Bayou Bride

by Bobbi Smith

  "Help me unfasten the back of my dress and then lay out my white negligee, please. I don't have much time. He'll be here any minute," Jordan told her excit edly.

  "Don't worry. I'll hurry. This is your night. Everything will be perfect for you."

  "Thank you." Jordan turned her back so the girl could loosen the gown.

  Between the two of them it only took a few minutes for her to shed the wedding dress. When Claire produced the nearly transparent, lace-trimmed nightgown from Nick's armoire, Jordan was surprised.

  "My things have been moved in here?" She had not known that Nick planned for them to share his bedroom. The idea was not at all unpleasant to her.

  "Yes, ma'am. According to his instructions, we moved everything earlier this evening."

  Jordan said nothing more as she donned the nightdress. The delicate gown felt luxurious against her skin, and she couldn't resist running a hand over its frothy softness. She went to sit at the dressing table to brush out her hair while Claire turned back the covers on the big four-poster bed.

  "Will there be anything else, ma'am?"

  "No, that'll be all for the night."

  The servant started for the door, then turned back. "I just wanted to tell you best wishes on your wedding, Miss Jordan. I hope you and Mr. Nick will be very happy."

  "Thank you, Claire." Jordan stopped brushing her hair and turned to look at the girl. "I hope we will be too."

  Claire left the room then, thinking that Mr. Nick was the stuff dreams were made of and that Miss Jordan was one lucky girl.

  Nick lingered over the bourbon as long as he could. He and Slater had sought peace and quiet out on the gallery, and they took the opportunity to privately discuss the latest news on the Sea Demon's owners. It seemed there were a few solid leads that needed to be followed up on, but nothing concrete yet. Though it wasn't too encouraging, they resolved never to give up.

  When at last the time came for Nick to follow Jordan upstairs, his mood was dark. The thought of being so close to her and being unable to touch her had him twisted up in knots inside. He wanted to hold her and love her. He wanted to give her his world, but he was bound by his honor.

  Nick bid a sympathetic Slater good night and mounted the steps with dragging feet. He knew any other bridegroom would be practically vaulting up the stairs, but not him. There was no joy awaiting him in the wedding chamber. There was only frustration, deception, and the loneliness of unrequited love.

  As he reached the top of the staircase and started down the hall, the noise of the celebration below faded. Nick felt almost as if he was entering another world, and he seemed to be moving in slow motion. His actions were tired and almost defeated as he loosened his cravat. He stopped before his closed bedroom door to draw a deep, reinforcing breath, then he opened it and went in.

  Nick was expecting to find Jordan waiting there to debate the issue of where they were going to sleep. He'd expected she would still be either fully dressed or else have donned something suitably demure that would do nothing to encourage him or arouse his passions. He stepped into the room thinking he was in control of his wild desire for her. He entered the would-be torture chamber intending to abide by his pledge to a marriage in name only. He went forth, firm in his belief that he could hold to it, but the sight that greeted Nick when he came through the door rocked him to the very heart and rendered him speechless.

  A single lamp was burning low in the bedroom, its light muted and soft. Jordan had just finished brushing out her hair when Nick entered the room, and she rose from the dressing table to greet him. She was nervous. Her heart was in her throat, but she didn't let it show. He was her husband and she wanted him. Nick was transfixed. He closed the door but had no memory of doing it. He could only stand there and gaze at Jordan, enthralled by her beauty.

  Jordan's tawny mane, tumbling about her shoulders, looked like molten gold in the soft glow of the lamplight. The gossamer gown, a confection of ruffles and lace, had slipped off one shoulder in a sensuous display that revealed the beginning swell of her breasts. Sheer as it was, it veiled her slender form in a cloud of maddening mystery, allowing Nick only hints of the luscious beauty it concealed. The negligee was daringly short, draping only about her hips and leaving her long legs tantalizingly bared to his heated regard.

  Desire thundered through Nick. He was totally captivated. When she raised one hand toward him and whispered his name, his breath caught in his throat, for he saw there reflected in her eyes both desire and acceptance. He moved slowly toward her and took her hand in his. Standing but inches from her, the seductive scent of her perfume twined its tendrils around him. His voice was hoarse when he spoke.

