Brides & Bargains

“And you are?”

He raked off his cap and grinned. “I forgot my manners. I’m Hadley Monroe but most people call me Cappy. I prefer that.”

An odd name but a very cheerful man. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Cappy. I assume you work for the Shakirs.”

He settled the cap back on his head. “Yes, ma’am. I take care of the livestock and my missus, Annie, keeps the house. That gelding you’re scratchin’ is Gus, or that’s what I call him. He has some fancy name that’s about a mile long.”

She glanced at the mesmerized horse and smiled. “Do you live nearby?”

Cappy hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “If you go up those stairs back there, that leads to our place.”

“Over the barn?”

He chuckled. “It’s nicer than most people’s houses. The nicest place I’ve ever lived in. Mr. Darin and Mrs. Fiona are good people.”

“Yes they are.”

The sound of footsteps drew Nasira’s attention to the stable’s entry to see a tall man striding down the aisle. She recognized the confident gait, the lean, toned body, the charming smile and handsome face. She did not recognize the chambray shirt rolled up at the sleeves, the jeans encasing those long legs or the cowboy boots covering his feet.

“Well, well,” she said as he stopped before her. “Has there been a British invasion in the western store?”

Her husband’s smile expanded. “As they say, when in Rome.”

“Or Royal.”

“I’m attempting to blend in. Do you not approve?”

She took a visual journey down his body and back up again. “Actually, I approve very much.”

“I would think so since you seem to have an affinity for cowboys of late.”

“Excuse me?”

“Your friend, Mac, the manhandling rancher.”

The jealousy apparently had not abated, and that somewhat shocked Nasira, as well as aggravated her. “Oh, nonsense, Sebastian. Please get over that.”

Without offering a rejoinder, Sebastian reached around her and stuck out his hand for a shake. “Nice to see you again, Cappy.”

“Good to see you, too, Buck.”

That turned Nasira around to face the grinning graying ranch hand. “Buck?”

“Cappy gives everyone a nickname,” Sebastian said. “Isn’t that right, Cappy?”

The older man touched the bill of his cap. “Yesiree, Buck. I call ’em like I see ’em.”

Sebastian slid his arm around Nasira’s waist. “What would you suggest for my wife?”

Cappy rubbed his chin for a few moments. “I can only think of one thing that fits. Beauty.”

Sebastian laughed. “That would definitely fit.”

Nasira felt heat rise from her throat to her face. “Surely you can come up with something a bit more creative, Cappy.”

The man grinned again. “Like I said, I call ’em like I see ’em. If you folks will excuse me, I’ll go get Studly and bring him in so I can get back to work.”

After Cappy left, Nasira faced her husband again. “Who is Studly?”

“Darin’s stallion,” Sebastian said. “His proper name is Knight something.”

She had entered the land of strange names. “I would definitely prefer that to Studly.”

“I’d prefer Studly to Buck.”

Nasira could not help but smile. “Studly Edwards. It has a nice ring to it. Perhaps if we have a son we could use it.”

Sebastian looked as if she had told him he had to sell the shipping business. “Darin told me to explore the path outside the back paddock. It leads to a nice creek,” he said, changing the subject.

Of course he would avoid the topic of children. But as far as Nasira was concerned, they would be broaching that subject soon enough, and the discussion could determine their future.

Cappy returned leading a beautiful black Arabian with a large tooled saddle dotted with elaborate silver on his back. “Here ya go, Buck. He’s ready to ride.”

Sebastian frowned. “No English tack, I see.”

“Nope,” Cappy said. “But those prissy saddles aren’t much different. This is just a bigger seat with a horn to hang on to. There’s no need to bounce up and down unless you wanna do that.”

The larger seat did not appear to be able to accommodate two people, which led Nasira to ask a question. “Will I have my own horse?”

“That fellow you’ve been scratchin’ is all yours,” Cappy said. “Gus will take good care of you. I’ll get him tacked up and then you all can take off.”

Nasira stood by as the ranch hand led Gus out of the stall and toward the rear of the barn. While she and Sebastian remained in the aisle, the stallion began to grow restless. “He appears to be rather spirited,” she said. “Are you certain you can handle him?”

