Taming Tessa (Montana Maiden Series Book 2) Read online

  "Such a beautiful sight, and all mine. You may let go now and stand."

  With a very relaxed body, she stood, then spun around to face me. She gasped, most likely by the shift of the cork. Quickly, she leaned forward, shifted her hips back. Her cheeks were flushed, her skin dewy with her release. Her eyes, usually a light blue, were dark and stormy with her waning arousal.

  I stepped closer and ran my thumb down her soft cheek.

  "The...um, the cork," she whispered.

  "Yes, darlin'?" I tucked an escaped curl behind her ear, my finger caressing the dainty curve at the top.

  "It's...it's horribly uncomfortable. I can't keep this in me."

  "You can and you will." I crossed my arms over my chest and waited.

  "For how long?"

  "This cork? I'll take it out before I fuck you later. In general? Always."

  "Always?"

  I watched various emotions flit across her face. Anger, frustration, discomfort, stubbornness, defiance. And then defeat. She started to cry, her shoulders slumping.

  Pulling her small frame into my arms, I hugged her, ran my hand up and down her warm back. She smelled of flowers and springtime, her hair silky soft beneath my chin. Her full breasts were pressed into my chest and she no doubt felt my cock, hard and thick against her belly. "Don't cry, Tessa. Everything's going to be just fine. That pleasure you just felt?"

  Her forehead bumped against me as she nodded.

  "That's for me to give you. You might find some things I ask of you to be difficult, at least in the near term, but remember that pleasure. I will make you come again and again."

  "But, but why me?"

  I tilted her chin up so she could look in my eyes, see the truth in my words. "It's always been you." I brushed away the last of her tears with my thumbs, then lowered my head and kissed her, this time lingering on learning the curves of her lips, her taste, without an audience.

  Sadly, I couldn't linger. It was time to depart; even though I'd made her come, I couldn't take her on the alter. Taking her arm, I led her out of the church, making sure to go slowly to accommodate her new distraction in her ass. Once outside, I shook hands with the minister and thanked him for his service. The man made no notice of my bride's flushed cheeks, her sated expression; he'd seen this many times before. Next, Tessa's parents approached, all stern faced and severe. Mr. Bowers shook my hand and I nodded respectfully at his wife, whose lips were pursed into a thin line. "I'll give you all a moment."

  Tessa's flushed skin paled and she bit her lip, clearly not wishing to be alone with the couple. I wouldn't let them monopolize her time for long. They moved away to talk privately and I went to stand with my brothers, who both shook my hand and slapped me on the back.

  "She does not look the happy bride at the moment," Sam said, looking over to where my new bride stood meekly listening to something her mother was saying. From the angry look on the older woman's face, it wasn't good. My new mother-in-law was a very severe woman.

  My bride was gazing upon me, clearly trying to ignore her mother's diatribe, yet when her ear was yanked, she had no choice but to focus elsewhere. Anger pulsed through my veins at her mother's cruel treatment.

  When she gave me a small smile, pride filled me. Knowing my cork was filling her, the way her body responded so swiftly to my touch, had me anxious to get her home. Training her would involve finesse, but I'd waited years. I was nothing if not patient. And it meant she was free of her parents harshness.

  "Thank you, husband, for not corking me at our wedding ceremony," Catherine told Jake. She looked quite pretty with her dark hair wrapped neatly in a bun, and dressed in a simple black skirt and white blouse with the modest scarf covering her breasts. She'd come from St. Louis to marry Jake and had fought him and the strict rules of being a wife in Liberty. Still did on occasion, from what I gathered. But Jake used a pill in her ass every night to elevate her arousal. Now that she knew the pleasure to be found in the more unusual aspects of sexual congress, such as a good ass fucking, she was more concerned about pleasing Jake and easing the ache of her body than griping.

  "And what about the dildo that's filling your pussy?" Jake murmured, caressing her cheek and smiling. Earlier in the week, I'd fashioned a dildo onto a leather strap for her to wear about her wrist for when she needed to pleasure herself, which seemed to be all the time. I'd heard it was being well used, and had been a great source of easy pleasure for Catherine. Right now, however, it was not in its usual place dangling by her shirtsleeve, as it was inappropriate for town.

