Southern Seduction [Bride Train 8] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (11 page)

“Here I was,” said Sophie as if talking to herself, “thinking there was one last chance of me finding a trio of ranchers to marry, and you swoop in and marry them from under my nose.”

“It ain’t like that,” said Casey quickly. “Mr. Taylor’s only marrying me because he says his reputation’ll be gone if I live there, and then he won’t find a real wife. You can have ’em in the spring if you want.”

“So you’re only marrying him to save
his
reputation?” Sophie’s snicker erupted into a laugh. “I’m just teasing. I have my eye on someone quite different.” She turned slightly pink. “And don’t you be telling a soul about that.”

“No, ma’am.”

“I heard Cole tell Judge Thatcher that your marriage will be only on paper. He expects to get an annulment in the spring because you won’t be touched.”

Casey shrugged. She traced a faded flower on her thigh with her finger. “He doesn’t want me, just the chores I can do.”

“Did he ask you to marry him, or tell you?”

“He told me.”

Sophie raised an eyebrow. “Do you want Cole, or one of the others to, ah, touch you like a husband?”

Though a zing touched her nipples, she gave another shrug. “It don’t matter none.”

She shivered even though her face flamed. The place between her legs throbbed. She fought sudden tears. It hurt to finally be seen as a woman and then brutally rejected as not good enough.

“You want to share their bed as a wife, but Cole says no.” Sophie spoke in the dry tone that she often used when criticizing men. Casey jerked her head in a nod. “Do you think Cole and the others want you like a man does a woman?”

“Yes, ma’am. But Cole doesn’t want me because I talk as ugly as I look. Byron might, but he promised Cole. I think Marshall wants to, but he said he’d not seduce me.”

Sophie’s laugh startled Casey. “Since you have no mother or aunt to advise you before your wedding night, do you mind if I tell you a few things?”

“Yes, please, ma’am.”

“I’ve watched you, Casey. I figured out that you weren’t a boy shortly after you came to town.”

Casey froze, her eyes on Sophie’s. “Ma’am?”

“Don’t worry. I don’t say a word about what I see. You were too graceful to be a clumsy twelve-year-old.” She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes like a hawk. “There’s a lot more to you than meets the eye.”

“I’m just a mountain gal—”

“You might have grown up in the mountains, but I expect your mother wasn’t born there.”

A startled gasp erupted from Casey’s throat. Sophie held up a hand.

“I’m not asking you to tell any secrets. But I think you’re the right wife for that stuffy Cole Taylor. He just has to throw away those notions of his about what a lady is, and isn’t.”

“He don’t want me. I ain’t good enough for him.”

“Fiddlesticks! Few men know what they want in a wife. Most need a kick up the backside before they realize how lucky they are.” Sophie illustrated her words by holding up her foot and pretending to shove someone with it. “Cole Taylor may need a few. I say he’s not good enough for you!”

Casey looked at her callused hands, the nails bitten off. Her feet were even worse because she went barefoot all the time. Mama said ladies had soft hands, low voices, and always wore a bonnet to protect their skin. She was nothing like that. But neither were any of the women in the town or valley. No one had servants to do everything so the wives could spend their day doing nothing.

“Have you ever seen a naked man?” asked Sophie, interrupting her thoughts. “I’m not judging you, but I need to know.”

“My older brothers.” Sophie waited for Casey to say more. “And um, when they thought I was a boy…” Her face flamed.

“Were you scared, or aroused? By that I mean did your breasts tingle, your nipples stand out, and the place between your legs get wet? If so, it’s perfectly normal.”

She gulped. “It is?”

“That’s how a woman’s body gets ready to accept a man’s penis, or cock.” Sophie sat back in her chair. She motioned for Casey to sit on the bed. “If you’re lucky, the touch of your man’s fingers, tongue, and lips can make you feel that you’re flying.”

“All those ranchers touch their wives that way?”

Sophie nodded. Her eyes shone to match her smile. “Most married women would be horribly jealous if they saw how Beth and the others were treated. Their men aren’t perfect. Far from it. But every one of them loves their wife to the bottom of their heart. It took a long time for some of them to realize it, but they’ll all tell you it was worth the wait, and the trials they had to go through.”

Casey slumped. “Cole says I have to stay a virgin so he can get a real wife next summer.”

