The Major's Wife Read online

  The troops unloaded her trunks, tied to the top of the fully laden wagon. Auntie Liz made certain they took care with each piece. She instructed the men to carry them to the room where the officers had their desks, the only place she deemed large enough and suitable to put them.

  At least it has plank floors, thought Lucretia. Plank floors. Large, with windows. Warm. That is it, Lucretia thought. I have money in the bank in St. Louis that came from my parents. I will have lumber made and sent here. The men can build us a suitable home, with a second bedroom for Liz. Why had she not thought of that before? Moreover, why had Jeffrey, her husband, not thought of it, either? Especially since men are supposed to be so much smarter than women are. Ha! And why did he not have a fire in the small stove in their room? Why had he not realized that the tiny cabin was too small for two of them? And closets…did he not think of closets? And water…why did they not haul water from the river and warm it for bathing? Was there not firewood in the forests to the west?

  For the first time, she looked at her husband with thoughts other than physical desire for him. That was important, too, but other things were important as well. Why had she never considered anything but being together in bed?

  Chapter 17

  When Lulu first met him at the June Ball, a dance of high importance in her crowd, she instantly desired him, although what she wanted from him, she was not sure. They walked in the garden outside the plush hotel and when he tried to kiss her, she did not bother to play coy. He pressed his lips gently to hers, while one hand held her and the other touched her face. Her response was all he needed to push her back against a light post to hold her while his tongue slipped into her mouth. It astounded her and when he stopped, she wanted him to kiss her again, but she knew it must stop now or…or what she was not sure, but she would have been happy to kiss him all night.

  He apologized profusely and she nodded, but forced her eyes to fill with tears. “Sir, I have never been kissed like that before and your ardor surprised me and frightened me a bit too, I think. Your apology is accepted but I think we should go back inside. I promise you the next dance.”

  In the two weeks before he was to leave St. Louis, they spent every possible minute together, always with Auntie Liz to chaperone. The first night of the last week, while returning to her home in an open buggy, Liz was apparently asleep in the front by the driver. Their lips met for an all-consuming kiss that did not stop until Liz barked at them, “Major, you do that one more time, and I will insist my niece’s reputation is ruined and you will be forced to marry her.”

  He laughed and pulled Lulu to his chest, kissing her again, but this time he slid one hand down to cup her breast inside her low-cut dress. “I say, Major. You are a rascal. I shall call your commandant and report you for attempted…attempted…”

  “Yes, Mrs. Harold, as you should. I will be drawn and quartered for kissing the woman I love and for touching her most delectable breast. Or you can give me your blessing so I can marry her within the week.”

  Lucretia hardly heard the conversation. Her entire being was in the palm of his hand. His touch was like a strike of lightning. She moved her hand to cover his, hidden under the fabric of her dress, holding it tightly so he could not take it away. They both felt her nipple tighten into a tiny hard bead that pressed against his skin. She closed her eyes and let her desire take over. She wanted him the way he wanted her.

  They were married three days later. They spent their short time locked away in the hotel, ordering in food, and sleeping between passionate loving. Never once did they make plans or think about their future. There was no time for anything but making love, over and over again.

  Chapter 18

  Lucretia followed her trunks into the officers’ office area. How could she approach Jeffrey with her ideas without hurting his manly ego? Liz taught her, years before, just how a man’s self-worth depended on a trusting wife who worshiped him in all facets of their life. She also taught her the importance of making him think any idea she thought to imbed in his mind had come from him originally. Liz did admit that her husband, Clarence, was not too bright and convincing him that he considered every problem and solution to be totally his was an easy task.

  Jeffrey was too bright to maneuver that way. A frank discussion would have to do. Before or after sex? She would have to work that out later. Either way, sex was the key.

  Chapter 19

  Liz and Lucretia opened one of the trunks and found some clean littles for each of them. “I never expected to get excited over fresh under things,” commented Liz. Jeffrey worked at his desk while the women chatted. He smiled to himself, thinking of the projects he had assigned to several of the idle troopers. He would have to keep the women here until late today, but he was unsure how to do it.

