Their Blushing Bride (Bridgewater Brides) Read online

  Oh lord. This was insanity.

  Or was it?

  Of course, the idea of it was scandalous. Shameful. Debased.

  So why was my body alight, as though flames filled my veins? And why did their touches cause me to yearn for more. So much more. Things I could not adequately describe or define, but that my body sought. Eagerly. Passionately.

  But, to say yes to such a thing?

  What would... I stopped and caught myself. I was about to ask myself what would my father say? But I had no family. I had nothing. What few belongings I had were still in the room where Mr. Garner had assaulted me.

  Thanks to Mr. Garner, I didn’t even have my good reputation anymore.

  What I did have was free will. My life was mine to do with as I pleased.

  Taking a deep breath, I looked from Keane on my left to Rye on my right. "Yes," I said, tentatively at first but as I spoke the word, my heart opened and swelled with jubilation. "Yes!" I cried louder. "A hundred times yes."

  KEANE

  * * *

  For a stunned moment I gaped at her. Of course, I had told Rye I was sure we’d find a bride and even find a way to make Miss Lily Snow ours, but now that it had happened, now that she’d agreed, I found it hard to believe.

  Merely two hours ago, Rye and I had lamented our failure to find a bride, or at least a marriageable bride and now, here she was, tucked up sweet as you please in our hotel room.

  I could not resist and glanced over at Rye to say, "Told you so." Then I put Lily's hand to my mouth and kissed each finger, the center of her palm before I joined her in the bed again.

  Rye had done the same, with an uncharacteristic grin on his face. He hadn't even minded my claim to have predicted our good fortune.

  Love changed people. Even Rye.

  The three of us lay there, beneath the covers, semi-undressed, and sort of stared at each other as we let the events of the last few minutes sink in.

  "I-I can’t believe this," Lily finally said. "It is like a dream come true." Her eyes shone bright, and she gazed first at me and then at Rye. "I have a feeling my neck will get sore from turning from one to the other of you." She laughed shyly at her little joke.

  My cock nearly exploded.

  "You have made us both incredibly happy, Lily," Rye said. "We cannot wait to take you back to Bridgewater with us."

  "Oh," I said, sitting up a bit straighter, "I nearly forgot." I glanced at Lily and smiled. "I was distracted." My gaze lingered on the opening of her corset, and she flushed prettily. "One of the deputies mentioned we ought not to stick around town too long. Apparently, Lily’s former employer is a man of some influence around here."

  Lily gasped, and her eyes went wide. "Oh, yes. He is." She sat bolt upright in bed and tried to climb over me to get out. "We need to pack our things and leave right away."

  "Woah, there, sweet Lily," I said, blocking her path and positioning her so she straddled my waist, her skirts—which I ached to remove to reveal the sweet cunny below—billowing out around her.

  "B-but, you don’t understand." I could feel her quiver against my waist. "He’s extremely powerful. And vindictive. Oh dear, we must go. I have brought all this trouble upon you. I’m so sorry."

  Rye and I exchanged a glance, and then he spoke. "We are honorable gentlemen and we hide from no man. We have already planned to leave in the morning, and that’s what we shall do. I’ll go and find a pastor or justice of the peace so we can do things up legally tonight before taking you back to our home at Bridgewater."

  "But—"

  I put a finger to her lips. "Do you trust us, Lily? For if you do not, then a marriage shall be quite a challenge indeed. You have not known us for long, but in that time we have conducted ourselves as men of character, have we not?"

  "Ye-yes," she replied, her pink tongue darting out to wet her lips. Was she trying to kill me? How could I focus when my mind filled with images of that pink tongue lapping at my thick cock?

  "And you have agreed to be our bride, and that means you will follow our instructions at all times, particularly when it comes to your safety and well-being. Do you understand?" Rye spoke in a calm but firm tone. This was a pivotal point in our relationship. If she did not trust us or wish to follow our leadership… well, we’d have to have a serious conversation about that.

  "I-I… yes, I do. It is just … well, I have never… " She paused and looked away for a moment as if thinking before turning back to us. "It is difficult for me to rely on others. In my experience, they have always let me down."

