Mistletoe Marriage Read online

  Mistletoe Marriage

  By Vanessa Vale

  © 2015 Vanessa Vale, Bridger Media

  All rights reserved.

  No part of the book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

  Cover Design: RomCon - www.romcon.com

  Cover Photo: Period Images

  This book was previously part of an anthology titled Unwrapped.

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  MISTLETOE MARRIAGE

  CHAPTER ONE

  JULIA

  “I am bewitched, Julia,” Garrett said. He'd just taken my hand and was leading me around the side of the small schoolteacher's house out of the view of any passerby.

  He'd held my hand before, but with the cold, mine had always been covered by thick wool mittens so I had never felt his skin. I longed to feel the callouses that were visible.

  Placing a hand on the wall beside my head, he leaned in close. Our breaths came out in puffs of white. His dark eyes pinned me in place and I couldn't help but lick my lips at what I could see in those depths. I saw the truth behind his words.

  We'd met just before the school term began, after the harvest had been brought in. Since then, he'd come upon me here and there around town; the mercantile, church and even the fall dance. At first I considered it coincidence, but I learned from others that the man rarely came to town functions. Instead, he worked—perhaps a little too diligently—at the mine he owned.

  I felt my cheeks heat, but in the darkness, I doubted he could see.

  “Garrett,” I replied, not knowing what to say to such a bold statement.

  He ran the knuckles of his free hand down my cheek. “I want to kiss you.”

  My mouth fell open at the bold admission.

  “Garrett,” I repeated.

  “I love hearing you say my name. Soon enough, I will hear it uttered from your lips in an entirely different way.”

  I frowned in confusion. “I...I don't understand.”

  “Ah, precious. I will show you. I promise. But first we must be married. I am an honorable man and will wait to claim such a precious liberty.”

  Ah, now I knew why he gave me the endearment. At first I’d thought it a little too...too something, but he saw me as something truly special and it warmed me more than any fire or mulled cider ever could.

  “Married?” I whispered. Oh, the idea had such immense appeal.

  “Married. Then I will take all the liberties we desire.”

  ***

  It was my wedding day. It was also the worst day of my life.

  Had it only been a week before when I’d waved goodbye to the children from the schoolhouse door? They'd happily waved back knowing it was almost Christmas and there would be no schoolwork for a week. I hadn't known then that would be the last time I would stand in that doorway as their teacher. Come the New Year, it would be Miss Simpson instead.

  In that week, my life was very quickly destroyed. First, it was whispers accompanied by disappointed looks as I passed people on the street. Then came rumors I overheard in the Mercantile. Those rumors became outright accusations against which I could offer no defense. While none of the horrible statements were true, it was Gregory Simpson's word against mine.

  Gregory Simpson was a rich lawyer in town while I was just a simple schoolteacher. He was a mean, bitter, miserable man who had instituted a simple plan to see me wed to him, and on Christmas Eve, no less.

  “Why didn't you just ask me to marry you?” I prodded, standing in the dirty, smelly jail waiting for the sheriff to return from some type of mischief at the local saloon. I looked down and around the bottom of my skirt to confirm a rodent wasn't sneaking underneath.

  The man smiled coldly. He would have been attractive if he weren't so cruel. “Because you would have said no.”

  That was absolutely true, for he was probably the last man in the Montana Territory to whom I'd say yes. The man I wanted to ask me...Garrett Rivers, oh. I sighed just thinking of him, and my heart skipped a beat. He was tall and broad and handsome and when he smiled a dimple formed in his left cheek. While he'd courted me for the past few months, he had not actually asked for my hand. He'd made mention of us marrying, and it had been implied in his every look, the way he'd held my hand in his, the way he leaned in and spoke as if his words were just for me.

  I loved Garrett, loved him with my whole heart and I believed he loved me in return. While he hadn't said the words, I felt them and knew them to be real. What we shared was real. Having Gregory Simpson take such ridiculous and vicious action almost made a mockery of what should have been the most important, most sacred day of my life.

  “You're despicable,” I hissed. I eyed the door and my only way to escape. I'd tried once, but he'd taken hold of my arm—with blatant aggression—and pushed me back, placing himself between me and freedom.

  He shrugged and looked at me unabashedly. While some women may have considered him attractive, I found him horrible. It didn't matter that his eyes were the brightest of blues, for they didn't show a hint of warmth. “It doesn't matter what you think. I'm marrying you.”

  My anger had my heart beating rapidly and my breath catching in my throat. “You...you said horrible things about me, that I...had relations with Garrett Rivers.”

  A cold grin split his face. “Fucking, sweetheart. I told everyone he fucked you.”

  My face flamed at his crude language even as I shook my head. “He hasn't done anything. He's been a perfect gentleman.” While he may have acted the perfect gentleman, he'd begun to tell me delicious, very dark things he wanted to do with me...once we were wed. His honor kept them from being tawdry, for once married, we could share ourselves however we wished. I never knew his carnal plans were even possible, but my body heated and responded to the mention.

  The idea of doing anything of the sort with Mr. Simpson was nauseating.

