His Defiant Wife, the Adventures of Linnett Wainwright, Book 2 (11 page)

He felt her
grasp him, once again greedily filling her mouth with him. John
parted her legs and explored the soft inner folds of her wet
feminine cleft with his rapier tongue. John flicked at the centre
of her delight, savouring the feel and the salty taste of the small
swollen nub that was the source of her joy. But after only a few
moments of his attention, Linnett released him from her mouth,
writhing amidst moans and mewling of pleasure. Her hands entwined
in the thick hair of his head as she tried fruitlessly to pull him
away, afraid that she would climax too soon.

“Hush love,”
John soothed her. “It matters not if you take pleasure now; I will
soon build another fire within you.”

He lowered his
head to his task and sure enough, arousing shivers curled and
pulsed as Linnett cried out with the erotic pleasure of her orgasm.
John kissed the damp gold curls of her groin and raised himself
above her. He suckled her breasts, taking each nipple into his
mouth in turn, taunting them with his circling tongue. He ran his
hands over the soft contours of her body, stroking and petting her.
His manhood was heavy now, aching with the need for release, but he
resisted the urge a little longer, waiting for her to quicken
again. He ran his hand up the length of her arm and grasped her
wrist, which lay flung above her head. He brought her hand down
between their bodies and placed his aching phallus into her open
palm. Her fingers closed over the large throbbing shaft caressingly
and slipped lower, cupping his tightened sac, rubbing the soft area
until he groaned.

He slipped his
hand into the dampness between her legs and frigged her with his
finger until he felt her slick and ready for him once more. His
breathing came fast and urgent. Ready, he raised himself above her
until finally he mated her with a sure thrust that sheathed him to
the root. With deep slow strokes that gradually increased their
tempo, he carried her with him to the edge of ecstasy. They hung
together on the peak, experiencing the all-encompassing emotion
that comes only to those who truly love, and they gazed deep into
one another’s eyes in ecstatic delight, realising fully the deep
love that lay between them, bound each to the other by body and
soul. Afterwards they simply held one another, still joined as man
and wife, and slept deeply in the knowledge that they were as
one.

The weeks
following Christmas were extremely cold. They experienced severe
blizzards that lasted two full days. The wind howled and shrieked
outside the cabin, and snow piled high against the cabin door. It
required a lot of force and digging to free up their entrance when
the blizzard finally passed. The animals all survived, and although
the cow was in some discomfort, she seemed to be none the worse for
her period of slight neglect. The winter seemed to continue
interminably until early March when Linnett first noticed the faint
sound of running water. The stream had started to thaw. Linnett ran
excitedly into the cabin to tell John and met him coming back from
the barn.

“Listen!” she
called to him.

“What is it? Is
something wrong?” John shouted, limping over to her, concerned.

Linnett shook
her head, her eyes shining. “Just stand still and listen and tell
me what you hear.”

John did as she
asked and a dawning realisation spread over his face. “It’s
thawing!”

Linnett nodded
excitedly. “John, isn’t it wonderful? Now we can visit Sarah and
Hans and soon we can travel to Boston!”

John kissed her
swiftly and began to walk back towards the cabin. “I want to brush
that snow off the cabin roof before it slides off and catches one
of us unawares!”

Linnett caught
up with him and asked him excitedly, “When do you think we will be
able to travel, John?”

“Not for a
while, love, the mud is almost as dangerous as the snow, and
besides, although it is thawing now, the snow could still return. I
should think perhaps we could leave at the beginning of May.”

“Not until
May!” Linnett was disappointed. She had thought they would leave
soon, perhaps even the following week.

“We could visit
with the Lammers as soon as the snow melts,” John added upon seeing
his wife’s disappointed face.

“I guess I
should like that,” Linnett said and shrugged dispiritedly. She went
into the cabin and placed the risen dough in the oven to bake. How
nice it would be to see Sarah again and share their winter
experiences with her.

John’s leg was
healed now and the pink scars grew paler by the day. He was able to
clear the cabin roof of snow and they waited to see if the thaw
would continue. It did, and by the end of the week, they had made
plans to travel down to visit the Lammers family on horseback.
Linnett baked and cooked provisions and made a seed cake for young
Peter.

