by Caroline Lee
So Lucas yanked off his hat and reached for her hand. Maybe it was forward. Maybe it was presumptuous, but he did it.
He reached for her hand, and his world changed.
Because the moment the callused skin of his fingers touched her smooth, delicate palm, a warmth shot up his arm, and he knew. Knew that, somehow, he’d found his match.
That warmth traveled through his chest and he told himself he was only aroused because he knew what was coming that night, but it was a lie. This woman, whom he hadn’t even met yet, aroused him.
And judging from the way her lovely sky-blue eye—the one he could see—widened slightly, then flickered downward, she felt it too. A lazy, confident grin crept across Lucas’s face.
Oh yeah, this was the woman for him.
“Miss Montgomery?”
“Yes.”
He hadn’t needed the confirmation, but her choked whisper was welcome.
“I’m Lucas Ryan. Welcome to Montana Territory.”
“Thank you, Mr. Ryan.”
She shifted slightly, as if to include her sister in the conversation, but Lucas wasn’t ready to invite others into their private moment just yet. So he squeezed her hand, and her gaze flew to his.
Her whole gaze. She’d turned to him, and he saw her whole face. She really was lovely, wasn’t she? Her blonde hair had been pulled back under her bonnet, but wisps escaped to frame her heart-shaped face in such a way that made Lucas’s fingers itch to smooth them back. She had a pert little nose, wide eyes under delicate arches of her eyebrows, and plump lips which were currently parted slightly in surprise.
It wasn’t until she glanced down, fixing her gaze squarely on his chin, that Lucas saw the large red birthmark on her left cheek. When she blushed, it was hardly noticeable, but reminded him of the strawberry mark he had on his arm, and the way it blended in when he’d been in the sun too long.
He wondered if that’s what she’d been hiding when she stepped off the train.
Mentally, Lucas shrugged. He had a lifetime to prove she didn’t have to hide from him. The way his body had reacted—was still reacting—to her said she was gorgeous just the way she was. He couldn’t wait to get to know her; to see if she was as beautiful inside as out.
This time, when he squeezed her hand, he pulled slightly too, so that her gaze snapped back up to his at the same time she was forced to take a step closer. He inhaled deeply, appreciating her faint floral scent in the May air.
Could she feel the warmth between them? Is that why her skin was so flushed? Why she swallowed suddenly—he couldn’t help studying the skin not-quite-hidden by her lace collar—or why the pulse in her wrist hammered so frantically?
Lucas’s grin grew. He sure hoped so.
“I’d hoped
you’d call me Lucas, Miss Montgomery. Since we’ll be married soon.”
Her nod was hesitant, but she didn’t drop his gaze. This time, when she swallowed, her tongue darted out to moisten her lower lip, and Lucas’s breath caught. Did she know how enticing she was?
“Lucas.” She inclined her head slightly, her voice hesitant. “And you should call me Shannon.”
“And you can call me Cora.” The taller woman didn’t bother to hold out her hand, but placed hers on her hips—
Was that a man’s shirt she was wearing? It was too big, too flowing on her, for certain. And she wore the reform bloomers, which had gone out of style decades ago, tucked into tall boots, as if she were about to climb on a horse or a bicycle. With her brown hair lying in a girlish braid over one shoulder, and her smile a bit too wide, she was a study in contradiction. Lucas supposed Cora Montgomery might’ve been considered handsome, but as he compared her to her sister, he was quite pleased he was contracted to marry the pretty Montgomery daughter.
But he didn’t let his thoughts show. Instead, he brushed his thumb along the inside of Shannon’s palm and nodded respectfully to her sister. “Miss Cora, welcome to Montana. I hope the journey was pleasant.”
His soon-to-be sister in law waved dismissively, then turned to the mountains, inhaling deeply. “Train travel has come a long way in the last decade, I’ll agree. I’m glad to be here.” Her gaze—the same shade as Shannon’s—flicked over their clasped hands, and she smiled. “Thank you for allowing me to visit.”
