Amalie Fergus crept from the house, desperate not to be seen.
“You have a visitor, daughter,” she heard her father calling in a raised voice. “Bastian Tanner is here to see you.”
Hearing that name made her skin crawl. She had seen his carriage arrive and knew she would have to make herself absent as quickly as possible before he found her. Of all the gentleman callers she had, she despised Bastian the most.
By some people’s opinion, he was a handsome man. His blond hair was well-kept and collar-length. He was average height and build, not surprising considering he had never lifted a finger to work in his life. His attire was always very neat, and looked far more expensive than he could surely afford. Then there were his eyes—light blue pools that made some women weak at the knees. Amalie definitely wasn’t one of those women. She didn’t know what it was, but when he looked at her, his cold eyes showed little, if any, expression. There was something not right about him, and certainly not how he constantly kept lurking around her home, persistently demanding to seek an audience with her.
She had tried to tell her father that Bastian’s attentions were unwelcomed, but he always brushed off her concerns as those of a frigid, young woman who was yet to learn the experiences of a marital relationship. Squeezing the note in her hand, she knew just how wrong her father’s assumptions were.
The note from Tristen had arrived that morning just after breakfast, requesting a meeting with her after midday at their usual place. She’d counted the hours ever since, until finally she could wait no more. Bathing and dressing in jeans and a plain cotton shirt, she prepared to go meet with her lover. That was when she heard the Tanner carriage arrive. Even if she hadn’t arranged plans for the afternoon, she still would have snuck from the house.
“Amalie!” she heard her father yell. “Where the hell are you?”
If her father were to find her now, dressed as she was, there would be hell to pay. How could she explain to him where she was going and who she was going to meet? Stepping out the back door of the house, she ran toward the stable and the horse she’d had readied for her. She was just about to swing up into the saddle when her brother came to a stop beside her, his jeans and cotton shirt filthy.
“Where are you going?” Jacob asked.
She swung into the saddle, knowing she had to direct the conversation toward where he had been since breakfast instead of where she was about to go. “Where have you been?” she demanded. “Father has been looking for you, and I’ve had to cover for you for hours.”
“Tristen asked me to stay and help him stack some bales so he could go to some meeting this afternoon.”
She raised her brow. “You do far too much for him. Especially when Father needs help running our own station.”
“He’s my friend, and he needed my help. Besides, he assured me he would pay me for my time.”
“I bet he did.”
“He asked after you,” Jacob continued. “Even enquired about the suitors that have come calling on you. He seemed very interested in you.” He eyed her carefully. “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he has kept our friendship all these years just so he could get close to you.”
She laughed, though she couldn’t feel humored by her brother’s remark. If he were to ever learn the reason for Tristen’s apparent interest, he would certainly not approve. “I’m sure you’re overreacting. I doubt he’s barely had time to notice me, what with so many of the ladies of the town begging for his attention.”
“He said something similar about the men desperate to court you, sister,” Jacob goaded, his brow raised. “Which begs me to ask where are you sneaking off to? More to the point, who are you sneaking off to meet dressed like that?”
She avoided looking at him directly. She hated lying to her brother, but she didn’t know how to tell him about her growing relationship with Tristen. In truth, other than sharing a bed with him, Amalie didn’t know what else she could confess to.
“I can’t be here right now. Bastian Tanner’s carriage just pulled up,” she explained. “It is a visit I really couldn’t stomach today.”
“You could just tell the chap you’re not interested, instead of constantly avoiding him.”
She shook her head. “I already tried that, but he keeps coming back. He just won’t take no for an answer.”
“Have you spoken to Father about it?” Jacob asked.
“I tried to tell him Bastian’s attentions weren’t welcomed or normal, but he wouldn’t listen. He told me I was just inexperienced in the ways of courtship.”
Jacob eyed her. “And are you?”
His question made her nervous. “Father is in the house waiting for you. He needs help mending the fences in the east paddock,” she said quickly before kicking her horse in the flanks and riding off.