“Cole doesn’t know what he wants.” Sophie rolled her eyes and sighed. She gave Casey a considering look. A smile curved up one corner of her lip, widened, and spread to her eyes. She snickered. “You know, a virgin can still get a lot of enjoyment. You could have lots of fun without ruining Cole’s annulment plans.” She waggled her eyebrows. “And if you play your cards right, he’ll realize just how much he wants you.”

She could have them touch her, and she touch them, without breaking any promises? “Byron and Marshall promised not to seduce me.”

“That doesn’t stop
you
from seducing
them
.”

Casey blinked. Sophie was right. She sat up. “How does a woman seduce a man?”

“She lets him know she’s interested in him. Small touches, almost accidental. She gives lingering looks at his chest, or between his legs. If he rushes from the room, it’s not because he doesn’t want you. It’s because he has to leave before he takes you in his arms and does exactly what you want.” Sophie winked. “I suggest you start with Marshall. He seems the most eager, though Byron watches you a fair bit.”

“He does?” Casey trembled with a hunger that had nothing to do with food.

“I saw you come into town to get those dresses. When he thought no one could see, Byron looked at you like he wanted to dab honey all over your body and lick it off.” Sophie leaned forward and dropped her voice. “Very, very slowly.”

“People do that?” Casey fanned her face with her hand. “Ain’t it wrong?”

“Anything a woman does that she’s happy doing is right. Would you like some suggestions?”

Casey couldn’t speak, so just nodded.

“Fingers, mouth, and tongue on nipples. A bit of teeth can be nice if you’re excited. There are special spots on many parts of your body, but between your legs is the most sensitive. I’m sure any one of them can give you a few orgasms if you let them touch your pussy with their fingers or mouth.”

“Their mouth?”

“A tongue is a wonderful thing.” Sophie waggled her eyebrows. “A man can’t help but care for a woman who’ll do the same thing to his cock and bollocks. A hand on his cock is great. But licking, sucking, and nibbling it will make him your slave. If your breasts are big enough, he could slide his cock between them. The same thing with the cheeks of your bottom. To stay a virgin, just keep their cocks out of your pussy. You can do anything else.”

Casey’s head whirled with images. Could she really seduce them? Was that what Marshall was doing by leaving his buttons undone and his shirt off?

“This last one isn’t for everyone,” said Sophie, “but if you like it, you can have their cocks inside your body and still keep your maidenhead. The wives tell me that with a lot of warming up, and heaps of lard, a willing woman can take a man’s cock in her bottom.”

Casey’s heart, which had sped up with each description, thundered in her ears. She had to talk louder to hear herself.

“Miss Sophie, I can see putting hands and lips in some of them places, but that’ll hurt one heck of a lot. You ever done it?”

“Unfortunately, no.” Sophie sighed. She pursed her lips. “Amos was very traditional. It was man on top, woman on bottom, with my nightdress raised just enough, in the dark. He was gentle, I knew of nothing else, and I did feel some pleasure. But every valley wife says that, done with love, the act can be very enjoyable. It’s partly how they make sure the other men aren’t left out.”

Casey’s face and body were so hot she almost steamed.

“There are three entry points on a woman’s body,” continued Sophie. “Her mouth, between her legs, and her bottom. When the time is right, a woman can take all three men at once. She can sit on one, have one enter her from behind, and grasp the other in her hand, guiding it into her mouth.”

An image flashed into her head. She was sitting on Cole, sucking on Marshall, while Byron knelt behind her. She thrust it away before she burst into flames.

“You’d best stop talkin’, Miss Sophie, or I won’t ever get married!”

Sophie tilted her head. She narrowed her eyes as if thinking. “Are your breasts swollen and your drawers damp? I want you to be honest with yourself. Does thinking of doing that arouse you, though you’ve never even been kissed by a passionate man? If so, I ask you not to make any decisions about what you will or will not do. And just because you did something with a man once, does not mean he has the right to tell you to do it again.”

Casey took Sophie’s words in and let them jumble around in her head. It was too much. Maybe after a good night’s sleep, when she lay in bed alone with Zeus, she could think about it.

“One last thing,” said Sophie quietly. “Remember that you, my dear, hold all the cards. The men might have fits and jump up and down, but they know deep inside that it is the woman who turns a lonely cabin into a home. The woman who makes it worthwhile to work hard in all types of weather, knowing they’ll come home to open arms, a warm heart, good food, and a hot bed. You have the power my dear, if you choose to use it.”

