Loving Eliza (25 page)

He sat next to her and showed her the vase.

She gasped when she saw it and held her hands out to receive it.  “You made this vase?”

He smiled and nodded.  He pointed to the engraved lettering that spelled out her name.  When he made the vase, he didn’t know if she’d ever see it or not.  But here she was, and she was finally with him
for good
.  He edged closer to her
, enjoying the way their arms touched.

“It’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever made me,” she said, tracing the floral design with her thumb.  “There’s a lot of detail in it too.” She brought the flowers up her nose and inhaled.  “There isn’t anything that smells as fresh and lovely as flowers, especially these.”

He brushed
the hair off her shoulder and kissed her neck.  Who cared about the way flowers smelled?  He rather preferred the way she smelled.

She giggled.  “John, that tickles.”

He loved the way she wiggled against him.

“We need to eat before the food spoils.  Then we can return to the house and undress.”

That sounded good to him.  He kissed her cheek and settled back beside her.

She set the vase in the middle of the blanket.  “Shouldn’t you sit across from me?”

He shook his head and kissed her on the lips, thoroughly enjoying this activity that he’d only recently discovered.  In fact, he enjoyed anything as long as he could be close to her.  It really didn’t matter what they were doing, though he had to admit the bedroom had a greater appeal to it.  He hoped that’s what she meant when she spoke of undressing.

Laughing, she handed him his plate of food.  “Eat up.  You’ll need your energy.” Then she gave him a quick kiss.  “There will be more later.”

He
took that as a yes
, so he took the plate and started eatin
g
.

She sighed even as she grinned at him.  “You don’t need to rush.  It’s really a wonderful day, don’t you agree?”

He slowed down and nodded.  She was right.  It was a nice day.

“You should move your work bench and the things you’re working on back into the little house I had been staying in, before I left.” She took a slice of cheese and put it on her bread.  “I don’t need to be there anymore, and there’s a lot more space there than in that cramped shed.”

In all the excitement of having her back, he’d forgotten about that.  He’d need to finish up with the
rocking chair he’d started for Addy.  He decided he’d take Eliza into town with him when he dropped it off.  Since Eliza and Addy were friends, they might enjoy getting the chance to talk.

Eliza swallowed her food and glanced up at the sky.  “When I was a little girl, I’d close my eyes and pretend I could fly.  A lot of the time, I was jealous of the birds.  They seemed to be free and happy.  They were always singing, so they had to be happy.  Don’t you think so?”

He smiled and
picked up an apple as she continued talking as if she’d never asked the question.  The horrible silence was officially gone.  What a relief.

A horse neighed and his gaze turned in the direction of the sound.  He finished biting into the apple and resisted the urge to toss Aaron off his property.  Why did his brother have to come and bother him when he was trying to enjoy the day with his bride?

Eliza quickly set down the remaining slice of bread and cheese and drank some water before she jumped up.

John didn’t see any other option but to follow her lead.  Just as he stood up, Aaron tied his horse to the post and lumbered forward.

“I guess congratulations are in order,” Aaron called out, taking his hat off and wiping the sweat from his brow.

“Then you heard?” Eliza asked.

“Everyone’s heard.  It’s a small town.” He turned to the leather pouch attached to the saddle
.  “Though I must say that no one expected it.”

John wasn’t sure what to make of that statement, so he put his arm around Eliza’s shoulder
s
and pulled her close to him.

Aaron glanced their way and grinned.  “You two sure know how to surprise people.”

John relaxed.  At least Aaron wasn’t going to give them a hard time.

“Here it is.” His brother pulled out a silver picture frame.  “Ma had set these all aside to give to each of her sons when they married, and as the oldest, it’s my responsibility to hand them out when the time is right.” He looked at Eliza.  “Our ma loved pictures, even if we only had two in the house.”

She took the frame and held it as if it was going to break.  “This is lovely,” she whispered.

“Now you two got to get your picture taken.  It was one of her
dying wishes.  And just so you don’t think you’re off the hook, there’s a photographer coming to town in a month.  So you have no excuse to get out of it.”

John liked that idea.  He wanted a picture of Eliza, and this would suit just fine.

“How exciting!” Eliza cheered.  “Isn’t this a wonderful gift, John?”

He nodded and squeezed her shoulders.

“I don’t know a woman who doesn’t like pictures,” Aaron told John, chuckling.

“I’m going to take this into the house.  I’ll put it next to the vase.” She
looked at Aaron.  “John made me a wonderful vase.  He really has an eye for detail.  I’ll be back soon.” Then she darted off to the blanket, picked up the vase, and ran into the house.

John found her enthusiasm infectious.  Yes, it was definitely good to have h
er back
.

Aaron cleared his throat.

He turned his attention back to him.

“I’m not sure how to tell you this.” He paused.

John’s good mood dimmed and he frowned in response.

“Troy’s not happy.  I don’t know if you’re aware that he was courting her.”

John shook his head and waved his hand.  Just because Eliza went to one dinner engagement with him, it didn’t mean they were courting.  Besides, she went to get food, not to be with him.  She’d told him about it, and she included how ashamed she’d been to use Troy like that.  But it was all water under the bridge now.

