A Woman Worth Marrying Chapter 4

Evening fell and the world around them changed from sounds of muttering to a standstill. The house was quiet as a mouse as Jedidiah made his way up the stairs. His bride had gone to bed hours ago after dinner alone with him. The three others were already snoring and Jedidiah was the only one still up, having been the last one to take a bath. He was standing outside his door with his hand on the door as if trying to feel Annabella. He waited several seconds longer and then opened the door. It was dark and he was met with a chill. The fire had died down and she was probably curled up under those blankets shivering. He closed the door and stubbed his toe against the desk. He saw stars and cursed silently. It hurt like hell and he felt like punching someone. When the pain died down and he was able to walk, limp actually, he made his way to the bed. Sprawled across the bed was his bride wearing a thin cotton gown that barely covered anything. The light of the moon came in through the curtains and he caught her face sleeping in peace. He smiled and walked to the fireplace where he started a fire. He heard rustling and when he turned around, she was up and staring at him. He walked to her and leaned down against the bed. Frightened, she backed up until her back hit the wall.

“What are you doing here?” Annabella asked.

Laughing, he said, “I'm here to sleep. Unless you had other plans.”

“You're not supposed to be in here.”

“But we're husband and wife, dove. Where else am I supposed to sleep?”

She grabbed the covers and wrapped it around herself. Darn. He was having a good time watching her breathe. It made her breasts rise and fall and it sent a thrill straight to his manhood. He waited for her to respond, but when she didn't, he straightened and started unbuttoning his shirt. She gasped and he stopped.

“You can't sleep in here,” she whispered.

“I promise not to touch you, ok? Does that make you feel better?”

“No, it doesn't.”

He sighed and continued unbuttoning his shirt. “Look, I'm tired, Annabella. I'm in dire need of sleep and we can have this conversation tomorrow. Tonight is our wedding night and although this isn't how I imagined my wedding night, it'll have to do. I promise I won't touch you. Mia is right next door and if I break that promise, you can run to her and have her come in and peel my skin off, ok?”

That seemed to settle it because she relaxed and snuggled down into the bed. He kicked off his shoes and slid into the bed. When their feet touched, she yanked hers away and turned her back to him. He moved closer and she moved further away. He moved closer again and she moved further away. This continued until she fell off the bed. The thud startled him and he sat up as she stood up rubbing her head.

“You made me fall off the bed!” she cried.

“So quit moving away from me!”

“You promised not to touch me.”

He laughed. “I didn't even touch you, dove. You moved away by yourself.”

She got back into bed and let out a long sigh. “Behave yourself.”

 

Annabella woke up pressed against warm skin and she yawned. The light of the sun broke through the curtains making it look like she was inside a treasure cove. She sat up and pushed the covers back, swung her legs over the bed, and got up. She walked to the window and pushed the curtains apart. The world outside was gorgeous and the sun was already burning high. She saw Bruce and Hunter outside riding horses. This was going to be her life. When she felt the hands around her waist she gasped and turned around only to meet his lips. The kiss sent her off guard and she grabbed his shoulders to hold onto, but he took it as a sign that she wanted more and deepened the kiss. As if his kiss stroked the fires within her, she felt her body respond. His hands ran up her back and grabbed a handful of her hair, tugging lightly making her groan from deep within her throat. Her fingers found muscles beneath them and when she laid her hands on his chest and felt his heartbeat. When he pulled away from her, breathless, he stared at her with deep passionate eyes that seemed to burn into hers.

“I love how you say good morning, sweetheart,” he said in a raspy whisper.

She blushed and tried to look away, but he grabbed her chin and stilled her. He stared into her eyes and then he leaned down and gave her a kiss that spoke volumes of his desires. He brushed his fingers across her lower lip and she felt him tremble. Then he grabbed her hand and placed it on his heart; it was pounding.

“You feel that, sweetheart? I can charge into any battle field with a clear and open mind, open fire at anyone without a second thought. But when it comes to you, I'm helpless. Last night, I couldn't sleep a wink. All I thought about was tearing off that gown and getting to know you. I never intended to let my bride sleep a wink on her wedding night. But don't think of last night as our wedding night. One of these days, I'm going to show you our real wedding night.”

Annabella felt her heart race and she swallowed hard. Words were unspeakable right now. She only blinked and stared. It was satisfying enough for him because he smiled and started to walk around her slowly. When he got behind her, he leaned down and pushed her hair away from her cheeks. He lowered himself and kissed her softly on her cheek.

“I spent all last night thinking about you, sweetheart. I wondered to myself what kind of lover you are; are you passionate or are you a wild cat? Would you dare to do anything in bed with me? How far would you go to make me feel pleasure? When you're mad, what do you do? And when you undress, do you leave a trail for me to find?”