She had power? A knock brought Casey’s attention to the door. Sophie opened it with a wide smile.

“Come in, Lily, and thank you so much for helping.”

Casey automatically stood up when the old lady with the silver hair came in. Her mama had taught her manners. You stood when a lady of quality came in the room and you didn’t sit until she said you could. Lily’s face was lined but her smile was wide and her eyes clear. She made Casey feel calm, as if she’d take care of everything.

“I’m so pleased to finally meet you, Cassandra. I’m Lily, now Mrs. Thatcher. My husband will be performing your marriage to Cole Taylor. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Casey gave a quick bob of a curtsey. Mrs. Thatcher was small but lovely.

“This is for you to wear.”

Casey gasped. The bronze satin dress Mrs. Thatcher held out was for her? She put her hands behind her back before she touched it and made the smooth fabric run because of her rough calluses.

“I can’t wear that, ma’am.”

Though Lily snorted, it was done in a ladylike way. “I insist that you look like a bride when you stand in front of my husband.” Though she was a few inches shorter, she managed to peer down her nose at Casey. “It is not smart to get a judge angry with you. He’s very particular about who he marries.”

“But, Cole said it’s only a few words—”

“Have you attended a wedding before, Miss Wright?”

Casey pressed her lips closed. She shook her head. “No, ma’am.”

“Then you’d better trust what your elders tell you.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“When I told Emma Johnston about your situation, she insisted you join her wedding. Walt respects those Southern boys, and he agreed as well.” Lily stared at Casey, tilting her head, one finger tapping her chin. She hummed, and then tilted her head the other way.

“We’ve got fifteen minutes,” said Sophie. “I think we can make a few people sit up and take notice of the very lovely Miss Cassandra Wright before she becomes Mrs. Cole Taylor.”

Byron slipped out of the room they’d rented and into the one holding a very nervous Walt Chamberlain and a calm Judge Ambrose Thatcher. He nodded at Mrs. Zachary McInnes. Kate, Walt’s newly discovered natural daughter, was pinning a flower to Walt’s lapel.

“What’s holding things up?” asked Byron.

“Change of plans,” said Thatcher. “Cole and Cassandra will join Walt and Emma in a double wedding ceremony.”

Byron cursed under his breath, knowing what Cole’s reaction would be. He hadn’t wanted the marriage to look anything like a real wedding. But Cole was low man on this totem pole. He’d have to do what the judge said or stay single.

“That’s a surprise, Judge. Cole wanted to keep his head down about this.”

Thatcher raised a bushy eyebrow. “There will be no scurrying around with false weddings on my patch. Cole’s marriage will be as real as Walt’s.”

“You do know that Cole intends to annul the marriage in the spring,” reminded Byron.

“Mr. Taylor can intend all he likes,” said the judge smugly. “I expect nature to take its course.” He pressed his finger and thumb over his moustache, smoothing it.

“Cole vowed not to take her innocence.”

“Then changing her situation is up to you and Marshall, isn’t it?” replied Thatcher as if it was simple.

Byron’s heart near stopped, then thundered. “Are you telling me to seduce my cousin’s wife?”

“Lily and I believe Cassandra will suit the three of you very well. If, that is, you give her a reason to stay.”

“Hee-hee,” chortled Walt, rubbing his gnarled hands. “I bet ten dollars Marshall can charm his way into her—”

“Papa!” Kate shook her finger. “You promised to behave until your honeymoon.”

“Ain’t doin’ more than saying the truth, missy,” grumbled Walt. “Marshall’s the wildest of those boys, always flirting with the ladies. Though still waters run deep, don’t they, boy?” He winked at Byron, using the eye not facing Kate.

“You talking fishing, or getting married, old man?” replied Byron blandly.

He left Walt huffing about whippersnappers and slid into the hallway. Seeing it was empty, he wiped his hands over his face. Then he groaned. He wanted Casey in their bed, and so did Marshall. Cole did as well but he refused to admit it, even to himself.

That judge was too damn smart for his black robes if he thought Casey would jump at the chance to stay on as their true wife. Sure, it would make life damn near perfect, but Byron wasn’t going to destroy their ranch partnership over a woman. No matter how crazy it made him, Cole would not touch Casey while she was an innocent.