“If you do, you won’t be able to sit on that red backside of yours.”
She gazed at him, her sapphire eyes filling with tears.
“Why can’t I go with you? We could go by and see my mother.”
Alex rubbed her back. “Honey, I know you would love to see her one more time, but it’s too dangerous. If she’s still alive, once this is settled, we’ll take you to visit her.”
A heavy sigh came from their bride. “Why can’t I stay here in the house?”
The woman was testing him today. Did she not understand they were worried about her safety?
“Because we want you safe. You are to stay with Emma until we come to get you. Do you understand?”
“Oh, all right. I’ll do what you say, but I don’t have to like it.”
“You are really testing us today,” Jesse said. “Don’t disobey.”
12
MATTIE
* * *
Mattie really liked Emma and she enjoyed her husband Ian and their infant. Watching them with the child made her ache for a baby. Someone with Alex’
s beautiful eyes and Jesse’s strong chin and dark hair.
Even now she could be expecting and she couldn’t wait until she could tell her men they were going to have a family of their own.
“So how are you doing?” Emma asked.
She smiled. When she married her men, she wasn’t certain how her life would turn out. But now she knew and the only regret she had was leaving her mother.
“This is not what I expected when I married, but I must say, I like it.”
“Good,” Emma said. “It’s different, but we have so much to be grateful for. Loving husbands and soon I’m sure those two handsome men of yours will gift you with a child.”
The very thought made her heart warm. They had only been married three days, and yet already when she glanced at her handsome strong men, her heart skipped a beat and warmth gathered in her chest. Could she be falling in love with them?
“I hope so.”
“Have they both taken you at the same time?” Emma asked.
It was a rather personal question, but Mattie wasn’t ashamed and she felt like it was natural to discuss such subjects here in this safe place.
“Not yet. I’ve been wearing a plug,” she said, thinking about the bigger one they inserted in her before they left, completely filling her. They promised her that soon they would both claim her at the same time. And she could hardly wait.
Emma shook her head. “Oh, I remember those awful things. A man is much better. You are going to love it when your men claim you together for the first time.”
Emma had been so warm and friendly and accepting of Mattie. And she loved the way she made her feel at ease.
“Thanks for reassuring me and making me feel like I belong here. My only concern is my mother. I worry she isn’t receiving the care she needs or that she might not even be alive.”
Emma nodded. “You were blessed to have your mother for as long as you did. My stepbrother sold me to a house of prostitution. Ian and Whitmore bought me before the auction.”
“Oh my,” Mattie said, gazing at her friend. “You are very lucky.”
Being sold to a house of prostitution? A shiver rippled through her.