A Wanton Woman Page 7

And so when I agreed to the plural marriage with Luke, it had been easy. I’d planned to let Luke worry about keeping her happy while I just enjoyed the… perks of the union. But she’d stepped of that train and destroyed every wall, every defense I had. One small smile, one look of surprise when our touch brought her pleasure and I never had a chance against Celia. I walked away this morning, not because I didn’t want her, but because I wanted her too much. I wouldn’t do it again.

  I was a stupid fuck and I was going to make it right. I was going to give her everything.

  As for Celia, while she was so open and passionate when we touched her, she had to learn that we were her husbands and there would be no secrets elsewhere in our marriage. She would not keep things from us. We would protect her at all costs. Whoever that man was, he would not even look at her wrong again. But to help her, she needed to talk. I was willing to do whatever it took to get her to open up, even if that meant tossing her over my knee and spanking her ass until she shared.

  We rode up to our friend Lane Haskins’ house; the downstairs windows glowed with soft lantern light. The man himself came out onto the porch and put his hat low on his head. Tucking up the collar of his coat, he came down the steps to meet us.

  Luke handed Celia down from his lap and Lane was there to help her. Luke dismounted and stood beside her and introduced our bride.

  Lane replied with a simple tip of his hat. “Ma’am.”

  Climbing from my horse, I joined them.

  “Celia, this is Lane Haskins, an old friend,” Luke said by way of introduction.

  We’d known Lane for a decade. As a mine owner in Jasper, he and Luke had the same profession, fell in with the same circles; he’d even housed Luke one winter when he’d been caught in Jasper after the pass closed. While his mine was smaller than Luke’s, it was very prosperous. His house sat at the edge of town, the base of the mountains directly out his back door. Large for just a bachelor, he’d built it with a family in mind. He had yet to find the right woman. In the meantime, we stayed with him as we passed through, often bringing him supplies with us back from Denver. Not this trip.

  Tonight, we only brought our bride.

  “Stew’s on the stove to stay warm.”

  Stew sounded perfect for my empty stomach.

  “You won’t join us?” I asked.

  Lane shook his head. “I ate earlier, but wanted to meet your new bride before I left.”

  “You’re not staying?” Celia asked.

  “No, ma’am,” he replied, offering her a smile. “It’s best that newlyweds have time on their own. Don’t concern yourself with me. I won’t be cold tonight.”

  He would spend the night in his mistress’s bed, no doubt, and would be quite warm.

  It was too dark to see if Celia blushed with embarrassment, but I had to imagine her thoughts. Of course we would fuck her tonight. Hell, we’d fuck her every night… and morning.

  “You must be chilled through. Head on inside and warm up,” he told Celia.

  She glanced at Luke, who nodded.

  “Thank you,” she replied. All three of us watched her go inside.

  “I’ll settle your horses for you, then be on my way.”

  “You’ve been generous enough. I’ve got them,” Luke said, grabbing the reins and walking around the side of the house to the barn.

  Lane slapped me on the back, knocking snow off my coat.

  “She’s lovely, Walker.”

  Only a few years older than both Luke and I, Lane was still in his prime and focused on his profession instead of a bride. The mine brought money, but it didn’t put a woman in his bed or children in the nursery. So far, Lane hadn’t minded.

  I looked at the closed front door. “Sure is. We are… lucky.”

  “If that’s the bride you get from mail order, maybe I should send in a letter.”

  Maybe he was more inclined to finding a woman than I thought. We’d been to the brothel in Jasper with him before and knew he had some unconventional needs. When we told him about our marriage, how we’d share a bride together, he hadn’t flinched, perhaps been a little intrigued. He’d poured us some whiskey to toast our new bride and was almost as eager to meet her as we’d been.

  I grinned then. “Perhaps you should. Thanks for the house tonight.”

  “I’ll come back after breakfast tomorrow. Lil will keep me occupied until then.” He winked.

  “I hate to think I kicked you out of your own house,” I said.

