The little homestead was quiet when Mic got back. He could see Noah in the yard cooking the afternoon meal. Wade was with the horses, training a new colt to saddle. Clothes waved gently in the breeze on the line. Lillian was nowhere to be seen. She was probably in the cabin hiding from Wade. He’d check on her as soon as he put the meat in the icehouse and gave the hides to Noah to cure and stretch.
Glancing toward the cabin, he smiled at the yellow curtains in the window. True to her word, Lillian had added a feminine touch to his home. She’d started with curtains, looking at him uncertainly when he’d entered. He’d made sure to compliment her. The dollies had come next, along with several trinkets.
He removed the pack and saddle before turning Jimmy Boy into the second corral. He put the saddle in the tack shed, the day’s catch in the icehouse, and the skins beside Noah who beamed up at him. “Where’s Lillian?”
Noah shrugged. “She was hanging out the clothes a while ago. I think she went inside after Wade bothered her. Why can’t he be nice to her?”
Mic smiled. He wasn’t even sure why he’d asked. Noah didn’t pay half the attention to people as he did to animals. Mussing Noah’s brown hair, he shook his head. “Wade will come around eventually.”
He headed for the river, wanting to wash away the grime before he went to find Lillian. Removing his hat, he poured handfuls of water over his head, enjoying the coolness. He straightened and noticed the red paints and daisies and purple bells on the shore. Gathering the flowers, he started for the cabin.
Opening the door, he found Lillian sitting in the chair beside the window, stitching the moccasins. Her hand inched toward the skillet at her side and she looked up. Wade must have given her problems. Her hand paused and her eyes focused on the flowers.
“I know they aren’t as nice as hot house flowers, but I thought you might enjoy them.”
She relaxed and smiled. “They’re beautiful.” Setting aside the moccasins, she rose to her feet and walked over to him so she could accept them. She brought them to her nose and inhaled the sweet fragrance. “They smell as lovely as they look. Is there a vase I can put them in?”
He resisted the urge to kiss her. “There should be a canning jar in the cupboard.”
With a nod, she went to the cupboard and pulled out the jar then added some water to it. “Mind if I put them in the center of the table? I’d like to see them while we eat. ”
“They’re yours to do with as you please. I’d be happy to see them on the table.” He walked over to her moccasins, inspecting her work. She was a quick learner. “They’re coming along nicely.”
“I’m looking forward to having a pair for winter. You’re right. They’re more comfortable than other shoes.” She placed the flowers on the table, where they could enjoy the sunlight, and turned to him. “I’d like to improve my ability to handle a knife.”
“Alright.” He moved closer to her, enjoying the smell of honey and rose on her skin. “I’ll take you with me tomorrow for practice by the lake. Abby probably has an extra knife in her trunks that will be more suitable to your hand size. How was your day?”
She slipped her hands into her pockets and shrugged. “Actually, it was a good one. One that I needed.” She gave him a teasing grin. “I was hoping to start practicing tonight, but I can wait for tomorrow. Oh.” She lifted the corner of the vest and pulled his knife out of the sheath she had attached to the belt at her waist. “I thought you might want this back. I found it in the loft. I forgot I threw it across the room that day when Jeremiah was here.”
He took the knife from her hand, brushing her skin, lingering longer than he needed. “We can practice the knife after lunch.”
Her face brightened. “Thank you.”
The door opened and Noah entered with his eyes closed, two bowls of stew in his hands. “Stew’s done.”
Mic burst out laughing. “What are you doing?”
Noah opened one eye. “Wade said you two were in here a long time and I didn’t want to walk in on anything I shouldn’t see.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake,” Lillian said as she went over to Noah and took the bowls from him. “Tell Wade he has nothing to fear. I won’t do anything to harm his brother. Mic’s good reputation is still intact.”
Mic wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “I think he was more worried about Noah’s innocent mind than my already soiled reputation. After all, I am an outlaw.”
“We are all outlaws, aren’t we? That being the case, the only thing you need to protect is your virtue.” She playfully nudged him in the side. “Noah, you can tell Wade that Mic has not been harmed. I think he’ll understand what I mean by that. ”
Noah nodded and left.
Mic playfully nipped her earlobe. “I’d like to know what you mean by that.”
“I am a lady, Mr. Nichols, and a lady never reveals her secrets.” With a teasing shrug, she took the bowls to the table then retrieved the spoons. “Are you ready to eat?”
