The Rancher's Virgin Acquisition(28)

She began to move frantically, as if she needed something and didn't know what it was. But he did.

He slid his hand down and put his finger on her silken pearl and began stroking it, in tandem with the movements she was taking on him. "That's right, baby. Just feel it." His voice was low and deep and filled with a hunger he couldn't begin to deny.

Emma felt his touch on her where she needed it the most and it was bringing a bit of relief but it wasn't enough. She continued to lift herself over him, again and again in the only way she could that seemed to bring a balm to the wildness inside of her.

She was mildly aware that Luke's breathing was as rough as hers and that he strained against her while he touched her between her legs and rolled her nipple between his thumb and finger.

Suddenly it was as if a wire broke, and the tension was released and fluid sensation encompassed her in a million bolts of pleasure that spread through her blood. Her body strained against his as satisfaction pure and simple slammed through her, relaxation took over as she found the remedy, the comfort for the desire that had her in its grip. Inertia took over as she fell to his chest, but she found it wasn't over yet as he gripped her by the hips and jerked her up and down four, five, six times as he thrust up into her and then stilled as he groaned, a sound that came deep from his diaphragm, and Emma felt the hot, wet release of his seed in her womb.

He lay slack beneath her, and she fell to his chest again and rested her head in the crook of his neck as their sweat mingled together, while their pulses finally slowed and evened out.

They lay like that for a long while, and contentment unlike any she'd ever felt before, infiltrated her entire being. His hand ran idly up and down her waist and she felt herself slipping off into sleep.

She savored the moment as the movement of his hand began to slow and she knew that he, too, was about to fall asleep. His breathing evened out, and the words he whispered were the last thing she knew before slumber took her.

"That's the way it's supposed to be."



Emma rode next to Luke on the buckboard and tried not to keep from fidgeting and continually looking at the gold band on her left ring finger.

His mood was not exactly dark, but he wasn't thrilled and she could certainly tell.

He'd awakened her that morning before dawn, and told her they were leaving right at sunrise. Emma had put on her best dress and bonnet and prepared a quick breakfast that they ate before they left for town.

Luke had planned for the circuit judge to marry them, but he knew that wouldn't be possible if the judge was in another city. And that was indeed the case as they found out when they got to town.

He'd pulled the buckboard in front of the sheriff's office, and helped her down.

Reed Elgin wasted no time when he saw them and immediately told them the culprits were caught and awaiting trial. It seemed to be a clear-cut case and that they would be found guilty. They had been caught red-handed with items that were taken in not only the robbery that Emma had been involved in but the several before it. They were being kept in the jail in the next town. Relief spread through Emma. It had always been at the back of her mind that they were out there, the men that were murderers and thieves and knew her face. She took a deep breath of relief.

Luke quickly moved on to the subject at hand. The sheriff listened to Luke's request for the judge and only a small amount of consternation could be seen on his face by a tic in his cheek. The sheriff's eyes roved over Emma as if he already had the knowledge of what they'd done, and a sharp tide of embarrassment came over her when she realized that he suspected they'd already been intimate.

"The judge will be here again in two weeks. I guess y'all will have to come back then." The sheriff's eyes looked between the two of them with a frown on his face. "I guess that'll give Mrs. Martin some more time to make sure she's doing the right thing by marrying you."

Emma gasped at the intended insult to Luke and knew it had hit home when Luke stiffened and glared at the sheriff. "It's Miss Martin, and the marriage can't wait two weeks."

The sheriff's eyes landed on Emma again. "You're not a widow?"

Emma glanced down at her shoes and shook her head as fiery heat spread up her throat and onto her face.

"Well, damn, Luke, I guess that changes things a mite. Your best bet would be the preacher. You might be able to get him to agree to a quick ceremony under the circumstances."

"Is he at the church?" Luke asked the question as he reached for Emma's hand and began turning away from the door.

"Should be." The sheriff tipped his hat at Emma. "Good luck, Miss Martin." A wicked glint came to his eyes. "You're gonna need it."

Emma was still looking back at the sheriff as Luke marched her to the door and pulled her by the hand to the church were the preacher was more than happy to perform the service for a fee.

