Caden's Vow (15 page)

She nodded. “I don’t know why. It just kind of feels good.”

“Real good or a little good?”

“Little good.”

So he needed a bit more pressure. “Wonderful. Let’s see if we
can add to that little good now.”

She was like a banked fire in his arms. All it would take was
the right touch, the right persuasion, and she’d burn out of control. He wanted
to find that for her, that spark that would crackle into flame.

Rolling onto his back until she was propped above him, her
pussy cushioning his cock, he whispered, “Come here, baby.”

She went, her mouth finding his with an enthusiasm that had him
pushing up. “That’s it.”

She licked her lips, giving him a view of that little pink
tongue. He had visions of it stroking across his cock. He groaned as her hips
wiggled on his. Her eyes widened as the sensation streaking through him shot
through her. He smiled into her face.

“You have that effect on me. You make me crazy, baby.”

“Any woman could do that.”

He shook his head. “I’m not saying I don’t enjoy bed sport as
much as the next man, but lately fucking for fucking’s sake just doesn’t work
for me. I find—” he pushed loose tendrils of hair back from her face, taking her
braid in his hand as she propped herself above his chest, working the tie free
before slowly sorting the strands out “—that I’ve been wanting something
special, someone special.”

“I’m not special.”

He shook his head at her. “That’s for me to decide.”

“But I get to find—”

This time he put his finger over her mouth more firmly. “You’re
my wife. Our future starts here, and I need you to pay attention, because I want
to do this right so it’s a good beginning, so when you look back and our
daughter asks you what to expect on her wedding night, you’ll smile.”

“Oh, dear.”

“What?”

She shook her head, her nails digging into his chest. “Hold
me.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

He did. “I’ll do better than that. I’m going to love you.”

He worked her pantaloons over her hips, pushing them down until
he could catch them with his toes, taking them the rest of the way off. She lay
passively on top of him when he wanted fire. Sliding his hands down her back, he
cupped them on the inside of her thighs and pulled them apart, nestling his cock
between, pushing up until she was sitting in his lap, his cock still trapped in
his pants, pressing hard against her pussy. He rocked his hips, catching her
gasp in his mouth as the rough fabric of his trousers abraded her
intimately.

“Feels good?”

She nodded and gasped, “Very good.”

He groaned when she wiggled. It’d been a long time for him and
she was so hot, so sexy.

“Easy, honey.”

In response she wiggled again.

“Fuck.”

She laughed.

“Wench.”

She leaned down and whispered in his ear, “You have too many
clothes on.”

So he did. Setting her to the side, he stripped so fast a
button popped. Before he could come back down, she reached out and caught his
cock in her hand. He covered hers with his, shaking his head.

“This time’s for you.”

She looked at him and smiled a witchy smile that sank deep into
his lust, stoking it almost as much as her throaty “I know.”

She didn’t let go of his cock. Instead, she moved that soft
hand up and down his shaft, from base to tip, palming the head, coaxing a bead
of pre-come to the tip. It’d take a better man than him to move right then. He
closed his eyes and let her have her way. He expected her to touch him with a
whore’s practiced hand, but instead she seemed to be experimenting, even
playing, and he realized for her this was another first. Enjoying a man rather
than servicing him.

She looked up. It was his turn to smile. “Nothing better than
your hand on my cock.”

She licked her lips, those full lips, and dropped her lashes
over her eyes. Though she leaned in and he’d seen her take another, he’d swear
that shyness wasn’t feigned. And maybe it wasn’t. He was far from a virgin, but
he felt shy with her. Because this mattered. He stopped her before her mouth
could touch him. One touch of those lips and it would all be over for him, and
there was a whole lot of pleasure he wanted to give her before that
happened.

“Later.” At her look he explained, “I want to taste you
first.”

She blinked.

“Hasn’t anyone ever tasted that sweet pussy of yours?”

She shook her head.

“Ah, honey, we’re going to have so much fun.” A twist of his
body was all it took to flip her over onto the bedroll. Her hair tumbled about
her face, adding a luminosity to her eyes. Peace surrounded by fire. He leaned
down and kissed her.

“Maddie mine.” Trailing that kiss across her cheek to her neck
and her shoulder. Her nipples pressed against his chest, little points of heat.
More evidence of that fire he wanted to coax from her. He worked his way down,
sliding one hand under her thigh, wrapping it around his hips, getting her to
hold on to him, to cling to him.

