Once a Mail Order Bride Read online

  The kitchen was warm and brightly lit, redolent of garlic and onions. He set two places at the small pine table and filled two crystal goblets with wine. He took a sip, wishing it were whiskey, and then lit the candle he’d used as a centerpiece.

  He stood back, dismayed to see he’d unconsciously set the scene for a romantic dinner for two. Perhaps he should douse the candle, move the plates farther apart. He didn’t want her to think he had seduction in mind.

  Luke closed his eyes and took a deep breath, struggling to find the strength to get through this evening. Christ, she was exquisite, and it had been so damned long...

  “Oh, Mr. Chandler, it smells wonderful.”

  Sarah’s soft drawl broke into his thoughts and he froze, willing his overheated body back into submission. Glancing over his shoulder, he found her standing behind him in the doorway, a small, shy smile curving her luscious lips.

  Her golden hair was pinned into a neat chignon, and she’d changed out of the rumpled, dove-gray traveling suit she’d worn earlier. This gown looked as though it had been mended a dozen times, but the emerald color suited her, and the low neckline showed off the lush upper curves of her breasts. For a moment, his gaze was riveted on that luminous, pale skin.

  “Call me Luke,” he murmured, taking her hand and drawing her toward the table. “You look lovely.”

  “Thank you.” She blushed and gave him a quick glance from beneath those thick lashes. “So do you.”

  It was the first time anyone had ever called him lovely. Ridiculous. But her words, though most likely no more than polite conversation, made him feel better about himself than he had in a long time.

  He pulled out her chair, and she sat gracefully. He stood behind her, breathing in her scent, a light fragrance of roses and talcum powder. A few blond strands had escaped her chignon to curl along back of her neck, and he fought the urge to press his lips to that vulnerable spot.

  Shaking his head, he stepped away. His fake foot clumped in the silence, bringing him crashing back to reality. Was he so starved for the sight of a woman that even one sent here out of pity by his brother would do?

  To distract himself, he opened the oven and took out a platter of eggs and potatoes mixed with onions and peppers. He put the food in the middle of the table and then took his place across from her. “I’m not much of a cook.”

  “It’s fine,” she assured him, taking a small helping.

  He served himself, glad that he hadn’t fumbled this on top of everything else. “Well, there’s plenty, so don’t be shy.”

  She took a bite and closed her eyes, savoring the taste with a look of sensuous pleasure on her sweet face that turned him inside out. “It’s delicious.”

  He shrugged, embarrassed by her praise. “Well, my winning personality has driven away four housekeepers, so I decided I’d better learn to do things for myself. I’d rather be alone, anyway.”

  She glanced up at him, sympathy in her eyes. “I find that hard to believe. Everybody likes a little company sometimes.”

  “Not me.” He downed his glass of wine and reached for the bottle. He hadn’t asked for this. He didn’t need her to feel sorry for him.

  Sarah gazed down at her plate, biting her lower lip. “I shouldn’t have stayed.”

  Luke cursed under his breath, instantly contrite. “This is a wild place, Miss Montgomery. I may be an ass, but even I wouldn’t let a woman walk back to town alone at night. Forgive me. I’m rotten company. I’ve completely forgotten how to talk to people.”

  She smiled a bit. “It’s all right. My showing up here hasn’t been easy on you. You’ve been a saint, given the circumstances.”

  “Ah, the circumstances.” He frowned, wondering how to breach the subject of her future without insulting her beyond excuse. He felt responsible for her and hoped that wasn’t what Matt had counted on. “What made you decide to find a husband in such an unorthodox way?”

  Sarah raised her head, her green gaze bright and defensive. “I lost my husband and my home to that cursed war. After my father died, I had nothing. The elderly aunt who took me in could barely afford to feed herself, and I couldn’t live off her charity forever. I had to make a new life, and this was the only avenue available to me.”

  “I wasn’t criticizing,” Luke said, his tone gentle, surprised by her sudden show of spunk. He also filed away the information that she was not an innocent virgin but a widow. “I was just wondering what you’d do now, since things haven’t worked out the way you’d planned.”

