The Soldier's E-Mail Order Bride (Heroes of Chance Creek) Read online

  Ella bit her lip and began to laugh at the sight of him. “That is not helping!”

  “I’m trying to give you encouragement.”

  She elbowed him aside and raced on. Austin had to turn right side around to catch up again. “I’d like to see all of you, too, you know. Then it would be a fair race.”

  She stopped dead. “You’re right.”

  What? He was right? He stared blankly as Ella whipped her shirt over her head, tossed her bra aside and stripped off her pants. “Bye, bye!” She sprinted away.

  What the hell just happened? Austin quickly recovered. If he didn’t start running, she’d win this race. Which was exactly what was supposed to happen, but…

  In another instant he’d caught up enough to see her pretty derriere bouncing as she raced down the path. The finish line was all too close. His groin tightened as he envisioned the end of the race, handing her the ring and sealing the bargain with a kiss. And then…

  He didn’t notice Ella had stopped again until he ran into her. “Whoa—what’s wrong?”

  “I want you,” she declared determinedly, turning around in his arms. She placed a hand on his chest. “I made up my mind today that I want you, Austin. I don’t want Hollywood. I don’t want to be a star. I don’t want anything else. I know you don’t love me the way I love you, but—”

  “I love you,” he said.

  She blinked. “You do?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Are you sure?

  “Let me show you how sure I am.”

  He tugged her closer, so glad every inch of her skin was available for him to touch. “I love you. Forever and ever.” His kiss was deep, searching, scorching hot and she answered it with equal fervor. He slid his hands down her back, cupped her ass, pulled her tight against him and hoped his hardness resting against her belly made it clear exactly what he wanted to do next. He looked around for somewhere to lay her down and spotted the balance beam through the trees.

  “Come on.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “You said you wondered what it would be like to do it on one of the obstacles. Let’s give it a try.”

  Her eyes widened, but she didn’t hang back, until she realized which one he had in mind. “Up there? No way!”

  “Don’t you trust me?”

  “I don’t trust myself.”

  “I’ll hold on, you’ll do all the work.” He cut off her protests with another searing kiss, and led her to the inclined log that gave them access to the high beam. He made his way up it, then extended a hand back down to her.

  “This won’t work.” But she took his hand and let him tug her up to join him, holding tight to him to keep her balance.

  “Hang on a minute.” He let go of her hand, sat down on the wide log and slowly leaned back until he lay along the length of it, lowering his arms to grip the log and hold himself in place.

  Ella laughed, wobbling where she stood. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  “I’m not kidding.” He wasn’t, either. He was rock hard and ready for her. He’d never attempted such acrobatic sex, but he’d do it to make this occasion memorable. He never wanted her to doubt his love for her again.

  “I’ll hurt you if I climb on top of you.”

  “No, you won’t. Get on.”

  “Austin.”

  “Get on. That’s an order, soldier.”

  “If you say so.” She knelt down carefully on the wide beam, then slowly stretched forward over his body until she, too, was fully extended. She had to wriggle into place, gripping his shoulders to pull herself forward on top of him. By the time she was in position she was laughing so hard her shoulders were heaving.

  Austin raised his head and snagged a kiss from her.

  That got her attention. “Do you really think we can do this?” she asked.

  “I think we can do anything together. But you’d better hurry before my arms go numb.”

  “Just what every woman wants to hear.” She wriggled some more, however, her breasts shifting over his chest in the most delicious way. Her fingers digging into his shoulders, she moved the final inches into position, until his hardness prodded against her core.

  As she shifted backward, easing him into her, Austin had to stifle a groan.

  Ella stilled. “Are you okay?”

  “If I was anymore okay I’d be in heaven.”

  “How does this feel?” She tilted her hips, pulled away from him a few inches and then slid back down.

  “Amazing. Do it again.”

