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Chapter 6

Tara toyed with the food on her plate.  Her stomach was in knots, and she’d only taken a handful of bites before she finally pushed the plate away in disgust.  Lindsey had yet to release her feet from his lap, so she was forced to look his way.  Not the most comfortable of positions, but she couldn’t fault the view.  He’d stopped eating for a moment when she’d shoved her dinner aside, his brows arched in surprise.  He’d looked like he’d been about to say something, and her back stiffened in preparation of a comeback, but then he turned back to his own plate, continuing to demolish his steak with precise movements.  Cut. Spear. Lift.  Bite.  Over and over, until the huge slab of meat disappeared.  What amazed her even more was that the heaping mound of mashed potatoes and vegetables weren’t spared either.  Lindsey wasn’t an overly large man, his hardened attitude and the authority of his position as Marshal, Tara figured, was what gave the impression that he was.  And yet, he ate like a man easily twice his size. 

She wondered where he put it, because as her eyes raked over his frame, she could tell there wasn’t an ounce of fat to him.  Her cheeks pinkened at her bold assessment, but what surprised her even more was that she didn’t force herself to look away.  Just continued to watch him while he ate, noting how his jaw worked while he chewed.  The way his lips wrapped around his fork, slowly drawing the food into his mouth. 

She was mesmerized.  Entranced. 

Goddess, he was beautiful.   

He wore his hair longer than most; at least to Tara, it was long, the front bangs covering his eyes whenever he happened to lean forward.  Eyes she knew for a fact were almost the exact same shade as hers.  Wounded eyes.  Again, not unlike her own.  But, beneath the pain, there was a steely resolve burning brightly within their depths.  When he’d knelt down next to her after killing the man that had been manhandling her, she’d seen a glimpse of it… before he’d masked it.  She’d witnessed it again when the Marshal got a good look at the damage done to her feet.  It was that look that had cowed her there upon the bed, her body shaking as her mind was sent hurtling back in time, back to when her father and brother had used whatever means they thought up to keep her in line. 

After a time, she focused on his lips, and her thoughts turned to the kiss they’d shared earlier.  She could feel her cheeks flame anew at her wantonness, but it did nothing to deter her from wanting to experience it again.  His lean body pressed flush against her own, fingers twining in her hair while he ravaged her mouth, tongue plundering at will, coaxing her from a tentative response into a passion that matched his own.  The knock from the child standing outside with their dinner forgotten as both were swept away by its intensity. 

The second knock had been like a jolt of cold water to their overheated flesh.  The throbbing between her legs causing her to pant heavily, and she felt shame that she’d wanted the boy gone.  Because she wanted Lindsey settled back on top of her, his hard angles pressing into her softer curves, his hands and mouth making her feel things she’d never felt before.  Things she had no right feeling. 

So far gone in her reverie, Tara failed to notice Lindsey push back his plate, his gaze swinging round to hers.  Failed to miss how his eyes darkened as they took in her flushed features, the way her eyes lay at half-mast, lending an exotic air about her.  Failed to notice how her feet pressed intimately against his instant erection. 

Lindsey was on his feet with Tara’s legs wrapped around his hips before the thought to protest even entered her brain.  He nuzzled her neck, drawing reluctant moans from her parted lips, as he strode quickly across the room and back to her bed.  Laying her back upon the mattress, he followed in a seamless motion to lie on top of her, moaning with pleasure when her breasts crushed against his chest, hardened nipples digging into his skin practically searing him through their clothes.  His cock nestled in the junction of her thighs, and he couldn’t help thrusting slightly against her.  Doing it again when her body responded instinctively, her supple legs wrapping around his waist and drawing him closer.  His mouth attacked her lips, his tongue renewing its acquaintance with the interior of her mouth, sliding in and out, mimicking the motion of his hips.  When he could stand it no more, he tore his lips away to kiss a path along her jaw.  Again his tongue darted out, leaving a wet trail the length of her neck, down to her collarbone.  His lips closed over the jutted bone a moment, delivering a whisper-soft kiss. 

Then his track began anew, his destination, the twin mounds straining to topple over her tight corset. 

