Shot Gun Grooms: Lucas's Convenient Bride / Jackson's Mail Order Bride

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Had Emily known what Lucas was about she would have stopped him. At least that’s what she told herself in the single heartbeat of conscious thought she had between the time he put his hands on her person and when he, well, kissed her.

Then his lips were on hers and she was too confused to think or speak or even breathe. His mustache tickled…in the most charming way. He was touching her waist. Despite her layers of clothing, she could feel the heat of his fingers clear to her skin. His thumb slipped up and down, sending the oddest skittering sensation rippling through her torso. But even more strange than that was the feel of his kiss.

It was more gentle than she would have imagined, had she been the kind of woman who thought of such things. Like his hands, his lips were warm and almost—she struggled to find a word, which was difficult because her brain was so fuzzy—almost tender. Soft and lovely, yet firm as he moved against her, brushing back and forth.

She supposed she should have been horrified and insulted. She should have stepped back, and she would in a moment or two. But as this was her first kiss, she thought she should understand the entire act before deciding that she didn’t like it.

She could feel the heat of his body and inhale the masculine scent of him. There were fragrances of different liquors and a bit of smoke, plus something spicy and intriguing, quite unlike any smell she’d inhaled before.

His hands moved around to her back and slid up toward her shoulder blades. His action forced her more firmly against him and suddenly they were pressing from shoulder to…to limb! Her arms, which had been resting at her sides, suddenly stiffened. All of her stiffened. A chaste kiss was one thing, but such intimacies as these were completely unacceptable.

She was about to tell him so when he did the most extraordinary thing. He touched the tip of his tongue to her lower lip.

Had anyone described such a thing to Emily, she would have been horrified and disgusted. The thought of it should have made her stomach turn. It was just too…

Warm, she thought, feeling herself melting. The sensation was most peculiar, but there was no other way to describe her body bending and leaning toward him as if she’d lost all her strength. Her limbs felt very heavy and she couldn’t have moved if God himself had requested the action.

Lucas continued to stroke her in that strange way and she found herself liking it more. Tingling began in her arms and moved through her, making her—dared she think it?—chest ache as if her insides were suddenly pushing against her skin. Her limbs and that part of her she didn’t even like to acknowledge, the female part of her, felt heavy and thick, which made no sense.

But what did sense have to do with anything? Nothing made sense. She didn’t even protest when Lucas ran his hands down her arms until their fingers entwined. She let him raise her arms until her palms rested on his shoulders.

She couldn’t believe it. They were touching and kissing and pressing and her hands were squeezing his powerful shoulders and she found herself wanting to run her fingers through his hair and have this never ever stop. Except they had to stop and she would tell him so—in another minute or two.

His tongue swept across the seam of her lips.

“Come on, Em, let me in. You’ll like it.”

She had no idea what he was talking about and opened her mouth to tell him so. But instead of allowing her to speak, he pushed his tongue inside until it was touching hers.

She felt as if someone had lit her on fire. Heat filled her body. The trembling and tingling increased and she knew she was going to perish from all the different feelings in her person.

Aroused and more than a little scared, Emily managed to press her hands against his chest and push him away.

“Stop,” she demanded, except her voice sounded breathless and far too weak.

Instead of looking mortified, Lucas MacIntyre actually smiled at her. A look of male satisfaction crossed his too-handsome features.

He took a step back and looked her up and down. “You are something of a surprise, Em. I didn’t expect you to be quite that tempting.”

His compliment both embarrassed and pleased her. She forced herself up to her full height and squared her shoulders. “I’ll thank you to remember that this is a business relationship. You are not welcome to intrude upon my person again.”

He had the audacity to wink at her. “And here I was thinking there are plenty more intrusions to be had, and I’m just the man to do every one of them.”

At that, he touched her cheek with the back of his hand, turned on his heel and walked from the room. He left her sputtering and flustered and very, very pleased by her first ever kiss.

CHAPTER FOUR (#u6aba967d-99f8-5699-a1d3-7b54fd391008)

Emily was determined to ignore “the incident,” which was how she thought of the kiss she and Lucas had shared the previous day. Memories of the feel of him pressing against her, the sweet taste of him and the way he’d been so bold as to touch her tongue with his had kept her up most of the night. But she’d risen as early as ever, determined to get her hotel ready for business as soon as possible.

Now, as she worked in the fifth bedroom, she fought against the tingling in her body by instead thinking about how good it had felt to have her own room in her own hotel. When the business was a success, it would be because of her hard work and vision. She was responsible. Which meant it was her fault if the hotel failed, but she wasn’t going to let that happen.