Sebastian scratched the horse’s neck and that seemed to calm him somewhat. “If I can handle chasing a three-inch ball with mallet in hand on the back of a racing beast during a game of polo, I can manage one spirited stallion.”

She had clearly dealt a blow to his ego. “Of course. How foolish of me to question your manhood.”

“My manhood is never in question, sweetheart. You should know that after ten years.”

“It is understandable I would have forgotten since I have had very limited exposure to your manhood for the past six months.”

“Touché. Yet I do recall your manhood drought ending last night.”

“Unfortunately I do not recall much about that at all, and neither do you, considering we were both half-asleep.”

Cappy returned with the gelding, interrupting the banter and greatly embarrassing Nasira when she considered that he might have overheard. “They’re all yours,” he said. “Just go out the front, take a right and follow the trail past the back of the barn. Once you reach water, you’re all out of path.”

“Would we be allowed to explore the rest of the acreage, Cappy?” Sebastian asked.

The man chuckled. “Well, that would be close to two thousand acres, but if you want adventure, be my guest. Just take care not to get lost.”

Nasira could imagine wandering around for days and days. “I believe we will stay on the path. My husband does not have the best sense of direction.”

Sebastian sent her a quelling look. “Might I remind you that you have been known to become lost looking for the tube?”

“I have not.”

“Yes, you have.”

She suddenly remembered one incident from long ago. “For heaven’s sake, Sebastian, that happened once right after we married and I barely knew my way around London.”

Cappy cleared his throat. “I hate to interrupt, but I need to muck these stalls while you’re gone. I’d like be done before midnight.”

“Of course,” Sebastian said. “Do you need assistance mounting your steed, Sira?”

She answered by putting her boot in the stirrup and hoisting herself onto the saddle. “No, I do not.”

Sebastian laid a dramatic hand over his heart. “You wound me by not allowing me to make any show of chivalry.”

She clasped the reins in one hand. “Knowing you as well as I do, you only wanted an excuse to put your hand on my bum.”

He frowned and mounted the stallion with ease. “Darling, you are going to lead our friend here to believe that I’m a scoundrel.”

“If the moniker fits, darling.”

Cappy narrowed his eyes and studied them both. “How long have the two of you been hitched?”

“Ten years,” they responded simultaneously.

“Well, that explains it,” Cappy said. “Just some friendly advice. The missus and me have been married nearly forty years. In that time we figured out when you find yourself bickering a lot, the best way to cool down is taking a nekkid swim together in the crick. You should try it.”

“Crick?” Sebastian asked.

Cappy scowled. “That’s Texan for creek. See y’all when you get back.”

With that, the man disappeared, leaving Nasira and Sebastian sitting atop the horses, staring at each other. And when her husband presented her with a slow, knowing grin, Nasira pointed at him despite the seductive images flashing in her mind. “Do not even think we will be engaging in that behavior.”

He shrugged. “I can see some merit in the man’s suggestion.”

So could she. Bent on ignoring him and her own questionable thoughts, Nasira nudged the gelding forward with her heels, not bothering to look back.

When she guided Gus through the stable doors into the bright sunshine, Sebastian rode up to her side. “Perhaps you should lead the way since I have such a terrible sense of direction.”

She turned right on the path without giving him a passing glance. “Could we call a truce and concentrate on having a pleasant ride?”

“I suppose I could do that. Will I be allowed to speak?”

She sent him a sideways glance. “I highly doubt I could prevent that if I tried.”

“Your request is my command.”

Whether he could be quiet for any real length of time remained to be seen, Nasira thought as they rode down the path at an easy pace.

As they traveled on, she relished the feel of the sun on her shoulders, the scent of freshly cut grass, the wide expanse of open land before them where livestock grazed nearby. “Oh, look,” she said, breaking the silence. “A baby cow.”

“I believe the proper term would be calf,” Sebastian began,” although that does conjure images of a disjointed leg frolicking in the field.”

It took great effort to contain her laughter. “Always the witty one.”

Another span of silence passed before Sebastian addressed her again. “When did you last communicate with your mother?”