In one of Shannon’s letters, she’d requested permission for her sister to live with them for an undisclosed amount of time. Lucas couldn’t see the harm in the request, since there were so few marriageable women in the area. Of course, now that he’d met Cora Montgomery, he couldn’t imagine who’d want to marry her, but she was welcome to stay in the ranch’s guest room as long as she wanted.
So he just nodded and smiled in return, before turning back to his bride. Shannon was gazing down at where his thumb was making lazy circles against her skin, looking a little shocked.
At the warmth between their skin? At the instant connection they’d shared? Or did she not feel it at all?
That connection had set Lucas at ease, but maybe it made her uncomfortable. Whatever it was, it meant he was a heck of a lot less nervous now than he’d been before the train rumbled into the station.
So he smiled confidently and lifted her hand to his lips. Her eyes widened at the gesture, but she didn’t look away. “My dear Shannon, Reverend Trapper is waiting for us at the church. Would you like me to find you someplace to freshen up before the wedding?”
He’d expected a blushing agreement, and perhaps some thanks for his manners. But instead, she took a deep breath—he managed not to peer at her blouse when she did so—and lifted her chin.
“If it’s all the same to you, Mr. Ry—Lucas, I would prefer to marry you quickly and see my new home. Presumably I can freshen up there?”
His grin grew. Oh yes, she’d do well as mistress of his family’s ranch. “I like the sound of that.”
The train blew its whistle and began to pull away from the station, but the Montgomery sisters’ trunks were already loaded into the wagon. Cora and Blake stood ready to act as witnesses to the ceremony, so there was no reason to delay.
Lucas jammed his hat back on his head, offered Shannon his arm, and asked “Shall we, Miss Montgomery?”
Her movements were hesitant when she snaked her hand through his offered arm, but he saw her inhale deeply right before she met his eyes. “Yes please, Mr. Ryan.”
“Alright then,” he whispered. They’d head for the church…just as soon as he could tear his gaze away from her gorgeous sky-blue eyes. “Let’s go get married.”
Chapter Two
Shannon released a deep sigh when Lucas rolled off her. That had been incredible!
His arm was still around her shoulders, so she shifted slightly to find a more comfortable position, then allowed herself to slowly unclench the muscles in her legs. Who knew making love would be so…so athletic? The soles of her feet had flexed so hard, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to walk anytime soon.
Not that she felt like walking now, that is. Not with her husband pressed up against her, all warm and slick with sweat.
Mrs. Lucas Ryan. She was married now. Well and truly married, thanks to what they just did. She was a wife, and if they kept this up, she’d be a mother soon enough.
That thought didn’t distract her the way it normally would’ve. No, she was too busy focusing on the wonder of being a wife. Cora had hinted that making love would feel nice, assuming it was done properly, but this—?
Nice didn’t begin to cover it.
There’d been some pain, yes, but not nearly as much as she’d dreaded, especially after he’d made her feel so good. Who knew a tongue could be so useful? Certainly not Shannon, in all of her years of imagining and daydreaming.
Lucas shifted beside her, his arm tightening around her, until she was pressed full-length against him. In the darkness it was only a little embarrassing, but she still hesitated before inching her cheek to his shoulder. They were newlyweds. Surely it was still too early to show s
uch affection?
But then, she’d been ready to show him affection within moments of meeting him. She’d met his eyes across the station platform and had just known he was the man for her. He was tall—not overly, but just enough she’d had to look up into his eyes—and handsome, although his features were unremarkable on their own merits. Light brown hair with a touch of curl, golden-brown eyes, a firm jaw and a wide mouth, and his features came together to form the man of her dreams.
Up until that moment, Shannon had thought her dream of becoming a mother would forever be the strongest she’d know. She hadn’t spared a moment’s thought for the father of those hypothetical children…but when he’d taken her hand in his, and began to trace little circles on her skin with his callused thumb, she’d suddenly been able to think about little else.
