by Reece Butler
“Amelia, this is my wonderful cook. Rosa, Amelia married Ross MacDougal.”
Rosa stood up. She was tall as well as large, her body suiting the deep voice. She curled her thick fingers into fists and set them on ample hips as she stared at Amelia from bonnet to boots.
“You good enough for Mr. Ross?”
“I don’t know,” replied Amelia. “I just met him. I wish to raise my sister’s child and have children of my own. My sister said I would have a comfortable home here. For that, I will do whatever necessary to care for my husband and his family.”
“You’ll do for his family?”
“Yes. I understand his aunt lives with them, as well as his brother Nevin and, of course, Gillis and Hope.” She swallowed at the intense stare, thinking she’d never come up to this capable woman’s standards. “I plan to ask Ross’s aunt to teach me.” The woman gave a barely perceptible nod. “Ross said you’re an excellent cook and household manager. Perhaps you might be willing to guide me. Only if it is convenient for you, of course.”
Rosa snorted and turned to Ross. He shrugged.
“I realize you must be busy, but I’ve heard how wonderful a cook you are. When I was in Virginia City, I overheard two gentlemen complimenting the food at Miss Lily’s Parlor. I recognized the name from my sister’s letters, but couldn’t remember where. I asked the gentleman if he meant the one in Tanner’s Ford, as I was travelling there. He smiled and asked my name.”
“Oh, Lord,” muttered Ross. He winced and scratched his cheek. “Did you tell them?”
“I didn’t know them, so I just said ‘Amelia.’ He nudged his friend and asked if I could ride double. I’ve seen two people riding a horse that way, so I replied that it looked uncomfortable, but I’d try it as long as someone held onto me so I wouldn’t fall off—”
Rosa’s deep laugh covered Ross’s choked groan.
“You are delightful, exactly what Ross needs to shake him up,” said Lily. Her smile for Ross was like that of a proud aunt. “I’ll let you know if anyone asks for you.” She laughed at Ross’s thunderous expression. “I’ll let you explain to Amelia why we’re laughing. Or should I ask Nevin to tell her?”
“I will tell my wife what she needs to know,” he growled. He gestured at the window, where clouds now obscured the sun. “We’d better get your trunks home before it rains. You can have tea with Lily another time.”
“Yes, do come back again. I’ll answer all your questions.”
Amelia rose to her feet along with Lily. Ross stomped to the door, obviously impatient to get moving.
“If you’re in such a darn hurry, Ross MacDougal, I’ll give these to someone else. The Doc is always hangin’ around. He’ll eat them.”
Rosa picked up the untouched tray and swept out the door. Ross grabbed a handful of doughnuts as she passed. Since her hands were full of the heavy tray, all she could do was glare up at him. Amelia picked up a feeling this was an ongoing battle between them.
“Remember, I know a lot about life. Any question you like, no matter how embarrassing, you come here for an answer.” Lily winked and smiled.
“Why did the men ask if I could ride a horse with another person?”
“He was asking if you were willing to ride one man while another rode you.”
“Oh, like—”
“Amelia, not another word!”
Ross stomped back into the room. He took her elbow a little less gently than usual and propelled her out in front of him. She managed to peek around his wide chest. Miss Lily, smiling broadly, waved goodbye. She mouthed the words “next time” and imitated drinking tea before Amelia lost sight of her.
Chapter Eleven
Ross sighed into the fragrant evening air. He had his left arm around Amelia, sleeping against him. Raven, riding on his perch to the right, looked over and crooned. The horses, used to the birds, labored up the track toward home. The rain had held off, but thick clouds obscured the moon.
“You’re right, my friend,” said Ross to his feathered companion. “She’ll be a good mate, but settling her into her new nest might take some doing. I’ll soon have her brooding a nestling. That should help.”
He now understood why Gillis said not to introduce Amelia to Lily for a few weeks. It had nothing to do with Amelia’s reputation and everything to do with what the women could get up to behind his back.