  “I don’t know.” The fire in her eyes went out. “Perhaps I can find a teaching position in Milton.”

  Luke had donated some of the money to build the one-room schoolhouse in Milton, in an attempt to pacify the people who kept trying to get him to take an active part in the community. If he wanted to, he could probably get her the job.

  For some reason, he was hesitant to do so. He didn’t want her so close.

  Seeing her on a regular basis would remind him that his brother hadn’t thought him capable of getting a woman on his own. He was attracted to her despite that fact—a combination certain to prove lethal to whatever pride he had left.

  “Do you have any teaching experience?”

  She flushed. “No. But I’m certain I could do it. I’m well educated.”

  “No doubt.” He polished off his potatoes and took another helping. “And what will you do if you can’t find a teaching position?”

  “That’s really none of your business, Mr. Chandler. I’m sure I’ll find something.”

  Luke had a vivid image of Sarah’s lovely face, changed in a month’s time into the hopeless mask of a whore. If she didn’t find a husband or respectable work right away, that would be her only option.

  Colorado was a harsh place. Out here, women were either wives or prostitutes.

  So marry her.

  The thought was sudden and intense, like the thunderstorms that swept across the high, windswept plains he now called home. For a few moments, he let himself imagine it.

  Sarah. In his life. In his bed. Banishing the loneliness.

  “Damn,” he muttered. It was a foolish, dangerous dream. He couldn’t bear to see the tentative curiosity in her eyes turn to revulsion when she saw what a Confederate bullet had done to his leg.

  Sarah frowned and reached across the table, lightly brushing his hand with her fingertips. “What’s wrong?”

  He forced a smile and extricated himself from the sweet warmth of her touch. “I know the men on the school board. I’ll see what I can do.”

  It would help appease his guilt. Besides, he wouldn’t see her that often. He almost never went into town.

  “I’d appreciate that.” Sarah felt her first shred of hope at Luke’s casual promise. She didn’t question his assertion that he had the influence to get her a teaching position. Perhaps she’d been too quick to judge him. Right now, he didn’t even resemble the drunken lout who’d opened the door a few hours ago.

  This new Luke, bathed and shaven, elegant in a perfectly tailored black suit, was dangerously attractive. She hadn’t been able to tear her gaze away from him since she’d entered the kitchen.

  She wondered anew why his brother had schemed in such an underhanded fashion to procure him a wife. Surely, Luke could have captured some woman’s heart if he’d wanted to.

  He smiled at her, and a dimple flashed in his lean cheek, nearly taking her breath away. Goodness, he truly was handsome.

  “Don’t worry, Sarah. I’m sure everything will work out fine.”

  There was such quiet strength in his words. She longed to lay all her troubles in his lap. That was all she’d ever wanted, the main reason she’d decided to marry again. She’d wanted someone to help ease her burden, just for a little while, until she found the strength to pick it back up again.

  Luke was still a stranger, but his shoulders looked broad enough to withstand all sorts of troubles. Too bad he didn’t want to marry her.

  “You’ve bee
n so kind,” she murmured.

  He looked uncomfortable with the praise and glanced away. “I’m not kind, Sarah. Don’t delude yourself.”

  She wondered why he tried so hard to keep people at arm’s length. Why did he live alone, without even a servant to do for him, when he could obviously afford one? Did he still love the girl he’d written those beautiful letters to?

  “Self-delusion is all that’s gotten me through the last few months,” she admitted with a strained laugh. “Why should I stop now?”

  “I know you need a husband, sweetheart, but use a little common sense next time.” He wadded up his linen napkin and tossed it onto the table, signaling that dinner was finished. “I’d hate to see such a smart girl make a stupid mistake twice.”

  “You needn’t see me at all, after tomorrow,” she told him, stung by his harsh words.

  Luke stood and limped around the table, pausing behind her chair. To her shock, she felt him trace the back of her neck with one warm fingertip.

  “Oh, I’ll be seeing you for a long time, Sarah,” he murmured in a voice so low she wondered if he’d meant for her to hear it. “In my dreams, if nowhere else.”