The question came as a surprise to Nasira. “When I became pregnant.”

She could feel his gaze boring into her. “Are you saying she doesn’t know—”

“About the miscarriage? No.”

“Why haven’t you told her?”

“She did not share in my excitement over the pregnancy. She has never been concerned about my life.”

He released a rough sigh. “I’ve never understood your hesitancy to reconnect with her.”

“She does not welcome that, Sebastian. I remind her of my father.”

“You are still her child.”

“Perhaps, but I was raised by the palace staff. She only gave birth to me out of obligation.”

“In a manner of speaking, I can relate. I’m certain that was the reasoning behind my birth. And that insistence on producing heirs is no bloody reason to bring a baby into this world. Nothing good can come of it.”

“We are both good people, Sebastian.”

“Good people whose mothers were forced to bring us into being.”

Nasira saw an opportunity to encourage him to expand on his feelings. “Yet your mother loved you, did she not?”

“Yes, she did, until her untimely death.”

A death that he had never discussed in detail in Nasira’s presence, despite the fact she had asked numerous times during the beginning of her marriage. Eventually she had given up. “What exactly happened to her, Sebastian?”

His jaw tightened, a positive sign of anxiety. “She became ill.”

That much she knew. “What did that illness involve?”

Sebastian shaded his eyes and focused on the horizon. “I believe I see the creek ahead.”

Sebastian’s behavior was a certain sign of emotional avoidance as far as Nasira was concerned. “I assume it must be painful to discuss the particulars, but I would like to know.”

“It doesn’t matter how or why. It only matters that she left her only son orphaned.”

The comment gave Nasira pause. “Is that why you’ve avoided having a child of your own? Do you fear you will somehow desert them?”

“No. I’ve spent a lifetime having the importance of an heir crammed down my bloody throat.”

Denial or not, Nasira sensed she had touched on the crux of his reluctance. “Have you ever considered the absolute joy fatherhood brings?”

He continued to stare straight ahead. “Most people I know pawn their children off on the nanny for the sake of their sanity.”

Her husband was either terribly misguided or overly cynical. “Not the Shakirs. You would have realized that if you noticed the way Darin looked at his daughter.”

“I noticed.” Sebastian’s tone was oddly laced with sadness.

Nasira wanted so badly to reach him. To uncover the secrets he harbored in his soul. “And you have no desire to experience that love?”

He attempted a smile that did not quite reach his eyes. “I desire to find out if Studly can fly.”

When Sebastian and the stallion took off, Nasira remained behind for a few moments, pondering his need to escape. The behavior was so unlike Sebastian the businessman. As long as she had known him, he had always been a take-charge man. A man who had never avoided any challenges. A man who had been inclined to run from all things emotional.

Before her husband put too much physical distance between them, Nasira spurred the gelding into a gallop. She did not catch up to Sebastian until she reached the tree-lined ribbon of water where he had dismounted. She found him standing on the bank, the stallion’s reins secured to a low-hanging limb. She climbed off Gus, tied him to the tree opposite Studly and went to Sebastian’s side.

“Why do you always do that?” she asked when he didn’t acknowledge her.

He picked up a stone and tossed it into the muddy green water. “I find speed exhilarating.”

Her frustration over his evasion began to escalate. “That is not what I meant, Sebastian.”

“I know.”

The acknowledgment surprised her. “You promised me you would make an effort to be open about your feelings.”

He finally faced her. “I would prefer to have a nice, relaxing afternoon with my wife, not to dredge up past history and events that cannot be changed. Could we possibly do that and leave the serious talk for a later time in a place that is not quite so serene?”

She recognized that her husband responded better with gentle persuasion. “All right. We shall postpone the conversation for the time being.”

“I’m glad you see it my way.”

When Sebastian took a seat on a large stump and began to remove his boots and socks, Nasira worried he had other activities in mind. “Surely you are not going to take Cappy’s suggestion about going swimming naked in the creek.”

He glanced at her and winked. “I will if you will.”

“I will not.” Though admittedly she would under better circumstances.

“I thought as much,” he said as he rolled up his pants legs. “Never fear, my dear. I’m only going to put my feet in the water. Would you care to join me?”

