The Bride Price (Misled Mail Order Brides Book 1) Read online

  But he did continue. He brought his hand to her breast and cupped it, or as much of it as he could. She was larger than most women, so he could not cup all of her. She wondered if that displeased him, but he let out a low moan that let her know he liked it.

  His thumb traced her nipple, starting at the center and then tracing around the edge of it. This sent another spark straight through her, and this time she became aware of an unfamiliar ache settling between her legs. She liked this just as much as she liked intimate kissing, and she hoped he would continue. She squeezed his shoulders, hoping to convey this message. And he seemed to understand her because he traced her nipple again.

  His mouth left hers and went to her nipple, which proved far more arousing than his fingers had been. She shifted against him, parting her legs, a move made purely on instinct, something that women probably did when they were getting ready for a man to enter them. He, in turn, brought his hand to the patch of curls between her legs and began to touch the folds of her flesh.

  She let out a gasp. Before he worried that he had hurt her, she said, “It feels good.” She wiggled against him in silent encouragement for him to enter her.

  He did as she wished. And a finger slid into her. This time she was the one who moaned. This seemed to encourage him further because he slid another finger into her.

  “I had no idea I was capable of feeling something this wonderful,” she whispered as she lifted her hips to take him further into her.

  In response, he proceeded to tease her nipple with his tongue. Without thinking, she rocked her hips in rhythm to the thrusting of his fingers, an action which served to heighten her arousal. And when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, like something inside her was going to burst, she reached the peak and climaxed. Her body clenched around him as wave after wave of pleasure crashed into her. She had no idea lovemaking was going to feel this good.

  She cried out to him, letting him know she was receiving pleasure in this act. Maybe a woman wasn’t supposed to be quite so vocal in her enthusiasm, but at the moment, she didn’t care. She was too caught up in the unexpected ecstasy she was experiencing. And Sep didn’t seem to mind. If anything, he was encouraging it because he was whispering how beautiful she was and how much he desired her. This made her climax all the more intense.

  Just as she was descending from the heights of bliss, he pulled his fingers out of her and shifted so that his body was on top of hers, his erection nestled between her legs. And then, before she had time to register what was happening, he thrust into her. The movement caught her by surprise, and the sting startled her.

  He remained still inside of her. His body was tense, and she suspected it was taking all of his willpower not to move. “Let me know when it’s safe for me to move inside you,” he whispered in her ear.

  After a few seconds, the pain between her legs eased, and she relaxed. “I think now it’s alright.”

  He moved slowly, sliding almost all the way out of her before slowly coming back in. He did this a few times, showing that he was trying to be as gentle as possible as he was giving her time to adjust to him. Then she realized this was part of the process a woman went through when she lost her virginity. She never had a man inside of her before, and it was natural that her body needed to expand for him. Next time, she was sure, she wouldn’t go through this initial stab of pain because next time, her body would already be used to him.

  As he proceeded with slow movements, she further relaxed. This, in turn, made it easier for him to slide in and out of her. She lifted her hips and wrapped her legs around his waist, an action which allowed him to go deeper without any discomfort on her end.

  “It feels good now,” she whispered to him. “You can go faster.”

  Without needing further prompting, he did just that. She worked with him, her hips rising with each thrust as he worked faster and harder to reach his own climax. He made no secret in letting her know how much pleasure he was receiving from the act. She liked knowing he was finding fulfillment in her.

  Just as she was becoming aware that his thrusting was making her feel good, he grew still and cried out as he released his seed. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close.

  He collapsed on top of her, out of breath and spent. She kissed his cheek, and he brought his mouth to hers and kissed her. “That was the best thing that ever happened to me,” he whispered.

  “I enjoyed it, too.”

  “But it hurt for you.”

  “At first. But then the pain went away, and then it felt good.”

  “I’m glad the pain didn’t last. I want this to be something we can both look forward to.”

  “It is. Now that I’m used to you, I won’t experience that pain again.”

  “Good.”

  Then he was kissing her again, and soon after, he was exploring her once more with his hands. One thing led to another, and they were making love once more. And as she suspected, there was only pleasure.

  ***

  The morning sunlight filtered through the window, and a gentle breeze blew over Angela’s bare skin. Last night almost seemed like a dream. A very good and wonderful dream. She had no idea that being intimate with a man could be such a lovely experience. Sep had touched and kissed her in ways no one ever had before, and he had shown her great tenderness through the act. It made her feel complete. It made her feel as if she belonged with someone, as if she finally had a place and home to truly call her own.

  She looked over at Sep, surprised when she saw that he was already awake and looking at her.

  “I hope I didn’t startle you,” Sep said. “I woke up about a half hour ago, but I didn’t want to leave the bed. I was having too much fun watching you sleep.”

  “What is so fun about watching a person sleep?” she asked in amusement.

