Authors: Kitty Margo
“Yes
sher
, I did,” Michael slurred the words, barely opening his eyes before passing out again.
Determined to get to the bottom of this charade, his boss sh
ook him.
“Michael, why are you turning to a bottle instead of your
new bride? Y
ou have
no
t forgotten what to do behind closed doors after so long a dry spell, have you?
”
Michael partially opened one eye, closed it again, and mumbled, “You
cannot
forget something you never acquired knowledge of in the first place, now can you?” In his state of extreme drunkenness Michael was admitting more than he ever had before.
“What do you mean you never acquired the knowledge? Do you perhaps require a few pointers on the subject? It really is
n’t
that difficult… unless s
he is
of the unattractive sort
, then, admittedly, it can sometimes be a bit of a challenge to remain...attentive, shall we say. If such were the case,
I might understand why you are drowni
ng your sorrows in a bottle. However,
scuttlebutt has it that s
he is
anything but unattractive.”
“S
he is
the most beautiful woman I ever laid my eyes
on.”
“Then, forgive me for sounding dim-witted, but I fear your words make little sense to me.”
“I
cannot
make love to anybody!” Michael stormed. “Do those words make sense to you!” He sat up on the sofa too fast and held his spi
nning head as he blurted out his sorrowful tale
. “When I was just a boy, I entered the barn one morning to feed and water the horses. That was my chore. I had been tending them for years. On this particular morning, for some reason I still
cannot
figure out, I startled Pa’s favorite stallion, Samson, and he commenced to kicking.” Michael paused and scrubbed his face with his hands before continuing. “I often wonder how different my life would be if I
’
d just made a noise that morning, let Samson know I was entering his stall.” He laughed harshly. “At any rate, old Samson took a deadly aim and kicked me hard, right square in my privates. They
’ve
been useless ever since.”
“Damn! I am sorry to hear that.”
Some men would consider it a fate worse than death!
“The little lady you married must be sympathetic to your…um….condition to have wed you anyway
,
k
nowing that you could
not
father
her children.”
“She doesn’t
know,” Michael admitted. “And she never will! S
he is
probably upstairs now, imagining that
I will
soon join her and make wild, passionate love for the remainder of the night.” He laughed bitterly. “I pray she doesn’t hold her breath.”
“Let me s
ee if I understand this correctly
. You married a woman under the false pretense that you c
ould make love to her and give
her children?”
“I reckon that’s about the
g
ist of it.”
“Then you are not Crystal’s father?”
“No, her mother was already carrying her when I married her, so I claimed her as my own.”
“In my humbl
e opinion, you have done your new bride
a dire disservice, Michael. Then you hurt her further by leaving her alone each night, believing
that
you
do not
desire her?”
“I
don’t
desire her. Thankfully,
I have
never known the insatiable lust that drives so many of you to distraction.” Michael held his throbbing head in hands and eyed the empty whiskey bottle. “I married her to give Crystal a mother.”
“I understand your love for the child, but if you ask me
,
that
is
a feeble excuse for a marriage. You owe her the truth.”
“I
don’
t
owe her a damn thing! She has a beautiful home, an attentive husband during daylight hours, and a child who adores her. That’s all any woman needs.
I am
going back to sleep now, boss. We can continue this discussion in the morning if you feel the need, but I believe everything has been said.” Thus said, he passed out on the sofa and was snoring in seconds.
His boss climbed the stairs
,
shaking his head in pity for Michael’s bride. She was waiting for a husband who would never, could never come to her. First thing tomorrow morning
,
he
would
have a discussion with the little lady and find out for himself if she was content with the arrangement or if she had an interest in
having
their sham
of a marriage annulled. It might not be any of his concern, but he
could not
tolerate the thought of the poor girl lying in her bed,
in his house
, prostrate with grief at finding herself in such a loveless marriage. At the top of the stairs, he paused outside her door. He really should
no
t get involved. This was between Michael and his wife. He should wait until morning, but as owner of the plantation
,
he felt the need to right any wrongs being carried out under his roof.
