Free The Brides Of Tombstone 01 Mail Order Outlaw by Cynthia Woolf

Wanting so much more than just a kiss.
    “Mal. Help me. These feelings…”
    “Are perfectly natural. Those feelings are desire. Well the beginning of it, anyway. You, or at least your body, want to make love. Kissing is the start of that.” He ran his hand up and down her back. “Then there’s touching, and finally making love.”
    “I know how to make love, I was raised on a ranch, but I never thought just kissing would make me ache like this.” At the thought of kissing him her heart beat so fast she could feel it and her breathing quickened. “I’ve never felt anything like this before…I want you with me. I want to touch your skin and have you touch mine.”
    “That’s all part of desire. But we’ll take it one step at a time. I think sticking to kissing is probably all we should do now. I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
    “Please, if it feels more like this, take advantage of me.”
    He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. “You are such a sweet thing and you do tempt me, Lizzie. You tempt me mightily.”
    “I hear a ‘but’ coming.” How can he be so rational at a time like this?
    He sighed. “But, you’re not ready and I’m afraid I want you too much right now to take your needs into consideration. Just let me hold you and we’ll kiss a little longer. For our first time together, that’s all we need to do.”
    “All right.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. She wanted so much more. Her body ached and she knew Mal could ease that ache. Lizzie was well aware of what happened between a man and a woman. When she was little, she walked into her parents’ bedroom while they were making love. The incident was something she never forgot or the fact that her father put a lock on the door so she couldn’t do that again. Natural or not, they didn’t want her to share those moments with them.
    She smiled at the memory.
    They stayed sitting on the pad for Mal’s bed, kissing, hugging, leaning into one another, for a long time. Finally, she yawned.
    “Time for you to go to sleep, young lady.” He turned her face to his and kissed her soundly. “Morning comes early.”
    “All right. Turn your head so I can get undressed.”
    He did.
    She quickly unbuttoned her shirt and shucked her denim pants. She slept in her camisole and bloomers. If she’d been by herself, she would have slept in the all-together like she did at home.
    “Okay, you can look if you want.”
    “I always want to look at you.” Mal took off his boots and his gun belt. “That will never change. I care for you Lizzie. I know it’s only been a short time that we’ve known each other, not counting the letters. I feel like they didn’t tell me enough about you at all. Eight letters isn’t a lot of information. I’ve learned so much more in this last month.”
    “Me, too. You’re almost like a different man.”
    “But I am a different man.” He latched on to her words. “The man you knew was a merchant. This man is a rancher, or will be soon. John Peterson sent a messenger out to the ranch yesterday. Mr. Abernathy accepted my offer. I’m closing on it this Friday and I want you there with me. I’m putting your name on the deed too, just like the bank account. Everything I have is ours now.”
    “So you went ahead and did it. Well, I guess that’s wonderful. But you haven’t even seen the place; I don’t understand how could you put a bid on it?” She turned on her side, leaned up on one elbow and rested her head in her hand.
    “I knew you wanted it and John Peterson made the arrangements. Done is done. I told you, I’m a different man.”
    “I love the Abernathy place. The house is so beautiful. He built it for his bride and the missus really kept the place nice. It’s got a garden out front surrounded by a white picket fence. They had a bunch of kids and wanted a place for them to play that was out of the way of the horses and wagons. Do you want kids, Mal?”
    “I do if you do. I