Chapter 5
Sassy
Waking up with a man in my bed was strange enough, waking up with two of them practically on top of me, I almost giggled once I remembered who they were and why I was in bed with them.
I managed to stifle the impulse, not wanting to wake them just yet.
I needed a few moments to myself—even if I couldn’t move because William had his arm wrapped around my waist, and Clive’s legs were draped over mine.
My nipples were still sensitive, and there was an ache between my thighs I hadn’t been expecting. Even though it had been a while since I’d plied my former trade, I hadn’t thought my body would have changed much.
Then again, no man had ever made me feel the way they had.
The difference between bedding a man who had paid to do so and one who was bedding his wife was greater than I’d imagined.
Making love.
That’s what it was called, but we weren’t in love, although I could easily imagine myself falling there all too quickly.
Already, I unexpectedly felt attached to both of them.
The idea I might have brought danger their way did not sit well with me.
I’d come for protection but hadn’t thought about the safety of those who would be protecting me, not until now.
If either of them was hurt because of me…
I wanted to think Lord Carmichael wouldn’t keep following me, but I already knew he’d been looking for me in New York.
I hadn’t just pricked his pride and stolen from him, I’d injured him.
The smell of burning flesh seemed to flood my nose again, and I shuddered, remembering as clear as day the way he’d looked on the floor, moaning while holding his hand to the burn.
“You alright there, sweetheart?” William’s low whisper jerked me out of my reverie, the vision and the smell fading as quickly as they’d come. I nodded, turning my head, and meeting his blue eyes, soft and full of concern.
I couldn’t have that. Men needed to be happy. To be pleased. My brain was still foggy from sleep, but I remembered that. Reaching out, my fingers quickly found his shaft and wrapped around it. William groaned when I stroked the hard flesh, rubbing my thumb over the sensitive tip.
“I’m fine,” I whispered. “I’m just fine.”
“Hell, sweetheart, that feels damn good,” William whispered, his hand draping over mine.
Good, I was making him feel good. That was what a wife was supposed to do, wasn’t it? And I was very good at making men feel good. I propped myself up on my elbow, so I could bend over him, my lips heading for his cock—
Fingers gripped my hair, pulling me back up.
I gasped in surprise and the slight pain.
William’s eyes met mine, a frown forming on his face.
He was holding me immobile, thinking hard and staring at me.
What had I done wrong? Clive stirred beside us, opening his eyes, but William didn’t even glance at him.
“What are you doing, Sassy?” he asked, holding my hair tightly gripped, so I couldn’t look away from him.
I wet my lips, my tongue darting out, but he didn’t look away from my eyes.
“I-I was just…”
“What was she doing?” Clive asked. Sleep still fogged his voice, but he sat up, clearly coming awake very quickly.
“She was going to use her mouth on me,” William said, glancing at Clive.
Now, both of my new husbands were looking at me oddly, chasing the fog from my mind. Panic surged as I realized my sleepy mistake. Whores used their mouths on men. A proper young lady probably shouldn’t have even known it was a possibility.
“Where did you learn about that?” Clive asked suspiciously, confirming my thoughts.
“I-I… the girls at the factory,” I finally blurted out, hoping with all my heart, they believed the lie.
I tripped over my words, trying to find some that wouldn’t make them more suspicious.
“They said, they said men liked to have their… to be kissed there. Some of them said. Should I… should I not have…” I was stumbling over my words in my panic, very much wishing I had not done that, but both William and Clive relaxed at my stammered explanation.
“Well, they weren’t wrong,” William said, shaking his head almost ruefully, his grip lessening. “Sorry, sweetheart, I shouldn’t have reacted that way. I didn’t expect you to know about such things, and it took me off guard.”
My heart was pounding in my chest, and I bit my lower lip, dropping my head, so they wouldn’t see the tears that sprang to my eyes. If I had wanted proof, I couldn’t reveal my past to them, I had it. They would surely think differently of me if they knew. Likely treat me differently, too.