When she moaned, he whispered, “Good girl.”

“I’m not a child.”

He cupped her full breast in his hand, plumping the nipple to
his mouth. “No, you’re not, but you’re still good.”

She moaned and nodded. He drew on her nipple hard. She arched
off the ground, giving him the opportunity to slide his hand under her back and
press her closer still.

He worked her nipple with his tongue and his lips until her
moans grew higher, rougher, and then he worked it harder, adding the edge of his
teeth, making her burn for him.

“Good, baby?”

She was so lost he didn’t think she’d heard him, but then there
was that little smile and her hands wrapped in his hair, pulling him closer
still. He kissed his way over to the other breast, pinching that nipple first,
snapping it to attention, starting the fire going there before curling his
tongue around it and drawing it into the heat of his mouth. Maddie dug her heels
into his back, pulling him closer. His cock ground against the roughness of the
blankets when he wanted the heat and silk of her pussy. He’d get there
eventually. But first...

He kissed his way down her stomach, following the dip as she
sucked in her breath, nibbling when he got to her navel, circling it with his
tongue, pressing down with his chest, pinning her as he slipped one arm and then
the other under her knees, lifting her legs over his shoulders, exposing her to
him.

Her pussy lips were plump and covered with fine red hair.
Between, the sweetest of pink greeted his eyes, wet and moist—not nearly wet
enough, though. He wanted her dripping for him, screaming for him before he took
her.

Her scent rose to his nostrils. Musky, clean, sweet woman. He
couldn’t believe nobody’d ever loved this pussy. It was so perfect. The inner
petals as delicate as her spirit, sweet, sexy... His.

As he leaned in, she tugged at his hair. He ignored the order
and placed his tongue against the little V surrounding her clit, working inside,
licking it and rubbing it, coaxing that bundle of nerves tight, feeling the
tension radiate through her legs. Bracing his hands on the back of her knees, he
pushed her legs back farther, arching her up to his mouth, exposing all of her,
keeping her open and vulnerable to the assault of his tongue and teeth. He loved
her tenderly and sweetly, following her moans and her gasps, giving her more
pressure, more joy, feeling that first delicious tension enter her muscles.
Waiting as it built, hearing the desperate gasp that signaled she was teetering
on the edge before he sucked her clit into his mouth and clamped it with his
teeth, he felt the shock go through her, heard the scream rip out of her as her
first orgasm pulsed through her body. He lapped at her clit as she convulsed,
drinking her cream, his cock swollen to bursting as she sobbed his name. Sweet.
So sweet.

He continued to suckle lightly until the last ripple shuddered
through her and she was pushing at him, twisting away because she thought it was
too much. She had yet to learn that it could never be enough. She could never
come enough for him.

He did, however, gentle his approach, focusing more on the
outer lips as he coaxed her back into the fire, sliding his finger gently into
her pussy, feeling it clench down around him, working his way back up to her
clit again, just resting his tongue against it until she stopped shivering, and
then he began to work her in earnest, slipping another finger into her pussy
when she lifted up, fucking her slowly as he sucked her swollen clit.

“What are you doing to me?” she asked, her fingers raking over
his shoulders, drawing blood. The pain just added to the passion. Fuck, he
needed to be in her.

“Loving you.” He kissed his way back up her body, biting at her
stomach and her breasts, kissing her mouth.

She opened her legs to him immediately. The instinctive
submission soothing that wild part of him that wanted to fuck her so hard she’d
be feeling him for a week, giving him the strength to find tenderness. The thick
head of his cock slid over her clit before settling into the well of her pussy,
and for a second she stiffened.

He kissed her cheeks, her nose, her eyes.

“No, honey. Just more pleasure.”

She opened her eyes; he saw the fear in them and then saw the
trust push it away. His Maddie mine, who should have been broken beyond repair,
reaching out to him. He cupped her head in his hands and rested his forehead
against hers as he slowly, gently joined them.

“Mine.” The word whispered out on a breath so soft he didn’t
know if she heard. Her pussy was hot and tight, liquid fire surrounding his
cock. He wanted to hold back. He wanted to make it last, but it was too much. He
started to withdraw, gritting his teeth against the need to plunge wildly.

“Come with me.”

She shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Yes.” He dropped his hand between them, settled his thumb on
her clit. It was still swollen and hot and wet. He rubbed in time with his
strokes, starting out slow, feeling the tingles rush up his spine, the tensing
in his balls, as the need to come, to fill her with his seed, to brand her his
overwhelmed him. He fought it back, wanting her with him all the way. Wanting to
come with her this first time. Wanting it to be perfect.

Her breath caught, her back arched.

“That’s it.”

He fucked her harder. She pulled him closer. Him riding her,
she riding him. Both of them striving for the moment when they both had what
they wanted. Him, her, each other, possession.

The climax flashed over him like fire, drawing her name from
his lips. Her pussy clamped around his cock as her body convulsed, tearing his
seed from his balls. She whispered his name on a soundless scream and he
exploded, his world narrowing to this moment, this woman. His lover. His
wife.

His Maddie.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

F
OR
THE
FIRST
time in her memory,
Maddie woke up feeling content. She smiled and took a deep breath, breathing in
Caden’s scent and the reality of being naked in his arms and feeling good about
it. He made her feel safe. She thought back to the night before, the passion,
the tenderness, the kissing. Reaching up, she touched her fingers to his lips.
She did love kissing. Against her fingers, his lips pulled into a smile. She
stretched up, he leaned down and she got to kiss again.

“Such a marvelous thing,” she murmured against his mouth.

“What?”

“Kissing.”

His fingers touched her temple and slid down to her ear before
moving with that familiar caress to the nape of her neck.

“And the other?”

“That’s probably the most amazing thing of all,” she said. “I
never liked that before.”

“No surprise.”

“But I like it with you.” She smiled. “It feels natural.”

“Natural?”

“Like it’s the way it should be.”

“Like maybe you were made to burn for me, baby.”

There was a time when that kind of talk would have made her
uncomfortable, but with her pussy still feeling the imprint of his cock, and her
nipples so tender from his kisses, it was hard to be uncomfortable with
anything. She was like warm porridge, all mushy and gushy on the inside.

She slipped her arms around his neck. Against her will the
words just slipped past her lips. “I love you.”

“Aw.” This time when he kissed her it was more passionate, and
this time she responded without hesitation, her legs parting as he settled
between them, taking his cock easily into her body, moaning as she stretched
deliciously around him. Not a bit of dread in her, just a lot of expectation.
She knew where this was going to lead and it was heaven.

She dug her heels into the ground and pushed up. His fingers
twisted in her hair and pulled her head back, his mouth found her neck, her
collarbone, the top of her breast, skimming the surface until he reached her
nipple, taking it into his hot mouth even as his cock pushed farther into her
hot pussy.

Heat. Everywhere there was heat. He moaned her name. She sighed
his, opening her body and soul to him, giving him the emotion that was pouring
through her. He was her husband. She belonged to him. She’d never be alone
again. It was good, so good.

His finger found her clit and rubbed. Fire streaked through her
body. His teeth found her nipple and bit ever so delicately, just enough to
bring her to that edge. He thrust harder, bit harder, rubbed harder, not giving
her a break, sending her catapulting into that maelstrom of emotion. She
embraced it with everything she had, coming hard, screaming his name, forgetting
about everything, where they were, who she was, Ace, Hell’s Eight, everything.
There was only Caden and the way he made her feel. Perfect. Just perfect.

When it was over, he was still there, holding her, kissing her,
joined to her, giving her the one thing she’d always wanted: a sense of
belonging. And she clung to it as hard as she clung to him, letting the security
of that pour over her like the morning sun. Bright and strong.

Bella was right. She had needed to find out who she wanted to
be, and who she wanted to be was Caden’s wife. Clenching her pussy around his
softening cock, feeling his seed between her thighs, she smiled. She was most
definitely that.

She didn’t know how long they lay there. It felt like an
eternity in a good way. She didn’t want it to end, but from the woods to the
left there came a lot of stomping and breaking of branches and some very heavy
whistling.

Ace. She grabbed the blanket up to her chest.

Caden laughed. “That, I believe, is Ace trying in his own
discreet way to tell us he’s coming back.”

“Well, tell him to come back a little slower!” She didn’t even
remember where Caden had thrown her clothes. She grabbed her camisole and pulled
it over her head, but she couldn’t find her pantaloons anywhere. Caden, damn his
hide, just sat there and chuckled, watching her. She opened her mouth to yell.
He forestalled her.

