Let Me Love You (12 page)

Chapter Ten

His new wife blushed all the way back to her cabin. He should have felt guilty for annoying her but the flat truth was…he didn’t. Brianna cast him a furious look the moment Warren and Jed bid her good night. Her hips swayed and sent her petticoat swishing away from her ankles as her temper fired her step.

Her new husband didn’t answer, but moved across the floor to stand his rifle against the wall next to the bed. Her throat tightened as she recognized the significance of the placement of his weapon. But she still propped her hands onto her hips as he turned back to face her.

“That’s right, I did.” He shrugged out of his duster and laid it over the back of a chair. Her throat grew tighter as she watched his fingers begin to unbutton his vest. “Marriage means a whole lot of things to different folks. To me, it means I can stop trying to avoid every single impulse you inspire in me.”

“I see.” It was an odd compliment. One that she had never considered before, but it sounded so completely right. Sloan wasn’t some example of gentlemanly idealism. In truth, she didn’t want him to be. It was his hardness she craved, not a chaste kiss on the back of her hand.

He folded his vest and placed it on top of his duster. A soft chuckle filled the cabin as he moved towards the stove. He pulled the front cooking plate up and dropped a scoop of new coal into the belly. A few turns from the poker and he replaced the plate as the coal sparked and began to burn, filling the room with more heat.

His gaze was as hot as the fire. He closed the distance between them as her temper died in a flash of passion. Her body didn’t even heat up in slow degrees. It burst into clamoring need as he grasped her hips. A gasp rose from her lips at the pure carnal nature of the touch. It was bold and blunt, setting off a throbbing at the top of her sex.

“I’ve never been a rich man, until you let me into your bed.” He pulled her forward so that she felt the outline of his erection. “Now I’m addicted to the good life.”

His mouth pressed against hers in a firm kiss. He ran his tongue over her lower lip, teasing the tender skin until she opened her mouth to allow a deeper kiss. His tongue stroked down along her own as his hips thrust his cock against her belly. She was so aware of how empty her passage was. Her tongue tangled with his, mimicking his motions as sweet sensation flowed down to her sex. She stroked his chest, searching out the buttons on his shirt from memory now and pushing them through their holes to free him from the fabric. She actually hated the shirt and her dress at that moment. They were barriers that prevented her feeling his skin against hers.

His mouth left hers and trailed over her cheek. He captured the back of her head, the fingers threading up into her braided bun. He placed a soft kiss on the tender column of her neck before scraping over the same spot with his teeth. Excitement raced down her spine as she held her breath, waiting for him to bite her. It was an insane idea, but one that made her skin leap with awareness.

She gasped when he nipped her skin. Her nipples contracted beneath her corset, the hard tips complaining bitterly about being laced down. Another soft chuckle shook his chest. He raised his head to lock stares with her. His fingers searched through her hair, tugging out the pins that held it secure. He set them aside before combing her hair with his fingers, drawing it down in a soft curtain of brown silk.

“Take your dress off.” He released her and took one short step away. His eyes burned with need as he raked her from head to toe. “Take everything off.”

“I see the orders have begun.” She pushed her lip out into a pout, but couldn’t hold the expression for long. Fingering the button at her collar, she let the urge to play override her shyness. There was no place for timidity between them. Working the button, she watched the way his gaze followed her fingers to the next button and the one below it.

“I’ve got a few more demands to lay on you, wife.”

Letting her bodice slip down her arms, she reached for her waistband. “Hmm…well, I suppose I might try to please you or I could simply be naughty and refuse your demands. Not all wives are obedient. I hear that some even have that part of the wedding ceremony omitted. They only vow to love, honor and respect but not obey.”

She whirled around, showing him her back. She looked over her shoulder and winked at him.

“Either way, I owe you a few smacks on your fanny for leaving the rifle up here anyway.”

She gasped and turned back around. His gaze instantly dropped to the swells of her breasts at the top of her corset. “I am not a child.”