Last night, they’d acted as though I was a treasured possession. I did not want to lose that. I did not want to lose them. They clearly thought I was a modest young lady. Would they want to remain married if they knew?
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, unsure of what else to say.
“It’s fine, sweetheart,” William said, stroking my hair. “You just startled me. I’m sorry I overreacted.”
Except he hadn’t. He’d been right to be shocked. Deep down, I knew that.
This might be harder than I thought.
“We’ll teach you how to use your mouth later,” Clive said. Unlike William, he wasn’t smiling, which made me nervous. A serious expression seemed to be his default, so it might not have meant anything… but I couldn’t be sure. “We should get back to the ranch now.”
Clive
Our wife was somewhat subdued as we packed up our things to head back to the ranch. I kept a close eye on her.
Something about her claim, she’d heard the other factory girls talking about oral pleasure didn’t sit right with me.
Women gossiped, to be sure, but Sassy was so nervous, even after she’d explained herself.
William had believed her story, but I kept watching her, suspicion niggling in the back of my mind.
I didn’t know what I was suspicious about, exactly.
I just knew that something wasn’t quite right.
Neither William nor I cared if she had gossiped with other women about sex, but that didn’t fit her prim and proper appearance – and I did care if she lied.
I didn’t like lies. Some of my doubts from the previous day were seeping back in.
After all, what did we really know about her?
Only what she told us. And while her story had fit, why did she keep shooting us looks this morning as if she expected us to lash out at her?
While I wanted to trust her, something was amiss.
I didn’t say anything, though. William was taking everything she said to heart, not a mistrusting bone in his body.
He thought I was too cynical, and sometimes, I thought he was right, but something told me our new wife was keeping secrets, even if I couldn’t imagine what they would be.
Of course, William would likely say it was me making her nervous.
If she was lying, I knew of one sure way to make sure she didn’t do so again, but I wasn’t going to spank her without knowing for sure, no matter how my hand tingled, like a physical portent of things to come.
Getting her seated on the wagon bench between us, I picked up the reins and flicked them to get the horses moving. I let her look her fill of the town, but once we were on the road, I started in with the questions I probably should have asked before we got her in front of the altar.
“So, Sassy. Tell us about this man you’re running from.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her shoulders tense.
I couldn’t see her expression because she’d insisted on putting on that ridiculous bonnet again before we’d even left the hotel.
It made her feel safer, but it also completely hid her face.
Still, if I’d been watching her face, I would have never noticed her shoulders.
William glared at me over her head, but not from my line of questioning. He wanted to know too, just thought I was too blunt.
“Yes, sweetheart, tell us about him,” he said more gently, picking up one of her hands to console her. For the first time ever, I was jealous he wasn’t holding the reins. Even if I was intent on questioning our new wife, that didn’t stop me from wanting to touch her.
“Is he from New York?”
“No, England,” she said, her voice soft and throaty. The bonnet twitched as though she’d shaken her head. “He’s a lord there. Lord Carmichael. But I know he was looking for me in New York.”
The fear was back in her voice and no wonder. A man who was willing to chase her across the ocean was certainly obsessed.
“Do you think knowing you’re already married would deter him?” William asked.
Her shoulders hunched in. “I-I don’t know… I worry I’ve brought danger to you.”
Despite myself, I was touched. William and I exchanged another look over her head, both of us bemused by her concern.
“That’s what we offered, sweetheart. Protection,” I drawled.
I had full confidence in our ability to protect ourselves and her.
This Lord Carmichael might think himself powerful, and maybe in England he was, but here in the west, he would find nothing but a bullet between his teeth if he tried to come after our wife.
“That’s why I answered your ad,” she admitted. “But now that I’m here, I keep thinking how wrong it was to drag someone else into my troubles.”
“Our troubles,” William said, squeezing her hand while I was still groping for the proper words to reassure her. William was good at that. I was better at threats. “You’re our wife now, which makes your troubles our troubles. And make no mistake, missy, that’s how we want it.”
