She certainly hoped so or she would have a lot of trouble fitting in with them. “I didn’t know Catherine would ask for me, I mean, for her reading.”
“She misses Mama.”
Hannah knew he didn’t mean to say she was a substitute mother, but it sure felt that way. She pushed aside the silly notion that everything revolved around her. The Grahams had suffered a lot and she needed to stop thinking of herself.
“I won’t ever be able to take your mother’s place, but I hope I can be part of this family.”
He looked surprised. “You already are.”
She shook her head. “No, I’m not, but I’m trying.” With that, she turned to the sink and busied herself filling another bucket. When she turned around a few minutes later, he was gone.
At least the day was nearly over.
Matt stood outside on the porch with Caleb at his side. The night air was cool on his skin, a much needed sensation after the supper that had turned into a fiasco.
“That could have gone better,” Caleb said drily.
“Thanks for helping out there, brother.”
“Livy has a bee in her bonnet about your wife, Catherine is stuck to her like a cocklebur, and Eva seems to like her.” Caleb held up his hands. “I’m not getting in the middle of all that.”
“I’m living in it. Knee deep in it.” No matter what Matt did, it was the wrong thing. “I need to get to Houston with her to sign those papers. If it ain’t raining, we’ll go on Monday. I don’t want to wait any longer.”
“I don’t blame you. You want me to come?”
“No, not this time. I need you here.” Matt figured the trip alone with Hannah might help fix things between them, too.
The brothers went to the barn and checked the animals, making sure they were settled for the night. The darkness surrounded them as the night creatures began to sing. It was peaceful, at least temporarily. Caleb disappeared with Lorenzo, leaving Matt to return to the house alone.
It was time to go to his new bedroom and his new wife. He took a deep breath and headed back into the house.
The kitchen was empty, everything cleaned and put away. He walked down the hallway, feeling his heart thump with each step. The door was closed without any light shining beneath it. Matt took a deep breath and opened the door.
In a splash of moonlight coming through the curtains, he could see she was curled up in a corner of the bed, only her hair visible above the quilt. Since it was barely nine o’clock, he didn’t know if she was truly sleeping or just avoiding him.
Either way, he didn’t think he would be enjoying his marriage bed that night. As he began to undress, the reality of sleeping in this room hit him. The room wasn’t his and neither was the bed. The only thing in the room he could claim was currently hiding or sleeping under the covers.
He closed his eyes and thought about how important it was to his family to expand the ranch, to do what his father had intended to do. Reminding himself this was just a room, and his parents were never going to use it again, didn’t really help. Matt stood there with his shirt untucked and his fists clenched, unable to proceed or retreat.
What had started as a simple act of preparing for bed turned into a battle between his heart and his head. The unexpectedness of life shouldn’t surprise him, but it always did.
“Matt?” Hannah’s soft voice was like an angel’s whisper. He sucked in a breath and was finally able to move. “Sorry if I woke you, Hannah.” Even his voice sounded odd.
“I was just dozing. Are you okay? You were just standing there like a statue.” She must not be too angry with him; at least she was concerned about him and actually speaking to him.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just this room. I haven’t slept in it before.” He couldn’t quite tell her how he’d been overcome with emotion and unable to take off his shirt. He’d been embarrassed enough for the day. He fumbled with the buttons on his shirt.
“You haven’t?” There was a pause and then she spoke again. “Oh, Matt, I didn’t realize.”
The covers rustled and her hand pressed against the center of his back. Heat flowed from her into him and within seconds, he wasn’t frozen any longer. In fact, he was too hot.
He turned around to face her and although she was only a shadow in the night, he could smell her, would have known it was Hannah even if he hadn’t heard her voice. When he pulled her flush against him, her softness melded with his hardness. Matt knew he needed to talk to her, to find some peace between them after the crazy antics of supper, but at that moment, nothing could have stopped him from kissing her.
Her lips were as soft as the rest of her, pliant beneath his, moving with them as he explored her mouth. His cock turned into a hammer, pounding at her stomach, wanting to be let out and satisfied. Matt should have gone slower, he should have taken care of seducing her, but he didn’t.
Within seconds, his clothes were on the floor along with her cotton nightdress and their skin was touching head to toe. It was incredible, indescribably wonderful.
“Oh my.” Her breathy whisper skittered across his neck, raising goose flesh.
He scooped her up and set her on the bed, then climbed on top of her. If he thought standing naked near her felt good, lying on her was enough to make him come immediately. It was only through sheer force of will that he didn’t.
Matt wanted to savor every second with Hannah in bed. It was the first time for them in their new room and he wanted this first memory to be a good one.
He kissed her jaw, making his way to her neck. She trembled as he nibbled and kissed a path down her neck to her collarbone. For some reason he found the hollow there interesting and spent time exploring the expanse of skin. She must’ve grown restless because she shifted beneath him and made a sighing noise.
Reminding himself to go back to that sweet spot later, he moved to her breasts. Ah, what a treasure they had been to discover. He’d had no idea what had been hidden behind her plain dress. They were the perfect size for his hand, and her nipples grew instantly hard when touched. She was obviously made for loving, so inherently passionate, he counted his lucky stars her name was Hannah and that she was his.
While he cupped her left breast, his mouth closed around the right. This time she moaned and then squeaked when he nipped at her. Hannah was a treasure and she didn’t even know it. He switched breasts, pleasuring her and himself until he could wait no longer. His cock throbbed with each beat of his heart, wanting and needing more.
He raised himself up and kissed her, spreading her legs with his knees. She opened up to him like a flower waiting to be pollinated. As his cock touched those hidden petals, he groaned at the wetness and heat that greeted him. Hannah pulled at his shoulders when he paused. If he didn’t think he’d explode, he might have laughed at how impatient she was.
