"I'm yours? That's interesting! How am I yours, stranger?" I asked, confused about his weird statement.
He let out a gentle chuckle and said; "I was only teasing you, but my heart will always find you!" he whispered in my ear, my skin developed instant goosebumps as we rode silently.
The inn was cozy and well-furnished to meet a rich traveler's taste, which he wouldn't admit to me. He tucked his hand into his pocket and took out a small bag of coins.
"Here. That is five gold coins… for your endless hassle with me," he said, handing me the bag.
I was amazed. How did he have gold coins? Is he a prince or something? I wondered for the umpteenth time.
"No, I will not accept it, but thank you. It was no hassle at all," I said, and he let out a smile.
"Either way, it is all yours," he tucked it into the pocket of my satchel. "I was hoping that—"
"I should leave now." I interrupted forcefully. I swallowed the invisible lump in my throat. He touched my arm. "I'm getting married tomorrow and… and I have to prepare before then. It was nice to make your acquaintance. Stranger." I forced a smile. It took so much courage to say all that to the harmless man that I was beginning to like so much.
His face dropped sadly, "Of course. Your honor comes first," he bluntly said.
"As though I cared about it right now?!" I blurted out almost angrily. He didn't make me angry, but the circumstances caused it. All of it.
"Yet, I will not take advantage of it, Miss," he said. I walked to the door with the heavy burden in my heart as he spoke again.
"Can I speak freely?"
I spun to face him like I'd been waiting to hear his voice. Did he also feel the attraction between us or was he going to offer sympathy? Something I hated? I asked myself.
"You are a beautiful woman who would attract tons of men. Despite the hood covering a part of your face, the glimpse of your beauty will certainly haunt me during my travels. I just… I just wonder why a bride would be this... unhappy…" he said.
"It is not yours to think about, stranger, it is not your burden to bear either," I snapped tearfully.
"I do not wish to make it go away because I can't. But… I'm crazily drawn to you and…" he paused as he drew closer to me. "I can see through you for a moment?!" he asked as he gently took off the hood over my head. His lips curled into a smile when my face was revealed.
"I knew it, you are indeed very gorgeous."
"No one has ever told me that, not even my parents," I confessed truthfully.
"And I tell you without flattering, you are very gorgeous. Those eyes… those lips…" his finger trailed the side of my face down to my neckline. "Your skin… your smell… one I've never smelled before," he progressed to my arm after he had taken off my cloak while my eyes closed.
My lips parted, and the heat had escalated and exploded inside me. I longed for him–I longed for his touch.
"Can I taste your lips, miss?" he asked with a calm, raspy voice that I couldn't resist as his warm lips landed on me. Rupturing every gap in my body, was he truly seeing through me? I debated.
I saw my happiest moments flash before like dream, it left a nostalgicgerlimg that I couldn't resist. Suddenly, he pulled away.
"I'm sorry. I will not take your honor for granted, I... I should not do this. I promise I'm a gentleman—"
"I'm no lady either," I interrupted him, taking his hands in mine. "I have no honor to protect. I'm scrap. I'm nothing… I tell you, I do not need my honor to be protected. I am a laughingstock, I'm a wild woman with nothing to give anyway…" I blurted out. It felt right to say those things to him.
He held my face softly, "I have nothing either," he said to me. His voice rang in my head.
"See through me," I said to him in a whisper as my eyes found his golden gaze. Then, he captured my lips again.
It was breathless. Engulfing. Consuming. Delectable.
The touch of this stranger felt like a drug that I lacked in my body, like a vitamin.
Suddenly, I was ready to give him myself.
I've never been looked at with regard, but the stranger and I didn't care what the outcome would be at that point.
We were solely consumed by this subtle sensation that burned between us for the first and probably for the last time.
I have never been intimate with a man before, but for the first time in my life, I wanted it.
"It would hurt," he said to me, as if he read my thoughts.
"I can take it," I said to him. "I have felt more pain than this! Make tonight my best night—I probably wouldn't have another…" I said. As if amazed by my response, he took caution and proceeded.
I had no honor to keep without regrets. I would rather lose it to him than lose it to a man who would make me a third choice in his life.
The stranger's fingers traced my bare thighs, a ripple of pleasure and want coursing through me until he reached my soggy garden.
…
The next morning, the chills that cascaded down my skin made me develop goosebumps here and there.
Indeed, I had the best night of my life. I haven't had that since the day I hit puberty and began to observe my monthly courses.
I was bare under the sheets that were barely wrapping my body. My hair ruffled and my hips were sore.
My eyes gently opened as my hand felt the other side of the bed. It was cold like no one had occupied it before.
The stranger's side was neatly laid and my side of the bed was tatty.
"I don't understand, was he not here with me?" I asked myself. "But he was," I told myself as my face squeezed.
I quickly got out of bed and began to dress up.
There were no signs of him anywhere. Nowhere at all.
Except for the golden pocket watch on the table where the candle burned.
I grabbed it, solely observing the strange thing. Such fortune, I wondered. Maybe I could use it to find him, but was it necessary? Will I see him again?
Why did he leave without a word? It would be foolish of me to assume that he would think of me highly when I easily gave myself to him on the night of my wedding.
With my cloak over my body, I stepped out of the room in guilt.
Soon, the inn owner stopped me.
"Did you enjoy your night, Miss?" he asked with a very wide grin on his face.
"I did," I said with a small smile.
"Well, thank you for that gold coin, it is quite a fortune… I might as well close down this inn and start a life in the Old Americas, the City of Vy—far from Western town. I would also start a business there," he explained even if I didn't ask.
Could it mean that the stranger was from there? I didn't think so.
Meanwhile, I don't remember giving this man anything. I said to myself.
"I think you are mistaken. My friend must have given you that coin…" I pointed out.
"No, he didn't. You did." his brows knitted in confusion.
"The man with the golden eyes," I firmly said.
"No."
"Long golden hair?"
"No."
"He has a black Mustang as well…" I said again, and the man stared at me, shocked.
"There was no 'man' like that here. You came here alone, and you lodged in a room, and I am thankful for the coin that you gave to me as a settlement. Easy. You must be confused or tipsy. Did you drink too much last night? Four raw eggs will help you recover," he snapped and crossed his arms with a smile. "I always tell my drunk customers this secret of overcoming a stubborn hangover," he added, and left me on the porch of the inn.
Did I just encounter a ghost of any sort?
Not only am I set to marry an old man, but now I have been intimate with a ghost. A faceless man?
What just happened? What have I done? I asked myself.