  “Well, I was enjoying the view.” He gestured to her face and then slipped his hand down her body, which the sheet didn’t do much to hide. “Last night, I didn’t get a good chance to look at you, but now I can see everything.”

  For a moment, she wondered if that was really such a good thing after all. It meant her scars were fully exposed to him. The scars were a mixed blessing. Every time she looked at them, she remembered how close she’d come to death and how fortunate she was to have been saved. But they were ugly to look at.

  She was tempted to roll onto her right side, just so that he didn’t get a good view of them, but something in his gaze stopped her from doing that. There was a tenderness in his expression that prompted her to let him see whatever he wanted. She supposed this was what marriage was about. The sharing of her life and everything that went with it with another person. The scars she bore were going to be a part of that. And, if she thought about it, she wasn’t the only one with scars. He had them, too. It’s just that she didn’t see them when he was facing her.

  Sep leaned toward her and gave her a kiss. She thought he was going to deepen the kiss, but he lifted his head and gave a careful study of her body. He traced her skin with his fingers, starting with her face and then going down her neck and then lower still. When he came to the sheet, he lifted it and moved it to the side. Then he continued his casual exploration of her.

  She was relieved when she realized his attention wasn’t drawn to her scars. Instead, it was directed to her entire body. And it was nice. It was nice to be seen as an entire woman, not just a bunch of scars. He brought his head back to her and kissed her again. This time, there was a greater urgency in the kiss, which now she knew was an indication of his arousal. His hand cupped her breast, and he traced her nipple with his thumb. A tingle shot through her.

  She had known that they were going to make love the night before, but she hadn’t expected to do so first thing in the morning. This was also nice. It was nice that she didn’t have to feel self-conscious when she was naked in front of him. It was nice to know that he could look at her, all of her, and be aroused.

  A yap from the side of the bed caught her at
tention. And it didn’t just catch her attention. It caught Sep’s attention, too. They stopped kissing and looked over at Fred, who was watching them with interest.

  “I think I’ll let him out,” Sep told her. “There are a lot of things I’ll let Fred watch, but this isn’t going to be one of them.”

  Sep got up from the bed and led Fred to the door. She took the opportunity to take a quick look at him. She had felt his penis the night before, but she hadn’t seen it. Now, as she did, she noted that he was fully erect, the signal that he was ready to make love to her. Though she was married to him and perfectly within her rights to look at him, she turned her gaze away in a bout of shyness. He might be able to study her with open curiosity at this point in their marriage, but it was apparent she needed more time to do the same with him.

  She heard Sep take Fred down the stairs and out the kitchen door. Soon, he was back in the bedroom with her, and after he slipped back into the bed, he made love to her.

  Chapter Ten

  This time, it was Angela’s turn to make breakfast, and she was happy to note that Sep liked her cooking. Her family had often said cooking was one of the things that would endear her future husband to her, so it was important that Sep liked her meals. At one point during the breakfast, Sep said, “The Larsons always talk about what a great cook Mary Larson is. I think you could rival her.” She wasn’t sure what he meant by that because she had no idea who Mary was, but she knew he was paying her a high compliment. Shortly after that, he left the house to take care of the animals.

  She decided to do some light housekeeping. It was fun to be cleaning a house that was her own. She now had someone to take care of, and it would be even better when she had children to tend to as well. Finally, her dream was coming true.

  It was around one in the afternoon when Sep came back to the house, and when he did, he asked her if she would like to learn how to shoot a gun.

  “Sometimes a fox will get into the henhouse,” he told her. “It would be nice to have another person around here who could shoot a gun.”

  “I never shot a gun before. I never even touched one.”

  “That’s understandable since you were in Indiana living in town. Out here, the skill could come in handy.”

  Since he seemed to have his heart set on teaching her, she agreed to go along with it. He took her out to the tree not too far from the barn. A piece of metal was hanging in the center of the tree.

  “This is where I learned how to shoot,” he said as he put bullets in the Colt .45. “It’s really not as scary as it looks. A gun doesn’t have to be a weapon. It can be something useful. You can protect the animals and even yourself with it.”

  “Do you often worry about the hens?”

  “A couple times a year, a fox will sneak onto the property. If I don’t take care of them, they’ll become a real problem. The hens are one of the most useful animals on this property. They lay the eggs, and eggs can make many meals. Before my sister married Joel, my sister and I were in bad shape financially. Her first husband sold off almost everything we had of value to pay off his gambling debts. If it weren’t for the hens, I don’t think we would’ve made it.” Done with loading the gun, he snapped the chamber into place. “If you take good care of the hens, they’ll take good care of you.”

  He put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring hug.

  “There’s really nothing to shooting,” he continued. “You just need to make sure you’re pointing at your target.”

  He gestured for her to come closer to him so that she could see the very tip of the gun, which he had pointed directly at the metal piece.

  “If you keep the gun steady, you’ll hit your mark,” he said. “But I should warn you about something before you take your first shot. When you pull this trigger right here,” he tapped the trigger with his finger, “the gun will push you back a bit.”