“Lewis,” he said, taking a seat.
“Lewis?” she asked as she sat across from him.
“My surname is Lewis, not Nichols.”
“Oh. Then I stand corrected, Mr. Lewis.” She dipped her spoon in the stew. “What happened to your father?”
“He died before my birth and Mama never said much about him. I think it devastated her. She refused to remarry until I was eight. Jim once let it slip that he died in a saloon. I’m not really sure how. ”
“I’m sorry. Even if you didn’t learn much about him, he was still your father. But Jim, he was good to you and your mother?”
He took a bite of the stew. “Jim owed my father a debt from the Indian Wars, something about sparing his life. I think Jim stayed because he was in love with my mother. ”
“That’s nice,” she said with a smile. “That he loved your mother. Romantic, even. ”
He nodded. “It would have been more so if Jim’s heritage didn’t mean he’d be lynched if he ever touched her.”
“Lynched?”
“People around here don’t take kindly to Indians and Jim was all for flaunting his heritage. If my birth hadn’t happened six months after my father’s death, there are those in town that would have believed Jim was my father and there would have been a lot of trouble.”
He finished up the last of his stew, no longer hungry for more. “Tell me about your parents?”
“Alright, but before I do, I still think it was romantic. I read books about such love, the kind where a man loved a woman so much he’d do anything for her. When you consider most marriages back East are done for convenience, it’s nice to know that the kind of love Jim had for your mother existed.” She cradled her chin in her hand and smiled, not looking directly at him as her thoughts drifted to her past. “My parents’ marriage was arranged. Their parents owned businesses and they wanted to merge them. But over time, my parents fell in love. ”
He frowned. While arranged marriages weren’t unheard of, they weren’t common in these parts. He couldn’t imagine marrying a woman to increase a business, or even a ranch. “Was your betrothal to Robert arranged? To merge your family business with his family’s?”
“No. They were to settle my brother’s debts. My brother loved to gamble, but he was no good at winning.”
“So he sold you in marriage to his debtor? Didn’t he have another way to honor his debts besides slavery for his sister?” He couldn’t imagine a brother doing this. He’d never even consider doing such an abhorrent thing to his sister Abby. He hoped she would marry a man who loved her and would care for her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“You didn’t say anything I haven’t already thought of myself. I left. I refused to marry him. I did the only thing I could think of. I answered an ad for a mail-order bride and got as far from Virginia as possible. It took some doing, but I did it without anyone suspecting my plan.” She sighed and stirred what little remained of her stew. “But then that wanted poster was drawn up of me, and the hat I was wearing was in it. I’m afraid they’ll recognize it when they see it and know it’s me. Now you know why I can’t risk exposing myself. This is why I have to stay. But just because I’m staying, that doesn’t mean I don’t need to learn to protect myself. I can’t leave anything to chance. I’ve come too far and sacrificed too much to stop now.”
Her words were a knife in his chest and he fought to keep the hurt from his face. What a fool he’d been to think there was more between them than what was. She would do anything to hide from those who would hurt her, and maybe that included letting him kiss and touch her in a way far too familiar.
Wade had always accused him of being a hopeless romantic. And the situation he found himself in only proved it. He was falling in love with the bewitching woman in front of him and all she wanted from him was a place to hide from Robert and Albert.
He stood, gathering his bowl and silverware. “I understand and I will do what I can to help you.”
She quickly finished her stew and carried them as they went to the river. “I appreciate all you’ve done for me. I don’t think anyone else would help me out.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, using his hand to clean the plate. He didn’t know what else to say.
“You know, I didn’t have anyone I could really talk to when I was growing up. It’s hard to explain what things were like, except to say my parents were protective of me and it was hard to tell if someone was being nice to me because they had to or because they wanted to.” She glanced in his direction. “I don’t want to just stay here because I’m an outlaw. I want to be here because I want to be with you. ”
He glanced at her, judging the truthfulness of her words. Her face pinked with a becoming blush and she ducked her head, quickly washing her plate and avoiding any eye contact with him. She was embarrassed by her admission and his heart soared with the possibilities.
Maybe Lillian was different than Jane in more ways than personality and looks. Maybe Lillian saw him as more than a protector who’d provide food and a home for her. More than a man to whom she owed a debt for which he would never ask payment for. Was it possible that Lillian felt the same about him as he felt for her?
“Uzizitka?”
She turned her gaze to him, still blushing but also looking determined. Setting the plate aside, she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him.
