by Tia Siren
When they reached the forest, the coachman slowed the horses to a walk and everybody clung to a hand rail, as the coach swung from left to right, through the rutted ground.
After two miles, the coachman was pleased with his progress. But he shouted out when he saw a hooded man on a black horse, standing in front of the coach, pointing a pistol at him.
''Put your hands up and get down,'' he said. The coachman got down and stood next to one of the horses. ''Get the people out of the coach,'' the rider demanded. The coachman went to the door and knocked. The two lovers had the curtain down, and weren't aware why the coach had stopped.
Peter opened the door and saw a man pointing a pistol at him. ''What on earth are you doing, sir?'' he asked.
''Get out of the coach and kneel down over there,'' he pointed to a place next to a tree. ''If you refuse I will shoot you. You do the same,'' he said to the coachman. ''Charlotte stay in the coach.''
Peter walked to the place the man had asked him to and knelt. The coachman knelt next to him. When Peter felt the pistol touch his skull he started to pray.
From somewhere in the forest there was a bang and a flash. The robber cried out in agony, and fell down next to Peter. Peter grabbed the pistol and stood up. The man was holding his knee. It was almost completely blown away. When Peter bent down and removed the robber's hood, he gasped. The coachman ran after Charlotte, and knocked her to the ground. Her screams frightened the birds from the trees, as he pulled her by the hair back to the coach.
When two horsemen appeared from the forest Peter thought they were Sir John's accomplices.
''Get down from your horses, this instant,'' he told them as he pointed the pistol at them. ''James,'' he exclaimed, as Emily's brother took off his hood. When Emily took of her hood, his mouth fell open. What is happening?'' he asked totally confused.
''I'll tell you what is happening,” Emily said. “Sir John and Miss Pemberly have been plotting to kill you. I found out about it, and as I am unable to shoot, I asked James to help me. As you can see by the state of Sir John's knee, he is an extremely accomplished marksman. These two wanted to kill you so that Sir John could marry me, and take my wealth.''
Peter looked at Charlotte, who was being held firmly by the coachman. She dropped her eyes from him. ''Emily I.......I don't know.....what …...to''
''James will go and fetch the police, once these two have been arrested, you will come back to Sedgefield House with me.''
*****
They arrived home in the dark. Peter rode James' horse home. James had taken a lift to London with the police. When Joseph opened the door, Emily nodded to him in recognition of the part he had played in foiling Sir John's evil plot.
''Joseph was a great help in foiling the attempt on your life, my dear,'' she said.
''Thank you, Joseph. I am not fully aware of the details, but my wife will no doubt inform me. I will see you handsomely rewarded for you efforts.''
''There is really no need, my lord,'' Joseph said in his usually modest fashion.
''Joseph, please bring two whiskeys into the drawing room. This time two real ones.''
''Now, Peter. Come and sit next to me,'' Emily said as Peter attempted to sit in his usual place. ''From now on you will sit next to me in the evenings.''
''Emily, I am so sorry for what I have done. I have been a fool. You are beautiful and clever and I have ignored you and behaved terribly badly.''
''It is no matter, Peter. I will always do everything in my power to protect our marriage, even if that means asking my brother to shoot someone. You are a very special man, I adore you, and I love you more than I can bear. All I ask is that you please try to love me back.''
''Oh Emily, I do. Until this evening, I didn't realize how much you mean to me. I do love you.''
''Then let's finish our drinks and you can take me to bed and prove your love to me.''
*****
When Peter took off his shirt and dropped his trousers to the floor, Emily could see how much he desired her. It was the first time in many weeks that she had seen his hard shaft. When she let her nightgown drop to the floor, Peter could see how ready she was for him. The soft curls between her legs shone with her desire and her nipples were erect.
They came into each other’s arms and kissed. It was too much for Peter, who was so racked with guilt that a tear escaped from his eye and rolled over his cheek. Emily watched it until it reached his jaw, then she liked it from him. Peter was overcome with desire and love. He picked her up and carried her to the bed. They lay next to each other and kissed. Emily loved the feeling as his penis rubbed against her soft thigh.
He got up and crawled to the end of the bed. He took Emily by the ankles and spread her legs wide apart. As he looked at her womanhood, his hard member twitched. He bent down between her legs and without delay licked the length of her vulva. Emily cried out and thrust her hips up from the bed. He licked her again. When his mouth fixed over her clitoris, and his tongue began to make tiny movements on her, she gasped and pulled his hair. As his tongue stayed fixed to the same spot, Emily felt the muscles in her belly tighten. When Peter did what he had never done before, Emily's orgasm hit her. His tongue on her clitoris and two fingers deep inside her, was too much.
She lay back and enjoyed the waves that made her body tremble. When they began to wane she pushed him onto his back, and took him into her mouth. He tasted salty and the scent of his sweat made her ache to be filled by him. She placed her hands on his strong thighs and felt the coarseness of the hair which covered them. As her head bobbed up and down, Peter played with her blonde hair. Soon it became too much for him and he pushed her head from him. As he lay her down, her legs fell open. He entered her without assistance in one hard thrust. As he parted his wife's sex, she groaned and thrust back at him, willing him on. As well as an over whelming feelings of love, Peter felt an overbearing sense of guilt. As he pushed into her he gritted his teeth and willed the feeling away. Emily looked up and saw his forehead covered in sweat. She ran her hand over it and licked his salty juice from her palm.
