Darlin' Druid

by Lyn Horner

  When his hands slid underwater to caress her belly and parted thighs, she trembled breathlessly, waiting for him to touch the throbbing pleasure point he knew so well. When he did, she cried out. He pressed and flicked at the tiny nubbin until she couldn’t stand it any longer.

  “I want ye . . . inside!” she gasped, hips jerking at his every touch.

  “This way first,” he whispered thickly. Two fingers burrowed into her while his thumb continued to torture the center of her desire. His other hand played with her breasts, and he nibbled the sensitive line of her neck while his fingers stroked in and out, in and out.

  Jessie bit down hard on her bottom lip and dug her nails into his arms, certain she would die if he didn’t end this soon. When at last the heart of her convulsed, she cried out in exquisite relief. The spasms went on and on, finally leaving her spent and limp in his arms.

  He turned her face to him and kissed her tenderly.

  “That was . . . unbelievable,” she whispered, still breathless. “But what of you?”

  His tongue teased her lips. “Think you can turn around?”

  “Aye, if ye help me.”

  “Glad to,” he said, licking the shell of her ear, making her shiver.

  It took some effort and a great deal of splashing but she finally sat facing him, with her knees planted on either side of his slim hips. His hot gaze travelled over her, then he pressed her forward until she lay upon him, belly to belly, with her breasts against his chest and his jutting penis nudging her feminine parts. He caught his breath and kissed her ardently while his hands stroked her bottom. Soon, one hand roamed between her legs, reawakening her passion. Only when she was panting and eager did he guide her onto himself, groaning as he filled her.

  “God! You feel so good. Move for me, Jessie.”

  She clasped his shoulders and lifted herself almost free of him, then glided downward again, sheathing him completely.

  “That’s right!” he gasped, gripping her hips.

  Thrilling to the power she wielded, she locked eyes with him and rode him, slowly at first, then faster and faster, pounding his bucking hips, hearing his breathing grow more and more labored, feeling his fingers dig into her hips and not caring. Before long, he gave a deep-throated roar and throbbed within her, and she dissolved in ecstasy again as his seed pumped into her.

  Limp with fatigue, Jessie clung to him when he lifted her from the tub minutes later. He dried them both off, freed her hair from its restraining pins, and picked her up. Looping her arms around his neck, she dropped her head on his shoulder as he carried her to bed.

  The night had turned cool. Shivering at the touch of the chilly sheets, she sighed gratefully when David pulled her against his warm body. Kissing her brow, he whispered, “Guess I can’t call you bashful anymore, wife.”

  She giggled. “That ye can’t, husband.” He chuckled in reply and she snuggled closer. Knowing she wouldn’t be able to sleep until she cleared her conscience, she said, “David, I’m sorry for the way I behaved . . . before the roundup. I shouldn’t have accused ye the way I did.”

  His hand caressed her face in the dark. “It wasn’t all your doing. I should have told you about Lil before we ever got here, but it never crossed my mind. She never did.” He sighed heavily. “I admit I kissed her a couple times years ago, when we were just kids, only because her brother egged me into it. She got the wrong idea, thought I’d marry her someday, I guess. But, Jessie, I swear she was never more than a little sister to me.”

  Rubbing her cheek against his callused palm, she trailed her fingers down his chest, careful to avoid his bruised ribs. “I believe ye. And will ye forgive me for being such a shrew?”

  He caught her hand and guided it lower. “Forgiven and forgotten. And I hope you’ll . . . do the same. Ahhh, Jessie!”

  Very soon, neither of them was capable of speech.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Jessie endured several more days without David while he testified at the rustlers’ trial in Meridian, the BosqueCounty seat, and sought ranch hands to replace Foster and his thieving partners. He returned on a rainy afternoon. Jessie once again met him at the door, barely giving him time to remove his dripping hat and slicker before she flew into his arms. His clothes were damp, he needed a bath and his bristly jaw scraped her skin as he kissed her, but she loved every blessed second of it.

  “Mmm. Coming home to you makes the trip worth it,” he murmured in her ear.

