Dawn stared at him, then she started to laugh. It was a full body laugh, something she hadn’t done in ages and it felt so very good. The laughter rolled through her body, making her limbs tingle and her heart soar.

“What’s so funny?” Rob said, his voice serious but his eyes light and merry.

“You are. You’ll get a kiss either way. I want to win fair and square.”

“But I don’t want to wait that long,” he replied. “I want my kiss now.”

She smiled at him, unsure of what to say next. But she didn’t have to worry, he did it for her. He stood and walked to her side of the table, holding out his hand and waiting patiently.

When she put her hand in his, hers felt small, until he closed his fingers around it. Then it felt as if it melted into his own, making her a part of him. He gently pulled her to her feet, their gazes locking.

Her breath came in short, shallow gasps and she felt as if her stomach would burst into flames. He gently caressed her cheeks with his thumbs, then he laid his lips on hers. Unlike the other kiss he’d given her, this one was soft, yet demanding and didn’t leave her feeling comforted. It made her hungry. Hungry for him.

It made her toes curl up and her fingers itch to touch him in places that she had no business thinking about. He broke the kiss, then immediately took her lips again. This time he parted his and she felt his tongue trace the seam where her lips met.

She shivered in delight, opening for him and nearly drowning in emotions when his tongue moved inside her mouth and flicked back and forth against her own. She heard a moan, and after a few minutes, she realized it had come from her own mouth.

When the kiss broke, they stood locked together, their arms wrapped around each other as if to support the other.

“Rob, I…”

“It’s all right, Dawn. I don’t expect anything else right now. I promise. When you’re ready, you’ll let me know.”

“How has this happened? I swore…”

“Because, not all men will treat you as your husband did. Not all men are bad. And if I do say so myself, I happen to be one of the good ones.”

“Well, you’re nothing if not modest.”

“Oh, I’m much more than that. One of these days I’ll prove it to you.”

Dawn grabbed her apron and worried the edges. She recounted the number of plates sat at the dining room table to make sure she had a place for everyone to sit. Rob, the boys, Win and Vanessa. She frowned, then laughed. Of course, the extra plate was for her.

Win and Vanessa were scheduled to arrive at any time, and she was excited and nervous about entertaining Rob’s brother.

The meat she’d been preparing had spent all day in the oven. The potatoes were done perfectly in a hot salad mixture that the boys loved. She’d found several jars of green beans downstairs, and had spent the morning making blueberry cobbler that was now cooling in the windows.

The hands were already outside, eating their food and praising it enough so that Dawn could hear them through the window. She giggled. She’d been doing a lot of that lately and it felt so very good.

Even the boys had noticed the change in her attitude. Mark and Anthony had been confused, but happy that their mother wasn’t frowning. Frank, though, had been suspicious. She’d expected him to ask what had happened to make her so giddy, but he hadn’t.

She was a little worried about how he’d act in front of their guests. At breakfast that morning she’d mentioned to them all that they needed to be on their best behavior. She’d mentioned it again at lunch, just to be sure, and they’d all rolled their eyes and said, “We heard you, Ma.”

Rob was being so good to her. He now kissed her at every opportunity he had, and her body responded with gusto. She wanted him, she knew that. But fear still overcame the desire. What if she allowed it, and it turned out that the horrible feelings she’d always had with Hank were how it always was for women.

She somehow doubted it, because she’d never felt the way she did when Rob kissed her. Those feelings were fantastic. Part of her wanted to lie with him just to see if the feelings from the joining were as wonderful as the ones produced by the kissing.

The back door opened, and she hurried to the kitchen to find Rob standing just inside the door, his hair still wet from the bath he’d just taken.

“The boys…”

“All clean. Heck, Dawn, you make them bathe every other day. I don’t know what you’re so worried about.”

“I don’t like smells. Are the men…”

“Done with dinner? Yes. Relax. Cody and the hands are taking their dishes out to the wash house to do. They’ll use clean water and will return them later.”