Lindsey could feel his control start to slip.  The prize of her plump flesh filling his mouth enough to make him take what he wanted with no regard for her feelings.  Whether this, what they were doing, was what she wanted in truth, or if it was just something that was happening because she’d been swept away by lust.  And, if it was, so help him, he’d find the will to make himself stop. 

Taking several deep breaths to calm himself, he finally lifted his head and took in her flushed face.  Her hands had been gripping the sheets before, but now they were in his hair, massaging his scalp, directing him lower.  Back towards her heaving bosom.  

“Tara, look at me,” he urged.  He needed to see.  “Tell me you want this.  Come on, baby, open those gorgeous eyes and tell me you want me.” 

Tara struggled to do as he asked, finally opening her eyes to see Lindsey staring down at her.  Her mind a haze of lust, their combined auras so bright it was difficult to keep her eyes open, she struggled to remember what it was he was asking of her, why he’d stopped the delicious magic he was working upon her body.  Her legs tightened about his back, causing her mound to brush against him.  She gasped as she felt a jolt go through her core at the contact, the sensation causing tiny ripples of pleasure to snake along her limbs.  She wanted to feel more of the same, so she arched her hips, feeling the hard bulge in his jeans rasp over her clitoris.   

“Fuck.”  The expletive was torn from Lindsey’s throat as she rubbed against him.  The tenuous hold on his control, again threatening to snap.  “Tara,” he practically begged.  “Tell me, baby.  Don’t want to hurt you.”   

“Lindsey,” she murmured huskily.  “I…I…oh goddess…”  Her voice trailed off, eyes rolling up as the pressure within her continued to build. 

‘She’s gonna come just rubbing against me,’ he thought in amazement.  And there was no way he wasn’t going to be buried inside her when that happened.  His fingers fumbled with her skirts until they encountered… 

Oh God. 

Had he said that aloud?  He chanced a glance at Tara just to be sure, but figured he hadn’t because her expression hadn’t changed.  His fingers brushed against the damp curls covering her sex and he was rewarded with a husky moan that went straight to his dick.  Smiling wide when she gasped his name.  He slid a finger inside and marveled at her tightness; he pumped it in and out, all the while gritting his teeth because he wanted it to be his cock that was buried inside her.  Stretching her.  Slowly, Lindsey introduced additional fingers when he felt her body could handle it.  While he continued to pleasure her with his hand, he used the other to work the fastenings of his jeans.  Shoving at them frantically until his cock sprang free. 

His breath hissed out at the sudden release of pressure and he returned his attention to bringing off the writhing woman beneath him.  Angling his fingers until he’d found her sweet spot and sending her body hurtling over the edge.  He groaned as her inner walls began contacting around his fingers, and he hurriedly removed them, pausing for just a moment to coat his length with her juices.  Then he positioned himself at her opening and slid home. 

He was right, she’d been a virgin.  Her body stiffened at his invasion, but she was too far gone in her orgasm to worry about the slight discomfort his penetration had caused.  By the time the last tremor had seen its course, the pain was gone, and the steady rhythm he’d set had her clinging to him, once more caught up in the dance. 

Lindsey was with her for her second climax.  Braced on his hands above her, his body arched back, driving his pelvis into hers.  His eyes closed, and the look on his face was one of ecstasy as he emptied himself inside quivering channel.   

Her name, a whispered prayer from his parted lips.  

~*~*~*~*~ 

Lindsey could have kicked himself. 

Hell, he’d been so caught up in the moment, he’d not even bothered to remove his pants.  Or her clothes. 

Cursing himself for being all kinds of fools, he reluctantly slid free of her velvet heat and knelt between her thighs to pull his pants back up, though he didn’t bother with buttoning them.  Tara’s face was turned away, her eyes closed, but he managed to catch her wince of pain.  Saw the way her body stiffened slightly. 

“Be right back, baby,” he murmured and climbed from the bed.  He strode purposefully from the room, careful to make sure the door clicked shut, and hurried down the back stairs to retrieve a fresh basin of warm water and more clean towels.   

When he arrived back at Tara’s room, he could hear her crying softly and his eyes widened in sudden realization.  Full of self-recriminations, and silently cursing himself yet again, he sloshed water over the rim of the basin as he rushed back to her side to reassure her. 

