Chapter 9
When Marci had explained the situation in detail, they could do nothing but agree, however that was before they discovered that the little cabin had only one bed. Lauren suddenly had the feeling that they’d been set up, but couldn’t imagine that Marci would do something like that.
“She must have forgotten that there was only one bed,” Lauren said, feeling nervous and strangely excited at the same time, her head still spinning from the alcohol.
“I don’t think so,” Seth said, looking around the room. Marci had clearly planned this; even slightly inebriated, he could see that.
He turned to say something else to Lauren, but instead his attention was riveted to the sight of her standing in the shadows of the room. She looked so nervous, he suddenly felt protective of her. This feeling was quickly followed by a wave of desire so strong he’d pulled her into his arms before he could stop himself. Once she was there it felt so good he couldn’t have let go of her if he’d wanted to, and that was when he realized that the last thing he wanted to do was let go of Lauren.
What he wanted was her, he didn’t stop to think about the ramifications. Instead he lowered his head and captured hers in a kiss that ignited a fire between them. A fire that had been smoldering for days, just waiting to erupt into flames, and Seth’s kiss did just that. The rational part of Lauren knew that she should put a stop to the kiss, but the kiss began to consume her, making her body come alive with feelings she’d never felt before.
When Seth’s hands began to explore the soft leather of her dress, Lauren suddenly realized that she was wearing nothing underneath, and stiffened in his arms, the reality of what they were doing suddenly awakening her rational mind again.
“Seth, we can’t do this for so many reasons,” she said, her mind focusing on all the reasons this was a very bad idea.
Seth took her face in his hands and stroked her cheek with his thumb. “Lauren, for just tonight ignore what your mind is telling you. There are no directions for what’s happening between us, but I do know this, I want you more than I’ve ever wanted a woman.”
Lauren pulled out of his arms and crossed the room. “I don’t know, Seth. I’ve never been good at that. Besides the fact that it’s not a good idea professionally, I’m just not the right kind of woman for you,” Lauren said, thinking of the extra pounds she carried and what he’d think when he saw her without the dress.
Seth crossed the room and turned her around to face him. “What are you talking about?” he asked, this insecure side of Lauren catching him off guard. Then he understood. “Lauren, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, you’re exactly the kind of woman I should be with, intelligent and sexy. I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Lauren wanted to believe him, wanted that more than anything right then. She looked up into his eyes and saw the desire, a desire so powerful his blue eyes suddenly looked green. Sucking in a deep breath, she said, “Seth, I haven’t…I mean only once…and it was….” She trailed off unable to say more, the memory of the one and only time she’d had sex making her shudder with disgust.
Seth’s protective instinct suddenly surfaced again and he pulled her closer. “If you don’t want to do this, I’ll stop now. But Lauren, I want to make love to you, more than I’ve ever wanted anything. We’ll go slow, I promise.”
Looking into his eyes, Lauren wanted more than anything to discover what real passion was like and to have this man teach her. Deep down she knew that all her fears were baseless, her instincts screaming at her that this man could show her what it really meant to be a woman, if she’d only let go of her fears and trust him. In what was either the smartest or the stupidest move of her life, she stretched up on her tip toes and kissed Seth, a kiss that told him exactly what she wanted.
Seth’s impulse was to pull to her over to the bed, strip her dress off, and bury himself inside her to satisfy the driving need that had flooded him with her kiss. But Seth knew he had a woman in his arms who deserved to be wound up slowly and delicately, deserved to have the passion that lurked just under the surface released in a magical way. He took control of the kiss, using it to unleash some of the need he felt, delving his tongue into her mouth and ravishing it until he knew the taste and feel of it like it was his own.
The minute she kissed him, Lauren stopped thinking, her entire awareness focused on the man who held her in his arms. As his tongue invaded her mouth, she felt only pleasure, a pleasure that seemed to awaken other parts of her body. When his hands slid up her back to untie the leather string at the back of her dress, she tensed for a moment, then relaxed when he broke the kiss and whispered, “I’ve been thinking about his moment for a long time.”
He slid the dress from her shoulders, then gasped when it fell to the floor to reveal that she’d been wearing nothing underneath. “If I’d known that was what was under that dress…” He couldn’t finish his sentence, his desire had robbed him of his words.
Instead, he began to unbutton his shirt, but before he could get more than one button undone, Lauren pushed his hands away. The bone buttons slid easily from their holes, revealing Seth’s powerful chest sprinkled with dark curly hair. When the last button slid free, Lauren ran her hands over his chest, the muscles rippling under her touch. Seth groaned, sending a fresh wave of desire racing through her, quickly followed by a new and different feeling of pleasure, one born with the knowledge that she had the power to bring him pleasure. When she reached for the button on his pants, Seth quickly unhooked it and his erection sprang free.
He took Lauren’s hands in his and wrapped them around his throbbing penis. “This is how much I want you. This is what you do to me.” Then he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed as if she weighted nothing.
