Chapter 6

I help her with her jewelry and this is how she repays me, the man thought to himself as he walked back to his blacksmith shop. He slammed the door once he was inside and slumped down at the small desk. He glanced at a picture of Kimberly then picked it up and threw it against the wall, watching as the frame broke and the the glass covering the picture shattered.

Leonard Paxton had fallen in love with his brother’s wife the moment he met her. He kept his distance from her out of respect for his brother, but after his death, he hoped he’d have a chance with the ravishing beauty. He comforted her when she received word of Donald’s passing and helped her through the death of her brother and each of her parents.

He knew she didn’t have much as far as money, so he agreed to help her make the jewelry she would sell in town. He would shape and mold the rings she made and help set the stones. She shared her profits with him even if she didn’t make much. He liked the arrangement because it allowed him to be close to her.

She’d shown an interest in him, or so he thought, at the Fourth of July picnic. She’d even invited him over for dinner several times over the course of the last few months. He’d kissed her goodnight a few weeks ago after the last time he visited her, and when she didn’t push him away, he thought she’d finally admitted her feelings for him.

Leonard had heard about the new hired hand who worked for her, but he never suspected she would end up giving that man what rightfully belonged to him. He’d overheard Kimberly declare her love for the man, and Leonard wondered if she’d just said those words in the heat of passion, or if she actually meant what she’d said. He was determined to get that man out of her life and have Kimberly for himself. Kimberly was his intended.

Glancing at the broken picture on the floor, he rose to his feet and gathered it up. He tossed the broken glass into the small bucket that contained other bits of glass and the frame into the fireplace. He gazed at the picture and ran his fingers over it lovingly, then tucked the picture neatly into his pocket.

Leonard returned to his seat at his desk and pulled open a drawer to his right. His fingers grazed over the pearl handle of the revolver contained within a small wooden box, beside a box of bullets, as a devilish smile curved his lips.

“Marry me, Lady Penelope,” Jeffrey said as he gazed into her beautiful amber eyes.

Penelope broke eye contact with Jeffrey and glanced down at their joined hands. She enjoyed his touch and the pleasure he gave her, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready to marry him. More importantly, she wasn’t sure if he had truly put his old ways behind him.

“I need time to make a decision, Jeffrey,” she said, bringing her eyes back up to his.

Jeffrey felt his heart beat furiously. He was happy that she didn’t reject him immediately, but at the same time, he was apprehensive about allowing her more time to decide. “What is there to decide, Penelope?”

“I want to marry for love.”

“You will come to love me,” he repeated his words from earlier. “I will spend every day making you happy.”

She cupped his cheek and looked deep into his eyes. “I know you will, Jeffrey. But I do not love you.”

“I will accept that you want to wait then, Penelope,” Jeffrey replied as he rose to his feet.

He turned to walk out of William Summerfield’s study when he felt her hand on his arm. “You will not tell anyone of what we have done?” she asked.

“I will tell no one,” he said, taking her hand and kissing her palm gently before he turned again and left the study.

“Is everything all right?” William asked as he entered his study.

“Yes, Father,” Penelope answered coldly. “You will get your way after all.”

“What do you mean, my child?”

“Jeffrey asked me to marry him,” she said, flashing the engagement ring at her father.

“And you have accepted his proposal? Why is he not here?”

“I told him I needed time to make a decision.”

“What is there to decide, Penelope?”

“I wanted to marry for love, Father. I do not love Jeffrey. I do not know if he could truly make me happy.”

William ignored what his daughter had said and summoned one of his servants. “Lady Penelope will be announcing her engagement tomorrow evening,” he started. “Preparations must be made at once.”

“Yes, M’lord,” the servant replied, then bowed slightly and rushed out of the study.

“Did you not hear what I told you, Father?” Penelope asked angrily.

“You are wearing his engagement ring, my child. You will accept his proposal and will be married in one month’s time, as planned.”

Penelope stormed out of her father’s study and made her way up to her bedchamber. She threw herself on the bed, sobbing uncontrollably. “Patrick, where are you?” she cried into her pillow.

Kimberly yawned then stretched, feeling the bed beside her for Patrick. He’d turned on his back, his arm draped across his chest. She rested her head on his shoulder and listened to the beat of his heart. Patrick put his arm around Kimberly and drew her closer, his desire raged again as the soft curves of her body molded to his.

“Mmmmm,” she breathed as she stretched out against him, her body warm from sleep.

