Restless Heart (8 page)

Angeline lay back and opened her legs. His gaze widened as he drank in the entire sight of her.

“Like a goddess come to life.”

She was sure she didn’t look like a goddess, but with his words, he made her feel like one. He lowered himself until he was hovering directly over her.

“Are you sure about this, Angel?”

She reached down and stroked his cock. It jumped against her hand, leaving a trail of sweet wetness. Angeline brought him to her entrance, letting him feel how wet she was, how much she wanted him, wanted this.

“Never been more sure of anything.”

“Good, because I think I’d die if we stopped.”

His staff slid in slowly, its passage made easy by the moist heat of her core. Inch by inch, he pressed forward. There was no pain, no discomfort, nothing but a feeling of being stretched and tingles of pleasure. Angeline pulled at his back to make him go faster.

“Patience, honey. I want to feel every second of this, of you, of us. God, you feel like heaven.”

He fully sheathed himself inside her and paused. She felt his body shaking, knowing she was trembling as well. It was as if someone had made them to fit together, a perfect match.

It felt simply astonishing to have him, so large and hard, inside her. She throbbed around him, clenching and unclenching, wanting and needing more.

“Please, Sam, please.” She didn’t know what she was asking for but she needed it now.

Sam heard her and started moving. With each pass, his speed increased as did Angeline’s tingles. They spread out from her center in waves, making her restless with need. The tingles reached her nipples, which ached with pleasure as they rubbed against his chest with each thrust.

Angeline felt something inside her coil tighter and tighter. She scratched at his back, not understanding what was happening. He responded by moving faster and harder, the sound of their choppy breaths loud in the quiet room.

“Sam, I need. Please.”

She didn’t know what to do, but she knew she needed something. And only he could give it to her. Angeline knew she’d lose control if she didn’t find what she sought.

“Hang on, Angel.”

Sam lifted himself up onto one arm and reached between them. His thumb landed on her hooded button and he started flicking it. Angeline almost bucked him off with the force of her reaction.

It was amazing to think that small piece of flesh could be manipulated to bring her such ecstasy. He flicked faster, the rhythm matching that of his cock as it slid in and out of her.

Angeline stopped breathing as a wave of something she could only call rapture overwhelmed her. She wanted to scream, shout, roar at the heavens as the most perfect pleasure
washed through her. She whispered his name, or she could have yelled it.

There was nothing but Sam and their joining, and the intensity of it. He jerked and plunged so deep inside her, he touched her womb. Angeline dug her hands into the bed, pushing up against him as the waves ebbed through her. Her eyes saw nothing but Sam, her heart knew nothing but Sam, and her body was now one with Sam’s.

She didn’t even realize she was crying until he lay beside her and wiped her cheeks.

“Don’t cry, Angel.”

Angeline smiled at him. “Why not? I just experienced the most perfect moment in my life and I found it with you.”

Sam pulled her into his arms and they lay together, heart to heart, as Angeline wept into his shoulder. She’d never felt such peace and contentment before Sam. He was the other half she’d been seeking all her life.

Angeline was in love.

J
onathan Morton rode into the small town of Forestville with a weariness he’d never felt. His journey was nearly over and he couldn’t be happier. Only a few more weeks and he’d be back in Tolson, free to marry Angeline and start the rest of his life. It was the reason he pushed himself and his horse so hard.

He missed her.

Jonathan hadn’t written to Angeline, knowing the letters wouldn’t reach her anyway. Her father, Silas, had a firm hand and did not allow his daughters any freedom whatsoever, and that included choice of a husband.

Her sister, Eliza, was a different girl, odd but smart and likeable. But Angeline, she made his heart turn into a thundering horse whenever she smiled. He’d enjoyed his missionary trip immensely, but couldn’t wait to get back to Tolson. To Angeline.

He stopped in front of the hotel and dismounted, his legs shaking with exhaustion. He’d driven himself and his horse hard the last month as he rode back from Oklahoma to Utah. The sun was just setting, casting an orange glow on everything.

