Seth (Prairie Grooms, Book Three) (21 page)

Eloise shivered in his arms and closed her eyes. His lips assaulted her neck with tender kisses that took her breath away.

“
What's that, darlin'?” he asked. He pulled her closer and moved to the other side of her neck, attacking it with the same army of kisses. “Did you say you wanted to wait?” he breathed in her ear.

Eloise went limp in his arms. She could scarcely breathe, let alone talk. His assault on her senses was downright deadly, and she was quickly losing the fight. In moments, all her sense would be gone.

“
What?” he said as he nibbled his way to her ear once more. “You say you want to go into the bedroom?”

Eloise opened her mouth to speak but the only thing to escape her was a moan. A moan she didn't even recognize. What was her husband doing to her?

Seth
pulled away and looked at her, his eyes wide. “You
do
? Well, why didn’t ya just say so?” Before she could protest (not that she could talk anyway) or do anything, Seth stood, pulled her up beside him, and without warning, scooped her into his arms, a huge smile on his face. “Who am I to argue with your demands?” he said, his grin turning positively devilish. “To the bedroom it is then, Mrs. Jones!”

She opened her mouth to speak, but he silenced her with a kiss. This one did her in. She moaned, the battle lost, and went limp in his arms.

He broke the kiss and gazed into her eyes. “Did you still want to wait, Mrs. Jones?”

Eloise stared at him, and tried to catch her breath. “No,” she managed.

Seth smiled again. “Now ain’t that funny?” he asked. “Somehow I just knew you'd say that.” He looked into her eyes in that special way she'd come to know and said, “You know what, Mrs. Jones?”

She shook her head, speech beyond her now.

He brought his face to within a hair's breadth of hers. “I think I’ve plumb fallen in love with you.”

Her lower lip trembled in response as tears filled her eyes. She'd often dreamt of the moment when a man told her that he loved her, and had always wondered how it would make her feel. As he turned and carried her into the bedroom, she could now say she knew.

* * *

The next morning, Eloise awoke to the warmth and comfort of Seth's strong embrace. He held her against his body in a tangle of arms and legs, a total prisoner of his love. He'd arrested her with it, questioned her with it, and if she had been standing, would have brought her to her knees with it. She now knew what it was like to belong to a man, and to be completely and utterly surrendered.

“
Hey there, darlin',” a husky voice whispered in her ear. “You awake?”

“
Yes,” she said in a small voice.

“It's
sun-up,” he said. “We'd best get dressed.”

She squirmed in his arms, and he loosened his hold so she could turn to face him. “Good morning, Mr. Jones,” she said and then kissed him.

“
I like the way you say good morning,” he said after she broke the kiss.

She kissed him again and pulled him close. When she lifted her face from his, she gazed into his eyes. “What did you say about getting up?”

“
Did I say something about getting up? I don't remember.” With that, his lips descended on hers. It would be a long time before either of them thought of getting out of bed.

* * *

By the time Seth and Eloise did
get out of bed, it was late morning. Seth went downstairs to the kitchen to fetch them some food as Eloise dressed. She felt giddy, cherished, and loved all at the same time. It was the most glorious, wondrous feeling she'd ever had in her life. Marriage, she concluded, was indeed a beautiful thing.

When Seth returned,
they ate their breakfast in companionable silence, as far as speaking goes, that is. Their eyes, the gentle expressions they gave each other, and the way their hands brushed against the other while passing the salt, spoke another language. If one could but sit and watch them, it was easy to see that Eloise and Seth had fallen in love.

“I ran into Ryder
in the kitchen,” Seth told her.

“
Oh, my goodness,” she said. “I'd completely forgotten they were in the hotel.”

“He's taking Othello out to the Triple C
in a little while. Harrison has another mare he wants to breed with him. If you like, we could go along.”

“Don't you have to work
in the hotel today?”

“
Darlin', we just got married, and as there are no guests that need looking after, I'm considering this a day off.”

She giggled and blushed as she remembered the night they shared. “Are you sure you wouldn't rather stay here?”

“
You know I would, darlin’,” he said. “But Ryder and your sister will be leaving tomorrow to go home. I thought you might want to spend time with her before they do.”

Eloise smiled at his generous offer. “Thank you,” she said. “I'd love to be able to see Constance before she goes home.”

“That's what Ryder
and I thought, too. He rode out to August's place so that Penelope could join you.”

“
Oh, how wonderful!” she said with a small clap of her hands. “Thank you so much.”

They finished their breakfast, gathered their dishes on a tray, and took it downstairs to the kitchen. After washing the dishes, they put everything away and went to get ready for an afternoon at the Triple C.

Once back in their rooms, Eloise opened her other gift from Seth and disco
vered a beautiful, pink-calico day dress. She put it on and admired it in the full-length mirror of the bedroom. “Oh, Seth! It's so pretty!” she went to where he stood on the other side of the bed, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him soundly.

This time, her kiss managed to take
his
breath away. “Land sakes, darlin’! You do much more of that and we’ll never get out of here!”

“
If it wasn't for my sister leaving town tomorrow, we would
definitely
be staying.”

Seth let out a shaky
sigh as he looked her up and down. “You sure do know how to make a man crazy,” he said. “I have a mind to keep you here anyway.”

“
You'll do no such thing! Who knows how long it will be before I see Constance again. Now, let's go.”

They went downstairs where Constance and Penelope waited. Ryder and August had gone to the livery stable to hitch up Seth's wagon. One that was done, they were off.