  They were interrupted by a rumble of laughter. Giving a startled gasp, Jessie turned in David’s embrace and saw her father-in-law standing there grinning at them. The last she’d seen of him, he’d been reading in his room. She hadn’t even heard the tapping of his cane as he came up the hall, so wrapped up had she been in greeting David.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” Reece said, eyes twinkling merrily.

  To her amazement, Jessie wasn’t the least bit embarrassed. Laughing lightly, she looped her arm around David’s waist. He smiled down at her and held her at his side when the three of them adjourned to the parlor. Reece reclined in his chair by the hearth while David settled on the sofa with Jessie. Laying his arm across her shoulders, he recounted the outcome of the outlaws’ trial. As expected, they’d been found guilty of rustling and murder and would soon hang. Justice was swift on the frontier, Jessie reflected, but the condemned men had surely earned their punishment.

  David told his father about the men he had hired and discussed ranch matters with Reece for a few minutes. Then he rose, drawing Jessie up with him. “If you’ll excuse us, sir, I have something to show Jessie out in the barn.”

  “Sure, sure,” Reece said, waving them away. “Reckon I’ll take a nap before supper.” Pushing to his feet, he snorted in disgust. “A nap! Confound it, I never thought I’d see the day.”

  “Might have to get you a rockin’ chair pretty soon,” David joked from the hall, where he donned his slicker again and hustled Jessie into her mackinaw – a hand-me-down of his that Anna had dug out of storage. It reached almost to Jessie’s knees, and she’d had to cuff up the sleeves.

  “Just try it!” Reece growled good-naturedly as he limped toward his room, drawing a chuckle from David.

  Jessie smiled at their banter. She was thankful to know they had truly put the past behind them. She was also curious. Pulling on her shapeless hat, she asked David, “What is it ye want to show me?”

  “You’ll see,” he replied with a mysterious grin. Catching her hand, he led her outside and down the porch steps, then hurried her toward the barn. The rain had slacked off to a fine drizzle but the ground was muddy underfoot.

  “Slow down, will ye?” she pleaded breathlessly, struggling to match his long-legged stride and keep her skirts from dragging in the mud. “I don’t want to slip.”

  He immediately slowed. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking,” he said with a look of chagrin. He kept to a more cautious pace after that but didn’t say another word until they came to a halt inside the barn, facing a stall within which stood a comely, long-legged mare. Her reddish coat glowed softly in a beam of misty sunlight coming through a chink in the wall. Lifting her head, she eyed them calmly while chewing a mouthful of hay.

  “Do you like her?” David asked.

  “Aye, she’s beautiful.”

  “She’s yours.”

  “Mine!” She stared at him in astonishment.

  He grinned broadly. “Yup. I’ve been meaning to get you a good mount, so I stopped by the Bayliss spread on my way back. They run horses on their range. When I saw the mare, I knew she was the one for you.”

  Jessie gazed mutely at the horse, feeling her eyes tear up. He had bought this beautiful creature for her!

  Misinterpreting her silence, he said, “Of course, if you don’t like her, we can trade her for another.” He sounded disappointed.

  “No, no! I want no other,” she assured him. She reached over the top rail of the stall, offering her hand for the mare to inspect. The horse eyed her warily for a mo
ment, then ambled over and daintily nosed Jessie’s palm, snuffling as she took in her scent. It tickled. Giggling at the sensation, Jessie rubbed the animal’s soft muzzle. David’s hands circled her waist, and she smiled at him over her shoulder.

  “She’s the most marvelous gift anyone’s ever given me. I don’t know how to thank you,” she said tremulously.

  “I can think of a way,” he said, removing her hat. He lifted her braid aside and bent to kiss the nape of her neck, making her breath catch.

  * * *

  Jessie named the mare Sunny, both for the way her coat shown in the pale sunlight that afternoon and for her friendly disposition. Over the next few weeks, David was astounded at how quickly his city-bred wife learned to ride, not with a sidesaddle but astride, at her own insistence. Racing with him across the prairie, her laughter ringing on the wind, she was a sight to stir his blood. He’d pictured her exactly this way when he’d chosen the sorrel mare, whose color nearly matched Jessie’s own fiery mane. He was delighted to see that picture come to life.

