Shotgun Groom by Ruth Ann Nordin

Author:Ruth Ann Nordin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, love, suspense, christmas, sex, child, widow, forced marriage, shotgun wedding, virgin hero, unwilling groom, shotgun groom
Publisher: Ruth Ann Nordin

Chapter Thirteen

Joel let out a frustrated sigh and gave up on the notion of sleep. In her crib, Nora slept, as content as a little girl could get, and beside him, April slept, just as peaceful. Dawn would break soon, and through the lingering moonlight filtering through the window, Joel could see April perfectly. Her eyes were closed, her rosy lips were slightly parted, and one of her hands rested against her cheek. It was the prettiest sight he’d ever seen. And sleeping next to her for the past week was killing him.

He’d managed the first couple of nights just because he was so exhausted that he couldn’t keep his eyes open as soon as he settled into the bed. The sorry excuse for the bed that had belonged to her father was almost impossible to get a good night’s sleep on. At least the bed April had was comfortable. But comfortable didn’t help when he was caught up on his sleep and all-too-aware that the woman sleeping in the same bed with him felt good. Too good, actually.

She kept the covers up to her collarbone, so it wasn’t like he was tempted to look at her. Well, alright, so he was tempted to look. What man wouldn’t be? Even if he hadn’t sought out marriage, he was still intrigued by the female body. But he’d been able to keep his curiosity in check in the past.

With April, however, this was getting to be impossible. He wanted nothing more than to peel back the covers, take her nightgown off, and take his fill of her body. He gritted his teeth and cursed his weak will. Granted, he was married to her. He wasn’t so naïve as to think they wouldn’t come together as man and wife at some point in the marriage, but he was still a bit miffed that he’d been forced into it. Not necessarily miffed at her. More miffed at Tom and Rick who felt it prudent to gang up on him while a fourteen-year-old kid pointed a gun at him.

But he was annoyed, and rightly so, that she had wanted to find another man but couldn’t, and so she settled for him. What kind of compliment was that? She would have married Tom or Rick if they’d been single. Lucky him, he just happened to come along without a wife. Maybe it meant something was wrong with him because he didn’t take what he had every right to in the marital bed, but he just didn’t feel like being intimate with her.

Now, his body had other ideas, but he wasn’t going to let a simple thing like an erection be his undoing. He knew if he caved in and acted on his urges, he’d be telling her that he was perfectly alright with being the man she settled for. Nope. Until she admitted she wanted to be with him, he wasn’t giving in. And if he went back to sleeping on her pa’s thin mattress, she’d know how weak he was, and he could only imagine how she might think of him then.

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