“You know Troy,” Aaron continued, his tone serious.  “He’s not one to take this kind of thing sitting down, especially when it comes to you...and the way he thinks about you.”

John knew all too well exactly how Troy thought of him, and it gave him all the more reason to ignore his least favorite brother.

“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

John grabbed Aaron’s arm as the man turned to get back on his horse. 
He pointed at Aaron’s chest.

“Me?  You want to know what I think of your marriage?”

John nodded.  Not that Aaron’s opinion would change the situation, but it would be nice to get his oldest brother’s blessing.

Aaron smiled.  “I’m happy for you both.  It’s about time you got a good woman to keep you out of trouble.”

He laughed and John also chuckled, noting the joke for what it was.  The only time John had gotten into trouble while growing up was when he was seven and decided to cut Shawn’s hair.

Aaron hopped on the horse.  “Enjoy the honeymoon.” Then he waved and left.

John sauntered back to the blanket and sat down just as Eliza came out of the house.

“He’s gone?  Already?  I didn’t even have a chance to offer him something to eat or drink.”

He motioned for her to come over to him.  When she did, he sat her down on his lap and hugged her.

“Is this what being married to you is going to be like?  I can’t even eat without you trying to have your way with me?”

He wiggled his eyebrows at her and cupped her breast in his hand.

“Well, that’s not how it’s going to be, Mister.  I’m going to eat first.  Then we can do other things.” She playfully shoved his hand away and scrambled off his lap.

He gave her the best wounded look he could muster.

She laughed and
placed the apple in his mouth.  “Be a good boy.  I promise you’ll get dessert soon enough.”

Well, he was hungry, so he supposed—just this once—he’d follow her orders.

E
liza had just pulled back the lacy curtains with hunter green ribbons when John came into the parlor.  She glanced at him
and smiled.  “I found these and thought they would make the room look prettier.” She adjusted the lower half of the curtain and noticed
the way the breeze ruffled
the lace.  Scanning the entire room, she added, “I think this room is complete now.  What do you think?”

He nodded.

She raised an eyebrow.  “You didn’t even look.”

He shook his head.

Resting a hand on her hip, she grinned.  “No.  You didn’t really look.  All you did was check out the ribbon on the curtains.  I wanted you to examine the room.”

Appearing amused, he made a big show of slowly turning and squinting at everything in his direct vision.

“You’re humoring me.”

He peered at her from the corner of his eye and gave a slight shrug.

She bit back
her laughter.  “You’re awful.  You do know that you’re awful, right?”

A smile broke out on his face and he lunged at her.

Shocked, she stepped back and squealed as he pursued her around the room.  It wasn’t really a contest
. 
He was much too fast and big for her. 
He caught up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.  Then he lifted her in his arms and sat on the rocking chair
, making sure she faced him
.  He straddled her on his lap and began to kiss her neck.

The action caught her by surprise and so did the overwhelming urge to move her hips.  She thought that the sensation would recede if she didn’t give into it, but it only grew stronger, and the more they came together as man and wife, the harder it was to quench the desire burning inside of her.

He cupped her breasts in his hands and she groaned.  His breath was hot on her neck, and she grabbed his arms.  Despite her mind’s refusal, her body acted on its own accord and
she wiggled until the
female part of her centered on
the male part of him.  Even through the clothes, the contact felt incredibly sensual.  She moved against him and kissed his forehead, his cheeks and his lips.  His tongue slid into her mouth and
she
moaned again.

She couldn’t take the endless restraint anymore.  She had to satisfy the ache that became so intense that nothing else mattered.  He caressed her hips, and she couldn’t
decide if he was
helping her along or if he was unaware of the flow of intense pleasure prodding her along.  She’d never done this sort of thing fully dressed, and even as she wanted to strip their clothes so she could feel his flesh
against hers, she couldn’t stop rocking her hips.

The chair swayed with her, aiding her along.  She cupped his face in her hands and deepened the kiss, knowing she was the aggressor this time.  His hands tightened on her hips, not demanding but encouraging her.  And when she came near the peak, she threw her head back and groaned.  Then she gave in completely to the pleasure that engulfed her and cried out.  Caught up in the sensation, she stilled and was only half aware of the fact that he was, once again, kissing her neck.

By the time she could focus, she wondered how such a thing could happen while she wore clothes, even if it was intriguing to her.  But there was that unspoken question lingering in the back of her mind.  Was she still a lady?  Here she’d been, moving with all the abandon she used to employ as a prostitute, except this time it wasn’t an act.  Was it something that was similar to what other w
ives did or was it a lingering e
ffect from what she used to be
?

She bowed her head so she could look into her husband’s eyes. 
Her husband.
  He was hers, and she was his.  He wasn’t another customer.  He loved her.  She saw it in his eyes.  She gently held his face in her hands and caressed his cheeks with her thumbs.  He didn’t seem to mind that she’d been aggressive and loud.
  In fact, judging by the happy look on his face, it actually seemed that he had enjoyed that side of her.