Harnessed Passions (66 page)

"We've both been too tired at night to do
anything more than sleep. At least that part hasn't been a
problem…yet."

"I don't believe either of you. Here you
have the biggest news of your lives and neither of you are willing
to acknowledge it. I feel sorry for that baby, when he's born.
You'll have to hire a nanny, just to keep him company."

"That's not fair Margie," Julia scolded.
"Daniel and I are going to be wonderful parents. My reasons for not
telling my husband about our baby is logical and completely
sensible and you know it. How dare you assume we wouldn't love our
child?"

"I'm sorry Julia," Margie apologized,
putting a gentle hand on the woman's arm. "It's just that I want to
celebrate with you and I'm told to keep my mouth shut. I've never
been very good at keeping secrets."

"You have to promise me Margie, you'll keep
this between us. My mother is the only other one who knows. You
can't even tell Harold, if he knew he'd tell Daniel and then I'd
have to contend with him learning from his best friend, instead of
me. Please just trust me on this. I know I'm doing the right
thing." Margie sighed, then nodded her head causing her red curls
to bounce across her forehead. She agreed to keep the secret, but
with a great deal of reluctance and another five minutes of arguing
before they stepped into the back door of the mansion.

Margie stayed at the ranch for another hour,
talking with Julia about babies and what was to be expected in the
months to come. Just as she had Julia scared to death of childbirth
and ready to back out of the whole deal, Daniel came up from the
stables for lunch. He eyed the two women for several seconds,
before shaking his head and heading into the washroom to clean up.
He couldn't understand why it was when two women got together, they
gossiped about everything and everyone until a man came in the
room, than they acted as though nothing had happened and they
hadn't spoken a single word for hours.

"Women," he grunted with a half-smile,
splashing water on his dirty face. He still hadn't decided whether
or not he loved them or just tolerated them. Julia on the other
hand was different; he loved her for everything she was and all
that she did; he even loved her temperament and stubborn attitude.
The thought of all the ways he wanted to prove his love began to
pound through his veins, making his breeches feel suddenly tight.
He grunted again, this time for his own sake. There was too much
work to be done to take a dip between those cool sheets waiting for
them upstairs, though he had to mentally go through the list of
events yet to be prepared for in order to keep him from carrying
her up the stairs and locking her away in their bedroom for the
rest of the afternoon.

With a third grunt, this time from disgust,
he left the little washroom and headed back to where his wife and
Margie sat talking. This was going to be one time he had to prove
just how much resistance he could muster, though his restraint was
quickly dissolving. As they ate their lunch of beef stew and
homemade bread, Daniel thought over his plans to take her back to
his flat once the sale was finished. There he planned on exploring
the depth of his resistance with great pleasure, along with the
device she enjoyed so much the last time they were in town.

The thoughts that echoed through his mind
remained with him the remainder of the day. By the time the horses
were brought in from the fields, he was sore and exhausted, but
certain he could muster a bit of energy to keep his young bride
awake. It had been nearly a week since they last made love and he
was eager to make up for lost time.

Darkness fell across the ranch while
millions of stars twinkled like gems in the clear night sky. The
moon was merely a sliver and the woods surrounding the small pond
were black as pitch. A rustle in the brush brought a sudden turn to
the man's head; his heart pounding, his palms sweating. He didn't
know if he was up to handling this tonight or not; he was beyond
exhaustion and his back ached from the long hours of hard work.

"What the hell took ya so long?" he growled
through the silence, as the woman's slender figure appeared out of
the brush. His anger and fatigue had worn on his nerves until he
could no longer control his emotions.

"I had to make sure no one saw me, didn't
I?" the woman answered, slipping her arms around the man's neck and
kissing him full and hard on the lips. He tasted of whiskey and
smelled of sweat, but that didn't distract from the burning needs
and urgent desires that raked her young frame. She slid her hand
down across his chest to unfasten his belt, pulling savagely until
it released. The man groaned; he knew what she wanted and the idea
of how easily aroused she became, brought a heat rushing through
his veins. He felt the buttons of his breeches pop open one after
another until his hard erection sprung free from the thin material.
He grabbed her by the shoulders, crushing her delicate flesh with
his large hands as he laid her to the ground, his weight pinning
her to the cool earth and soft grass growing wild and free around
them.