  “Push me back?” she asked.

  “The bullet goes quicker than your eye will see. It takes a lot of power for the gun to shoot the bullet out that fast.” Probably noting the worried expression on her face, he hurried to assure her, “You’ll get used to it. The first time, it’s a shock, but when you do this enough, it’ll feel natural.”

  She hoped he was right. She wasn’t all that excited to do this. She was only doing it because it was important to him.

  “I’ll demonstrate.” He took a step away from her, spread his legs apart, and held the gun at arm’s length with both hands. Glancing in her direction, he said, “Once you get used to shooting, you don’t have to stand this way. You’ll be able to shoot from any position you want. You’re only doing this to start because it’s the easiest position to learn in.”

  A shot rang from the gun and hit the metal piece, causing her to jump.

  He offered her a sheepish smile. “Sorry. I should’ve let you know I was going to shoot.”

  She placed her hand on her stomach and chuckled. “It probably would’ve startled me even if you had warned me.”

  “Don’t feel bad. I was the same way when I started.”

  Surely, he must be saying that to make her feel better. He was a boy at the time he learned, and boys didn’t frighten as easily as girls.

  He went over to her and handed her the gun. “You can do one shot today and wait for tomorrow to do more. Or, if you feel up to it, you can take as many shots as you want today. I’ll leave the decision up to you. I don’t want to make things any more uncomfortable for you than they already are. But just so you know, I am glad you’re willing to do this.”

  His words, kind as they were, eased her nerves considerably, and they made her want to shoot the gun so that she could please him. She accepted the gun and assumed the posture he had showed her to use. She must not have had her arms up high enough because he came up behind her and lifted them higher so that the gun was at eye level with her. Her skin tingled at his touch. She hadn’t expected to be excited when he touched her like this outside of the bedroom.

  And as if that wasn’t distracting enough, he brought his mouth to her ear and whispered, “I’ll stand here so that when you’re pushed back, it won’t be so much of a shock.”

  Though he hadn’t planned it, the feel of his breath on her neck thrilled her all the more. She had to force aside her excitement in order to focus on the target in front of her. After she took a deep breath, she squeezed her eyes shut and fired the gun.

  At once, she knew what he was talking about when he said there would be a pushback from the gun. Her body jerked back, and had he not been holding her, she might have tripped on the rock behind her.

  He chuckled and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Next time, you’ll want to keep your eyes open. You need to see the target when you shoot.”

  She opened her eyes. “Where did the bullet go?”

  “It went up there.”

  She followed his gaze and saw that she had hit the tree a good six inches above the metal piece. “But I was aiming for the center of the target.”

  He gave her another kiss. “That’s why you should keep your eyes open. Don’t let it worry you. I knew this was going to be difficult for you. Why don’t we do this again tomorrow? I wouldn’t mind showing you the gardens that I have. Are you familiar with gardening?”

  “Yes, that is something I can do. My family had a garden even though we lived in town, and since my uncle owned a farm, I helped him out there with his vegetables and fruits.”

  He took the gun from her and slipped it into the holster at his side. “In that case, I suppose there’s not much I can teach you about growing things in the garden, but it’ll be good for you to see what I have. Then you can figure out what meals you’ll want to make.”

  She shot him an amused smile. “I’ve already seen all the things you have in the kitchen, and you have a lot of staple items and vegetables and fruits to cook with. To be honest, I hadn’t expected a bachelor to have so much.”

  “Well, Fred likes to eat, and he can eat a lot for
a small dog.”

  “He’s not that small.”

  “He is compared to most dogs around here, but you’re right. It’s not like he’s a miniature poodle. Those are smaller than him.”

  “Speaking of Fred, where is he?” She scanned the land around them but didn’t see the dog anywhere.

  “He found a rabbit. He ended up chasing it over that way.” He gestured to the west. “He loves being around people, but if there’s a rabbit nearby, he’ll chase it for miles. But he knows his way home. He’ll be back. Are you ready to see the gardens?”

  She nodded. “I’m ready.”

  He took her hand in his and led her to the gardens.

  ***

  A week passed, and everything was going well. Actually, they were more than well. They were wonderful. Sep couldn’t recall a time in his life when he had been happier. He knew that his sister was very happy in her second marriage, but he hadn’t realized just how happy she was until he had Angela in his life. He knew it all came down to marrying the right person. There was no doubt about it. Angela was the right woman for him. He was glad he had let instinct guide him when he chose her out of the three women to marry.

  On the ninth day after they married, Angela came up to him while he was gathering the ripe vegetables from his garden.

  “I collected some apples from one of your trees,” she told him. “I was wondering if you would like a pie tonight for dinner.”

  “You mean that I can have a whole pie as the main course?” he asked, unable to resist teasing her.

  Smiling in amusement, she said, “I think you know very well what I meant. The pie is for dessert.”