When she would have pulled away, Mic gathered her to him and rained small kisses upon her lips. Her knees rested on either side of his thighs, her soft breasts pressed against his chest, and her arms wrapped around his neck. He nipped her lip, his tongue tracing the seam of her mouth, seeking entrance. She opened to him, her tongue tentatively touching his, and he delved inside, his desire overriding any judgment, good or bad.
In less than a week this woman had become one of the most important people in his life. From the moment he saw her, he’d been drawn to her, lusted after her. He’d tried not to act on his immoral urges. Not that it had been easy as he watched her bloom like the wild rose he was so fond of calling her. All the different facets of her nature slowly revealed themselves, causing him to respect her and even love her. He loved the endearing woman so full of questions and the angry angel ready for battle. He wanted to comfort the lost and hurt lady who wanted so badly to be protected and loved. And right now he wanted to make love to the sultry temptress in his arms.
She moaned, squirming in his lap. His erection grew incredibly hard beneath her. His hands tangled in her shirt, pulling it from her waistline. He gripped her hips, drawing her closer, grinding her intimate place over him in a way that was almost satisfying, but left him wanting more.
And he wouldn’t….couldn’t take more than this. No matter how much he wanted to. He wouldn’t take her virtue from her. He wouldn’t make her a fallen woman. She deserved a proper marriage.
She ran her hands over his shoulders and down his back then clasped his shirt. Her hips rocked against him, her moans more insistent. “Mic,” she whispered against his lips, sending him over the edge. “Mic.” She deepened their kiss, her bold actions surprising and pleasing him.
His hand slipped beneath her shirt and he tried to still her hips. She’d get a hell of a shock if she kept this up. He was fit to burst.
She pulled back, her hands exploring his chest through his shirt, her eyes focused on the path of her hands. It granted him better access to her soft skin and he took advantage of it although he knew he shouldn’t.
Her hips tapered into a flat belly and a narrow waist he could almost wrap his hands around. Her fingers fumbled for the buttons of his shirt, her breathing heavy, her face flushed, her eyes giving away her excitement. She shifted in his lap and his hands skimmed over her ribs. She slid his shirt off his shoulders and leaned forward to kiss his neck.
His fingers slid up, caressed the underside of her breasts. His labored breathing was loud in his ears. The desire to cup his hands over the round globes, to touch and explore the texture and feel of them was overwhelming. “Uzizitka?”
“It feels good,” she whispered. Her hands rising on his chest. “You’re so different from me. It’s wonderful.” Her fingers brushed his nipples. “I want to be with you. I want to learn everything I can about you.”
He groaned, pressing her backward, lowering her to the grass. Her legs wrapped around his waist. He kissed her, tongues sparring. His hand cupped a breast, squeezing the small, plump globe, his rough finger grazing her nipple.
A twig snapped and Mic jerked away from her, using his body to shield and protect her. Noah stood a short distance away, a curious look on his face. “If you’re going to do what the cows and bulls do, Lillian needs to be on her hands and knees and not her back.”
Mic choked, not sure if he should laugh, yell, or thank his brother for putting a stop to it. This so was not the way to go about courting Lillian. One did not have sex with a virgin beside the river.
Lillian scrambled to tuck in her shirt. “It’s not what it looks like.”
Noah frowned, looking between the two of them. “It looked like Mic was going to ride you.”
He said it so matter-of-factly that Mic was speechless and his face was afire. Standing, he glanced toward Lillian. Her eyes were wide and her face almost as red as her hair.
“We were wrestling,” Mic said, buttoning his shirt.
Noah frowned. “That looked very different than the wrestling we did as boys. Other than you had her pinned on the ground and she was trying to flip you with her legs around your waist.”
“I…I… We were doing no such thing!” Lillian protested.
Mic burst out laughing. He had to admit this was the strangest conversation he’d ever had. His brother was talking about sex like it was an everyday occurrence while Lillian was trying to deny that they’d been caught in the most compromising position imaginable. And during the whole thing, he was struggling to dress himself before Wade showed up to make an awkward situation worse.
“I’m young, not stupid,” Noah said, stalking past them toward the river to wash his bowl and spoon. “I’ve seen enough animals making babies to know—”
Mic grabbed Lillian’s hand before she decided to make matters worse and headed for the cabin with her in tow. They needed to talk about what had happened. It wasn’t a conversation he was looking forward to having, but it was one that had to be done.