He lifted her dress with a careless movement
and smiled as the sound of material ripping filled the small
confines of the swimming hole. He growled with a mixture of disgust
and passion at her naked body beneath the thin fabric; like usual,
she didn’t bother to put on a petticoat or knickers.

Without waiting for her reaction to the
ruined material of her gown, he thrust his hard penis against her
dry vagina and pushed savagely into her, smiling again as she
gasped in pain. This was one time he wasn't going to worry about
her pleasure. He was still angry that she had kept him waiting in
the dark for nearly half an hour, determined to take all and give
nothing in return. He moved against her delicate body with a
primal, brutal action that brought about his release in a few
moments, spilling his seed inside her as he growled against her
mouth. A wicked smiled curved his lips as he pulled out of the
woman, hearing her curse of frustration.

“
That’s it?” she gasped as
he stood and pulled his pants back up across his lax penis. “What
about me?”

"Next time, don't keep me waitin' so long 'n
maybe ya'all will get somethin' in return."

"You bastard!" she snapped, straightening
her torn skirt back across her legs. "I don't need you for my
pleasure. I have a hundred men willing to please me."

"Don't even think 'bout findin' ‘nother bed
ta share or I may just have ta send ya back where ya came from. Ya
wouldn't want me ta do that, now would ya?" The woman's attempt to
goad him into a jealous fit had back fired, leaving her to feel the
chill of fear while she rocked like a small child on the
ground.

"Please don't say that, you know how much I
hate that place. The guards are so mean; they only want me for
their own needs. They don't love me, not like you do. They never
please me, even when I beg. They just screw me and leave me to take
care of myself. I hate that, you know I do."

"Shut up already!" the man growled, his
anger mounting with the woman's pitiful display of sympathy. "I
didn't come out 'ere ta play nursemaid ta ya. We's have business ta
take care of."

"She's back you know," the woman whispered
with a soft chuckle. "I can start my rides again, can't I?"

"No. I's been waitin’ long 'nough. It's time
ta end this n' bring the little bitch ta justice."

"What evil plans have you thought of this
time, darling?"

"I's heard that Leonard bitch tellin' her
she arranged a meetin' fer her in town t’morra. When she comes
back, I want ya ta meet up with her n' bring her ta me."

“
What do I tell
her?”

“
I’s don’t give a goddamn,
just get her here or yer goin’ back where ya belong.”

“
I’ll bring her, I promise,
just please don’t send me back.”

“
Be a good gurl, ‘n I’s
ain’t got no reason ta be sendin’ ya back.”

"Can I kill her, please?" The woman's
enthusiasm was mounting and she anxiously pulled her knees beneath
her sitting on her legs like an eager child ready to open her
presents on Christmas morning.

"No, that's my pleasure. I's waited a long
time ta take care a her n' make her pay fer what she done ta me.
I's damn well gonna take pleasure in watchin' her die."

"But what about the sale? Daniel will be
terribly upset when he has to cancel this weekend."

"I don't give a shit 'bout the damn sale.
If'n they cancel 'em, the stables will be thrown inta hard times n'
possibly go bankrupt. He deserves that fer the way he's embarrassed
me in fronta my pa."

"I didn't know you wanted to hurt Daniel
too. I don't think I like that very much."

"What diff’rence does it make? Ya won't be
'round 'ere ta pick up the pieces anyhows. If'n ya don't do 'zactly
what I's tell ya, I's make certain the sheriff knows everythin'
'bout ya n' they'll take ya back ta New York n' lock ya away
ferever." The woman gasped with fear of being returned to what she
felt was the pit of hell itself.

He enjoyed that, being in control of her;
making her fear him. The heat of his power over her burned to life
inside his loins, causing his manhood to awaken again.