At first, he thought he was seeing things, but no, his eyes
weren’t playing tricks on him. Right there, walking toward him, was Angeline, arm in arm with an Indian.

His heart fell to his feet, then bounced back up again to hit his pride dead on. Jonathan was no coward, but the shock of seeing her was enough to make him speechless. As he watched, they approached a building with a sign that read
THE BLUE PLATE
, likely a restaurant.

The Indian leaned down and kissed her, making Jonathan’s blood boil in his veins. He stepped toward them, ready to defend her honor, to stop the bastard from soiling the woman who was to be his bride.

“She’s not yours anymore.”

Jonathan turned to find Lettie Brown standing on the sidewalk. She looked the same as always, brown and drab, with the weight of world on her shoulders. It took him a moment to realize Lettie was there in Forestville too, hundreds of miles from home.

Perhaps he was dreaming. Why would both of them be so far from the ward? Lettie was married to Josiah Brown, a church elder and a stern man who tolerated no deviation from what he considered to be the truth. Then there was Silas Hunter, a man who would never allow his precious daughter to travel away from Tolson and most especially would not tolerate her kissing an Indian in the street.

“Lettie?”

“Yes, Jonathan.”

“Am I dreaming?” He touched his dusty face, wondering if he’d find a fever or some other cause for the strange visions.

“No, you’re not.” Lettie stepped toward him, her arms crossed and a fierce scowl on her face.

“Why are you here? And for that matter, how did you get here?” Jonathan was full of questions, but those two were the ones he simply had to know.

“We’re here because this is where we stopped, and God
apparently thought it great fun to bring you here as well.” Lettie moved close enough so he could see the sheer fury in her eyes. “I’m here because I got tired of Josiah’s iron fists and the sting of his whip. I’m here because I wanted to live my life without cowering every day, wondering what infraction I might commit to warrant a beating. I’m here because
I
chose to be here and there’s not a damn thing that bastard can do about it.”

Jonathan knew Josiah was mean, but he’d had no idea how bad it was being married to the man. A whip? Lord have mercy on Lettie and all she’d been through. He couldn’t even think of a single thing to say.

“You’d best forget what and who you saw here.” Lettie’s statement sounded like a warning.

“But what about Angeline?” His heart stuttered at the thought of never seeing her beautiful face again. He loved her and wanted her for his first and only wife.

Lettie shook her head. “You lost her a year ago. A few months after you left, Josiah turned his gaze on her. She became his wife last August.”

All the blood drained from Jonathan’s face and he staggered beneath the weight of that awful news. “You lie.”

“I wish I did. That girl, that woman, is one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. She did as she was bid and for her obedience she lived with that monster for two months.” Lettie’s stern expression softened. “Angeline might look as if she would break easily, but she has a backbone of steel. If it weren’t for her, I’d be dead.” Her voice caught on the last word and she sucked in a shaky breath.

Jonathan felt as if someone had kicked him square in the chest. His heart clenched so tightly he almost stopped breathing. Josiah had taken Angeline to wife? Josiah knew how much she and Jonathan loved each other. How could he? To know his beautiful Angeline had lain beneath the old man made his stomach turn.

“You ran.”

“No, we took our freedom and left. Josiah doesn’t give up what he covets though. He’s already sent one killer after us.” Lettie narrowed her gaze. “If you tell him where you saw us, she’s as good as dead. The only reason Angeline’s alive is because of Eliza. She followed the bounty hunter sent to kill us and stopped him when he had a gun to Angeline’s head. Do you understand what I’m telling you? Josiah tried to have us killed because we left the prison he called marriage.”

Jonathan managed to make it to the steps of the hotel before he vomited in the bushes. What Lettie had told him couldn’t possibly be true. Yet it appeared the two women were there in a small town in Wyoming, unprotected and alone. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his mouth while he shook like a newborn calf.

When he straightened up, Lettie was standing by his horse. Waiting.

“I must speak to her.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. She’s been on her own for nearly a year. Angeline is not the same girl you knew.”

A year?

“I still need to speak to her. Lettie, please, I love her. I can’t simply walk away and never see her again.” Jonathan couldn’t believe he was begging. “Please.”

