Shotgun Groom (27 page)

ache between his legs, but it didn’t. The action only teased

him and made him further anxious to get inside her. “April, I

need you,” he whispered, moving his hips again to let her

know exactly in what way he needed her.

She unbuttoned his shirt and said, “I know. I can feel how

hard you are.”

He groaned and worked on her buttons, his fingers faster

than hers were on his buttons, testifying to the fact that he

didn’t have the patience she did. “You’re teasing me.”

With a shrug, she finished unbuttoning his shirt and then

brought her hands beneath his undershirt so that she could

feel his naked flesh. “Maybe,” she playful y replied in a soft

tone.

Her fingers brushed his nipples and he stopped moving his

hands up her stomach as jolts of pleasure rushed through

his body. He knew her nipples were sensitive, but he didn’t

realize his were, too. To his surprise, she leaned forward

and brought her mouth to his chest, lightly kissing his skin

until she found his nipple, and when she did, her tongue

brushed it. He shivered and voiced his pleasure. Now he

understood why she squirmed whenever he caressed her

breasts. While she continued to stroke his nipple with her

tongue, her fingers caressed his other one, and he couldn’t

help but rock his hips in rhythm to the tingles of pleasure

that thrummed through his body.

Breathing hard, she straightened up again and said, “Sit

up.”

Not bothering to ask why, he did and helped her remove his

shirt and undershirt. Once they were off, he leaned forward

and kissed the skin beneath her col arbone. She let out a

slight gasp while he tasted her skin with his tongue. His

hands slid under her chemise and found her breasts. She

groaned and held onto his shoulders while he lifted her

chemise and bent his head so he could taste her nipples,

working in circles over the swol en pink buds. Turnabout

was fair play. If she could tease him, he’d tease her, too.

“I need you inside me,” she murmured.

“What’s the hurry?” he rasped, a chuckle rising up in his

throat. “We’ve got al night.”

She groaned and pushed him so that he was lying down on

the bed. Bringing her mouth to his, she kissed him, her

actions hungry and demanding, alerting him that she didn’t

have the patience to play anymore. And the male part of

him wasn’t any more patient, but he was determined to toy

with her a little bit more before he satisfied them both. His

hand worked its way under her dress until he found the area

between her legs, pleased to note that her undergarment

was damp since it signaled that her body was ready for

him.

He found the sensitive nub waiting for him and rubbed it

with his thumb while his fingers caressed the woman’s flesh

covered by the thin fabric that quickly grew wet as she

became more aroused. Gasping, she moved against him,

her moans becoming more frequent and her body tensing.

He smiled and continued to fondle her, wondering if he

could get her to climax this way. By the increased rocking

of her hips and heavy breathing, he guessed she was close

to it.

“Go for it, April,” he whispered, his arousal heightened by

her excitement.

She moaned and urged him to use more pressure on her

nub, so he obeyed, and soon he was rewarded with a gasp

as her body stil ed. Using less pressure, he continued to

stroke her until she stopped groaning and her body relaxed.

“I had no idea that was possible,” she final y said, though

her breathing was irregular.

Chuckling, he gently rol ed her onto her back so he could

take off her dress and undergarments. “I suspect we have a

lot of learning to do about what else we can do in the

bedroom.”

She smiled and let out a contented sigh.

He took off the rest of his clothes and tossed them aside.

Taking a moment to study her body in the dim light, he

stroked the inside of her thighs. “You’re so beautiful,” he

murmured, thinking there was nothing sexier than a

satisfied, naked woman.

“I stil want you inside me,” she said and lowered her gaze

to his erection. “By the looks of it, you want it, too.”

“Let’s try it with your legs on my shoulders. What do you

say? Want to try something else that’s different?”

“Sure. It al feels good with you.”

She lifted her legs and he positioned them on his shoulders

so that she was comfortable. Leaning over her, he entered

her and closed his eyes to absorb the initial pleasure he

always experienced whenever he entered her. She moaned

and shifted so that he was deeper inside. He pul ed slightly

out of her and then slid back in, thinking that nothing felt

more wonderful than a woman’s body.

He proceeded to thrust into her, building up momentum as

he worked to prolong the inevitable. And she worked with

him, her hips rocking in unison with his and her flesh

clenching around him. Toward the climax, his body grew

impatient and his thrusting came faster and more

demanding, and he was assured by her moans that she

was enjoying it so he didn’t stop. And then, when he was at

the edge, he tensed and gave one last powerful thrust into

her. His body stil ed as he released his seed, only half

aware that her flesh continued to clench around him,

keeping him suspended in his state of bliss for a little bit

longer.

When the last wave of pleasure ended, her legs went back

to his waist and he col apsed on top of her. Light-headed,

he stayed in her arms, eyes closed and a content smile on

his face. After a couple minutes passed, he got off of her

and pul ed her into his arms. She snuggled deeper into his

arms, and he kissed the top of her head.

“I’m glad we’re married,” he whispered.

“I am, too,” she replied.

The day had been a long and emotional y exhausting one,

but it was done and now they could final y move forward.

And in time, April and Sep would be ful y healed from the

past. As April drifted off to sleep, Joel stayed awake for

another hour, glad there were no more secrets between

them.

Chapter Twenty-One

Three days later, Joel and his brothers went into the third

bedroom to put up the new wal s. Before they got started,

Tom shook his head and examined the missing wal s. “I

don’t understand you at al , Joel,” Tom said. “Why would

you just take out the old wal s to replace them with new

ones? Wouldn’t it make more sense to paint over the old

ones?”