  Catherine's lids lowered and her eyes glazed over at the husky tone of her husband's voice. "Between the dildo and the wide cork, I don't know if I can make it home," she replied, her voice low.

  Jake looked around.

  "The jail's empty," MacKenzie said as he approached, hearing the very end of their conversation.

  Jake nodded, bid a hasty farewell, then steered his wife into town.

  Sam and MacKenzie just shook their heads at how smitten Jake had become in such a short time.

  Mrs. Bowers led Tessa back my way, the younger woman's face pinched and it looked as if all the pleasure I'd wrung from her body had bled away. What had the woman said to make my new wife so unhappy?

  "See you bachelors later," I replied over my shoulder as I went to meet Tessa. I heard the men chuckle, but I couldn’t have cared less. This beautiful woman before me was mine.

  "Tessa is ready for you, Mr. Bridger," Mrs. Bowers said. Tessa would not meet my eye. "Good luck."

  Tessa winced at Mrs. Bowers' parting words, as if she'd offered a physical blow. Not even her mother understood her. I didn't need luck, just a controlling presence and some gentle praise.

  Tessa

  When I saw Cole standing at the altar, I knew we were to be wed. I'd wanted it, dreamed about it for years. I'd done everything I could think of to get him to notice me, to court me so that I could be free of my ruthless parents. It wasn't just any man I'd pined for, it had just been Cole. Only Cole. But he'd caught me completely by surprise and I didn't have the appropriate dress, my hair was a mess and my parents were all but dragging me forward. Clearly, they'd been as eager to get rid of me as I was of them. I'd had visions of my wedding, and reality certainly did not match. The ceremony had been too short for me to even feel like I was being married. Even the kiss was brief and chaste and nothing like I'd imagined it would be with Cole. And then....

  It had been awful! Horrible! Cruel! How could Cole, my husband, treat me in such a way? In front of the townspeople? In front of my mother? Not only had he lifted up my skirts and seen me ... bare, but he'd stuck his finger inside of me! And definitely not where I’d imagined. That thing - the wooden thing he shoved in - it was very uncomfortable. His words, his warm breath against my ear, had soothed me, made it bearable. He found me beautiful. He wanted me. He'd been waiting for me!

  My heart soared at the notion. He was stern, often brooding, but he'd been gentle with me, even touching me...there. It had felt, oh! Incredible. Indescribable. Wonderful. He'd said he'd give me a treat, but I imagined a candy or some frilly notion. I wasn't a silly girl anymore and Cole certainly didn't see me that way. The way he touched me, the way he made me groan with sheer pleasure, ensured me that I was his woman.

  He led me, sated and replete, out of the church, only to be told by my parents, in no uncertain terms, that I was no longer their responsibility and that whatever Cole did to me was my fault. Mine! Not like my perfect sister, Henrietta. Had the plug been my fault? Cole had said all wives had them. If my mother and sister both had their...bottoms filled as well, how was my corking my fault? The pleasure Cole had given me; obviously my mother did not know what he'd done to my body in the sanctuary when we were alone. I saw nothing but relief on their faces when Cole led me to his horse to go home, and I knew, right then, that I would be happy with Cole. I would strive to be the perfect wife, if just to be rid of my family. I was a Bridger now, not a Bowers.

  Hom
e! My home was now with Cole. The man was so big, so tall, so broad that I'd been smitten since I was sixteen. He looked so handsome in his Sunday finest. His hair was dark, although lighter than mine, long for a man and curled slightly at the ends. His skin was tanned, almost swarthy from the sun. Although I'm sure he'd shaved recently, light stubble appeared on his square jaw that made me itch to touch it. And his eyes - I felt as if they could see past every wall or defense I built to my very soul.

  He climbed up on his horse and held out his hand. I took it readily, his strong grip easily lifting me up upon his lap. "Are you comfortable?" he asked.

  His clean scent, something musky and spicy, swirled around me, along with the tang of leather and horse. Feeling his hard, unyielding flesh beneath my thighs and his heartbeat against my arm, it was a heady combination.

