CHAPTER 13
A WEDDING NIGHT
Afew minutes later
John lit the only hurricane lamp in the room and worried Ella Mae had changed her mind when she stood by the side of the bed and audibly sighed. Earlier that day, he had made a deal with the hotel owner. In exchange for the use of the room for his wedding night, he would board the owner’s horse for a month.
Judging from the fine linens, two feather pillows, and the counterpane on top of the bed, he decided he had the better part of the deal.
“I take it you’ve changed your mind?”
Ella Mae shook her head. “Oh, I haven’t changed my mind. I am hoping the bed doesn’t break, is all.” She turned and reached out to pluck the cravat pin from his neckcloth.
Despite the seriousness of her words, John couldn’t help but laugh. “Goodness, Ella Mae, what are you planning to do to me?” He sobered when he noticed how she stared at the diamond tip. “It’s probably just paste,” he murmured.
“I don’t think it is,” she said in awe. “Where ever did you get it?”
He shrugged. “It came with my inheritance,” he said. “Along with everything else in the stable.” He took it from her and placed it on the small desk.
She undid the knot of his cravat. “I believe Mr. Perkins must have thought of you as the son he never had,” she said, unwinding the black silk from around his neck.
“I think you might be right,” he agreed, dropping a kiss on her forehead.
She undid the button at the top of his collarless shirt, and watched him grin when she pulled up on his shirt tails until they were free of his trousers.
He divested himself of the garment in one quick move then once again sobered when he saw her look of uncertainty.
Or perhaps it was awe.
“You haven’t seen a man without his shirt on, have you?”
“Only in drawings,” she admitted. “Mostly of Greek Gods. Oh, and a few lead miners.” She took in the crisp curls dusting his chest. His nipples were erect, much like hers were. Despite the soft fabric of her chemise under her corset, they felt as if they were chafed.
He stepped behind her. “I hope I don’t disappoint,” he said in a whisper, undoing the row of buttons at her back and the one holding her skirt closed at the top. Beneath it, he discovered ties for her petticoat and crinoline and began undoing them.
Ella Mae tittered softly. “Hardly.” She took a deep breath at the same moment her skirts and petticoats dropped to the floor in a round puddle. She lowered the bodice from her arms and tossed it onto the nearby chair. Left wearing only a corset over a chemise and her stockings, she suddenly felt vulnerable. “I hope I don’t disappoint you.”
“I rather doubt that would be possible.” He moved to stand in front of her and glanced down at her shapely limbs. The thinchemise ended well above her knees and did nothing to hide the dark triangle at the apex of her thighs.
She stepped out of the huge ring of fabric. “I am left wondering what it was I did that left you with such a good opinion of me.”
A smirk lifted the corners of his lips. “I shared a schoolroom with you for... for ten years,” he claimed. “You were the nicest of all the girls. And the prettiest,” he claimed as he regarded her corset. He reached out and encouraged her to turn around with his hands at her waist.
“You never... courted another woman?” Her eyes suddenly rounded. “While you were in the army? I hear there are women?—”
“Camp followers,” he stated, leaning forward to place a kiss on the side of her head. “And no, I didn’t.”
He undid the ties of her corset. “Am I doing this right?” he asked when he finally had the bow undone at the bottom.
“I cannot imagine how you could do it wrong.” Even through the stiff fabric of her corset, she felt the warmth of his hands, and the careful way he barely touched her as he struggled with loosening the ties. “When you left town... did you leave someone behind?”
“I did not,” he replied. “Can’t leave anyone behind if I didn’t have someone,” he added.
“Not even a...” She swallowed. “A lady of the evening?”
“Not even.” He clamped his mouth shut, surprised she would mention the prostitutes that serviced the miners.
She turned to look up at him. “Would you tell me... why not?”