“We’ll be with you in a minute, Ace.”

“Well, hurry up, dammit. My stomach’s empty. Not everybody can
live on love.”

Maddie smiled to hear it put that way. Even Ace knew this was
love.

“Where are my pantaloons?” she hissed.

Caden shrugged. “Might want to crawl out and look for
them.”

She started to before she realized his motive. “You just want
to stare at my—” She blushed. She actually blushed.

“Your ass? You’re damn right.” He pointed to the foot of the
bedroll. “Wouldn’t hurt my feelings at all if you crawled on down to the bottom
there to start your search.”

“I’ll do no such thing!” Not with Ace standing just on the
other side of the bushes. She sat and untangled herself from the covers before
getting to her feet. Before she was halfway upright, Caden slapped her on the
butt. The tingle went right through her and she gasped. His hand lingered,
stroking over the sting.

“Like that, huh?”

What was the point of lying? His fingers slipped around and
tested her clit with a touch so delicate, her knees almost buckled. He smacked
her butt again.

“Oh, yeah, you do.” He grinned a devil’s grin that just made
her want to kiss him. “We’ll have to experiment with that a little bit
later.”

Her clit or spanking? She didn’t know which, but then again,
she didn’t care. Maybe it’d be both. She’d never been spanked before, and it
wasn’t something she thought she’d enjoy, but there was no denying the heat that
ripped through her with that swat, and since the one who’d be doing the spanking
would be Caden...

She eyed him lying there on the blanket like a pagan god,
another blanket just barely covering his modesty, his wide shoulders, broad
chest, well-muscled stomach and that intriguing line of hair that went from his
navel down to... Licking her lips, she reached forward and twitched the blanket
off him. His cock rose before her eyes, filling and expanding to its impressive
size.

She curled her fingers around it, smiling at him.

“I think we’ll have to.”

He moaned and pulled her down across his lap, pushing her
thighs aside so his cock slid between, tucking up against her pussy before he
slapped her three times hard on her ass. His fingers dipped between her cheeks,
finding her pussy wet with their come, taking their juices and sliding them back
to her asshole. She’d been violated there before, but this wasn’t a violation.
This was seduction, and what hurt before made her gasp with pleasure now as he
circled the tight hole, inching his finger in, holding her down until she was
taking it all, drawing it out before shoving it back in, stretching her to his
pleasure. Making her feel.

“God, baby, you make me burn.”

She moaned in response.

“Tell me you like that.” It was all she could do to nod. He
pumped his finger in and out two or three times, letting her imagine how it
would be if it was his cock. More stomping came from the woods. His finger
withdrew. Her ass clenched on air, wanting it back. Another slap on her ass,
this one more tender, followed by a soothing rub.

“Stop seducing me, woman. We’ve got company.”

He rolled her off his lap, laughing as she pushed her hair out
of her face and glared at him. He dragged her forward for a kiss. Reaching
underneath him, he handed her her pantaloons. She snatched them from him, fire
in her cheeks, fire in her eyes, everything about her burning.

She just had time to pull her dress over her head and turn her
back and button it before Ace came out of the woods. She quickly stuffed her
pantaloons down her bodice.

“You could have given us a few more minutes,” Caden said.

“Hell, if I gave you a few more minutes, my stomach would be
gnawing on my backbone. Besides, no matter how long I gave you two, I can see it
wouldn’t be enough.”

Embarrassment and desire warred for dominance inside Maddie.
“I’m going to go to the creek and wash up.”

Ace handed her a pot. “I’ll make some oatmeal if you fill that
up.”

She grabbed it along with some soap and disappeared down to the
water. She made short work of cleaning up, braiding her hair quickly, washing
her face and arms, between her legs and under her arms, freshening as best she
could until the day warmed up and a swim would be comfortable. Then she’d have
Caden come down with her and guard her while she took a full bath. She imagined
how he’d look sitting on the bank. Those gray-blue eyes of his studying her,
looking so beautiful in the sunshine. Maybe she’d invite him in and bathe him,
too.

Heavens, she was turning into a wanton woman, something she’d
often been called but had never had a clue as to what it really meant. But with
her husband, oh, she defined the word, and it was just another supposedly bad
thing that was incredibly good. With the right person. Caden was correct. The
right person made all the difference

Gathering up her soap before filling the pot with water, as
requested, she hurried back to the campsite. When she was almost to the edge of
the woods, she heard Ace ask Caden, “Did you tell her yet?”