  With his arms about my waist holding the reins, I felt secure and protected. I didn't understand why I should feel this way when I was filled with the silly cork. The man had done unspeakable--yet unbelievably pleasurable--things to my person and I felt protected. Was there something wrong with me or solely desperate to be away from my parents?

  The horse slowly ambled out of town, leaving the town behind. "Your parents, they're...."

  Cole left the statement hanging.

  "My parents are very severe."

  "Did they say something that bothered you?"

  I swallowed down a lump of tears building at the tenderness in his voice. I'd never had someone be concerned for me before. "Nothing new or overly exceptional."

  The wind picked up a curl and it got in my eyes. I tucked it behind me ear.

  "Such as..." Cole prompted, as the horse plodded slowly over the summer grass.

  He waited patiently. Oh, the man seemed to have the patience of a saint! I shifted in his lap, as if I were physically uncomfortable by the conversation, not just emotionally. "They assured me that you would beat me if I did not behave."

  I felt the muscles in his thighs tense beneath me. "Do you think I'd do that?" he asked, his voice calm, but with a sharp edge to it.

  I shrugged my shoulders. Would he hit me? He didn't seem the type, and I'd know as I'd watched him for years. I'd seen him with his brothers, with other townsfolk, with the horses. He appeared strict, yet kind. "I...I hope not."

  "I will never hit you in anger. Spank you, perhaps. That depends upon you."

  Spank?

  "I'm a strict man, Tessa. I will make demands of you that you may question, that you may not like, but you will obey. I promise, I will always see to you, cherish you, give you pleasure. I will never hurt you."

  I heard the vehemence of his words. I knew him to be honorable; he hadn't even kissed me until we were wed. Therefore, I was inclined to believe him. A worry I didn't even know I carried was alleviated.

  Cole remained quiet for a moment. "You need not fear them any longer."

  I questioned who he spoke of for a moment. "My parents?"

  "Yes. You're stronger than they are, Tessa. They can't hurt you anymore."

  The words soothed me in a way I'd never known before.

  ***

  "You knew, the other night at dinner, that we were going to marry," I said to my husband when we entered his large house. It was set on a bluff, overlooking the vast land held by the Bridger family. Built from hewn logs, it was graced with a large front porch. For a bachelor, the home was excessive, but it was my home too, now. There was no question to Cole's virility so it would most likely be filled with children soon enough.

  Cole placed his hat on the table where we'd eaten with my parents, Sam, Jake and Catherine and the foreman and his wife just the other night. "Yes. I decided then that it was time."

  "Time?" I ran my hand over wildflowers that filled a vase near the window.

  "Ever since you touched my hand at the church picnic, you were mine." Cole looked at me steadily, his dark gaze clear and calm.

  My mouth fell open. “Since the ... that was years ago!"

  My heart hammered in my chest. He'd wanted me all this time? Oh my.

  He moved closer, bearing down on me and I wanted to retreat out of instinct, afraid he might hurt me, but refused to be cowed by reactions wrought by others' actions. His body was so close to mine, if I breathed deeply my breasts would bump his chest. I felt heat radiate from him, smelled his clean male scent - like woods and sky and dark, sinister acts rolled together.

  "You've been mine since then, Tessa," Cole murmured, his voice husky. One big hand brushed over my hair, pushing it back from my face.

  I swallowed down the lump of nervousness in my throat. "I...I had no idea."

  His hand moved lower, over my cheek, down my neck and to the little buttons at the top of my blouse. "You did everything you could to gain my attention."

  Licking my lips, I took a deep breath. I shivered at the brush of his knuckles against my skin. "I...I wanted you to notice me."

  The corner of his mouth ticked up. "I noticed you, but it wasn't yet time. It is now."

  My heartbeat quickened, my palms became damp and I felt my cheeks flush at his insinuation. "Now?"

  This time I did retreat. Just because I'd done everything I could to get him to want me, I was still nervous, still unsure of what he had in mind. I had a general idea, but he was so big, so present, he made me very nervous. He had solely been part of my dreams before, but now...he was flesh and blood and he was looming over me. I only made it a step as his fingers latched onto the modest opening of my bodice and pulled me back. He leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Now I'm going to do all the things I've wanted to do since you began taunting me. Now I’m going to take what you've been offering me all these years." His breath was hot against my nape.