As she rode in the direction of the old, deserted stone mansion on the Brone family’s original estate, she felt guilty hiding her activities from her brother. They had always been so close, and confided in each other about everything. Seeing the abandoned house just up ahead, she admitted that this was one secret she wasn’t sure she could ever tell Jacob.
Dismounting from her horse, she threw the reins over the railing, then went to the yellow tea tree and tied a blue ribbon around one of the branches. She turned toward the house and walked up to the door. Pulling the key from the pocket of her jeans, she placed it in the worn, rusted keyhole and turned it. As the entrance opened, she stepped inside and, going to the table, lit the lamp she’d left there yesterday.
The meetings in this place had been her idea, fearful what would happen should they be discovered together. She didn’t regret throwing herself at Tristen as shamelessly as she had the night of the autumn equinox party, but she did know the consequences of her actions should their affair ever be exposed. She couldn’t even confide in her brother about the relationship, fearing that if she did, he would remind her what was thought of such wanton behavior. Though her liaison with Tristen was unorthodox, she couldn’t have kept her distance from him any longer.
Tristen and her brother had been friends for ten years. As a result, she saw him almost daily—helping out on the farm, or swimming in the waterhole. She and Tristen were friends of a kind themselves, often sharing funny stories about Jacob. She always thought Tristen to be a handsome man, but as their friendship grew, and they spent more and more time together, she found herself craving to share so much more with him than just an exchange of words and laughter.
When she fell from the top of the mango tree last year during picking season, it was Tristen who caught her, his arms holding her close against him. Her arms going around his neck, she thanked him for saving her life. He looked into her eyes and told her that he would always protect her.
Sighing as the memories from that day washed over her, she couldn’t deny that his words to her then still melted her heart. Nor could she deny that as their affair continued, she craved to have so much more with this man than just to share a bed with him. She wanted to share a life.
No sooner had she thought such a thing, the already open door behind her creaked slightly. Turning around, her gaze went to the image of Tristen standing in the doorway, a bunch of wild daisies in his hand.
“I was starting to think you weren’t coming,” she muttered as she stepped toward him.
He closed the distance between them, his arm outstretched as he handed her the flowers. “I was hoping you would stay until I arrived.”
She lifted the daisies to her nose, her heart aflutter. “They are so very beautiful, Tristen.”
“They are nothing compared to your own beauty,” he commented.
Feeling heat drifting across her cheeks, she lowered her gaze and turned to place the flowers on the table near the lamp. “Jacob returned home just as I was leaving to meet you. He’s starting to suspect something. It won’t be long before he figures out what’s going on between us.”
“I will tell him if you want me to,” he offered.
“What would you tell him?” she asked, turning back around to face him.
He stepped toward her, closing the distance between them, and his hand cupped her cheek. “I would tell him the truth. That he has the most beautiful sister in the entire state and that you are mine.”
Her hands went to his shirt, pulling it from his jeans so her hands might slide underneath and caress his naked skin. “And you are mine,” she whispered, leaning into him. Her lips pressed against his, her tongue licking them, begging for entrance, as her fingers pulled at the fastening of his jeans.
He pulled at her blouse until it fell free from the tight waistband of her jeans. His fingers went to the buttons, quickly undoing them and pushing the piece of fabric to the floor. Momentarily breaking their embrace and lifting her chemise over her head, it too landed on the floor, his hands coming up to cup her naked breasts, his thumb caressing her already swollen nipple. A slight shiver covered her skin, and she ached to have this man do more than just touch her.
Walking her back toward the bed they had set up in the room earlier on in their affair, his hands fell from her breasts and went to the fastening of her jeans, pulling at it frantically. The fastenings of his trousers already loosened, she slid her hands inside to caress his rear, all the time pushing the fabric further and further down. When they finally reached the bed, they each stepped out of their remaining garments before falling on the soft mattress, their limbs entwined.
