How Miss West Was Won (9 page)

Once Eli took it, he could see it was another sort of legal document. His name was at the bottom, but it was not his signature.

“I didn’t sign this,” he said. He glanced over to Stuart. “Run and get Nathan. Tell him I need him here right now.”

Stuart bolted out the door, and Eli turned to the woman who claimed to be his wife. Behind him, the woman he had hired to play the part of his wife was rigid. He looked at her. Cordelia’s face was ashen, her eyes wide with surprise.

“This isn’t true,” he said. “I swear to you, I didn’t sign any papers that agreed to a proxy marriage.”

“I believe you,” she said.

“It does not matter what you believe,” Constance said. “The fact of the matter is you are sleeping with my husband. I could have you arrested on adultery charges, I believe.”

“Now hold on right there,” Jacob said. “This is unlike any situation I’ve ever faced before, but we’re going to have to find out the law on it before we go slinging words like arrest and adultery around.”

Eli turned his back on Constance and Jacob. “I am so sorry you are going through this,” he said to Cordelia. “It will be straightened out somehow.”

“I know,” she replied. He was amazed to see that she was back to being the strong-willed woman that had taken over the scene in the store the other day. Gone was the woman who was mad about being spanked. Her eyes flashed with a hint of anger, but she was looking behind him, and he knew the anger was not directed at him.

He wanted to kiss her again, feel her soft body against his as he hugged her. Her eyes flashed one more time and Cordelia stepped around him.

“Marshal, might you have a piece of paper, a quill and some ink?”

“I do,” he replied. He produced the items without being told.

Cordelia turned to Eli. “Write your name, please.”

Eli took the pen and signed his usual signature. Cordelia took what he’d just done and compared it to the paper Constance had produced.

“They don’t match,” she said as she handed the papers to Jacob.

The marshal looked them over. “You’re right, Mrs. Bannister, they don’t.”

Constance sniffled. “He could have written his name a different way to produce that affect. Eli, why are you doing this to me? Your letters were full of such love.”

“Letters?” Eli said, shocked.

The door banged open and Stuart and Nathan came in. Both men were breathing heavily.

“Why is this not taking place in my office?” Nathan demanded.

“Because Constance threatened to have Cordelia arrested,” Eli told him.

The room grew silent for a moment before Nathan spoke again. “We need to move it to my office where we can talk and I can examine the evidence. This office is too public. Anyone can come in here and listen to what is happening.”

“The lawyer has a point,” Jacob said. “Let’s all go there.”

“Marshal, your services are not needed for this,” Nathan said.

“Like hell,” the marshal replied. “There’s already been a little violence where these two women are concerned. There is no way I am not going to be there to make sure everyone minds their manners.”

Nathan started to object again, but Eli held up his hand. “I don’t mind him being there, Nathan. Let’s just go and get this over with.”

Constance sniffled, and Eli wanted to yell. His supposedly real wife was about to cry, and his fake wife was standing rigid next to him.

Could this day get any worse?

* * *

“Are you out of your mind?” Eli practically flew out of the chair in the library in his home. The meeting had been hell to sit through. Nathan had produced papers that Eli had signed long ago that showed the signature on the proxy paper was not his own.

Constance had started to cry, her tears flowing so hard and fast that Nathan had put his arm around her to comfort her. Cordelia had stared at the whole scene in disgust, and Eli had just prayed some miracle would happen and it would all be over.

But now, sitting in his library with Nathan standing in front of him, Eli knew things would not be over for a long time.

“I think you should ask Constance to come and stay at the house, until we get things settled,” Nathan said. “Then, when the time comes, you can send her back to England with a little money in her pocket.”

“There is no way that is happening,” Eli said. “That is about the dumbest idea you’ve ever had.”

“Really?” Nathan started to pace. “The longer she stays in town, the more likely it is she will start to spread ugly rumors and ruin your reputation, Eli.”

Laughter bubbled out of his mouth. “Ruin my reputation? And what would having both my ‘wives’ here do for things?”

His friend and lawyer opened his mouth to respond, and then closed it again. He shook his head. “Hell, Eli, this is a huge mess.”

“No kidding.” Eli sat back down. He wasn’t sure what to do now, but he knew it was late, and Nathan had to get back to town. “We’ll discuss it later. In the meantime, we have the party to host, and the ranch to run.”

“Cancel the party,” Nathan said.

“There is no way that is happening, either,” Eli said. “I won’t look like I’m running from things. It makes it seem as if I’ve done something wrong, and I haven’t!” He pushed up from the chair again, running his fingers through his hair.

“We’re getting nothing done tonight,” Nathan said calmly. “I’m going back to town. I will see you sometime tomorrow.”

“Maybe,” Eli replied. “I’m not sure I’m coming in or not. We have a great deal to do out here. Just look up laws, Nathan, and find a way out of this for me.”