This was the man who’d father her children, and in that moment, she very, very much wanted to get started.
Lucas had made her warm all over, and his touch was special. What they’d just shared had proved it. Even as his breathing deepened and she lay her free palm gently on his chest to feel his heartbeat, Shannon knew the truth.
She’d made the right decision.
Her only hesitation was the way he’d stared at her birthmark. Oh, she was used to that; the stares and whispers had followed her her whole life. But Lucas hadn’t said anything about it. In fact, he hadn’t stared at it for too long either, which was a surprise. She had expected him to at least mention it, or ask her why she hadn’t mentioned it.
Or rail against her for lying to him in her letters.
Or accuse her of being hideous and hand her a ticket for the next train back to Texas.
But instead, he’d just smiled at her, as if he didn’t notice it at all, and that’s what was bothering Shannon now, curled up beside him in the darkness.
How could he not notice it? It’s all anyone saw when they looked at her—all she saw when she looked in the mirror. He had to have noticed it, but was just too polite to say anything.
Or…
Or was just biding his time. Maybe Mr. Lucas Ryan would still take drastic action against her for lying to him. She’d married him, yes, but she didn’t really know anything about him. They’d shared something beautiful, but from Cora’s stories, Shannon knew men didn’t always need to engage their hearts when they engaged their bodies.
She’d always taken that to mean men could make love without being in love, and that was as it should be, right? After all, Lucas had just met her that day too. It would be silly to bemoan the fact they weren’t in love yet, when they barely knew one another.
And silly to think she knew him well enough to be absolutely sure of his reaction to her lies.
She sighed again, taking wicked delight in the utterly foreign feel of a man’s skin under her cheek. Love hadn’t been a requirement for this marriage, and plenty of marriages began this way. Her mother had always told her children that if they were lucky, they’d make sound matches, which would grow into love. But that sort of growth required trust, and what Shannon had done—omitting such a flaw—had to hurt whatever chance she’d had of gaining her new husband’s trust.
And his love.
“You’re thinking awfully hard over there.”
She jerked in surprise when Lucas spoke, and felt him chuckle beneath her hand.
“Sorry,” he said, although he didn’t sound sorry. In fact, he sounded as if he was smiling.
The realization made her defensive. “I thought you were asleep!”
Shannon moved to pull her hand off his chest, but he captured it and began rubbing those intoxicating circles on her palm again.
“And I figured you’d be asleep. After all, you should be exhausted. Days on a train, then you hop off and marry some stranger, who whisks you back to his house for debauchery.”
Thank goodness it was dark, so he wouldn’t see her blushing like a tomato. “Well, first he took me and my sister to dinner at a very nice restaurant.”
“Ah, yes,” Lucas said solemnly, still holding his hand in hers. “That should count for something.”
“Yes.” She cleared her throat, deciding maybe she didn’t mind this holding-and-talking too much. Were they cuddling? Is that what they were doing? “I thought it very gentlemanly.”
“It was, especially considering how badly your new husband wanted to skip ahead to the debauching.”
He pulled her closer to him with that comment, and she couldn’t help giggling at his suggestive tone. The darkness and the intimacy of what they’d just shared was somehow freeing.
“I’ll confess I might have been looking forward to that part a little as well.”
At her whispered confession, she felt him tense beneath her, and his fingers stilled their caress. “Really?”
She wondered if she’d said the wrong thing. “Is that so...unusual?”
“I…” He took a breath deep enough to shift her cheek against his skin. “I don’t know. I’ve never been married. But I assumed…” He trailed off, but his thumb resumed its caress. After a minute of silence, the palm of his other hand stroked down her backside, sending thoroughly wicked shivers through her. “You really were looking forward to this?”
How to answer? How to confess she’d felt the connection between them immediately, and that his touch had sent warmth through her belly and lower, even at their first meeting?
Instead, she took the careful path. “I told you in my letters I wanted children.”