  With one hand raised, he continued. “Please. I don’t want to be the only one not having a woman warm my bed. Besides, you don’t need me about if you only married yesterday.”

  “Probably for the best,” I replied. “She’s got some trouble following her, and I mean to get the story behind it from her.”

  “You mean from her behind,” Lane countered.

  I shrugged, some snow falling off my coat. “If that’s what it takes to learn about the bastard who was eyeing her in Denver. She knows him, but isn’t telling us. I’ll spank her ass if need be. We’re in charge of her safety now. I won’t have her harmed.”

  “I thought you weren’t too keen on this marriage.”

  I’d told him that on our way down to Denver last week. So much had changed in just a few days. So much had changed since Luke called me out on my stupidity. “That’s true. I wasn’t. But now, now I’m all in.”

  Lane’s eyes widened. “Whoa,” he said. “Fell hard, did you?”

  I shook my head, laughed. “Hard. I’d heard of instant attraction, but this… hell, if it can happen to me, it can happen to you, so be careful.”

  Lane chuckled, definitely at my expense, and held up his hands. “I have been duly warned. It’s good to see you invested in this, Walker.”

  “Ruth’s been gone awhile now,” I said, my smile slipping. I felt lighter saying it aloud, to let my guilt of our failed marriage go. “It’s finally time to move on.”

  Lane slapped me on the shoulder. “Good for you. If you need help with tracking down the trouble, let me know.”

  “Will do, and much obliged.” I tipped my hat and Lane walked off toward town and his mistress.

  I looked back at the front door again, thought of Celia. I had no idea what kind of trouble followed her, for Luke and I barely knew her. But with the attraction and desire, the absolute certainty that she was ours, it mattered not. The trouble that followed her was something we could resolve, could make go away. The rest, it would stay forever.

  But she was holding back and I could not be in a marriage where my bride didn’t give the marriage everything in her being. I would, for Celia. The secret would be revealed… tonight.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Celia

  Lane’s house was impressive. While simple, it was large, larger than a bachelor could need. A stairwell was directly in front of the entry with a long hallway beside it. I could see the warm lantern glow toward the back and assumed the kitchen was there. The scents of bread and meat filled the house. I stripped off my coat as I peeked into the rooms to the left and right, but both were dark. Only one had a fire in the hearth, but it only gave off enough glow for me to see that it was an office of sorts; books lining the walls and a large desk in the center.

  Hanging my coat by the door, I carried my hat and mittens to the kitchen. The room was lit by a large lantern above the well-worn table. A cast-iron stove was in the corner making the space quite warm. I sat on the small bench was beside it and removed my boots, placing them, along with my outerwear, beside the fire to dry.

  Once done, I went to the stove and lifted the lid off a large pot set to the back of a cooking stove. The stew was filled with root vegetables and thick chunks of meat. My stomach growled, eager for some.

  “Smells fantastic.”

  Walker’s voice made me jump and I put the lid back on the pot.

  He settled himself on the bench and did as I had, stripping off his boots. He’d foregone a necktie this morning and wore just a white shirt with his dungarees, his coat probably beside mine in the entry. “We’ll eat in a little bit. First, we need to take care of your punishment.”

  While he was bent over and undoing his laces, his eyes were squarely on me. I frowned slightly.

  “Punishment?” My mouth was dry and I licked my lips.

  He stood and placed his boots beside mine. While the kitchen had been so big just seconds ago, with Walker, it seemed as if the walls were closing in.

  “For lying.”

  I picked up some folded napkins and walked around the table, ready to set it for the meal. “I haven’t, I mean—”

  “Who’s the man, doll?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  I stopped at his words. So did my heart. Surely, he didn’t know about Carl. He couldn’t. “Man?”

  “That’s two.”

  “Two?” I squeaked.

  “Two punishments.”

  “Walker, I don’t—”

  “Do you want to make it three?” he asked, arching a brow. With his arms crossed over his chest and the way he leaned against the wall, so patient and casual, it seemed he had all the time in the world.