The preacher rounded up two witnesses in a matter of minutes, and before she knew it, Emma was agreeing to the words that made her Mrs. Luke Butler.

After that, Luke had taken her to the restaurant at the hotel and they'd shared a quiet meal. He'd watched her between every bite, and after her third unanswered attempt at small talk, Emma had given up and focused on the food on her plate. It was a treat for her to enjoy a restaurant meal, and she tried as hard as she could to remember it for some time in the future when she might want to look back and remember this day. She ran her finger over the pattern on the silver setting, and measured the weight of the cut crystal water glass as she raised it to her lips.

"What are you doing?" Luke must have noticed her fascination with the multitude of small things at their table.

"I'm trying to commit our wedding day to memory." She looked across the small table at him and found his heated eyes locked on hers.

And now, they were almost home and Emma's emotions were in turmoil. Luke's attitude had shifted a bit the closer they made it to the ranch. He was short, but not mean, and she thought he seemed more pensive than angry or disturbed. Her mind kept falling back to last night, and the things they'd done in bed, and the echo of his words when he'd mumbled 'That's the way it should be.' His voice then had seemed almost gentle, and Emma held the memory of it in her heart.

When he pulled up in front of the house, he jumped down and moved around to her side where he helped her down. He walked with her to the front door and opened it but before she could step through the entrance, he lifted her in his arms and shouldered his way into the house.

"What are you doing?" He'd taken her totally by surprise and her voice held that emotion.

"Carrying you over the threshold." His words were abrupt and matter-of-fact.

"Oh." Emma was dismayed; she hadn't even thought of the ancient tradition. She thought the reason he picked her up might have something to do with her leg, and that was the first thing that occurred to her. She was pleasantly surprised that he had thought of the romantic tradition when she hadn't.

The day had been long and it was late in the evening. He dropped her carefully in a chair in the living room and turned to go. "I need to check on Jesse and make sure everything else is as it should be. I'll be back as soon as I can." He picked up his hat and shoved it on his head.

She nodded her head in agreement and he walked back out the door.

And that, thought Emma, was that.

She stood up, looked around the room again with new eyes as the sudden realization came to her that this was now her home. Her home for good, and not just a few weeks. A small feeling of awe slipped into her heart, and suddenly the house became dear to her.

Her eyes slid over the sturdy furniture as she walked into the kitchen. She reached out and lovingly ran her hand over the mahogany sideboard and touched the beveled mirror above it. She walked around and touched this and that, and her eyes fell to the deck of cards on the counter. She smiled a wicked little smile to herself and promised herself right then and there that she would be the best wife to Luke that she could possibly be.



It was late when Luke came back even though he hadn't had any trouble. Jesse was on the mend, Red was well enough to cook again and Maria had a firm hand on the domestic side of the ranch while Cody had seen to it that things ran smoothly in Luke and Jesse's absence.

It had only been a day and he hadn't really expected otherwise.

He tossed his hat down on the kitchen table and ran his fingers through his hair. Emma had left a plate of food out for him and the light turned down low. Hungry, but annoyed at the delay, he sat down, plowed his way through the food for the sustenance it would give him, and swallowed a whole glass of water before he stood to go find his new wife.

His wife.

He liked the sound of that.

He'd never given marriage much thought, but he couldn't deny he was pleased that Emma couldn't slip away from him now. And rightly or wrongly, he felt no guilt in the way he'd acquired her. Yes, he'd seduced her, that was true, but she'd been more than willing. A man couldn't be blamed for wanting a taste of what she'd been offering. The memory of that seduction was fresh in his mind when he turned down the light and left the kitchen.

He thought he might find her asleep in the living room, while trying to wait up for him. Although her scent lingered in the air, she wasn't in the room. His spied her shawl on the back of the sofa and his fingers ran over it. It made a bright blue splash of color in the otherwise dark interior of the living room, and he briefly wondered if she'd left it there on purpose. It was the shawl she'd worn to town, the one she'd worn while she stood beside him and promised to obey him. His lips turned up into a wicked smile at that memory. When she'd repeated the words, love, honor, and obey, he'd lifted an eyebrow and she'd had the good grace to flush. He dropped the shawl back down as he moved to the hallway and down to the room she'd been using and the one they'd shared the night before.