Michael had said she was the most beautiful woman
he had
ever seen. That was intriguing
,
to say the least. One little peek
could
no
t
hurt. She had most likely cried herself to sleep hours ago. Quietly open
ing the door, he saw the woman
in question stretched out on the bed in a sheer nightgown, peaceful in slumber. He moved closer to the bed to see her more clearly by the moonlight filtering through the open balcony doors.
A startled gasp filled the room as he whispered, “Michael was correct,
you are
the most beautiful woman
I have
ever seen as well.”
The deep voice penetrated Lynna’s sleep
-
drugged mind
,
causing her to awaken with a start. Believing her husband had finally decided to join her in their marriage bed
,
she smiled seductively and pur
red, “I was beginning to worry that y
ou
did
no
t
desire your bride.” She reached out to him and pulled his face down to hers.
His lips found hers in a kiss fill
ed with
longing
and passion. Lynna smiled as he
swiftly removed her nightgown and sighed
deep in her throat as he crushed
her against his broad chest. Thank God! She
would not
have to pretend to enjoy making love to her husband. His touch thrille
d her, making her body squirm beneath his and yearn for more
.
Lynna turned on her side and pressed her soft,
warm torso against his. Wrapping her arms around his
neck and
h
er leg
around his waist, she behaved
like a woman starved, for she was.
Placing his hand on her hip, he gently pushed her to her back and nudged her knees apart with his thigh and entered her. Neither of them could hold out for more than a few strokes, and they desperately clung to each other as they found their glorious release. After several minutes had passed, he rolled to the side and raised up on his elbow. Burying his face in her hair
,
he breathed, “Lynna, you
don’t
know how long
I have
waited for this moment.”
His voice immediately froze her ebbing passion. She knew the voice immediately. “Joshua! It
cannot
be…turn me loose and get out of my room at once!”
“Yes, my love!
It is
me! At long last,
I have
finally found you,” he whispered against her throat. “After an endless search
,
you were right at my own front door.”
“Get out,” she cried, enraged that he would leave Suzanne’s bed and think to slither into hers. “I am a married woman
,
and if you
do not
leave this room immediately
,
I will
…
I will
scream for my husband!”
“Go ahead, my sweet, but neither your husband nor anyone else at Eden will come to your rescue, so save your breath,” he replied sharply, angered both by her rejection and hearing her refer to another man as her husband. “By the way, your dear husband is passed out cold on the sofa.”
So, Joshua knew her own husband did not desire her and was callously throwing it in her face. She wanted to claw his eyes out of their sockets for the pain he had caused, and was continuing to cause her.
“Do you want everyo
ne in this house to know what a
vile, disgusting cretin you are? Do
n’t you
care what people think of you?”
“I care not what others think,” he answered
harshly.
She opened her mouth to scream, but he clamped his hand over her mouth and said in a lethal voice
,
“
I am
going to make love to you, again, Lynna.
I have
thought of nothing else since the day of the Harvest Ball
,
and what just transpired was far too hasty for my liking. I will have you. If you try to scream and alarm Michael or the servants
,
I will
use force if necessary. It makes little difference to me one way or the other,” he lied, but Lynna
didn’t
know it. He would never harm a hair on her head, but he certainl
y did not have fighting
on his mind right now.
She stared at him, too terrified to move or speak, but her mind worked furiously. She knew she
could not
depend on her husband to arrive and save her; he would be useless in his inebriated state. Nor was her strength any match for Joshua’s, but there had to be a way to stop him. And what was he doing in Jamaica
,
anyway? In this house? How did he find her? “Joshua, please
do not
do this. I beg of you. You told me once that rape was a heinous crime against women.”
“It will not
be rape,” he growled. “And you damn well know it!”
“What do you call it then, when you force yourself on me against my will?”
“I call it giving us both what we desire.
Do not
deny it. After what we just shared
,
you
cannot
deny you desire me,” he said upon seeing her open her mouth to protest. “You
cannot
lie to me, Lynna.”