“Yes, you mentioned that was your dream.”
“It was. I mean, it is,” she quickly corrected. “I want children more than anything else.”
“Why?” Maybe he felt her stiffen at his question, because he tightened his hold on her. “I mean, I know most women want children, but why would you want them more than anything else?”
Shannon wasn’t sure how much to tell him. “Children love you unconditionally.” They didn’t care what their mother looked like; they’d love her because of who she was.
“That’s true,” he agreed, sounding pensive. “I loved my mother very much.”
She knew from his letters that his mother had recently died. “I’m sorry you lost her.”
“I am too. She was the one who pushed me to marry, so I wish she were still here to meet you.”
“Really? You’re only—” She bit down on her words, not sure if she might insult him.
But he chuckled. “Twenty-two. I was hoping for a few more years running wild, I’ll admit.”
The darkness made it easier for her to ask, “Then why marry?”
“Well…” His palm skimmed her backside once more. “The perks are nice.”
Something about his flippant answer seemed false, and Shannon felt as if he was closing himself off against her. She stifled her sigh, knowing she’d done the very same to him, and rolled away, pulling her hand out of his as she went.
It made sense he’d keep secrets from her. After all, she’d kept a secret from him, and it was a big one. What did his reasoning for marrying matter?
But for some reason, deep down, Shannon knew it did matter. It mattered, not just to her, but to their future together.
“Hard day?”
Shannon’s question jerked Lucas’s attention to her, where she was sitting across the dinner table from him. “Huh?” he asked, then winced.
Not real articulate, are you?
“You haven’t said much. I hope the food is alright?”
When he realized his wife—of two weeks!—was actually nervous about something, Lucas could’ve kicked himself. He should’ve made more of an effort to be charming and engaging. He hated to think she was still acting reserved around him.
“No! I mean, yes, the food’s great.” He took a big bite of the bread to prove his point. “This is delicious,” he said around the mouthful, all the while knowing his mother would roll over in her grave to see him with such poor manners. “I love fresh bread.”
Shannon blushed slightly, but didn’t
appear as if he’d convinced her. Her sister, however, interrupted his awkward attempts to reassure his wife.
“See?” She lifted an eyebrow and pointed at Shannon with a fork. “I told you he’d like it.” When her sister merely ducked her head, Cora turned to Lucas, who was still chewing like a dolt. “Shannon makes the best bread, but won’t admit it. Me? I’m all thumbs in the kitchen, but I can clean, at least. By the way, I moved that ugly vase out to the hall table.” Before Lucas could process what she was saying, Cora smiled widely at her sister. “And Shannon is nice enough to let me help cook sometimes.”
Shannon snorted slightly and finally raised her hand to pick up her fork. “If I don’t give you a job, you take it upon yourself to ‘help’, and the results are disastrous.”
She didn’t look at her sister as she teased, but Lucas thought he could see a hint of a smile on his wife’s lovely face.
“Sugar and salt look exactly the same. If you can’t be bothered to label things properly, I can’t be responsible for an honest mistake.”
This time, Lucas was sure Shannon was smiling at her sister’s banter, although she kept her attention on the chicken and gravy in front of her. “Anyone with a grain of sense would know to taste them if they’re unlabeled.”
“Really? How do I know it’s not arsenic?”
Now Shannon met her sister’s eyes, one beautifully sculpted brow raised speculatively. “Arsenic? Why would I keep arsenic in my kitchen?”
“To poison me when I start tasting things, obviously.”
The two sisters held each other’s gazes for a long moment, before dissolving into giggles. It made Lucas’s heart lighter to hear them, and he took another bite of his wife’s dinner. He hadn’t lied; it was good.
But he’d been distracted since he sat down, and knew it. He’d been vaguely aware of the two women bantering back and forth a bit as he’d stared down at his food, thinking about what he’d learned that day. But then they’d lapsed into silence, and he winced again to realize it had probably been due to the fact he hadn’t participated.