“Oh, I’ve noticed that sure enough. But you will listen to me when it comes to your safety, Brianna. I think you scared me half to death.”

The deep tone of his voice made her shake with anticipation of just what he planned to do with her. Her skirt and petticoat fell to the floor and she stepped out of them. He shrugged out of his shirt at the same time and reached for his fly. Her lower lip went dry as her eyes focused on his fingers while they separated the front of his trousers. He sat down and pulled his boots off with a swift motion. When he stood back up, his pants were pushed down his legs with a quick motion. He clicked his tongue at her as one dark eyebrow rose.

“Ah, sweet wife, you’ve fallen behind.” He waved a single finger back and forth in reprimand. “Maybe you’re asking for that spanking. Some women enjoy it.”

“Nonsense.” She unbuttoned her waist tape and let her knickers drop down her thighs. His gaze feasted on her mons through the thin cotton of her chemise. She was nervous as she tried to decide if she was pretty or not. She wanted to be attractive to him, but had never really thought about her body one way or another.

“Some women say the marriage bed isn’t enjoyable.” His gaze rose to her face as she sat down and removed her shoes and stockings. “That’s what I call nonsense or a selfish man.” He brushed a hand through her hair again, letting his fingers filter through the threads.

It sounded more like a tragedy. She licked her lower lip as she considered never knowing what it felt like to enjoy the way their flesh connected. To think a majority of women wouldn’t even believe her if she dared voice her newfound knowledge stunned her. She felt like a child with a secret so grand, it almost burst through her attempts to clamp it all inside her.

She dropped her corset and reached for the hem of her chemise. Lifting the final veil caused her hands to shake. She wasn’t sure why, only that pleasing him was important to her. As the cotton cleared her head, she found his gaze stroking her nude frame in slow sweeps. No flattering phrase fit the moment. She saw her beauty etched on his face.

Sloan’s gaze traveled down her bare frame, missing not even a single detail before returning to her face. “Come here, wife.”

Her husband’s voice was as thick as warm syrup. The words just as tempting. He pushed her onto her back as he leaned on one elbow alongside her. He cupped one breast, brushing the nipple with his thumb while his dark eyes watched.

“Pillow talk is vital between lovers.” He pinched her nipple. A little jolt of sensation raced through her spine to that spot on the top of her sex. “Communication makes it so much more fun to go about consummating a marriage.”

Brianna gasped. “Don’t be wicked!” Her voice was a breathless whisper as his hand cupped her other breast and she waited for him to pinch that nipple as well.

“What’s wicked about plain talking?” Her nipple begged for a pinch, but he only moved his fingers around the plump flesh of her breast.

“Talking about…um…marriage matters is wicked.”

His eyebrow rose. “I don’t think so. Might be naughty though.” His hand left her breast and brushed down the center of her body. He paused just above the entrance to her sex. That spot hidden within the folds throbbed for attention as her face turned red from just the idea of being touched so intimately.

“If you don’t tell me what you like, how do I know where to touch you next?” His fingers fanned out over her belly, one traveling into the curls on her mons but not quite far enough to stroke that little pulsing point. Her body twisted with anticipation, but Sloan trapped one of her legs with his and leaned over her torso to pin it to the bed. The rope creaked beneath them as he hovered just above her lips.

“Should I stroke your clit again? Or lick it?”

“Don’t be absurd! No one does that.” Oh, but her face turned beet red as she thought about it.

“Want to bet?”

She bucked up off the bed and he pressed her back down, leaning enough of his weight on her to lock her against the mattress. His finger pushed between the folds of her slit to find that throbbing spot. Her hips jerked as he rubbed it and pleasure shot deep into her passage.

“I’m not much of a gambling man, but why not? You sucked my cock. Lovers return the favor.” His finger rubbed over her clit making sweat bead on her forehead as she struggled to breathe through her shock. His black eyes watched her as his finger continued to move on that sensitive spot. “Becoming your husband was a way of ensuring that I can remain your lover.”

