Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
T hat night in bed, Ashley pulled Lisa closer to him and interlaced his tongue with hers. All through the day, he had thought of little else but being intimate with her. Even knowing being with her would probably bind him closer to her than last night had, he wanted to make love to her.
He wanted to reach that place with her where nothing else existed but the two of them. In that moment, he was complete. He no longer felt as if he was set adrift in the vast wilderness all by himself. He had a connection with another person. He hadn’t realized how much he’d longed for such a connection until last night. That connection scared him and excited him at the same time. It made him vulnerable, but it also healed him.
Ashley brought his hands up her back and then lowered his head so he could leave a trail of kisses down her neck and then farther down still so he could explore her breasts. Lisa dug her fingers into his biceps. She moaned in a way that let him know she was receiving as much pleasure from this as he was. He cupped one of her breasts in his hands and kissed it. It was amazing how soft a woman’s breast was. He’d had no idea just how soft until last night when they’d been together.
He traced the edge of her hardened nipple with his thumb and then brushed the pink bud with his tongue. She moaned again, so he repeated the action. She let out a contented sigh and wrapped her legs around his waist. This time, he was the one who let out a moan. Life offered a few pleasures, but he didn’t think anything was more wonderful than this. There was nothing more thrilling than being caught up in a passionate moment with a woman.
The world faded away from them, and the only thing he was aware of was Lisa. He spent time caressing and touching all of her. The male part of him pressed him to hurry up and enter her. He had been unable to restrain that part of him last night. The novelty of the situation had led him toward impatience. Yes, he recalled how things felt and looked, but he hadn’t had enough time to savor everything this act offered him.
At one point, he got up on his knees just so he could see her entire body in the moonlight. There was nothing more lovely than a naked woman lying in front of him, especially one as beautiful as Lisa. He could only hope this image would be seared into his mind forever.
“What’s wrong?” Lisa asked as she sat up. “You don’t want to stop, do you?”
He would have laughed at the notion of stopping if he hadn’t been so aroused. If he were to stop now, he just might die. “No, I just wanted to enjoy how beautiful you are.”
He urged her to lie back down. Then he traced the length of her body from her ankles on up to her waist. He brought one of his hands to the area between her legs and noted how wet she was. She groaned and lifted her hips in silent encouragement for him to enter her. He had held off for as long as he could. The impatient part of him was not going to let this continue anymore. It needed to be inside her, and it had to be in her now.
He lowered himself on top of her and entered her. He moaned. He wouldn’t have believed how good this could feel unless he was experiencing it for himself. Their bodies fit so perfectly together. It was almost as if she had been made for him.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he went deeper into her. He gave in to the need to move inside her. He wasn’t as anxious as he’d been last night, but since he had been eager to do this all day, he couldn’t go as slowly as he wanted to, either. He held her close to him and made love to her in earnest, loving the way her flesh clenched around him in the most exquisite way.
The mounting tension between his legs prompted him to go faster, and finally, just when he thought he couldn’t take it anymore, the tension reached its peak. He cried out and grew still as he spilled his seed into her. Peace. Bliss. Joy. It was all wrapped up in being one with her.
When he was spent, he collapsed in her arms. Even after the intensity of his climax ebbed, he felt the completion of being united with her. If it were up to him, he’d stay in this state forever.
Once he had the energy to get off of her, he did. He brought the blanket up around them and drew her into his arms. There were things he wanted to tell her, like how much he had enjoyed this and how much it meant to him that she had allowed him to be united to her this way.
But he was afraid that doing so would make him seem weak, so he refrained. Instead, he settled for kissing the top of her head and hugging her. With a long, contented sigh, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the lingering effects of their lovemaking.
* * *
Ashley noticed the preacher coming up the path as he was chopping wood. He and Lisa hadn’t seen the man in two weeks. Time passed much too swiftly when one wasn’t dealing with an annoying person. Ashley sighed. There was no way he was going to get out of talking to him. He set the axe aside and wiped the sweat from his brow with the bandana he tucked into his back pocket.