  Before she could think of a suitable reply, he left the room. She sank back against the wooden slats of her chair, still tingling from his touch. Heat pooled deep in the pit of her stomach as she realized that if things had gone differently, she might have ended up in Luke’s bed tonight.

  When she left Georgia to marry a man she’d never met, she never expected to find one who was young, virile, and even charming at times. He’d said he didn’t want a wife, but it was as plain as the nose on his face that he needed one.

  Somehow, she had to make him change his mind about marrying her.

  Chapter Three

  LUKE PAUSED IN THE kitchen doorway, the ire that had driven him out of bed temporarily cooled by the sight that greeted him. Sarah hummed beneath her breath as she bustled around the kitchen making breakfast. Her golden hair was caught in a neat braid, and her cheeks were flushed from the heat of the stove.

  She looked well rested. He assumed she’d gotten a good night’s sleep.

  His hadn’t been nearly as pleasant. He’d tossed and turned, his thoughts filled with lustful images of his beautiful houseguest. He’d finally fallen into a fitful sleep near dawn, only to awaken a mere hour later to the sound of clanging pots and pans and the bracing smell of hot coffee.

  Grumpy and disgruntled, he watched her flip an egg onto a plate already heaping with ham and fried potatoes. The last thing he needed this early in the morning was this perfect picture of domestic harmony. It was a mockery of every reality he’d ever known in his sorry life.

  “Making ourselves at home, are we?”

  Sarah spun around, smiling with what appeared to be genuine pleasure. “Luke! You’re awake.”

  He frowned. She couldn’t possibly be that glad to see him. “It was impossible to sleep with all the racket you were making.”

  Her welcoming smile slipped a bit. “It was so sweet of you to cook me dinner last night. I just wanted to return the favor. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you’d planned to sleep in.”

  He stumped forward, exaggerating his limp in a blatant attempt to remind her he was a bitter old cripple, not a starry-eyed youth. He didn’t stop until he was so close she had to back up a step to keep from touching him. “I never do anything without expecting something in return.”

  Her blush deepened to an almost violent hue. “I didn’t think you’d mind if I used your kitchen. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  Luke gave a nasty laugh. “It upsets me that you thought I was naïve enough to be swayed by this.”

  He’d made a fool of himself last night, revealing his attraction. It hadn’t taken her long to capitalize on his mistake.

  “What are you talking about?” Her confusion melted into well-feigned indignation. “All I did was make you breakfast.”

  “What a proper little wife you are.” He gestured at the plate of food. “If I wanted a cook, I’d hire one.”

  The fire went out of her, replaced by soul-deep hopelessness. “Perhaps I did hope to change your mind.” Biting her lip, she turned around, bracing her hands on the edge of the sink as though she needed the support to remain standing. “I want to stay here with you, Luke. Is that so wrong?”

  Luke stared at her, feeling a bit hopeless himself. Keeping her around was sounding more attractive by the moment.

  He moved toward her, settling his hands on her hips as he lowered his lips to the delicate shell of her ear. Losing all common sense, he pressed his mouth against the sweet curve where her neck met her shoulder, teasing the delicate skin with his tongue and his teeth. God, she tasted so sweet. He’d give almost anything to taste her all over. “You do tempt me.”

  She went wooden in his arms. “It’s a wife’s duty to submit to her husband.”

  A bitter laugh rumbled from him as he drew away. So that was her game. Marry her, and he could make love to her all he wanted.

  Well, she might be willing to prostitute herself for a little security, but he still wasn’t quite desperate enough to oblige her.

  Did he want her? Hell, yeah. But any of the whores he visited on occasion in Denver would suit his needs just as well. Better, because he could remain half-dressed and leave as soon as he was done. No intimacy, no risk of rejection.

  “Submit, Sarah? Was that how it was with your first husband? Did you lie there in the dark with your fists clenched at your sides, praying for it to be over?” He shook his head. “Well, you can spare me your martyrdom. I’m not looking for a virgin sacrifice. I want someone wild and willing, someone who wants me just as passionately as I want her.”