“Joshua,
I am
a married woman now,” she whispered brokenly. “What gives you the right to take by force that what belongs to another man?
“You belong to me!” he insisted, shaking her roughly by the shoulder, his emerald eyes blazing. “
Do not
ever say otherwise! You have since that first night on my ship, Lynna.”
“Joshua,” she began, but stopped, losing the will to fight. What was the point of trying to make him listen? “Then get it over with,” she snapped
,
close to tears. “Satisfy your lust and leave!”
“Satisfy my lust, indeed!” Joshua calmed down somewhat and smiled wickedly. He would enjoy making her beg.
He knelt beside the bed and leisurely kissed his way up her leg
,
feeling her tremble as he neared her tightly clenched thighs. She relaxed somewhat when his mouth moved down the opposite leg, only to draw in her breath sharply when his tongue flicked the tender spot beneath her ankle. She steeled herself against his sensuous onslaught, praying
that
it would be over soon. Clenching her teeth
,
she remained perfectly still, willing her body not to respond as he left a burning trail across her stomach towards her breast. One
traitorous moan escaped when
his mouth traveled to her neck without touching her throbbing breasts. She willed her hands not to pull his head back to the throbbing peaks.
Please!
Let me be strong enough to withstand this torture and not give in to him!
“Tell me you want me, Lynna!” he demanded huskily.
“Never! I want only to be left alone.”
His tongue went to her ear
,
where he nibbled the tender lobe as his warm breath served to further weaken her resistance. But she
would not
admit defeat, even as she silently cursed her betraying body. His soft lips outlined her own
,
causing them to part, allowing his tongue to dart through her smooth
,
even teeth and bring the desired response. “Tell me you want me, Lynna.”
She cooled instantly. “You black
-
hearted seadog! I want no part of you!”
Grinning
,
he blew warm breath on the rosy peaks of her full breast
s
as she bit her lip to keep from crying out and dug her nails into her palms. She knew she was fighting a losing battle and why resist something she wanted so badly? Something her body craved? He continued to explore her body for what seemed like hours. When his soft mouth at last closed over her hardened nipple, his teeth nibbling and tugging ever so gently, she lost the will to fight.
“Oh, Joshua,” she
moaned. “I cannot stand another moment
of this torture.”
“Tell me you want me,”
“I want you
,
Joshua!” she cried. “I want you! All of you! Now!”
Her body was on fire, every nerve alive to his touch. She arched against him as her hands mov
ed to press him into her eager
body. Her hands on his buttocks pressed harder still as their passion climbed before slowly and, oh, so sweetly
,
they were wrapped in the dizzying aftermath of their love. Joshua rolled to his side as a silent tear slid down her cheek. How could she be so wanton in Joshua’s arms when she was wed to another? If only Joshua were her husband she would be the happiest woman alive.
Her tears were too much for Josh
ua. “What is wrong now, Lynna
?”
“How can you ask me that?” she cried
, angry he wasn’t as distraught over the situation as she was
. “Do you have no feelings?”
“I fear my feeling are too strong.” He brushed her tear away and caressed the line of her jaw. “I love you, Lynna.”
How she had longed to hear him say those very words, but they came too late.
They were both wed to others and s
he
would not
fall under his spell again
.
This night of passion would have to last them for an eternity.
“Did Suzanne present you with a son or daughter?”
“There was no child,” he answered testily.
“What do you mean there was no child? Did she miscarry?”
“There was never a child
to miscarry.” His fists were clenched as he ground out, “Suzanne fabricated the lie to coerce me into marriage. When she failed to conceive by her husband after the marriage, she turned to others.
“I cannot credit that even Suzanne could be so devious!”
“You
r eyes do not deceive you, Lynna.
”
“You saw her?” Lynna cried with stunned disbelief. “With your own eyes?”
“I caught her with the
s
table boy. She cried rape, but
I had
been following her for days.” His voice was unforgiving. “I gave her an ultimatum. She could either grant me an annulment or I would guarantee her a scandal
the likes of which
her family would never crawl out from under.”