He waited until the preacher pulled the horse to a stop before he asked, “What brings you here today, Preacher? Are you here to coerce me into going to church?”
“It would be nice if you would attend,” the preacher replied. “Your eternal soul is at risk. That’s not something to be taken lightly.”
“Despite what you think, I do care about my eternal soul.” Ashley shoved the bandana back into his pocket. “I just can’t stand listening to you go on and on about how we’re all horrible people.”
The preacher blinked in surprise. “I never tell anyone they’re horrible.”
Ashley rolled his eyes. The preacher was either lying or unaware of how he sounded when he preached. For his sake, Ashley hoped it was the latter. He’d hate to think that the preacher would knowingly lie. He crossed his arms. “You ought to listen to one of your sermons sometime.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my sermons.”
“There’s plenty wrong with them. You give no grace or mercy in them. People listen to them and don’t have any hope.”
“It’s not my fault people can’t handle the truth of their sins,” the preacher replied.
“People can handle the truth of their sins. They just need to know they can be redeemed from them.” When the preacher only gave him a look that told him he had no idea what he was talking about, Ashley gave up. “Alright, Preacher. What brings you out here? I’m guessing it’s not about going to church since you aren’t yapping on about that.”
The preacher hesitated for a moment then said, “I am here on behalf of the Paxtons. Corrine and I will marry in two weeks. I thought they might like it if you and Lisa attended the ceremony.”
Ashley paused to respond. Unfortunately, the man was probably right, but still, he felt like he should ask Lisa. Ashley waved for him to follow him to the cabin. “You can extend the invitation yourself.”
“I’m asking for you to go to the wedding, too,” the preacher pointed out as he led his horse after Ashley.
“I want to make sure Lisa wants to go.”
“I know she’ll want to go.”
“You can’t assume anything, Preacher. Assuming will only get you into trouble.”
“But she and Corrine are friends. Why wouldn’t Lisa want to go?”
“The fact that you’re the bridegroom is a good reason,” Ashley told him. “While she and I like the Paxtons, we’re not fond of you.”
The preacher frowned. “I don’t see why. I only try to do what’s right.”
“That’s the problem; you don’t always know what’s right. You make assumptions and act without thinking.”
“Is this about me making you marry Lisa? Because if so, I stand by that decision. It was highly inappropriate for you to be alone in that cabin with her, especially all through the night. If I hadn’t done something about it, I would have been as guilty of sin as you two were.”
Ashley halted and spun around to face him, making the preacher pull back the reins of his horse. Ashley glowered at him. “That’s an example of you assuming things, Preacher. Lisa and I didn’t do what you think we did.”
The preacher didn’t argue, but Ashley could tell he didn’t believe him. With a grunt, Ashley led him the rest of the way to the cabin. It was pointless to talk to the man. If Ashley had the ability to knock the preacher off his pedestal, he would. Until the preacher tarnished his halo, he was going to be narrowminded and judgmental.
He couldn’t help but feel sorry for Corrine. It was bad enough Ashley had to deal with him from time to time because they were in the same town. Poor Corrine was going to be forced to live in the same house with him.
Ashley found Lisa sitting in a chair in front of the cabin. She had some rectangular pieces of a petticoat she’d cut with scissors laid out on the rock next to her. In her hands, she was sewing a few of the rectangular pieces together. He would have asked her what she was making if the preacher hadn’t been with him.
She looked up from the thing she was making. He caught the flicker of apprehension that crossed her face when her gaze went to their visitor.
“Corrine will be marrying the preacher in two weeks,” Ashley began, “and he came to extend an invitation to the wedding.”
“I thought it would make the occasion special for her if those she cares about are in attendance,” the preacher added, his tone hopeful that she would accept.
Lisa fidgeted for a moment. Ashley glanced the preacher’s way, but it didn’t seem the preacher noticed her reluctance. For Ashley, the decision was easy. He would go because she was going.
Lisa released her breath then said, “Tell Corrine I’ll be happy to support her.”
The preacher’s smile widened. “She’ll be glad to hear it.” His gaze went to Ashley. “You’ll be sure to bring her?”