“Sure, it would,” Joel replied as he picked up his hammer

and some nails, “but why shouldn’t I get al the work I can

out of you since I had a hand in building your entire house.

Wel , houses. The sod one and then the new one you got.

You’re lucky I’m only asking for one room.”

“I don’t mind doing the work. I’m just saying it doesn’t make

any sense,” Tom clarified as he retrieved his own hammer.

“But then again, since when do you make any sense?”

“I often think it doesn’t make any sense why Jessica

married you, but I reckon there are some things in life we’l

never understand,” Joel quipped.

Richard groaned and picked up one of the plywood boards.

“Don’t you two ever stop? I swear, I don’t know if I’m fixing a

room or babysitting.”

“You’re only saying that because you’re the oldest,” Joel

said as he helped Richard place the plywood against the

support beams.

“No, he’s not,” Dave replied as he and Tom moved their

plywood board over to the other side of the room. “I wish

you two would stop it, too.”

Joel rol ed his eyes. “Dave, you have to be the most boring

person I’ve ever met. Al you do is work and eat. You never

have any fun. I honestly don’t know how Mary stays awake

when you’re around.”

“Wel , she does have Isaac to watch,” Tom said.

Joel nodded. “That must be it.”

Richard placed a nail at the top of the plywood and

hammered it into a beam. “What? No quips about me?”

Joel shrugged. “You’re rarely around. I don’t know enough

about you to make a judgment. I assume you’re just as

bland as Dave is, but who knows?”

“I know you’l find this hard to believe,” Dave began as he

lined up his side of the plywood so it was straight with

Tom’s side, “but Richard and I lead exciting lives.”

At that, both Joel and Tom laughed.

“As exciting as a rock,” Joel teased.

“Oh, come on,” Richard argued.

“It’s true,” Joel said. “Every time we get together, Dave’s

always serious. I don’t think he’s ever laughed.”

“Just ignore them,” Richard told Dave. “These two wouldn’t

know how to be grown up if their lives depended on it.”

Joel pounded a nail in the plywood and glanced at Richard.

“Wel , I think you skipped childhood, which is where you

learn to have fun.”

“That’s not fair, Joel,” Tom said after he hammered a nail

into his board. “When Richard was ten, I saw him playing

marbles.”

Joel’s eyes grew wide and he looked at Richard. “You

played a game? I think Tom’s joshing because I just don’t

believe it.”

“You men sure do chat a lot.” The four brothers stopped

working as April carried a tray with a coffee pot and cups

into the room. She set them down on the table Joel brought

up from the parlor. “People say women gab a bunch, but

you four have women beat.”

“It’s Tom’s fault,” Joel said, motioning to his brother who

rol ed his eyes. “He thinks everyone wants to hear what he

has to say.”

Richard patted Joel on the back, using more force than

necessary. “And of course, baby Joel can’t do any wrong.”

Dave snickered but continued to hammer his nail in.

“Baby Joel?” April asked.

“Ma cal ed him that for the longest time,” Richard said. “She

had a hard time letting him go. She was rocking him to

sleep until he was five, and—”

Joel groaned. “She gets it, alright. There’s no sense in

boring her with my past.”

“Oh, I’m not bored,” she replied. “I’d like to know more

about his past.”

“You should talk to Ma sometime,” Dave said. “She’l talk

your ear off about her darling, precious baby boy.”

“You’re al a big hoot,” Joel told his brothers who snickered

at him as he strode over to April. “Don’t pay them any mind,

April. They’re just upset because I was a better son than

they ever were.”

“You just keep tel ing yourself that, Joel,” Richard said.

Sighing, he poured coffee into his cup and lowered his

voice. “Maybe I should have left them at their homes and

did this with Sep.”

She giggled and poured coffee into the other cups. “Come

now. You’re having a good time, just like you did at

Christmas.”

He shrugged. Granted, he was, but he’d never openly admit

it to anyone. “Where’s Sep?”

“Getting Nora ready for the sleigh ride we’re taking.”

“You’re going without me?” he asked.

“We thought we’d get out for a bit to get some fresh air.”

“What if Lou’s hanging around?”

“We’re not going far. We’re just circling the property,” she

assured him as she finished pouring coffee into the last

cup.

That made him feel better. He didn’t know how much longer

Lou would wait before trying to find the safe that had to be

somewhere on the property. A thorough inspection of the

house told Joel it wasn’t there. Perhaps it was in the barn?

But where would someone hide a safe in a barn?

“April,” he began as his brothers joined them to get their

cups of coffee, “did Harvey spend an unusual amount of

time in the barn shortly before he died?”

“Not that I noticed,” she replied. “But then, he didn’t make it

a habit of coming home til around four in the morning, so

he could have spent time out there without me knowing

about it.”

“What are you getting at, Joel?” Dave asked, his eyebrows

furrowed.

“I think Harvey brought the safe out here and hid it, and now

Lou’s probably looking for it,” Joel replied.

Richard sipped his coffee before asking, “Did you tel

Owen?”

Joel shrugged. “I don’t know he hid the safe for sure.

There’s no evidence he did.”

Shaking his head, Richard said, “Did you at least tel Owen

you think it’s out here?”

“I didn’t want to waste his time in case I’m wrong.” When

Richard shot his brothers a ‘can you believe him?’ look,