“Tara?  Baby, I’m here.  I just went to get…”  He broke off, holding up the ceramic basin in explanation.  Not that she noticed, completely turned on her side and facing the wall as she was.   

Lindsey set the water down on the ground near the bed and sat down next to her on the narrow mattress.  His hand reached out to caress her arm, trying to get her to roll over onto her back and look at him.  Thankfully, she followed his gentle prompts, though her face still remained turned away – like she was unable to bear the sight of him.  He leaned away from her and retrieved one of the washcloths, dropping it into the basin.  After wringing out the excess, he carefully raised the hem of her skirt and began gently washing away the dried blood on her thighs. 

“What are you…” she gasped, her eyes flying open.  She stared in mortification at where his hand was slowly running the white cloth over her mound.  “Oh goddess!”  Her face flamed at the intimate act of him cleaning her.   

“Lindsey…”   

She drew his name out in a breathy tone, a mixture of need and embarrassment. 

“Shhhh…  How does this feel?  I’m not hurting you, am I?”  His eyes scanned her face for any signs of discomfort. 

“A-awkward… Uh… n-no…d-doesn’t hurt… but… Really… I can…uhhh…”  She tried to bring her legs together to get him to stop, but all it did was trap his hand between her legs.  His knuckles banged against her clit and she moaned, eyes squeezing shut at the jolt of pleasure that lanced through her body. 

“Relax, baby.  Let Lindsey take care of you.”  

He forced himself to keep his hand still until she relaxed her legs, freeing his hand.  Only then did he finish cleaning her up, before tossing the washcloth back into the basin. 

“Time to get you out of these clothes.” 

“B-b-but…”  Tara couldn’t very well say that she didn’t know if she had something else to put on.  “I-it’s ok… I’ll just wear this, i-if it’s all the same to you.” 

Lindsey just smiled indulgently at the girl and helped her to sit up so that he could reach the fastenings of both her corset and her skirt.  

The flimsy outfit seemed to fall away leaving her completely exposed to the Marshal’s gaze and Tara hurriedly covered her arms over her breast.  Rational thought must have left her then, because she leaned back against the mattress when he told her to, then lifted her hips so that he could pull her skirts down and off her legs.  His red hot aura forced her eyes closed, his heated gaze making her blush ten shades of red – all over her body, she was sure.  Thankfully, he allowed her to pull the covers up over her to shield her nudity. 

She felt him get up from the bed, heard his soft footsteps as he walked barefoot towards the door.  It creaked open and she heard a slight thunk sound she couldn’t identify, then another creak as the door was carefully shut. 

The turn of the key and the clink it made as the lock slid home was unusually loud in the quiet room. 

Behind closed eyelids, she could tell the room got a bit darker.  More footsteps were heard as he neared the bed again.  Her body stiffened.  An unidentifiable, soft woosh sound, another creak or two in the floorboards, and then Tara felt the bed dip. 

In an instant, she knew what that last sound was.  As he snuggled next to her, wrapping one arm about her waist and the other beneath her neck, then draping a bare leg over hers, she realized that it had been the sliding of his pants down his legs that she’d heard.  It was a good thing it was dark inside the room; as it was, Tara felt that her blush was bright enough to light the entire interior.  But she was too scared to open her eyes to see if it were true. 

“Relax, Tara.  I just want to hold you,” he murmured in her ear, feeling her body tense beneath his. 

She shivered, undone by the raspiness of his voice, how his breath teased unknown nerve endings along the outer rim of her ear. 

“I’ve n-never done this b-before,” she told him honestly.  “Slept with someone…” 

“I know, baby.  It’s ok.  I’m not going to do anything.  Just gonna hold you.  I don’t feel comfortable leaving you here by yourself.  We’re just gonna go to sleep, ok?” 

Tara nodded, eyes still firmly shut.  She tried to let her mind drift to enable her body to relax, but it wasn’t working.  The Marshal was too much of a distraction for her peace of mind.  Never mind the bulge pressed against her hip. 

It was much, much later before she finally drifted off to sleep.

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