There was a pause before Caden said, “No.”

She assumed he was shaking his head.

“When do you plan on springing it on her?”

“When it’s time.”

“We’re packing up in an hour. You going to wait until she’s on
the horse?”

“She’ll ask herself before then.”

“So why not tell her now?”

She stepped a little closer, wanting to see Caden’s face when
he answered whatever Ace was asking. With a wave of his hand, he said, “She’ll
figure it out long before that.”

“When she does, what are you going to tell her?”

“The truth.”

“Which is?”

“None of your damn business.”

“I’m thinking you should have told her before you made love to
her.”

“Why?”

“So she had a choice.”

“She has a choice.”

“I’m thinking maybe she wouldn’t have wanted to be on the
love-’em-and-leave-’em list.”

“Love ’em and leave ’em?” Caden scoffed.

Inside, the ice started, freezing over her warm glow of
happiness. “What do you call it? You probably spent the whole night making her
depend on you, open up to you, care about you, and six hours from now you’re
going to drop her off in town by herself. How the hell do you think she’s going
to feel?”

“She’s my wife. She’ll be fine.”

“She’s a woman. She’s going to be mad as hell.”

“Then she’ll be mad. It’s the way it’s gotta be.”

“Why, because you say so?”

Caden slammed his hat on his head. “Mind your own business,
Ace.”

Maddie stood there, pot in hand, and let the horrible reality
sink in. He was leaving her?

“Maddie’s Hell’s Eight. She is my business.”

“She’s my wife. My hand trumps yours.”

“Just because you say so doesn’t make it a fact.”

“In this case, it does.”

Maddie took another step into the campsite. Ace and Caden were
facing each other, shoulders set, feet braced. Water sloshed over the pot onto
her foot. It was cold, just adding to the chill taking her over.

“You’re leaving me?” she asked Caden.

“You can’t stay here.”

“Why?”

“It’s not safe.”

“It’s been safe enough for the last two days.”

Caden looked at Ace. Ace folded his arms across his chest;
Caden made a sound like a growl under his breath.

“No, it hasn’t. I didn’t want you to worry, but the Comanche
have been raiding.”

“So? They won’t bother us here.”

Caden ran his fingers through his hair. “Honey, they’d bother
you wherever you were.”

“So we can go to Culbart’s.” Anywhere but a town full of
judgmental people.

“The hell you will.”

“What’s wrong with Culbart’s?”

“He doesn’t have enough men to protect you.”

“He’s got practically an army and he gets along with the
Comanche. He gives them beef.”

A dark expression passed over Caden’s face. “Honey, the anger
these boys are carrying, a few head of beef isn’t going to make any
difference.”

She looked at Ace. He had the same dark expression on his face
that Caden did.

“He’s right. The only place you’ll be safe is in town.”

Damn him for siding with Caden, but what did she expect? They
were like brothers.

“I don’t want to go to town.” Strangers were in town. People
who might know her were in town. Shame was in town.

“You need to go.”

“You’re going to stay with me?”

Caden shook his head. “I can’t leave the claim right now. I
found a place where the collapse made a fresh tunnel. If I can get in there, I
might be able to get to the gold.”

“And that matters.”
Unlike me.

“Honey, that’s our future.”

No. Their future was him and her together.

“You never said you loved me...”

He didn’t say a word, and it suddenly became vitally important
that when she’d told him she loved him, he hadn’t said the words back.

“Aw, hell, Caden,” Ace said.

Ace’s reprimand was like a nail in the coffin of her dreams.
She just shook her head. He’d played her for a fool. And she’d let him.

Without a word, she put the pot on the fire and started packing
up the bedroll. Everything in her waited for Caden to come to her, but he
didn’t. It was worse that Ace was there to see it, but not by much. Not much
could make what was horrible any worse.

When she had the bedrolls rolled up tight and tied closed,
leaving enough rope to tie it to the saddle, she stood.

Caden took a step forward and reached out. “Maddie...”

It was too little too late. She shook her head and clutched the
bedroll to her chest, meeting his gaze dead on, feeling that buzz in the outside
of her mind, unable to touch it the way she used to be able to, unable to escape
and to pretend. She just had to stand here and feel the humiliation and pain
crash over her. She had to endure it, and it was all his fault.