  He laughed. “Even better. When he returns and finds you married to me, that I've done all the filthy, dirty things he's been thinking about, it's going to be so much better.”

  I frowned as he rubbed his hands together with obvious glee. The man was not only awful, but insane as well.

  “I'm...I'm not...I won't marry you.”

  He stepped closer, I stepped back.

  “You don't have a choice, sweetheart.” The endearment made me cringe. “With my father's influence on the town council, it was quickly decided your morals are not fit for teaching the children of the community. You have no job and your virtue is in tatters.”

  “Then I'll marry Garrett.” I tilted my chin up, resolute. “If he's to have done those things to me, then I'll wait for him to return.”

  He slowly shook his head. “Rivers left you to spend Christmas with his sister in Virginia City. You of all people are well aware of that, so why am I even reminding you?”

  Mr. Simpson made it sound as if Garrett abandoned me, which was not the case. His sister had a baby in early November and he'd wanted to see his nephew. While he had family with whom to spend the holiday, I did not, and I'd insisted he go. He had struggled with his choice, for he had not wished to leave me alone. I'd been insistent, and so he'd gone.

  “He won't be back for a few weeks, at least. With this weather, perhaps longer.” The snow had been falling heavily and steadily all da
y with no sign of relenting. “Besides, you're already the disgrace of the town and homeless to boot. Where will you live come tomorrow when my sister takes over the schoolteacher's house?”

  I swallowed down tears that clogged in my throat. The small house was included with the job I no longer had. With my dismissal, the house went to the next schoolteacher, Gregory Simpson's sister, Aria Simpson. I had to vacate the home by noon the following day. As I'd come the long distance from Denver for the job, I had nowhere to turn. I had enough funds to return to the city, but with no family and no job prospects, it was more prudent to save the money for the fare to try to survive.

  “Why didn't you just tell everyone you'd tarnished me instead of Garrett?”

  “Ah, it's not Mr. Rivers, is it? You're close enough to call him twice now by his given name?”

  I didn't respond.

  “I don't need my good name tarnished.” He put a hand to his chest. “His departure was timely, for it was easy to tell everyone he took your virtue, then abandoned you. He'll return and discover he won't even be able to buy flour from the Mercantile. Your ruin means his ruin. I will swoop in and save you, even from yourself. I'm such a kind man to take pity on a virtueless woman, when I know you're a virgin.”

  This scheme wasn't just a whim. He'd planned this well. While I was the focus of his malicious intent, it seemed his anger was directed at Garrett. It was all so horrid.

  “I'll be known as that kind of woman.” Why would he want to marry me when everyone in town thought so poorly of me?

  “Even better. When I take you to the brothel no one will question. You're the whore and everyone will be expecting me to treat you as such.”

  I gulped. “Brothel?”

  He looked at me for a moment, and then shook his head. “You really are an innocent. I'll rectify that soon enough.”

  I retreated another step and bumped into the unforgiving cell bars. He was insane. “Why...why are you doing this?” I whispered. The tears I'd kept at bay slipped down my cheeks. His cruel sneer blurred.

  “Because I can. Because Rivers is going to get what he deserves.”

  What had Garrett done to Mr. Simpson to make him seek such horrible retribution?

  “You're doing all this because of your hatred for Garrett?”

  “I am finally besting him.”

  I didn't know of the feud between the men, but it must have been longstanding and very bitter for Mr. Simpson to marry me against my wishes just to hurt Garrett.

  He just grunted a reply as the sheriff came through the door. A blast of cold air and snow swirled in behind him. Stomping his boots, he left a small pile of snow on the wood floor. “The fight was settled by the time I arrived, but I needed to warm my bones with some whiskey before I made my way back. Christmas Eve hasn't dampened anyone's spirits, in fact, it's just the opposite.” He hung his coat up on a peg by the door and then went to the wood stove to add another log. When finished, he turned to face us. “I think that's a blizzard out there. Ready?” The sheriff looked to Mr. Simpson.

  “Absolutely,” Mr. Simpson said as he pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket and handed it to the lawman. Bribe money? Payment to perform the ceremony?

  “Don't you need me to consent to this marriage, Sheriff?” I asked, my words clogged with tears. This was really going to happen.

  I didn't miss the look of disappointment and distaste on the older man's face. “You should be ashamed of yourself, being the schoolteacher and all. You should be thankful Mr. Simpson here would lower himself to marry you. He's saving you.”

  The strong aroma of liquor wafted from the man. He truly believed the lies that Mr. Simpson had spread.

  “You should be saving me from marrying a man against my will,” I countered. “Don't you want to hear from Mr. Rivers in this matter?”

  He opened the envelope and showed me the money within. Grinning, he said, “No, I do not.”

  “The likes of Rivers should be shot.” Mr. Simpson cut off my words. “Using this woman in such a fashion, then leaving town under the guise of visiting family...really.” His voice dripped of lies and false shame. Why he was stating this now seemed irrelevant as the money spoke more to the sheriff than the lies.

  If Garrett knew what Mr. Simpson was doing, he'd save me. I felt a slight hint of hope, but knew it was completely futile. Garrett was miles and miles away, enjoying the Christmas spirit with his sister's family. There would be no rescue. I was going to be Mrs. Gregory Simpson in a matter of minutes and after, there would be nothing anyone, including Garrett, could do about it.

