by Ava Walsh
“Have you changed your mind, Liam?” she asked him in a near whisper.
“No, I’ve just made up my mind,” he said. Before she could process his words, he had grabbed her by her waist and pulled her close. His lips were on hers before she knew what he was even doing.
Chapter Seven
Liam was kissing her. She felt him use his tongue to part her lips. His hands were on her waist and he held her tightly. The feeling of having his tongue inside her mouth was overwhelming. He was strong, muscular, and naked from the waist up.
Isabel’s hands instinctually drifted to his chest, which was rock solid with a light dusting of fine blonde hair. She traced the muscles on his arms with her fingers as he kissed her. And then he suddenly stopped.
“Your dress needs to come off,” he said gruffly and took a few steps back. Isabel felt a wave of self-consciousness wash over her. He watched her, urging her to peel off her dress.
Slowly, Isabel reached for the thin straps of her dress. She only had to give them one tug and the silky material drifted off her body. She stood completely naked before him. His piercing blue eyes bore into her, and a soft smile spread on his face. He was watching her like he was admiring a work of art. He took his time; he wasn’t in a rush. She was his, his bride-to-be. It was his right to test her out. To make sure that he was going to be satisfied with her.
Isabel could feel the wetness between her legs grow. She had never been this aroused by a man who was simply looking at her.
“Lie down on the bed,” he said, and she bit down on her lip. He was still watching her as she walked slowly to the bed and sat down on the edge.
“Lie down. I want to taste you,” he said in the same guttural, low voice. Shivers ran down Isabel’s spine, but she did as she was told. There was no way she was going to disobey Liam. She hadn’t seen him completely naked yet, but already she wanted him inside her.
He followed her, as she swung her legs over and lay down, completely naked on the cold, tough mattress. No man had looked at her like this. So then why was she allowing him to? He didn’t even seem to like her. But she liked him. It was more than that. She was yearning for his touch again.
Liam stood over her. She looked up at him. When she was least expecting it, his hands drifted down. He caressed her, running his fingers gently down the length of her neck, between her bursting breasts, down her belly, over her navel, and then finally came to rest on the mound between her thighs.
“You’re a very brave girl, Isabel. Come here,” he muttered, and she felt her body shudder. His touch was warm and she could feel goosebumps appear on her flesh again. She remained quiet as he allowed his fingers to explore her legs next. Then he bent down, grabbing her waist again. He twisted her over to his side so that her legs dangled off the edge of the bed while he bent down in front of her. His face was level with her throbbing, wet center.
Isabel gasped when he brought his face closer. She could feel his breath on her skin. That same musky masculine scent of him filled her senses. She wanted him inside of her. He licked her inside, right at the center so that she arched her back and gasped again.
“Settle down, now,” he said in a sudden, authoritative voice like he was calming one of his horses. Isabel bit down on her lip and tried to stay still.
He licked her again and then thrust his tongue into her. She felt his tongue inside her and moaned loudly. Liam’s hand reached over to cover her mouth as she arched her back again. He licked and thrust with his tongue. Isabel never knew that a man could ever make her feel so good. She could feel her juices flowing out, mingling with his mouth and his saliva. She had never been this honest and so open with a man before.
Isabel squirmed in her position, nearing the edge. She could feel the knots in her belly giving way. She was going to have her first orgasm even before she knew what was coming her way.
Liam suddenly raised his head, dragging his mouth away from her core. “Are you going to come for me, young lady?” he asked. Isabel had no other option but to nod her head. She wanted him inside of her… or at least his mouth inside of her. She wanted him to push her over the edge.
Instead, he gave her something else. He pushed his forefinger inside her, gently sliding in through her folds and her juices. Isabel moaned again, biting down on her lip to muffle it when she realized that Sophie was in the other room.
“Good girl,” he said softly as he pushed his finger in and then pulled out. He did this repeatedly with an increasing force. He was looking down at her. There was that same grin on his face. He was enjoying this control he had over her body, the fact that he could do with her as he pleased.
Isabel was going to come; she could feel it. He pushed into her deeper and deeper until, eventually, she arched her back, dragging her body up in the air. She moaned loudly and felt her toes curl up.
She orgasmed right into his hands and thought she heard Liam laugh as she came. Her body shook slightly, and after what felt like several minutes, she finally began to relax.
Liam removed his finger and then slowly stood up. Isabel stared at him, confused. What was he doing? How could it be over? What about him? But she didn’t dare ask.
He caught her staring as he straightened his back. “What did you think was going to happen? I wasn’t planning on taking your virginity before you were married,” he said. With that, the smile on his face was gone.
Chapter Eight
Isabel blinked her eyes open. She wasn’t quite sure when she had finally drifted to sleep, because as far back as she could remember, she had been awake the whole night. After Liam had made her – forced her t0 – come, he had taken off his clothes in the darkness of the room and laid down on one side of the bed, his back turned to her.
Isabel had remained sitting up, naked, for several minutes until she realized that he had no intention of having a conversation with her. He only intended on going to sleep. She tiptoed over to where her nightdress lay discarded near the mirror and she slipped into it. Eventually, she walked back to the bed and lay down beside him at the other end, facing his back.