''Emily, I love you,'' he said. She had waited a long time to hear him utter those words, and she basked in the effect it had on her body and her mind. She wanted to feel his love flowing into her now and she matched him with her hip movements. When she tightened the muscles in her vagina, he pushed into her twice more and cried out her name. Emily put her hands onto his chest and screamed as his seed triggered another orgasm.
*****
When James knocked at the door to Sedgefield House, it was snowing.
''Look mummy, it's Uncle James.''
''My, my, you two are growing up.''
''Have you brought some Christmas presents for us?'' Harriet asked.
''Harriet, don't be so rude,'' Emily said.
''Yes, don't be so rude,'' little James added. ''Have you though?''
''Who'd have a three year old and a five year old?'' Emily asked James.
''Uncle James is a hero,'' Harriet said. ''Mummy told me.''
Peter walked into the room. ''James, Merry Christmas.'' he said to his brother in law. ''Yes Harriet, Uncle James is indeed a hero,'' he added.
***
THE END
Bonus! Billionaire Collection
Big Bad Cowboy: A Billionaire and a Virgin Romance
What do you do when you find yourself alone in a secluded cabin during a thunderstorm with the hottest man in the state of Texas?
MIRANDA:
Who knew that when I took the job at Big Sky Ranch & Spa that I would find the man of my wet dreams? Texas billionaire Conner Blackstone not only looks like a cowboy god, but he’s hung like a wild stallion and wants me to ride him like a bucking bronco.
But I have three little brothers back home to take care of so there’s no way I’m going to let myself get distracted by my boss. I’ve got too much to lose. My virginity. My heart. My family.
This billionaire cowboy will just have to learn how to take no
for an answer.
CONNER:
I don’t know what’s up with this girl? There are women lined up for miles to get a glimpse of what I’m packing in my jeans. The problem is, I want her. Naked. Submissive. Begging me for more.
But she comes with a lot of baggage. Then again, so do I.
So if she thinks that she can make me feel guilty about my four-year-old orphaned half- brother, then she had better get the hell off my property. I’m not gonna let no woman mess with my life.
No matter how much I want her.
CHAPTER ONE: Miranda Carson
I hated my life.
Okay, hate was probably too strong of a word to use, because my life was not all horrible all the time. It was just mostly horrible most of the time. So maybe I should just say I hated parts of my life at different times. And this moment was one of those times when I pretty much hated everything all at once.
And I blamed it all on my dad. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be in the spot I’m in today. My life would be a hundred and ten percent different. Then again, I probably wouldn’t be the person I am today, but honestly, I didn’t think that would be such a bad thing. I was certainly nobody’s idea of a prize.
Please don’t get the wrong idea about my relationship with my dad. He was never anything but kind to me. The truth is, I loved my father, more than anything. I still do. He was a great guy, the best dad a girl could ever ask for. He worked hard to support his family, taking as much overtime and as many weekend shifts he could get working as an oil driller in our hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. Even though he worked his ass off to keep us fed, he never missed a dance recital or a softball game or a school play.
We remained close even after he got married again two years after my mom died of cancer. And the fact that he married Mom’s best friend, Helen Anderson, didn’t bother me a bit. Helen was great. I loved her. She had been like a second mom to me all my life. If Mom could have picked Dad’s next wife, she would have picked Helen.
Okay, maybe Dad getting remarried bothered me a little. Not because it was Helen, but because I had always been daddy’s little girl and having to share him with a woman other than my mom just took a little getting used to.
Hey, give me a break. I was just eighteen years old when they got married, and I was your typical, selfish teenage girl. It was bad enough that I had to share my dad with my younger brother, Scotty, who was thirteen at the time. I understand it now, but at the time it was just hard for me, watching him open his heart to share all that love with someone other than me.
Then, to everyone’s surprise, Helen, who was nearly forty-five at the time, got pregnant a year after they married and gave birth to TWINS!
Can you imagine that, at her age? Twin boys named James and Josh. Thank god I was heading off to college by then, so I didn’t have to put up with two screaming babies in the house like Scotty did. He says it was pure torture.
They turned my old room into a nursery and all seemed right with the world for a while. I’d never seen Dad so happy, and I had to admit, those had been some pretty cute babies. They still were.
Then, when the twins were two and Scotty was fifteen, Dad and Helen were killed by a drunk driver on the way home from a cookout at Helen’s sister’s house in Lakeview.
They were less than a mile from home when the guy veered into their lane and hit them head on. Scotty and the babies were in the backseat asleep and somehow walked away without a scratch. Scotty says he doesn’t even remember the crash. He just remembers waking up and seeing blue and red flashing lights and wondering why the babies were crying. They say our brain blocks out the most traumatic moments of our lives to keep us sane. For Scotty’s sake, I pray that’s true.