  I began to cry harder.

  “In this case, I'll leave off the dearly beloved part,” the sheriff said.

  “Perhaps the short version is all that is needed,” Mr. Simpson replied. “You are the justice of the peace, not a man of God.”

  I tried to stem the tide of tears on the sleeve of my dress, but they continued to fall.

  The sheriff grunted. “Do you, Gregory Simpson, take this woman, to be your legal wife, from this day forward, until death parts you?”

  My future husband took a deep breath and I watched as his chest puffed out. He was probably more pleased that his plan had worked than the fact that he was marrying me. “I do.”

  I began to sob, and I lifted my hands to my face, perhaps to hide behind and perhaps to shield myself from the question that was to come. I was going to be Mrs. Gregory Simpson.

  “Do you, Julia Talbot, take this man….”

  I ignored the words of the sheriff, turning my back on the man. On both men. It was only when Mr. Simpson grabbed my arm again, spun me around and shook me did I pay attention. My teeth clacked together as he spoke. Through tear-filled eyes, I looked into his dark, menacing ones. “I don't need your words. I don't even need you to smile. Say it, Sheriff.”

  “I now pronounce you man and wife.”

  Mr. Simpson grinned and I felt the blood drain from my face. “There. It's done.”

  I shook my head. No. No! It couldn't be true. Garrett hadn't come. No one had come to rescue me. Bit by bit, yet very quickly, Mr. Simpson had slowly destroyed my life and this moment was the culmination. Instead of leaving me out in the street to die, he'd married me. I was now stuck with the man. Forever.

  “You may kiss the bride.”

  My gaze dropped to Mr. Simpson's fleshy lips. They were slick with spittle and his breath was fetid and somehow grossly onion scented. His head lowered and he was going to kiss me. My first kiss was going to be with this man! Garrett had been perhaps too chivalrous and kept his attentions at bay. Now, now I would never know the feel of Garrett's mouth on mine, but instead Mr. Simpson's. I wouldn't even have a memory of the moment to cherish while Mr. Simpson—and his assistant Roger—had their way with me. In the matter of hours, perhaps even minutes, my first time would be beneath him. Would he share me on our wedding night? I felt dizzy and hot all of a sudden and I was glad the man was gripping me tightly. Not only did the room spin, but I—

  The last thought I had before the world went black was that I never did like onions.

  CHAPTER TWO

  GARRETT

  I wanted to kiss Julia. Touch her, see her body, learn what made her gasp, what made her cry out my name, what made her scream. While she was most assuredly a virgin, she was not adverse or unresponsive to my tentative forays into what kinds of carnal things I'd do to her.

  “I wonder what you taste like,” I murmured to her. Although we were at a church supper, the community hall was crowded and the din afforded us a level of privacy. We were among a hundred chaperones and I would try nothing untoward, but that did not prevent me from awakening her to desire.

  Our heads were bent close as we sat beside each other at a long table. She glanced at the older couple sitting across from us, but they were in discussion about the cold snap that had come early.

  “I would think like apple cobbler,” she replied, her voice equally muted.

  My gaze dropped to her mouth. How
I ached to kiss her. I ached other places, too. My cock had been hard since the first time I saw her.

  “Your skin. I want to taste your skin. I bet you are as sweet along your nape as the curve of your breast. And lower, too.”

  Her lips parted, but she said nothing. A flush came to her cheeks as she considered my words, but she met my gaze and held it. “Then I should ask the same of you, however I doubt you are not as sweet.”

  My eyes narrowed at the idea of her licking my skin, kissing her way down my body, taking my cock in her mouth and learning my true flavor.

  ***

  We rode hard from Virginia City, but the weather was miserable and we had to change horses frequently. We'd had to seek shelter when the wind became particularly strong, the snow turning our path into nothing but white.

  Some might have said it had been a miracle I'd run into Hargraves, for he'd only been passing through town and it had been the one night my brother-in-law and I had gone to one of the saloons in town.

  The bounty hunter had been sharing a drawing of a man wanted for robbery and murder when we entered, and I'd recognized Simpson at first glance. He'd been a fucking bastard since we were ten years old when he cut off the tip of my cat's tail. I was glad to know see that his injustices had finally caught up with him. But robbery and murder? He didn't need to steal money, he had enough money to do whatever he wanted. Getting involved in something so heinous only proved how insane the man was. I readily volunteered to lead Hargraves directly to the man. I'd considered it a Christmas present to myself to see him behind bars, especially knowing his misdeeds extended far beyond me.

  It had also been the perfect excuse to return home and spend Christmas with Julia. While I missed my sister, she was settled with her husband and new baby and was very happy in Virginia City. Julia, though, was alone without any family for the holiday. When I hesitated about traveling to see the new baby, she'd insisted I go, for she knew how important family was— perhaps because she had none. But over the past few months of courting the woman, I'd come to consider her family—to have her be my family. Spending Christmas apart from her was not what I wanted. I wanted to be with her, not just as a man who held her attentions, but also as her husband.