  "Are you sure, Jordan?"

  "Yes," she answered softly, "very sure."

  He put his hands on her waist to draw her closer, and, for a moment, he simply held her. Her warmth against him was one of the deepest pleasures he'd ever known. When he could bear no more of this quiet ecstasy, he kissed her gently, his lips barely brushing hers, as if he were tasting the deep sweet nectar of her.

  Jordan was in his arms then, her head resting on his chest, her body against his. She could hear the strong beat of his heart as he held her; it matched the excited, pulsing rhythm of her own. She drew back to look up at him, and their eyes met in unspoken understanding.

  Nick bent to her, claiming her lips again. He moved slowly, not wanting to spoil the perfection of the moment. The kiss was soft and gentle, and they both trembled with the force of their need.

  Jordan wanted to feel the heat of his body on hers. She ached to know him only as a woman could know him. She slipped one hand behind his head to bring him nearer, and Nick could wait no longer. He deeped the kiss. She was unprepared for the wild flood of heat that swept through her, and she melted against him.

  To Jordan, it seemed this was something that had been predestined. She belonged to this man, this place, this time. Her breath came in short gasps as he began to caress her. Her passion and desire for Nick were building to a fever pitch. The world as she knew it faded to nothingness. There was only Nick and the wonder of his touch and kiss.

  With a soft sound from deep in his throat, Nick lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed. He lay her gently against the pillows. Slowly, with the utmost care, he untied the ribbons that held her gown and then slipped the filmy garment from her. His eyes were hot upon her flesh as they raked over her, and she flushed with shy excitement.

  Nick moved away from the bed only long enough to shed his own clothing. He came to her then in all his male splendor. Jordan's gaze roamed over the glory of him, visually caressing his wide, muscular shoulders and strong arms. Dark hair furred his chest. His waist was trim, his hips and flanks lean, his legs straight and powerful. When Nick joined her on the bed, her hands traced the path her gaze had forged, burning his flesh like a hot iron, branding him hers.

  Nick sought out the sweetness of her breasts, bending lower to kiss the crests. Jordan had never known such intimate caresses, and she arched wildly against him as his mouth closed over one aching peak. Ecstasy throbbed through her as he tormented her with his sensual expertise. Consumed by an unquenchable demanding flame of pleasure, she gave a soft moaning sob. Her body instinctively sought his, knowing that he alone could release her from the exquisite agony.

  Nick raised up to kiss her, his mouth taking hers in a hot, hungry exchange, and passion exploded between them. There was no pretense, no deception. There was no thought of bargains or deals. There was only man and woman and love's quest for fulfillment.

  Nick tangled his hands in her hair as he deepened his kiss. He could feel the crush of her breasts against his chest. The scent of her, the softness of her, drove him wild with need. His mouth left hers to seek out the sensitive chords of her throat. She shivered be neath him, and he could feel the tips of her breasts harden at his erotic play. When he moved even lower to trail heated kisses across the slope of her bared shoulder, she gasped and called out his name.r />
  "Oh...Nick..."

  Her desire-drugged cry filled him with a depth of emotion he'd never known before. He lifted his head, his dark eyes searching hers for any last sign of reluctance, but he read only ecstasy in her sparkling emerald gaze. Her cheeks were flushed with passion, and her lips were red and swollen from his kisses. He shifted over her, his body fitting itself to her curves with breathtaking intimacy.

  The melding of hot male flesh with cooler female flesh was intensely erotic, and Jordan gasped at the fiery heat of him. Her arms wrapped around him, holding him close as they kissed, then kissed again. She felt the alien hardness of his manhood against her thigh, and in a bold, daring move, reached down to touch him. Nick was jolted by her caress, and he went rigid momentarily.

  "Did I hurt you?" she whispered fearfully, drawing her hand away.

  "Oh, no, love..." he groaned, covering her hand with his own and guiding it back. "You could never hurt me..."

  It pleased Jordan to know that her touch could affect him so, and she was filled with a sense of great feminine pride and an awakening knowledge of secret feminine power.