“Sloan…”

She never finished her protest. It died in a harsh gasp as he moved down the bed and right between her thighs. He pressed each leg up towards her waist and spread her wide. His breath brushed her wet slit a moment before she felt his tongue lap right up the center of her sex. He paused at the front where her clit throbbed for attention. His lips closed around the sensitive little bud, sucking it into his mouth. He spread the folds of her sex apart, keeping them away from that little button as he plied his tongue over it.

Pleasure bit into her so hard she shook with it. He used the tip of his tongue to rub it while he added the motion of sucking around it. Her hips bucked up towards his mouth, demanding harder strokes of his tongue. Her nipples hardened to the point where they almost hurt as her body jerked and pleasure ripped into her. Everything spun in a kaleidoscope of colors while the sound of her pounding heart filled her head. There was nothing but the spiral of pleasure turning her around and around until she collapsed back onto the bed, gasping for breath because she had forgotten to breathe.

“Now that is exactly why pillow talk is so much fun. I can’t wait to hear you ask me to lap you again.”

Her lips were frozen as she glanced down her body to where Sloan still hovered over her spread thighs. All thought deserted her as she watched him rise up over her. His cock was fully erect as he placed his hands on either side of her. His face was lit with conquest as he pressed his cock into her. Her passage stretched around his length as a ripple of delight went through her. It wasn’t tight or demanding, instead it was a deep enjoyment of being filled. Sloan lowered his chest until the hair on his torso teased every inch of her breasts. His hips moved in a steady motion, driving his cock in and out of her body. She moaned softly as her body told her how much she enjoyed his hardness. Her hands curled around his arms, stroking the firm muscle that allowed him to lift her so easily. He leaned enough weight on her to hold her in place as her passage was filled with even more hard flesh.

“Tell me to move faster, honey.”

He wasn’t asking her, but ordering her to comply with his demand. Her eyes opened as her hips lifted to take his next thrust. Nothing mattered but the pleasure building beneath his thrusts. She shook with each deep penetration. The sensation tightened deeper in her belly this time and she surged up off the bed to force his cock to touch the bubble of pleasure in the center of her womb.

“Yes, faster. I want you to move faster now.”

A harsh growl filled her ear as she dug her fingers into his arms. The bed rocked faster as that pleasure twisted through her once more. This time she yelled out loud because it was so intense. Sloan’s body pressed her down into the mattress as he forced every last bit of his length into her passage. His cock jerked as he snarled and she felt his release deep inside her belly. The bed slowly stopped rocking as they both tried to regain their breath. The hard body above her shook as his chest worked to supply his heart. He rolled right over one shoulder and took her along with him. Their legs tangled as her head ended up on one side of his chest. He stroked her bare shoulder and the curve of her hip as the sound of his heart filled her head.

Sloan listened to his wife as she fell asleep. He was wide awake but happy to be aware of the moment. There was no greater delight than listening to her little mutters as she tried to wiggle away from him. He smoothed her back against his body and waited while she, unconscious, grew used to his presence in her bed. He reached up and turned down the wick in the lamp. The stove cast a red glow over the cabin. The wind rattled the door slightly, but he was suddenly more comfortable than he could ever recall being since that magical time when he was a boy who trusted his parents completely.

It felt like a mighty long time ago.

Reaching for a quilt, he flung it over his wife and enjoyed the knowledge that she was his. Maybe he didn’t understand his reasons completely, but there was no mistaking the surge of enjoyment he got every time the word “wife” moved through his thoughts.

His
…

Someway…somehow, he was in the one place he’d decided to avoid, but he sure was enjoying it. His wife was going to have to get used to him, because he wasn’t leaving.

Chapter Eleven

At sunrise, Sloan was missing from her bed. Brianna stretched and winced at the soreness between her thighs. Her eyes stung, but she rubbed them and forced her body out of the bed. The falling snow wasn’t going to provide her with much daylight to get her chores finished. Conserving her resources was now doubly important since being robbed, and that included the oil in the lamp. Work by day, sleep at night.

