Chapter 22

NATALEE

I satbeside Knot as he guided the wagon up the mountain. The morning was cool despite the warmth of the sun on our backs. Aching and stiff from sitting for too many hours, I stretched my arms out and then rearranged the blanket draped over my legs, tucking it around my skirts. It was a slow journey, one I knew Knot normally made on horseback in far less time. But we had my belongings to bring, as well as extra supplies he’d ordered from the mercantile, so buying a wagon had been a necessity. As luck would have it, the owner of the stables in Faircross had had one for sale.

“Another two hours and we should be there.” Knot leaned over and placed a kiss atop my head.

I smiled at him and fought off my sudden apprehension. Though I had been looking forward to finally being alone with my new husband at his cabin, I couldn’t help but worry about whether I would make a good wife. Given my privileged upbringing in a wealthy family that employed over a dozen servants, I worried he might not like my cooking or the way I kept house. Silly fears, I knew, because I had become a rather good cook during my time with the Foxthornes, and I had always been tidy. After marrying Logan, I’d had no choice but to learn how to clean clothes, mend garments, and perform other tasks the servants had always done at both my parents’ city home and the countryside manor. I didn’t want to disappoint Knot in any way, and I vowed to try my best to maintain a happy home.

As we came to a fork in the dirt path, my heart leapt into my throat. This area looked familiar. Knot guided the wagon, led by Telrud and a new horse he’d just purchased and had yet to name, toward the left path that rose higher up the mountain. I blinked back tears and pretended to gaze at the scenery to my right, lest Knot notice my change in mood.

If we’d taken the other path, it would have led directly by Logan’s claim. We would have driven by the shack I’d lived in for months, before my first husband’s horrid death. We would’ve likely seen the small grave marker from the road too, where Logan was buried. I gulped past the burning in my throat and tried to take slow, deep breaths to calm the renewed grief that tightened in my chest.

I loved Knot, I truly did, but I had loved Logan with all my heart as well. I had wished to visit his grave, and Mr. Foxthorne had once promised to take me up the mountain to my old homestead. But after his leering glances, I’d ceased asking and had all but given up on the idea of visiting Logan’s final resting place.

Would Knot be upset if I wished to visit my late husband’s grave? I didn’t know for certain, so I kept quiet and paid careful attention to the path we were taking to his cabin. Perhaps I could walk to my old homestead one day.

Coldness gripped me at the thought of walking into the tiny shack Logan had built for us. The place was once warm and filled with boundless love and happiness, but now it was empty and probably quite dilapidated. No one had overseen its upkeep since Logan’s death.

I closed my eyes, wanting to force thoughts of Logan and our life together from my heart. It was the morning after my marriage ceremony—to Knot—and I ought not dwell on another male, even if Logan had been cold in the ground for months.

“Something wrong, my sweet?” Knot’s deep voice pulled me from my miserable reverie.

“No, I’m fine,” I said, turning to meet his gaze. I forced a smile, though the longer I stared into his eyes, the less forced it became. Knot was a good male, and looking at him caused the tenderness I harbored for him in my heart to swell anew.

He urged the horses to go faster, and I focused on my future with Knot. Underneath the blanket, I put a hand on my stomach and rubbed lightly, wondering if I might get with child soon. It still bothered me that despite trying to start a family with Logan, it had never come to pass. Was something wrong with me? Or was I simply never meant to have children with my first husband? I prayed I was meant to have a houseful of children with Knot, just as I prayed we were meant to have a long life together.

When the cabin came into sight, I gasped and put a hand over my mouth. I gave Knot a questioning look, then removed the blanket from my legs and folded it neatly. “I never imagined a house that large could be built so high in the mountains. How many rooms does it have?” It was probably half the size of the city house I’d grown up in, which of course meant it was still on the large side, particularly for a cabin inhabited by a miner who, until today, had lived alone.

“Well, I suppose when I had it built, despite my desire for solitude, in the back of my mind I must have suspected that one day I would have a wife and family again. The downstairs has several rooms, including the main bedroom and four smaller bedrooms, and the upstairs loft has three sleeping areas sectioned off. Plenty of room for a growing family.”

