Chapter 6
With his mother’s birthday party underway and the house and grounds filled to capacity with relatives and neighbors, Noah found all the celebrating a welcome distraction to his brooding over his stolen ship. Dozens of different scenarios had been running through his mind about what the woman and her gang might be doing. Having served with Simmons, he knew all manner of illegalities could come into play: opium, slaves, children. He prayed they weren’t engaging in any of that, but he had no way of knowing. Noah had never approached a woman violently, but the pirate woman he wanted to hurt. In truth, the moment he found her, he planned to turn her over to the authorities, but it didn’t stop his mind from fantasizing about feeding her headfirst to a shark.
“If looks could kill.”
He turned to find Drew at his side. They were outdoors on the crowded patio, waiting for their mother’s birthday cake to be brought out while laughter and their sangria-drinking friends and relatives flowed around them. “Thinking about my ship,” he said in explanation.
“And the woman?”
“And the woman.”
“You can’t kill her, you know.”
“I do, but that doesn’t mean I can’t think about it though.”
Drew raised his glass of wine in a salute. “What will you do when you find her?”
“Reclaim the Alanza and turn her over to the authorities. Hopefully I’ll get some satisfaction from whatever punishment the courts mete out.”
“And if you don’t find her?”
“Oh I will. That I’m certain of.” There were no doubts in Noah’s mind that he’d find her. Someone knew who she was and he’d find that person, as well.
“Do you still plan to leave right after the wedding?”
“Yes.”
“Then try and have a good time while you’re here. You look like you could use some fun in your life.”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Extremely.”
His brothers knew him well.
Drew’s tone softened. “Talking about what happened to you back then might help, Noah.”
Noah watched one of the old aunts attempting to teach Tonio to dance. “I’m fine, Drew.”
“You’ve been a terrible liar all your life.”
A rueful smile curved his lips and he met his brother’s seriously set eyes. “If I talk about it, then your heart will break, too, and mine is broken enough for the both of us.” That said, he stood silently as the cake was brought out and everyone cheered.
The day of Alanza’s wedding dawned bright with blue skies. Attempting to hold on to her excitement was difficult. I’m getting married! came her ecstatic inner voice. And to a man who’d claimed her heart like none other before.
“You look gorgeous, Mama,” Mariah gushed as Alanza did a slow turn to show off her new gold gown. Her daughters-in-law were to be her attendants and they were dressed very elegantly as well.
“Gorgeous and happy,” Billie added.
“I am both. I want to pinch myself just to make sure I’m not dreaming.”
“No dream,” Billie said. “In just a little while, you’re going to be Mrs. Maxwell Rudd.”
“Yes, I am. I have butterflies in my stomach. I can’t remember ever being so nervous.”
“You’ll be fine once everything gets underway.”
“Is the padre here?”
“Yes,” Mariah said with assurance. “Your cousins are with him downstairs. Are you ready to go?”
Alanza took in deep calming breath. “Yes.”
Billie said, “I’ll alert everyone that you’re on your way and shoo them outside. I’ll meet you and ’Riah when you come down.”
“Thank you, Billie.”
After her departure, Alanza took in the happy face of first daughter-in-law. “Thank you for this beautiful gown.”
“It was my pleasure, and thank you for being the best mother-in-law a girl could ever wish for.”
They shared a strong hug so filled with meaning that Mariah had to use her fingertips to staunch the tears threatening to spill from her golden eyes.
“Okay,” Alanza declared confidently. “Let’s go. I have a man to dazzle.”
Mariah lifted the gown’s flowing train and Alanza led them from the room.
The wedding was lovely. While Max stood beneath the flower-laden bower with his two groomsmen, the padre, and the teary-eyed Billie and Mariah, Alanza was escorted in by her impeccably dressed sons: Logan in front, Drew on her right, and Noah on her left. The black eyes and split lips were still apparent and caused more than a few titters, but most of the guests were focused on the lovely Alanza and her stunning gold gown.
After the sons delivered her to the groom’s side, they stepped away.