The front door stood unbarred and Sloan’s rifle was missing. A moment of panic hit her as she realized he just might be gone. It twisted through her heart so acutely, she felt tears sting her eyes.

She was insane. A foolish girl in love.

Her eyes rounded as she recognized her own folly. Somewhere along the line she really had gone and jumped off that cliff that saw her plummeting towards complete loss of control when it came to her heart. There was no talking herself out of it. The emotion burned away inside her chest and she was powerless to snuff out the flame.

Besides, she didn’t want to. Oh, there were twenty reasons why she shouldn’t love Sloan, but she did. It had snared her like a rabbit. The rope was pulled tight around her leg now, the only thing to do was settle down. Struggling only pulled it tighter.

Voices touched her ears and she reached for her father’s rifle instantly. A sarcastic smile twisted her lips as she handled the cold metal of the weapon. She might have fallen in love, but at least she was learning a few useful habits along the way.

The door was already unbarred, so she pulled it inward enough to peer out into the front drive. Her father’s rifle firmly grasped in her right hand, she made sure to point the muzzle of the gun out the door before she showed her head.

A rare grin graced her husband’s face as he took in the rifle. Warren stood holding his horse’s reins as Jed tipped his hat to her. The ground was coated in white, fresh snow. The trees dusted in it. White clouds rose from the men’s mouths as they spoke and they stomped at the ground to keep their legs warm.

“Warren and Jed will be moving into the mill house for the winter.” Sloan stamped his boots on the front step to break off the snow crusted up to his ankles. The place instantly shrank with his huge frame inside. A little ripple of reaction filtered through her. Instant and uncontrollable. Her body responded to him without a single thought from her head.

“We rotate shifts on the dock. Along with a few other men. We’ll plan on building a bunkhouse this spring so that you can mill when the river runs smooth.”

Her lover had vanished just as completely as the night had. Sloan looked as dark and unmovable as he had the first time she’d run into him on the dock. The railroad agent was as solid as granite.

“It’s freezing down there in the winter.”

Sloan nodded agreement. “Nothing a stove can’t fix. Warren and Jed are family of a sort.” He watched her face for a reaction. “You’ll get used to them.”

His explanation was finished as he and Warren moved past her on their way back into the cabin. Sloan opened the door to her old bedroom. There was a rasp of wood against wood and then the smaller bed that had been hers tipped end first through the doorway. The men held only the frame, the thick padded mattress left rolled on the floor. The two men took it right out of the cabin and down the front step. She could see Jed moving around inside the mill house.

All three men were hard. A shiver worked over her back as she saw the twin rifles leaning up against the outside of the mill house. Setting her father’s weapon aside, she hugged her arms close against the chill while her thoughts spun. She felt trapped in a fashion, but also secure. It was an odd tangle of emotions that surrounded her new love for the man at the center of it all. She didn’t like a few things about him, but that didn’t seem to change the fact that she loved him.

“Oh, bother!” Turning in a swirl of petticoats, she stomped into her cabin to cook breakfast. One thing the town gossips had right, men were completely foreign to a woman’s way of thinking.

Her temper lost a great deal of its heat as she listened to his voice. Oh, it was still firm and full of authority, but there was also an attempt to share his reasoning with her. Determination filled his eyes as she turned to stare at him.

“The sight of you shackled to that wall is branded into my mind. I think I just might go crazy if I have to worry about you out here all alone every shift. Warren and Jed are the closest kin I have, next to you now.”

It was as much explanation as he was going to give her. Brianna saw it in his eyes. He cupped her chin as he moved closer. “I trust them with my life, but you’re more important than that. I won’t take the chance.”

Understanding wiggled past her temper. The thought of being chained to Joseph’s wall again made her shiver, too. It was a harsh truth, but she was lucky to have escaped. It wouldn’t have been the first time a claim was stolen through a marriage. Locking stares with her husband, she offered him a small smile. “I believe the good reverend did mention something about learning to work together in a marriage.”

