“But sir..”
“I forbid it. Do you understand me
,
Mr. Smith?” He slammed a fist down on his desk. “Your fa
mily will not contaminate
mine.”
We landed outside to see Andrew exit the house, his shoulders a dejected slump. He kicked a stone and swore under his breath as
groomsmen
brought up his horse. Swinging himself up into the saddle he galloped off.
The scenery rearranged itself around us, morphing into a house.
“Where are we?”
“My home
.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs. Ushering me into a large bedroom, he said, “This is my room.”
His bedroom
gleamed with wooden floors and white walls. A handmade quilt covered the bed and a full length mirror stood in the corner next to a dresser. Underneath one window sat a desk made o
f dark wood
.
“What are we doing here?”
“Wait.” His voice was terse.
His younger self stormed into the room and paced its length, brow furrowed in some kind of emotional turmoil.
Footsteps clattered on the stairs beyond the room. “Andrew,” called a voice I recognized as Mary. She rushed through the doorway, breathless with exertion. “I came as soon as I could.”
He pulled her into his arms and buried his nose in her hair, inhaling her scent.
I found myself in her body again, feeling his hands tighten around Mary’s slim frame.
They kissed and the stubble of his unshaven skin scraped across her face, causing her to shiver with need.
Andrew pulled away from her and sank to his knee. He pulled the ring he’d offered at the picnic from his pocket. “Before we do anything else, I want to make this official. Will you
,
Mary Holmes
,
have me as your husband?”
Mary cupped his cheek
in her hand and smiled. Joy li
t up her blue eyes and her face became radiant. “I will.” She offered her
left
hand and he slipped the ring on her finger.
Standing he scooped her into his arms and spun in a circle as she giggled. Setting her down he said, “You’re sure?”
She nodded. “I’m sure. Papa will never approve
,
but
I accept that
now
. I choose you Andrew Smith.
I can’t live without you.
” She kissed him and the passion between them deepened, becoming more urgent.
He unbuttoned the bodice of her dress, releasing the stays of her corset. “I think we have time to celebrate before we have to leave town.”
She nodded, eager. “Papa thinks I’m at my sister’s for the night. He won’t know I’m gone until dinner time tomorrow at the earliest.”
“We’ll be out of the state by then.”
She shivered as he kissed her shoulder. “Where are we going, D
rew?”
“West to California
. Fat
her wants to open a store there
. If that’s okay with you?”
“Anything that lets us be together is fine with me.”
Dropping to her knees, she reached for his belt, when he moved to stop her, she said, “
Please my husband-to-
be, let me love
you.”
Mary undid the buckle and pulled his pants down, freeing his hardness. Dipping her head, she took him into her mouth, sucking lightly. His smooth shaft filled her completely and a throbbing pulse beat against her tongue as he responded to her touch.
“Mary,” he said, groaning. He ran his hands over the top of her head and knotted his fingers in her hair, gripping her tight. His hips moved with her mouth in a soft pumping motion.
She tightened her lips around him, increasing the intensity and his back arch
ed as he exploded
.
Lifting her to her feet, he kissed her. “You are a goddess among women.” He pushed her back to the bed. “And I will cherish every blessed inch of you.”
They removed their clothes and embraced
,
naked. Even though Andrew had just cl
imaxed, his length had already begun
to harden again. His warm hands roamed Mary’s skin, caressing the side of her ribs down to the curve of her hips and up to cup her breasts. He teased each nipple into stiff prominence with his tongue and Mary’s head we
nt back with a sigh, her hands
running through his thick hair.
Spreading her legs wide, Andrew knelt between them and sucked the sensitive nub at her core until she reached the heights of pleasure. She was still thrashing from the orgas
m when he slid
into her, pumping her with long strokes. She moaned each time he sank into her soft, wet heat, hands gripping his shoulders and her body shuddering as sensation built up within her.
He reached down with a finger and pressed
the sensitive spot at her core
.
His length pushed against her walls, his hand worked her into a frenzy and she shrieked as she lost h
erself in sensation once more.
He groaned his own release, biting her shoulder as
he did so, as if trying to anchor himself further in her flesh
.
They rested for a
moment after that, laying side b
y side, hands idly traveling each other’s curves. Mary delighted in the smooth hardness of his body, the way the strong muscles jumped under her touch. Andrew reveled in her softness, the way her flesh yielded to hi
m
.
“Should we get ready to go?”
He captured her lips for another kiss, unable to resist their temptation. “In a while. First...” He trailed off and his hands took over as his touch became more urgent.
“Again?” She laughed, her blue eyes flashing with amusement.
“Yes. Again and again.” He rolled her onto her stomach and helped her up to her hands and knees. Positioning himself behind her, he rammed into her.
Mary yelped and met him
with eager thrusts of her hips
, stroke fo
r
stroke
.
Andrew massaged her back, pushing her face down into the mattress to force her backside higher. Mary gasped into the bedcovers, her nipples pebbling into hard points and her legs trembling at the force of Andrew’s penetration as well as the burgeoning pleasure his shaft elicited from her core.
He came with a guttural moan and Mary grunted her own release into the bed,
her body
quaking with the force of desire Andrew had unleashed.