"I'll do it baby, please don't take me back,
please? I'll do anything; just don't take me back there."

"Quit yer damn blubberin', ya make me sick.
Yer gonna do 'zactly what I says n' yer damn well gonna enjoy it,
understand?"

"Oh yes baby, yes. I'll do
anything...everything, I promise."

"Just meet her t’morra when she returns n'
bring her ta me. I's gonna take care a the rest."

"I'll bring her right to you, nowhere else.
I swear it, I do."

"’Nough! I’s ain’t in the mood fer no more a
yer damn noise. Now git over her; ya know what I’s wantin’, n' this
time ya take it all or yer gonna be sorry." The man growled at the
whimpering female, thrilled with his control over her as he popped
the buttons to his breeches open again. She scooted across the dirt
to where he stood waiting, reaching in through the opening of his
pants and pulling out his engorged penis. She kissed the tip
repeatedly before running her tongue along the length, the obeyed
him and took the full length into her mouth.

The man groaned deeply,
savagely, winding the fingers of his right hand in her hair pulling
her closer to his exposed body as his left hand slipped into the
depth of his pocket. He smiled a wicked grin as he pulled the small
satin and lace garter out for his inspection, running his dirty
fingers across the delicate material. His plans and schemes had
proven successful and Browning Estates had suffered a series of
financial setbacks, but things were going to get worse for
Fancy
Breeches and
Miss Perky Tits.
He was
going to have his final revenge at last; he would make certain that
little bitch suffered the same fate his precious Heather had
endured - suffer and die in the cold depths of hell, and this time
her husband wouldn't be there to help her.

The ride into Mayfield was relaxing as the
sun warmed and soothed Julia's sore muscles. So many hours had been
spent cooped up in the barn, that she was certain she had missed at
least a good year’s worth of living. Things had progressed so
rapidly at the ranch it was near impossible to tell one day from
the next. If it hadn't been for Margie and Louise, Julia wouldn't
have remembered her appointment with Dr. Stewart this morning.

She managed to convince Daniel into
believing that she promised to visit Margie and the children, and
take them some of Mrs. Lester’s bread. She insisted that she needed
some time off from all the work and wanted to visit her new friend
before the chaos surrounding the sale would take control of their
lives. He agreed that she needed a break and agreed that some time
away from the ranch might do her good, though he wasn’t happy about
her leaving alone.

Her head fell back against the back of the
leather upholstered seat and her eyes closed, allowing the morning
sun to warm her face. It had taken every bit of fight she had left
in her, to talk Daniel into allowing her to leave the ranch without
an escort. She had to point out more than a dozen times, all the
hands had too much work to play nursemaid to her, and she had to go
regardless of his feelings on the matter. Julia even refused her
mother's offer to accompany her - much to Daniel's objections.

So many buyers were expected to stay at the
stables and preparations had to be made for their comfort and
convenience. The truth was, she didn't want anyone around her today
who might slip and tell Daniel where she had been and that included
Louise. Since learning her daughter's secret, it was proving
difficult for her mother to hold the news and allow Julia time to
tell Daniel in her own way. Patience was quickly proving to be an
unwanted visitor at Browning Estates these days.

Julia straightened back up in her seat as
the horse drew around the last curve in the road. She was anxious
to learn how far along her pregnancy actually was, yet frightened
to know just how much time was left. Margie filled her head with
horror stories of labor and childbirth, two facts she had never
considered when thinking about having a baby. Julia had helped her
aunt Lena with the birth of little Lucy, but that was her aunt's
third child and labor was considerably easier and quicker than with
the first.

Mayfield streets were busier than normal,
with so many visiting breeders heading in for the annual sale.
Extra carriages had been hired from Graves County and the hotel was
so overwhelmed with guests that many of the privately owned homes
were taking in boarders for the added money. Julia waved to several
of the passersby, recognizing them as faithful customers of her
late father's, while looking at the many unfamiliar faces with
interest.