“I now pronounce you man and wife.”
Mr. Simpson grinned and I felt the blood drain from my face. “There. It's done.”
I shook my head. No. No! It couldn't be true. Garrett hadn't come. No one had come to rescue me. Bit by bit, yet very quickly, Mr. Simpson had slowly destroyed my life and this moment was the culmination. Instead of leaving me out in the street to die, he'd married me. I was now stuck with the man. Forever.
“You may kiss the bride.”
My gaze dropped to Mr. Simpson's fleshy lips. They were slick with spittle and his breath was fetid and somehow grossly onion scented. His head lowered and he was going to kiss me. My first kiss was going to be with this man! Garrett had been perhaps too chivalrous and kept his attentions at bay. Now, now I would never know the feel of Garrett's mouth on mine, but instead Mr. Simpson's. I wouldn't even have a memory of the moment to cherish while Mr. Simpson—and his assistant Roger—had their way with me. In the matter of hours, perhaps even minutes, my first time would be beneath him. Would he share me on our wedding night? I felt dizzy and hot all of a sudden and I was glad the man was gripping me tightly. Not only did the room spin, but I—
The last thought I had before the world went black was that I never did like onions.
CHAPTER TWO
GARRETT
I wanted to kiss Julia. Touch her, see her body, learn what made her gasp, what made her cry out my name, what made her scream. While she was most assuredly a virgin, she was not adverse or unresponsive to my tentative forays into what kinds of carnal things I'd do to her.
“I wonder what you taste like,” I murmured to her. Although we were at a church supper, the community hall was crowded and the din afforded us a level of privacy. We were among a hundred chaperones and I would try nothing untoward, but that did not prevent me from awakening her to desire.
Our heads were bent close as we sat beside each other at a long table. She glanced at the older couple sitting across from us, but they were in discussion about the cold snap that had come early.
“I would think like apple cobbler,” she replied, her voice equally muted.
My gaze dropped to her mouth. How
I ached to kiss her. I ached other places, too. My cock had been hard since the first time I saw her.
“Your skin. I want to taste your skin. I bet you are as sweet along your nape as the curve of your breast. And lower, too.”
Her lips parted, but she said nothing. A flush came to her cheeks as she considered my words, but she met my gaze and held it. “Then I should ask the same of you, however I doubt you are not as sweet.”
My eyes narrowed at the idea of her licking my skin, kissing her way down my body, taking my cock in her mouth and learning my true flavor.
***
We rode hard from Virginia City, but the weather was miserable and we had to change horses frequently. We'd had to seek shelter when the wind became particularly strong, the snow turning our path into nothing but white.
Some might have said it had been a miracle I'd run into Hargraves, for he'd only been passing through town and it had been the one night my brother-in-law and I had gone to one of the saloons in town.
The bounty hunter had been sharing a drawing of a man wanted for robbery and murder when we entered, and I'd recognized Simpson at first glance. He'd been a fucking bastard since we were ten years old when he cut off the tip of my cat's tail. I was glad to know see that his injustices had finally caught up with him. But robbery and murder? He didn't need to steal money, he had enough money to do whatever he wanted. Getting involved in something so heinous only proved how insane the man was. I readily volunteered to lead Hargraves directly to the man. I'd considered it a Christmas present to myself to see him behind bars, especially knowing his misdeeds extended far beyond me.
It had also been the perfect excuse to return home and spend Christmas with Julia. While I missed my sister, she was settled with her husband and new baby and was very happy in Virginia City. Julia, though, was alone without any family for the holiday. When I hesitated about traveling to see the new baby, she'd insisted I go, for she knew how important family was— perhaps because she had none. But over the past few months of courting the woman, I'd come to consider her family—to have her be my family. Spending Christmas apart from her was not what I wanted. I wanted to be with her, not just as a man who held her attentions, but also as her husband.
My sister knew of Simpson as well—she'd grown up with him, too—and was eager to send me off just to have the man arrested. If I could help Hargraves do that, she was willing to forego the holiday with me.
I would have ridden directly to Julia's small house upon arrival in town, but I wanted to ensure Hargraves found Simpson and put him into custody. While he was a competent and very experienced bounty hunter, I didn't want to take any chances and allow Simpson to escape, especially if he were guilty of the crimes of which he was accused. We rode to his mansion and tied our horses to the rail out front. Hargraves pounded on the door, but there was no answer. He tried the door. Unlocked.
We stood inside the doorway, looked around. “Simpson!” I shouted.
We heard noise from above. Within seconds, Simpson came to the top of the stairs and grinned down at us. “You're too late, Rivers,” he said as he came down the steps. “She's mine and there's nothing you can do about it.”
I frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Miss Talbot.” Simpson ran his hand over his chin. “Mrs. Simpson now.”
He'd said things for two decades to rile me and I didn't believe him. Like hell Julia would marry Simpson. I knew her character well enough to know she would not accept a proposal from him. If Julia were his wife, she'd be in the house with him. I strode past him, bumping his shoulder on the way.
“Mr. Gregory Simpson?” I heard Hargraves question.