“In the morning then. Get yourself cleaned up and get some sleep. Your clothes could use a good brushing too.” Lettie gestured to the building behind him. “The hotel is a nice one. You’ll find everything you need.”

He wasn’t happy with waiting to speak to her, but judging by the expression on Lettie’s face, he had no choice. She might just shoot him down if he tried to speak to Angeline before the morning. Lettie was one tough, cool, unmovable force.

“Fine then, in the morning.” He stood, not surprised to feel weak in the knees. “Where should I meet you?”

“Come to the restaurant across the street at six. I’ll be waiting for you and take you to Angeline.” Lettie stepped forward until she was mere inches from his face. “I’m warning you, Jonathan Morton, I will do everything I must to protect her and myself. Do you understand me?”

He didn’t miss the threat, that was for sure. “Yes, Lettie. I understand. Don’t worry, I won’t betray you.”

She stared at him a few moments longer, then turned. “See you at six tomorrow.”

With that, she walked away, leaving Jonathan standing on the steps of the hotel, confused and heartbroken. He wondered if he’d even be able to sleep.

Angeline dreamed of Sam, of his hands, his mouth, his dark eyes. She woke with her entire body humming with need. She had never experienced such a thing, and was therefore frustrated beyond measure to not understand how to relieve it, other than being with Sam again.

She splashed cold water on her face, which helped a little, but not much. Her nipples actually ached and when she took off her nightrail, the cool morning air made them pucker even harder. She looked down at the rosy nipples and touched them with her fingertips. A pure bolt of lightning shot down her body directly between her legs.

Angeline gasped at the sensation, so she touched them again, this time with thumb and forefinger. It felt even better, easing the ache within her. She closed her eyes and imagined it was Sam touching her. His callused skin caressing hers.

A knock at the door startled her, breaking the spell of imagining what might happen.

“What?”

“Good morning to you too.” Lettie sounded like her usual chipper self. “Get downstairs, it’s nearly five and you haven’t started the biscuits yet.”

Angeline stuck out her tongue at the closed door. “I’ll be right there.”

She was confused and excited by everything that had happened with Sam the night before. If she was smart she’d talk to someone about what she was feeling, but Angeline didn’t feel comfortable telling anyone. It was so personal.

Was this how lovemaking was supposed to feel? If so, she realized what Josiah had forced on her was simply against nature. Sam had showed her that a man could be gentle, respectful, and still find pleasure, as well as give it.

Angeline dressed quickly, her mind still buzzing with questions she didn’t have answers to. Lettie waited for her at the bottom of the stairs, her foot tapping and a scowl on her face.

“You know people might think your face has a permanent frown.” Angeline was pleased to see Lettie’s mouth twitch.

“Get in the kitchen and bake.” The older woman ushered her through the kitchen door.

Marta was absent so Angeline and Lettie stoked the fires, readying the oven for baking breakfast. It was an easy partnership, one they’d cultivated over the last year. Some folks never saw past the gruff exterior Lettie showed the world. She was really an emotional person, capable of great courage and deep friendship. Angeline never could have made it on her own without Lettie by her side. She was closer to Ange-line than her own sister, Eliza.

“I have something to tell you and you’re not going to like it.” Lettie set the flour canister on the table.

Angeline didn’t like the tone in her friend’s voice. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. “What is it?”

“Yesterday afternoon I saw you with that man, Samuel Carver.” Lettie met her gaze. “He kissed you right on the street. You need to be more careful than that. I thought you understood the danger of getting involved with someone.”

Angeline felt her cheeks heat. “I like him, Lettie. A lot.”
That particular fact made her feel both guilty and wonderful. “I won’t stop seeing him because you think I won’t be safe. I can’t. Sam is a part of me now.”

“More than Jonathan?” Lettie stared at her.

Angeline swallowed. “Yes, much more.”

“I’m going to tell you something and you’ve got to promise not to have a fit of the vapors.”

“What? Vapors?” Angeline’s heart thumped hard. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“Someone else saw you with Sam.”

“We were on the street, Lettie. Anyone could have seen—”