Women!
Since Amelia fell asleep, he’d been trying to figure out how to convince her to put everything of hers into the bunkhouse. He liked his home the way it was. Plain and empty.
But it wasn’t his home.
His parents took almost everything with them when they moved to Texas five years earlier. Bachelors didn’t care as long as they had a decent bed and something to sit on and eat off. They put their efforts into the rest of the ranch.
Prue had added female touches such as lace, her fabric pictures, and the like. Beth had taken those for safekeeping until Gillis could look at them without grief.
Considering how comfortable he felt when he visited Lily and how well Amelia fit into the private room, perhaps it would be good to have more comfortable things. The rocking chair Gillis bought Prue for their wedding present was in constant use. With three women around, at least for now, perhaps he should make one for Amy. He wanted her to feed his baby in a chair he made with his own hands. He’d make it small, just for her.
Every time he thought about Amelia he got frustrated—either horny or angry.
Wait until his brothers heard about Amy’s conversation in Virginia City. She’d as much as told them she worked in one of the highest class establishments for working girls west of the Missouri. To top it off, she was willing to take on two men at once. As long as someone held on so she wouldn’t fall off, of course!
When he chuckled at her naiveté, his raven joined in.
Maybe he’d better wait to tell them until Amy understood exactly what it meant. He’d let her ride him while Nev entered her from behind. Nev would hold on tight, but he was big enough that there was no way she’d fall off his cock.
Just thinking about it caused him to swell. To heck with emptying the wagon tonight. He’d park it in the barn in case it rained, and he’d unload it in the morning. He needed to keep his strength for his wife.
Amelia’s loose hair drifted in the evening breeze. Though she complained, he removed her hat and released her hair as soon as they were out of town. She sighed and snuggled lower, pushing out her ass. She finally settled with her face in his lap, her left arm resting on his thigh. Should he wake her or not? Her fingers were too near his cock to let him ignore it but too far away for her to grab on.
A horse nickered ahead. The two horses pulling the wagon moved a little faster, as eager to get home to their food as he was to his bed.
Their bed.
Though it was dark, a lantern helped him recognize the large shape waiting for them in the yard. For once, Gillis stood still. Since Prue died, the man spent all hours chopping, sawing, digging, cutting—anything to use his muscles and tire him out so he could sleep for a couple of hours.
“She look like Prue?”
“A bit,” replied Ross. “Brown hair, smoky blue eyes, small nose. She’s shorter with wider hips and more flesh.”
“Hand her down to me.”
Gillis hooked the lantern on the wagon and raised his arms. Ross reluctantly handed Amy over. She murmured something but didn’t wake. Ross scrambled down and over to his brother.
“Good,” said Gillis, staring at Amelia’s face. “The lass must be like her mother’s side of the family. I dinna know what I’d do if she was like Prue.” He let Ross take her back and then grasped the nearest horse’s halter. He turned his back and waved them away. “Go put a son in her belly, lad.”
“Are we home?” Amelia’s eyes were barely open. “I need the necessary.”
Ross was already walking toward the privy. After a quick visit, he insisted on carrying her to the house. Auntie had left a lam
p burning on the kitchen table for them. He pushed open the door and stepped inside. Trace told him women liked the tradition of getting carried into the home. Ross figured it was a man’s way of making sure his wife didn’t dawdle on the way to their bedroom. He carried her through the kitchen and up the stairs, her long hair dangling.
“Welcome home.”
He set her down just inside their room. He would have to thank Tillie for her efforts. A lamp burned on the corner table. A flowered ewer and basin waited beside a folded towel topped with a small bar of soap. He sniffed, inhaling the relaxing scent of sage. Auntie would have smudged the room to clear out any lingering memories. She’d done the entire house when she arrived, but he welcomed her extra effort. All he wanted in this room was good memories, made from this night on.
“That’s a big bed.”
