Lenox Ranch Cowboys: Complete Boxed Set - Books 1 - 5

Chapter 7

7

ROSE

The mental picture he painted was dark and tawdry and very, very appealing.

"There's something wrong with me," I said, wriggling my hips.

He paused in his ministrations, but did not move his finger. "Are you unwell?" A little frown marred his brow.

"I shouldn't like this."

That dang dimple reappeared along with his brilliant smile. He lowered his head then and got to work, as if playing with my p***y and my...ass was his reason for being. "So I shouldn’t stop?”

I shook my head again.

“Good. As for liking it? Oh, yes you should. I love that you're so wild, that you like when I play. Put your head back, kitten. Close your eyes. Let me take care of you. I love to take care of you."

"But—"

"Shh," he soothed. "You have all the say, remember?”

He would stop if I told him to. I knew that about him. He was pushing me past anything I’d ever imagined, but that didn’t mean it didn’t feel good. We were in the privacy of his bedroom. Alone. Safe. I could share with him my darkest secrets, secrets I hadn’t even known I’d had.

“Don't you want to come?" he asked.

Yes. Yes, I did. I bit my lip, then nodded.

"Good girl." Using his other hand, he circled a finger around the opening to my p***y. The combination was remarkably intense. "Then do as I say, close your eyes and I'll make you scream."

Realizing I couldn't fight him or what he was doing to me any longer, I let my head fall back on the pillow and let my eyes slip closed. It was true; I could do nothing but savor his attentions. I didn’t want to do anything else. I panted when he started pushing his finger into my back entrance, but it didn't hurt. His other finger provided ample distraction. I had no idea how long he played, but when his fingertip breached that tight ring of muscle, he used his other hand to work that spot inside my p***y and I groaned, a mixture of surprise and pleasure.

Chance was no novice, but an expert at working my body. I came instantaneously, my muscles clenching down on both of his fingers as the hot, scalding pleasure washed over me. I did just as he said. I screamed.

After a simple breakfast, we rode home. Well, to the Lenox ranch which was home up until the day before. I'd grudgingly agreed with Chance that I share the news of our wedding with my family. It wasn't the news that had me dragging my feet while I'd dressed, but the fact that I would be returning as a failure. It hadn't even been a day, and here I was, riding up to the kitchen door rather than a ranch of my own. I'd failed at my dream.

Chance dismounted his horse first before helping me down as everyone came spilling out from the kitchen to meet us. As I went up the porch steps, Chance tied off the leads to the rail. I glanced at all of the familiar faces and I offered a weak smile.

Miss Trudy stood with hands clasped together, quiet and calm as ever. Miss Esther had a frown on her face and her hands on her hips as if she’d known I'd cause them all grief. Dahlia, Marigold and Iris watched and whispered to each other.

Chance's warm hand on my elbow surprised me. He'd removed his hat.

"Something you want to tell us?" Miss Esther asked, looking down at my attire. I had on the skirt I'd worn the day before, but Chance had ripped the buttons clean off my blouse in his haste to bare my body, so I wore one of his shirts, the bottom tails tied together about my waist. It was so big that I had to roll the sleeves up.

What she couldn't tell was that I wore no drawers. Chance had told me they'd been lost out on the prairie. Those words I doubted to be true, but that didn't make them appear. So I was naked beneath my skirt. Not only that, but Chance had helped me take a bath a short while earlier, and then actually shaved me as he'd promised. He's spread me out on the bed once again, my knees bent and heels spread wide as he set about the task with a very high level of diligence. It had been slightly embarrassing, but the look in his eyes as he’d done it made me feel feminine, wanted and surprisingly powerful. It helped that Chance had done the shaving while he was naked. It allowed me the chance to see the effect I had on him as well, his c**k long and hard, a vein pulsing along the length. He had no modesty and when he was done, he hadn't hesitated to fill me up. He'd said he was insatiable, that seeing my p***y all bare with just a hint of curls at the top of my mound had him needing me again. Yes, I’d felt powerful.

I blushed just thinking about it and most assuredly both women, Miss Trudy and Miss Esther, could read my mind, or at least have an idea of my thoughts.

Of the two sisters, Miss Esther was the one who vented her spleen with regularity. She shared her opinion on everything from the saltiness of the soup to the way the owner of the mercantile overcharged for flour. She knew who was courting whom, and could tell a woman if she were pregnant before that woman knew herself. She was the practical sister while Miss Trudy was the calm one. Growing up, they balanced each other well when dealing with eight little girls, like equal weights on a scale. And when she told you to do something, you upped and did it.

I glanced at Chance. Why did he look different today than just yesterday? He still had the unruly hair, the same clear eyes, that ruthless dimple, that wry mouth. I flushed as I considered the answer. He'd done things with that mouth that would make Miss Esther faint dead away, yet he stood beside me, silent and resolute. I wasn't alone.

"We married," I said, my chin lifted.

Dahlia, Marigold and Iris squealed and shouted, running inside most likely to spread the news to the others, while Miss Esther pursed her lips. "Took you long enough, young man." She wiped her hands on her apron with a nod of her head and went inside.

Miss Trudy was left alone on the porch, although chatter escaped through the open door.

"I see you found her," Miss Trudy said to Chance.

He gave her a nod. "Yes, ma'am."

"You sent him to find me?" I asked her.

"I didn't have to."

