A Fall From Grace. Mail Order Bride Western Read online

  “I’m glad you decided to change back into that dress. You do look lovely.”

  Irene blushed, happy at her little success.

  “I thought the ceremony was lovely. Pastor Williams was really nice.”

  “I thought so too. I joined in a celebration with the workers just now. We drank a few toasts to you.” He said with some trepidation.

  Irene smiled in response. The dinner was going better than expected. Finn ate heartily and she caught him eyeing her bosom more than a dozen times. He had complimented her on the food and she felt more at ease.

  After they were done eating, there was some lull in the conversation, and Irene knew this had to do with the knot she felt in her stomach every time their eyes met. She knew Finn desired her and she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to try and give him encouragement or not. She wanted to be modest and encouraging him would exempt him from all the strangeness of his behaviors.

  He had to make all the moves, she decided. She was going to show him tenderness and he would have to let her in. This aloofness would end up making her scream.

  She walked up with him, as they went up the stairs. Finn paused outside his room.

  “You could stay with me tonight. If you so desired.”

  Irene felt the butterflies in her stomach flutter.

  “I would love the company.” Irene entered the room, walking around and looking at his racks of papers and books.

  Finn stood behind her, his breath hot on her neck.

  “It’s been rather lonely on the ranch. I am glad of the company.”

  Finn brushed his fingers along the nape of her neck, kissing her neck lightly. Irene shuddered, her breath catching in her throat. Finn felt her relax a little and slump backwards, her body pressing close to his.

  Fin held her by her waist; he couldn’t stop his hands from travelling up her body, cupping her breasts as he kissed her neck. This was a lot further than he had planned to go on their wedding night, but he couldn’t control his lust. He felt his erection grow in his pants and he tried to turn away from her. But she felt him, and pressed herself against him. Irene felt her corset restrict her movements and she wanted to be free of it. She had never felt lust like that, the urgency of Finn’s groping fingers left her breathless. She wanted to show him, she wanted him too, but she didn’t want to seem too eager. She reached back her arm and buried his head into her neck. He kissed her deeply and clawed at the back of her dress.

  Irene suddenly broke free. She turned around and stood in front of him, taking off her many layers of clothes with as much urgency as she could muster while looking graceful. Finn kept his eyes on her and hurriedly took off his shirt, observing her unravel her body.

  He felt his erection throb as she took off her corset. Her breasts sprang free, her nipples small and pink, hardened to a point. She lowered her eyes and dropped her hands awkwardly to her sides in a most endearing gesture. Her hands busied themselves with her underskirt, and two glorious minutes later she was standing naked in front of him. Her legs awkwardly pressed together, her eyes downcast.

  “You look beautiful.” Finn looked at her body. The roundness of her belly was inviting and soft. Her thighs were broad and her hips had a delicious curve. Finn walked towards her, hearing her shallow breathing quicken.

  He placed a hand on her bosom, his fingers around her nipple. He lifted her head up with his other hand, kissing her deeply. Finn let his tongue enter her mouth, running circles in her mouth, taking in the sweetness of her breath.

  Irene pressed herself into him, feeling his hard cock between her thighs. He started to move, grinding his hips and kissing her as they stood near his bed. Irene ran her fingers down his chest, feeling his soft and sparse hair.

  He had the hard body of a working man, his muscles taut and hard to her touch. He placed a hand between her legs, pressing his hand into her pussy lips and stroking her as he kissed her.

  Irene began to moan, her mind was completely blank now and she was being driven solely by her sexual impulses. Her pussy felt wet and ready for him, and she didn’t care anymore about how she seemed. She needed him and he seemed to need her too.

  Finn led her to the bed and lay her down. He knelt between her legs, on the floor, parting her thighs, he started to kiss her legs, just as he had envisioned when he had seen her partially dressed in her room.

  He couldn’t contain himself anymore and he unbuckled her trousers, standing in front of her, his cock pointed at her, his eyes hungrily taking in her body.

  Irene saw his member and gasped. He was quite large; his cock thick and long, curved a little to the side, ready to enter her. She was suddenly afraid; she had explored her pussy with a finger once or twice during baths. But she didn’t think she could accommodate something so big.

  Finn lay on top of her, his cock sliding between her thighs as he kissed her, his hand cradling her face, as he stared into her eyes.

  “I won’t hurt you.” He said quietly, they were the only words that had been said in their lust filled time, and they took the breath out of Irene. She nodded, her lips quivering, her eyes closing to escape his intense stare. She slowly spread her legs, and he took his hand to her mound. He used his fingers to spread her soft pubic hair apart. He guided his cock to her wetness, and she shivered.

  “Shhh…” He whispered into her ear, his cock slowly sliding inside her. He suddenly felt the barrier of her virginity and simultaneously felt Irene’s body tense up under him. She bit her lip, and her eyes closed tightly shut as Finn thrust into her suddenly, he could see that she was in pain, but he was too crazed in his lust to take it slow anymore. Irene was moaning lightly as she put her arms around him. He found himself enveloped in her body, her warmth making him thrust deeper into her soft flesh.

