Chasing Emily [Duoterra 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (5 page)

“I understand that the person with whom Emily was found was a certain Finn Taylor. Please stand, Mr. Taylor, and make yourself known to this court.”

Finn stood almost negligently, his hands on his hips, a smug smile on his face. “I’m Finn Taylor.”

“Hmm.” The judge gave Finn his usual studious examination before continuing, “I know you are not a member of this town, so please confirm where you come from and why you are here.” Emily nearly sniggered at this. The judge had a habit of being pedantic. He knew exactly who Finn was because he had been at the dance, like pretty much everyone else in the room.

“I don’t have a particular home these days, judge, but I was born near The Coast, and I work as a travelling musician—a profession which takes me all over the place.”

“Answer me another question, young fellow,” the judge requested. “Are you married?”

Emily turned her head to look back at Finn fully. She hadn’t considered that. Her absolute rule was that she wouldn’t have intercourse with any married man, but she hadn’t thought about that when she had been having sex with Finn. Actually, she hadn’t thought at all. He had rather seduced her into it, which in itself was unusual as it was she who usually initiated the actual act. The youngsters might steal a kiss or two, but she decided when they had sex. But then Finn was a little older than she was used to.

“No, sir. I’ve never taken out a marriage contract.”

She let out a long breath. Emily was rather surprised by how much it meant to her if he had been, and she wasn’t sure why, since she hardly knew him. Okay, so he was cute and charming and sexy and handsome, but was that enough? She shook her head inwardly. Why on Earth was she even thinking about permanency with him? She had stayed clear of any committed relationships since her late, unlamented marriage, so why was she even considering anything different now? Putting that thought aside, she concentrated on her trial again.

“Excellent,” intoned the judge.

Well, yes, it was good that she hadn’t cavorted with a married man, but why did the judge think so? Emily was beginning to get worried.

He continued, “That makes it very simple. The man in question being unwed means he is free for Emily to marry him.” The judge had a broad grin on his face as he made this appalling pronouncement.

“
No!
” Emily was horrified. There was no way she was being forced into marrying Finn—or any man.

“There’s no ‘no’ about it. I have made my decision, and you will have to abide by it.”

She looked dismayed at Finn, who appeared equally horrified. She could hear mutterings from the crowd.

“About time, too.”

“Quite right.”

“That’s a shame.”

The last had come from a young man who had approached her just a couple of months ago wanting to come to her bed. She had gently rebuffed him, telling him he was too young, but in all seriousness she’d wonder if she would ever want to bed a virgin again. She’d had enough of them and wanted someone she didn’t walk all over. That was one major reason she kept turning Robin down—he gave in to her far too easily.

Adam, one of Brianna’s husbands, rose to his feet. As usual his natural dominance forced a hush to descend. “I can’t believe you people. You should know by now you can’t force women to marry. Look what happened with Brianna. That could have ended badly.”

The judge shifted in his seat to peer around Adam and looked over his spectacles to Brianna, who was trying unsuccessfully to sink down in her seat and hide. “Ah, the other scandalous woman with whom I have had the misfortune to have in this very courtroom.”

A growl from Adam caused Judge Wright to stop his inspection of Brianna. “You can stop snarling at me, Adam Hollis. You are only married to your wife because I allowed it.”

That didn’t stop Adam from glaring thunderously. “You know Brianna was properly married to me and my brothers, but she nearly ended up having to marry that slime bag, Quinn. I’m sure you would have made her if I hadn’t spoken up.”

One of the townsfolk, Clark, stood up. “But, Adam, there are…how many? Seven young men in town, my son included, who are in need of a wife. Shouldn’t all unattached women be made to choose a man?”

Emily was aghast. She didn’t want either Finn or Robin. She enjoyed her freedom too much. Standing to her feet swiftly, the legs of her chair screeching on the wooden floor, she declared forcibly, “I don’t want to get married. You can’t make me—I’ve been married. The law is quite clear that only
single
women need to marry.” She finished on a triumphant note as if that would be sufficient.

“Ah, my dear woman,” the judge started patronizingly, “you are wrong there.”

“Whaaat!”

Judge Wright shuffled in his papers for a moment but then brandished the one he was looking for. “Let me quote you exactly what it says in the amendment to the Colonist’s Charter number three hundred and forty-two. It declares that any unmarried member of the female gender found having sexual intercourse with a member of the male gender must take out a marriage contract.”

“But that’s for single women, not widowed ones,” declared Emily.

“Really? Where exactly does it say the word ‘widowed’? So are you, or are you not,
unmarried
at this very moment in time?” When he repeated the offending word loudly, she could have slapped him for his delighted expression.

“It is understood…” She looked around at those in the audience she knew were on her side, but they looked just as bewildered as she felt.

“Unfortunately, innuendoes and half-understood expectations are not sufficient. This amendment was brought in to keep people like you out of trouble. And I, for one, will be heartily pleased to keep you out of mischief in
my
town by enforcing said law! Otherwise, I have no other recourse than to send you to the state brothel.”

The uproar that erupted in the room deafened Emily, and she collapsed back in her chair trying to take everything in.

So her choices were to marry a man, who was much younger than her and who she didn’t know, or go to the brothel.

Terrific choices!
And what on Earth would Robin say when he heard about it?

As she ruminated on the options, a third possibility began to emerge, but she swiftly shook it off as there was no way she could leave town before the marriage took place as that would mean giving up her bar. She had fought hard to keep her business from being taken from her in this male-dominated society. And if she went anywhere else, she would have to start again. Beside which, where would she go?