Linnett had
also sewn a pretty purse out of the same green velvet from which
she had made John’s waistcoat. She had worked on the purse through
the winter, along with a riding skirt and habit for herself from
the grey serge. The riding outfit was as yet unfinished, but
Linnett liked to have two or three sewing projects going at once so
that she could diversify and keep from boredom.

She and John
had made Hans a tobacco pouch between them. John had prepared the
hide from a piece of deer skin, scraping it and soaking it, drying
and oiling until it was supple enough for Linnett to sew. Finally,
with all preparations complete, they were ready to set off on the
first journey they had made for some months. Saddling Amber was
rather like trying to hold onto a slippery wet fish, Linnett
decided as she waited for her naughty horse to breathe out.

Amber had
become a very spoilt filly through the winter months and she filled
her lungs with air so that Linnett couldn’t tighten the girth. If
Linnett had ridden her like that, she would have fallen along with
the loose saddle as soon as Amber let out her breath.

“You bad girl!”
Linnett scolded her. Amber rolled her eyes and danced sideways.
“Oh, if only one could spank a horse!” Linnett snapped.

“I don’t know
why you bother to scold her, Linnett; both she and I know you don’t
mean a word of it! … here, let me.” John strode up to the horse and
slapped her rump hard, “Behave!” he told her firmly.

Amber seemed to
know he meant business and let out her breath, allowing John to
tighten the girth. “Well!” exclaimed Linnett with disgust. “I’ve
been trying to do that for an age, and all it took was a smack from
a man!”

“Women and
horses, they are much alike.” John said smugly.

Linnett
immediately bristled but grinned at her puffed up husband. “Ooh you
arrogant swine!” Linnett grabbed a handful of hay and deftly thrust
it down John’s neck. John spun around and caught Linnett as she
scuttled towards the barn door. He swung her against him and
captured her arms behind her back, grinning down into her face with
one eyebrow cocked.

“Just for that,
a kiss is forfeit!” He lowered his mouth to hers, and when his
hands slid around to her bosom, Linnett deftly stuck her foot
through his legs and hooked it behind his knee, unbalancing them
both. They fell into a heap as John over-balanced and ended up in a
tangle of arms and legs on the floor. John tickled Linnett
unmercifully until they were both laughing so much that their sides
ached and they fought to get their breath back.

Eventually,
John managed to stand and helped Linnett to her feet. They brushed
one another down and Linnett helped John empty his shirt of hay.
They returned to the task of saddling up and tying on their bundles
of provisions. The fire was fully dowsed and the cabin made secure;
they wrapped up warmly and mounted, setting off. Daisy the cow was
tethered to John’s horse as they couldn’t leave her behind on her
own.

The snow had
receded, but there were still patches about making the ground
slippery under foot and the journey tricky. They had left in the
early morning, but because they had to travel so slowly they didn’t
reach the farm until the afternoon. Linnett’s heart raced as they
rode up to the house. She was slightly nervous about the reception
they would receive, arriving so unexpectedly.

She had been
hurt that Sarah hadn’t wanted them to stay with them throughout the
winter. Although, now that she had experienced the isolation of the
winter here, she could understand Sarah’s reservations. Linnett
need not have worried; the door to the farm house was flung open
and Peter ran out shouting with excitement, followed by a beaming
Hans and a waddling Sarah.

Linnett
gaped.

“Well, are you
getting down or staying up there all night?” Sarah asked, grinning
up at Linnett’s astonished face.

“You’re with
child, Sarah!” Linnett squealed.

Sarah nodded
delightedly. “Yes, isn’t it wonderful? I didn’t realise at first!
Hans noticed that I was unwell most mornings and suggested that I
might be with child, and I snapped the poor man’s head off! It
turns out he was quite right after all!”

Linnett
dismounted and hugged her friend, careful not to squeeze her too
tightly.

“What are you
doing here? You are mad to travel yet!” Sarah scolded them both

Hans came up
behind Linnett and gave her a great bear hug, swinging her up off
her feet. “It is wonderful to see you both. Is that man of yours
keeping my cabin in good repair, eh?” he asked jovially.