  She turned in his arms, blinking up at him, her uncertainty clear in those big, green eyes. “I’d do my best to please you, Luke. But you’d have to show me.” She flushed and lowered her eyes. “The intimate relationship with my husband was very much as you described. We were only married for three weeks before he went away to war.”

  He stared at her, nonplussed. Once again, she’d managed to surprise him. Perhaps she was as innocent as she implied and merely needed a little guidance to become the fiery lover of his dreams. He wanted to take her right now, hard and fast on the kitchen table, but he was all too aware of the consequences.

  Christine’s desertion had scarred him too deeply.

  He couldn’t take a wife without opening himself up to either pity or revulsion. Neither was acceptable.

  “Oh, I could teach you things.” He fumbled to think of something that might drive her away before he did something incredibly stupid, such as beg her to stay. Sure it would do the trick, he latched upon his favorite fantasy. “If I were to marry you, I’d require more of you than just an occasional fuck.”

  The vulgar word shocked Sarah, but she sensed that he’d meant it to. The fiery passion she’d somehow inspired in him a few moments ago was now banked. She’d done or said something very wrong, and now he was doing his best to push her away.

  “What else would you require?” she asked.

  He glanced down at her from beneath those long, dark lashes. “Perhaps I could show you.” He gave her his most wicked smile.

  Holding her startled gaze, he took her hand and brought it to his lips, drawing her index finger deep within his mouth. Her eyelids fluttered closed as he demonstrated what he wanted with devastating thoroughness.

  His mouth, his tongue, and his warm, wet heat—the feelings he invoked overwhelming. Her finger seemed directly connected to her womb, which throbbed with painful urgency.

  Was this how it felt for a man when he was deep inside a woman? Shuddering at the very thought, she slowly pulled her finger away and opened her eyes.

  He laughed unsteadily and let her go. “I didn’t think you’d be willing to carry your charade quite that far.”

  It had been a test, she realized. He was still trying to shock her into leaving of her own volition. He’d never
meant for her to do such a thing. She had to beat him at his own bluff.

  “I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it.”

  He froze, and the sudden heat that flared in his eyes incinerated her. “Then do it now,” he whispered. “If you do, I’ll marry you before nightfall.”

  Holding her gaze, he backed away and sprawled in the nearest chair. Then he lifted his hands to the buttons of his shirt and, with slow deliberation, began to undress.

  His powerful, lean chest and belly were sculpted with muscle. Her throat parched, she swallowed dryly as her gaze followed the silky pelt of dark hair that began between his nipples and narrowed to a thin line disappearing beneath the waistband of his denim trousers.

  He rubbed his hand across the straining bulge between his legs. “Are you sure you want me to go on?”

  “Yes.” The sensual, husky sound of her own voice stunned her. “Go on.”

  “Come on, Sarah,” he whispered. “Why don’t you get down on your knees and show me how much you want to stay?”

  She gasped. If he’d called her a whore flat out, he couldn’t have made her feel any dirtier. And she knew that had been his intent all along.

  “You bastard.” Marching forward, she cracked her hand against his smug cheek. “I wouldn’t stay with you now if you begged me.”

  Luke rubbed his stinging face, surprised at the strength in her slender arm. “I’ll beg when hell freezes over.”

  “Ooh...” Sarah made an inarticulate sound of fury and grabbed the plate of food off the counter. Before Luke could react, she dumped the entire thing on his belly. “There’s your breakfast,” she snapped, spinning on her heels. “I hope you enjoy it.”

  He gasped, swiping at the sizzling mess in an attempt to keep it from burning any tender exposed skin. “I’ll have the team ready in ten minutes,” he yelled. “Get your things and meet me outside.”

  “Fine,” she called over her shoulder. “I can’t wait to be gone from here. You disgust me.”

  Luke sank back down in his chair, battling an intense wave of frustration and dismay. “That’s what I was afraid of, sweetheart,” he murmured. “That’s exactly what I was afraid of.”