Page 18 of The Rancher's Rejected Bride
And then he was bouncing her on his thick, throbbing manhood, and all thoughts of protest disappeared under an overwhelming surge of sensations.
"Oh God."
Her head lolled back, and she could only hang on to him for life.
Their lovemaking was fast, furious, and wondrously loud and lurid. It was everything she hadn't even known to fantasize about, and she loved every moment of it.
Or at least she did until they had finally stepped out of their bedroom, and she saw how every member of the cleaning staff was giving her knowing looks. It was so obvious that they had heard all those noises she made, and her hands flew to cover her face as she let out a muffled moan of embarrassment.
Nicholas, on the other hand, simply took it by stride, and if she hadn't been so busy drowning in mortification, she might have even gone as far as thinking her husband was practically strutting like a man who had just the best sex of his life - and wanted the whole world to know it.
Just as they were about to enter the dining room, Tabitha shook her head and tugged him towards another direction. "We're not eating there."
Nicholas was bemused. They weren't?
Instead, his wife brought him all the way...to the kitchen, and Nicholas' puzzlement only grew when he saw almost all of his ranch hands gathered inside it, along with his kitchen staff and even Thomas.
At the older man's nod, Nicholas' employees took their party poppers out.
What the—-
Pop! Pop! Pop!
And as confetti started to rain, his staff's boisterous cheer rang out.
"Happy monthsary, Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland!"
Nicholas' brows shot up, and then a grinning Tabitha literally jumped into view in front of him. "Surprised?"
"Stunned speechless." And he wasn't lying. Not once had he this kind of celebration with his staff, and most of them had been working for him over a decade.
Rising on her toes, Tabitha placed a kiss on his nose and pulled back with a beam, saying, "And this, Mr. Sutherland, is just the beginning."
His men filed out, and for some reason, she had the two of them following behind the twenty or so men as they went out through the back door. They walked all the way to the other side of thehouse, and the first thing he saw were festive party streamers hanging over the landscaped garden.
"Happy monthsary!"
Nicholas shook his head in good-natured surprise when he saw that Tabitha had actually invited just about every person working at his ranch, alongside their friends and families.
"Nicholas?"
He pulled her close as he gazed down at her. "What is it, baby?"
"I thought it would be nice if we could celebrate our first week together with your staff." She looked up at him uncertainly. "It's okay, right?"
"It's the perfect idea, Mrs. Sutherland." He smiled down at her. "Thank you for preparing for this."
And indeed, Nicholas couldn't imagine the last time he had this much fun on his own, and without him having to live vicariously through his son. As he laughed and clapped when Thomas and Tabitha started hosting a series of games, which his men gamely joined and competed in, thoughts began to form in the back of his mind. Thoughts that would never have occurred ifshehadn't come to his life...
For so long, he had been punishing himself, and he hadn't even known it. While he had continued to meet with his childhood friends, Nicholas realized that those meetings in itself were far and between. He had only shown up if either work or a major milestone was involved, such as when Devon and Sean had gotten married.
And he had been the same with his staff, Nicholas brooded,without realizing it as well.
He watched his wife circulate among his employees, laughing and chatting with them, and it was if asshewas the one who had known them her entire life. He heard her congratulate the head gardener for finally finding the courage to ask his dream girl out, someone who apparently worked as one of the cleaners over at Devon's ranch. He watched her move on to another table, and this time she was speaking with his head cook, who was in turn thanking Tabitha for the herbal remedy she had personally brewed for her son's cough.
Just watching her, seeing her dole out smiles like she had never tasted hardship, was more than enough to take his breath away.
Compared to how she had looked the first time he saw her, Tabitha had filled up quite nicely, no doubt due to Thomas and Nicholas alternately doing their best to get her to eat. While neither of them had spoken about it out loud, he had a feeling the older man was paranoid about his wife's seeming frailty and what could happen if she ever fell sick.