Robin’s hand inched closer to his cock, which was hardening by the second.

He grinned. He could see out of the corner of his eye that Emily was standing at the entrance to the grotto, trying to hide while she watched him wash in the waterfall.

Naturally he was naked, but he didn’t think many people knew about this location, which was rather hidden away, despite being fairly close to town.

Closing his eyes so he wasn’t tempted to look at her, he slowly turned his body so that he was in a full-frontal pose. Edging himself forward so that he was in front of the flow of the fall, he widened his stance and took hold of his cock with his right hand. With his left he braced himself against the wall of the cavern and gripped his member fairly hard and pulled upward.

It was slick and wet, so his hand slid easily. He had to be careful not to slide completely off. Stopping at the head, he ran his thumb over the top, his nail dipping into the slit at the end.

While he did this, the image of Emily was forefront in his brain. He recalled how she had looked the last time she had allowed him in her bed. Well, actually, it wasn’t her bed but against a tree in the woods where she had come upon him chopping some wood.

Not that it was unusual for him to be chopping wood. He was a carpenter, after all. But he had taken his shirt off as he was getting very sweaty and hot, and she had whistled at him as he started to raise the axe.

Dropping it, he had very nearly chopped his leg off, he was so startled.

Sauntering forward, her hands on her hips, she had looked the vision of a siren. Standing still, he had waited until she had come closer and reached out a hand to stroke his chest before he threw the axe away and jerked her to his body, holding her tightly against him.

A coy smile had crossed her face, which was swiftly blotted out as he clasped her head to his to kiss her.

The picture he now conjured up was the sight of her face after he backed her swiftly up against the nearby tree, and running his hands up her thighs, he had raised her skirt as he went. Taking hold of her butt, he had hoisted her up as she wrapped her legs around his waist. A little fumbling had taken place as he held her there while Emily had to reach between them to undo his trousers.

That had been the easy bit. His cock had been so hard that it had taken some maneuvering to ease it free from his trousers. By then Emily had been laughing so loudly he had partly been worried that someone would hear. Another part of him had also been hurt by her amusement. At least until she had taken his face in both of her hands and raised his jaw until he was looking at her. Her expression for once was soft and gentle. Closing her arms around his broad shoulders, she had then teased him, licking the crease of his lips, pulling away when he attempted to kiss her properly.

He had leaned in, pushing her back so that she was held tightly between him and the tree, which enabled him to free at least one hand with which he took hold of her chin and held her head still so he could kiss her properly.

God, she had tasted so wonderful.

A long groan left him, and he bent his head forward at this recollection. He could feel his balls tightening. It didn’t take much to make him come—not when he thought of Emily and their times together. They hadn’t had sex that often. In fact he could count the number of times on one hand, but each one had been indescribably magnificent.

He had frequently tried to analyze why he loved her so much. She was considerably older than him, fiercely independent, often loudmouthed, and opinionated. And yet it was all of those things he loved about her.

Robin was so intent on his recollection that he didn’t hear Emily move toward him until he felt a hand stroke his chest. He jerked his eyes open and staggered back a pace. It was so like his daydream that he wasn’t sure at first if he wasn’t still dreaming. But that thought was soon extinguished by the flow of the water now pounding on his head.

Stepping forward again he gazed over her body. She had taken all her clothes off and was standing before him in her full glorious wonder. He knew she hated the look of her middle-aged body with her round stomach and its silvery lines, the remnants of stretch marks from her pregnancies of old, and her drooping breasts. But he loved her. To him she just looked voluptuous and luscious. A goddess. Or a temptress. Either way he wasn’t put off by any suggestion that she was too old for him.

“I thought you didn’t want me anymore.” God, he sounded so sullen.

Clearly she wasn’t about to deny him again as she moved behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle, her fingertips caressing his stomach as she pressed kisses over his back. “How can I not want you when you stand there looking so handsome, so god-awful delicious that I just want to eat you up.” One of her hands moved down to grasp his cock, now pointing vertically and throbbing painfully as she nibbled his back, enacting her words.

“Oh God, sweetheart.” He didn’t know what he was pleading for—her to continue, or her to finish.

She reached up to place her fingers over his mouth. “Shh. Don’t read anything into this. Just enjoy it.”

He had spent the time since she had rejected him yesterday trying to wipe all thoughts of her from his brain. It hadn’t worked at all, but he had at least accepted that she would never be his, and at the dance he had tried to ignore her.

“Try” being the key word. He had stalked off before the finish when he had seen Finn talking to her, and he’d refused his sister’s offer of a lift home since her place was on the way to his farm, wanting to walk off his frustrations. He hadn’t slept that night but had got up early to start chopping wood. His parents were both dead, so there wasn’t anyone to tell him to stop, and so he continued until he was exhausted.

Finally he was worn out, no more energy for his aggravations, and deciding to clean off in the waterfall, he had arrived a short while before.

He knew he could never come to the grotto again without thinking of this moment. Emily moved to kneel in front of him, the water coming to her breasts as she took his cock in her mouth, gently licking.

Looking up, she let go of him and giggled before pushing away from him and floating back. Her laughter echoed around the cavern as she glided her arms over the water to keep herself afloat. The pool wasn’t very deep, so she could have stood. Instead she raised a foot out of the water and waggled it in his direction teasingly. This was new. She didn’t tease him often—probably because he got too easily impatient.

Starting to move forward, he cursed silently as she swam out of his reach. This continued for a few minutes. He was beginning to get annoyed and growled, “Emily!”