  I cupped her face in my palms. "I am sorry for all those wretched souls who let you down. And I will be even more sorry for them if I should ever encounter one for I will happily give them the same treatment I gave Mr. Garner, or worse." A corner of her mouth turned up a bit. "But Rye and I will never let you down. You will always come first for us, no matter what."

  Rye reached over and took both her hands in his. "It’s the Bridgewater way. Two men to take care of a woman’s every need. I vow to you Keane or I would gladly give our life to protect yours."

  5

  LILY

  * * *

  It was a mad scramble, but if we planned to marry that night, we had to move fast. While Keane went down to my former room and collected my few belongings, Rye dressed and went in search of an official to marry us.

  I was alone for only a few minutes, but enough for my anxieties to rear their ugly heads. This was madness. I knew nothing of them, their backgrounds, their families. And they knew nothing of mine.

  As my mother used to say, "Who are their people?"

  I righted my clothing and checked myself in the mirror. I was their people, and Rye and Keane were mine. It was as simple as that and, in my heart, I knew it was true.

  Keane returned with my things, such as they were. I took the bag and sorted through for a dress appropriate to wear for my wedding. As I laid the contents of my carpetbag on the bed, I did a quick inventory. Puzzled. I looked things over again. Of course, I had left the Garner home in a rush. so perhaps I had not gathered everything that belonged to me, but the drawers I had been wearing before my bath were missing. They were my only set tied with a blue ribbon.

  I shook out each article of clothing and opened the bag as wide as it would go in order to see into the corners.

  "Is everything all right, Lily?" Keane asked.

  "I-I seem to be missing an item, but that makes no sense. I am probably confused. It has been an eventful evening."

  "I searched around the room carefully and brought everything I found," he replied, leaning toward me with concern. "What is missing? Shall I go and check again? I'd hate for you not to have your things with you. Who knows how long it might be before we return to Butte."

  "Oh, no, please don't trouble yourself. It—it's nothing." I went back to my clothing, selected a dress to wear for the wedding then folded the rest of my garments and returned them to the bag.

  Keane came to stand by me, grasping my arm and stopping my progress. "Lily," he said, eyes intense, "what is missing?"

  I blushed and wished I'd never mentioned anything about it. No doubt it was my own error. "I am sure I am mistaken," I replied and moved to resume my task.

  Keane continued to hold my arm. "Do you remember what we told you a few minutes ago about honesty? I must also tell you, Miss Lily Snow, Rye and I are not ones to spare the rod and spoil the spouse. Now, you have until I count to three to tell me what is missing so I can go and find it, or I will turn you over my knee right here and spank that pretty bottom of yours."

  I gasped. "No! You wouldn't."

  He raised a brow at me. "Do I look like a man who would bluff about spanking your pert backside?"

  A heated flush moved through me.

  "One," he said, his gaze and voice indicating he was not bluffing.

  "I-I can't."

  "Two." He put his foot on the bedrail and patted his thigh, indicating his intent to put me over his knee. "No secrets bet
ween us, remember?"

  Oh lord. He was right, but this was too awful. Too humiliating.

  "Three."

  I found myself over his firm thigh, my skirts up and my drawers pulled open.

  "No! Please, stop!"

  "Too late, little Lily. You had your chance. Now you are going to get a spanking, and you still have to tell me what is missing."

  His palm slapped down on my backside with a smack. Never in my entire nineteen years had I been spanked. I was a good girl.

  He swatted again, this time on the other side of my bottom. No one had ever touched me there, at least not since I was a child. After the second swat, his palm lingered, stroked.

  My breath halted in my chest. The swatting resumed, alternating left and right on my rear end.

  "It's going to be rather embarrassing when Rye returns for him to walk in with the justice of the peace to find you like this, don't you think?"

  "Oh, please. I'm sorry. Please stop."

  He paused for a moment and righted me. His strong fingers gripped my waist. "What is missing, Lily? Tell me now."

  I hesitated, and he started to tip me back over his rugged thigh. "My drawers. A set of my drawers, the ones I was wearing earlier today, are missing. They have a blue ribbon."