Alanza looked up into Max’s serious eyes and knew she was making the right decision. As an adolescent, she’d thought herself in love with Abraham, but that hadn’t been love. The soaring in heart caused by the incredible man beside her was the real thing, so as the padre began the words and asked that she repeat the vows, she did so with a firm, strong voice. And when he pronounced them man and wife, and they sealed the ceremony with a kiss, she didn’t hear the thunderous applause or the raucous cheers of her sons; all that mattered was Max, and Max alone, until death did them part.
The newlyweds spent the rest of the afternoon reigning over the wedding feast (that encompassed three trestle tables) and receiving the well wishes of family and friends. As the sun made its way across the sky and began to sink towards the evening, Max pulled her aside. “Are you ready to go?”
“Go where.”
“With me?”
The mischief in his eyes made her ask over a laugh, “What are you up to now, Maxwell Rudd?”
“Come with me and see.”
“Is this an adventure?”
“The first of many, I’m hoping.”
She glanced around at the milling guests.
“Don’t worry about them, there’s still plenty for them to eat and drink, they’ll be fine. And I already talked to the boys to let them know we’re leaving.”
The Alanza of the past would’ve immediately bristled at the idea of embarking on something so unknown and spontaneous, and she certainly wouldn’t’ve been happy leaving behind a slew of untended guests, but with Max she had the opportunity to be someone new, so she grabbed the brass ring and held on. “I’m ready.”
Delight filled his face. He grabbed her hand, she used her free one to hike up her gown, and off they ran.
It was nearly full dark by the time they reached his hunting cabin. He stopped the wagon, set the brake and hopped down. Under the mountain breeze he came around and held up his arms for her, and with one swoop slowly brought her to the ground before him. For a moment they stood silently, feasting on the sight of each other. There was a muted hunger in his eyes that touched her in all the places he’d been gently wooing all summer.
“Nervous?” he asked.
“A little.”
“Then we’re even.”
When he scooped her up into his arms, she barked a laugh that was cut short by the long hard kiss he placed on her lips before continuing the journey to the cabin. He kicked the door open, and once they were inside, carried her through the dark into a room at the back. He set her on her feet.
“Let me light a lamp.”
The spark of a match was immediately followed by a small glow that soon grew and filled the room. Alanza stared around, surprised. “When did you build a bedroom?”
“Started working on it last year. Figured my new wife wouldn’t want to sleep in a bedroll on the floor.”
“Last year? Pretty confident, weren’t you?”
“Yes.”
She shook her head at the boast and the smile that accompanied it. They’d used the cabin as their hunting base for years and she had indeed slept on the floor in a bedroll. The new room showed why his carpentry skills were so highly sought after. Polished log walls and a pitched roof held the huge new bed he’d talked about building. “This is the bed you made for us?”
“Yes, as I said, we weren’t having our wedding night in the bed you inherited from your mother.”
When she married Abe, there’d been no wedding night. He’d slept on the floor in the front room. She found herself quietly looking forward to this one.
“What’s wrong?” he asked softly.
She shook her head. “Nothing.” She didn’t wish to spoil the night by talking about the past.
The new bed was topped with linens and pillows that he couldn’t possibly have picked out alone. “Have my girls been up here?” There were curtains and two upholstered sitting chairs and a large fireplace built from boulders and stones.
“Yes,” he confessed unashamedly. “Billie picked out the sheets and quilts and that big rug under the bed. Mariah made the curtains.”
“All without me knowing a thing.”
“See how wonderful being in the dark can be?”
She walked over and put her arms around his waist. “I love you, Max Rudd.”
“I love you, too, Lanz Rudd.”
She met his eyes. “We’re going to be happy.”
“As otters playing in water.”
That caused her to laugh again and she fit herself against him and rested her cheek against his strong chest. His arms tightened around her and she savored the peace she found in his embrace.
“Let’s make a fire and get out of these wedding clothes,” he said above her. “This tie is strangling me.”
She stepped back so he could rid himself of the formal tie, but she was unsure what she was supposed to do next.
“I need to bring some things in from the wagon. Have a seat and relax. Been a long day.”
While he was gone she marveled again at the room mostly to take her mind off how nervous she’d suddenly become. The talk she’d had with Billie a few weeks back about the ins and outs of bed play had been shocking to say the least. The last thing she wanted was to disappoint Max with her lack of knowledge. Abe had been gentle with her in bed but she hadn’t actively participated because he hadn’t encouraged it and she didn’t know she was supposed to. Max gave her the sense that intimacies between the two of them would be different and as a result she was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room of rockers.