  Nick was almost out of control. Her intimate caress was driving him nearly out of his mind. In an act of self-preservation, he shifted away from her. Setting the tempo for their lovemaking himself, he took over. He began a sensual assault on Jordan with practiced caresses and potent kisses. He wanted to give her joy to the fullest. He wanted her to know passion's promise.

  His hands explored every inch of her, tracing patterns of delight over her bosom and thighs. He continued to press kisses to her lips and throat, moving lower to the succulent mounds of her breasts when he felt her begin to stir beneath him. He laved attention on that sensitive flesh until she was clutching at him in the throes of her desire. Nick slipped a hand between their straining bodies to seek out the heat of her womanhood. Jordan bucked nervously, trying to evade his touch when he tried to caress the core of her femininity, but he'd soon soothed her with gentling words.

  "Easy, darling, easy now. I won't do anything you don't want me to do..."

  "Nick..." The tension eased from her body and she gave herself over to his ministrations, trusting him completely, wanting to take all he would give. "I want this ...I want you... Please..."

  That was all he needed to hear. His lips mets hers as he positioned himself between her thighs. Ever so slowly he eased himself forward until he was resting against the portal of her love. He could feel the heat of her body and the wetness of her welcome. Without ending the kiss, he slid his hands down to her hips to lift her to him. In a smooth, masterful stroke, he entered her. He hesitated for only a heartbeat at the barrier of her virginity. Shocked though he was by this proof of her innocence, there was no thought of drawing back. He couldn't stop. He had to have her. With a single determined thrust, he sheathed himself in her velvet sweetness.

  Her murmer of pain was drowned in his kiss. He moved deeply within her. The pain seemed to melt away and suddenly she was engulfed in an urgency, a wanting, that blinded her to every other thought. She clung to him, whispering his name over and over as his rhythm of love drove her to the frantic edge. There was no beginning, no end, just this one moment in time when two became one. They were man and woman... complementing each other, giving to each other, taking from each other, in an unending cycle of life and love. It was eternal and perfect.

  They blended in perfect harmony, slowly scaling the heights of ecstasy. Theirs was a melody of love, a mating of souls. He played her body like a finely tuned instrument, his every touch and caress striking a new chord of excitement within her until she felt as if she would die from wanting him so much.

  Nick quickened his pace as his own body demanded fulfillment. She was holding him so tightly within her that each thrust was exquisite agony for him. He didn't want to hurry, but being buried in her this way was so heavenly he couldn't hold back any longer. He drove onward, his rhythm building, carrying them both to a frenzied, throbbing, heart-stopping crescendo that transported them both to rapture-and beyond...

  Jordan's breathing was ragged, matching the harshness of Nick's as they lay wrapped in each other's arms. The explosive climax left them both in awe of the powerful force that claimed them. Silently, they each explored the wonder of their feelings so vividly revealed to them now. They loved, but neither could admit it.

  Only when the tension of their ecstasy had calmed completely did Nick move. He turned to his side, bringing Jordan close against him, her back to his chest, her thighs cupped against his. He rose on one elbow to press a soft kiss to her temple, then lay back keeping one arm possessively around her just beneath her breasts. Brushing her hair aside, he kissed the nape of her neck and was pleased when she quivered in his arms.

  "Nick.. .I..." She was worried. She'd wanted this.. .oh, how she'd wanted this! She loved him more than she'd ever thought it possible to love anyone. But now that she'd tasted of his love, she wondered how she would ever be able to leave him.

  "Hush, Jordan. Rest now," was all Nick said. He didn't want to talk. He was too confused by everything that had happened. Her wanting him...his response to her kisses and the ecstasy of loving her ... the startling proof of her virginity. Obviously she hadn't been Montgomery's mistress, but Nick knew she loved the man. How could it be that she hadn't given herself to him? His thoughts and emotions were in turmoil.

  Pleasure's aftermath finally claimed them both, momentarily washing away their concerns, bathing them in soothing sleep. They rested.