  I glanced at the back door, wondered where Luke was and if Lane would return.

  “Tell me about the man on the street in Denver.”

  My shoulders slumped and I looked at the floor. “You saw him.” I didn’t state it as a question because he wouldn’t have asked after him if he hadn’t seen him.

  “Who is he?”

  “No one.”

  I didn’t have time to make more than an odd gasp of surprise when I was pulled into Walker’s arms and when he sat in one of the kitchen chairs, he settled me over his lap. My hands went to the wood floor for balance when he shifted me forward, my toes barely touching. It made my bottom stick straight up.

  “Walker!” I cried. “What are you doing?”

  I felt the hem of my dress slide up my legs, higher and higher until it bunched at my waist. I heard the crack of his palm on my bottom a moment before I felt it. Stiffening, I bucked on his lap.

  “No!”

  “You decide how long you’re spanked, doll. Tell me about the man in Denver and we’ll be done.”

  A sharp tug on my drawers and the string broke and Walker slid them down to my thighs. “I punish on the bare, doll.”

  Spank.

  Spank.

  Spank.

  “I’m too old to be spanked!” I cried.

  Walker didn’t relent, spanking me consistently, his palm landing in different places on my bottom and the tops of my thighs. “You’re too old for lies, as well.”

  I winced as he spanked where my bottom met my thighs. A tender spot, I cried out. He was not going to stop. I thought of Carl Norman and how he’d made my life hell in Texas and then he’d followed me. He wasn’t going to go away. He was the one following me, pestering me, and I was the one being spanked. It was unfair. All of it. I cried then, for the pain was enough to push me over.

  Tears coursed down my cheeks as Walker continued.

  “What the hell?” Luke’s voice boomed in the kitchen. I felt the cold air come in behind him just before he shut the back door. He stomped his feet on the mat there and I could see his boots and lower legs from my upturned position.

  Spank.

  Spank.

  “Celia’s been a naughty girl and lying to us.”

  His tone held disappointment and that had my tears falling even faster.

  “I’m sorry,” I mumbled.

  Slowly, Walker lifted me to my feet, holding onto my hips as I settled. With him sitting, we were the same height and I looked into his dark eyes. They held infinite amounts of patience, but also concern.

  “We are very possessive and I will not have a man following you, watching you like that.”

  I wasn’t going to be able to escape. The truth would have to come forth. There would be no more running, at least from my husbands.

  “His name is Carl Norman.”

  Walker’s hand came up and he wiped the tears from my cheeks with his thumb. “That wasn’t so hard, was it? Why was he on the street in Denver watching you?”

  The corner of his mouth tipped up.

  Luke went around the table so he could see me. “Who the hell is Carl Norman? A lover?”

  My gaze met and held Luke’s. “No! Of course not. The idea of that man touching me makes my skin crawl.”

  Walker pulled me into him so I stood between his parted knees. “Has he touched you before? Hurt you?” His voice was a dark growl.

  I shook my head and bit my lip. “No. It’s not like that.”

  “Explain. Now. Or you’ll go over my knee,” Luke warned.

  “I told you my husband was shot. That he was in bed with his mistress. The woman’s husband found them together and killed them both.” I remembered what happened, shivered. “What I didn’t tell you was that I saw the whole thing.”

  Neither man spoke, but Walker squeezed my waist to urge me on.

  I sniffed, then continued. “I’d come in while they were… fucking and went into the room next door. I peeked through the partially open doorway and watched them. I’d been stunned to see my husband be so vigorous, so wild in bed. He’d never been like that with me. But then the woman’s husband came storming in the house, up the steps and shot them. He never knew I was there. As the only witness to the crime, it was my testimony that sealed his conviction. He was hung soon after.”

  “If he was hung, then who the hell followed you?” Luke asked.

  I was learning he was not as patient as his brother.

  “His brother. Carl Norman blames me for his brother’s death. That I should have been a better wife and pleased John. If I’d done that, then he wouldn’t have strayed.”

  “That’s why you were skittish with us,” Walker added.

