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“But.. . there are probably many men whose name is . . . Hopper,” she said, swallowing hard.
“That's the problem,” he grumbled, placing his pistol on the table next to him. “No one has yet found out this bastard's first name. When we do … he will no longer be.”
“You . .. would actually … be guilty of such a violence as . .. murder .. . ?” Maria gasped, clutching the stem of the glass, envisioning Michael, so handsome, so sweet, possibly now in total danger.
“No one would know the deed was done,” he laughed. “My coal mine has ways of hiding bodies. No one would ever even know what happened to this man named Hopper.”
Maria's eyes lowered. If this was Michael Nathan was speaking of, then she had to find a way to warn him. Her mind was swirling, trying to remember what Ruby had said about Michael. She had said that Michael had a “true purpose” for being in the Hawkinsville area. And hadn't Alberto said that Michael had been dressed as one down on his luck? Her heart thumped wildly. Yes. Alberto had said that Michael was dressed as one who was poor. God! This was Michael's way of disguising himself. He was the man Nathan was speaking of. After arriving in Saint Louis, she had to find him. Warn him.
“And now, Maria,” Nathan spoke from in front of her, unbuttoning his breeches. “We have delayed long enough. Like I said before, undress. You are now going to become my wife. We will secure the necessary papers upon arrival to Saint Louis.”
“Please. . . .” Maria whimpered.
Nathan knocked the glass from her hand then yanked her roughly up from the chair. “Now you do as you are told,” he snarled. “Get undressed and get on that bed. No one defies Nathan Hawkins. Especially not a woman soon to become my wife.”
Sobbing, Maria unbuttoned her dress and stepped out of it, then her underthings and shoes, all the while watching Nathan as he undressed fully in front of her. When he moved toward her, she felt a sickness rolling inside her. He was nothing like she remembered Michael being. This man was small, shriveled up, most undesirable to look at, much less be touched by. She recoiled when he touched her on a breast, then shoved her roughly onto the bed.
She closed her eyes, whimpering as he stretched out atop her and lunged his manhood deeply inside her and began to move his body in and out, grunting like a wild animal. She lay there, unresponsive, chewing her lower lip, feeling used, degraded. When his body began to tremble, she tensed, feeling his hands grab at her buttocks to lift her closer to him, then clasped her hands into two fists as he drew his complete pleasure from her body until he was finished and lay panting next to her.
He laughed a bit. “I thought I was marrying an innocent one?” he said, reaching over to pinch a breast. “But I found out that you've been used.”
Maria's eyes widened. “What do you mean?” she gasped.
“Don't you know that a man has a way of knowing?” “I still don't“
Nathan's hands traveled over her body. “I don't really mind,” he said. “It even makes you more exciting to me. To know that you aren't so innocent? It means I can have even more fun with you.”
“What… do … you … mean … ?”
“Time will tell. Time will tell,” he chuckled, then rolled away from her and left the bed. He went and poured himself another glass of wine, then sat down on a chair, still completely nude. “Yes. Our life together will be quite interesting,” he added, smiling crookedly.
Maria reached down and pulled the spread over her body, feeling hate grow to even greater intensity inside her for this man who would soon be her husband.
But in name only, she thought darkly to herself. You will never see me gel pleasure from your body. Never. Never.
She let her thoughts wander to Michael. . . and how she might find him when she arrived in Saint Louis. She must warn him … she must. . . .
Chapter Thirteen
Two full days and nights had passed since the necessary words had been spoken between Maria and Nathan to make them man and wife. Since that time, Nathan had kept Maria caught up in a whirlwind of shopping for a wardrobe befitting his new wife, making her now appear a picture of fashion, even more statu-esquely beautiful than the models who had pranced across the raised platform at one of Saint Louis's finest department stores, Nugent's.
Nathan had done the choosing. It hadn't taken long for Maria to see his ways of taking over. Though small in voice and stature, when he spoke, everyone seemed to move quickly to do as he bid. So Maria could now boast of having the fanciest hats in the great city of Saint Louis and the necessary attire needed for all occasions.
Hating her newly fitted tight corset, Maria squirmed a bit as she and Nathan moved through the large entranceway at the Planter's House Hotel. Attired in her Eton suit of blue broadcloth, trimmed with folds of matching velvet, and her evening hat in flowered silk and plaited chiffon, Maria could feel many gentlemen's gazes moving along with her.
Tilting her chin up into the air and checking to see if her hair was still upswept neatly beneath her hat, she moved on toward the staircase. She wasn't yet accustomed to such attention. She only hungered for attention from one man. Michael. And she hadn't yet succeeded in finding out where his residence might be. Nathan hadn't let her move from his sight, not for even one moment.
As they moved next to one another up the staircase, Maria glanced at Nathan. He had spoken earlier of being tired and of needing added rest this night before taking the train back to Hawkinsville the very next morning. She smiled to herself, knowing that she didn't require the added rest and would sneak from the room as soon as Nathan's snores became long and lazy.
She had already decided to ask assistance from the desk clerk to show her how to use the telephone that she had seen in the lobby of the hotel. She knew that Michael surely had to own this new invention, if he was indeed as rich as he was said to be.
Nathan reached for Maria's hand. “I'm bone-weary, Maria.” he murmured, coughing a bit. “I guess my age is catching up with me.” He looked over at her, licking his lips, making the tip of his moustache glisten from the wetness. “I guess your young body is a bit much for my old heart. Tonight I think I'll just leave you be. Now that should make you happy. Eh?”
Maria's eyes lowered. She could feel her cheeks grow hot under his steady gaze. She knew that he had felt her tension each time he had mounted her, panting heavily until his passion had been fulfilled. She was glad that it didn't require much time before he was spent. At least she would know this to be true now whenever he ordered her to stretch out atop the bed, unclothed. open-legged to his demands. But it couldn't erase the thoughts from her mind each time he did mount her, that she was being used, degraded, all over again.
“I must rest also, Nathan,” she said, fluttering her lashes nervously, knowing that she had just spoken a nontruth. But it was necessary. All the lies she would ever have to tell Nathan would be necessary. “I'm also tired,” she added. “I'm not used to such a fast pace of life as we have had since our arrival in Saint Louis.”
“But you do approve of the wardrobe I have chosen for you, don't you?” he asked, sounding even kind. Maria was relieved to see this slight change in his personality. She wondered how long it would last. In Hawkinsville, he had appeared to be the devil himself. In Saint Louis, she had been able to breathe more easily, seeing how much more relaxed his eyes and his mouth had become.