  Irene was rocking back and forth with him, her mouth now open as her thighs parted further, to accommodate him. Finn was sweating now, he saw Irene’s hand move to squeeze her breast as he fucked her and he couldn’t contain his lust any longer. His face contorted a little, as he felt himself pour into her, his cum filling her up.

  He lay spent on top of her, feeling her breathing normalize slowly. He got off her, and went for his clothes, leaving Irene on the bed naked and still quivering.

  He looked at her lying there, with a faint blood stain between her legs and she suddenly got up, her knees huddled in her arms, staring at him. Finn suddenly felt like he had nothing to say to her and he couldn’t decide on what to do next.

  He went and sat down next to her.

  “I have been used to sleeping on my own as I assume are you. So I was wondering if you’d prefer to sleep in your room.”

  Irene heard “your room” loud and clear. She knew she wasn’t really wanted and he wanted to be on his own. She got up quietly, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment and she got dressed as quickly as she could manage. She left the room quietly, leaving Finn standing in the middle of the room.

  The next day Finn announced that he was leaving for the city. He had some business to conduct and he went to Irene and gave her money and the freedom to go to the local market with the servants if she desired.

  Irene was responding to him in nods and he knew he had offended her. He found her in a sullen mood, and he thought about staying back but he had made that decision because of the way his lust had taken over him the night before.

  He knew he felt nothing but lust for her; she was behaving like a petulant child now. He had given her the option of staying; he hadn’t ordered her to her room. And she had left wordlessly on her own.

  He didn’t want to encourage petty behavior like that. It was precisely for this reason that he had wished to remain unhitched. He knew if he stayed at home the desire for her body wouldn’t let him stay away from her. And he wanted to take things slower now, find a rhythm in their daily lives before he let the lust control him.

  He didn’t want a child just then either and he couldn’t decide if his decision had been the right one.

  H
e left after saying a goodbye to Irene and receiving a formal curt reply in return. Irene felt utterly dejected, she felt like Finn had married her for the physical part of the relationship and to take care of the house maybe.

  But he wasn’t going to let her in. She saw that now, he didn’t want the companionship, and she decided to not pretend to be okay with his behavior. She had left her house for him, travelled to a far away land to become his wife. He couldn’t treat her like a convenient body to lie with. She felt ashamed at how much she had wanted him, how her body had reacted ho his and how she had moaned for him.

  She saw him disappear from view, his hat on his head, his broad shoulders disappearing out the door and her heart finally sank. She went up to her room and cried her heart out. She had so many expectations, and he had just snuffed all her hopes out. She wasn’t in a marriage with a handsome loving man; she was in a business agreement with a rancher who wanted nothing to do with her heart.

  After he came back the next day, Irene kept her contact with him to a bare minimum. She got busy with the decoration of the house and the cooking and cleaning routines, only talking to Finn when she needed to, eating her food without him when he told her he would be late.

  It hadn’t even been a week after the wedding and they were back to being the two strangers sharing a house, as they had been on her first day there. Finn acted like she was part of the staff in the house, talking to her about the affairs of the house, and not much else.

  Irene wrote a letter home after her first week there, describing her handsome new husband, who cared about her and her big house with many servants. She wanted to sound happy in her letters, unwilling to betray even a hint of what she was going through, so people wouldn’t pity her.

  Finn had entered her room one night and fumbled around with her clothes, but she had pretended to sleep, needing him, but denying him that control over her body. If he couldn’t love her, he couldn’t fuck her either.

  Finn hadn’t tried again, and there was now of a platonic domestic nature. Both of them were convinced they were in the right and wouldn’t back down from their stance. If this was what their marriage would be like that was alright with them. Finn consoled himself with the fact that the ranch house was predominantly why he had married her. And whenever he wanted to have children, he would talk to her about it, it was a part of her duties as a wife after all and for now he wasn’t going to give in to her childish tantrum.

  Chapter 5

  About two weeks in to their newlywed life, disaster struck the ranch. Irene woke up one night to screams and she looked out of her window to see bright orange flames dance in the distance. She quickly covered herself in a robe and rushed out. Finn’s room was empty and the servants were milling about. She caught a hold of Sally only to find out that Finn was out there with the ranch hands trying to control the fire. One of the living quarters had caught fire from a lantern and it had spread to a nearby shed that had bales of hay in it. All the men and women of the ranch were rushing with buckets of water, trying to control the orange headed beast that roared high and loud.

  There was a shed with cattle nearby, and they were greatly agitated. Finn was trying to let them out and save them from the fire that was threatening to spread close to them. Irene rushed to the spot in her night gown, and found Finn lying on the floor in agony as his men continued to put out the fire.

  She knelt down in front of him and saw that he had broken his ankle. The cattle had been greatly agitated by the fire and the commotion, he had gotten knocked over and some cattle had trampled on his leg leaving his ankle broken and bent in a painful looking ankle.

  Irene instructed two men to pick him up and carry him to the house as she oversaw the rest of the progress of the attempt to put out the fire.

  She stood with the men for a couple of hours, till only a smoldering heap remained of the shed. The living quarters of the ranch hands were gone too and she finally went back to the house.