  Keane smiled and gave me a gentle kiss. "Good girl. Now, I will go and make another check of the room, and that will give you a chance to get changed. We're getting married tonight!"

  After he left, I put on my prettiest dress, checked myself again in the mirror, and tried to tidy my hair. Rye and Keane had removed the pins and mussed it a bit.

  I also took a moment to examine my backside where Keane had spanked me.

  Spanked me!

  I must also tell you, Miss Lily Snow, that Rye and I are not ones to spare the rod and spoil the spouse.

  It was scandalous! And as I gazed upon my pink-tinged bottom, a tumult of naughty sensations coursed through me. I remembered the touch of his palm on my flesh and the way it had made my tummy tighten up. Pulses formed in my womanly parts.

  "I see you are admiring my handiwork."

  I startled at Keane's voice and dropped my skirts, spinning away from the mirror. I noticed his hands were empty. I had a sick feeling Mr. Richard Garner had taken my drawers for his own depraved reasons. But, at the moment, that was the least of my concerns.

  "Oh no, you don't. Let's take a peek at that sweet bottom of yours." Keane spun me back around and lifted my skirts, pushing aside my drawers so my entire backside was framed in the looking glass.

  "Keane!" I whined. "Please."

  He took hold of my chin and tipped my face up to look at him. "You belong to me. To Rye. We belong to you. And let me assure you, Miss Lily Snow, that once you are legally ours, we shall do much more than simply gaze at your lovely backside in the mirror. So, I would suggest you get used to it. Besides"—he winked at me—"I think you enjoy it."

  I opened my mouth to protest, but the heated longing I felt could not be denied.

  "Let me find the answer myself." Keane gave me a devilish smile and reached between my legs, his fingers stroking over the folds of my sex.

  I whimpered.

  His fingers slipped through the opening of my core; all the while his eyes were locked on mine. I ought to have looked away, but I couldn't. A heated blush tore through me. Then he touched on that nub of nerves. The one I'd been abusing when Mrs. Richard Garner caught me. I cried out and grasped his arm for support. Keane's fingertips moved expertly, and soon I rose up on tiptoe, yearning for more. Needy whimpers escaped my lips. I felt an explosion building in me, but before I got there, Keane withdrew his hand, held up his fingers glistening with my essence. "Well, I guess I got my answer." As he continued peering into my eyes, he held his fingers to his lips and licked them clean.

  I nearly fainted, and the quivers between my thighs began anew.

  "We have so much to look forward to, sweet Lily," he said, replacing my skirts and then kissing me. The taste of my own arousal on his lips.

  RYE

  * * *

  The summer sun was setting as I returned to the Hotel Imperial, Justice of the Peace Walter Kinney in tow. He had been enjoying an after-dinner cigar when I knocked upon his door, and he'd been reluctant to leave the comfort of his front porch in order to perform a spur-of-the-moment marriage. However, Mr. Kinney spoke the universal language of cash and, with a few bills across his palm, he had donned his coat and returned with me to our suite.

  Despite my words, spoken in earnest, about not hiding from any man, I did keep my wits about me as I traveled in and out of the hotel as well as about the town collecting Mr. Kinney. I would not hide, but I would not be so foolish as not to watch my back. If Lily's former employer was the sort of lowlife rat that I suspected, I did not wish to give him an opportunity to upset our sweet Lily.

  "Do you happen to know a gentleman by the name of Mr. Richard Garner?" I asked Mr. Kinney as we walked down the hall past the room where the aforementioned Mr. Garner had attempted to take liberties with our bride.

  Mr. Kinney halted in his tracks, his face going pale, though he quickly donned a benign expression. "I am. Is he an acquaintance of yours?"

  In my mind I pictured Keane giving him a knee in the nuts. "My friend is more familiar with him. What sort of gentleman is he?"

  Mr. Kinney paused. I could see the conflict on his face. Finally, he said, "He is not someone I would seek out."

  "I see." I nodded.

  "Nor would I wish to be on his bad side."

  "Fair enough. Thank you, Mr. Kinney."