  I nodded and looked down at the floor. “I knew how John really liked to fuck and yet he only pushed up my nightgown and… and took me at night. It was quick and I didn’t like it. There was no pleasure in it and when I didn’t give him a child, he gave up entirely. But he did things with his mistress that… God, that I would have done with him. But I hadn’t pleased him. There’s something wrong with me because I didn’t make him happy and he did stray.”

  “Stop.” Walker’s one word cut off my frustrated outpouring. “There is nothing wrong with you. If your husband wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him myself for making you think this way.”

  “Damn straight. We’ll talk about that later, trust me. For now, this Norman fucker. Why is he in Denver?”

  I put my hand on Walker’s shoulder, felt the hard plane of muscle beneath my fingers. “He threatened me. In Texas, he grabbed me about the throat, said he was going to kill me. He wanted revenge for what I did to his brother.”

  “And so you fled.”

  I nodded. “Yes. I had no money to leave on my own so I applied to be a mail order bride.”

  “And he followed you,” Walker added.

  “Yes. He’s insane. I don’t think he’d follow us up here to Jasper, but I have no idea. I was thrilled to hear that Slate Springs was snowed in and he couldn’t get to me. I just want to get where he can’t hurt me.”

  “We don’t have to be in Slate Springs to keep you safe. He won’t hurt you, doll. You don’t have to worry about that. Why wouldn’t you tell us this?”

  I looked at both men. “Because I don’t—didn’t—know you and I wasn’t sure if you’d agree with him, that I’d been the one to make John stray, to make him be killed.”

  “I should toss you back over my knee for that ridiculous idea.”

  My hands went to my bottom and I rubbed the smarting flesh. Both men chuckled.

  “This problem, doll. This Carl Norman, he’s our problem now. He wants to hurt our wife, we’ll take care of it. All right?”

  I looked at Walker with hope. I’d told them and they hadn’t run away. I’d told them and they said they’d take care of Carl. Of me. I felt better, better than I had in as long as I could remember. I wasn’t all alone.

  I nodded, wiped another tear from my eye. “Yes.”

  “Good. Tell me something, doll. Did you like your spanking?” Walker asked.

  “No!” I replied instantly. “Of course not.”

  He arched one dark brow. “Really? You said last night you want to be tied up and taken. You want wild abandon.”

  I flushed, remembering I had said those exact words. I was impressed that Walker had listened so intently.

  “Yes, but not like that.”

  Luke came around the table and Walker spun me about to face him, although he kept me in the circle of his legs. “Walker had you pinned down. You couldn’t go anywhere. Could only submit to what he did. You kicked and bucked with wild abandon.”

  “Yes, but—”

  He put a finger over my lips. “Are you wet, Celia?”

  Oh God. His words, so carnal and dark, made me wet. Not that I wasn’t already, I just hadn’t noticed. Without my drawers, I felt the slick arousal on my pussy and thighs. I whimpered, but I shook my head.

  “So if Walker slipped his hand over your pussy he wouldn’t find it dripping wet?”

  Walker bunched up the fabric of my dress and his fingers slid up my calf.

  “What’s going to happen, doll, if I find you all wet? Do you get another spanking for lying?”

  “Your body never lies, Celia,” Luke added.

  He lifted his finger from my lips as Walker’s hand moved higher. Higher still until his fingers were mere inches from discovering just how aroused I was.

  “Yes, I’m wet. It made me wet,” I admitted.

  Walker’s hand moved away, the dress falling back to the floor. Luke stepped back and Walker released me from his hold.

  “Good girl. I’m hungry. You?” Luke asked, turning to lift the lid from the pot on the stove.

  I stood there, confused. They’d aroused me, made me ache for them, then walked away. I whimpered once again as I clenched my thighs together.

  Walker stood, leaned down to whisper in my ear. “Punishment number two. Orgasm denial.”

  I whimpered, for I was ready to come.

  “Later, doll. Later I’m going to fuck you. Hard. With wild abandon. I might even tie you up.”

  -->