Bushedwhacked Groom (32 page)

Griping, the four men trooped off for the front door,
with Lucky following along to help.

Moments later, outside their room on the second
floor, Lucky unlocked the door, set down the carpetbag with their things and then, on an impulse, swept
Molly up into his arms.

“What?” she cried, laughing.

“Believe I never properly carried you over the
threshold, Mrs. Lamont.”

Inside the room he kissed her heartily while reveling
in the feel of her curves nestled against him, her
unique scent of the outdoors mingled with rosewater.
She moaned and wrapped her arms about his neck.
He felt delighted by the high color he spotted on her
face as he set her down. Then he gazed about at the
walnut four-poster bed with its burgundy satin coun
terpane, the richly carved dresser, highboy and ar
moire. “Well, isn’t this nice?”

“Yeah.”

Noting with pleasure that her response had sounded
breathless, Lucky roamed about the room, pausing to
pull a chain on a colorful Tiffany lamp. ‘‘Electric light, I
see. There’s hope for us after all.” He pointed toward an
adjacent table with an antique wood contraption at its
center. “And a telephone, fossil though it is.”

“You say the oddest things,” she said.

Lucky picked up the receiver, cranked the telephone, winked at his wife and
drawled, “Hey, honey, what year is it?” He scowled a mo
ment, then added “That’s just what I figured. Thanks.”

“Hey, no flirting with the operator,” Molly teased.

“Jealous?” he countered.

She stuck out her tongue at him.

Setting down the device, Lucky removed his boots,
then plopped down on the feather mattress. “Ah, this is heaven after all that riding.” He patted the space beside
him. “Come join me, darlin’.”

At his wickedly beckoning look, she shied away.
“Urn, Pa said we’re eating early, and I need to change
into a dress.”

“We’re newlyweds. He’ll understand.”

“First, I—I gotta wash off all this trail dust.” She hur
ried to the dresser and busied herself dumping water
into a basin, then cleansing herself with a damp cloth.

Lucky got up and sauntered over to join her. “Maybe I’ll just lick the salt off you.” He leaned over and deli
cately stroked her earlobe with his tongue.

“Lucky!” She practically jumped three feet.

“Easy, honey,” he murmured, wrapping his arms
about her waist and kissing her cheek. “I’ll give you a
reprieve—for now.”

Chapter Thirty-five

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Down in the hotel’s rustic dining room, Lucky enjoyed
the enormous dinner of fried beefsteak, onions and red
potatoes, green beans steeped in bacon and yeast rolls flavored with honey and light enough to melt in his
mouth. He noticed his bride was eating heartily, as well.
Even the boys seemed in a more jovial mood, enter
taining the family with the tale of a colorful Irish ped
dler they’d encountered while on the road to Dillyville.

Wiping his mouth after a last bite of apple pie, Cole
remarked, “You know, the desk clerk told me Buffalo
Bill has his own special train to carry his Wild West
show into town. According to the advance men, it’ll be pulling in to the station before dawn tomorrow.”

“How exciting,” commented Lucky. “We won’t want to miss that, right, Molly?”

“Right.”

“Indeed,” concurred Jessica.

Cole grinned at his wife. “If we all turn in early, we
should be able to get good seats, too.”

“Ah, you old married couples turn in,” scoffed Vance.
“Me and the boys aren’t ready to roll up our sidewalks
just yet”—he paused, sneering at Cory—”except
maybe for baby brother here. He’ll likely just curl up
with
Little Women,
eh, pipsqueak?”

While Zach and Matt burst out laughing, Jessica
scolded, “Vance, that comment was totally uncalled
for.”

“Sorry, ma’am.”

“Yeah” added Cory. “And besides, reading a book
sure beats the heck out of spending the night in jail.”

“Amen!” put in Grandma, shaking a finger at the
three older boys. “You hellions listen up to Cory and stay out of trouble. No dancing parlors or hurdy-gurdy
gals tonight.”

“Ah, Grandma, we’ll likely just go see the nick
elodeon over at the Springs,” cajoled Matt. “It ain’t often
we get to see moving pictures.”

“And besides, we can take care of ourselves,” as
serted Zach.

“Like you did the last time you busted up the Mari
posa saloon?” asked Grandma.

The three went grimly silent.

