The First Time (3 page)

That certainly wasn’t what she expected him to say. “I’m not cold,
and I bathed before the auction.” Should she have taken one regardless? Maybe
he wanted her extra clean? She didn’t know what to do or say so she just stood
there. He started unbuttoning his shirt, and her heart pounded with each strip
of flesh he revealed. To her disappointment he didn’t unbutton it all the way.
He moved toward the bed and sat on the edge, patting the spot next to him.

“Sit next to me. I am sure you have questions. I can see the
uncertainty in your eyes, and I hope to alleviate it.” When she was seated
beside him she stared at the bookshelf that filled on whole wall. Even from the
distance she could see the binding of several of them etched in different
languages. She was fluent in several different languages, a necessity in case
her husband was not from the States. A few picture frames were sporadically
placed on the wooden shelves, and she could just make out the image of a woman
with flowing raven black hair. Was that a relative or a previous wife? Was
Veronica the replacement? That thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. She
didn’t want to be the replacement of a wife that was no more. If that was a
past lover, did he only purchase her to ease the ache in his heart from losing
someone he loved?

 
He would really answer any
questions she had? What was she supposed to ask anyway? She had never been in
this situation before and only knew one thing: always obey. “I don’t know what
to ask you.”

“How about the basics? I mean, you know nothing of me yet I know
everything about you.” Yes, she knew there would be no secret of hers that he
didn’t know. All bidders knew the history of the females they were bidding on
before they even came to the auction. “You are so very young, Veronica.” He ran
his finger down the bared part of her arm, and she shivered. Just his touch
caused something inside of her to bloom and warm. She wondered if it was like
this with all of the women on their wedding night.

“Do I frighten you?” His mouth was right by her ear, and she
sighed at the feeling of his warm breath along her skin.

Did he frighten her?

“Yes. No.” She looked over at him and their mouths were once again
only inches apart. She looked down at his lips, so full and inviting. Dare she
be so bold as to kiss him again? He answered her unspoken question.

“Kiss me, Veronica.” She leaned in the rest of the way and pressed
her mouth to his. His hand speared in her hair, working with expert fingers to
undo her chignon. Her hair tumbled down her back in waves of mahogany, and he
immediately tangled his hands in the tendrils, tilting her head at the same
time to deepen their kiss. He loosened one hand from her hair and slid it down
her shoulder and through the gap in her robe. The first touch of his warm,
smooth fingers wrapping around her bare breast had her gasping from the
intensity of it.

His thumb and forefinger pulled at her nipple, causing the flesh
to pucker to the point of pain. He continued his pleasurable torture until she
was begging him to do the same to the other one. It seemed like forever until
he moved those teasing digits to her other breast. His index finger ran a slow
circle around her areola, making the skin tighten. She found herself thrusting
her chest out to him, pushing her breast into his hand.

“Your tits are so soft, supple. I want to suck on your nipples,
draw them deep in my mouth until you beg me for release.” His erotic words
shocked her. He spoke against her mouth, almost breathlessly, but before he
could deliver on his threat there was a soft knock on the door. Kristoff pulled
away and closed the lapels of her robe and stared at her, his hands gripping
the material so tight his knuckles were white. He leaned in and kissed her
softly before rising and going to the door. She hadn’t missed the massive
erection he sported or the fact he had yet to get off. Just thinking of him
pushing into her with that sent a chill of uncertainty through her. Then again,
given his overall size she shouldn't have been that surprised. He was a very
intimidating man, but even though he was double her size she couldn't find a
deep-seated fear that he might hurt her.

Chapter Five

They finished dinner in bed, and Veronica let herself relax
against the cool, satiny sheets. She couldn’t remember the last time her belly
was this full.

“You seem very content. It is a good look on you.” Kristoff was
propped against the headboard, his legs stretched out, his ankles crossed. He
smiled at her, and she couldn’t help but return the expression.