John answered
him. “It is in excellent repair. No thanks, though, to a large bear
who tried to destroy both me and the cabin!”

Peter caught
John’s hand excitedly. “A real bear? Did you kill it, Mr. Foster?
How big was it? Was it a grizzly bear or a black bear?”

“Peter! Peter!
Let us go inside and John can tell us all about it over supper.”
Sarah ushered them all into the warmth of the house.

It was
wonderful for all to have company and conversation once again, and
the evening turned gaily into a party. Each couple shared their
winter experiences, but Hans and Sarah seemed to have had rather a
quiet time compared to John and Linnett’s adventures! Sarah was
intrigued by Linnett’s encounter with the native child and asked
her no end of questions. Hans was concerned by the sighting of
natives so close to home. He had heard that a number of attacks had
been levelled at white settlers farther inland, but John assured
him that these natives had seemed reasonably friendly. Sarah’s talk
was of the coming babe, which she judged would arrive some time at
the end of May. She was full of pleasurable surprise that after all
this time, she should conceive again.

Sarah observed
a new maturity in Linnett and a new closeness between Linnett and
John that had been lacking when she had last seen them together.
She was relieved that they had achieved a good bond and wished them
the good fortune that she and Hans now shared. Hans was delighted
with his tobacco pouch and Sarah with her purse. She insisted that
John keep The Iliad as a gift, and to Linnett, she gave a small
peridot brooch that had been her grandmother’s. Linnett gave the
cake she had baked to Peter, and he insisted on cutting it up and
sharing it out. Finally, full of cake, he went cheerfully off out
into the cold, slamming the door and disappearing outside. The
adults settled down to chat, sharing news they could not share in
front of the young boy. Hans presented John with a beautiful map
for their journey to Boston, and the two men poured over it and
sipped whisky together.

Linnett and
Sarah sat and talked of children and men, fashion and remedies.
Sarah suddenly reached out and placed Linnett’s hand on her swollen
belly and Linnett felt the miracle of life moving within. Bumps
moved across the tight surface of Sarah’s belly, rolling from side
to side. The two women smiled at each other and Linnett leaned over
and gently kissed Sarah’s soft cheek.

“I am so happy
for you,” she said softly.

Sarah nodded
and patted Linnett’s hand. “It will be your turn soon, Linnett,
don’t fret, just wait and see.”

“Oh, I do hope
so! Ever since I held that little one in my arms and cared for him,
I’ve wished for a baby.” Linnett sighed.

“Much better to
wait until you are returned to Boston, though. Carrying a child on
such a journey would be too risky,” Sarah told her sensibly.
Linnett knew Sarah’s words to be true. Such a long journey on
horseback would not be wise if she were with child.

The outside
door opened, letting in the fresh, icy, evening air, and they all
turned to see Peter standing holding something that wriggled
dementedly in his arms. Linnett gasped, recognising the creature
straight away, and she flew off her chair to Peter, who grinning
widely presented her with a fat pink piglet.

Linnett took
the small, wriggling bundle and spun around laughing, holding out
her prize for John to see.

“Linnett has a
special affinity with hogs,” John proudly told Hans and Sarah.
“When I first met Linnett, she showed me her friend Esmerelda. She
is an enormous hog that was tame enough for Linnett to pet!”

Peter wandered
over to Linnett’s side and scratched the piglet’s soft bald ear.
“She’s yore’n if’n you want her, my Christmas present for you!”

Linnett placed
her free arm about the boy and gave him a squeeze. “Of course I
want her, Peter, she is so adorable!”

“The ‘varken’
must stay here with her mother until she is bigger, but you can
take her to Boston when you leave here,” Hans said, reaching for
the now squealing hoglet. Sarah translated the Dutch word ‘varken’
– pig. “I’ll just go and return her to her mamma. We don’t want her
rejected because she has been missing from her and her siblings for
too long.” Hans left the house with Peter trotting at his heels
clutching a pig bucket full of kitchen scraps to feed the ‘varken
family’ their supper.