  I knocked and then entered the suite.

  Keane and Lily were standing close to each other next to the bed. The air was heavy with the scent of feminine arousal. If Mr. Kinney noticed anything amiss, he kept it to himself.

  "Well," the justice of the peace cleared his throat, "if you are ready, we can get started."

  We had agreed that I, being the son of an earl, ought to be the one to legally marry Lily. Much as my family disdained my chosen path in life, the family name and estate still carried weight and influence, as well as wealth, which would provide an additional layer of protection for Lily and any children we had.

  "Oh," Mr. Kinney said. "We need another witness. Not a legal marriage without two witnesses." He glanced at Keane. "I assume you'll be staying to observe the wedding?"

  "Yes," Keane replied, then looked at me.

  "I will be right back with a witness." I headed for the door and out into the hallway. I saw a gentleman standing near Lily's former room and called out to him. He turned and glared at me for an instant and then ducked into a room without responding. Strange, I thought, but no time to wonder about that. I hurried down the stairs and to the front desk where I prevailed upon one of the clerks to fulfill the role of witness.

  Once we were assembled, it was only a matter of a few minutes before Mr. Kinney pronounced Lily and I married. I glanced over at Keane. A pang of guilt stabbed at me that he could not also be part of the marriage ceremony. That society forced those of us with beliefs such as were followed at Bridgewater to pretend. Hide, which I hated.

  But, if it was necessary to protect Lily and her reputation, then so be it.

  Finally, the license was signed, the witness tipped, and Mr. Kinney was on his way.

  I closed and locked the door behind them then turned back to my bride.

  I took her hand and put it in Keane's. "Although you and I are legally married, Keane is no less of a husband to you. And you are no less of a wife to him."

  "'Til death do us part," Keane said, then kissed Lily.

  "So," I said when Keane finally ended the kiss, "what happened while I was gone? When I got back here with the justice of the peace, this room reeked of female musk."

  Lily blushed scarlet, and Keane grinned.

  "An item of Lily's clothing was missing, but she wouldn't tell me what it was, so I had to spank her until she did."

  "Is that so?" I asked.
<
br />   "Yes," Lily answered.

  "Well," I said, eyeing Lily, "you were disobedient and Keane spanked you. Is that correct?"

  "I'm not sure I'd call it disobedient. I-I was too embarrassed to tell him what was missing."

  "Which was?" I pressed.

  She took a deep breath. "A pair of my drawers have gone missing. Keane went to check the room but found nothing."

  "And when I returned, I caught our sweet little bride examining her bottom in the mirror."

  Fuck. My already hard cock pushed against my trousers insistently, desperate to be freed and to plunge balls deep into my bride’s hot cunny. In and out. Hard. Fast. Long.

  "I'd like to see that for myself." I stepped closer to my bride, gave her a tender kiss, and worked the buttons of her dress as the kiss deepened. She mewled against my lips but gave no protest as I tugged the sleeves of her dress down, exposing her corseted torso once again.

  Holy fuck! The feel of her against me, her nipples peaked and pressing the thin fabric covering, set my blood on fire. Her dress fell to the floor, and I assisted her in stepping out of it. She wore only her shoes, drawers, and corset. The creamy swells of her breasts threatened to burst from her corset; the tops of her pink nipples peeked out. I bent my head and licked along the edge. She gasped.

  I raised my head and smiled at her. "I got distracted. So, pretty, sweet Lily. How will we ever get enough of you?" I knelt and helped her out of her shoes then turned her and untied the ribbon of her drawers, sending them cascading to the floor as well.

  I sucked in a breath. Bloody hell. Perfection.

  I reached out and stroked a finger over the flesh of her ass. It was still pink from the spanking Keane had given her. No doubt he had gone easy on her, but the sight of her punished backside nearly made me come in my pants.

  "She told me she didn't like being spanked," Keane offered before he kissed Lily. His fingers slid down her stomach to the slit of her pussy then delved into the folds there. "But she was wet," he said when the kiss ended. "Just like she is now." He held up his fingers. "That's what you smelled when you came in. She's soaking wet, Rye."