by Jasmine Hill
Lillian stared down into John’s glassy gaze. “John, can you hear me?” she asked anxiously.
He blinked then focused his eyes on her face. “Lillian?”
“Yes. Are you badly hurt?”
“I’m fine.” He gritted his teeth and struggled into a sitting position. “Has the arsehole buggered off?”
“No. The arsehole is still here,” William snarled as he led John’s horse toward them. “You don’t seriously think that I’d leave Lillian alone with you again?”
John glared up at him and Lillian noticed a bruise forming on his jaw.
William turned his attention to her. “Lillian, I’d like you to go and wait for me in the clearing.”
This worried her. What was he planning to do? “I’m not sure that’s a good idea…”
William cut her off. “I don’t plan to kill him, Lillian,” he muttered irritably. “Trust me. I just need to speak to Steele alone for a moment.”
Lillian wasn’t sure about leaving the two men. She stood and studied William’s face. He gazed back at her impassively, giving nothing away. Behind her, she heard John curse and struggle to his feet.
She sighed and picked up the remainder of her clothes. She still wore William’s shirt and had hurriedly donned her skirt when the men had been busy arguing. “Fine. I’ll wait for you in the clearing,” she capitulated, too tired and irritated to protest further.
* * * *
Lillian returned to where they’d left the horses. Her underclothes were still a little damp and she hung them on a tree limb to dry.
She retrieved a blanket and the small bag of toilet items she’d allowed herself from her saddlebag and laid the blanket on the ground. She was still barefoot and was mildly surprised that her scamper through the dry undergrowth hadn’t damaged her feet.
Her thoughts were with the two men at the billabong and she worried about William’s intentions, and for that matter John Steele’s too. Surely their ire had fizzled out by now and they could talk civilly to each other.
She loosened her hair from its braid and started brushing it, taking comfort from the soothing strokes as she pondered on her current situation. She didn’t know where she’d go from here but she suspected William would want to take her back to the station. They needed to talk before she would go anywhere with him. She had questions and she wanted answers.
She heard the crackling of underbrush and a moment later William appeared. Lillian’s breath caught in her throat as he strode into the clearing, his shirtless torso rippling with his movement and a light sheen of perspiration covering his chest. She had little experience with the male physique but even in her naïveté, she could appreciate William’s perfectly masculine form. Her mouth watered as she studied his muscles, honed and sculpted from physical labor as well as boxing. Even his legs were powerful and well defined through the fabric of his work trousers. Trousers that sat low on his lean hips, exposing the distinct V of his pelvis and the trail of dark hair that snaked beneath his waistband.
She hadn’t realized that she’d been staring until he chuckled. She looked up at his smirking face.
“Enjoying the view?” he asked, his lips quirking into a sly smile.
She blushed, feeling unaccountably embarrassed at being caught ogling him. After all the things that they’d shared, surely she should feel comfortable enough to look at him. It was the events of the past few days, she reasoned, that made her look at William in a different light, almost as if he was another man, virtually a stranger. The thought was disturbing and she pushed it to the back of her mind. William was the same man, she told herself. She would hear him out and try to make some sense of everything. Deep down, she knew that William was a good and honorable person. Up until this point, she’d allowed her head to rule her actions and it was time she gave her heart the lead.
Another, more immediate worry surfaced. “Where is John?”
William joined her on the blanket, one leg crooked beneath him and the other bent at the knee with an elbow resting across it.
He scowled at her question. “You two definitely became friendly in the short period of time that you’ve been together.”
She huffed out an exasperated breath. “He helped me, William. Who knows where I’d be if it wasn’t for him? Probably wandering aimlessly in the outback and on the brink of death through dehydration!”
He sighed. “That’s exactly why I didn’t do anything save for that knockout punch, which he was asking for. I just ensured that he had enough water and thanked him, albeit grudgingly, for helping you. He didn’t leave without some vocal persuasion but, presumably, he’s now on his way back to Coolabah.”
William studied her intently, his face an impassive mask. “But if he’d touched you in any way, he wouldn’t be comfortably sitting astride his horse right now.”
A shiver worked its way down Lillian’s spine at the unmistakable venom in his voice.
“Well, happily that didn’t happen,” she said softly.
As she bowed her head and traced the pattern on the blanket, she sensed William reaching toward her. He stopped short of stroking her face and instead curled a long tress of her hair around his finger.
“You have beautiful hair,” he murmured, moving closer to her. “And I love seeing you in my shirt.”
“William.” She raised her head and looked him squarely in the eye. “We need to talk.”
He cursed and pulled away from her. “What George Dawson told you about his daughter and me is a lie! She’s not carrying my child, Lillian. That can only happen one way and I can tell you, I’ve definitely never been intimate with her.”
“I just can’t believe a father would lie about something like that at the expense of his daughter.”
William studied her face. “Can’t you?”
She inhaled sharply. Of course it was possible. Just look at her father and what he’d done.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have drawn a comparison like that,” William apologized.
“You’re right, though. I should have learned from my own father’s unscrupulous behavior that anything is possible.”