Patrick pulled her on top of him and claimed her lips with his. His tongue probed deep into her mouth, tasting her, feeling the sweet heat of her. “You go straight to my head, Kimberly,” he breathed between kisses.

Kimberly ran her hands up his chest to his neck, then tangled her fingers in his hair before finding his lips in another kiss fueled by her love and desire for him.

He held her close, his hands caressing the soft skin of her back. He cupped the firm cheeks of her rear while he devoured her lips with his own. Patrick shifted her so she lay astride him. The feel of her firm breasts pressing against his chest sent his senses reeling.

Heat enveloped them both, consuming them and igniting their passion further than either thought possible. Kimberly broke their kiss and trailed her lips down his neck to his chest. The smattering of hair on his chest tickled her nose as she found her way to one nipple, then licked it softly, watching it harden under her touch. She kissed a trail of fire to his other nipple, watching it harden before her lips covered it in a gentle caress.

Patrick groaned in pleasure at the sensations her tongue and lips were creating on his skin. He reached out to pull her in closer and was surprised at her boldness when she captured his hands in hers and placed them above his head.

Kimberly couldn’t believe her boldness. She’d lost all inhibitions; her only thought at the moment was pleasing Patrick. She’d dreamt of him nightly since that first day when she’d seen him at the river, and she wanted nothing more than to devour him, to feel his body shudder with the pleasures she could give him.

She released his hands then lowered herself back down his body, continuing her pleasurable teasing. Patrick restrained from grabbing at her and taking control; he could sense this was what she wanted, and it excited him to have a woman take control. His senses were on overload as he felt her work her way closer to his rock-hard erection.

Fire and heat coursed through him as her tongue grazed the base of his swollen member. He closed his eyes and held himself still while she explored his body. A harsh gasp tore from his lips when he felt her warm, wet mouth wrap around the engorged mushroom head of his cock. Patrick attempted to raise his hips, but she wouldn’t let him. He reluctantly settled back to the mattress to once again allow her control.

Kimberly slowly took his length into her mouth, relishing the softness of his skin covering the hardness beneath it; every vein, every ripple in the throbbing shaft as her tongue swirled about. She wrapped her slender fingers around the base of his cock while she stroked him slowly with her mouth. She repositioned herself between his thighs to finally allow movement of his hips, and he breathed a thankful sigh.

The movements of her hand quickly fell into pace with the movements of her mouth, and she felt him push his hips up further. She brought her free hand down to caress his balls and hummed her satisfaction when she heard him draw in another sharp breath.

“You duplicitous tramp!” a male voice boomed from beside them.

Patrick and Kimberly froze at the startling voice, then shot upright out of bed. Kimberly fumbled for the blanket to cover her naked form as Leonard glared at her. His eyes widened, and nostrils flared in anger as Patrick stepped slightly in front of Kimberly, shielding her from this dangerous stranger in her home. Leonard pointed the revolver at Kimberly first, then Patrick. She locked eyes with him as he turned his gaze toward Patrick.

“Get out!” she shouted.

“How could you do this to me, Kimberly?”

Patrick stalked toward the man with determination in his stride. “You heard the lady. Get out!” he barked.

Leonard leveled the gun at Patrick’s chest and pulled the hammer back. “Come any closer, and I will not hesitate to shoot you!” Leonard shouted. Standing only five foot five, his neck craned to look up at Patrick. His mussed brown hair hung in his face, obscuring the deep blue of his eyes. He didn’t falter when Patrick approached him.

Kimberly secured the blanket she’d wrapped around herself when she’d risen to her feet. “What are you doing here, Leonard?” she asked.

“How could you betray me, Kimberly?”

“Betray you?”

“You are mine. How could you give yourself to someone else?”

“I am not yours! I was never yours, Leonard. We are friends. Please, put the gun down. Let us talk about this.”

Patrick clenched his fists at his sides and glanced over at Kimberly. “You know this man?”

“He is -- was -- my brother-in-law, Patrick. He is the town blacksmith and helps with my jewelry. He fires and molds the rings I sell.”

“And I am her intended,” Leonard added.

“Your intended?” Patrick asked.

“Yes. I had planned on asking her to marry me -- today, in fact. That was until I saw the two of you earlier on the wagon. You were despicable, Kimberly,” he replied. He turned his gaze back to Kimberly, but kept a steady hand on the gun still aimed at Patrick. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I am a grown woman, Leonard. What I do and with whom is none of your concern.”

“It is my concern. You are to be my wife.”

“You did not ask me. Even if you had, I would have turned you down. I do not love you, Leonard.”