“What about the food? Should I put it in dishes now, or should I wait? Oh, damn! I need to slice the bread. And make sure the cobbler set right. The batches I made for us may not have done right.” She could hear the anxiety in her own voice.

Rob laughed, then stepped in front of her, the heat from his body radiating into her own.

“Do I need to get out my spoon?”

“What? What have I done? I just…”

“You just need something to take your mind off this. Relax. It’s just dinner with my brother. A few swats will help you refocus, I think. You’ve been like a nervous hen all day.”

“No, no. You can’t be serious. You wouldn’t do this to me right now.”

“Oh, I think I might.” He pursed his lips and lifted his eyebrows. “Just a few. We can use the kitchen table. You can bend…”

“No! Not there.”

“Sweetheart, relax,” Rob said softly, caressing her cheek. “It’s not like I’ve never spanked you before. And I’m not talking about a hard spanking. I’m just talking about a few swats to calm you down. Give you something else to think about.”

“Not there. Please, not there.”

The look of concern that passed over his face warmed her heart. Still, it didn’t quiet the feelings of anxiety that had grown in her stomach.

“Tell me.”

“No. Please, Rob.”

He stared at her, as if willing her to share what was wrong, why the idea of bending over the table frightened her so much. Finally, he sighed.

“All right. But I’m expecting you to still take a few swats. And we need to do it now. Let’s go into my bedroom. It’s at the end of the house and there’s less chance of someone hearing us.”

Dawn swallowed. She hadn’t thought about that.

“We should wait until later,” she said, hurrying after him as he walked down the hallway.

“Nope. We’re doing it now.” He opened the door to his room and swept his hand in front of her. “After you.”

“Rob…”

“You keep wasting time and this might turn into a full-fledged spanking. And it might still be going on when Win gets here.”

She watched him after she entered his room, as he looked around, as if considering what to do next. His eyes lit up and he smiled at her.

“Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

He left the room and she wrung her hands together. Seconds later he was back with her hairbrush in his hand.

Her eyes widened. “You can’t…”

“Oh, yes, I can. This will string. I’m going to give you ten strokes. During dinner, I want you to relax. Every time you think about being nervous I want you to think about this. Because if I catch you getting anxious, you’re going to get spanked after dinner, too. When everybody’s gone home. Understood?”

“This is so unfair.”

“Hmm, maybe I should make it fifteen, cause it’s sure taken your mind off dinner.”

Dawn shook her head. He was right, it had. But that didn’t mean that it was right. For good measure, she stuck her tongue out at him. Then she put her hands in front of her mouth and giggled.

“I can’t believe you just did that.” There was humor in his voice and she laughed along with him.

He leaned down and kissed her. “That’s going to cost you. Later.”

Rob situated himself on the bed and gave her an expectant look.

Dawn knew what to do. She also knew that they were wasting time. The more time they spent in here, the less time she’d have to get everything done for supper. She quickly laid herself across his lap and sighed when he lifted her skirts and eased her bloomers down.

His hand gently rubbed her bottom, and then the first smack fell quickly.

The second one came and then the third. By the fourth one she’d forgotten all about dinner, or the fact that she probably should have fixed biscuits instead of serving them everyday bread.

The remaining six strokes fell in even time, landing on an opposite cheek from the previous one. When he was done, he rubbed her behind.

“Better?”

“No. It hurts.”

“Yes, but you’re not so nervous. That was the purpose of the spanking. Now, about that tongue…”

The brush came down, it wasn’t hard as the previous strokes had been. Instead it was just enough to sting, but not hard enough to hurt. She laughed and wiggled on his lap.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Stop that.”

He pushed her to her feet quickly and her bloomers fell to the floor with her skirts. He gathered her in his arms and kissed her.

“There are only two places I want to see that tongue. One is in your mouth. The other is in mine.”

Warmth spread down her back.

“Understand?” Without waiting for an answer, he kissed her, his lips demanding and his tongue probing for entrance.