“Perhaps Margaret told George that I’m the father and he was just standing by his daughter. I don’t know for sure, but I’m determined to get answers.” He looked thoughtful. “I didn’t tell you this before, but when I stayed at the Dawson property recently, Margaret crept into my room that evening and propositioned me.”
Lillian gasped. “That’s shocking. Why would she do such a thing?”
William’s lips thinned into a grim smile. “She’s obviously not as innocent as I’d first assumed and given the subsequent events, I’m now wondering whether she was trying to set me up. If I’d succumbed to her wiles, she could then claim that I was the father.”
“I’m so sorry I left. I was overwhelmed and all I could think about was that if I stayed, my presence would interfere with you, Margaret and the unborn baby.”
“Do you have any idea how desperate I’ve been? How terrified for your safety? When I read your letter, I felt like you’d physically ripped my heart out.”
Lillian stifled a sob. She felt wretched that she’d caused William so much distress.
He closed the distance between them and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into his lap. “Hush now,” he whispered into her hair. “I found you. You had to know that I wouldn’t let you go so easily.”
She melted against him and breathed in his masculine scent, relaxed and happy for the first time in days. “I’m glad you did find me. How did you do it by the way?”
“I read your letter again and again and it didn’t sit right with me. I couldn’t allow myself to believe the words that you wrote. I was suspicious and I asked Mrs. Thompson if anything unusual had happened that day. She told me about George Dawson’s visit. I drove over there immediately and confronted him. With some persuasion, he eventually told me everything.”
She couldn’t believe she’d just run off without waiting t
o speak to William. Of course, at the time she had thought she was doing the right thing, but it still didn’t make up for her impulsive behavior. “I can’t apologize enough for leaving the way I did. I can only say that I wasn’t thinking properly.”
He stroked a hand down her back soothingly. “We’ll rest here tonight. I’ll get a fire started.”
He gently lifted her off his lap and stood. “Let’s gather some kindling.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
William collected wood and tinder. When he arrived back at the clearing, Lillian was making dough for damper.
He dropped the bundle of timber and prepared a fire pit, arranging kindling, tinder and wood to burn slowly and thoroughly.
When the fire had burned down to coals, they cooked the damper, wrapping the dough around a stick and toasting it over the embers. The smell of baking bread floated on the still night air and made his mouth water. He’d had nothing decent to eat in days, just eating whatever he was able while in the saddle.
The damper was delicious, warm and doughy, and when dunked in tinned stew, it tasted like the best meal he’d ever consumed.
After dinner, they curled up together on the blanket. William lay on his side, his head propped on his left hand while he caressed Lillian with his right. He still couldn’t quite believe that he’d found her and he felt compelled to touch her constantly. Her sweet scent of apples washed over him, making him desperate to taste her.
Her hair fanned out around her head in a beautiful silky mass and her emerald eyes glittered in the firelight. She’d replaced his shirt with a blouse of her own that he started to unbutton, working slowly and opening the fabric down the front with one hand. His cock stiffened when he saw that she wasn’t wearing underclothes. Her pink nipples pebbled when the chill night air hit her breasts. Unable to resist any longer, he bent his head to her chest and sucked a rosy-tipped breast into his mouth. She gasped and thrust under him, forcing her plump flesh between his lips. He flicked her nipple with his tongue and massaged the other mound with his right hand, reveling in the feel of her silky smooth skin and her sweet taste.
Lillian moaned and wriggled underneath him. She wound her hands into his hair and tugged hard, sending desire unfurling down his spine and tightening his balls.
He released her breast with a popping sound and kissed a trail down her torso and across her flat stomach, licking a path above the waistband of her skirt. The firelight illuminated her body, bathing her skin in a warm glow.
He unfastened the garment and tugged it down, hissing and cursing under his breath when her legs were revealed to him. Harsh purple bruises covered her inner thighs in the arc of a saddle, looking stark and obscene against her pale flesh.
“Look at what you’ve done to your beautiful skin,” he chastised, shocked at the extent of the saddle chafing.
“It doesn’t hurt. It looks worse than it feels,” she assured him.
He bent his head and planted soft kisses around the bruising on each of her thighs. He was appalled at the discomfort she must have suffered, particularly as the saddle she used was a stockman’s saddle and definitely not designed for the smaller, female form.
She undulated her hips. “Please, William.”
He dipped his head and inhaled her feminine scent, his mouth watering with his need to taste her. He cupped her knees and spread her legs wide, wanting to take things slowly and needing to draw out his own anticipation to touch her. The firelight flickered across the plump, wet folds of her sex, making it glisten enticingly. He used his thumbs to spread her lips then bent his head and licked her thoroughly and slowly through her center. She tasted divine, tangy, with a hint of apples. Fuck, he loved the soap she used. He’d have to ensure that she had a lifetime supply. He licked her again, lapping up her juices. She moaned and pumped her hips up, thrusting against his mouth. He speared his tongue into her hot, slick channel and used his thumb against her clitoris, massaging the taut little bud until she was panting and mewling.
“Please.” She gasped and gripped his hair, tugging his head closer against her.