  These well-laid plans went awry in the next minute. Captain Grant came inside. “Sure is damn cold out there, Major. I shot a few rabbits and a deer and dropped them off with Greta. Any report from the crew in the forest?”

  Jeffrey sighed. So much for secrecy. “They should be back before dark. I told them I wanted the dry wood and to chop it before they returned. Easier to transport after dark than chopping in the dark.”

  “Dry wood, Jeffrey. How wonderful! To be warm again at night. You are so thoughtful.” Lucretia ignored the man who turned to give her that “dung beetle” look. She rushed to her husband and bent over to plant a resounding smack on his cheek. “Some warm water would be nice, too. But just to be warm will be wonderful.” She hugged him around his shoulders, snuggling her face in his neck.

  Jeffrey was a bit embarrassed by her open display of affection, but rather enjoyed it, too. “I guess I might as well tell you the rest of it, Lulu,” using the nickname only family ever called her.

  “What? What? There is more? Tell me, darling. Please tell me.” She snuggled closer to him and pressed her breasts against the back of his head. His cock wiggled its awakening, but he wanted to stop this before it got out of hand and before he lost control of the situation.

  “Yes, Lucretia. Let me go and I will show you. Come, both of you.” He led them outside where a wagon laden with buckets and barrels rolled in and stopped before him. The four men on board grinned as Jeffrey spoke. “So, my ladies, you shall have water to wash with tonight. Tomorrow and every day hence, as long as we can break the ice, we will bring water from the river. Does that make you happy?”

  Lulu jumped up and down like a child, before throwing herself into his arms. “Oh, my husband, you are…you are…I cannot think of a word for how good this is and for you, who thought of it. I must think of a reward.”

  Her face was so innocent that he forced himself not to smile. “I am sure”—he whispered in her ear—“that you can think of something.”

  Every one of the four on the wagon knew exactly how they would like to be rewarded, but would have to settle for their hands and visions behind their eyes. They did the work and the major got the reward. Such was life in the army.

  Inside the officers’ room, Captain Black Eagle Grant heard the exchange. He thought she was nothing but a cock tease. She would do whatever it took to get what she wanted. God, he hated her and her kind. Even more, he hated the stirring of his always-ready pocket snake.

  Chapter 20

  Mrs. Sawyer was not the first white woman he had lusted for. However, he suspected she would be the only one he would never fuck. The others were so easy. Carol Winthrop was a barmaid with a room upstairs in St. Louis and a lust for any man different from others. For him, she was free.

  The only other one he remembered by name was Mrs. Clarkson Wade, known as Bibi to her friends. Her carriage careened around a corner in St. Louis, hitting him as he crossed the street. The impact threw him into the air, causing a broken leg when he fell. One of the horses fell, forcing the other to stop, but not before the carriage tipped to its side. He heard the scream inside. Although in terrible pain from the bone pushed through the skin, he crawled to the carriage. Leaning aga
inst it for support, he stood on one leg, opened the door, and lifted the petite woman out.

  By that time, a large crowd had gathered, including some of her friends’ husbands. Once on her feet, Mrs. Take-Charge Wade assured everyone she was fine, but insisted a doctor be called for the man who she said had saved her life. Biting a stick he found on the street to control his pain, he limped through his fog, as two men he did not know carried him to where an old man lived as Mrs. Wade led the way.

  Black Eagle could only think of his own stupidity. How could he have let the carriage hit him? His reflexes had been dulled by the city. He would return to the land as soon as he could.

  That did not happen, at least not the way he had intended. The old doctor, with the help of several men to hold Eagle down, pulled his leg until the bone slid back inside. Once the old man was satisfied that it would set, he stitched the leg, thanked the men for their help, and disappeared from the room.