“Yes, well, I was never allowed to be full while growing up.
Putting on weight was frowned upon, seeing as we were virgin brides.” When he
didn’t respond she glanced over at him.
 
A frown marred his expression, and she hoped she hadn’t angered him by
speaking so bluntly. “I’m sorry. I need to learn to hold my tongue.”

“Stop it.” The fierce command had her sitting up and staring at
him with wide eyes. He shook his head and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t
mean to raise my voice. I just wish you wouldn’t apologize for speaking with
me. I’m your husband, Veronica. I want you to be able to speak to me freely
without the fear of punishment. I am not that type of husband, despite what you
may have heard about me.”

Veronica wanted to ask him what he meant, wanted to know why the
men at the auction had watched him almost hesitantly. They obviously knew
something about him, knew something that should frighten her, but even though
he was giving her the opening to ask him, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
The truth of what she might hear scared the crap out of her.

She smoothed her hands down her robe and asked, “How old are you?”
It seemed like a safe alternative to what she was too afraid to ask. She heard
him exhale and the rustle of sheets moving. She looked at him and saw that he
was now lying on the bed, his hands behind his head and his gaze on the
ceiling.

“Thirty-eight.” He turned his head and looked over at her. “I have
two brothers, Nikolas and
Griffin
.
They live about thirty miles from here in the city of
Hawkson
.” She didn’t respond and so he
continued giving her a little glimpse into his life. It was strange that they
may have only been husband and wife for less than a day, but already she was
feeling closer to him than anyone she had ever known. Her family had never
opened up with her like Kristoff was. He was willing to let her into his life.
It made her feel like more than just an object.

“Am I your first wife?” The words just tumbled out of her, and she
wished she could take them back as soon as they came out. She watched as he ran
a hand through his hair and breathed out roughly.

“No. I was married for five years.” He got off the bed and walked
over to the bookshelf, grabbing the photo of the raven-haired woman she had
seen earlier. He lay back on the bed and turned toward her, handing her the
picture. “That was Macie.”

Veronica didn’t miss how he used past tense to describe his wife,
but when he told her he had been married she knew the woman had passed away. A
man could buy more than one wife, but he didn’t divorce them. Ever. “I’m so
sorry. When did she die?”

“Two years ago.” His voice was low and distant and she knew he was
thinking about her, probably thinking of memories that had once been reality.

“Can I ask how she died?”

He reached across the mattress and took her hand. “You are my wife
now, Veronica. I told you to speak freely to me. I have nothing to hide.” His
stare was intense, and she could see an internal struggle going on within him.
“I didn’t have Macie on a leash like many of the husbands that buy their wives
do. I wanted her to have freedom, to explore the world. Out back there is a
garden, one that she planted and grew. She used to love going out there,
especially in the evening when the night blooming jasmines were in season.” His
thumb drew tiny circles on the back of her hand, and Veronica was mesmerized
watching his finger smooth over her skin.

“I was working late when I received the phone call. They found her
body by the creek that runs parallel to the property through the woods. By the
time I got there she had already been pronounced dead. They said she tripped on
the slippery rocks lining the creek bed and hit her head. She had massive
hemorrhaging.” He took a deep, stuttering breath. “The coroner told me she was
pregnant.”

Veronica felt tears prick her eyes. That certainly wasn’t what she
expected to hear. She felt the first hot tear slide down her cheek and lifted
her free hand to brush it away. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what it feels like
to lose someone precious to you so tragically.” He gave her a reassuring smile
and gave a gentle tug of her hand, urging her to come closer.