Once Nathan was gone, Eli shut the door and locked it. He trudged up the stairs like he was walking up to a hangman’s noose. He felt as if the world was crashing down around him, and there was nothing he could do about it.

He went to his room and once he was inside, he washed his face and opened the buttons on his shirt.

There was a soft tap on the door that connected his room with Cordelia’s. “Come in,” he said as he pulled his shirt loose from his trousers.

Cordelia appeared in the doorway. Her hair was plaited down her back, and she wore a nightdress that looked to be made of some very soft material. Eli’s cock hardened.

“What can I do for you?” she asked, her voice gentle. It was so different from the episode they’d had yesterday.

“Nothing,” he said, even as he thought, ‘You can let me make love to you.’

She closed the door behind her as she stepped into the room. “Tomorrow I can go and help Nathan search his law books. One of us might be able to find a law that pertains to this situation.”

“The situation?” Eli chuckled. He sat down on his bed. “You mean my fake wife will try to find a way for me to get rid of my real wife? It’s quite a pickle, isn’t it, Cordelia?”

“Yes,” she said. She crossed the room to him. “I’m so sorry. I wish there was something I could do to make it better.”

She stood right in front of him now. Eli opened his legs just a little. “How about a hug?” he suggested.

She considered it for a moment, and then she stepped between his legs, putting her hands on his shoulder.

Eli wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She was so soft, so inviting. His cock, already hard, throbbed painfully. Using his hand was no longer getting him the satisfaction he wanted. He knew the only way he was going to get any real release was to plant himself inside Cordelia, and that wasn’t going to happen.

He pulled her closer and she stroked his hair. Instinctively, Eli closed his eyes and put his head on her breasts. They were large and so welcoming. He opened his eyes and saw a hard nipple pressing against the nightgown she wore.

Eli’s mouth watered, his need deepening. Without thinking, he leaned over and kissed her nipple.

“Eli,” she whispered. “I should—”

“Should what?” he asked as he lifted his gaze to hers. She was looking down at him, her eyes full of need and desire.

“I should go,” she finished the sentence.

“Do you want to go?” He kissed her nipple again. Her sharp intake of breath told him that she wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her. The sharp turnaround shocked him, but he wasn’t going to push things and ask why she was welcoming his advances.

“If you want to go, do it now,” he said after he’d pulled back. “I want you, Cordelia. I need you. So if you are not planning on letting me inside you tonight, then go back to your room and let me do what needs to be done.”

She took a step away from him, and at first, Eli thought she would leave. But then she started to unbutton her nightgown. She worked slowly and Eli wanted to shout at her to hurry.

When the top part was undone, she moved back between his legs. Eli pushed the material away to reveal her breasts. They were large and so beautiful. He cupped one of them, his gaze on hers as she looked down on him.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

That one word was all he needed. Eli leaned over and captured her nipple in his mouth. It was hard, and it hardened more as he sucked. It was like the sweet nectar of the gods, sinfully pleasurable to him, and just what he needed right now.

Eli moved his mouth to her other nipple, sucking it deeply into his mouth. Cordelia’s soft cries of pleasure were incredible to him. She stroked his hair as he moved his mouth back to the other nipple.

The one certainty of the day, he knew, was that Cordelia West, aka Mrs. Eli Bannister, was about to lose her virginity.

Cordelia knew she should push him away, but somehow she could not. Eli’s mouth on her hard nipples was the most wonderful thing she had ever felt. It felt even better than the times William had done it.

When she had been in her room yesterday morning, with her bags packed, she had never thought this would happen. But Cordelia knew the moment the tide had changed in Eli’s favor. It had been today when they were in Nathan’s office, and Eli was looking over the paperwork that Constance insisted meant she and Eli were married.

The look of utter despair on his face had made Cordelia want to wrap her arms around him, hold him close to her and tell him things would work in their favor.

He had been silent on the way home, and had skipped dinner, something he never did. Afterwards, Cordelia had looked for him in the library for their usual night’s events, but he had not been there. Eventually, she had found Stuart, who told her that Eli had gone out for a ride. When she finally heard him come up the stairs, she had already been dressed for bed.

There had been a war in her mind about what to do next; she could leave things until morning, or she could go into his room and try to offer some comfort. Cordelia had selected the latter, and that was why she was standing with Eli, his warm mouth settled over her nipple.

The material that covered her hard buds was now soaking wet as Eli moved his mouth from one to the other.

“Take it off,” he whispered gruffly.

“Eli, I…”

“Take it off,” he repeated, the desire in his voice making her needs skyrocket. The spot between her legs tingled with anticipation, and Cordelia knew if she took off her nightgown, she would not leave this room a virgin. She closed her eyes and remembered how angry she had been with him just yesterday morning after he had spanked her so unceremoniously.