I looked between the two of them. "I don't understand."

"I knew from our conversation yesterday you were going to do something rash," Chance replied. "Besides, I had to make sure you were safe before I headed off to Parsons to pick up those head of cattle."

I felt riled at the use of the word “rash.” My activities of the night before had been rash, but they were my rash actions, no one else's. Besides, I'd say the wedding itself had been somewhat rash.

"I'll go visit with Big Ed for a spell." Chance gave my arm a quick squeeze as he leaned down and gently kissed my brow, then turned and headed in the direction of the stable. Fled would also have been a more apt word. No man wanted to step foot in a house filled with ten women, especially the morning after marrying one of them surreptitiously.

"Coward," I called out.

He turned and grinned. "Self preservation," he called. He gave me a little salute with his fingers and turned back around.

"Come inside and have some coffee."

I climbed the steps to the porch and Miss Trudy wrapped her arm about my waist as we entered the kitchen together. Once inside, I took a deep breath in fortification.

"You're married?"

"Chance Goodman is so handsome!"

"How could you not tell us, Rose?"

"I bet you wore those infernal pants to your own wedding."

"What did he do, return you?"

All of my sisters spoke at once and there was no chance to get a word in. They continued their eager questions until they realized I hadn't answered any of them.

"Yes, I married him." I pulled out a chair and sat down, my sisters following suit and sitting down in their usual places around the kitchen table. I'd expected comments about my departure or the reason for leaving, not about being married. These questions were remarkably easier to tolerate.

"Is it like they say?" Poppy asked, her voice hushed.

"Yes, does Chance make you happy...in the bedroom?" Dahlia added.

I could feel my cheeks heat and when I glanced at Miss Trudy, she didn't offer me any aid, only gave a woman's smile. She stood by the stove and poured a cup of coffee, just following the conversation from the edges. I had joined the married women's club and I now knew why the maidens remained without a clue. I had absolutely no interest in sharing any details about what Chance and I had done or what he told me he planned to do soon. How could I?

I’d not known the things we’d done were even possible, and still couldn't be sure that other couples did them. Did other husbands take their wives from behind just like rutting animals? Should I have liked it so much? Did other husbands shave their wives...down there? Did other husbands put their mouths on them? My entire body warmed at the thought. I knew if I couldn't think about it without blushing, I most certainly couldn't talk about it. Besides, most of the things we did hadn't been done in the bedroom.

"Chance is...is—"

Seven eager faces stared at me, reminding me of when we were little and Miss Trudy read us stories.

"What?" Dahlia asked. "Handsome? Smart? Funny? Nice?"

"Well, yes, but you knew all that. He's lived nearby forever."

"So why did he marry you? Hyacinth's older," Lily remarked.

Hyacinth lowered her gaze and a bright red flush crept up her cheeks. "I am not interested in Mr. Goodman, Lily, and he knows it. I think Rose is his perfect match."

Bless Hyacinth, for she was always the calm voice of reason. I hoped she found a man of her own, for she was deserving of his love.

"I'm not so sure about that, for the wedding was a surprise," I said.

"You didn't know?" Marigold asked, eyes wide. "How romantic!"

"Tell us how he found you," Miss Esther asked. She was folding clothes from a basket placed at the end of the table.

"I was in Clayton and he talked me into it." I was not going to mention my predicament with the other man or the events on the second floor of the saloon.

"That's it?" Daisy wondered. "Did he ask you?"

"Did I ask her what?" Chance came through the door and all heads turned to him.

"Did you ask Rose to marry you?" Daisy repeated.

Chance glanced at me. "Of course, I did. Miss Trudy, Big Ed wanted me to tell you the wheel on the wagon's fixed and that he received a letter from his son and he'll be joining him soon. The letter was fairly long in coming, so he could arrive anytime."

"Jackson, yes. I've hired him to help out around here."

"You weren't going to tell me about him?" I felt as if she'd punched me in the stomach, the very idea she'd planned to give my job to someone else painful.

She gave a soft shake of her head. "It was only a matter of time, Rose, before you left. Besides, Big Ed isn't getting any younger. I'm sure having his son with him will make the man happy."

"Maybe he's handsome," Dahlia cooed, shifting from the claimed Chance to the possibilities this stranger possessed.

I could only roll my eyes at her singular focus.

"I doubt you've had a chance to gather your things," Chance added, placing his hands on my shoulders.

I shook my head and looked up at him. I was glad he'd come inside, for the questions would have gone on forever. I stood.

"Just collect some clothes, for now. You can get your other things another time." He leaned down and whispered directly into my ear so only I could hear. "Pack a corset, kitten, or you'll go bare." His breath fanned over my ear and I shivered.

"You seem to be in a rush. Are you going somewhere?" Lily asked, completely unaware of what just passed between us. I had an inkling why he seemed to be in a rush. Lily, on the other hand, did not.

Chance looked at Lily and grinned. "Do all newlyweds get all these questions or is it just from you, brat?"

Lily grinned and flushed, pleased with the attention Chance was giving her. "Just from me."

"You're my sister now, so you keep the boys away. Or else." Lily was the youngest, although only a few months younger than me. She was also quite lovely and I had no doubt suitors would be flocking to her like bees to honey soon enough. Chance had good reason to be protective.

"You didn't answer her question," Dahlia said.

Chance came around the table and wrapped his arm around my waist. "I know," he told Dahlia.