Shifter’s Baby (Alpha Fantasy Paranormal Billionaire Shifter BBW Romance) (72 page)

Chapter Ten

The trial started the next morning and spelled doom for Victoria Burdette. The County Attorney used the documentation provided by Artimis Gordon who said he was a relative of the man Victoria had killed.

The County Attorney, a middle-aged man with an honest face and a need for money named Wilbert Hinckley, gave his opening statement to the jury. “Ladies and Gentlemen, don’t be fooled by the innocent look of the defendant. It’s a lie. She’s not the guileless school-teacher she pretends to be. She took Wilson Gordon for all he had then poisoned him. He died. We’ll prove it.”

The first witness was Artimis Gordon. Hinckley asked him for his name and place of residence then said, “Tell us about the first time you saw the defendant.”

Artimis could imitate sincerity and honesty when required. He said, “I first saw her coming out of a room in the Eastern Gentleman’s Club in Kansas City. She was in her underwear, saying goodbye to her last customer.” He paused to make sure he had everyone’s attention. “The Eastern Gentleman’s Club is a high-class brothel, and the defendant is a prostitute.”

Nathan sat directly behind Victoria. He clenched his fist so hard, his fingernails dug into his skin.

Hinckley said, “Tell us about the next few times you saw her.”

“I watched her manipulate my brother into marrying her. He didn’t stand a chance.”

Nathan hired the best defense attorney in Denver for Victoria. Nathan leaned forward, “Why don’t you object or something?”

Clint Dodgeson, the defense attorney, said “I’ll deal with this man as he deserves. Just wait.”

Nathan sat back, completely helpless.

Hinckley asked just one more question. “Let’s skip forward to the day your brother died. Tell us when you saw the defendant and what she was doing.”

“I thought she was preparing medication for my brother. She mixed powder into a glass of water and gave it to him. He drank it and died an hour later. The powder was rat poison.”

Dodgeson leaped to his feet. “Objection. How do we know it was rat poison? Is Mr. Gordon a trained expert on poisons?”

Nathan got his first notion of how the trial would go. The judge was bluff and overweight. His knowledge of the law was lacking, but not his need for money. He said, “Objection overruled. Mr. Gordon is an honest man, known to me as completely reliable. His testimony will be admitted as it comes to us, as the Gospel truth.”

Dodgeson was stunned. He stood in place, not knowing how to counter such blatant illegality. He finally said, “Your honor, I...”

“Sit down, counselor. We’ll have no more of your interruptions.”

Hinckley turned the witness over to Mr. Dodgeson.

Dodgeson’s asked, “You say you first saw the defendant working as a prostitute in Kansas City. Do you know what the penalty for perjury is in this state?”

A solid blow from the judge’s gavel stopped Dodgeson cold. “That will be enough of that, counselor. I just said the testimony given by the witness is to be accepted as a whole and considered to be as truthful as the Bible itself.”

Dodgeson was beside himself with rage. “Your honor, the defendant was a virgin at the time of her marriage here in Denver.”

The gavel thundered again. The judge said, “Prove it.”

Dodgeson held up a piece of paper. “This is a signed statement by Doctor Thomas Mansfield, the doctor who examined the defendant a day before she left Kansas City for Denver. It states that she was virgo intacta. She could hardly have been a prostitute and...”

The judge hammered his gavel again. “Anybody can write anything on a piece of paper, counselor. Is Doctor Mansfield in the courtroom?”

“No, he’s in Kansas City.”

“Then we have no testimony of her so-called virtue.” The judge leaned over the bench. “Young lady, are you a virgin now?”

Victoria shook her head. “No, I’m a married woman. My husband took my virginity on our wedding night.”

“How do we know that?”

The trial continued for another hour as Hinckley called a man who said he was the coroner for Kansas City and that the dead man died from poisoning. Dodgeson tried to ask him about his qualifications and credentials, but was shut down by the judge. Another man who said he was the Sheriff of Kansas City at the time of the arrest testified the Victoria was a well known prostitute and that he was satisfied that she was guilty of murder.

Hinckley summed up the testimony for the jurors. Dodgeson was so angry that he couldn’t speak. He didn’t give a closing argument.

The jurors didn’t leave the jury box. They leaned together for a few seconds and the jury foreman stood up. He said, “Guilty.”

The judge said, “That’s good enough for me. The defendant will rise.”

Victoria was in shock. She didn’t move. The judge didn’t wait. “Mrs. Burdette, you have been found guilty of the crime of murder. Your sentence is death. Such sentence will be carried out immediately.” The judge turned his attention to Sheriff Kindlow. “Sheriff, it has come to my attention that you have been charged with corruption. You are no longer Sheriff. I’m appointing Jud Nielsen Sheriff. Sheriff, take your prisoner in hand, and we’ll go to the hanging tree.”

Nathan stood up. “I don’t think so.”

The judge slammed his gavel again. “And why not, Mr. Burdette.”

Nathan didn’t speak. He pointed to the four doors leading into the court. Three opened and five men with rifles came in. The door at the back opened and six men came in, led a tall man with a big hat and United States Marshall star on his chest. He pointed to the judge, the county attorney and the new sheriff. He said, “I’m Marshall Sam Norton. Take him and him and him.” The judge, county attorney and new sheriff were led out.