  She did. Again and again, until her movements had revved both of them up enough they were breathing hard. She arched her back and brought her breasts in reach of Austin’s mouth, and then gasped when he suckled one, teasing her nipple into a hard peak. He licked and tugged until both were rosy from his attentions. Meanwhile, Ella lifted her hips, then slid down the length of him again and again. He’d never experienced such sweet torture as this. Forced to lie still and hold on for all he was worth, he was helpless against Ella’s sensual movements.

  She drew things out, tilting her hips to slide him in and out of her, until both of them were struggling to hold back, then pausing until they caught their breath. Over and over she sped up, then slowed back down.

  “Ella,” he said finally when he couldn’t take it anymore. She took pity on him, increasing her pace once again.

  When some moments later Ella came, arching above him, Austin couldn’t hold back. His own release came swift and hard, leaving him bucking and grunting, struggling to cling to the log all the while. Their cries mingled until both of them were wrung dry. Then Ella lay down on top of him again, fighting to catch her breath.

  “How do I get off of you?” she asked some minutes later.

  “Very carefully.”

  The maneuver wasn’t elegant, but they regained solid ground, laughing at the contortions the exercise put them through. Austin shook out his arms which had cramped from their strange position. “That was incredible.” He pulled her into an embrace and kissed her thoroughly to show his appreciation.

  “It was.”

  “Now we just have to finish this race.”

  “Are you serious?”

  He glanced around. She was right—the last thing he wanted to do was run to the finish line. He used his toe to draw a line in the dirt and shoved her gently across it. “You won.”

  “I won?”

  “Just a second.” He ran off to find their clothes, fished the jewelry box out of his pocket and returned with it concealed in his hand. Still naked, he dropped to one knee beside her.

  Ella drew in a sharp breath. “Austin?”

  “Ella Scales. Ella Hall. I have loved you since I first laid eyes on you, back when I was too damaged to even remember what love was. I didn’t treat you right at first. I didn’t think I deserved to live a happy life after the mistakes I made, but you convinced me otherwise. You gave me the hope that maybe there was more to my story. That maybe I could go on, even though I’d lost someone I cared about. The more time I spent with you, the more I loved you. The more I knew I had to try to be the man you deserved.” He hesitated. “I’m not that man yet. But I’m trying. I hope you can see that. Ella.” He opened the box and held it out to her. “Will you marry me? For good, this time?”

  Tears shone in her eyes as she took the box and looked at the ring inside in wonderment. He stood up, drew off the placeholder ring she’d worn since their first ceremony and threaded the new, beautiful ring on.

  “Will you?” he asked again.

  She nodded, her lips parting before any words came out. “Yes,” she whispered, then said again more loudly, “Yes. Yes, I want that more than anything.” A tear slipped down her cheek and then another. She scrubbed them away. “Oh, Austin—”

  He kissed away her words, her fears, any distance that remained between them, and knew that for now and forevermore he’d be the one to comfort her, to hold her, to protect her, to love her—for as long as they lived.


  * * *

  Nearly two hours later they stumbled from the woods, dressed but disheveled, buzzing from the champagne and full on the gourmet snacks Austin had packed for them. They’d made love again—engaged love, as Ella put it, although Austin pointed out they were really already married—and took it slow this time. Austin had kissed every inch of her body as if he’d never seen it before—even if she was already his wife. Ella had a feeling he would never lose interest in the physical aspects of their relationship and that was fine with her—she loved sharing herself with him.

  After a brief trip to the bunkhouse, they headed to the Hall to share their news with Mason and Regan. They held hands as they walked and bumped shoulders companionably, both of them lost in the glow that their bright prospects for the future brought them. When Mason poked his head out of the back door of the Hall and called out to them, it took Ella several moments to realize what he was saying.

  “A limo just pulled up in the driveway. You expecting someone?”

  “A limo?” Ella exchanged a bewildered look with Austin before understanding dawned on her. “Marianne. Or—” She didn’t put voice to her fears, and it turned out she didn’t have to. A moment later Hank strode around the building.