Joshua was free from his vows to Suzanne and he l
oved her, but s
he was no longer a free woman. Lynna’s tears flowed in earnest as she pondered this wicked turn of fate.
“There now, dry you
r
eyes and com
e here.” Joshua
cradled her he
ad on his
chest and stroked her hair. “Do you love me, Lynna?” he questioned, catching her off guard.
“Joshua, I...” she faltered.
“Answer me truthfully! I must know!”
“Yes
,
Joshua. Yes, I do love you. I have always loved you. I would have never married Michael had I known of Suzanne’s lies and
treachery. But it is too late…
”
“No,
it is
not too late! You love me. That’s all that matters.” He hugged her so hard she feared her ribs would crack.
They slept then, holding each other close
, afraid to let go. Each afraid the other would disappear with the bright light of morning. Sometime in the early morning hours
,
Joshua’s voice penetrated the fog of her deep, satisfied sleep. “
I will
wait for you to come to me tonight.”
She mumbled sleepily, “You, sir, will have an awfully long wait.” Snuggling deeper under the covers
,
she returned to her dream world, not sure whether his rumbling laughter had been real or imagined.
When she awoke the next morning
,
Sadie, the cook, reported that Michael had taken an overnight trip into town. She found Joshua and Crystal on the verandah chatting as if they
had
known each other for years. “Good morning, Lynna,” Crystal chirped.
“Good morning, my…um…
Lynna.” Joshua beamed as his eyes swept the entire length of her.
“Good morning, Crystal. Joshua,
I see
you have
met my adorable stepdaughter.”
“Uncle Joshua already knew me,” Crystal laughed merrily. “He
didn’t
just meet me.”
“I see,” Lynna said, puzzled. “Evidently you have visited Eden before, Captain Jordan?”
“Uncle Joshua doesn’t visit,” Crystal giggled, finding L
ynna’s questions hilarious
. “He owns Eden.”
“You own Eden!” Lynna was
so caught off guard by the child’s statement that
she almost dropped her coffee cup. “But…but… how can that be?”
“Simple. I purchased the plantation several years ago at auction. Michael was already the overseer, so he continued under my employ, him and this little cherub.”
“What did you bring me
,
Uncle Joshua?” Crystal wheedled, throwing her arms around his neck in a tight hug.
“As a matter of fact
,
there is
a box on my bed that I brought for someone, but I cannot for the life of me remember who? Let me see, if I think hard enough perhaps it will come to me.”
“It was me!” Crystal squealed with delight and took off running. “You brought it for me!”
The door slammed loudly behind her.
“You never mentioned you owned property in Jamaica,” Lynna said, after the elated child had raced up the stairs.
“You never asked. There are still several things about me you have
no
t yet discovered,
my love
.” Then, he was too busy listening to the squeals of delight erupting from Crystal to finish their discussion. The child immediately plopped down on his lap, opened the box filled with a paper doll and numerous paper dresses, and consulted Joshua’s opinion on which frock the doll should be attired in for the noontime meal.
After over an hour of play
,
Crystal asked, “Uncle Joshua, will you come to the beach with Lynna and me today? Pretty please?”
“I can think of nothing I would enjoy better than spending a day at the beach with my two favorite girls.” He laughed as he lifted her in his arms. “Let’s go ask Sadie to pack a lunch and we
will
be off.”
The day on the beach with Joshua far surpassed any other day Lynna had spent in this lush tropical paradise. Joshua rolled up his breeches and waded in the water with Crystal, taking her hands to jump the incoming waves. The threesome walked for miles up the beach and found several perfect spiral shells, which were presented to Lynna to add to her collection. After their walk, they picnicked under the shade at the edge of the sand and Lynna and Joshua gazed with longing into each other’s eyes while Crystal frolicked in the nearby surf. Watching Joshua with Crystal, Lynna marveled at what a wonderful father he would make someday. If only he could father her children. What a wonderful life that would be.