  Jordan slept deeply and peacefully at first. Then for some unknown reason, images of Luther suddenly appeared in her dreams, turning them from blissful visions of Nick to nightmares of hellish proportions. In her mind's enslaved eye, Luther was chasing her ...his hands were ripping at her clothes, his lips and hands were touching her, making her flesh crawl. She was frightened, desperate to get away. She tried to fight, but it seemed useless. She tried to cry out to Philip for help, but she had no voice. She was trapped and there was no way out! She saw Nick standing in a beam of light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. She ran toward him, but the harder she tried to reach him, the longer the tunnel seemed to get. Suddenly there was a gallows before her with a laughing, hideous, bewigged judge sitting on the high bench, who declared her guilty... guilty... GUILTY!

  "Jordan... Jordan... wake up. It's all right... I'm here ...I'll take care of you... You're safe..."

  Her unconscious struggles had wakened Nick from his sleep. He was trying to hold her close now and reassure her against whatever secret monster seemed to be chasing her.

  Jordan's eyes flew open at the sound of his voice, and she found herself gazing up at him. His expression was concerned and his brow was furrowed with worry over the unknown demons that tormented her.

  "Nick... oh, thank God..." She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him close.

  When he tried to pull back to look at her, she wouldn't let go.

  "Jordan?" Finally he reached up and loosened her arms from his neck. He studied her face and was troubled by the frantic, hunted look in her eyes. "What is it? What's wrong?"

  "Nothing..." she quickly denied, knowing she could never tell him the truth. "Nothing... Please, just hold me..."

  There was such desperation in her voice he could do nothing less. Cradling her against him, he held her safely in the haven of his arms. But having her lithe form that close to him, stirred another desire besides the need to protect her. His mind told him she needed comfort, his body demanded he taste of her passion once again.

  Nick's hands began a tender assault, caressing her back and shoulders with long, lingering strokes as his lips sought hers. Jordan felt so safe and so secure that she willingly gave herself over to his keeping. Their joining began slowly. There was no frantic passion, no frenzied need as they came together this time. There was only gentleness and joy, a celebration of discovery.

  The haunting traces of Jordan's nightmare were swept from her mind by the force of the em
otions he aroused within her. They came together in a miracle of breathless wonder, their bodies fusing into one. Nick kept his pace slow and steady, bringing her to the peak of ecstasy first before allowing himself the same thrilling release. They clung together, fulfilled in each other.

  Long minutes later, Nick raised himself up on his elbows to gaze down at her. With a gentle touch, he brushed back an errant curl from her cheek and then kissed her softly.

  "Tradition dictates that a groom should always give his bride a gift on their wedding day," he murmured. "But I'm afraid I didn't have time to go into New Orleans and buy you anything."

  "It's all right, Nick. You've already given me so much..."

  "But I insist," he said, refusing to let the matter drop. He was so in love with her in that moment that he would have promised her the moon had she asked for it. "Tell me what you want.. .money is no object."

  "Let me think about it for a while... There's something else on my mind right now." Jordan caressed his lean cheek as she stared into the brown velvet depths of his eyes. Then, ever so slowly, she drew him down to her for a kiss. As he began to move within her again, she wondered vaguely if there could be anything more wonderful than loving Nick. All conscious thought fled as their passions flamed to life once more.

  Nick came awake slowly. His sleep had been deep, almost drugged, for the potent bourbon had finally taken its toll. His first thought was of Jordan, and he reached for her in the darkness, wanting her warm, soft curves against him. When his hand encountered nothing but cool sheets, Nick was puzzled. He couldn't imagine where she'd gone, and he got up from the bed to look for her.

  For some reason, Nick was drawn to the window. As he gazed out over the gardens below, he was stunned to see Jordan hurrying down the path that led through the flowering shrubs. He knew exactly where she was going, and stark pain was suddenly etched on his handsome features.

  The knowledge that she could leave his bed and go to the indentured servant struck Nick like a vicious physical blow. Pain and humiliation pounded through him as he realized what a fool he'd been. He might have taken her virginity, but that didn't mean it ended anything she was feeling for the other man. Why had he allowed himself to think otherwise?