Nasira eyed the muddy green stream and wondered what lurked beneath. “Should we be afraid of reptiles and man-eating fish?”

Sebastian stood and shed his shirt, revealing all the wonderful planes and angles of his chest that Nasira had always appreciated. “Reptiles and fish would be more afraid of us.”

“I thought you were only removing your boots.”

He hung the shirt on a tree limb and swiped a palm over his nape. “It’s rather warm out. Feel free to take yours off, too.”

She claimed the spot on the stump Sebastian had vacated but only bared her feet. “You are so amusing.”

“You are so gorgeous.”

She rolled up her pants legs and stood to find the grassy earth remarkably soothing beneath her soles. “You are such a flatterer.”

“I’m sincere in my compliments.” He held out his hand. “Let me assist you as we explore the murky depths of an uncharted Texas crick.”

As much as she wanted to assert her independence, Nasira thought it best to hold on to her husband for support in the event something unknown attacked her toes. She clasped his hand and allowed him to guide her down the sloping bank and into the water. “It is much cooler than I expected,” she said, her words followed by a slight shiver.

“I think it’s rather nice,” he replied without releasing her. “And not a sea creature in sight.”

“Not any we can see. We have no idea what might be lurking beneath the surface.”

“I shall protect you, fair maiden.”

No sooner than he had said it, Nasira lost her footing and began to fall backward, inadvertently wrenching her hand from Sebastian’s grasp. She landed on her bottom in the shallow water, sending a spray of moisture into her face.

She sputtered and wiped her eyes then looked up to find her husband standing over her. When he offered his hand, she swatted it away. “What were you saying about protecting me?”

He executed a bow. “My sincerest apologies, but you took me by surprise. You are normally very coordinated.”

She came to her feet and slicked back her hair. “The bottom is as slippery as glass. And heavens, the smell.”

“How can I make this up to you?”

She glared at him. “Help me out of this awful creek.”

“I have a much better idea.” Apparently, it included Sebastian immersing himself in the water and surfacing with a smile. “Now we are both wet and smelly.”

“Lovely.”

He surveyed the area a moment. “Do you know what this reminds me of?”

“I haven’t a clue.”

“Our trip to Tahiti.”

Her mind whirled back to that grand adventure during a time when they could not get enough of each other. “If I recall, that involved a secluded cove with a waterfall, not a narrow cesspool.”

“The scent isn’t that foul. It’s the moss.”

“It has to be the cod.”

“I could be mistaken, but I believe cod is a saltwater fish.”

“You and your trivial facts.”

When she playfully pushed at his shoulder, he swept his hand through the water and splashed her again. The battle then commenced, each trying to best the other with liquid bombs until they were both winded with laughter.

Nasira could not recall how much time had passed since they had acted with such wild abandon. How long it had been since they had shared so much laughter. She felt so connected with him, yet somewhat cautious. They still had quite a bit to resolve.

“I believe it is time to retreat,” she said, but before she could evade Sebastian, he reached out and pulled her to him.

“Isn’t this much better than arguing?” he asked as he guided them farther into the creek until the water lapped at her waistline.

Unable to resist her sexy, damp, shirtless husband, she draped her arms around his neck. “I suppose it is somewhat better.” And welcome. And wonderful.

He feathered a kiss across her cheek. “This is the part I remember about Tahiti.”

“Only we were not fully dressed, although at least you had the foresight to remove your shirt today. I highly doubt I will ever be able to get the swampy scent out of my blouse.”

“We could simply remove your blouse now.”

When he reached for the buttons, she wagged a finger at him. “Now, now. We have an agreement. Conversation first.”

He managed to slip open the first button and parted the placket. “What would you like to discuss?” he asked as he traced the top of her bra with a fingertip.

A topic that would ruin the mood. “Nothing at the moment. We should return to the stable with the horses since your mount seems rather restless.”

He glanced at the stallion now pawing the ground. “Could I at least kiss you before we leave?”

“You usually do not ask permission.”

“I’m only following the rules, per your request.”

That alone should earn him a reward. “I suppose a small kiss would be all right.”