  Finn was in his bed, sleeping in exhaustion. She felt his brow and found him hot and sweating. She asked Sally to get her water and a wet towel and sat next to him, wetting his fevered brow and stroking his head as he slept. She sent some men to get a doctor from the town and sat up with Finn’s head in her lap, finally nodding off to sleep, with a wet cloth on his forehead.

  She was woken up by Finn stirring, she told him the doctor was on his way and that everything would be fine. Finn struggled to get up, but he seemed to be in a great deal of pain.

  “Was it all destroyed?” Finn asked her worriedly.

  “No, just a shed and a couple of houses, not a single head of cattle lost. No injury to any of your men. Nothing to worry about, we will have you fixed up in no time.”Finn smiled weakly at her in gratitude.

  The doctor arrived and bound his leg, setting the bone straight and asking him to keep his weight off it. He told Irene that if a fracture of the ankle like this wasn’t allowed to heal properly, Finn could have a pronounced limp permanently.

  Irene marched back into the room and sat down next to Finn who was groaning in pain. The setting of the bone had been a painful process and he was drenched in sweat.

  She got a piece of cloth and some water and took off his shirt. He was lying naked on the bed while she tenderly wiped his feverish body down.

  Finn moaned, the cool water relaxed him a little and he soon nodded off again. When he came to, Finn wanted to call all the ranch hands in and discuss what was to be done. Timber needed to be bought and work needed to start on the homes. They had also lost some feed for the livestock and Finn wanted to make sure they didn’t run out.

  Irene instructed him to rest. She made sure she understood everything that needed to be done and left him to rest as she called all the ranch hands to the house. She sent two of Finn’s most trusted men with about 300 head of cattle; they were to sell them and buy timber. One of the older more experienced ranchmen was asked to take stock of how much of the feed they had lost, and to make sure it got replenished.

  She asked the men to get her comparative prices, so she could keep her husband informed. She wanted the men to know that they couldn’t cheat her, this was her home and she had to be the one who took charge of the situation.

  Irene spent most of her day in Finn’s room, making him comfortable. She wiped him down daily, his pain made him sweat greatly and she made sure he didn’t stay uncomfortably warm.

  One of the male servants helped carry him to the outhouse, and she had also kept a bucket around, so he spent almost no time on his foot. She told him about the dealings with the men, the timber was here and they had started rebuilding the shed and the quarters.

  Finn had wanted to go see the progress once he felt a little better, but Irene forbade it. She had told him about the doctor’s warning and assured him that she was taking care of things.

  Finn had never really let go of any control he had over his ranch. He had worked on it since he was a child and it was his legacy to him, his life. But Irene seemed to be doing a good job. He was surprised to see how well she handled the men, she had told him about the prices the cattle had gone for. He could have gotten a slightly better price, but her sharp mind impressed him. She walked around the house like its true mistress now. The servants listened to her every command and Finn felt his worries melt away. For once, he felt he could relax and let someone else take over. She had been diligent and dutiful and Finn felt very grateful.

  Once the pain got a little better, he started spending the day sitting up in bed, reading. Irene would join him, and sit on a chair near his bed, her head buried in some book, or her hands busy with some needlework.

  There was suddenly affection between them that they both felt. Irene would caress his cheek or Finn would put his hand on hers. But they would both stop themselves, their love had started in a way that had left them both fearful and neither wanted to rush things again, now that they seemed to have found respect and friendship.

  Irene was sitting up in her bed one night, wo
rrying about a ranch hand who had disappeared. His home had been destroyed in the fire and a day back, he had just left. One of the men had told her he had found employment elsewhere. With the rebuilding of the ranch and the regular work that needed to be put in, the workers were all overworked, despite the three new people she had hired.

  She was going over plans to divide the work evenly between them when she heard soft groans from Finn’s bed. She rushed out, entering his room to find him covered with sweat, tossing and turning.

  She quickly sat down next to him and put her hand on his forehead. His eyes fluttered open and he calmed down a bit.

  “Did I wake you up?” He asked her in a tired voice.

  “No, I was up. Does it hurt a lot?” Irene asked him, worried.

  “I moved it in my sleep. It will be alright.” He smiled weakly at her.

  Irene took a moist cloth and quietly took off his shirt, gently letting the water wash away his hot sweat. Finn closed his eyes and took his hand to hers.

  He guided her hand downwards, and she obliged him by removing the covers. He was completely naked, his manhood erect, even in his pain.

  “Maybe this will distract me from the pain.” Finn looked at her questioningly.

  Irene bent forward and kissed him on the lips.

  “Let me know if I can do anything at all to help.”

  She had left the cloth now, her hand wrapped around his member, his lips parted in pleasure.

  “You have been exceptionally good to me. I can’t imagine what I would have done without you.” Finn closed his eyes as he said it and Irene realized how hard it must have been for him, to be the one who calls the truce.

  “I just want to take care of you. I was so scared when I saw the fire; I was terrified something would happen to you. You are my husband, and this is but a broken leg. We have much to be grateful for.”

  She returned his kiss, took off her clothes and got into bed with him, making sure she was away from his bad leg. She turned to one side and looked into his face, her hands playing with his hair.