Bonds of Matrimony (33 page)

“Tied up?
 
That sounds
interesting.
 
Perhaps we should try
that some time,” he grinned suggestively.

“Don’t be an ass,
Webb.
 
You joke, but you also
perceive marriage as a prison.”

He only shrugged, unable to deny it.

“I’m telling you about this
mess so that you understand what you’re getting into.
 
If Jett Stockton was hiding in the area and saw us making
love, he would probably kill you…and me.
 
And then he would return to England to collect my dowry.
 
I am telling you so that you don’t walk
into Chantal’s and accidentally mention the Fairfax name and tip him off.
 
And I’m telling you so that you don’t
think I’m having second thoughts about what we’ve started here.”

He licked his lips and
nodded slowly.
 
“Okay.
 
If I see the bastard, I’ll put a bullet
or three into his head.”

“That’s not what I’m saying,”
she choked on a laugh.
 
“Who’s
going to take me for midnight swims if you’re locked up in jail for killing a
man who isn’t worth your spit?”

“Good point,” he
shrugged.
 
“But we’re not taking
any chances, either.
 
I’m taking
you home.”
 

He reached for her in order
to help her back onto his horse, but she stepped away from him and quickly
pulled the nightgown over her head.
 
“Finish what you’ve started, Webb,” she challenged.
 

He cursed softly and took in
her naked body in the moonlight.
 
In the hayloft the night before, they had been too hungry to study each
other.
 
But by the pond, she was
feeling bold.
 
Chase needed to feel
him moving inside her.
 
She needed
the release and the distraction.
 
She
needed to feel alive and free.
 

He took two steps and pulled
her against him, ravaging her mouth while holding her bottom and pressing his arousal
against her own pulsing body.
 
Their
tongues entwined and caressed roughly.
 
He closed his lips and teeth gently over her tongue, melting her insides
and weakening her knees .
 
He
pulled back long enough to strip out of his own clothes.
 
He then stood and allowed Chase to
admire his muscular body.
 
She
reached for his hand and led him to the cool water.
 
She didn’t need to see him; she needed his touch and caresses.

They waded into the water
until it was up to their hips.
 
She
lowered herself until the water touched her shoulders and covered her breasts,
immediately soothing the discomfort that had kept her awake in the room she
shared with her sister.
 
She
watched him wade deeper before she pushed off and swam after him.
 
The water was up to his chest when he
stopped and reached for her, pulling her into his arms.
 
Instinctively, Chase wrapped her legs
around his waist, feeling him pushing intimately against her.
 
He kissed her thoroughly and gently
eased himself into her.
 
He moved
slowly at first, bringing her to a sweet and gentle climax.
 
And then he increased his pace, taking
greater possession of her with each long and hard stroke he took.
 
When Chase climaxed a second time, it
was neither sweet nor gentle but all-consuming and exhausting instead.
 
He called out her name and bit down on
the flesh between her neck and shoulder.
 
She clung to him, both of them gasping.
 
And only after they had both caught their breath did she
pull away and swim lazy strokes beside him.

“So what are you going to do
about this Jett Stockton?” he asked, his voice still husky from his lust.

“I’m staying out of town
until the others convince him that there are no Fairfaxes here,” she answered
simply.

“And you think that after
traveling the globe, he will suddenly give up?
 
Do you honestly think that he will stop at anything short of
actually possessing you?”

“What other choice do I
have?
 
I’d kill him myself if I
thought I might get away with it.”

He grinned and glistened
like a god in the water.
 
“No,
darling, you aren’t a killer.
 
Not
even if the sheriff looked the other way.
 
But I can talk to the sheriff.
 
We can keep a close eye on him and wait for him to do something
illegal.
 
Then we can lock him up.”

“For how long?
 
You think that being locked up will
reform him?” she asked sarcastically.

He dunked himself and came
up blinking silver water from his eyes.
 
“I’ll think of something.
 
In the meantime, you stay close to home.
 
Stay close to the house and your brother.
 
No more riding off to Midland by
yourself.
 
And as much as it pains
me to say this, I don’t even want you sneaking out here by yourself.”

“I am capable of taking care
of myself, Colton.
 
I don’t need
you barking orders.
 
I’m a grown
woman, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

He grinned and pulled her
body against his again.
 
“I
noticed, all right,” he growled.
 
He kissed her and brushed the pad of his thumbs underneath her
breasts.
 
He lifted her in the
water and took her in his mouth both arousing and sooting with his tongue.
 
Under water, his hand caressed her
bottom and then moved to tease more sensitive areas.
 
He captured her groans with his own mouth as he lifted her
onto him.

“Again?” Chase laughed.

“Would you mind?” he grinned.

After making love a second
time and swimming half the night away, she could barely keep my eyes open.
 
Webb lifted her off of his horse and
put her on her own feet behind the stables.

“I meant what I said,” he
reminded her.
 
“Be careful.
 