It was a beautiful day and
the three sisters chatted happily in the wagon bed as Seth and August spoke in low tones up front. Ryder rode Othello, and planned to leave him at the ranch for a week or so. In the meantime, Seth would loan him his horse and wagon so he could get home and take care of business at his place before venturing back to Clear Creek to pick up the horse.

They reached the ranch, happy, content, and in high spirits. The three sisters loved spending time together and now that each was married, they delighted in stolen glances of their husbands and blush-filled whispers to one another about them. The men, when they could, did the same, sans the blushing and whispering.

“
Well it's about time you chaps got here,” said Harrison as he stepped out the front door and onto the porch.

The men helped their wives down from the wagon. “Some people were slow to get started this morning,” said Ryder with a smile as he winked at his brother.

“
And would you have gotten up any earlier if it was
your
wedding night?” asked Seth with a smirk.

“
Don't answer that!” said Constance. “You'll embarrass me!”

The men laughed. “Hardly!” said her husband.

“And not a word out of you, either,” Penelope told August with a pointed look.

Harrison chuckled. “Ladies, if you don't mind, I'd like to borrow your husbands for a few hours while you visit.”

“What
ever for?” asked Constance.

“I sent Logan and some
of the other men to Oregon City to sell off about a thousand head. They left early this morning. Now I find myself shorthanded, and I'd like Seth and Ryder here to take a look around for me.”

Seth and Ry
der exchanged quick glance. “Why us?” asked Seth.

Harrison stepped off the porch to join them. “Because, my fine fellows, from what I hear, you two are the best trackers in three territories.”

The brothers took on an innocent air. “Who told you that?” asked Ryder.

“
Wilfred; who else?”

Seth rolled his eyes,
shook his head, and groaned. He looked at Ryder. “Wilfred overheard me telling Eloise about our… ah … former occupation.”

Ryder’s
head snapped around to Harrison. “He what?!”

“
Think nothing of it, gentlemen,” said Harrison with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Now, let's go to the barn and saddle some horses.”

“What
was that about?” asked Penelope as Belle and Sadie came onto the porch to greet them.

“
I'm not sure,” said Constance.

Eloise looked at her sister's. “I know what they're talking about,” she said. “I'll explain later.”

The women followed Sadie and Belle into the house to find Edith in the dining room, already pouring their tea. Harrison's comment was quickly forgotten as they settled in to chat about sewing, marriage, their new husbands, and babies. It was going to be a lovely visit, and Eloise planned on enjoying every precious minute of it.

* * *

“Your cousins will be arriving soon,” Sadie told the three sisters.

“Our cousins
!” gasped Penelope. “I say, but I've completely forgotten about Uncle John's offspring.”

“Offspring?” s
tated Belle. “That's an odd way of putting it.”

“
She says it that way,” Constance explained, “because our cousins are… how should I say…”

“E
ccentric?” put in Eloise.

Belle,
Sadie, and Edith glanced at one another. “How eccentric are they?” asked Sadie.

“
Quite,” said Penelope. “To the point where I'm not sure who will be more shocked when they arrive. Clear Creek, or our cousins.”

Sadie laughed and was about to comment, when she caught th
e sound of the front door banging open, followed by boot-clad feet running into the house. She glanced up, a panicked look on her face, as three men burst into the dining room. Edith screamed at the sudden intrusion, as Sadie jumped to her feet.

“Well
, look what we have here,” said a large man wearing an eye patch. “Don't this make for a pretty picture?”

“
Who are you?” Sadie demanded. “What do you want?”

“
I want you to shut up,” he said and grabbed the nearest woman at the table.

“Unhand me, you ruffian!” screamed Penelope.

A thin, scraggly-looking man pointed his gun at them. “Now, is that any way to talk to a guest in your house?”

Sadie's eyes were riveted on the gun. “What do you want?” she asked again.

The man with the eye patch rubbed his stubbly jaw. “That's a good question. Right now I think I want you out of the house.”

Constance and Eloise, quiet all this time, sat with their eyes round as saucers and stared at the men. The thin man elbowed the one with the eye patch. “Hey, Spider; look what we have here,” he said as he pointed at Constance.

“Well,” he drawled. “
Now don’t that beat all? Didn't we leave you tied up in a barn?” he asked.

“
You!” Constance spat. “You're the ones who tried to kill my husband!”

Eloise gasped. She recognized the thin man from the day before, and stood. “You have no business being here, so go away!”

The men laughed in amusement at her demand, before they each pointed a gun at her. “I think I have an idea,” the man called Spider told his counterparts.

They laughed again. “What do you have in mind?” the thin one asked.

“
What say we escort these ladies out to the barn?” he answered.

“Sounds good to
us,” said the thin man as he pointed his gun at Penelope's head.

“
You'll do no such thing!” screamed Edith, shocked at her own bravado. “Leave, before my husband shoots you!”

“Oh, you mean the f
ella up yonder in that there little cabin?” asked Spider.

Edith gasped. “What have you done?”

“
Oh, don't worry none, ma’am,” he said. “We left him a nice knife wound to contend with. He'll be busy for a while.”

“
Yeah, trying not to bleed to death,” laughed the thin man.

Edith teetered in her chair. Belle grabbed her to keep her from falling. She looked at the men, horrified, and shook her head in anger. “Mark my words, you're going to pay for this,” she hissed.