  More crucial for David’s peace of mind, Jessie’s reaction to the Texas landscape was completely different from his mother’s. His mother had seen only its vast emptiness – terrifying in her eyes – but like his Aunt Martha, Jessie saw its beauty. Hearing the awe in her voice when she admired a brilliant sunset, a star-studded night sky or the wide open spaces stretching before them as they rode, David recognized his own love of the land in her. And he finally stopped fearing she would come to hate it and him.

  David also acknowledged his young wife’s growing maturity, proven by her apology for her jealous rage over Lil Crawford. Glad to have that hurdle behind them, he lowered his guard enough to talk about his muddled feelings toward his mother and his regret over hurting his father. He already knew how Jessie had lost her mother and that her younger sister had retreated to a convent. He also recalled her saying once that her “da” had disapproved of her leaving home with her brother, but only now did she speak of her remorse over the way she’d parted with her father. With this revelation, David saw just how akin they really were.

  He told himself he should be happy. After so many years, he was home, he’d made peace with Pa and hoped to be a father himself before long. And although he was bound to clash now and then with his hot-tempered colleen, he now believed she would stand by him come what may. He had everything he’d yearned for, so why did he still feel dissatisfied? He didn’t dare face the answer.

  Like David, Jessie treasured their newfound closeness, but also like him, her happiness remained incomplete. For, while he often called her “love” these days, he had never actually said he loved her. The two things were not the same. She needed him to speak the words. She also ached to say them to him but was afraid to, for the same reason she couldn’t reveal the truth about why she had come west. He would surely mock her for chasing after a “fool’s dream” and he might very well think her mad.

  Jessie was fairly certain David did not believe she truly possessed the sight. He had yet to witness her gift for himself, something she dreaded, and since he never mentioned it, she suspected he’d dismissed her story as a jest she and Tye had concocted, even though they’d denied it was any such thing. Unwilling to upset the delicate bond between them, she never brought up the subject herself, and she guarded her tender feelings, waiting for David to open his heart and tell her he loved her. If, indeed, he did.

  November brought cooler temperatures and cozy evenings around the parlor hearth, during which Jessie and Anna sewed new drapes for the parlor and dining room. When Jessie had mentioned to the elderly cook how she wished she could replace the old, tattered drapes, Anna had gotten a glint in her eye and rushed off to dig through the treasures packed away in the storeroom behind her quarters. Much to Jessie’s delight, she’d brought out a length of lovely gold and green jacquard fabric, ordered by David’s aunt shortly before she’d left the ranch. She had intended the fabric for new drapes, since the old ones were showing their age even back then.

  While the women worked on their sewing project, the men kept busy repairing worn saddles and bridles. Some nights they all took turns playing checkers. Always they talked, sharing the day’s events, and Jessie enjoyed being a part of her new family. Only when David and Reece discussed plans for the spring cattle drive did she grow somber, for David planned to lead the drive to Kansas. How was she to stand it without him for two or three months? He had become the center of her world. If she ever lost him, she didn’t think she could go on living.

  Jessie had another reason for worry. She had begun to suffer nausea when she first awoke in the mornings, and her breasts were tender. Most telling of all, her monthly friend had not paid her a visit. Surely she was carrying David’s child. The realization thrilled her, but if her estimates were correct, the baby should arrive in late June or early July. Would David be back from Kansas by then, or would she give birth without him? The thought frightened her.

  Meanwhile, she resisted breaking the news to David, telling herself she must be absolutely certain rather than disappoint him if it proved to be a false alarm. But in truth, she held off telling him because she hoped and prayed he might declare his love for her first. Perhaps it was selfish of her, but she needed to know he loved her for herself, not only as the mother of his child.

  In order to conceal her morning sickness, Jessie used the chilly air as an excuse to stay in bed while David went to light the fires in the rest of the house. He often teased her for being lazy, and she didn’t argue, not too loudly at least. Once he left their room she would drag out the basin she kept under the bed and relieve her nausea, then hide it back under the bed until she could empty it later.