  Ella rushed forward with a squeal of delight when she spotted her old friend and driver.

  “Don’t you ever answer your phone?” he bellowed, but he held out his arms for her to run into. He squeezed her in a bear hug and whispered in her ear at the same time. “Anthony’s with me; he’ll be here any second. I locked him in the limo, but he’ll figure that out pretty quick. I tried to cover for you, honey, but he had a private investigator looking for you.”

  “You drove him here?”

  “From the airport, anyway. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right? When I heard what he was up to I figured you needed an inside man.”

  She hugged him again. “You’re amazing.”

  “If you’d answered your phone you could have cleared out before he got here.”

  She pulled back in time to see Anthony round the corner of the house, his handsome face flushed with anger. “Ella! There you are.”

  She stepped away from Hank. “What are you doing here, Anthony?”

  Austin came to stand by her side, his silence ominous. Gone was the love that had shone from his eyes only seconds ago. Now he was steely impatience and barely suppressed anger. Mason stepped out of the Hall and made his way toward them, too.

  Anthony looked out of place on the ranch, his city clothes almost effeminate beside Austin’s and Mason’s jeans, boots and T-shirts.

  “I’ve come to save you from yourself. You’ve wasted a lot of my time and money. Have you had enough of playing cowgirl yet? Ready to come home?”

  His sarcastic tone got her back up. “This is my home.” Austin, Mason and Hank closed ranks around her. Anthony’s gaze flicked from one to the next and he frowned.

  “This run-down ranch? There aren’t even any cattle here.”

  “There will be,” Austin said.

  Anthony ignored him. He took a step closer and addressed his words to Ella alone. “Come on, Ella. I messed up and I know it. I’m sorry. Come back home. We’ll get the wedding back on track. We’ll be Hollywood’s favorite couple again.”

  He sure had balls to come here and try this, Ella thought and shook her head in amazement. “What about Kaylee? Remember her? The woman carrying your child?”

  “For God’s sake, she’s not carrying my child. She made that up. It’s someone else’s.” Anthony’s jaw tightened. “Kaylee’s a mess. I think she needs psychological help.”

  “So you dumped her and came looking for me.” Her disgust was plain to hear. “Go home, Anthony.”

  Anthony stared at her. “Marianne didn’t forward you the script, did she? That liar. She told me she did.”

  “She’s not a liar. She sent me the script.”

  The actor leaned forward. “Did you read it? It’s the role of a lifetime, Ella. You’d kill in it.”

  “There’s a good role for you, too.”

  “There is. So what do you say? Should we take the world by storm?”

  Ella shook her head. “I can’t do that. I’m married already, Anthony.” She held up her ring, more grateful than she could say that it was a brand-new sapphire and diamond masterpiece, rather than the plain silver rings she’d bought as backup for her marriage to him. She reached out and took Austin’s hand. “This is Austin Hall. My husband.”

  Anthony fell back a step. “No way. There hasn’t been time…”

  “There’s been plenty of time.” Austin grinned, a slow, lazy grin that had Anthony bristling. Ella would have laughed if the circumstances weren’t so awful.

  “We were married in church several weeks ago,” Ella said. “Soon we’ll renew our vows in front of our family and friends.”

  Anthony clenched his hands into fists. “We’ll get the marriage annulled. You’ll forget this ever happened.”

  She placed a hand on her abdomen. “No, I won’t forget it. I don’t want to, and even if I did, I can’t. Because I’m pregnant, Anthony. With Austin’s child.”

  Chapter 33

  ‡

  The minute the taxi Mason called had fetched Anthony from the Hall’s driveway, Hank addressed Ella. “You sure about this cowboy? I’ve got a guy—I can do a background check.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” Ella said, smiling. “By the way, Hank, this is Austin Hall, my husband. Austin, this is Hank Much, my driver and bodyguard.”

