The only smart thing to do was to steal away in the dead of night. Allegheny wasn't going to leave it up to Lady Luck. He was going to be practically in a coma when she got through with him.
She fixed as grand a supper as she could manage, which wasn't very grand, but she'd improved in the 3 months since she had been here. His liquor graced the table. A concoction brewed in a copper kettle somewhere up in the woods, no doubt, as Tennessee was mostly dry. She poured him a glass as soon as he walked into the cabin. Her glass only had water in it.
"What's the occasion?" he asked suspiciously as he took off his coat. Not that she blamed him for it. He had good reason to be wary.
"Our 3 month anniversary. Ain't that cause to celebrate? That's a quarter of a year."
"So it is." He seemed more than a little surprised that she knew and still distrustful as he sat down in front of the spread.
She only smiled at him. If there was one thing she knew how to do well, it was loosen a man up. She stood by his chair, waiting for him to take a bite of the chicken.
"You like it?" she asked, leaning over to play at adjusting his napkin, but really she was allowing him an unobstructed view of her cleavage. She'd made sure to wear a dress that enabled her to display her figure to its full advantage.
It was clear he wasn't thinking about chicken as he answered, "Oh, yeah."
She smiled coyly as she sat down beside him. She normally sat across from him, but he didn't remark on the closeness. He was aware though. She could tell the way he kept glancing at her as he pretended not to notice her leg occasionally brushing his. She let him eat freely, knowing a full stomach would help him sleep longer.
"You ready for dessert?" she asked, sliding a finger suggestively up his leg.
He looked down at said finger. She'd never made the initiative before and he found he liked it very much. He wished he had something clever to say in return, but his mind was a blank.
She hopped into his lap before he could regain his ability to think. "You've hardly touched your drink." She dipped her finger into his glass and then sucked the fiery liquid off between her puckered lips.
His voice was ragged with desire as he responded. "Maybe I was afraid you poisoned it."
He'd noticed her hostility toward him, but how could he not? She didn't exactly try to hide her resentment and hatred of him most days. She dipped her finger in the glass again and this time she brought it to his lips. She bent down and whispered huskily in his ear while he sucked. "If I wanted rid of you, there are better ways to go about it."
She popped one of the buttons on his shirt and slid her hand into the opening it created. He closed his eyes in pleasure.
Again she whispered in his ear, "Do you know what turns me on more than anything? When a man can hold his liquor. And I find it does wonders for loosening people up."
She slid the glass closer without stopping her exploration of his chest. He took the bait, guzzling the contents faster than a town drunk.
She brought her lips against his in searing contact. Her tongue flicked across his lower lip before going in for the invasion. The use of tongues was a new experience for him, but one he was enjoying if his moan had anything to say about it.
She pulled back, breathing hard. "You taste so good." She poured him a second glass and he took the hint, finishing that one off as well.
This time she threw in some playful nibbles with her kisses. His eyes rolled back and his body clenched.
She knew it took a lot for a man his size to get good and drunk, so she poured one more glass. She picked it up off the table and straddled his hips. He was definitely thinking about only one thing. She had the physical evidence underneath her now.
She brought the cup to his lips and he drank deeply until it too was drained. "How you feeling?" she cooed as she grinded against him.
"I feel really, really good," he said. His eyes had taken on a sleepy appearance and his speech was slurred. 3 had been the magic number.
"Then let's help you feel even better." She stood up, took his hands in hers, and led him to the bedroom.
She had sex with him for the sole purpose of making him more tired. Unpleasant for her part but necessary. His drunken state allowed her to try more with him than just the usual position and it allowed for the lamp to stay on, which did help make things a little more exciting.
His body wasn't lacking she thought, seeing it exposed for the first time, and he was proving to be teachable. With a more winsome personality, their coming together might have even been considered desirable.
She was rough and animalistic with her passion and kept at it until his beady, brown eyes closed and his chest rose and fell in the telltale sign of sleep.
She waited a solid 20 minutes to make sure he was in a deep sleep and then she scooted down to the foot of the bed with care, making the mattress move as little as possible even though a bulldozer probably wouldn't have woken him up in his state.
She got dressed and put her hand up under the mattress, feeling until her hand hit the wad of cash. He thought his hiding place was so clever. Everyone and their mother hid their money under the mattress.
She felt no guilt tucking the money in her shoe. She'd earned it putting up with him for so long. Besides, what did he have to spend it on? He lived on the land mostly. "Consider it payment for tonight," she said under her breath to his sleeping form.
She tiptoed into the kitchen. She knew the money would only last so long. She needed to eat in between lovers and the food would be her insurance until she could go live with her parents again without causing them hardship. She had to make multiple trips carrying the jars out to the car.
The dogs were sleeping, having shared some of their master's brew due to her mixing it in their water bowls earlier, clear mixing with clear. Even if they woke up and started barking, they were tied up. She'd convinced Jackson she couldn't go out at night without them bothering her, which was perfectly true. If he heard their barking, unlikely as it was, he would just assume she was making a trip to the outhouse.
She looked back only once as she drove off, wondering if she would miss anything about him and this brief time as a bona fide, married woman.
Not a thing. Not a single, solitary thing.