He sank into her softness and shook with the raw pleasure coursing through him. She’d been made for him, the perfect size, the perfect fit, the perfect everything. She might not know it yet, but Matt did. He almost lost control once he was fully sheathed inside her.
After a moment’s pause to regain his wits, Matt began to move, slowly at first. She picked up his rhythm and pushed up as he thrust down. As natural as could be, she was in tune with everything he did. It was astonishing, and if he had a thought in his head, he would have been frightened by the implications.
She tugged on his shoulders again and he picked up his pace. Her channel grew tighter with each thrust. His balls tingled as his release grew closer. He wanted her to experience pleasure too, so he lifted himself up in order to reach between them. Her clit was swollen, begging for his touch.
At the first flick of his fingers, she arched her back and gasped. He thrust faster and faster, pleasuring her clit as her tightness pleasured his cock. She was so slippery he couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Come on, honey, come fly with me.” The guttural voice didn’t even sound like his.
She arched again, squeezing around him like a vise. “Matthew.” Her whispered scream went straight to his balls and the world exploded around him.
Pure ecstasy flooded him as he pumped into her again and again. He held onto the bed for fear he’d truly fly away from the pleasure, the likes of which he’d never experienced.
His teeth buzzed in his head, every limb tingled and he was still hard, buried deep inside her. He pressed his forehead to hers and caught his breath.
When he could finally form a coherent thought, he rolled off her, almost groaning when he left the warmth of her body. Matt pulled her close until they were spooned together on the bed. He was asleep within minutes, his new wife’s heart beating against his.
The best laid plans never come to fruition if Mother Nature has her way. Although Hannah knew the land grant deadline was approaching, they hadn’t been able to get away from the ranch because of problems. First there were missing cattle, which took nearly half a day to find in a secluded valley on their neighbor’s property. Then, two of the new calves got sick, and Matt seemed to have a magic touch with the tiny bovines.
Before Hannah knew it, four days had flown past and things were still unsaid between them. After their first night at the ranch, she had been asleep before Matt even came to bed; then he was up before the sun. They hadn’t been close again, at least no closer than sleeping beside each other.
Thank God Eva had taken her under her wing. The things she’d learned in the kitchen, what people on a ranch ate, how to make things like tamales, filled her days. She helped to clean, do laundry, and tried to lend a hand with the children.
Yet she didn’t feel at home yet. Perhaps it was Olivia’s ongoing hostility, the fact that Nicholas and Rebecca ignored her, or maybe it was that she couldn’t find her place. No matter what she did or didn’t do, nothing was quite right.
Granny was there to talk to but she’d taken to spending a great deal of time in the kitchen with Eva. They obviously had a lot in common and Hannah didn’t begrudge them their friendship. Truthfully, without the boarders to take care of or Granny’s company, Hannah was lonely.
She woke up Thursday morning without her husband. Again. She dragged her feet a bit washing up and getting dressed. Breakfast was likely just getting started, judging by the gray light of dawn coming through the window. Matt hadn’t slept in their bed the night before, which just made her feel worse. Hannah knew he’d been taking care of a sick calf, but that didn’t make the situation better. She couldn’t help thinking he cared more for the animal than his wife.
Self-pity didn’t become her and she tried to stop it from creeping into her thoughts. Hannah needed to find something to do, so she would feel useful.
When she arrived in the kitchen, Rebecca and Elizabeth were already there. Both of them murmured a greeting and then returned to their chores of making breakfast. Eva was nowhere to be seen, but the girls were busy making cornpone and some kind of hash.
“Anything I can do to help?” Hannah noted the shoulder on Elizabeth’s dress was missing a few stitches.
“No.” Rebecca looked at her sister. “Thank you anyway.”
At least they weren’t hostile like Olivia, but they were not nearly as friendly as Catherine. Hannah went over to the stove and checked the coffee pot. It was nearly ready so she replaced the top and turned to the sink to get some cold water to settle the grounds.
Elizabeth stood there, pinning her with those same greenish blue eyes Matt had. “Eva don’t want you messing with the coffee.”
“I was just taking a peek.” Hannah managed a weak smile. “I’m good with a needle. I can fix your dress for you.”
Elizabeth’s expression softened with surprise and she fingered her shoulder. “Really? Eva can’t sew worth a darn. Mama always—well, none of us learned how.”
Rebecca stared at her. “You can sew?”
This time, Hannah genuinely smiled. “Yes, I can. Granny taught me from the time I was a little girl. I have my sewing box with me.”
Rebecca disappeared down the hallway at a run. She reappeared moments later with a large basket in her hands. It was obviously well used but in good shape. When she grinned, Elizabeth did, too.
Rebecca set the basket on the big table. “She can sew!”
They danced around the table chanting a silly song about sewing. Hannah laughed along with them, her heart so much lighter than it had been five minutes earlier.
“¿Que pasa, hijas?”
Eva walked into the kitchen, her brow furrowed.
“Hannah can sew.” Rebecca pointed at the basket.
Eva’s gaze snapped to hers. “Truly?”
“Yes, I’m right handy with a needle.” Hannah almost wanted to do a dance herself.
“
Dios mio,
Hannah. I’ve got a pile almost as high as Catherine that needs fixing.” Eva took her hand. “You stay right there. Girls, get back to cooking.”
Elizabeth and Rebecca jumped to do their duties while Hannah took the large sewing basket and started looking through it. By the time breakfast was ready, Hannah had already fixed two shirts and darned a pair of socks.