“Yes? No?”
“Yes,” she choked out. The heat intensified.
“You’re very wet,” he whispered. “Another sign of a scandalous wife.”
He kissed her, seeking her tongue while his fingers continued their play. Her legs parted wider of their own accord and he deepened the kiss, searing her, sliding his tongue over the fullness of her bottom lip. Her gasps of pleasure rose in the silence. He played, plied, and touched until she found herself on her back, twisting and moaning in shameless uninhibited delight. “I’m going to shatter.”
“Are you sure?”
She whimpered.
“Then let’s make it memorable.” While his fingers continued to drive her mad, his thumb began dallying with the throbbing little kernel at the center of her thighs and her hips rose for more. Granting her unspoken wish, he leaned down, flicked his tongue against it, sucked it in possessively, and she shattered, screaming his name.
After coming back to earth, Regan opened her passion-lidded eyes to see him smiling down. He slid a finger over her still damp nipple. “Memorable?”
She struggled up. “Very.” Wanting to give him a taste of his own medicine, she wrapped her hand around the hardness protruding from within his trousers and implemented some plying of her own. He hissed, closed his eyes, and she savored the reaction. She boldly undid the placket and once he was bared to her touch, she savored his warmth and hardness as well.
Colt knew he was close to losing control, and that a few more passes of her small wicked hand would send him over the edge, so he backed away, his eyes glittering with desire, and removed his clothing. Nude, he joined her on the bed and pulled her into his arms. She was such a sensual delight, it came to him that he could have relations with her every day for the rest of his life and he’d still want more of her kisses, her scented skin, the feel of her nipples in his mouth, and the damp heat between her parted thighs. Unable to exist a second longer without having her, he eased himself into her flesh. She was so tight, he almost broke there and then. He lifted her hips to increase their pleasure. Ignoring the pain in his shoulder he began to move. Yesterday he’d been appalled to learn she wasn’t a virgin. Now, as she met him measure for measure, he was glad she wasn’t. Her inner muscles tightened deliciously, and he knew he’d died and gone to heaven.
“Come for me, Colton Lee,” she whispered seductively, running her hands down his damp back and over the rise of his slowly pumping hips. “Show me how scandalous you really are.”
The wanton invitation sent him over the edge. The power and speed of his strokes increased until he exploded with a roar. Moments later, she cried out her own completion and together they rode out the storm until collapsing onto the tangled sheets.
For the rest of the night, they consummated their marriage in ways that left them both breathless and dazed. Finally sated, they stripped the bed of the sodden sheets, he pulled her into his side, dragged the quilt up for cover, and they slept.
The following morning, Regan awakened slowly. Her disorientation from being in a strange room soon fled as she remembered, but then realized she was in the bed alone. Sitting up, she listened intently for sounds of his presence. Hearing only silence, she wrapped the quilt around her nudity and went to seek him out. She hadn’t been given a tour of the house, so she didn’t know who slept where. After placing her ear against the closed doors she took to be bedrooms, searching the small kitchen, and peeking through the windows of the parlor and dining room to see if he might be outdoors, she realized she was alone. Disappointed, she padded back to the bedroom hoping he’d left her a note or some other clue that might indicate his whereabouts, but found nothing. Had he ridden off to a medical emergency? Had last night been nothing more than a legality and they were now back to business as usual? Refusing to believe the latter, she chose the former and decided to wash up and dress.
The kitchen presented a problem. The stove was ancient and outdated in comparison to what she and her family cooked on at home. It would probably take it an hour or more to heat up enough to fry eggs and bacon—if she knew where the food was kept. After a short search, she discovered an equally old cold box outside on the back porch. Inside was a plate of sliced beef, so she took some along with some bread she found, made a sandwich, and called it breakfast. Sandwich in hand, she surveyed the parlor and dining room with its tons of furniture and wondered how much say she’d be given in putting her own stamp on the rooms. She glanced up at Adele’s portrait and asked, “Was this your furniture or did you inherit all these stuffy old pieces?”
None of it looked modern and as she’d noted before, the furniture hadn’t been polished in quite some time. Polishing it would give her something to do, but again, she didn’t know if there was polish or rags in the house or where they might be kept. She also didn’t wish to incur Ben’s wrath if it turned out to be something he didn’t approve of. Regan liked being busy. Sitting in the house alone with nothing to do would drive her batty. She contemplated riding the borrowed mare over to Spring’s place to spend the time with her and Anna, but she didn’t know the way there well enough yet, and she didn’t want to chance getting lost. With any luck, her husband would return shortly or Spring would ride over with Anna. She wasn’t anxious for Grizzly Ben’s return though. Being stuck in the house with him wasn’t something she longed for, so to pass the time, she returned to the bedroom to unpack her trunks.
An hour later, she had nearly everything opened but no place to put or hang the bulk of her items. The small wardrobe held fewer than half her gowns and shoes, and again, she wished she hadn’t brought so much. There were day dresses and denims on the bed, face paints, hairbrushes, and combs piled atop the vanity. Hat boxes were stacked beside the wardrobe and the trunk holding winter garments like her coats and heavy sweaters hadn’t even been opened. Wondering how she was going to make it all fit, she was standing with her hands on her hips surveying the chaos when she heard footsteps and Anna’s voice call out, “Papa?”
Grateful for the company, Regan left the room to greet her.
Upon seeing Regan, Anna asked, “Is Papa here?”
Not wanting them to know how disappointed she felt upon finding him gone, she replied lightly, “No, honey. I believe he’s at his office in town.”
As if aware of Regan’s feelings, Spring looked concerned. “No problems being here alone?” she asked.
“No. Spent the time unpacking my trunks. I may have to move the bed into the hallway though to make it all fit.”
Anna and Spring followed her to the room and Anna looked around in awe. “You have a lot of things, Miss Regan.”
“I know. Any idea on where I’m to put everything?”
“No, ma’am,” she said still eyeing Regan’s possessions. “Maybe Papa and Granpa Ben will let you move into Grandma Isabelle’s room.”
Regan looked to Spring for an explanation. “It was my mother’s room, but has been closed up since her death.”
“Adele didn’t use it?”
Spring shook her head, giving Regan the impression that there was a story tied to Adele’s decision, but she didn’t ask in case it was something Anna shouldn’t hear. “Is it larger than this one?”
“Much,” Spring said. “My mother loved her comforts. You might want to ask Colton about it when he returns.”
“Okay. In the meantime, I’ll just muddle through.” She turned to Anna. “Which room is yours, Anna? May I see it?”