She shifted beneath him, her legs spreading and inviting him to nestle between her thighs. When he did, she lifted her hips toward him suggestively, silently begging him to enter her. He slowly pushed inside her tight sheath, making her finally break their embrace as a gasp of pleasure was forced from her.
Her hands went to his rear, guiding him deeper inside her as her legs spread more, welcoming him as he filled her. His movements quickened, his thrusts becoming harder and more urgent, and her body tingled with pleasure. She could feel her release approaching as he thrust inside her again and again, his lips lowering to hers, swallowing her moans of pleasure as she felt her sheath pulsating around him, milking his seed from his now shuddering body.
* * * *
Tristen and Amalie lay together on the bed, their bodies spooned against each other, their fingers entwined. He wanted this night to never end. The feelings created in him by this woman were so raw. Not just from their sexual interaction either. He felt connected to her, almost like they were both halves of a whole.
“I have to be going soon,” she uttered softly, lifting his hand to her lips and kissing it. “My family is expecting company tonight, and I’ve been told it’s my job to entertain them.”
“Entertain how?” he asked, kissing her naked shoulder.
“One of the families has a son, and my father thinks I would make him the perfect wife.”
He shifted and, rolling her on her back, glared down at her. “You are not going to be another man’s wife,” he told her, hurt by the mere mention.
She raised a curious brow at him. “You of all people must understand that I’m required to act the part and seem interested. In the eyes of my father, I’m a single woman that he can throw as many eligible suitors at as he wishes.”
His lips pursed, the idea of Amalie playing on the attentions of another man making him feel irritated. “And if I tell you I don’t want you entertaining another man, then what?”
She smiled, her brow raised as if challenging him. “Then you will have to explain to my father exactly why that is. Perhaps you could do that at the party tonight?”
He couldn’t be sure if she was serious or just playing with him. Either way, he wanted her to know that their relationship meant so much more to him than just moments between bedsheets.
“And what if I went to your father and did just that?”
Her smile began to fade. “I’ve tried to mention your name to him several times, but always he has ignored any interest I may have in you as a suitor. The only way to make him listen to you would be to tell him we’ve been sleeping together for months. But if you do that, I fear the consequences that may follow.”
They lay there, their stares joined. He knew what she was saying was right, but hated that it was so.
She lifted her hand to his face, her fingers stroking his cheek. “If you really want to talk to my father tonight, I shall come with you. Maybe if we see him together, there is some hope he may listen to what we want.”
He studied her, wondering exactly what she wanted. Wondering if she would welcome what he desired to share with her.
“I need to get dressed and return home before Jacob or Father come looking for me,” she said, interrupting his thoughts.
Knowing she was right, and that he too needed to get ready for tonight’s event, he moved off of her. Both of them leaving the bed, they began to dress.
“What is the name of this man your father wants you to entertain tonight?” he asked, buttoning his jeans.
“Carter Dix,” she replied, reaching for her blouse.
Tristen held his emotions in check as he buttoned his shirt. He knew the man she spoke of. How could he not when he was his own fiancée’s brother? He also knew how well sought after Carter was by the eligible women of the town, both for his handsome appearance and his overflowing bank account. He was a catch for any woman with his short-cut, brown hair, green eyes, and average build, not to mention the lavish presents he was rumored to grace his bed partners with.
Amalie stopped in front of him then, fully dressed, her hair pinned back up. Leaning into him, she kissed his lips. “You needn’t look so worried,” she said playfully, stepping back away from him. “Carter is sweet enough, but he’s nowhere near as handsome as you are.”
She turned away from him and left the building. She had just reached for her horse’s reins and was about to pull herself up into the saddle when he caught up to her. Stopping behind her, he rested his hands on her hips, his heart thudding heavily in his chest as he thought of how to ask his question. Nervously, he cleared his throat.
“You said before that we could go together to speak to your father and tell him what we want,” he reminded her. “What is it you want though, Amalie?”