  “Is it true?” Austin said, after shaking hands with the older man. “You’re pregnant?”

  “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I could be. I’ve been too afraid to ask anyone to fetch me a pregnancy test.”

  Disappointment surged through him, followed by a wave of hope. She didn’t know, but she could be. He wanted to know for sure.

  “Let’s go get one right now.”

  “What about keeping me hidden?”

  “You think Anthony will keep his mouth shut?” Hank said. “If he knows where you are, the whole world is going to know. That ship has sailed.”

  Austin nodded at him. “Sounds about right. Glad to meet you, by the way. Thanks for trying to look out for Ella.”

  “That’s my job,” Hank said. He turned to Mason, who had just rejoined them. “Maybe you could show me around the place while these lovebirds do their shopping.”

  “Will do,” Mason said and led him away.

  “Let’s go,” Austin said and took Ella’s hand. She hurried to keep up with him as he led her to his truck.

  “I’m sorry,” she said when she was perched in the passenger seat. “I know you don’t want anyone prying into your affairs. I’m afraid Hank’s right—Anthony will talk about us.”

  “My wife’s a world-famous actress. I guess I’ll have to deal with it.”

  Ella kept quiet the rest of the short drive into town. Austin parked in front of the Stop-N-Shop and led her inside, prowling up and down the aisles until they found the pregnancy tests. He scanned them, scowling at the many choices, then grabbed one that promised accurate, easy-to-read results.

  Up at the checkout counter, he slapped it down and handed the young cashier a couple of bills. She slid them an interested look from under her eyelashes as she rang them up and gave them change.

  “Where’s your bathroom?” Austin asked.

  * * *

  “Austin!” Ella was mortified. There was no way she’d take a pregnancy test in a grocery store washroom.

  “In back.” The cashier waved a hand. Austin took hold of Ella’s arm and ushered her there, ignoring her protests.

  “No way. Take me home,” she hissed.

  “I don’t want to wait that long. Do you?” He stopped in front of the washroom door, his need to know plain to see.

  “I guess not.”

  He ushered her inside and made as if to follow.

  “Out!” She drew the li
ne at peeing in front of the man. Austin protested, but in the end he withdrew and she shut and locked the door behind him. Alone, she fumbled with the box and the test stick inside. The instructions were simple enough. Pee and wait three minutes or so.

  When she flushed the toilet and washed her hands, Austin pounded on the door.

  “Let me in.”

  “It takes a minute.”

  He pounded again and this time she opened it, allowing him to shoulder his way inside. He was counting, and she realized he’d figured out how long they had to wait to read the test. He counted the three minutes and held out his hand. Ella passed him the test stick.

  He took it, stared at it. Tossed it over his shoulder and swept her into an embrace.

  “Positive. It’s positive.”

  She clung to him as Austin kissed her neck, her jaw and then raised his head to possess her mouth with his. He kissed her until she moaned as she melted against him. Austin lifted her up, wrapped her legs around his waist, but when he moved to brace her against the wall, she pulled back. “Wait!”

  He froze at her loud command. “What’s wrong?”

  She spoke slowly, enunciating her words. “This is a grocery store washroom. A grocery store washroom. I will do many things with you. I will have sex in many places with you. But not here.”

  Austin chuckled. “I see your point.”

  She nestled into his arms, grateful to be there. “Take me home.”

  He didn’t need to be asked twice.

  Chapter 34

  ‡

  When Austin spotted the truck from the local news station parked out front of the Hall, his first instinct was to keep driving, but Ella told him it was better to confront them. “We’ll feed them the story we want them to print, so they don’t dig up the stories we don’t want them to find out about.”

  She took the lead, answering all their questions and offering more information about her future plans than they really wanted to hear. When she launched into a detailed description of the day-to-day operations of an equine therapy business, the reporter and cameraman suddenly had somewhere else to be.