Spent, they cuddled together on the bed, both lethargic. They were on the cusp of sleep when the front door
to the house
opened and slammed shut with a loud bang. Andre
w sprang out of the bed. His expression grew more and more
alarm
ed
as
heavy
footsteps mounted the stairs. Mary drew the bed sheet up to cover her nakedness and watched the door, her stomach filling with dread.
“Where is she? Where is my daughter?” snarled the voice of her father.
“Andrew Smith, you’re a dead man.” A gun cocked, the sound of cold steel ringing out in the air.
Mary put her hand over her mouth, smothering a cry of terror. Andrew looked at her, his eyes wide. She made a frantic motion with her hand, making the outline of a gun, but Andrew shook his head.
“It’s downstairs,” he said softly
as he pulled on his clothes
.
“Get dressed. I’ll try to head him off.”
Mary nodded as Andrew left the bedroom, shutting
the door after him. She
quickly
put on her dress
and then crouched at the door, wanting to hear everything that was said.
“Mr. Holmes, what are you doing in my house?” Andrew’s voice was cool and calm.
“I don’t believe you’ve been invited.”
“
Where’s Mary?”
“Why would I know where Mary was? You have refused my marriage offer.”
“That hasn’t stopped her whoring around according to the house servants. I’ve had them watching her for weeks and she came here today. I know it for a fact because the maid followed her.” His voice became even louder. “I’m tired of her lies. She’s going to learn her lesson the hard way.”
Andrew started to speak,
“Mr.
Holmes--,
” but whatever he had to say was cut off by the roar of gunfire.
The bullet sliced through the door t
o Andrew’s bedroom, striking Mary
in the chest, right where her heart lay. She took in a loud gasp of air and then her lungs froze as her heart stopped pumping. She scrabbled for the door knob and opened the door, falling over the threshold into the hallway.
“Mary.” Andrew kneeled
bes
ide her, lifting her up into his
lap.
From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of her father stunned by the turn of events. He’d clearly meant to kill Andrew
,
never thinking the man would dodge the bullet or that she would be the one to catch it. She almost felt sorry for him, for t
he bitterness that made murder seem rational to him.
She reached up and touched Andrew’s
face with her hand as she mouthed his name.
Tears glistened in hi
s eyes. “
Hang on, Mary. We
’ll get the doctor.”
But it was too late. Her
vision clouded and her eyes drifted closed. S
he fought
for a while longer
to keep her hand on his cheek,
to press against his warmth,
but soon she lost even that battle. Even as the darkness claimed her, she heard the soul renting cry of Andrew’s grief.
I was out of her body now, stan
ding next to Andrew’s ghost who watched events unfold, his eyes wide, his mouth a thin line. The scene continued to play out as a pool of Mary’s blood stained the floor.
Mary’s father shook himself. “It’s your fault, Smith. You did this to her. My daughter,” his voice broke and he paused for a moment fighting for control. “I’ll see to it that you pay for her death.”
Andrew gently set Mary down and stood, his hands balled into fists.
His voice thundered in the hallway, reverberating with fury and grief.
“Are you going to shoot me? Execute me? Do it, old man. Do it so I am free of the misery you have brought to my life.”
Mr. Holmes raised his gun and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. He gave a harsh laugh. “Provid
ence has spoken. Your soul will
rot
with y
our sin
long bef
ore it
is free of your flesh
.
”
Brushing past Andrew
,
he stormed down the stairs and out of the house.
“What the hell just happened?
” I rubbed my chest,
the memory of the bullet tearing into Mary’s he
art
still fresh
. “By the way, not only did I dislike h
aving sex with you all, I most definitely did not
like
getting
shot.
”
A muscle in Andrew’s jaw flexed as he worked to contain his emotions. Flashing a dark look at me, he said, “How do you judge me, Cassandra?”
Ah, here we were again, back to the judging bit. I lifted my chin up in defiance.
“It’s not my place to judge you, Andrew.”
He grabbed my shoulders and shook me until my head snapped back. “How do you judge me?”
I blinked and noticed our background had changed to a courtroom. Andrew sat on the side of the defendant, his shoulders slumped, his eyes empty. The judge, I noted had the same last name as Mary: Holmes.
I watched him pronounce Andrew guilty and frowned. “Wait a minute, this guy is related to Mary isn’t he? He has no business being the judge.”
Andrews’s
hands dropped to his side and he shrugged. “It was a small town.”
“So are you saying that Mary’s Dad shot his own daughter and then let you take the fall?”
Andrew nodded. “It was the price of loving her.”
“ I can’t believe that happened to you.” I put a hand to my head, reeling from everything I’d seen and
felt; from being possessed and taken to pinnacle of pleasure only to feel
the agony of being torn apart by bullets. “It’s just wrong.”
“How do you judge me?
” he asked again, his voice soft.
“Innocent,” I said without hesitation. I didn’t understand it, but if he wanted to know what I thought, I would tell him. “Y
ou committed no crime while you were living, Andrew Smith, but...” I paused and placed my hands on his shoulders turning him to face me. “You are totally screwing up your afterlife.”