Clearly her husband did not know the meaning of small, as if she expected him to give her anything less than a thorough kiss. Yet when he lowered his lips to hers, she found the gesture to be more tender than deep. Soft and somewhat restrained...in the beginning. And then the passion took hold. A passion she could not fight. Yet if she did not stop him now, she might not be able to stop at all.

As unwise as it seemed, at that moment she simply did not care to resist him.

Five

Before Nasira could prepare, Sebastian opened her blouse completely, unfastened her bra and lowered it enough to pay attention to her breasts. He knew precisely how to use his tongue to bring her to the point of no return. He used the pull of his mouth to great effect, causing her to tremble slightly. She clasped his head to follow his movements as he shifted from one breast to the other and closed her eyes to immerse herself in the feelings. In spite of the voice telling her to resist, she felt needy and powerless and completely under his control as he worked the clasp on her jeans, slid the zipper down and slipped his hand into her panties. And suddenly her no-sex vow went the way of the prairie wind.

Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she knew she should tell him to stop and regain control. “Sebastian,” was all she could manage in a winded voice that she barely recognized.

He raised his head and whispered in her ear, “Remember Tahiti.”

She could barely remember her name in light of Sebastian’s intemperate strokes between her thighs. Yet Sebastian seemed bent on teasing her into oblivion, slowing his sensual caressing as if he wanted to prolong the process. She wanted to hold off the release, and oh how she tried, but her body would no longer allow it.

In a matter of moments, she feared her legs would no longer support her as she bordered on a climax. As if her husband could sense her predicament, he tightened his grasp on her, yet he did not let up until the orgasm began to build and build. He simply told her in a low, sensual tone how she felt, what he wished to do to her. What he would do to her when the time was right.

Nasira stopped thinking, practically stopped breathing as she let the heady sensations take over. She rode the release wave after wave until it had subsided. And then came the regret and remorse.

“You promised me,” she said as soon as she recovered her voice.

He redid her jeans and bra then buttoned her blouse. “I apologize but I could not help myself. You’re very alluring when you’re wet. In every sense of the word. And you have to take into account that I presently require nothing in return, therefore it’s not exactly sex.”

“Good grief, Sebastian, that is semantics. We were not playing tiddlywinks.”

“Definitely not. No squidgers were involved.”

A litany of choice words ran through her brain, yet she could only think of one ridiculous provincial phrase. “Bite me, Buck.”

He had the gall to grin. “We will explore that after dinner, Beauty.”

“You are...you are...such a—”

“Skilled lover?”

“Plank,” she said, repeating the slang she had learned in London.

“I’ve been called worse than a jackass,” he said as he took her by the shoulders, turned her around and patted her bottom. “Let’s go, old girl, before Cappy labels us horse thieves and sends out the guard.”

She trudged out of the creek, squeezed the water from the bottom of her blouse and twisted her hair into a braid. After they had donned their boots and Sebastian had put on his shirt, they mounted the horses and started back to the stable in silence.

“Are you angry with me, Sira?”

Was she? “I am not happy that I’ve been so weak.”

“You’re not weak, sweetheart. You’re a woman and you have needs.”

She thought back to Fiona’s declaration earlier. “You are correct. I do have needs. I simply do not care for you using that as a distraction from our real problems.”

“First, you’re miffed because I haven’t paid enough attention to you, as you pointed out so succinctly before you left London. Now that I am attempting to make up for lost time, you no longer want my consideration. Which is it, Sira? Hands on or hands off?”

She wanted to scream from frustration. “Ignoring me isn’t only about withholding lovemaking, Sebastian.”

“Forgive me for facilitating your orgasm. All three of them, if my memory serves me correctly. Should you require another, you’ll have to ask.”

Nasira glanced at Sebastian to see if he appeared as angry as he sounded. “I will not be asking until I am assured we are on the right path to mending our marriage.”

“That is your call.”

Without warning, Sebastian took off again and this time, she immediately followed. Yet the gelding was not as fast as the stallion and her husband arrived a few paces ahead of her. After Sebastian dismounted and headed into the barn, she soon followed suit and led the Gus inside.