She’d never put her tongue in his mouth before, and she was very, very nervous about doing so. When the kiss broke, he licked her lips, then kissed her again. She knew he was waiting for her to do what he’d just done, but she wasn’t sure how to go about it. She gently poked at him and they both laughed.

Then, she became bolder, pushing her tongue into his warmth and gasping when he sucked it gently into his mouth and moaned.

“Rob…”

“Yes, Dawn?”

“I…”

“It’s okay. Listen, why don’t we try sleeping together tonight? Just sleeping in the same bed. No strings attached.”

“But what about your, um, manly needs?”

His laughter brought her up short. “I can control them.”

“You can?”

When he nodded, she murmured, “That bastard.”

A noise from the kitchen kept him from answering. Win’s voice echoed down the hallway and Dawn blushed furiously.

“It’s all right,” Rob said. “I’ll go first. You come out a few minutes later.”

She watched him walk out of the room and wondered how she’d gotten so lucky. She wished that it had been Rob who’d asked her to marry him all those years ago, even though he was a few years younger than she was. She didn’t care. She would have waited for him.

Of course if that had happened, she wouldn’t have her boys. They were the only good thing to ever come out of Hank Richardson.

“This is the most delicious cobber I’ve ever eaten,” Vanessa said. “You must make sure I have the recipe.”

She smiled at Dawn and Rob fought back his own grin. When Dawn had come out from the back end of the house, his brother had turned to him and lifted his eyebrows, and Vanessa had given him a knowing grin.

They both knew that the young couple was falling in love, and they both loved it. He was thankful, though, that neither of them said anything to Dawn, who was calmer than she had been, but still nervous.

She and Vanessa had made small talk about cooking and food while he and Win had gone outside to discuss the ranch.

They’d talked about cattle prices and getting the beasts to market before Win had cleared his throat.

“When are you going to marry her?”

“As soon as I can, which will be as soon as she lets me.”

“Congratulations, little brother. I’m very happy for you.”

“She makes me so…”

“Yeah, I understand,” Win said with a grin.

“Richardson treated her like crap. When she got here she was afraid of her own shadow.”

“Well, that seems different now.”

“It is. Now I just have to get her to, um…”

Win laughed. “Something tells me you won’t have to work too hard at it.”

Vanessa’s laugh pulled Rob back to the dining room. She was grinning at Frank, who was standing next to her and offering to take her plate to the kitchen.

“Oh my, Dawn. Your boys are so polite. I hope our own children will take after them.”

Rob jerked his head toward his brother who smiled and nodded.

“Why you little toad,” Rob said. “All that time outside and you never told me you were going to be a daddy?”

“Vanessa wanted to tell you,” Win said. “She’s told everyone else in town, but you’re never in town anymore. Something must be holding you here.”

Rob jumped from his chair and quickly enveloped his sister-in-law in a hug.

When the boys came back from the kitchen, they exchanged nervous glances.

“Vanessa’s going to have a baby,” Dawn said with a smile.

They all offered their congratulations, and then Win cleared his throat.

“Frank. Rob tells me you’re quite a chess player now.”

Frank smiled. “I’m trying.”

“Well, how about taking me on in a match? It’s been some time since I’ve played, and I’d like to practice some.”

Rob hid a grin at the eager smile that crossed Frank’s face. The young man still wasn’t thrilled about what he knew was happening with his mother, but he’d not made a fuss about it lately. Maybe, just maybe, he would come around in the long run.

When everyone was gone, Dawn stood in the kitchen with her boys, giving them each several pieces of taffy.

“Thank you for being on your best behavior,” she said. She kissed Mark and Anthony on the cheek, but when she started to kiss Frank, he pulled away.

“Ma.”

She could tell from the tone in his voice that he didn’t want her to kiss him not because he didn’t love her, but because he was too big to be kissed by his mother.

“She’s pretty,” Mark said. “I like her.”

“I think she liked you too, all of you. Now, it’s time for bed. Go on down and I’ll see you all in the morning.”