“That’s right,” I said and meant it. I might want to dig out whatever secrets she was hiding from us, but nothing would change my determination to protect her. I meant that for any woman, but even more so for her. She was our wife. If someone threatened her, he was going to regret it.
William
When we reached the ranch, I helped Sassy down from the wagon while Clive went to unhitch and stable the horses.
She pulled off her bonnet, finally, looking up at the house with wide eyes.
My cock stirred, and I scooped her up in my arms, wanting to feel her body against mine, even though I didn’t plan on making love to her again until tonight.
“William!” she squeaked, flinging her arms around my neck. “What are you doing?”
“Carrying my bride across the threshold,” I said with a grin, heading toward the front door.
Sassy glanced over my shoulder, a little furrow of concern appearing on her brow. “What about Clive?”
“He’ll get his turn later.” If he’d wanted to be the first to carry her into the house, he shouldn’t have insisted on being the one to stable the horses.
I knew he’d take his time, currying and checking them over before letting them loose in the pasture.
I could have done the same, but Clive felt better when he did it.
It wasn’t my fault that meant he was missing out on carrying Sassy into the house. Either he’d learn to give up some of his control and let me do more, or he’d miss out on things with Sassy. I was happy to have something to distract me from Clive’s lack of trust in my abilities.
I stomped up the stairs to the porch, angling my body, so I could shoulder open the door without loosening my hold on her.
She looked around curiously at the main room, which boasted a simple table and chairs, a fireplace and oven, and several shelves on the far wall.
In front of the fireplace were two larger chairs where Clive and I sat at the end of the day and chatted about the ranch.
“The house is beautiful,” she said with all evidence of sincerity.
I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrows. It was a decent house but simple.
Clive and I didn’t have much interest in decorating.
Seeing my expression, she shrugged, a little smile curving her lips.
“It’s clean. Bigger than I’m used to. I never had more than a room, even before my father died. ”
Her lips clamped shut after the admission, as though she didn’t want to say anything else. Did she think I would judge her for being poor?
“It’s the nicest house I’ve ever lived in,” I told her, setting her down on her feet.
“But then, I didn’t have a home at all for a while before I met Clive.
” Sassy blinked up at me with surprise and concern.
Grinning, I ducked down to steal a kiss.
I meant it to be a quick one, but once my lips touched hers, my body went up in flames, and I found myself pulling her soft body against mine.
She moaned, her lips parting, and my tongue delved into her mouth. My hands slid over her curves, down to her bottom, pulling her more tightly against me as my cock swelled. I wanted to be inside her again… but there were things to do, and she needed to be shown around the house.
The sound of the door swinging open made me jump, jerking my head up. Clive was standing there, looking at us and shaking his head.
“I leave you alone for five minutes…” he said with a sigh. “Did you show her any of the house?”
Indignation rose, but he wasn’t wrong, and my ire mixed with shame that was all too familiar when it came to disappointing Clive.
I glared back at him, my jaw clenching. Dressing me down in front of Sassy was a step too far.
I was always the one compromising for him because I was the easygoing one, but that didn’t mean I was going to let him boss me around when it came to how to handle our wife.
“I was hoping you could show me together,” Sassy said, her hand on my chest as she smiled up at Clive. His expression softened, and something inside me eased. She was already acting as a peacemaker between me and Clive, keeping turmoil out of her household.
“Sorry,” Clive said, to my surprise. He hardly ever apologized for anything. “I should have thought of that. We can show you around together.”
Sassy smiled at him, then at me, a tinge of worry still in her eyes.
“Together,” I said, nodding. If Clive and I had it out, it wouldn’t be in front of her. Our Sassy wouldn’t like us fighting, that was clear. If she could keep Clive more humble than usual, that would help my state of mind considerably.
Placing that ad for a bride had been the best decision I’d ever made. I wouldn’t rub it in Clive’s nose, though. Not yet.