To Wed a Wanton Woman (20 page)

“Don’t worry,” he said to Allison’s
concerned expression. “She’ll sober up once I put her on Clive.”

“You can’t let her ride a horse in her
condition,” Allison said. “Take her upstairs.” She looked to TJ for support. He
avoided her glance, dropping his gaze to his boots. “Tell him it’s too
dangerous. She’ll fall off.”

“Be careful, it’s dangerous,” he said,
closing the door behind them.

TJ turned to Allison. “Don’t look at me like
that.” He grabbed her around the waist. “I like it when you get a little corned.”
He kissed the tip of her nose, the bone of her cheek, finally pressing his lips
to hers. “I enjoy the taste of whiskey in your mouth.” He handed her his drink.

“I can’t,” she said.

He laughed. “Why not? I remembered a few
times when you tried matched me drink for drink.”

“Since I figured out the reason I’ve been
sick is because I’m going to have a baby.” A flicker of apprehension fluttered
in her chest. She hadn’t thought about how she’d tell him. It just slipped out.
“It makes me sick.”

TJ had two children from his deceased wife. He
was a wonderful father, but they’d never spoken about whether he wanted a
larger family.

TJ halted the glass halfway to his lips. The
color drained from his face.

The silence lengthened between them making
her even more uncomfortable. “Oh no.” She covered her mouth as a lump rose into
her throat. “I thought you’d be happy.” She turned away and fled toward the
stairs.

It took a moment for TJ to respond. He
caught her halfway up the stairs. Scooping her into his arms, he carried her
into their bedroom and deposited her on the bed. “I’m surprised. Not unhappy,”
he said, cupping her cheek in his hand.

“Then don’t scare me like that.” She slugged
him in the chest. “I’m glad I’m going to have a baby. I want a house full of
children.”

“Youngins are great, but not so many that
you don’t have time for me.” He helped her out of her clothing.

“As I’m sure you already know,” she said,
holding his face. “I wouldn’t want to go without this either.”

“How long before the baby comes?”

She shrugged. “Can’t be exactly sure. Maybe
five or six months.” She hadn’t had a monthly menses in a while but because her
belly was still flat, she figured that another reason must be the cause. But
she’d felt the flutter—felt her baby move. Now she was sure. She was going to
have a baby.

* * *

 Marion laughed with the wind whipping
against her face as Train rode Clive bareback along the hillside. “You have to
hold on, sweetheart,” he said when she released her grip on the mane and let
her hands roam up Train’s thighs. He brought the horse to a slow canter. “Hold
on, we’re almost home.”

Marion
twisted around until she could unbutton the front of his shirt. Letting her
tongue slide leisurely across his chest, she placed her mouth over his nipple.

Train jerked the reins hard bringing Clive
to a halt. He jumped from the horse taking Marion with him. Laying her on the
ground, he lifted her dress. In a quick jerking motion, he undid the buttons of
his jeans. She could only suck in her breath as he spread her thighs and penetrated
her deeply.

“Train,” she cried.

He pounded hard and fast. Marion arched off
the ground. Muscles quivered, her inner walls tightened like a glove to Train’s
thrusting cock.

“Oh god,” she careened into orgasm. Train
quickly followed.

They lay gasping for breath in the cool
evening air. “One of these times, I’m going to make slow love to you.”

She laughed. “Or you can take me just like
that as often as you like.”

Train tucked his cock back into his jeans
and adjusted her dress. “Let’s go home.” He stood and held his hand to her. She
clasped his fingers then he helped her back onto the horse.

A few minutes later, Train tied Clive to the
front porch. “Should I close my eyes before I enter the house?” He couldn’t
begin to imagine his home as a small replica of the Dusty Rose.

“Don’t complain. You were the one who said
you didn’t have much time to build furniture. Now you don’t have to.” She slid
her hands up his chest. “I thought you were supposed to carry your bride over
the threshold when taking her home for the first time.”