“Your grandma’s right,” added Cole. “
Colorado
City
isn’t
nearly as wild as it used to be, but there’s still plenty of sin
in this town to tempt three young whippersnappers.”

“Yeah, and you’re the man who should know,” mut
tered Zach.

Cole grew stern. “Son, I expect you to learn from my
mistakes, not repeat them.”

Zach gulped. “Yes, sir.”

The three men grumbled a bit, then excused them
selves and left.

***

While Jessica, Cole and Grandma lingered over a last
cup of coffee, Molly and Lucky excused themselves.
On the way back to their room, Molly asked to stop at
the bathroom at the end of the hallway. As she was
shutting the door, Lucky caught a quick glimpse of the
inside—the old-fashioned toilet with a pull chain, the pedestal sink and, next to it, a huge claw-foot bathtub,
with towels neatly stacked on a shelf above it. Suddenly he was inspired by a wicked idea. He hurried back to their room and grabbed their nightclothes.

A moment later he was knocking on the bathroom
door. “Molly, honey, you about finished in there?”

He heard the toilet flush, then a moment later the
door opened . . .

Molly was perplexed to see her husband standing in
the doorway to the bathroom, especially since he held
her nightgown. Quickly, she stepped forward.
“
Er—I’m
done and—you can go in now.”

He winked and grabbed her arm. “Not without you.”

“What?”

As she gasped in surprise, he pulled her inside with
him and locked the door behind them.

“Lucky, what are you doing?” she demanded.

He pulled the ribbon from her hair, burying his nose in her tumbled curls. “Thought it was about time I gave
my wife another bath,“ he murmured huskily.

“
Bath
!”

He winked. “Either that or we can bob for apples.”

“Apples!”

“Yeah.” He smiled wickedly. “I’ve got a couple of
round ones you can bob for, any time.”

Molly’s mouth fell open and her heart hammered
with excitement and mortification. “My God! You want
to do—such wicked things—in a public place like
this? Why, that’s scandalous!”

He drew back to gaze ardently into her eyes. “Not be
tween a husband and wife, it isn’t.”

“Lucky—”

Quashing further protests, Lucky ardently kissed her,
and she whimpered helplessly and kissed him back.
He sank his fingers into her thick hair, roved his strong
hands over her shoulders, back and buttocks. His heat and nearness were dizzying, their risqué surroundings
intensely provocative. And his kiss . . . so hot and deep,
brimming with the passion that would soon come.

With a groan, he pulled away and went over to start
the bath.

Molly could only watch in mingled amazement and
disbelief. “You’re really serious.”

Totally unrepentant, he turned and grinned. “Yeah. Now for you.” He returned to her side and began un
buttoning her dress, untying her corset, kissing her
neck, then the tops of her breasts.

“Oh, Lucky,” she murmured, growing feverish with
desire as his mouth teased her aching nipples. When
his lips returned to seize her own, she felt emboldened
by passion. She unbuttoned the top button of his
jeans, then slipped her hands inside, stroking his hard buttocks through his undergarment. He flinched, then
groaned, grasping her own buttocks, nestling her
against his erection. Molly burned for him, and found
herself rocking against him with a woman’s wanton
need.

He pulled back, his face flushed. “My Lord, Molly,
you’re making me hotter than a volcano.”

Molly giggled, delighted that she could torment him
so. She was amazed at how quickly Lucky finishing un
dressing her. She stood proudly before him, hair tumbled over her shoulders, nipples tight with desire.

He raked his smoldering gaze over her body and
whistled. “You’re so damn gorgeous.” He stepped for
ward, squeezing a ripe breast with his palm, and she
cried out at the exquisite sensation.

“Please, get in the tub,” he begged hoarsely.

Molly scampered away and got in. The steamy water
felt wonderful against her skin. Then her eyes widened
as she watched Lucky strip, and viewed his generous
erection. “My God, you’re really gonna—”

He grinned like the very devil. “Yep—get in there with
you, darlin’.”

And before her scandalized eyes, he did just that,
climbing into the tub, settling himself behind her and drawing her body against his own with a ragged sigh.
The sensation was decadently pleasurable, with both
of them nestled there spoon-style. And having Lucky’s
hardness wedged against her lower back felt brazenly
erotic.

“This was a great idea your pa had,” he murmured.

“What?” she cried, twisting about to stare up at him.