A few days later, we buried my dad and Helen. I had to drop out of college without finishing my degree to take care of Scotty and the twins. I came home just two semesters away from earning my physical therapy degree. All I had to show from three years of college was a grungy Texas A&M sweatshirt and a shit-ton of student loans that I didn’t know how I’d ever pay back.
At the ripe young age of twenty-two, I became the legal guardian to two-year-old twins and a fifteen-year-old boy who was pissed at the world because it had taken his father from him. We had to sell the house at a loss and move into a tiny apartment, because on my paycheck as a waitress at Red Lobster, it’s all we could afford. The place was a shithole, but it beat living in a cardboard box by the railroad tracks. Or having my brothers taken away from me. That would be the last straw on an already-breaking camel’s back.
It had been two years now and things had just gone from bad to worse. Or from horrible to even more horrible. I spent eight to ten hours a day, six days a week, waiting tables at Red Lobster while my neighbor, Sheila, watched the twins. Scotty just ran amok. I gave up trying to keep up with him long ago.
If it wasn’t for food stamps and government assistance, we’d all be living in the street.
I loved my three brothers with all my heart, but like I said, at this moment, I hated my entire life and I blamed it all on my dad.
Thanks for nothing, Dad…
Wish you were here.
* * *
“Come on, guys,” I pleaded, waving the pair of Winnie the Pooh onesies in the air as I chased the twins through our tiny apartment. As usual, Scotty was plunked down in front of the television with headphones covering his ears, seemingly oblivious to it all. That was what he did every night if he wasn’t out with friends. He just put on those damn headphones and shut out the real world. I wished I could do the same, but I was the adult, the responsible one, the one determined to hold this family together no matter what.
The twins ignored me and continued to run stark naked through the house, dripping bath water along the way. I finally cornered them in the room they shared with Scotty. I managed to hem them in and lock the door. I swear, it was like herding cats, dealing with those two.
I had just gotten their pajamas on and tucked them into the little bed they shared when Scotty pounded on the door.
“What?” I screamed, jerking open the door. For some reason the twins didn’t irk me nearly as much as Scotty did with his pissy teenaged attitude. I didn’t know what he had to be upset about. All he had to do was go to school and keep his grades up so he could get a scholarship someday. God knows I didn’t have the money to put him through school. I didn’t even have the money to finish out my own degree.
“Wanda Jean is on the phone,” he said, giving me the “go fuck yourself” look that was his usual expression these days. I was pretty sure if he showed up to get his picture taken for the school yearbook, that was the face you’d see. He shoved the phone at me. “Here, she says it’s important.”
He started to turn away, but I grabbed the cowl of his hoodie and pulled him into the room. The twins were lying in bed, watching us. I picked up the Cat in the Hat book I had been about to read them and shoved it at Scotty in the same manner he had shoved my cell phone at me.
“Read this to them,” I ordered. “I have to take this call. It’s important.”
“I’m not reading this crap,” he said, tossing the book onto the bed like a frisbee.
He gave me a defiant look that let me know I had no control over him. I could not make him do anything, and we both knew it. He was an angry seventeen-year-old, a head taller than me, who was always pissed at the world, starting with me.
“You’re not the boss of me!” was Scotty’s motto. “Fuck you, Miranda!” was his other one. And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
I took a deep breath and let the anger drain from my body. I told Wanda Jean to hang on and tried a new approach.
“This is Wanda Jean about that temporary job in Amarillo I told you about, the one at Big Sky Ranch & Spa, the one that could pay our bills for months. I have to take this.” I picked up the book and held it out to him. “Please, read them a story, and if I get this job I will get you your very own cell phone.”
I
thought I saw a spark of excitement flash through his eyes. It had been so long since I’d seen anything but a scowl that I couldn’t be sure. He bit at the inside of his cheek and stared at me.
“Seriously? My own cell phone? Not one that we have to share and you always take with you?”
“Your own phone,” I said with a smile.
I knew I was lying to him, but I had no choice. We would need every cent of the money I could earn in the month I would be at Big Sky Ranch & Spa, but if I had to lie to get him to read the twins a fucking Dr. Seuss book, then brand me a liar.
“Okay,” he said, taking the book and frowning at the cover. A rare smile crossed his lips. “This used to be my favorite. Dad read it to me every night.”
“I know,” I said, tears coming to my eyes. I put my hand on the back of his neck and drew his forehead down to mine. It was a rare moment of solidarity. “Don’t worry, little brother, we’re going to be all right.”
“How can you be sure?” he asked, staring into my eyes.
“Because we’re due for a little good luck,” I said, pulling back and wiping my nose on the back of my hand. “In fact, we are way overdue.”
CHAPTER TWO: Conner Blackstone
“This is bullshit!”
I wadded up the DNA report and threw it across the table at Wesley, my best friend since kindergarten and my corporate counsel since I took over as CEO of Blackstone Enterprises from my father five years ago.
We were flying at 30,000 feet in the air in the corporate jet somewhere over Nevada. I usually found the serene landscape below and the quiet hum of the engines to be soothing, but not today. Not with the news I was getting.