She waited for the anger to take root, so that she could push him away and tell him there was no way she was going to give him her body. She was just there to offer solace after this afternoon’s events.

She waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Still, the only thing she felt was desire, and the need to be with him.

“Take it off,” he said again, his voice deeper and more commanding.

“Eli, I do not think—” Her words turned to gasps as Eli grasped the neckline of her gown in two hands and ripped it right down the middle.

“No!” She stepped away from him as she tried to hold the material together. The material was still joined around her navel. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it would explode.

Cordelia could not understand why she was standing there staring at him, instead of running back into her room and trying to barricade the door.

“Cordelia, I need you. I want to be inside you, to feel your warmth around me. Please.”

He sounded so sincere that Cordelia did what she never thought she would do. She let go of the gown, and pushed the straps off her shoulders. It fell to the floor in a heap around her ankles. Eli’s sharp intake of breath made the juices inside her flow even heavier.

Eli licked his lips as his gaze raked over her body. She kept her own gaze locked on him. “Just so we’re clear,” he said. “I’m going to take you tonight. You understand that, don’t you?”

Cordelia nodded. Eli put his hands on her hips and drew her nearer to him. His mouth once again found her nipples and started that sweet dance he had been doing earlier. This time, though, the sensations were intensified, and made Cordelia feel as if the room were spinning. She weaved her fingers into his hair and held him close to her.

“Eli,” she whispered. “This makes no sense. Yesterday I did not even like you.”

He nibbled on her hard bud before he released it. “You liked me, you just didn’t like the spanking.”

“True.” Cordelia closed her eyes and savored the feel of his hands sliding up and down her sides. It made her giggle, and when one hand dipped between her legs, she cried out in pure lust.

Eli pushed with his hand just a little, and she took a step backward. He stood and she watched while he quickly shed his clothes. It was not the first time she had seen a man in full arousal, but it was the first time she had wanted to wrap her hands around his hard length and stroke him.

When she came to him and did just that, Eli emitted a growl of desire so heavy she thought her needs would crumble.

“Are you sure you’re a virgin, Cordelia?” he asked as she continued to move her hand up and down his shaft.

“I am sure, Eli.” But right now she did not feel like it. She wanted to take her place on the bed, watch as he climbed above her and welcome him inside her most intimate of places. “But I am not sure why I am doing this. It goes against everything I said would happen while I was here.”

“Define here,” he said, staring at her. “You mean here at the Four Fours, or here, in my bedroom?”

“At the Four Fours,” she confirmed. “I am not sure what I was thinking when I came in here tonight, except that you needed comfort.”

A look she could not quite identify passed over his face, but it was quickly gone. He moved to the bed and grasped the bedcovers. With a quick flourish, he ripped them toward the end of the bed and let them settle there.

“Come and lie with me, Cordelia.” His voice was once again deep with need. “I want to show you the true pleasures of what can happen between a man and a woman.”

Cordelia knew she should say no. When she was with William, she had feelings for him, deep feelings. And while she liked Eli, except for the times he had spanked her, she did not love him. What was about to happen should only happen because of love. When she went back to New York, she would be changed. Did she want that to happen?

“Cordelia?” Eli held out his hand and Cordelia placed hers in his palm. He squeezed it, and his next words made her shiver. “I’ll be gentle.”

“What about the—” She did not want to say the words out loud, to remind him they had already put blood on the sheets to fool Mrs. Dunlap into thinking they had been intimate.

“You let me worry about that,” he said. “Come here.”

Cordelia took a step toward him, and when he tugged gently, she tumbled onto the bed. He lay down next to her, his mouth finding hers in an instant. The kiss was deep, and oh so sweet. She opened her mouth to take him inside, feel the intimacy of joining their bodies together.

One of his hands was on her shoulder, gently caressing while the other one had moved to her chest, finding her breast and squeezing it.

“Eli,” she whispered against his lips. She had forgotten how wonderful a man’s hands and lips felt on her body. She shivered under his touch as his lips moved from her mouth, down her neck and back to her breasts.

He moved slowly, licking and nibbling at her sensitive skin until Cordelia cried out with pleasure. When his lips moved to her stomach, Cordelia felt her body tighten. She put her hands on his shoulder and whispered, “No.”

“What?” He moved above her, looking down at her with hooded eyes.

“That is no place for your mouth,” she said.

“I beg to differ.” He kissed her breast. “I want to kiss you everywhere.”

He started again, moving his lips down her body toward her naval. “Eli,” she whispered as she tried to twist away from him. “Please, do not do that.”

“Why not?” He sounded genuinely confused.

“Lips do not go down that far,” she replied.

His chuckle made her shiver. “For now.” He kissed her bellybutton and she wiggled to get away from him. “But next time, and the time after that, you will learn that lips do go down that far… and even farther.”

