him. “The three of them were at our—my father’s house, a week ago. Reverend Mitchell had been over the night before. He, uh, had come to ask—” she took a deep breath before continuing “—to tell my father that I needed to marry him. My father refused his offer. Said he’d rather I married a cattle rustler than a liver-bellied preacher.”
A smile formed on Colt’s face. “He called Mitchell a liver-bellied preacher?”
She nodded.
“I’ve always liked your father,” he said, kissing the end of her nose.
“He’s always liked you too,” she said, kissing the tip of his chin. “Ever since that night, the four of them have been scheming. I knew they were up to something, but to be honest, I didn’t try to interfere. I figured whatever they came up with would get rid of Reverend Mitchell. I just hoped they wouldn’t get themselves hurt.” She met his gaze, answered honestly., “I had no idea their scheming included you.”
He didn’t answer, just looked at her deeply.
The slightest touch of fear entered her mind. She swallowed. “I am sorry about that. I hope you can forgive them—someday.”
He grinned. That heart-stopping, wonderful grin that would forever make her heart careen around her chest.
“What?” she asked, a touch nervous.
“I already do—forgive them. It was the opening I needed. When your father said you’d most likely marry Mitchell if he went to jail, I—” He bent down, kissed her long and hard. “I couldn’t let another man marry the woman I loved.” He ran a hand up and down her arm, making her skin hum. “I’ll forever be thankful for what they did.”
“For stealing your cattle?” she asked, somewhat dumbfounded yet overwhelmed with the knowledge of his love at the same time.
“No, for making me take the step I was too afraid to take.” His kissed her again. “My cattle never left my land.”
She frowned. “They didn’t?”
“Nope. But your father doesn’t know that I know.”
Propping herself up on one elbow, she stared at his handsome face. “Doesn’t know you know what?”
“That I figured out his ruse. That he’s not in Oklahoma, and that he fabricated the whole rustling story just to make his daughter happy.” His tone grew serious. “You are happy, aren’t you?”
“Heavens, yes,” she answered, her heart leaping to her throat. “Are you?”
“Extremely,” he said.
She smiled, loving her father all the more for finding a way to make her dream come true. Deep down she’d known he wasn’t capable of being a true cattle rustler and that he’d never have forced her into a marriage she didn’t want. A second later, Colt’s earlier statement settled in her mind. “What were you afraid of?”
“That you’d say no.”
She kissed his lips, whispering against them, “I could never say no to you.” Her father may have fabricated the plan, but Colt was the one who made her dream a reality.
“Well,” he said, smiling broadly, “just for the record, when my boys brought your father into my office, I was trying to figure out a way to ask you to the dance next Saturday night.”
Even though the only light in the room came from the two oil lamps, one near the tub, the other near the bed, Annalee’s world was as bright as a July day. “You were?” she asked.
“Yes, I was,” he replied, lowering his face inches from hers. “Will you go with me?”
“If you promise to dance only with me. Every dance,” she said, knowing she’d most likely use her shotgun on any woman who even thought about touching him.
His deep, loving gaze sent away any fear of that happening. “Do you promise to dance only with me?”
“Forever,” she vowed.
He ran a hand over her shoulder, down her side. “Please, don’t ever doubt my love for you, ever.”
“Never,” she whispered.
His kiss was tender and filled with deep, sincere love. She accepted it, offering the exact same in return. When their lips separated, his head hovered just above hers and his eyes twinkled like stars in the sky.
“I suppose,” he said with a sigh, “I should let you get some sleep.”
She ran one finger down his chest, over the ripples of muscles and across the smooth skin all the way down to his hip. “Sleep?” she asked, “On our wedding night?”
“Aren’t you tired?”
“No,” she admitted, arching her back so her breasts rubbed against his chest. “There will be plenty of other nights for us to sleep.”
A grin covered his face. “I must be the luckiest man on earth.” He grasped her waist and tugged her against his manhood, which had grown before her eyes.
She bubbled with excitement. “Must be the penny in my shoe.”
He wrapped her in both arms. “I knew that was one special penny.”
“And the most precious gift I’ll ever receive,” she proclaimed as she devoured his mouth, ready to make their wedding night last until the morning sun proclaimed a new day.
It wasn’t until late afternoon that they checked out of the Dodge House and loaded her belongings in his wagon. With her penny in her shoe and her husband at her side, Annalee, happier than an angel with new wings, waved goodbye to her friends lining the street in front of her little house on the edge of town. Planting a kiss on her husband’s cheek, she settled onto the wagon seat.
“Do you have a bathtub at the ranch?”
“Yes,” he said.
“Big enough for two?”
“Yes, big enough for two,” he replied.
“Good, then let’s hurry.” She had no doubt his laughter could be heard on the other
end of town. Hers too.
Lauri Robinson’s chosen genre to write is western historical. When asked why, she says, “Because I know I wasn’t the only girl who wanted to grow up and marry Little Joe Cartwright.”
With a degree in early childhood education, Lauri has spent decades working in the non-profit field and claims once upon a time and happily ever after romance novels have always been a form of stress relief. When her husband suggested she write one, she took the challenge and has loved every minute of the journey.
Lauri lives in rural Minnesota where she and her husband spend every spare moment with their three grown sons and four grandchildren. She works part time, volunteers for several organizations, and is a diehard Elvis and NASCAR fan. Her favorite getaway location is the woods of northern Minnesota on the land homesteaded by her great-grandfather.
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Wedding Night with the Ranger Page 5