“I’m sure you saw the way the other men at the auction looked at
me.” Veronica nodded. “They think I am a negligent husband, that if I had kept
Macie on a leash, showed her who was in control and hadn’t give her the freedom
she would still be here. I know what they were thinking when they saw me
purchase you; know that they are counting down the days until I fuck up again.”
His eyes were suddenly on hers and the depth of emotion she saw in them was
startling. “When I saw you up there something inside of me opened. I have been
to every auction the city has held, but I have never had any intention of ever
purchasing another wife. I’ve come to terms with her death and know that is my
past. I knew that I had to move on, and have, but I just couldn’t bring myself
to bring another woman into my house and risk letting her get harmed again.” He
leaned forward and kissed her forehead, and Veronica closed her eyes, savoring
the feeling.

“I can’t tell you what happened, but when I saw you walk up on the
stage with the other women I knew right then I had to have you. I wanted to try
to be a husband again. I wanted to try with you.”

Chapter Six

Tear after tear slipped down Veronica’s cheeks, and she didn’t
bother brushing them away. It wouldn’t have made a difference anyway. Never
would she have thought when she was bought that her husband would be so honest,
so heartbreaking. Here sat Kristoff St. Michaels, a man physically superior to
most, spilling his heart about the woman he thought he let down. The sorrow and
remorse that poured from him was so thick, so tangible that it suffocated her.
She thought she would just be a possession, a pretty little object that would
always be expected to be ready for her husband. This life was certainly not
what she expected, but she accepted it, embraced it.

“Several men wanted you, but there wasn’t any way I was going to
let them have you. I felt my heart beat for the first time in two years when I
saw you. I don’t believe in love at first sight, but I do believe that what I
felt for you when I first saw you goes against any logic and reason.” His hand
cupped her cheek and he said softly, “I don’t expect you to have any idea of
what I feel for you, of what I want to have with you, but I hope you’ll accept
me and let me show you how good I can be to you.”

Veronica didn’t wait for him to finish, didn’t think about how to
be proper and meager. She let her emotions take control for the first time in
her twenty years. Leaning in, she kissed Kristoff with all the heartache, all
the happiness and sympathy she felt for him. He responded with a tightening of
his hand on her cheek and a groan of desire. He gripped her hip with his other
hand and pulled her closer so that she could feel his erection press against
her thigh. She wanted to feel him inside of her, using all of that pent up
emotion on her. She moved her hands between their bodies and undid the bow that
held her robe together. Without breaking the kiss he placed his hands on her
shoulders and pushed the material away. It pooled at her waist, the air causing
her nipples to tighten in response. Her breath came out in hard little pants
against his mouth. Hands on his chest, she felt the muscles swell beneath them.
She grabbed the buttons with her fingers and started undoing them, her heart
racing each time they slipped free.

She could feel his thumbs caress her skin and felt his hands
slowly make their way across her collarbones and over her breasts. For a
suspended moment all he did was hold her, but soon his kiss became more heated,
demanding, and he gripped her flesh tighter. At the feel of pressure on her
tender flesh she arched her back, thrusting her chest into his warm palms,
silently begging him for more.

He broke the kiss and started trailing kisses down her throat and
then latched on to one of her nipples. A ripple of pleasure shot through her
core when she felt the hot, wet suction of his mouth and tongue on her turgid
flesh. She found her hands in his hair, as if they had a mind of their own. The
dark strands were short and silky as they slipped through her fingers. She held
him to her chest and savored the feel of him gently drawing the tiny bead
farther into his mouth. The sensation of blood rushing to the surface, pooling
beneath his mouth had her clamping her thighs closed to stop the flow of
moisture that was starting to make a slow trek down her inner thighs.

One of his hands smoothed down her belly and stopped at the top of
her mound. “Let me feel you, Veronica.” When he touched her bare pussy for the
first time she jumped. It was just a small touch, not even overtly sexual, but
it was like fire licking through her entire body. Ever so slowly he used his
upper body to push her back on the bed until she felt her back meet the cool
sheets. He was so much larger than her that when he rested his body fully on
hers everything around her was blocked out, hidden behind the sheer mountain of
his shoulders. He lifted up slightly and shrugged his shirt off. She felt her
mouth go dry at the sight of his chest.