He chuckled and tweaked her chin. “Coming to this
hotel, silly.”

“0h.” She stretched luxuriously, drawing another
moan from him as her slick body rubbed against his. She raised his hand to her mouth and teasingly drew
her tongue along the folds between his fingers. “Guess
it’s nice to get away.”

He clamped his arms around her. “I’ll take you away,
woman—to the moon and the stars.”

For long moments he kissed her hair, her neck, her
cheeks, while his hands took the bar of soap and
roved her body intimately. Molly thought she might die
of the sweet want consuming her. At last she couldn’t
take any more and turned around, straddling him.

“Why, you vixen,” he teased, devouring her with his
eyes, from her rosy breasts to her downy slit.

“My turn,” she said, applying the soap to him and leaning over to kiss his chest, his belly.

Lucky groaned and pushed his hand between her
thighs, plunging two fingers inside her. Molly panted,
trembling in ecstasy, and gripped Lucky’s manhood,
feeling it grow even more turgid in her fingers. With a
grunt he removed his fingers and brought her down
hard on his distended shaft. She cried out in surprise
and pleasure as he filled her utterly. They rocked there,
letting the rapture build to a relentless pinnacle, then cried out as they climaxed together . . .

When they emerged a few minutes later, flushed and breathless in their nightclothes, both skidded to a halt
at the sight of Molly's ma and pa standing there disapprovingly—Cole wearing a scowl and Jessica with an eyebrow meaningfully raised.

Molly's jaw dropped and she went completely
blank. Desperately, she turned to her husband.

Lucky’s face was also bright red. “Sorry—er—folks,
but you see—Molly’s stopper got stuck.”

“Yes, we’ve heard
that
old excuse before,” scolded Jessica.

“Indeed,” added Cole.

Jessica clucked to Cole. “What is it about this family
and baths?”

“Well, cleanliness is next to godliness, ma’am,” Lucky
offered lamely.

Both parents fought smiles.

“Sorry, Ma, Pa,” Molly finally managed in a squeaky little voice.

She and Lucky exchanged a guilty look, then turned tail and ran off down the hallway.

“You’ve gone and done it now, Lucky Lamont,” Molly
scolded, shooting him a murderous glance as they hur
ried toward their room. “You’ve totally humiliated me.”

“Oh, come on, honey, your folks have been married for ages. I’m sure they’ve done worse themselves.”

She gasped. “Never! They’re my
folks,
for heaven’s
sake!”

“Well, how do you think they got you—and your
four brothers—by divine intervention?”

“I’ll never be able to face them again.”

He pulled her into their room and slammed the
door. “Then I’ll just have to distract you, darling.”

And Lucky lifted her onto the bed, pulled up her
nightie, boldly spread her legs and buried his face between her thighs. Molly screamed, but not with fear.
Never in her entire life had she felt anything so shock
ing—or wonderful!

Lucky held her firmly in place as his hot tongue
flicked relentlessly at her most intimate places and his
bearded face abraded her with raw sensuality. She
tried to buck, to writhe away, but it was useless. She was left to toss her head and moan. When he drew
deeply on her, she cried out, then went limp with pleasure, tangling her hands in Lucky’s damp hair, her em
barrassment lost in the smoldering ecstasy she felt.
When at last he slid upward to kiss her, she begged
him to come inside her, and he did . . .

***

Down the hallway near the bathroom, Jessica and
Cole stared at each other, then burst out laughing.
“Guess we buffaloed them, eh, darlin’?” Cole asked.

“Well, as their elders we must set the proper exam
ple,” Jessica replied primly.

He craned his neck toward the bathroom, then
grabbed her hand. “Speaking of which, looks like we fi
nally got that bathtub all to ourselves.”

She gasped. “Cole . . . you wouldn’t!”

“Wouldn’t I?”

Laughing, he tugged his wife into the bathroom.

***

Hours later, Molly awakened in the darkness. The rap
ture Lucky had brought her to had been so sweet. She
throbbed at the memory of his lips between her thighs,
his tongue stroking her so expertly. She had felt no
shame, only the brightest joy.

Glancing at him, so handsome and peaceful lying
beside her, she felt overwhelmed by emotion. He seemed so happy with her now, his anger gone. She felt so grateful for his emotional transformation and
sweet lovemaking that she wanted to give him back all the bliss he’d given her.