Train grabbed Marion around the waist and
tossed her over his shoulder. He turned the handle and stepped into the dark
room smelling of fresh cut timber. “I’ll get a fire started.” He set her down
next to the table that once graced the kitchen of the brothel.

“This feels like home, doesn’t it?” she
said, lighting the lantern.

Train sat on his haunches in front of the
fireplace and stacked a few pieces of kindling. “It ought to feel like home.” The
flame flickered to life. “I don’t suppose in all the… stuff--” he said, preferring
another word to describe her belongings, “--you brought a kettle for coffee.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Actually, I
did. Just one problem, I don’t know where it is. TJ probably kept everything
together.”

He tossed a few logs into the fire. “I’ve
been away from the ranch for a while.” He stood and wrapped his hands around
the nape of her neck to feel the silkiness of her hair. “Unless you want to
wait until I’m done working for the day, I won’t be much help to you in here.”

“I guess that answers the question of what
I’ll be doing with myself.” She ran her fingers over the buttons of his shirt.
“Allison said something to me tonight.” She looked in his eyes. “In a few
months they’ve fallen into a routine. He works during the day, Allison takes
care of the house, and so at night when the children go to bed, they finally
find enough time to be together. Promise that won’t happen to us because I wouldn’t
be happy.”

He momentarily forgot what he was going to
say because of the intensity of her eyes. Train took her hand and put it on his
chest, over his heart. “Feel this. When you touch my shirt, my heart races.
Imagine what happens when you actually touch me. I used to walk around biting
the inside of my cheek so I wouldn’t embarrass myself when I thought about you.
I know you want more than perfunctory sex before bed.” He kissed her forehead.
“As long as you’re honest, I promise I’ll never fail to give you what you need.”
He tilted her chin to look into her eyes. “That means sometimes you’re going to
have to tell me what you want. You won’t hurt my feelings.”

“I never want us to be ordinary together.” Marion covered her mouth with her hand when she yawned. “Let’s go to bed.” She reached
behind her head and unhooked her dress. “It was nice of TJ to bring out the
bed, and Allison to put on the sheets.”

Train put another log on the fire and Marion climb beneath the blankets naked.

“I don’t want to get the sheets dirty,” she
said to his quizzical stare.

Train blew out the lamp and joined her.

Chapter Twelve

Marion
woke when she heard Clive whinny outside. She glanced out the window in time to
see Train ride off toward the ranch. She climbed back into bed and instantly
fell back to sleep. It seemed only a moment passed, and he returned.

“Good morning,” he said, waking her with a
kiss. “I can’t stay but I brought you breakfast.” He stood and headed out the
door.

“Train, wait!” she called. She grabbed the
blanket and wrapped it around her body.

He paused long enough to turn in her
direction. “TJ’s waiting.” He mounted Clive.

“What am I going to do all day? The crates
are in the stables and I don’t have a horse. Wait for me.” She hurried into the
house, stepped into her dress, and returned buttoning the front. Her full
breasts swayed beneath the thin material. She hadn’t taken the time to put on a
shift. Train’s stare locked onto her fingers. The muscle in his jaw tightened. “I’ll
have breakfast with Allison and bring one of the horses home.”

“TJ can wait. Finish getting dressed.”

She smiled and took a deep inhale pushing
her chest forward. “Don’t you think I look respectable?” She held out her hand
for him to help her onto the horse. “It’s ridiculous to keep TJ waiting when Allison
is the only one who’ll see and she’s seen me naked.”

Sitting behind him, her breasts bounce with
the horse’s gait.

“I’ll saddle a horse for you before I head
out. And tonight I’ll bring the crates with the wagon.”

He dropped Marion off in front of the
homestead. She watched his tall frame, sitting proud on the saddle. His horse
galloped off toward the stable to join the other men clustered there.

She knocked.