We aren’t going to be able to see each
other for a few days, but I’ll think of something to get rid of Stockton.”

“And I’ll actually sleep
more than two hours per night for the next few nights,” Chase joked.
 
“Don’t do anything to jeopardize your
own safety, Colton,” she told him more seriously.
 

He grinned at her, kissed her
forehead and mouth, and then climbed on his horse.
 
“I’ll watch you until you’re safe inside.
 
Lock the door behind you.”

She looked up at him,
sitting tall on his horse, before she turned and hurried toward the house.
 
Chase locked the door behind her as
instructed and made it safely up to her room.
 
When she closed the door behind her, she saw Reese sitting
at the window.
 
Her heart sank
before she realized that her sister was sound asleep.
 
Hopefully she hadn’t seen Chase leaving or returning from her
swim with Colton Webb.

CHAPTER 17

           
The
following morning, the family left Chastity to sleep in.
 
By the time she woke, half the morning
had been wasted.
 
She was grateful
for Reese’s absence as she slipped into her work clothes and checked the mirror
to be sure that Webb’s teeth marks on her shoulder were completely hidden.
 
She kissed her grandmother in greeting,
drank a cup of coffee, and hurried out to the stables to find her brother.

           
Marcus
was in the barn tending to his recovering cow.
 
“Did you finally get enough sleep?” he grumbled.

           
“I
feel better this morning, thank you.
 
How is she?”

           
He
shrugged.
 
“The medications are
helping.
 
It’ll be another day or
two before she’s completely healed.
 
One of the men said that the other cow is giving birth this
morning.
 
She’s out in the far
pasture, if you’re interested in helping out.”

           
“You
don’t need me here?”

           
“Sure
I do.
 
You’re supposed to stay in
the house where you’re safe.
 
But
with Lawson on crutches for the next few weeks, I’ll need all the help I can
get.
 
And everyone should see the
birth of a calf at least once.
 
If
you’re serious about being a rancher, you’ll need to get used to it.
 
Go on and watch.”

           
She
slipped out of the barn excitedly and cut through the nearer pasture, where the
cows
roamed.
 
A few
of them snorted at her as she jogged past them, but most didn’t bother to lift
their heads from the grass.

           
As
Chase ran, a light breeze stirred and lifted her hat off of her head.
 
Her hair flew loose, various curly
strands sticking to her damp face and neck.
 
She came to a quick halt and turned back to find her hat
lying in the grass behind one lone
heifer
.
 
She moved briskly and stooped to pick up her hat.
 
She was tucking her hair up inside when
the cow
suddenly snorted and shifted uneasily.
 

           
The
next thing Chase knew, she was lying on her back with an immense pressure on her
chest.
 
She couldn’t seem to catch her
breath.
 
The
cow
was moving
nervously, lifting
her
feet and shifting
her
bulky
weight from one hoof to another.
 
Her
rear hoof was
inches from her right leg, and Chase knew she needed to roll away from
her
or risk having her
leg or foot crushed.
 
But the
pressure in her chest was overwhelming.
 

           
And
then it was gone.
 
She inhaled
sharply and gasped for breath.
 
Air
had never tasted so good.
 
The pain
in her chest suggested a possible broken rib or two.
 
But she couldn’t afford to lie in the field worrying about
that.
 
She rolled to my stomach and
pushed herself to her feet.
 
As
soon as she had moved out of reach of the
nervous cow
, she turned
back and shook her head at
the heifer
.

           
“Bloody
beast,” Chase muttered.
 
“Why would
you kick me?
 
I was only getting my
hat.”

As much as she wanted to go
see the calf born, Chase knew she needed to get back to the house and send for
a doctor to come make sure the
cow
hadn’t done more damage
than she thought.

She was climbing the steps
of the front porch with her arm wrapped around her ribs when Elisa came out the
front door.
 
She was holding a rug
in her hand, evidently on her way to shake it out.
 
She noticed Chase’s pain almost immediately.

“What’s happened?”

“Nothing really,” she tried
to laugh and grimaced in pain.
 
“I
got kicked by one of the
cows
.
 
I might have broken a rib or two.”

“We’ll need to get Dr. Burns
back out here to take a look at you.”

Chase nodded.
 
“Perhaps we should simply save us all
the ride and ask him to move in,” she joked.

***

 
“Are you sure you’re okay to make this ride?”

Elisa looked at her
companion with a tired smile.
 
“I’m
hoping the jostling on the horse will start my labor.
 
We’ll be bringing Dr. Burns back with us.
 
What better time to go into labor?”

Elisabeth returned her
smile.
 
“It will happen when the
baby is ready.”

“As the baby’s mother, I
think that I should be the one who decides when we’re ready.
 
And we are very ready.
 
And I’m grateful that you were able to
join me on this ride into town.”

Elisabeth shrugged.
 
“Colton warned me just this morning
that we women should not be running about by ourselves.
 
He mentioned that some dangerous men
are in town looking for Chase.”