They left quickly, and as they walked toward the bunkhouse she could hear them arguing about who got to play the first game of chess tomorrow afternoon. Even Frank joined in the discussion, his voice lighter than she’d heard it in a while.

When Rob appeared in the kitchen and said it was ‘time for bed’, her stomach lurched. She stood and looked outside the window, watching the boys’ lamp disappear toward the bunkhouse.

“I’ll build a bigger house,” he said softly. “The boys can then stay up here with us. Would you like that?”

“Yes.”

“It shouldn’t take long if we just add on a few rooms,” he said. “I know the hands will help for extra money, and if you bake them some extra biscuits once in a while.”

“Thank you.” She turned to him and he held out his hand. He felt her trembles as he took her smaller hand in his.

“Just sleep,” he whispered. “It’ll be fine.”

“I’ll go and change,” she said.

He watched her go down the hall. When she disappeared inside his room, he groaned.

It’ll be fine. Down, boy, down. He looked down and willed his body to obey him. He didn’t want to frighten her. Instead, he wanted to hold her, and to feel her close to him. He wanted tonight to be the first of many nights that they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Dawn stirred, then gasped when she realized where she was. Rob was lying next to her, his soft snores moving his chest up and down gently. She turned toward him and watched him sleep.

He’d been so sweet last night, so gentle and kind. He knew that she was nervous, that she was afraid of what might happen once they were in bed together. So he’d made sure that nothing happened.

He’d kissed her a few times, his hand gently caressing her back. Then he’d pulled her head into his chest and told her to sleep.

At first, she’d stared at his bare chest, marveling at the soft curls that covered it. Then, she’d drifted off to sleep, feeling happy and safe in his arms.

Now, she watched him as his chest rose and fell, wondering what he would do if she leaned over and kissed him. When Hank was alive, she’d always made sure that she was out of the bed before he was. That way she didn’t have to put up with his attentions.

She knew now that she wanted Rob’s attentions. Wanted to feel his hands on her body, wanted to feel his lips on her breasts. Yes, she knew that she even wanted to feel him between her thighs, warm and hard, thrusting into her.

“What are you thinking?” His deep voice jolted her.

“Um, about the shirts that I never finished.”

He opened his eyes and stared at her. “You’re kidding, right?”

She bit her lip. “Maybe.”

“You little minx.” He pulled her close to him and slapped her ass.

She screeched in pretend anger, then laughed when he slapped it again.

“You could make a guy lose all confidence talking about that.”

For an answer, she lifted her lips to his, kissing him boldly and pushing herself into his mouth. He groaned and when their lips broke, he sighed.

“Dawn, don’t do that. I’m not sure I can hold back.”

“Then don’t. You said once that it didn’t have to be a man rutting on a woman. Show me.”

She almost melted at the look of desire that crossed his face.

He kissed her again, more intently, his hand on her cheek before he reached back to cup her neck and pull her closer to him.

His hands caressed her body, gently touching her breasts and ribs and making her shiver in delight. When he gripped the hem of her gown and started to lift it up she didn’t fight him. Instead, she lifted her hips to allow the material room to move.

When he reached her shoulders, she lifted her arms and shivered as she became naked before him.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. “How did I get so lucky?”

“You? I think the lucky one is me.”

His hands and lips roamed her body, caressing and kissing her, gently tugging on her nipples until Dawn thought she would go crazy. She twisted and turned under him, begging for attention here, or there.

She’d never felt so wanton, so brazen. Or so wonderfully excited. When she felt him probing at her entrance she felt a wonderful feeling of completion. She lifted her hips toward him and moaned when he sank inside her.

“I think I love you,” she said as he began to move.

He stopped and laughed. “I already know that. I love you, too.”

The tears that slipped from her eyes were tears of joy. She shivered when he licked them from her face, then groaned in disappointment when he lifted up on his knees, his body leaving her own.

“What?”