Marshall Norton stood before the jury. “First three men to testify about the illegality of what happened today, go free.” Twelve hands went up at the same time. He laughed. “Alright. We’ll take all twelve of you. That ought to be enough.”

The Marshall waved at Nathan as he followed his deputies, witnesses and prisoners.

Victoria and Dodgeson looked at Nathan for an explanation. He said, “I talked with the Marshall yesterday after Victoria was arrested. He said he’d take care of it because it fit in with a continuing investigation he was conducting.” Nathan looked around the court. “Did anybody see that Artimis Gordon fellow? He should have been arrested as well.

That night, Victoria and Nathan undressed for bed. Nathan said, “Were you scared today?”

“Yes. When the judge overruled all of Mr. Dodgeson’s objections and supported Mr. Gordon’s testimony, I was sure I was going to die.”

“Thank heaven for the Marshall.”

Chapter Eleven

They were in Nathan’s house on his ranch. Outside, Artimis Gordon snuck through the trees and sage brush to the back of the house. He crept closer until he could look directly through the open window. He saw them move into each other’s arms and decided to wait to kill them.

They were both standing by the bed. Victoria put her hands on Nathan’s chest. “Sweetheart, I have a request. If it’s alright, I’d like you to do everything tonight. I just want to lie on the bed and let you touch me where ever you want to. Is that alright? I know it isn’t really fair to you, but I’d really enjoy it.”

“So would I. We should both be naked, though.”

“I agree.”

Artimis lifted his head up to watch Victoria take her clothes off. He stayed as still as a mountain until she threw her last piece of clothing on a chair. He mumbled, “I won’t kill them both. I’ll kill him and run away with her across my saddle. I can go to my cabin in the mountains and play with her all night.”

Nathan took Victoria in his arms and kissed her thoroughly. She smiled as he did it. After she’d been kissed as much as she needed, he led her to the bed and had her lay down across it with her knees on the edge and her feet touching the floor. She said, “What are you going to do?”

He looked into her eyes. “Everything.” He started by looming over her on his hands and knees. He kissed her again then kissed his way down her neck and chest to her left breast. She watched him take her little tip in his mouth and suck and nibble on it. He put his other hand on her right breast and pulled and twisted her nipple. She felt satisfied. Nathan loved her. She said, “Do this to me for a while. It’s so heavenly” and dropped her head on the bed and closed her eyes.

Nathan gave attention to her breasts and nipples until her breasts became swollen and her nipples changed into little cones and turned dark red.

He knelt above her and did something she didn’t expect. He worked on his ranch. He was in the saddle every day. The work he did made his hands coarse and rough. He started on her neck and strongly rubbed his hands over her upper body. He did it until her skin was red and sensitive. She said, “My skin is tingles. I feel everything.”

“Good.”

Artimis said, under his breath, “Thanks, partner. You get her almost to the boil, and I’ll take it from there.” He took his gun out of his holster and cocked the hammer.

He slid down her body and knelt on the floor between her feet and lifted her knees up to her chest. He came over her body and kissed her again. “Hold these please.”

Victoria hooked her hands behind her knees and lifted them higher and spread them apart as far as they would go. Her pussy opened up. It was already wet and a bit swollen from his treatment of her breasts.

He dove in with his mouth, tongue and teeth. She curled up and looked down at him and the place where he kissed and licked and bit. Her eyes went out of focus. She gasped then fell back on the bed with her eyes closed. She breathed deeply through her mouth.

Nathan extended his arms up to her rolling, ponderous breasts. He pinched and twisted and slid her nipples through his thumb and forefinger. She moaned.

After fifteen minutes of this kind of attention, sweat matted Victoria’s hair against her head and covered the rest of her body in a light sheen. She no longer needed her eyes so she closed her eyelids most of the way. Her pupils were completely dilated. She turned them from side to side, absentmindedly looking for something that wasn’t in the room.

She abruptly and spasmodically jerked her hips up into Nathan’s face. He been exploring all of the valleys and ridges between her lower lips with his tongue and sucking her little bud out from under its hood and biting it very gently.

Artimis saw Victoria’s hips jump and writhe. He said, “Close. I just need to get a good shot, and she’s mine.” He rested his arm on the window sill and pointed his Colt .44 at Nathan’s head. He said softly, “I don’t want that bastard to get inside her.”

Nathan stood up and held her thighs. He pulled her toward him until her hips were off the bed. He placed her ankles on his shoulders and supported her hips with his hands. He spread his feet to lower his cock down to her level and introduced the head of his cock inside the entrance to her sheath. She gasped then held her breath.

Artimis tightened his finger on the trigger and was about to squeeze off a shot when a gun barrel rested quietly on the back of his neck. “Don’t move, partner. I’m a little shaky tonight and anything you do might make me twitch my trigger finger.”

Nathan pushed slowly ahead. He watched his cock open her up and disappear inside her body.

She gasped when the head of his cock came inside her channel and it closed behind it. She began to moan and whine as he penetrated her.

Marshall Norton ran his hand down Artimis’ arm and took his pistol. He grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him away from the window. He whispered, “Let’s let the young couple have some time to themselves.”