The shared bath changed everything. Now, they didn't bother to hide their feelings and were slowly discovering each other. Elizabeth knew that she was falling deeply in love with him in a very different way from the way that she had loved Peter. Her feelings for her brother were those of a sensual woman, not a girl. She could see that the attraction she felt for him had probably always been there but that she had denied it and that her submission to his will was caused by a suppressed wish to belong to him. She knew that was ready to let him have sex with her. She also knew that what they were going to do was a sin in the eyes of both God and man but she believed in a forgiving God, one that would not blame them for a love that was not hurting anyone.
The amorous and sensual climate surrounding their relationship was suddenly broken a few weeks later. Her brother had hired new hands to help with the cattle he had bought and, since Mrs Bennett was busy elsewhere, Elizabeth had gone to the stable to take the men their lunch. She greeted them politely and was greeted politely in return but as the men lined up to receive their food she became aware that their attention was not on their food but on her body. She was beautiful, there was no doubt about that, and it was clear from the looks they were giving her that they were envisioning her in a different setting and certainly without the every-day work clothes that she was wearing. John, who was sitting with the men, was incensed by their interest in her but, wanting to avoid an argument, he decided that the best way to warn them off was to clearly establish the nature of the relationship between the two of them. He got up from the table, seized her by the waist and gave her a kiss on her lips. Startled by his actions she tried to escape from his grasp. As he released her he laughed and said,
"Come on my love, don't I deserve a kiss before lunch?" Embarrassed to her core by his action and flushing a bright red she ran out of the stable and into the house silently cursing both him and his possessive ways.
She was both ashamed and angered by his behaviour. Mr. Bennett had been there and she was afraid that he would tell the others that she was John's sister. What would everybody think? My God, they could be imprisoned for that. At dinner she sat in stony silence ignoring him and his numerous attempts at conversation. She tried to distract herself by watching Michael trying to feed himself while she gave little John his dinner. When the boys had finished she cleaned their hands and mouths and took them upstairs where she played a little with them before putting them to sleep.
When she returned downstairs and went to the table to clear the dishes, John grabbed her, pulled her to him and made her sit on his lap.
"Tsk, Tsk, so, my little kitten is angry with me?" he teased while he nibbled on her ear.
"Oh, stop it John," she said feigning anger as she tried to hide her body's response to even his slightest touch. "Don't you see what you've done? Mr Bennett will tell everybody that you're my brother and they'll know that we've committed incest. God, we can both go to prison for that."
He looked at her in surprise and replied,
"What are you saying? Firstly, as far as I know we haven't committed incest and secondly, neither of the Bennetts know that you are my sister -- they both think you are my sister-in-law. It seems that when you told Mrs. Bennett about Susan you referred to her as 'my dear sister' and, fortunately for us, she misunderstood and now thinks that Susan was your real sister. For that I think we both ought to thank God!"
"How do you know?" she asked, but he ignored her and started to caress her breasts through her blouse. She pulled his hair to draw his attention.
"O.k. let me think... I guess that I've known for about two or three months. Mr. Bennett came to me the day after our trip to town and suggested that since you were no longer in mourning that it was a good time to make an honest woman out of you. He also said that he was sure your sister would not have minded if I married you. When I asked him how he knew that Susan was your sister he mentioned your conversation with his wife. You see? I told you that you don't need to be worried."
Re-assured, but still upset, she slapped his hand away from her breasts and got up from his lap..
"But you still had no right to treat me like you did in front of those men today. They all know we're not married. What will they think of me?" His mood, which up to now had been playful, changed in an instant.
"Those men in the stable, I saw the way they looked at you and that can only mean one thing ...trouble. It's better that they know once and for all that you're mine, that you belong to me. I don't give a damn about the men and neither should you ... that's if you're not interested in what they have to offer."
Irritated, once again by his insensitivity, she tried to escape from his grasp, but he easily held her. Pinning both her hands in one of his he pulled her back onto his lap and then used the other to explore her body. Gradually, as his hands touched her secret places, her resistance waned and her body started to respond to his caresses. He kissed her passionately and she moaned as her body responded; her sex becoming moist with want. With her help he slowly removed her clothes until, finally, she was sitting naked on his lap. She could feel, even through his clothes, his erect cock as it probed and rubbed against the opening to her pussy. Reaching round her body he rubbed her belly and, as he did, whispered in her ear, "You'll soon stop whining about propriety when I plant my cum in your little warm, wet cunt and your belly starts to grow with my child." Her face burned as she heard his soft, masculine laugh. "Don't deny it, Beth. I know that you want me. I also know that what you really want is for me to be your master, for me to mount you, to pleasure you, to fill your cunt with my cum."
She got up from his lap and slapped him hard on the face, her body trembling with anger. She knew she wanted him, she knew that every word he said was true, but his ugly words hurt her and brought tears to her eyes. He touched his face where she had hit him and looked at her.
"You're mine, Elizabeth and no other man will have you, not while I'm alive. Incest may well be a sin, but I'd rather go to hell than lose you, and, whatever you say, sooner or later I
will
have you... The sooner you recognize that this is what you want the better." When he had finished he got up from the chair and left, leaving her alone and confused.
That had happened two days ago. In the meantime he had gone with the men to a neighbouring ranch to bring back the cattle he had bought and, although he had returned to the ranch that afternoon, they had not been able to talk as he had been too busy with the cattle. Elizabeth ate dinner alone and was thankful as she was unsure how they would both react when they were in each other's presence again.
After dinner she sat in the parlour on her own thinking about their relationship and where it was going. She knew she wanted him but couldn't see how they could live together as lovers or even as husband and wife under the ever-present threat of their incestuous relationship being discovered. Unable to find a solution she went to bed. Lying in bed provided no relief as her mind kept returning to their relationship and her feelings for him. She was brought back to the present when the baby emitted a long wail, a sure indication that he was feeling hungry. She got out of bed, sat in the armchair, unbuttoned her night-dress and, with practiced ease, removed her left breast and offered the nipple to him. A full moon illuminated the room and fell onto her pale skin, accentuating her fair complexion and highlighting her heavy milk-filled breast. As the baby started suckling, the door opened and she saw her brother in the threshold.
"I though I heard a sound," he said as he entered the room looking tired.
The summer night was hot and he had stripped down so that he was wearing only his pants. She stared briefly at his tanned torso taking in his lean muscles and his sculpted abdomen but then her mind drifted back to the last time she had seen him naked and to the image of his proud, rampant cock which she had since incestuously held, licked and sucked and whose cum she had swallowed. Frightened, but excited by her thoughts, she gave him a tentative smile.
"Sorry, I tried to get to him before he made too much noise." Her voice was barely a whisper as she tried not to wake her son who slept in the room next to hers. "Please, go back to bed, I will take care of him. Tomorrow is going to be a hard day and you need to rest."
Tomorrow would be a hard day. The cattle they had brought back that afternoon needed to be branded, treated for injuries and separated by age and sex. In fact the next few days would be tough for not only had he to deal with new livestock but he also had to make sure that the new men were settled in. However, if everything went well, they would be able to sell some of the cattle next year and use the money to make much needed improvements to both the house and the ranch.
"Oh, I don't mind, it gives me a chance to be with him. I don't get much chance during the day and besides, you know I love to watch you breastfeeding him," he said, his grey eyes piercing her blue ones.
With a smile he sat down on his haunches in front of her and took the one of the baby's little hands in his. When the baby gripped his finger his smile deepened.