“Nevin must have lashed both of ours together so we’d have lots of room to play.”
He reached around her waist and began unbuttoning her dress. He hadn’t said a word when she dressed that morning, just watched as she put on layer after layer. No more. Starting tomorrow, she wouldn’t have to perspire from all that clothing. Ross felt her resistance, subtle but there. She hadn’t been like this after their first time together. He tugged her dress from her fingers. Her corset and both petticoats followed.
Ross would marry anyone, claim anything as his child, if it meant Fin and Hugh didn’t inherit the MD. He tried not to hold anything against Gillis’s mother, but if she hadn’t doted on her first two sons so much, maybe they wouldn’t have made his life so miserable. Yet, without everything he’d gone through, he wouldn’t be the capable man he was.
Amy sighed as she looked out the window. The moon highlighted her pale skin, so unlike his. He shucked off everything but his pants. His cock strained hard against his buttons. He winced then stripped. Naked, he walked over to her. When he placed his hands on her hips, she leaned back against his chest. There was no way she could miss the hard mass pressing into her back.
Together, they looked out the window. Did she feel the same sense of permanence those mountains brought him? Why he couldn’t bear to live anywhere else?
“It’s beautiful here,” she whispered.
A lone wolf howl was joined by others as the pack celebrated. Perhaps it was a downed elk to feed them all, or maybe they wanted to say, “I’m here. This is mine.” He understood. Family, clan, pack, all were the same. You worked together to benefit all.
Some men thought they were the leaders, ordering their womenfolk around. Wolves knew better. The alpha female was the boss of the hunt. Everyone bowed to her strength.
Everyone but the alpha male.
Ross brushed Amy’s hair off the right side of her neck. He kissed her flesh right where her neck joined her shoulder. Gently, he bit down. The alpha male wolf took the female from behind and held her by the scruff of her neck as he mounted her. He had to earn the right, chasing her until she let him catch her.
When Amy settled in here, he’d take her far up the mountain under a full moon. He’d strip her naked as nature intended. He’d chase her across the meadow, easily following her white flesh.
When he caught her, he would mount her. He’d thrust deep and bite her, right there. Just hard enough so she would remember her mate. Every time he stood behind her, he would kiss that spot, and she would remember how he’d claimed her.
“Do you think they sing because they’re happy?”
Amy turned toward him. Because she was so short and he tall, the raised tip of his cock touched the underside of her breasts. She looked down, swallowing hard. He waited for her. With trembling fingers, she let her chemise slide off her shoulders. She bent her knees slightly and caught him between her breasts. He gently thrust, and together, they watched his tip appear then retreat. He counted the times, concentrating on anything but coming.
“Oh, Ross, what you do to me,” she said.
She released him and stepped back. When she bent forward to slide her drawers down her legs, her cheek brushed his cock. He almost came right then. She dropped her head as if suddenly shy. He weighed her breasts in his hands, chafing her nipples the way he already knew drove her higher.
“What is it I do to you, Amy? Tell me.”
She gasped when he pressed her nipples between his thumbs and fingers.
“You make me want to do wicked things.” She panted the words. He massaged her flesh, hard from need.
“What things?”
When she grasped his cock he jerked. She licked her lips. He held his breath.
Slowly, she knelt in front of him. He had to release her, but he ran his hands through her hair instead. She licked his glistening tip. He couldn’t stop the growl. It was close, but he kept himself from thrusting deep into her soft, wet mouth.
“Amy, while I very much want you to do that, if you put your mouth on me right now, I’m going to come right away.”
The moon caught her light-colored eyes when she looked up at him.
“Why don’t you look out the window,” he said.
She stood up without releasing his cock, using it to keep her balance, and turned to face the night. The bottom of the open window frame came to her waist.
“Hold on with both hands. Tight.”
She turned her head over her shoulder to look at him. Comprehension made her smile like a coquette. She looked forward and settled her feet. She leaned over and grasped the wood.