Annabella sucked in a breath when she felt his tongue flick across her cheek. He steadied her with his hands and pulled her into his arms. She felt his warmth spread through to her and she closed her eyes, leaning against him. It felt right.

“Yes, last night, we weren't husband and wife in the bed yet. But I had a great time dreaming about that little body of yours. I am sure that if you happened to toss your hand accidentally my way, you'd find out that I was ready for you. But know this, Annabella, I respect you as my wife and as my partner. I would never do anything to hurt you and even though I'll be having dirty dreams of you for a long time, I won't do anything to you until you come to me.”

He kissed her hair and then walked out of the room. She stood there with her hands shaking and her breath coming out uneven. She finally crumbled to the ground and let out a deep breath. What kind of man did she marry?

When she had taken control of herself again, she washed and dressed in a plain brown cotton gown. She walked down the stairs to find Mia cooking at the kitchen. Jedidiah was nowhere in sight. She cleared her throat and the woman looked up at her.

“Good morning, dear. How'd you sleep?” she asked.

Walking forward, Annabella said, “I slept fine, thank you. How can I help you?”

“What can you make?”

“I can make pretty much anything.”

Mia smiled. “A woman who can cook, imagine that. Well, if that's the case, would you mind making breakfast? I have to run into town. Can you hold down the fort for a few hours?”

“I think I can.”

With Mia gone, Annabella set on making breakfast. She started with the biscuits and worked on slicing hams. She knew that she had to serve four hungry men and two women. She knew that the men ate twice as the women and so she decided to make enough food to feed to an army. By the time Mia got back from town, the house smelled extra nice.

“You do know how to cook,” Mia said tasting her ham.

“Thank you.”

Mia rang the bell from the porch and Annabella saw the boys walking toward the house. She saw Bruce, Sam, and Hunter, but Jedidiah was nowhere in sight. She set the table and brushed the thought out of her mind. The three entered the house, said their greetings, and went to wash their hands. As soon as they sat down, Bruce clapped his hands together and smiled.

“Boy, you sure outdid yourself today, Mia,” Bruce said.

Mia shook her head. “Not me. All this was Mrs. Jedidiah's doing.”

“And she is making my mouth water.”

Everyone turned to find Jedidiah leaning against the doorway. Annabella's heart did a flip as he walked in, grabbed her around the waist, and kissed her deeply. When he pulled away, he smiled and she saw the twinkle in his eye. She smiled as he let her go and went to wash his hands. When he returned, he pulled a chair for her to sit down. As soon as everyone sat down, no words were said as the food before them was devoured. She could barely contain herself because the entire time she was pretending to eat she felt Jedidiah's eyes on her. When everyone stood up, she began to clear away the table when he stopped her. She looked up at him with questions in her eyes.

“I'll do the dishes, dove. You go have a sit outside. I'll join you soon,” Jedidiah said.

She didn't argue as she left. She couldn't be happier to go. As soon as she got outside, she let out the breath she was holding and found that she wasn't alone. Mia was sitting in the porch swing knitting. Her eyes were on her and she felt herself blush. Mia patted the spot next to her and she walked over slowly. When she had sat down, she swallowed down the lump in her throat and found Mia staring at her.

“What have you done with my boy?” Mia asked.

Blushing, Annabella said, “I haven't done anything, ma'am.”

She raised a finger. “First of all, never call me ma'am. Second, do you really expect me to believe you? I have never seen that boy so smitten with anyone.”

“What do you mean? I'm pretty sure the girls they bring home are far better looking than me.”

Mia put down the knitting and she turned her attention to her. “What do you mean? There ain't been no girls here, but me. The boys don't bring anyone home. It's been a quiet life until you showed up.”

            She looked away and played with her fingers. “Mia, if you are suggesting I had something to do with the break of silence here, you’re wrong. I’m a girl from the wrong side of town and I’ve been ditched by the man I thought loved me. All Jedidiah saw in me was pity. He’s just trying to help me out.”

            Mia laughed. “If I ever heard a good lie that was it. You know Jedidiah doesn’t just stand up for anyone. You really think he would have married you if he didn’t find you the least bit attractive? That boy would never go near marriage with a ten foot pole. He’s said all his life he was never going to marry. Well, last night, he became a married man in one blink of an eye. Tell me you had nothing to do with that, seeing as how you’re the one he married.”

            Annabella turned to look at her. “I’m sorry, Mia, but I haven’t the slightest clue. He married me because he had no choice.”

            “No, he married you because he had a choice. Darling, when are you going to see it? He’s obviously very attracted to you.”