“Come in.” Allison lay on the couch with a
glass of water on the low table and a cool cloth over her eyes. “I’ll be fine
in a minute. There’s coffee on the stove and biscuits under the towel.”

“Are you sick?”

Allison removed the cloth and watched Marion approach. “Not sick, I’m going to have a baby.” She tried to sit up, then immediately
lay back down. “And before you extend your sympathies, you should know I am
very happy and will not take kindly to cynicism.”

Marion
didn’t detect any humor in the way she sounded. “You’re already behind
schedule. So if you were feeling good, what would you be doing right now?”

Allison smiled. “Cleaning up Michael, but TJ
took the children to Betty this morning.”

“Shame on you. You‘re lying because you
don’t think I can do housework. It might not be to your standards, but I’ll do
my best.”

Marion
went to the kitchen to start with a cup of coffee and a biscuit. She was going
to need energy to fuel her day. “I’ll start in here,” she hollered from the
kitchen. Dishes from TJ’s breakfast piled up on the counter. As she walked
between the table and the sink, her shoes tracked a sticky spill across the
floor. She poured a cup of coffee and filled a pail with water from the pump.

Marion
enjoyed pretending she didn’t know how to clean. The truth was as a little girl
her mother made her work from sunup until bedtime. But that was many years ago.
The only cleaning she did now was that of necessity. One of the girls at the
brothel was usually willing to do her chores for a small fee.

Once she’d washed the dishes, she refilled a
bucket and started on the floor. On her hands and knees, she scrubbed the kitchen
and down the hallway.

She checked on Allison periodically, who slept
on the couch. It wasn’t until lunchtime that she realized just how long she had
been cleaning. She straightened the beds, pulling the quilts to the pillows,
the commode was scrubbed, and the children’s wooden toys were put back in the
storage crates in their rooms.

“Allison.” Marion gently touched her
shoulder.

Allison opened her eyes and squinted against
the bright light filtering through the windows. Marion had pulled back the
curtains and wiped down the windowsill. “What time is it?”

“Twelve thirty. I can clean when necessary.
However, I cannot learn to cook in a single morning. Unless TJ wants a salad,
you’re going to have to help.”

Allison put her feet on the floor and
carefully stood, letting her wobbly legs adjust.

“Are you still queasy? Some of the girls at
the brothel had to eat in bed to keep from getting sick.”

Allison glanced around the sparkling clean
room. “Thank you,” she said, giving Marion a hug. Tears sprang to her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I can’t seem to stop crying either.” They walked into the kitchen
and a fresh wave of tears washed over her.

Allison started lunch just as TJ came into
the kitchen through the back door. He went to her side and put his hand on her
forehead. “Sugar, you’re pale. You can’t stand over a hot stove,” he said, alarm
discernable in his voice. He helped her to a chair. “Train rode out to your
place,” he said to Marion. “Take my horse and you might be able to catch up
with him.”

Marion
wiped her hands on the apron tied around her waist before taking it off. “I’ll
be back after lunch.”

Marion
rode TJ’s horse as if she were racing for a blue ribbon. Even before she
reached the house, she saw his silhouette along the bank of the lake. Once she
was a few yards from Train, she brought the horse to a stop, and slid from the saddle
with absolutely no grace. What did she care? Train was the horseman. She ran
into his arms. “I was still at the house,” she said, breathless. “Allison is
going to have a baby and isn’t feeling good. I stayed to help her.”

“My wife doing house chores?”

Caught off guard by the sudden vibrancy in
his voice, she said with pleasure, “I did.” She wrinkled her nose. “That
doesn’t mean I’m in the mood to clean our home.”

Train wrapped his arm around her shoulder. They
went into their little cabin. “Perhaps you could ask Allison to help you make curtains
for the windows.”

Marion
stopped unbuttoning her dress. “I guess you’re right.” The dress dropped to the
floor. “I didn’t rush home for lunch, Train. I’m not hungry,” she said, looking
at the food on the table. “I want you to make love to me.”