He laid her down on the bed, then joined her, their naked bodies touching for the first time making them both gasp with pleasure. Seth found Lauren’s mouth, his tongue again exploring, but this time his hands began to roam as well, skimming her cheeks, across her collar bone and down her chest until he found her swollen breasts. He cupped them in his hands, massaging each one until Lauren was riding on wave after wave of pleasure.
Sure that she’d never experienced anything like this and might never again, Lauren simply gave herself to the pleasure, unable to fight her longing for Seth any longer. She cried out in pleasure when Seth’s mouth left hers to clamp onto her swollen nipples, first one then the other. Something stirred deep inside her, a need she couldn’t explain, a need that had her reaching for Seth’s swollen member.
His groan of pleasure only intensified her need, and when his hand trailed down her stomach to come rest between her legs, she knew what she wanted. She spread her legs and shocked herself by saying, “I want you to touch me.”
Seth’s finger found her clit and he began to rub her in little strokes, whispering in her ear, “Those are the sweetest words I’ve ever heard.”
As he rubbed her, Lauren felt a tightness inside her begin to grow, waves and waves of pleasure radiating out from deep inside her until with a burst of the most intense pleasure yet. Her body convulsed, her orgasm making her cry out Seth’s name. Then she went still in his arms, too spent to do anything more than lay there, her body practically vibrating with a satisfaction she hadn’t known was possible.
Seth had never felt such intense pleasure from simply pleasing a woman, it drove him nearly to the edge but he managed to get control at just the last minute. He wanted to analyze what Lauren was doing to him, but he needed to feel her velvety wetness embracing him, so he shifted between her legs and slid inside her. She was just as hot and wet as he’d imagined, and so tight he had to hold very still or he knew he would hurt her. When Seth’s body joined hers, Lauren wasn’t sure if she was feeling pleasure or pain, the feeling of him inside her, stretching her a mixture of both.
But as her body adjusted, the pain disappeared and she was filled only with pleasure, a pleasure so amazing that she sucked in a deep breath and threw her head back in ecstasy. Still motionless inside her, Seth kissed her exposed neck, until Lauren began to move beneath him, the gentle thrust of her hips telling him that she was ready for more. Seth began to move slowly inside her, gentle thrusts that took all his control, only driving himself into her harder, when she began to moan with pleasure.
Seth was close to losing control, of letting himself crest the wave of pleasure that his body was striving for, but he wanted Lauren to go with him so he reached between them and found her swollen nub and used his thumb to gently rub it. Lauren went wild beneath him, her orgasm almost instant, leaving her trembling in his arms.
Lauren was soaring on a wave of pleasure so intense all she could do was hang on to Seth as her body convulsed the pleasure so intense she thought she was going to burst. The feeling of Seth’s length throbbing as he spilled himself inside her sent another wave of pleasure through her, her body clenching around him until she collapsed back on the bed, too exhausted to move.
Later, they lay entwined on the bed together, Lauren’s head resting on his chest. She was half asleep but felt more content than she’d ever felt in her life, the sound of Seth’s heart beating in her ear reassuring her that what had just happened was real. She’d never understood what was possible between a man and a woman, her one experience having been a total disaster, but now she knew what all the fuss was about.
Seth lay with Lauren in his arms, feeling more content than he had in a long time. It came as a shock to him to realize that something so wonderful had been waiting for him all this time; even more of a shock was the realization that he’d never be happy with another woman. His body was beginning to relax, his heart rate to lower as the endorphins washed over him, his last conscious thought that he was in big trouble, but that he didn’t really care that much, especially if this is what it would be like to be with Lauren all the time.
The next morning, Seth woke with Lauren still cradled in his arms, the feeling that she was right where she should be still with him. But then his head began to pound and a thirst like none he’d ever known came over him. He stumbled out of bed and across the room to where a pitcher of water stood. He gulped down half of it, then pulled on his clothes. Looking back to the bed where Lauren was still asleep, he ducked out the door to answer the call of nature. When he stepped out there was a rolled-up paper tied with a ribbon on the door step, but he didn’t stop to pick it up.
Lauren woke to Seth’s side of the bed empty and her heart sank; he’d gotten up and left without even waking her, not a good sign. Now she’d have to face him later, knowing that what they’d done last night hadn’t been as wonderful for him as it had been for her. If it had been, he’d still be here. But then the door flew open and Seth came stomping back in, a single sheet of paper in his hand. He sat down heavily on one of the chairs and she could hear it groan under his weight. She was sure that something was wrong, so she jumped out of bed, wrapped a sheet around her, and went to his side.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, thinking that something had happened with the lease.
Seth just shook his head and kept repeating, “I don’t believe it.”
Lauren was getting frustrated. “Seth, what’s wrong?” she asked again, this time putting her hand on his arm.
He pulled away from her and held the paper in front of her face so close she couldn’t see what it said. “This is what’s wrong. Do you know what this is?”
“No, because I can’t see it,” she said, ripping the page from his hand.
“Well, take a good look because apparently we got married last night,” Seth said, jumping up from his chair to begin pacing the room.
“That’s impossible, I was there, I think I would have remembered that,” she said, shaking her head.