She watched his body rise and fall, his breaths deepen. She could hear the crickets outside and realized that it was dark. Darker than she could have ever imagined night to be. She had gotten used to the streetlights of New York, the sounds that carried in through her apartment window. She couldn’t sleep in the stillness of this night. It was unbearably keeping her awake.
Thoughts that she didn’t want barraged her brain. Thoughts about New York. The last few weeks she spent there. The life she left behind. That she might never return to. She tried to banish them from her brain, but they kept flooding in.
Eventually, Liam’s even breaths calmed her down. Just his presence in the room, even though he wasn’t touching her, even though he wasn’t encouraging her or stroking her hair… just his very presence beside her seemed to make her feel that she was safe.
She had borne her soul to this man. She had allowed him to touch her in places nobody else had just because she had decided that she was going to be his wife. A wife to a man she knew nothing about.
Even a year ago, a prospect such as this would have made Isabel laugh. She would have considered the suggestion that she would find herself physically spent and sexually satisfied lying next to a man she had just met (who she was trying to prove to that she could be a good wife to) utterly crazy.
When she turned over in the morning, Isabel found that Liam had already gotten out of bed. She couldn’t see a clock anywhere in the room and she panicked, jumping out of bed in a rush.
The bathroom wasn’t an en suite, so she rummaged in her suitcase for a dressing gown which she enveloped herself with before stepping out of the room. She rushed into the bathroom, brushed her teeth, splashed her face with water, and then, at the last minute, decided to take a shower.
The water calmed her even though she felt like she hadn’t slept in years. When she had looked in the mirror, she noticed the dark circles under her eyes. Her
face didn’t look fresh even though she had just woken up. She dried her hair with a towel hanging behind the door, slipped into the dressing gown again, and walked back into the bedroom.
Liam was still nowhere to be found.
In the bedroom, she changed into a cotton maxi skirt and a red crop top she found at the bottom of her bag. Her hair was still damp, but it was the best she could do. No makeup necessary, she thought as she stepped out of the room again and descended the stairs.
“It’s eight.” Liam’s voice greeted her as she reached the landing. He was sitting at the kitchen counter and drinking a glass of what could have only been fresh milk. Isabel wasn’t sure if she was late or early. His face was expressionless, although it was still devastatingly handsome.
“Sophie needs to wake up by seven thirty. She’ll be late for school now,” he said. Isabel turned on her heels and started climbing the stairs again. “You will take her to school from today. She needs to get there by eight thirty,” he called after her. Isabel turned around to only nod her head.
To say she was sleepy was an understatement. She was tired as hell. She could feel her limbs ache and creak as she climbed up to Sophie’s room and knocked.
“Time to wake up, Sophie,” she called out to her and heard her own voice crack. The heat of the day was already building up. Isabel was beginning to feel faint again. She cracked open the door and found Sophie still bundled up in bed.
“Sophie, it’s time for school,” she said in a louder voice and walked over to the window to pull the curtain open.
Sophie slowly blinked her eyes open and then stretched her arms. When Isabel turned to her, the little girl smiled. “Hi,” she said in a low morning voice. Isabel was amazed at her enthusiasm. A ten-year-old who was happy from the instant she woke up! Sophie was precious and Isabel was beginning to understand why she was the apple of her father’s eye.
“You must get ready for school. You’ll be late,” Isabel said, walking over to sit by Sophie’s bed. She stroked her shining blonde hair and couldn’t help but smile, as much as her body hurt.
“Did you sleep well, Isabel?” Sophie asked and she nodded.
“Of course. I slept very well,” Isabel declared, trying to keep the smile on her face.
“Will you please take me to school? I want you to take me to school,” Sophie said and flung her small body into Isabel’s arms.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Isabel said, patting Sophie’s back. It was good to get a warm morning hug.
Chapter Nine
Thankfully, Sophie’s school was only a ten-minute walk from the ranch. Isabel walked Sophie to the gate of the small school building where, according to Sophie, only ten other kids from the town attended. Isabel stayed back at the gate. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to introduce herself to the teacher.
Then, Isabel walked back to the ranch, dragging her feet and wiping the sweat off her forehead. She felt like her body was ravaged. As she walked up the dirt road towards the porch of the house, she thought she heard Liam whistle. Then he appeared.
He was on a horse, a mighty chestnut-colored horse with a chocolate mane. They galloped towards her and she felt like the ground was shaking underneath her feet. He didn’t seem to slow down as he approached her, but rather came to a sudden halt beside her. Isabel shaded her eyes with the palm of her hand to look up at him.
The sun was behind him so that his face was darkened and a bright orange light silhouetted his dirty blonde hair and cowboy hat. He looked regal and masculine on his horse. She imagined him with his shirt off, as she had seen him the previous night.
“Isabel, meet Henry.” He said and it took Isabel a few seconds to realize that Liam was introducing her to his horse.
“Oh. Well, hello Henry,” she said, still keeping her distance.
