OUT OF THE DARKNESS (THE PRESCOTT SERIES) (16 page)

“
Jade ,what do you think of, ah…?” Jason stammered.

When he spoke, Jade turned her head toward him. She
sat so close her movement brought her lips in close proximity to his. Oh Lord, he had to make her understand what she did to each of his vital organs with her nearness. They jumped and quivered each time she rubbed against him, each time she looked at him. Her green eyes incited erotic visions of endless nights of lovemaking. He didn’t know if it was desire or innocence, he saw in her green orbs.

“Maybe we could…ah…
,” he began again. He looked from her fascinating eyes, wide with curiosity, to her lips and back to her eyes.

“Never mind,
” Jason faltered.

How could he promise her one thing, then want to renegotiate the terms of their agreement: terms to suit him, terms to suit his lust. He was a man of his word, or at least he always thought he was.
Until now. Now, he wanted to hold her. Wanted to kiss each lid that covered her jade green eyes. Wanted to lie beside her in the night to keep her nightmares at bay.

Hell, he just wanted her.
Bad.

The
y were at the trail near the woods where he had found her. Jade’s face turned pale. Jason could feel the tension in her body where she touched him. He reached over and placed his hand on her fists clenched in her lap. She relaxed and turned her hand over to hold his.

“This is where we found you. Do you remember how you got here?” Jason inquired. He pulled the team to a stop and watched her.

If it were possible, she paled further. Her eyes stared into the woods. Soft, red, hair swayed as she shook her head. Jason stayed a moment longer then snapped the lines to move on.

“It’s okay. We’ll be in town before you know it,” he assured her
, never letting go of her hand.

S
ensing the tension, Emma chose that moment to wake up demanding food. Jason reached under the seat and pulled out a basket Cookie had packed for them that morning. Jade took a johnnycake for herself, gave Emma one, and passed him a couple of the cornbread pancakes. They each took a drink from the fruit jar of water.

Emma sat on Jade’s lap and
made clucking noises to the horses, imitating him. He and Jade laughed and the moment of closeness had him aching for more.

Two hours later the town of White Oak came into view. Not a large town by any means, but not a small one either. It hosted two livery stables, a bank, John and Margaret’s mercantile store, two saloons, and one brothel. Other smaller businesses lined the main street. Mrs. Allen’s
confectionary, along with the widow Appleton’s dress shop, was among a few. His sister’s mercantile lay in the middle of town.

Tyler was on the front boardwalk playing w
ith friends when he saw them. The boy ran into the store. Margaret emerged, holding Janey. John stood behind her, his arm draped across her shoulders. Jason tugged the lines, and the horses halted in front of the store. John stepped forward to take Emma from Jade while Jason helped her down.

“Why didn’t you say you would be coming to tow
n so soon,” Margaret chastised.

“My, my, Sis
, the way you act a person might think you weren’t glad to see us,” Jason teased. “And here we thought you might put us up for the night.”

“You know that’s not so. We’d love to have you,” she said
, giving Jade a hug and Jason a peck on the cheek.

“Why don’t I give you a hand with the team while Margaret gets Jade and Emma settled,” John said clasping Jason’s hand.

They led the team behind the store to the barn where John kept their own livestock and wagon. Unhitching the horses Jason put them in the corral with John’s team. John hooked the toe of his boot on the fence, placed his arms on the top rail, and waited for Jason to latch the gate.

“How’s this ‘marriage of con
venience’ going?” John remarked a quirky grin plastered on his mouth.

Jason eyed him suspicious
ly, “Fine. What makes you ask?”

Jason
had an idea John was amused at his expense. John probably thought their marriage wasn’t going too well, if he and Jade were already making a trip into town.

“Well, married less than a week, I know where I’d still be,” John laughed. “And it would
n’t be going to see my sister.”

He
stiffened at John’s comment. John put his arm around Jason’s shoulders, which took some of the sting from his words.

“Come on
, let’s get these animals settled, and see what the women are up to.”

~~~

Jade stepped inside the store and was amazed at the variety of goods on display: food stores, farming equipment, material and ready-made clothes. Everything they needed could be found right here.

Margaret stood with her hand extended.

“If you have a list, give it to me, and I’ll include whatever else you’ll need. I’ve spent several winters on the ranch and know how isolated you’ll be until spring. Sometime spring rains can keep you from coming to town for supplies with a wagon, so you want to get plenty.”

Jade stood by, amazed at
the quantity of merchandise Margaret placed in a corner to be loaded into Jason’s wagon the next morning before they left. She agreed she’d need flour, sugar, salt, and all the other staples for cooking, but when Margaret added lengths of material, Jade protested.

Ignoring her objections,
Margaret placed several ready-made dresses and nightgowns–very flimsy nightgowns–along with underclothes onto the growing pile. Jade shook her head, appalled at the scanty nightwear. She picked up the nightgowns and replaced them on the shelf, only to have Margaret put them right back on the growing pile of what she called ‘necessities.’

She
looked up and saw help coming through the door, only Margaret enlisted Jason’s approval before Jade could express her indignation over the personal items.

“Jason, tell Jade she’
ll need these items during the winter. She’s worried I’m over extending your credit.”

“Let’s see what we have here. Sugar, flour, salt all looks in order to me,” Jason said.
He turned to Jade. “What seems to be the problem?”

Agitated,
Jade snatched Jason’s hand and literally dragged him to the personal items Margaret had laid out. She picked up a dress and handed it to him.

“Margaret’s right, you’ll need warmer dresses for
winter. These are fine, don’t worry,” He said kindly.

Jason saw the
frustration on Jade’s face and found it amusing. She looked like she wanted to stomp her foot in an adult imitation of Janey. She grabbed the dress to put it back on the pile. Picking up a piece of cloth so thin you could see through it, she held it out for his inspection. When he just looked at her in confusion, she shook it out. Color flooded her face. It was the sheerest nightgown Jason had ever seen. Now, he understood Jade’s dismay. A vivid picture of the garment wafting around Jade’s delectable body seared into his mind.

Giving Margaret a steady glare over Jade’s head, he said in a firm voice. “If my sister believes you need these then it is best to let her have her way. She’s very stubborn on some things.” He was satisfied to see a guilty bl
ush steal over Margaret’s face.

What was his family trying to do to him? John with all his questions about his ‘marriage of convenience’, his sister dressing Jad
e in nightgowns made for lovers, were they trying to render him senseless? Torture him until he lost his mind, or just wanting him to die a slow lustful death.