“Hush.” His fingers began to explore her, and a tingly feeling enveloped her body. It was unlike anything she’d ever felt before and it was the most exquisite thing. Her hips began to rock as he rubbed her folds.

When he rolled over onto his back and pulled her down onto him, she shivered.

“I don’t know what to do.”

He grabbed her hips and set her in rhythm. She leaned over to kiss him and he slapped her ass, causing her to laugh and groan at the same time. He slapped it several more times before his fingers went back to her wetness.

When the tingly feeling turned more intense, she tried to pull back but he held her close. Seconds later, the feeling exploded in her body and she moved faster and faster on him until she heard him groan.

She knew that he’d filled her with his seed and for the first time in years, she prayed that it would take root.

A year later

“Frank, please take the buggy round back with the others,” Rob said, handing him the reins.

The young man nodded, but didn’t smile at him. Rob knew that his mother’s marriage had been hardest on Frank, but he was happy that the teen was making an effort. They’d added three bedrooms to the house, taken off the roof and built a second story.

The hands had all helped, and the addition had been done a month before Dawn and Rob had married in late September.

Now, his family, his wife and three sons, were in town to attend the christening of the latest addition to the MacAllister family.

Vanessa had given birth to young Winthorp Jacob MacAllister III a few months ago. The newest addition to the MacAllister family was strong and healthy and had powerful lungs that had filled the church when the minister had poured the water over his head.

Rob looked toward his wife, who stood on the porch talking with his Aunt Matty, who was now an integral part of Mac’s Crossing. Sometimes Rob thought they all wanted Matty and her way of trying to care to go back to Boston. But Vanessa had told him, however, that Matty had been a big help, and she was happy to have her around.

Frank had just returned when Win called them all inside. “I want to thank you all for going to the church, and hope that you enjoy the food that’s been laid out for us. Young Jacob has seen fit to take a nap, but we’ll wake him up later to make sure that he gets to say hello to everyone before they leave.

“In the meantime, enjoy the food and company and thank you again.”

The crowd clapped and Rob watched as Win made his way across the room.

“I hired a photographer for the event,” his brother said. “They’re taking family pictures so that we have some memories of today. So gather yours close and go get it made. He’s in the parlor.”

Rob nodded and walked toward Dawn, who stood with the boys near the entrance. The smile that she gave him reached to her eyes and beyond, and aroused him instantly. He couldn’t get enough of her.

She’d told him everything about her ex, and it had only strengthened his resolve to dig her late husband up and kick him in the ass. Rob was slowly working through the barriers that she’d put up against the pain, and it had been an interesting experience.

He’d been surprised to find his new wife making up excuses for spankings, which he readily delivered.

“We’re going to get a family photo taken,” he said. “Win hired a photographer for the day.”

The two younger boys jumped for joy, until Frank cleared his throat.

“He means him and Ma, not us. We’re not his sons.”

“Yes, you are,” Rob replied. “You’re all my family. The five of us.”

“Six,” Dawn whispered. “Although I don’t think the youngest one will smile for the camera.”

Rob turned to her, his jaw dropping.

“What? When?”

She bit her lip and smiled. “I hope you have enough wood to build a cradle. I didn’t want to announce it today, so as to take away from Jacob’s christening. We’ll tell them another time, right?”

Rob nodded, tears swimming in his eyes.

“A year ago I had no children. Now I’m going to have four?” He wiped his eyes and then pulled Dawn in for a kiss. He stayed close so they could whisper to each other.

“You know, you should have told me sooner. Then I wouldn’t have… last night…”

“I know. That’s why I didn’t tell you. I’m not a china doll, Rob. I’m having a baby, and I’ve done it before. If you treat me differently I’m going to turn that hairbrush on you.”

He pulled back. His mousy, scared-of-her-shadow Dawn was gone. In her place was a beautiful woman who was confident and sure of herself.

“Don’t be getting any ideas,” he said. “That hairbrush will be still available a year and a half from now when the child is born and you’re all healed. And a lot of swats can build up between now and then.”