“Have you ever worked with horses?” he asked and she bit down on her lip in reply.
“Have you ever ridden a horse?” A grin formed on his face. He was mocking her.
She remained silent. Liam rolled his eyes and she got the sudden feeling that he was annoyed with her. She began to worry again. That she wasn’t good enough for him – good enough to be his wife. “I can learn. Tell me what to do and I’ll try my best,” she said eagerly while Liam glared down at her. The grin on his face had vanished. He looked like he wasn’t sure what he was meant to do with her anymore.
“Just carry the chopped wood to the back of the house. The nights are going to start getting colder than usual and we’ll need to get the fireplace going,” he said dismissively.
Isabel gulped and nodded her head.
“Where is the wood?” she asked, tucking in stray strands of her curls behind her ears. She was uncomfortable under his gaze, especially now that he had seen her completely naked. He knew what she looked like without any clothes.
Liam pointed into the distance where Isabel could just about make out a pile of wood in response. “Carry in a week’s worth. Then you can start making my lunch. I’ll be in by one,” he said and, without waiting for a response, he turned around on his horse and galloped away.
Isabel was left standing in the sun, staring at him as he disappeared into the back of the ranch. She wiped her face with her hands, sucked in her stomach, and tried to calm down her nerves.
It was December already, she tried to remind herself even though it felt hotter than the middle of summer on the East Coast. She lifted up her skirt with her fingers and started walking towards the spot that Liam had indicated. Carrying chopped wood back to the house, cooking meals, dressing a ten-year-old for school. None of these were tasks she had ever performed in her life before, and every step she took made her nervous.
She couldn’t understand why she was so desperate to please Liam. He hadn’t even accepted her as his wife yet. In fact, she was free to just leave if she wanted to. It actually seemed like Liam would prefer if she did. He didn’t give her any indication that he was happy to have her here. Rather, it seemed like he had changed his mind about having a mail order bride altogether.
Isabel walked slowly towards the pile of wood that Liam had undoubtedly chopped and stored there earlier.
This was going to be her life now. Was this what she wanted? Did she want to be married to a man who barely even looked at her? Who dished out orders and expected them to be executed on his terms? Who wanted her around the house so she could do all the housework and take care of his daughter? She had a successful career in New York. She was a city girl. She had never known a life like this. Did she actually want to give all that up and lead this life of isolation with a man who rarely ever smiled?
Then Isabel remembered the way he had touched her the previous night. The kind of pleasure he had given her in a way she had never experienced before. She knew she was curious to know more, to experience more. She wanted to see more of Liam… see him completely naked. Just the very thought of it stirred something in her belly. She wanted him inside her. Even if just for one night.
It was going to be a test for Liam, just as he was testing her. He had teased her the previous night with his body, brought her to the edge, just gave her a taste of what was in store for her.
And now Isabel was determined to find out the rest – what it would feel like to have Liam completely to herself. Even if it meant waiting and hoping that he decided she would make for a good wife. She could always change her mind later. She could always leave if she wanted to. Her life in New York was waiting for her if she ever needed to go back.
Chapter Ten
What Isabel hadn’t been expecting was for the wood to be as heavy as it was. She had no idea what a week’s worth of wood for the fireplace looked like. She tried to carry an armful first, but the logs were too heavy for her. Her limbs hurt, her back ached, and she walked slowly, sweating towards the back of the house with only a few at a time.
In the distance, she could hear Liam with the horses. He whistled, clucked his tongue, and called out to them as he worked. She could
n’t see him, so she didn’t know what he was doing exactly, but it was a sort of twisted comfort that he was there. Although she was getting more and more embarrassed by her slow progress.
It was just wood that she carried, and even this she couldn’t do quickly enough. She was worried about his lunch as well. She wanted to please him with a delicious hearty meal after his day spent doing hard manual labor. But she wasn’t sure what ingredients were available in the pantry for her to do this.
Isabel could feel herself dehydrating slowly, and then she remembered that she hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink since the previous night’s dinner. Also, she had barely slept. Her body felt like a bundle of rags that she was only dragging around the place.
Her arms felt sore, too sore to even lift up any of the wood anymore. She walked back to the pile of wood for the third time, feeling her breath catch in her throat. Her stomach felt empty and sore, as did her back. Isabel looked up towards the sun, trying to steady herself, but the bright light suddenly blinded her.
When she looked away, she could only see darkness everywhere and then the ground beneath her started to swing and shake. She heard herself gasp and then a weak scream escaped her lips and then the world became completely blank.
The next thing she knew, she was forcing her eyes open. She could feel a cold cotton cloth on her forehead and she was lying down. On Liam’s bed. She was in Liam’s bedroom. The curtains were pulled so the room was fairly dim and she could feel the gush of a breeze from somewhere beside her.
Isabel tried to sit up and two large hands appeared on her shoulders. She looked up. It was Liam pushing her back down on the bed. “Stay still for some time longer,” he said. She thought there was a change in his voice somehow. She also noticed he held a fan. Did people actually use those anymore? But now she knew where the cool breeze was coming from. He had been fanning her.