            Annabella lowered her gaze as Jedidiah walked out of the house and into the stable. She watched as he took a horse and straddled it. Then he rode off without looking back and she felt a sadness form in her heart. What did she want him to do? Come kiss her and bid her good-bye before leaving? They were married in name only and they weren’t really husband and wife. He had no feelings for her. Sure he wanted to bed her, but what man didn’t? When it came to the heart, he was stone cold not interested. She looked at her hands and suddenly felt as if she didn’t belong anywhere. It hit her square in the eyes and she took a deep shaky breath.

            “You don’t have to be scared of him, darling. He will never hurt you. He hates men who take women against their will,” Mia said as she continued knitting again.

            Annabella turned to her. “Why?”

            “His whole family was killed about eight years ago when a group of Indians invaded their town. He was only twenty-six years old and he was tied up to a pole as Indians raped his mother and sisters. He was helpless. His father was shot dead the moment they entered their home. They thought he was dead and left him. Bruce found him and nurtured him back to health. The others are from similar backgrounds. When I met them, I’d been raped and beaten. They gave me my life back and I watch over them very closely. So I know what they are like.”

            Annabella swallowed and stared in the direction Jedidiah had rode off in. What kind of damage would she be in if she had been in his place? He seemed to have moved on and built a new life. Could she do the same thing? Could she rebuild her whole life around him? Breathing in a breath, she realized she had been holding, she smiled slowly to herself when she realized she could.

            Evening fell and the evening sky darkened to nothing but twinkles of the star. Annabella stood underneath the big oak tree in the yard waiting for Jedidiah to return. Since he’d ridden off this afternoon, he’d yet to return. She waited and was now feeling uneasy. Did James and his men catch him? Would they kill him? She swallowed and started pacing around. Lunch had been bitter because he wasn’t there and neither were the other three. She felt her heart race as the moments ticked by and wondered why it was taking them so long to return. Finally, after several long paces, she returned home to find Mia eating dinner alone. She felt guilty as she sat down that she had left the woman to eat by herself.

            “I’m sorry, Mia,” she said.

            Mia waved her hand. “No problem, Annabella. I know you’re worried about them. But don’t be. They should be back soon. This is not unusual.”

            She sat down and grabbed a piece of bread to eat. “I’m scared because James threatened them.”

            Laughing, Mia replied, “Something you need to know is that no man threatens the Devil’s Own. They stand their own ground and they never lose a fight. No need to worry about anything. You just eat and take a nice long bath. They’ll be back soon.”

            Taking Mia’s word, Annabella soaked herself in a tub full of lavender smelling flowers and inhaled deeply. She was tired and her feet were aching. It had been a long day of cleaning the house and working in the garden with Mia. The woman was like a mother and it made the longing of her aunt hurt less. She told herself that if Jedidiah could start his life over, then so would she. The people living here at Devil’s Own were people who were starting out with second chances. She vowed that she would give it a try before giving up. Even if it didn’t work out, as long as she knew she had tried, she would be glad. She closed her eyes and before she could even count to ten, she fell asleep.

            When Annabella woke, she was dressed and sleeping in bed with an arm draped over waist. She gasped loudly and sat up, waking up whoever was sleeping next to her. She let out a cry and began using her fists to pound the person next to her. She heard Jedidiah’s voice telling her to calm down and she stopped as he fought her. When he fell off the bed, she gasped and ran to the other side to check on him. He was sitting there dumbfounded and rubbing his elbow.

            “What the hell was that for, dove?” he asked.

            She caught his expression from the light of the  moon and sighed deeply. “I’m sorry, Jedidiah. I didn’t know who you were and I was scared. I thought…I thought I was…I was scared and you! Why am I sleeping here?”

            He got up and helped her stand up. “I came home to find you sleeping in the tub, sweetheart. I dressed you and put you to bed without you even stirring.”

            She blinked. “I did? I was? You did?”

            “Yes, yes, and yes. Now can we go back to bed?”
            Nodding, she walked around to the other side and got into the bed as he did the same. When they were back in bed, he pulled her close and she didn’t fight. She felt embarrassed that she’d put up a fight as she did. Why had she fallen asleep? Why didn’t she hear him when he dressed her? Was she really that tired?

            “Why didn’t you wake me?” she asked.

            Laughing, he replied, “You were gone. I didn’t want to wake you.”

            “Why were you gone so long?”

            “Worried, were you?”
            “No,” she lied.

            “Liar. Mia told me everything.”

            She blushed, thankful he couldn’t see her face. “Ok, so I was a bit worried. Why were you gone so long?”

            He didn’t answer right away. “We found a bunch of dead and butchered animals near our land. Bruce wanted to make sure it wasn’t anyone we knew.”

            A chill ran through her and she shivered. “You mean  James?”

            “Yes and no. Look, don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m going to take care of it. If he is as smart as he is, he won’t be trying to cause problems where he can’t win.”

            She swallowed. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”

            He chuckled lightly. “I promise, sweetheart.”