“Yeah, he did. Give it a try for me.” He pressed a kiss against her lips before releasing her. He pulled his hat from the nail he’d taken to hanging it on. As he pushed it down onto his head, she stared at the formal picture he made. The black duster and hat transforming him into that man who was invincible in her eyes. Maybe that was the true definition of love, unfaltering belief.

“You’ll know I’m on my way back when Warren clears out to take charge on the dock.” Something flashed in his eyes as he lingered in the doorframe. “But I will be back, Mrs. McAlister. Count on that.”

“I believe I will, Mr. McAlister. I do hope you are up to the challenge. I have high expectations.”

“I heard tell that wives are like that.”

Brianna blew him a kiss. “You may depend upon it, Mr. McAlister.”

Her teasing little voice kept him warm as he pulled his horse out of the small stable next to the mill house. Sloan felt a silly grin lift his lips as he saddled his horse. Brianna did that to him. She unlocked some kind of hidden door where he’d stockpiled his emotions over years of being alone. He saw her fussing around her kitchen as he rode past. Leaving took a little chunk out of his happiness, but he found himself looking forward to the return trip because she would be waiting for him.

So much more than lust. It was just possible that’s what made a man face life with a smile on his face. Knowing that someone was waiting for him when he got home.

He sure was going to enjoy finding out.

-o-O-o-

Over the next week, winter tightened its grip on Silver Peak. Brianna found herself enjoying snow more than she ever had before. Oh, she’d fallen all right and there wasn’t even a single protest from her conscience to repent. She found herself ridiculously happy as she cooked supper every night, because she was feeding more than herself.

Checking the light outside, she shivered as she relatched the window. Sloan would be home soon. Reaching for her cornmeal, she placed some in a bowl and added lard and salt to begin fixing up some bread. Men ate a whole lot more than women did. Cooking for her father had sure taught her that.

A frown covered her face as her fingers froze on the fork. Her heart didn’t want to let him go yet, but the facts were mounting against Gregory Spencer turning up alive. It seemed almost a sacrilege to be so happy when her father was likely dead on some patch of Arizona ground without even a decent burial. Shaking her melancholy thoughts aside, she finished the corn bread and placed it on the back of the stove to bake, making sure the lid of her large pot was in place to keep the heat inside the thick cast iron.

Three quick raps hit the front door, making her smile. It was a silly sort of expression that she giggled over as she went and tapped a single time in response. Two more raps shook the wood before she pulled the thick bar up to allow her husband inside. He blew in with a scattering of snow, the white flecks peppering the floor as he shrugged out of his duster.

She wiggled against the kiss he pressed on her, pushing him away. “Your nose is cold!”

Sloan growled at her and captured her with one arm around her waist. He pulled her against his body, hugging her from behind. “So warm me up, honey.”

His voice was dark with promise and it made her shiver. Anticipation bubbled up inside her as his hand smoothed down her belly to her hips. Turning her head, she pressed a slow kiss to his mouth, lingering over the touch of their lips as she enjoyed the rise of passion. His fingers flexed over each of her hips as she felt the hardening of his cock against her back.

“After supper.”

A low grunt was her husband’s reply. Brianna laughed at his disgruntlement before pulling at his hands to escape. “I’m tired of chipping off burnt food from my cooking pots, husband.”

He huffed, but let her go. She caught the sound of his belly rumbling as the scent of their supper captured his attention. But he didn’t sit down at the table for her to serve him a plate. Instead he clasped one of her wrists with his large hand and pulled her back into his embrace. This time she faced him and watched his eyes flicker with doubt. An emotion she wasn’t accustomed to seeing on him. It snaked down into her heart, because somehow she knew that if he didn’t care about her, she wouldn’t see such a thing. Maybe she might never hear the words, but some things you knew without hearing.