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Ashley replied, “Yes, I will bring her to town so she can be at the wedding.” He didn’t know why the preacher thought he wouldn’t do it. It irritated him that the man assumed he would be willing to let Lisa go to town all by herself when the trek wasn’t an easy one.
“We both look forward to seeing you,” the preacher called out. Mercifully, he turned and headed down the path.
Ashley sat on a rock near Lisa and watched the preacher’s retreating back.
“I hope he doesn’t make it a habit of coming here after he marries,” Lisa spoke under her breath.
Ashley’s attention went back to her. “It’s times like this I remember why I built this cabin so far out of town.”
“Being isolated from others has its advantages.” She smiled at him then turned her gaze back to her sewing.
He studied her. Upon her request that morning, he had braided her hair. Her hair was long, and the days were warm enough to warrant a braid. Several strands of her hair had fallen out of the braid and hung in gentle waves against her face. It gave her a soft look. With the sunlight filtering through the trees and creating a nice glow around her, he couldn’t help but be in awe of her beauty. No doubt, other men had seen her and lined up to court her. He wondered why she hadn’t come out here already married.
She looked at him, and he caught the surprise in her eyes. She hadn’t expected him to be watching her like some lovesick fool who had nothing better to do with his life than pine away for a woman.
He cleared his throat. Hoping to take her attention off of the fact that he’d been staring at her, he asked, “What are you making?”
A slight blush crept up her cheeks, and at once he knew it had to do with a private matter. He was ready to tell her that she didn’t have to answer, but she said, “I need these for the lady’s time. I’m not with child. I have need of these.” She lifted the material she was sewing. “I’m making sanitary napkins out of them.”
Oh, right. He had forgotten she had to contend with that. “How long does this thing last?”
“About six days.”
After a couple of seconds, he realized that if she was bleeding down there, they wouldn’t be able to do more than sleep in bed. Well, that was a shame. He had gotten used to making love to her. Of all the ways to end a day, that had to be the most pleasurable one.
He hesitated but then asked, “How often does this happen?”
“For me, it happens every twenty-nine days.”
He turned his gaze back to the trees around them. The next six days were going to be long ones, but there was nothing either she or he could do about it.
Really, though, was six days that bad? Up until he married Lisa, he hadn’t been with a woman. Six days was nothing compared to twenty-five years. Despite this logic, six days seemed like a ridiculously long amount of time to wait. These were going to be six days when he wasn’t going to get a chance to hold, kiss, and caress her in areas that her clothes hid from view. He was going to have to wait for six whole days before he could satisfy the part of him that very much enjoyed this newfound activity.
That part of him wasn’t sure if he was going to make it. Six days, after all, was almost a week. But then, when the six days were over, he’d have twenty-nine to do something interesting in bed with her. He supposed the trade-off wasn’t that bad. There would be more days they could be together than not. While a bit comforted by this logic, that part of him was still disappointed.
“Are you done chopping wood?” she asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.
He forced his mind off of how much fun he had with her in bed. “No. I just came over here because the preacher wanted to talk to you, and I thought you wouldn’t want to talk to him alone.”
“You’re right. I wouldn’t want to talk to him alone. I don’t even want to talk to him with you here. I wish someone else was going to marry Corrine.”
“Unfortunately, there is no one else. She’d need a bigger town in order to have any prospects.”
“I suppose if I wasn’t here, she could have married you.”
He frowned. While she was right, he couldn’t imagine being with anyone but Lisa. He might not have known Lisa for long, but he only wanted her. It was a good thing she’d been the one he found that day beside the bitterbrush instead of Corrine.
Lisa had a soothing effect on him. He sensed she was just as lonely as he was. Except, they didn’t have to be lonely anymore because they had each other. There was comfort in knowing that.
Ashley stood up. “I think things are better the way they are.” He could have said more, he knew, but he wasn’t one for going on and on about his feelings, and he suspected she wasn’t, either. “I’ll be back when it’s time to eat.”
She gave him a nod, and he returned to his work.