Her skin was hot to the touch, burning up with the warmth from the fire and the lust that he was arousing in her. He grasped her thighs gently and pushed them farther apart. He locked his lips over her center and sucked, locating her clitoris with his tongue and tweaking the bundle of nerves as he thrust a finger inside her and massaged her front vaginal wall. She stiffened beneath him then cried out. His mouth flooded with her delicious juices and he sucked the pulses from her body as she trembled against his face.
Fuck, he was so hard his cock could cut glass. He needed to be inside her, couldn’t wait any longer.
He shuffled back to undress, wanting nothing but the feel of Lillian’s soft, naked flesh against his firmness.
He gazed at her a moment, drinking in the vision of satiated loveliness. She was flushed and glassy-eyed, her shapely legs spread open and offering an invitation to heaven.
He could hold back no longer. He lined his cock up with her entrance and thrust into her hard and fast, burying himself to the hilt in her moist, swollen flesh. She cried out and dug her nails into his shoulders. He stilled for a moment, reveling in the feel of her gripping him like a fist.
“I’m going to move,” he said, his voice tight with restraint. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. Yes, please move.” Lillian wriggled beneath him, gyrating her hips.
William supported himself on his elbows and pulled all the way out, brushing his cock on the outer lips of her pussy and spreading her moisture across her clit. He hovered there, rubbing the little nub with the thick crown of his cock, back and forth, dragging along her nerve endings and making her shudder beneath him.
Fuck. Her responsiveness constantly astounded and delighted him. She was sexuality and sensuality personified, wrapped up in one delicious, feminine package.
He tucked his elbows tight to her sides and dipped his head to her neck, latching onto the sensitive skin, sucking and nibbling. She arched beneath him and moaned his name, her voice broken and ragged.
He drove his cock back into her slick channel and started a pounding rhythm, his pelvis smacking against hers as he suckled and nipped her neck. Lust coiled down his spine and his balls tightened. He could tell that she was close. Her insides clenched and gripped him and little tremors erupted through her to massage his shaft. He swept his hand between their writhing bodies and found her clit, tweaking it to bring her closer to release.
She whimpered, dug her nails into his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his waist, gripping him tightly as she pumped her hips up to meet his thrusts.
“Come on, Lilly. Let go already!”
He felt her stiffen then shudder. Her pussy pulsed rhythmically in orgasm, milking his cock and sending him so close to the edge of that wonderful abyss. But he wanted to claim her, to mark her as his.
“I’m coming inside you,” he ground between clenched teeth. “Let me know now if you don’t want that.”
She arched her back, mashing her breasts against his chest. “Please,” she begged. “I want it.”
He groaned loudly, her sweet assent sending him over the edge, and he thrust hard twice, shooting his seed deep inside her, his own release racing through him like a freight train.
He rolled off her, ensuring Lilly was closest to the fire, and lay on his back, breathing heavily. He turned to his side and propped his head on one hand, gazing down at her. She eventually opened her eyes and blinked lazily at him.
“And she’s back.” He chuckled and grazed his free hand down her arm.
She blushed prettily then frowned. “William, why didn’t you want to—?”
He cut her off with a peck to her lips. “I know. I didn’t withdraw.” He continued to caress her arm lightly. “I should have, but I didn’t want to. You’re mine, Lilly, and I’m yours if you’ll have me. Coming so close to losing you has made me reassess some things.”
He tugged the blanket over them, t
ucking it securely around her body. “I want to make you mine in every way, so we belong to each other officially. But first I need some answers from Margaret Dawson and her father. It’s only fair that you hear the truth, and not just from my lips.”
She caressed his face. “I believe you, William. You don’t need to prove anything to me.”
He sighed and grasped her hand, turning it and placing a kiss on her palm. “Thank you, my sweet. But I need to get to the bottom of it. I won’t have rumors and unfounded stories floating around. Sleep now. We’ll talk more on it in the morning.”
He lay next to her and drew her close to his body, spooning her, nestling his cock against her lush arse. The fire would last until morning warming Lillian’s front while his body protected her back.
He buried his face in her hair and inhaled her scent, relieved and comforted as he hadn’t been since she’d left. He hadn’t realized just how desperate he’d been for her until he’d held her in his arms again. One thing was crystal clear to him—he’d never be complete without her by his side.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Lillian’s heart warmed when they eventually rode up to the homestead. It wasn’t that long ago that she’d thought she’d never see it or its inhabitants again. It literally was a feeling of coming home. Emotion and anticipation overwhelmed her when she saw Mrs. Thompson and the children.
The children, having seen their approach, ran up the long drive to meet them.
William vaulted down from Victory and strode over to them, swinging Clara up onto his shoulder and taking Edward by the hand. They laughed hysterically and chattered non-stop, demanding to know everything that had happened since William had left.
“Father, you brought Lillian home,” Edward exclaimed happily.
“I did, indeed. I told you that I would,” William responded, leaning down so that Clara could scramble onto Lillian’s horse. Lillian grasped the little girl around the waist and settled her firmly on the saddle in front of her. “Hello, darling,” she said into her ear.