Even if she did long for the words. A little sigh escaped her. Maybe it was just a woman’s need, hearing that she was loved. Some kind of tender emotional desire that men didn’t think about. The back of his hand stroked across her face as he considered her for a long moment.

“I have something for you.” His eyes filled with indecision. “I was going to wait until Christmas, but I need to know.”

The holiday was still over a month away and Brianna didn’t much like the idea of waiting either. The last year of struggling to pay the land mortgage hadn’t left any time for presents or even comforts. She couldn’t even recall the last time she’d tasted a piece of sugar candy.

His fingers reached into his vest pocket. Whatever he withdrew, it was small, barely fitting on the tip of his smallest finger. The light from the lamp reflected off it as she looked closer. The slim gold band was polished to a high shine.

A little “oh” got caught on her lips. The few bits of jewelry her mother had owned had been sold to finance their move west. Getting married had never included a wedding ring, because laying down money for a decoration wasn’t necessary. Coal stockpiled for winter was far more important.

Practicality. It was harder to chew on some days than others. Staring at the shiny circle of gold, Brianna choked on the dry facts of everyday living.

“You shouldn’t have spent money on a ring.” Disappointment laced her voice in spite of her best effort to stand firm in the face of her wants. She was mesmerized by the little bit of gold, her finger itching to try it on. But that was a childish, selfish emotion. Their money should be used for the important things they needed, not a silly woman’s desire.

“I wanted to buy it for you.”

There was hard purpose in his voice. He raised the gold band up in front of her face. “A wedding in front of a reverend is more legal than anything else. I’m asking you to wear my ring because I love you.”

Her eyes welled up with tears that promptly tumbled right down her cheeks. Brianna didn’t care one bit about the excessive emotion, because those three little words were bouncing around inside her head, drowning out every other detail in the world. The coal and the land mortgage and winter supplies were all just things. Love was eternal. She lifted her left hand and laughed at the tremor shaking it. Touching her ring finger to the tip of his pinky, she smiled through her tears at him.

“I thought you’d never get around to letting me love you.”

His lips broke the stern mask he’d hidden his feelings behind. She watched them curl up as he pushed the little band down her finger. She held her breath as the warm metal slid smoothly into place. He closed his hand around hers as she caught the faint sparkle of unshed tears in his eyes. “If you ever stop loving me, take it off.”

“I couldn’t talk myself out of loving you on the second day we met, so don’t count on it ever leaving my hand, Sloan McAlister.”

“I’ll be happy to take that bet, Brianna McAlister.” He leaned towards her mouth, pressing a hard kiss to her lips as she forgot about the supper burning on her stove. The little golden band stayed firmly on her finger as her husband took her to bed and whispered his polished words of love against her bare body. Her fantasies paled in comparison as her heart absorbed the reality of hearing the word “love” in their bed. Now that was what little girls should dream about!

They dined on corn bread—burnt on the bottom…again.

The snow had melted into a puddle on her floor and Brianna was too happy to care. Sloan’s gaze followed her around the cabin as she set his overcooked supper in front of him and nibbled on the top of her share.

A horse nicker drifted in from the closed door, shattering the moment of intimacy. Sloan surged out of his seat in a tightly control motion. The rifle was already in his hand before he pushed her against the wall.

“Stay behind me.”

There wasn’t a hint of leniency in his voice. It was full of pure command as he stepped in front of her to open the door. Snow was falling in a gentle white shower, Sloan’s tracks already covered in fresh powder. A single rider approached and Sloan’s rifle lowered to aim its barrel right at him. The hands on the reins pulled the animal to a halt before the rider pushed the brim of his hat up to stare at them.

When she stuck her head through the doorway to peer into the dim light cast out from her lamp, her breath caught in her throat.

“No, don’t shoot him.” Her heart accelerated so fast, she had to gasp to keep enough air in her lungs. Sloan never took his eyes off the man sitting in the road. The muzzle of his rifle directly on his heart.

“That’s my daddy.”