She didn’t move, and as the silence between them continued, he began to fear he had overstepped his mark. When she pulled away from him, swinging herself up onto the saddle of her horse, his heart ached as he prepared for her to push him away for good.
“I want everything with you, Tristen,” she finally said, and he didn’t miss the slight tremor in her words. “But I love you enough to take whatever you are willing to give me for now.”
Before he could think how to reply to her confession, Amalie turned her horse in the direction of her father’s station and kicked it in the flanks. He stood there watching as the woman he had just made love to rode off into the distance, his heart pounding with the words she had just said. Love? That was a word he never thought to hear fall from her lips. Now that it had, he wanted nothing more than to go after her and sweep her up in his arms and make her his forever.
Quickly returning to lock the door of the building, Tristen went to his horse and threw himself up into the saddle. Turning the animal toward his father’s cattle station, he flicked the reins. He needed to get home as fast as he could so he could get ready for tonight. He had to look his best. After all, it wasn’t every day he asked a man if he could marry his only daughter.
* * * *
Arriving home, Amalie dismounted and handed the reins of the horse to the station hand that came to meet her. She ran toward the house, knowing she would have to be certain not to be seen by her father. Quietly opening the back door, she looked around carefully. Seeing that the area was clear, she ran to her room to get dressed for the evening’s event.
As she stripped off her jeans and blouse, going to the waiting basin of now cold water to wash herself, her mind was still a whirl with the confession she had given Tristen earlier. When she agreed to meet with him this afternoon, never did she intend on confessing her heart to him. Now that she had, and knowing he was due to arrive at the house shortly, she could feel her nerves growing.
Dressing in her hip-length chemise, she stepped into her beautiful pink gown with the slightly flared skirt and small, shoulder cap sleeves and began to do up the many buttons. When the last button was fastened, she turned to look at herself in the mirror. She had no doubt Jacob would comment on the low v-neckline of the gown. He always did. Still, she loved this dress, and she could see no better opportunity to wear it.
Going to sit on the edge of her bed, she reached for her shoes and began to slip them on when there was a knock on her door.
“Enter,” she ordered.
Immediately, the door was opened by Jacob. “Where have you been all afternoon?” he asked, stopping in front of her, his hands on his hips.
She knew he would ask her, but even so, she didn’t know what to tell him. She certainly couldn’t tell him the truth. Standing up, she walked over to her dresser and grabbed several pins to put her hair up.
“I’ve been getting ready for tonight,” she replied. “The guests will be here soon.”
Finishing doing her hair, she turned toward the door. Jacob stepped in front of it, blocking any exit she might have made.
“Don’t try to fool me. I saw you come in barely half an hour ago. So again I ask you, where have you been?”
Still she said nothing. She didn’t want to lie to him, but nor did she know how to tell him the truth either.
His head turned slightly to the side as he studied her. “You went and saw a man, didn’t you?” he asked her. “Are you mad? Have you any idea what could happen to you should Father find out?”
She tried to stay strong. “Father won’t find out. He’s so busy trying to sell me off to the richest station owners’ sons, I doubt he’s even noticed my absence.”
She tried to walk around him, but he stopped her. “Do you have any idea what will happen to you should you be found with a man before you are wed?” Jacob asked. “Have you any notion what will happen should you fall with child?”
She knew her brother was genuinely concerned for her welfare, but this wasn’t how she wanted to have this conversation with him. “Please get out of my way,” she begged. “Father is expecting me downstairs before the guests arrive. Can’t we talk about this later?”
Jacob held her arm. “What if Father finds out you’ve been engaging in some clandestine affair?”
She raised her brow, knowing it was about time her brother became aware that she knew about his own secret. “And what if he finds out about yours instead?”
Seeing his apprehension, Amalie knew her question had hit a nerve. She didn’t want to argue with her brother, but nor would she allow him to make her feel guilty for giving herself to a man she loved. Pulling free from his hold, she walked out of the room and headed downstairs.