Ross realized this was not going to work without bruising her. He looked around. Folded on the chair was a quilt. Touching her ass in a silent order not to move, he picked it up and brought it back. She folded it over the wood and leaned over, pointing her naked ass at him.
Her legs were so short he had to spread his wide in order to get down to the right height. He placed one hand on her lower back and guided himself into her. Only an inch, as if he was setting up a nail to be hammered and he wanted it to go in straight.
He was as stiff as a nail, and he wanted to hammer her just as hard. Though she was wet, she wasn’t ready for that. He held her hips tight and pressed into her pussy. Her tissues stretched around him, holding him tight. Back and forth he went, a little farther each time.
Her pussy was so hot. So wet. So eager to swallow him. Finally, he was all the way in. His cock felt like it was in a vice. He shook from the need to keep himself still.
When she wiggled her ass as if impatient, he pulled back. Almost out, then in again. Slow and steady. He reached under her belly with his fingers. He smiled at her sudden hiss. Her clit was right where he remembered. He rubbed it in small circles while continuing to slowly pump.
In and out he went. One hand held her hip so she couldn’t jam herself back on him and take over. The other kept at her clit. She twitched, her back rippling with the tiny gasps that somehow made him even harder. He changed angles, dropping a bit to angle higher.
She clutched his cock from tip to balls and keened her orgasm. He held back for at least two seconds before grabbing both hips and slamming her against him. She grunted every time her ass hit his belly, every time his cock dove deep. His chest felt on fire as he gasped, his cock felt like lightning, and everything else was a blur.
Once more, her pussy clenched him hard. This time, he let go, releasing his seed along with a howl of triumph. She joined him for a final orgasm before he pulled her up against his chest and sank to the floor.
Legs shaking from the strain, he held her, still joined. The wood floor under his back felt cool to his overheated flesh. Every few moments, she quivered with an aftershock. He’d spent it all in one massive explosion and had nothing left.
From far up the mountains came the deep, long call of an older wolf, still in his prime. A sign from Wolf the Creator, congratulating him on finding his mate.
If Amy was fertile, in nine months, he’d hold a squalling bundle of new life.
Chapter Twelve
Amelia woke to the sound of blue jays screaming outside her window. A cool b
reeze drifted by. She reached her hand out for the covers but found nothing. Ross hadn’t let her put on her nightgown, saying he’d keep her warm enough. But he was gone. She opened her eyes, blinking at the sun shining in. The angle was far too high for early morning.
She groaned. Her first day at her new home and she slept in! Auntie and Tillie would think she was a lazy, pampered girl from the city. She stretched, wincing, and then sat up and looked across the room. The top sheet, all bundled up, rested by the stairs. It must be wash day, and she was still in bed.
She yawned and looked at the double bed. Lying beside her pillow was a yellow rose. She remembered Prue’s letter boasting how her dear Gillis sent all the way to Boston for her favorite rose bushes. She lifted it, wincing when a thorn pricked her finger, and inhaled the scent. Her husband knew how to pleasure her and make her wake with a smile.
It was far past time to get up, but she had nothing to cover herself but the sheet under her. After listening for a moment, she confirmed that the door at the bottom of the stairs was closed. She carefully rolled out of bed and crept behind the screen to do her business. A flower in a jelly jar beside the basin made her smile. It looked like one she’d seen on the way down the mountain. It was fresh, drops of dew still damp on the petals.
She added the yellow rose to it. Ross must have gotten up very early to have gone up the mountain and down again while she slept. Despite his gruffness, he was kind. If she’d known marriage could be like this, she’d not have cared for Father all those years!
She needed to find where her trunks were stored. They contained all her clothes but the gray travelling dress she’d worn yesterday. The gray dress was gone from the hook, replaced by a spring green one she didn’t recognize. Prue, who stuck to pastels, would never wear such a bright color. Other than the dress, she could see no feminine clothes.