  Complicating matters, Reece announced over supper one evening that he intended to throw a party such as the River T hadn’t seen in many a year. It would be a welcome home shindig for his son, he said, and a chance for his new daughter to get acquainted.

  “Some folks won’t show up because of the flag you fought under,” he told David, “but most of them will recall who flushed out Foster’s pack of cow thieves. They owe you for that and they know it. ’Sides, you can bet they’re all itching to get a look at your pretty Yankee bride.” He winked at Jessie and grinned. “It’s going be a pure pleasure watching you charm them all out of their boots, missy.”

  Jessie felt far from charming, since she couldn’t get out of bed in the morning without throwing up. The thought of playing hostess to people she’d never met, who were bound to resent her because of her northern upbringing, filled her with trepidation. However, she made up her mind to be the best hostess she could be for both Reece’s sake and David’s.

  Reece gave Jessie and Anna a mere three days to prepare for the celebration. Temperatures had risen again, but as he put it, autumn in Texas was as changeable as a woman’s mood, and he intended to take advantage of the brief warm-up in order to use the courtyard for dancing. While he sent word to neighbors near and far inviting them to the party, the two women worked feverishly to get the house ready and prepare food. Thankfully, the new drapes were in place, and Jessie covered the parlor’s faded sofa and chairs with colorful Indian blankets contributed by Reece. The bold designs didn’t really go with the jacquard drapes, but they were better than nothing, and with the worn rug removed, the room now looked fairly presentable.

  When the big night arrived, Jessie quaked with anxiety as she stood before her mirror, inspecting her image. She wore the pale coral evening gown David had ordered for her back in Salt Lake City. It was a bit snug around her slightly expanded waistline, but she’d saved the lovely gown for a special occasion, and she intended to wear it tonight even if it was a little too tight. Made of delicate poult de soie, it had short puffed sleeves and a low heart-shaped neckline with an inset of creamy lace across her breasts. The skirt was composed of two layers, the top one being tied back by matching gros grain ribbons to form a modish bustle.

  Copying a style she’d seen back in Chicago, Jes
sie had curled her hair and arranged it in a twisting design atop her head, allowing loose curls to trail down her neck. Wispy auburn ringlets framed her face. She was securing a coral silk rose with frothy ribbon streamers – thoughtfully provided by the Salt Lake City dressmaker – amid her creation when David entered their room.

  He walked over to stand behind her, his eyes caressing her in the mirror. “You’ve never looked more beautiful,” he said, running his fingers along her arms as she finished pinning the rose in place.

  Tingling at his touch, she returned his smile, thinking him rakishly handsome in his black frock coat and trousers, snowy white shirt, and black brocade vest. All but the shirt were brand new. After Reece had announced plans for the party, David had made a hurried ride into Waco, where he’d purchased the garments. Unfortunately, they’d been too loose around the waist, making it necessary for Jessie to spend the last two evenings taking them in. They now fit her trim husband quite nicely, in her opinion.

  “Such blarney, sir! ’Tis enough to turn a girl’s head. I hope ye won’t be repeating it to every female ye see tonight,” she quipped, having a certain dark-haired vixen in mind. Not that she was worried, she assured herself.

  Eyeing her low-cut bodice and the thin lace covering the valley between her breasts in the mirror, David grinned wickedly. “Darlin’, I’ll have a hard time tearing my eyes away from you long enough to be polite to our guests.”

  Cheeks warming with pleasure, she started to turn around, but he stopped her, lightly squeezing her arms. “Hold on a minute,” he said.

  He pulled a small black velvet pouch from his pocket and drew something out of it behind her back before tossing it onto her dressing table. Then he circled her throat with a double strand of perfectly matched ivory pearls. “These were my mother’s. My father and I want you to have them. Will you wear them tonight?”

  “Ohh!” she breathed, eyes growing huge with wonder as he fastened the exquisite necklace. The pearls glowed softly against her skin, picking up the coral hue of her gown in the lamplight. Speechless for a moment, she finally stammered, “Th-thank you, David. I . . . I’m honored. ’Twill be my pleasure to wear them.”