~~~

John grimaced at his wife’s interference. Jade threw her hands up and stomped off. Margaret, getting her way, flashed Jason a smug smile. Jason’s face took on the expression of a man about to face a firing squad at dawn. He wondered why those two couldn’t see Jade was half in love with Jason already. If Jason would just take her to his bed and Margaret would stop trying to get her there, everything would work out fine.

After supper, Margaret put the kids to bed against Tyler’s protests. Last minute visits to the outdoors, one final dr
ink, a story and all was quiet.

He and Jason
decided to teach the women how to play poker. They weren’t bad for beginners. Margaret had more toothpicks than what she started with, including a few of his. Jade was a different story. She didn’t have much of a poker face, much to the amusement of the others. She couldn’t keep from smiling each time she got a winning hand, so, everyone would throw in when she started grinning. Needless to say, John chuckled to himself, she didn’t win much.

They were all laughing and having a good time until Margaret mentioned it was
late and time for bed.

“Jason, you and Jade can have the room you usually use when you’re here. I put Emma down with Janey,” Margaret informed them.

Jason reared back and stiffened his shoulders. Jade’s green eyes gave the impression she had just taken Jason’s place in front of the firing squad.

Before Jason could
express the objections John saw forming, Margaret dragged him into their bedroom and shut the door. Leaving Jason no other choice, but to lead Jade down the hall to the room they would share.

“You go on in.
I’ll be back in a little while.” He heard Jason tell Jade.

Margaret flopped down on the bed and removed her shoes. He’d unfastened three buttons on his shirt when a knock sounded on the door. He yanked it open and found a red-faced Jason shift
ing from one foot to the other.

“John do you have any, uh, underwear I could borrow for
the night?” Jason whispered, apparently not wanting Margaret privy to his embarrassment.

Jason
peered around him and hurled a reproachful look at his sister sitting on the edge of the bed. As if this awkward situation was her fault for putting him and Jade in the same bedroom.

“Sure,” John turned
away, a smile playing across his lips. Jason must be in a real dilemma for him to make such a request. Walking to the chest, he took a neatly folded pair of underwear from the drawer. Placing them in Jason’s hand, he grinned. “Will that be all?”

“Yeah, thanks.” Giving Margaret one more disgruntled look
, he headed back to his room.

John closed the door and finished undressing.

“What was that all about?” Margaret asked.

Pushing her back onto the bed, John chuck
led, “Let me show you instead.”

He proceeded t
o show her. Minus the underwear.

~~~

When Jason mentioned staying the night, he hadn’t considered the sleeping arrangements. Standing in the hall, Jason cast wary glances at the door he knew Jade was behind, preparing for bed. Vivid images of her dress slithering down her slender hips and of the cool night air tightening the rosy tips of her exposed luscious breasts, lust heated his groin with each tantalizing scenario. His cock strained against the buttons of his trousers. He was certainly in need of something to cover any evidence of his turgid condition.

He could do this, he
told himself. It wouldn’t be the first time he had shared a bed with her. Although, the other times she had been asleep and didn’t know they had slept together. He would wait a little longer, give her time to go to sleep.

She could do this, Jade reasoned.
She must have slept with a man before, although, the thought of that man being Jason sent her senses careening over into a bottomless pit. A little frisson of heat worked its way over her nerve endings, as it did each time Jason came near.

It was wrong, she knew, to wan
t more than what he offered. Surely, a man needed a woman sometime, and she wanted to be that woman for Jason. She would just have to make herself available and maybe he would take things from there.

Jason hoped she would be asleep by the time he returned.
No such luck. Of course, luck had not been on his side lately. There she sat in the middle of the small bed. Dressed in one of those thin, revealing nightgowns Margaret was so fond of dressing her in.

Not wanting to embarrass her, he blew out the lamp
. He chose the darkest corner to undress and slid his long legs into the borrowed underwear. Moonlight bathed the room in muted shadows. Moving toward the bed, he saw she held the covers back for him. He slid onto the soft mattress and turned on his side to face her, willing his body to relax.

He congratulated himself on his monumental accomplishment until
Jade took his hand in both of hers and placed it under her cheek. But, instead of the tension increasing, as he would have supposed, it unwound, leaving him more at ease in her presence. He felt content to be in this intimate setting without constraints, except by the boundaries of his own making.

It seemed odd
. He had dreaded getting into the same bed with Jade, afraid the sexual attraction he felt for her would be unbearable. It seemed natural, as a calmness settled over him. He felt free to talk to her before she fell into her nightmarish sleep.