He returned carrying a small trunk and a covered basket. He set them on the floor near the fireplace and silently lit the logs stacked inside. He looked over at her.
“You okay?”
“Not sure.”
He gave her a gentle smile before reaching for the poker to even out the logs. Once he seemed satisfied that the fire was well on its way, he stood and held her eyes. “Your girls sent along some sangria, the boys thought you’d prefer tequila, so I brought both. Which would you prefer?”
“Tequila.”
“It’s in the basket. Grab it and I’ll bring a chair over here by the fire.”
She found a bottle of her favorite tequila along with two glasses and said thanks for having raised such wonderful sons. When she turned to join Max by the fire, he was already seated. “Where’s my chair?”
He patted his lap.
She dropped her head and then raised it to show her smile. Tequila and glasses in hand, she walked over, settled herself on his lap, and poured them both a small portion. He took the bottle from her and set it on the floor. Glass in hand, he raised it and said, “To otters.”
Laughing at how silly he was, she raised hers, too. “To otters.”
They both took sips and he eased her closer and kissed the top of her hair. “No fighting boys, no guests, no babies breaking out of jail. I may never take you back.”
She agreed “I know. This is nice. Thanks for the rescue.”
“Anytime.”
They finished their drinks and he placed the glasses on the floor beside the bottle. In the silence only the crackling fire could be heard. He gently raised her chin and gifted her with a slow series of kisses that set her heart to pounding. “I’ve waited for this for so long, Lanz.”
He increased the intensity and soon she was kissing him back with the same fervor, learning, tasting, savoring. He teased the corners of her lips with the tip of his tongue and they parted gently, willingly. They’d shared kisses before, but these were different; these were compelling and possessive—joining, mating, and when he slowly withdrew, she was left dazzled and breathless and wanting more.
Kisses were then brushed over her bared skin above the neckline of her gown and in response her head dropped back, offering her throat to his lips while his hand slowly began to explore. During their courtship, he’d never done more than kiss her and she’d been content with that, but the sensations of his hand moving over her ensured that she’d never be content with that alone again. She now understood the passion Billie had tried to explain. It was indeed sweeping and marvelous and when he slid her dress aside, exposed her breast and took it into his mouth, she understood why the girls refused to let her wear a corset beneath her gown. She crooned in response to the scandalous suckling, and all thought fled as a deep-seated heat bloomed everywhere—especially between her thighs. And while his mouth at her breast continued to slowly drive her mad, his touch moved there, first outside her gown and then beneath. Her gown was raised to her knees and his possessive palm moved up the length of her silk stocking, past her frilly lace garter, and she instinctively opened to let him touch her there, too. The reward was so staggering, the feel of him teasing her core so overwhelmingly powerful, that when he slid a finger inside, her legs flew apart and she screamed as her first orgasm exploded with the force of a lit stick of dynamite.
It took her a moment to find herself again, and when she opened her eyes, he kissed her and whispered playfully, “Was that you screaming, Mrs. Rudd?”
She managed to pull body and mind together enough to punch him in the arm, but the glory of the orgasm continued to echo.
Grinning he carried her to the bed.
For the rest of the night, Alanza was treated to more lovemaking than she ever could have imagined. She thought she knew the coupling parts, but found she didn’t know that with the right man, her body would hunger for the joining, ripen with the sealing, soar on the sultry rising rhythm and orgasm again and again.
Finally, when they’d had enough of each other, he left her lying in the middle of the bed and returned carrying a package wrapped in brown paper and tied up with gold ribbon and a matching golden bow. She sat up. “What is this?”
“You lost the bet.”
She promptly rolled her eyes in response. “So I have to wear what’s inside?”
He nodded.
She opened it to find three very sultry nightgowns all of varying design. She smiled. “They won’t keep me very warm.”
“You won’t have them on that long.”
Exploding with laughter, she fell back against the bed, looked up into the eyes of the man she loved, and couldn’t wait to see what the rest of their life together would bring. “I love you, Max.”
He leaned over and kissed her brow. “I love you, too, Lanz.”