He brought the wagon up alongside the cabin and pulled the horses to a halt. He jumped off the conveyance and helped me down, wrapping me in his arms for a brief hug and a kiss to my forehead before releasing me. “Let me tend to the horses quickly and then I’ll give you a tour.”

Knot untethered the horses from the wagon and led them into a small stable that was situated a short walk from the cabin. I peered around and noticed an outhouse and a woodshed behind the cabin, and I walked in a slow circle around my new home, peering in the cabin windows, until I reached the stable. I wandered inside and found Knot watering the horses and brushing them down. After he finished, he looked up at me with a smile.

“What do you think we should name the new horse?”

“Hmm. How about Lady? My grandparents had a dog named Lady once, and she had the same white and brown coloring as this horse.”

“Lady,” he said, petting the horse’s mane before closing the stall and heading toward me. “It’s a fine name.” He grasped my hand and led me out of the stable, toward the cabin, then swept me up in his arms and ascended the steps.

“Knot!” I giggled against his chest, and he playfully jostled me around as he kicked the door open and carried me over the threshold and into the warm, inviting cabin. Despite the chill of the morning, the house wasn’t cool inside at all, and there were enough windows spaced around the downstairs that plenty of natural light blanketed the structure. I was most impressed. “Knot, please put me down!” I laughed and pushed at his chest, and he finally put me down. He gave my bottom a firm slap after setting me on my feet.

“Well, here it is. Home sweet home.” A look of apprehension clouded his eyes for a moment, and I realized he was worried about what I would think of his home. “The house is equipped with running water basins, as well as two bathrooms with indoor plumbing. The outhouse was constructed before the builders were able to secure the supplies needed for such a feat.”

My mind spun. Running water? And working indoor toilets? Neither my parents’ lavish city home nor their countryside manor contained such modern conveniences. I could scarcely fathom living in such luxury.

“That’s incredible,” I finally said. “It’s wonderful, Knot.” I reached for his hands, thinking it sweet of him to fret over whether I would like the cabin, especially after how much time I’d spent worrying over whether I would make a pleasing wife. Deep down, I knew he would be patient with me. I waggled my eyebrows at him in a suggestive manner. “Perhaps you should start the tour in the main bedroom.”

“Natalee,” he admonished with a growl, though his tone was playful. “In the middle of the day? I ought to take you over my knee right here for suggesting such a scandalous thing.”

I stuck my tongue out at him and made to run away, but he snaked an arm around my center and started guiding me toward the dining area, where there was a long table with several tall-backed chairs. Still keeping a hold on me, he grabbed one of the chairs and dragged it to the middle of the room.

“I know a little female who’s about to get a very red and sore bottom.” He sat on the chair and yanked me down across his lap.

“Knot! You let me up right now!”

“I don’t think so, wife.” He flipped the layers of my skirt and petticoats up, then landed a series of hard smacks to my bottom cheeks. “Little females who stick their tongues out at their husbands deserve hard spankings on their bare little bottoms.”

“No, don’t you dare!”

But he was already working the ties to my drawers open, and in the next moment his hand descended on my bare cheeks with a resounding thwack.

“Ouch!”

“Quiet down and take your punishment, Natalee.” He increased the pace of his slaps, igniting a blaze of stinging heat across my bottom.

I squirmed and kicked my feet, but he held me easily in place as he delivered my chastisement. Despite all my protesting, I was enjoying myself immensely, and it wasn’t long before the heat in my core quickened and moisture trickled from my nether lips onto my inner thighs. Soon I ceased my struggles and started lifting my rear to meet each slap.

“Naughty, errant little female.” He stopped spanking and cupped my quim. “What’s all this, young lady?”

A wave of heated longing stole through me. I spread my legs wider as he moved his hand to explore my wetness. He trailed his fingers overtop my moist lips, then he parted my folds and thrust his digits deep into my core.

The fullness was overwhelming—his orc fingers were immensely huge—and I gasped as the pleasure washed over me while I struggled to accept the large intrusion.