  I heard a sound and realized I'd moaned.

  "Now be a good girl and take off your clothes."

  "My...my clothes? All of them?"

  The hand that held onto my blouse gave a harsh tug. I heard the rend in the material before I understood what he was doing. Buttons flew and skittered across the hard wood floor and my blouse was off one shoulder and dangling about my wrist. I only had time to gasp as Cole swiftly, and none too gently, stripped me. I held up my hands to cover my corset; no man had seen me dressed so. This vanity allowed Cole to yank at my skirt, opening the waist and letting it fall to the floor. My drawers...oh! My drawers were still on the altar floor. My cheeks burned at the idea of Reverend Abernathy finding them.

  "So beautiful, darlin'. I'm a generous man. Some even say I'm nice. Gentle, even. But my patience can only endure so much." He brushed my hands out of the way and worked the stays of my corset open until the last of my coverings fell to the floor. There I stood, naked, with a thing in my bottom. If I turned around, would he be able to see it?

  His heated gaze raked over me, first meeting my eyes where I could see he meant what he said, then dropping lower, over my breasts, belly and to my womanly garden. There, he lingered and I tried not to squirm.

  "We will begin this marriage as I plan to continue, just so you have no doubts. Your ass will be corked, your pussy will be bare and your breasts will be exposed at all times."

  He turned then and left me. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't run with my clothes in tatters on the floor, nor did I really want to. His aggressive behavior was because he was impatient, eager to see my body? The thought of that, of his power was exhilarating. But what had he said? Corked at all times, shaved...there? Exposed breasts? I knew he'd put his thing in me at some point on my wedding night, but I had no idea to these others. Cole went to the kitchen but quickly returned with his shaving cup and a straight razor.

  "Over to the dining table so I can shave you."

  The dining table, where we'd eaten with our families?

  "Now, Tessa."

  I did as he bid, walking slowly, unused to having my bottom filled. Once I stood in front of the table, my fingers brushing against the cool wood, I waited for my next instruction.

  "You've handled the cork w
ell. I'm going to remove it, so bend over just like in church." He placed the items he carried on the table.

  He was taking it out? I eagerly bent forward, yet embarrassment washed over me as I looked down and saw my breasts swaying beneath me. I wasn't small; I hadn't been since I was fifteen. At that time I learned I was larger than most girls, as the boys were apt to comment and laugh at me. Some even leered and whispered to each other about me, which made me uncomfortable with my body. Even my sister had commented about how obscene my breasts were. After bathing, I didn't linger unclothed, not wanting to look at what was considered laughable. Now, I had no choice but to gaze upon my generous endowments.

  "Oh, Cole, not like this," I begged. "Please."

  He knelt down and looked at me, his dark eyes concerned. "Why?"

  I felt my cheeks heat and I couldn't look at him any longer. I squeezed my eyes shut.

  "Tessa," he warned. "Why?"

  I blinked and stared into his fathomless dark eyes. "Because...because my breasts are so large."

  His eyes flared, then he grinned wickedly. "Yes, they are." Very gently, he cupped one in his large palm.

  I gasped at the contact, then leaned forward, pushing my breast further into his touch.

  "They're gorgeous. I've been waiting to see them, touch them, and I can't wait to have them exposed for me to see anytime I wish."

  His thumb ran over my distended nipple as he spoke. I had no idea such feelings could be elicited from such a caress.

  "Like that?" He was watching me closely for my reactions.

  I bit my lip. "Oh, yes."

  "Good girl. More of that later. Now, let's get the plug out." He removed his hand, stood, then moved behind me.

  I couldn't help but squirm as Cole tugged and twisted the cork, slowly working it from me. I scrunched up my face at the discomfort, and couldn't help but sag in relief once it was removed. He dropped the cork on the table with a loud thunk. Surprisingly, I felt empty with it gone. I looked over my shoulder. Cole stood behind me, his large body all but dwarfing mine, his big hand holding up a white, round object. He saw me looking and held it down for me to see it closely. "This is your pill. It will go in your ass before each corking to keep you slick and to keep you from conceiving. I'm not ready to share your body yet with anyone, I'm actually quite greedy where you are concerned, not even a babe of my seed."