  Chapter 21

  The next years raced through Eagle’s mind as he sat behind his desk at Fort Mason. He recuperated at the home of Major General and Mrs. Clarkson Wade. He bedded the woman who taught him to speak their language like a gentleman. He rode with the man who taught him the white man’s ways and who suggested he would make a great military man. He enrolled to attend West Point as Black Eagle Grant. The general convinced him to take a white man’s name to add to his own, so he chose the name of the big White Chief. Years later he would wonder why he had done those things, but at the time, all seemed right.

  Much as he hated to admit it, he had grown fond of both the Wades. He felt at ease with them and secure in a way he never had before, even in this white man’s world. The night before he left for the academy, the three of them had celebrated with a fine meal and much too much wine. Bibi had taught him to dance, saying all officers must have that social grace, among the many others he learned.

  After the second bottle of wine, Clarkson suggested he play the piano while his wife and Eagle danced. So it was that inebriated Bibi snuggled close, rather than the expected inches between them. She pressed herself against him and licked his ear, sending a shock down his body. Her husband watched them as he played on. Even in his alcohol haze, Eagle tensed, expecting his host to attack him.

  Instead, Clarkson smiled as Bibi pressed her lips to Eagle’s, whose cock leaped to attention when her tongue began to tease his. Clarkson nodded to them before standing to ring for a servant. He opened the parlor door only a crack and said, “You are not needed any more this evening, Mrs. Bigelow, nor are the others. Please lock the house when you leave. See you in the morning.”

  Eagle did not understand, even when Clarkson locked the door and carefully circled the room, closing each window blind. Bibi giggled and let her hand drop to the front of Eagle’s trousers, as she had done so often to entice him to her bedroom. In front of her husband…well, this was incredible.

  Even more so was what happened next. Clarkson came up behind his wife and slid his hands down the front of her gown, cupping each breast. She tilted her head to smile at him. She reached behind her to rub his cock as she rubbed Eagle’s. “I do not understand,” he whispered.

  “You do not have to understand, my lover,” Bibi said. “Just enjoy.” She unfastened his suspenders under his jacket and slid her hand down inside his trousers to grasp his throbbing cock. Her husband opened her dress top, pushing it down to expose her hard-nipple tits. “Kiss them, Eagle. Nibble my nips.” She laughed at her own joke.

  “I cannot. Clarkson…” Whether it was a question, a plea, or something else, he wanted her but was afraid to continue.

  “Ah, young man. I see you are confused. I know you have fucked my wife many times and hearing about it excited me a great deal, giving us some wonderful nights. I suggested that, since you are leaving us tomorrow, tonight I join you. Believe me, Bibi can handle us both. Actually, she can take care of three men at a time with no complaints. There is no need for you to be self-conscious. She says you are incredible in bed. Would you prefer to go upstairs or is here fine?”

  Eagle looked from face to face, seeing only lust in their eyes. His tribe had these couplings, but he never considered white men doing it as well. He stepped back and slowly removed his clothes to stand proudly naked for both to see. His scar was still white against his dark skin, his chest was muscular, and his arms were hard as tree limbs. The thing that interested them most was his huge cock, standing up and throbbing.

  “Oh, you do have a big one!” said Clarkson. “Bibi was right. It is the biggest I have ever seen. No wonder she could not get enough of it.” He removed his uniform as he spoke.

  Both men were soon naked with the partially garbed woman between them. “Oh, I cannot wait.” She pushed Eagle backward into a chair, where she knelt between his legs and took his dick in her mouth. She ran her tongue around it and sucked it gently at first, then harder.

  Behind her, Clarkson lifted her skirt up to expose her bare ass. He spread her thighs and ran his hand under her to tease her pussy. Her body began to move with him as he shoved his hardness into her. Eagle watched them as his cock hardened even more. Bibi looked up at him with a face full of want. Her mouth continued to love him, even as her cunt loved her husband. Eagle felt his cum rising and could not stop. He grabbed her head and held her mouth over him as he spewed his seed. At the same time, Clarkson moaned and pushed his last jab into her. The men both watched the actions of the other, adding an excitement to it that Eagle had never felt before.