“Read it,” Seth said, then turned and looked at her, his face a mask of fury.
She skimmed over the document down to the bottom where she found both of their signatures, then read it again more carefully, horrified to discover that it was indeed a marriage certificate and it was signed by them both as well as Grandfather. She sat down heavily on the bed, her head swimming, her breath coming out in short gasps. Last night was only supposed to be about discovering passion and nothing else.
“But when? How? I don’t remember getting married.” Lauren couldn’t quite believe that what she was seeing was true. “This just isn’t possible. You can’t get married and not know it.”
“Well, I’ve got news for you, it looks like we did,” Seth said sarcastically, shooting Lauren a dirty look.
“It’s not like I planned it, don’t take it out on me. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not that excited about being married to you either,” Lauren said, hoping her words would sting a little bit and they did.
Seth stopped pacing abruptly to look at her, surprised when a wave of desire washed over him. She was sitting on the bed wrapped in a sheet and all he could think about was what was underneath it. He wanted to curse, wanted to hit something, wanted to take her in his arms, but instead he walked across the room and sat down next to her on the bed.
“We’ll get to the bottom of this. There has to be some way out,” he said, and took her hand. He opened his mouth to say more, but there was a knock on the door and Marci’s cheerful voice rang out in the morning air.
“Good morning, you two. I’ve brought you some clean clothes,” she called through the door.
Lauren scrambled off the bed and found the dress she’d been wearing the night before, barely managing to get it on before Seth opened the door. The minute Marci’s face appeared, he asked, “What the hell happened last night?”
Marci tried to look innocent but was having a difficult time of it. “What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean. How did Lauren and I end up married? That was not part of the deal,” he said, the scowl on his face making it all too clear that he wasn’t the least bit happy.
Marci had the grace to look sorry, but all she said was, “It’s only for a year.”
Lauren had been watching the entire exchange, shocked that her friend would have done something so devious to her. But she finally spoke up, “What do you mean it’s only for a year?”
“At the end of a year, if you don’t want to be married anymore, then the marriage is voided,” Marci said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
“That makes no sense, that’s not the way marriage works,” Lauren said, more confused than ever.
“It does for the Yup’ik. Marriage is a big commitment, spending so much time with another person and all that,” Marci patiently explained. “We’ve just found that a trial period is a good thing.”
“But if it’s a Yup’ik marriage then it’s not valid anywhere else. Right?” Lauren was sure she’d found a way out.
Seth snorted. “I’m afraid not, native marriages are legally binding in Alaska. You just became a very rich woman, Lauren,” Seth said, shooting Marci anther dirty look.
Lauren stared at him shocked. “Is that all you can think about, your money?” It was the last thing she’d expected him to say and small part of her was hoping that he’d be just a little bit happy, but he was anything but happy and it hurt. “And just in case you were wondering, I don’t care about your money, that’s the last thing on my mind.”
Seth knew that it had been a stupid thing to say, Lauren had never been impressed with his money. But he was so angry and confused that he had to get some of it out of his system. He wanted to yell at Marci, but he didn’t dare, if word got out that he had, he’d be in big trouble. Instead he looked at both women and started for the door.
When he got there, he was tempted to just walk out and slam it, but he couldn’t do that to Lauren, she was just as innocent in this as he was. “I need some time to think. I’ll see you later.” Then he walked out, shutting the door as loudly as he dared.
Lauren sat down on the bed again and let silence settle over the cabin, too confused to speak, wondering how her life had gotten so out of control in only a few weeks. Her carefully planned out life had suddenly disappeared, replaced with something she’d neither asked for nor planned on.
Marci sat in silence waiting for Lauren to say something; she was feeling a little bit bad suddenly about what she’d done, but deep down she was still sure that it was going to work out perfectly. Finally, Lauren stood up and went to look out the window, needing some distraction to calm her racing thoughts.
Watching the village go about its business as if the world hadn’t just come crashing down, she realized that life seemed to be going on just as it had the day before. It helped to sort through her emotions, and the first that emerged was hurt that Marci had tricked her into marrying Seth, and there was no doubt in her mind that she’d done exactly that.
“I don’t understand why you did this,” she said, turning from the window to face Marci.
Marci took a deep breath, thinking carefully about what she wanted to say. “I’ll answer that if you’ll answer a question for me first,” she finally said, knowing that she had to make Lauren understand that she and Seth belonged together.
“I don’t know why I should,” Lauren shot at her, getting more and more frustrated with Marci who was supposed to be her friend.
“Because I want you to see what’s so obvious to me,” Marci said, then asked, “How do you feel when you’re with Seth?”
Lauren thought about Marci’s question and knew that answer was simple, but the situation wasn’t. “That’s not fair, Marci. Just because we’re attracted to each other doesn’t mean we should get married. I never wanted to get married and neither did he. I could lose my job for this.”
Marci was unfazed. “That job isn’t your future, it’s only a stepping stone,” Marci said, shrugging her shoulders.
“That’s what I used to think too,” Lauren said, her future completely unclear to her for the first time since she was just a small child.