His declaration of the “next times” made Cordelia grasp the seriousness of what was happening. If she allowed Eli to take her maidenhead, he would expect her to come to his bed again, and again. Being with him in this manner would make leaving him harder. Did she have what it would take to leave him behind?

Yes, she decided, since there was no love mixed into the situation. She would be able to go back to New York and pick up her life where it had ended when she left.

Eli was stroking her hip again. He was propped up on one elbow, staring down at her. “You’re a million miles away,” he said. “I want you here, in this room when I take you. Concentrate on me, Cordelia. If you are having seconds thoughts, tell me now.”

Honesty was the best policy. “I am nervous, yes, but that does not mean I do not want to be with you.”

“Shall I continue?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation. She spread her legs and stared up at him. “Come inside me, Eli. Take me.”

He moved so fast that Cordelia was worried he would take her before she was totally prepared. She was wet, true, but still a little jittery.

But when he was above her he kissed her, over and over as his hands stroked her body. When his length was positioned at her opening, Cordelia stared up at him. He looked down at her, his gaze tender and inquiring. Cordelia nodded and he pushed inside.

At first there was no pain, only the feeling of utter fullness as he pressed into her soft folds. But then he stopped, licked his lips and she felt him push harder. Sharp, stabbing pain shot through her and Cordelia cried out.

“Shush, I am sorry,” he whispered in her ear. But he did not stop pushing, and the pain continued to throb through her as he slid his entire length into her folds.

“Hurts,” she whispered against his shoulder.

“I know, Cordelia,” he said. “I am sorry. The pain will be over soon, I promise. Just stay still for a few moments.”

She did as he said. Cordelia kept her face buried in Eli’s shoulder. The fullness of having him inside her was not what she had expected, but the pain that had turned to a throb was soon only a slight discomfort.

When she moaned softly, Eli started to move, sliding in and out of her wetness. At first she did not care for the sensations this movement produced, but then the irritation turned to something she could not quite identify, not total pleasure, but a strange enjoyment that spread to her legs and her belly.

Eli started to move faster. His breathing was heavy and he was panting. Cordelia tightened her legs around him, wanting to feel close to him, as she knew his climax was about to happen. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders to hold him tight; moments later his body shuddered, and she knew he had filled her with his seed.

That thought made the excitement of the event turn sour. What would happen if his seed took hold and they made a child together? Perhaps if she washed herself soon, it would prevent it. Cordelia wished she had thought about that earlier, but it was too late now. The dam had been breached, and when Eli left her body, he would leave behind part of himself. They would deal with the consequences later, if it happened.

“Do you hurt?” he whispered in her ear.

“Just a little,” she replied.

He pulled away from her, and when his length left her body, Cordelia felt a different sort of ache. She wanted him back inside her. She watched as he walked to the dresser and dipped a towel into the water in the washbasin. He used the cloth to clean himself, and then he picked up another one and dunked it in the water before he turned toward the bed.

He sat beside her and ran the cloth over her thighs. “I can do that,” she said as she reached for his hand.

“Lie back,” he commanded, his voice soft yet firm. “I spilled the blood, and I will clean it up.”

Cordelia closed her eyes and let him do as he asked. He cleaned her thighs and the intimate spot between her legs that he had just left. When he was done, he spread her lower lips and fingered the hard bud at the top of her vagina.

“No,” she said, trying to sit up.

Eli gently pushed her back down. “Yes.” He continued to stroke it, and Cordelia was no stranger to what happened when that particular part of her body was stimulated. William had taught her, and she was ashamed to say she did it while she was alone, when she missed him.

But now, Eli’s hands were caressing her, gently moving the bud from side to side, pushing down on it and then stroking the blood vessel that fed it. Before long, Cordelia’s hips were moving. She clutched the sheets as her breathing intensified.

She finally exploded when Eli took the bud between two fingers and pinched. Ribbons of pure bliss wrapped themselves around her and squeezed. It was the most incredible climax she had ever experienced, and she never wanted it to end.

“Eli!” she cried out as her hips moved up and down repeatedly as her orgasm raced through her. She felt wonderful, incredibly sleepy and beautifully content.

When she was still, Eli stroked her gently. “No more,” she whispered.

“For tonight,” he said. Then he leaned over and kissed her again. “We’ll go sleep in your room. Tomorrow, we’ll try and figure out what to do about the situation we are in.”

Cordelia sat up and watched as he took the stained cloth back to the dresser. When he crossed the room and offered her his hand, she did not hesitate. She knew what they had just done was wrong, but she did not care.

They went into her room and Eli climbed into her bed, totally naked. She took his hand and lay beside him. It was the first time in her life she had ever slept without clothing on, and it made her feel free, and just a little shameless. And she loved it.