  It was an orgy of lust—nothing more—but a night Eagle would always remember. Bibi could handle them both, with not a problem. It was the men who finally gave up, even as she demanded they finger fuck her together, one in her cunt, the other on her clit.

  Eagle carried his own water for a bath that night, but left the next morning, still not feeling clean. His hosts did not arise to wish him farewell.

  He forced his memories to recede until he stared at the dark boards of the room and the ornate trunks sitting open. On top of the piles of clothing, he saw daintily stitched undergarments and for a split-second saw Lucretia stand before him, wearing only those silken white pieces. He closed his eyes and lifted his face upward, praying to his gods to erase this woman from his mind.

  Chapter 22

  The four women watched as troopers carried cut firewood to set outside each cabin. Lucretia clapped her hands like an excited child. Liz smiled at everyone, including Sergeant O’Brian for a moment or two, before remembering she did not like him.

  “Oh, Jeffrey, can we go build a fire now?”

  “Not yet, my dear. Wait until you see what is on the wagon heading this way now.” Everyone looked until Deke hugged his Molly close and whispered to her. She bounced up and down and kissed his face all over as she held it in her hands.

  Greta smiled at the two young women. She and Liz stood apart from the married couples, giving them space to converse in low tones. Liz looked up, as startled at what Greta told her as if she had found a pile of gold at the end of a rainbow. “I ain’t ad no bath since the summer. Lice from the straw sure do make a body itch. Hell, I can just go sit in the horse trough until the little buggers drown or hop off. We can have two troughs in the stable filled if you want ta join me.”

  The ever loquacious Elizabeth found herself without words for the first time in years. She stuttered a polite refusal and turned away as Greta smiled and strode toward the barn.

  “Water, water, water.” Lulu giggled. “I see barrels and buckets. Water and ice. From the river, Jeffrey? You had the men break the ice for fresh water.” She stood on her tiptoes to kiss his lips before running to watch the wagon pull through the gates toward the area where Greta cooked.

  When he caught up with her, he said, “Now, little wife, let us go build that fire you want.” He offered his arm and escorted her proudly across the compound to their door, where troopers had set two buckets of water and a pile of wood. This time, Jeffrey picked up his wife and carried her over th
e threshold…or what would be the threshold, instead of hard clay.

  He set her down, although it was more fun to hold her in his arms while she planted kisses all over his face. When she fastened her lips to his, he wanted to forget the fire and build one of his own on and in her sweet body.

  “Enough of that for a minute, my dear. Woodstove fire first, Jeffrey fire second.” He opened the door in the front of the stove and a dozen mice of assorted sizes spilled out to the floor, running every direction. This time when she screamed, she did not jump up on the bed, but instead ran to the door to open it, hoping they would find their way out.

  As before, everyone came running. When they saw the mice scurrying out the door and Jeffrey standing in front of the open stove, it became clear what had happened. Soon, the tiny cabin held as many men as was possible to squeeze into it, all in search of any elusive mice. They bumped into one another, trying to look under the bed and table.

  A short trooper jumped off the chair where he stood to chase two mice off the top of the pathetic cupboard. He landed on a big foot, and a big mouth yelled in pain before taking a punch at the littler man. He connected, knocking the unfortunate guy into the back of another man, who lost his balance and fell on the bed, breaking the frame and sending it to the floor.

  “Stop it, all of you. Look at what you have done,” Lucretia shouted and almost immediately, all fighting stopped. “I think the way you are acting…well, I prefer the mice to this ridiculous display of chaos. Out with you. All of you. Out, out, out!”

  Red-faced from embarrassment, and blood in some cases, they all left quietly after picking up their lost hats. No face looked at her or the major. She strode to the door and closed it quietly behind them before bursting into near hysterical laughter. Jeffrey looked at her in amazement and joined her. He scooped her up and laid her carefully on the now floor-level bed. She wound her arms around his neck and met his kiss with an ardor that always took his breath away.