She spread the sheets over the feather mattress and smoothed down the material. As she worked, she half listened for the sound of the bell she’d left at the front desk, along with a note to ring for her if someone wanted a room. Bart Miller had already started work on the sign for the hotel, so maybe that would send some business her way. Although the sign was only for folks new to town. Anyone familiar with Defiance would have already heard the gossip about her marriage to Lucas and the new hotel.

As she turned to lift the blankets from the dresser to the bed, she remembered how Lucas’s hands had felt on her back and the way his lips had—

“Stop it,” she said aloud. “Don’t think about that anymore.”

Emily shook herself in an effort to dislodge the memories that seemed firmly stuck in her head. But while her brain was willing to listen, her body wasn’t cooperating at all. Even when she didn’t see Lucas in her mind, she could feel the strength and heat of him when they’d touched.

“What’s wrong with me?” she asked herself.

Was this all because Lucas had been the first man to kiss her? Or was it because she wanted to know why he’d bothered?

Emily paused in her work and turned to face the mirror hung over the narrow dresser. She saw her familiar face. A plain face whose only hope of beauty came from a pair of large, blue eyes. But as she didn’t know how to draw attention to that particular feature, it got lost in the rest of her.

Had he felt sorry for her? The question made her shiver, and not in a pleasant way. She shouldn’t have told Lucas the truth about her past, except she never lied. So she should have stayed silent. Instead, the words had fallen out of her mouth before she could stop them. As she returned her attention to the covers on the bed, she suddenly realized why.

She was lonely. She’d been lonely for a long time. Certainly, when she’d first moved to Defiance, she’d missed her family. With time, her work at the school and the few acquaintances she’d made had eased the pain of being in a strange place. But then the children had left with their families and she found that her few acquaintances weren’t enough. She could go several days without exchanging more than just pleasant greetings. There was no one she could really talk to or confide in. Still, telling Lucas about her past and her humiliation with David hadn’t been very sensible. Obviously she would need to make more of an effort to develop friends in town. She would see to that as soon as she’d finished getting the hotel ready.

Emily tucked in the blankets, then drew the green coverlet over the made bed. She should have the rest of the rooms finished by the end of next week. Then all she would need was—

The sound of a bell cut through her musings. Emily froze as excitement gripped her. Someone—perhaps a customer—had rung the bell at the front desk. This could be the beginning of her success, she thought happily as she walked down the length of the hallway and turned left by the reception desk.

She slipped smoothly behind the counter, cleared her throat and glanced up at the person waiting to speak with her. Her greeting lodged in the back of her throat.

The woman standing in front of her was tall, several inches taller than herself. Her thick brown hair coiled around her head in an intricate arrangement of curls and knots, decorated with sprays of silk flowers, and was topped by a huge red hat. A dark smudgy line above her lashes emphasized her big, beautiful brown eyes and there was no denying the color staining her full lips.

Emily blinked, then swallowed. The woman in front of her did not disappear into a dream, as Emily had hoped. She remained firmly in place. Everything about the woman overwhelmed her. The stylish hair, her full bosom expertly displayed by a low-cut red velvet gown. Swags of fabric settled over rounded hips. Everything about the woman was excessively feminine. She was as lush as a ripe peach and, from the knowing look in her large eyes, she understood the impact she had on those she met.

Emily had never been so close to a woman like the one standing in front of her. Society dictated that she didn’t even acknowledge her existence. Although with the woman leaning toward her reception desk, she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to ignore her.

“I’m Dixie,” the woman said in a low voice that was surprisingly cultured. She might be living in Defiance now, but she’d been born somewhere else. “I heard you were opening a hotel. I’d like to rent a room.”

“A—a room?”

Emily bit her lower lip. This was not a situation she could have foreseen. While she wanted to fill the hotel as quickly as possible, she wasn’t interested in offering a location for expansion for the likes of Miss Cherry and her girls.

“I’m not sure what you were told,” Emily said formally. “This is a private hotel. My guests—” or the guests she would soon have “—are honest people who keep to themselves.”

“That’s just what I want, honey,” Dixie drawled, and set a handful of gold coins on the desk. “I’m paying a month in advance. I’d like your most private room in this private hotel. And you can stop biting your lip. I’m not here to work. I’m here for some quiet.”

The tall, beautiful woman offered a smile. “Over at Miss Cherry’s there’s never a moment’s peace. Men are in and out of the place at all hours. They’re forever knocking on my door. I don’t mind working hard, which I do, but when I’m finished for the night, I want to be left alone.”

Emily didn’t know what to say. She glanced from the money to the woman standing in front of her. She knew what Dixie did to earn that money. Well, she didn’t know exactly, but she had an idea. It had something to do with men and women being together.

“Are you frightened of me?” Dixie asked bluntly. “Do you think I’ll corrupt you or try to seduce your other guests?”