Heat Flash
An Arizona Heat Story
By Patricia Pellicane
Resplendence Publishing, LLC
http://www.resplendencepublishing.com
Resplendence
Publishing, LLC
P.O.
Box 992
Edgewater, Florida, 32132
Heat Flash
Copyright © 2010, Patricia Pellicane
Edited by Michele Paulin
Cover art by Les Byerley,
www.les3photo8.com
Electronic format ISBN: 978-1-60735-137-5
Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of
this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including
infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable
by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
Electronic release: March 2010
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a
product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living
or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.
To Michele Paulin, the best editor. You make me look really good.
Thanks hon.
Table of Contents
Lavinnia Carson, as was her habit, hummed a jaunty tune as she stepped into the town’s bathhouse, her arms filled to overflowing with clean, folded towels. The wooden floor creaked and groaned ominously beneath her slight weight. She wondered, yet again, how it managed to withstand the weight of six heavy tubs upon its surface. It was Saturday, so all six were half filled with water and awaiting occupants.
This was the last Saturday of the month. That meant payday for both the garrison at Camp Yuma directly across the Colorado River and the cowboys who worked on spreads surrounding the small town of Arizona City. And like every other town west of the Mississippi, the town geared up, readying itself to face a wild night of drunken soldiers and cowboys, loud tinny music, screeches of laughter and howls of male camaraderie that would go long into the night, as well as occasional fisticuffs and infrequent gunfights.
Vinnie was of a mind that a man would do what a man would do. She held no prejudice against these young, rowdy men. Indeed, she could well imagine their need for a night of fun after a lonely month spent on duty or watching over herds of cattle. The problem was they found that fun only five doors from where Vinnie, her baby and her Aunt Lilly lived. As always, the shouts of lively good times would keep her awake until the wee hours of the morning.
Now, temporarily blinded by a harshly glaring sun, she saw nothing but dim shadows as she moved by memory through the building to the wide shelves behind the door.
“Are you here to wash my back?” a deep voice asked behind her, though the room was supposed to be empty.
Startled, Vinnie cried out her surprise and towels went flying. She spun around and lost her balance as the edge of a tub seemed to rush up behind her suddenly stumbling legs to attack her just behind her knees. With a flurry of white ruffled petticoats and stocking-covered ankles and shins, her backside plopped into the cool water.
A deep, oddly unsettling chuckle came from across the room. “If you mean to join me, darlin’, you picked the wrong tub.”
“Oh God,” Vinnie moaned as her gaze rose to the ceiling as if searching the heavens for any means of help. “Not another one.”
Vinnie had birthed her daughter some five months back. A widow of just over eight months, she had no interest in finding another man, yet the men in town saw fit to shower attention where no attention was sought. Most were put off with a few gentle but firm words, but there were others who gave her a hard time. The problem was she lived in a town—not counting the garrison—where there were ten or more men for every available woman, and the lack of female companionship was particularly evident on Saturday nights.
“Didn’t you read the sign?” she grunted as she attempted to come to her feet. Of course, she would have struggled far less and looked quite a bit more graceful while at it if she could have brought her feet into the tub. But that would have meant her entire skirt would be soaked, which hardly mattered, but her high-buttoned shoes did. Vinnie wasn’t so well off that she could easily afford to ruin her shoes.
Finally, after some obvious effort, she stood at the tub’s side. Little could be done about the view offered. She knew the man could see every inch of her form as her wet skirt clung to her in a most unseemly fashion. She reached for one of the many towels that had fallen to the floor. “The door is supposed to be closed if someone is in here.”
“It was closed. The kid who brought in the hot water left it open.” He shrugged. “I suppose I could close it if it makes you feel better.” He grinned as he gripped the sides of the wooden tub and made as if to get up.
“It won’t,” she returned quickly, and perhaps a bit too loudly. “Thank you, but I’ll close it.”
“Are you sure? It won’t bother me none to get up for a minute,” he teased.
She shot him a firm no-nonsense look as she strove to pull her wet, clinging skirt from her body. “I’m sure it wouldn’t, but thank you. I’ll take care of it.”
Vinnie decided to ignore his wicked chuckle, even knowing she was the brunt of it. She dried what she could, as modestly as she could, and was moving toward the door when she heard, “How about some hot water? The kid only brought in one bucket. And while you’re at it, I could use someone to wash my back and maybe a massage,” he dared to boldly venture, his dark eyes twinkling with wicked laughter. “My shoulders are a bit stiff, along with other things. I’d pay extra, if you could send someone in.” He finished his entreaty with a sly grin. “Extra again, if it’s you.”
Vinnie took a deep breath, her breasts strained against the bodice of her dress. Lord, but this one was worse than the usual. She bit back the need to abuse the dolt and narrowed her gaze in warning. Did he think she was the kind of woman who worked in a bathhouse? A moment later, she reconsidered. All right, maybe she did work here, but not when one of the tubs was occupied—ergo the sign—and she certainly did not give massages to naked men.
The woman muttered a few words, the only ones he caught were, “A piece of my mind.”
Jack Knight, newly arrived in town, grinned at the tiny woman’s obvious fury. The longer he watched her, the more apparent it became to him that one particular part of him was indeed growing stiff. It was easy enough to see she was trying to hold to her temper. His gaze moved hungrily over her lovely full form. He would certainly have enjoyed a piece all right, but what he was thinking on had nothing at all to do with her mind.
“Just a minute,” she said as she moved toward the door. “I’ll be right back.”
And to Jack’s surprise, she was. He hadn’t expected her to return. He’d thought she’d send the kid back, but there she was with a bucket in hand. Maybe his thoughts weren’t too far off the mark after all. Maybe she’d even give him that massage. He grinned. He’d always been a lucky bastard when it came to the ladies.
His hat sat jauntily pushed to the back of his head. A cigar was clamped between his teeth that flashed in a grin as he watched her struggle a bit with the weight of the water. Bucket in hand she moved toward him. A fleeting thought came to mind that, if she moved close enough, he just might be able to pull her into the tub with him. That could be the beginning of a most delightful afternoon.
She didn’t hesitate, brought the full bucket about waist high and suddenly threw its contents on him.
Jack gasped at the blast of icy water. He sat stunned for less than the count of three. His cigar hung wet and useless from his teeth; his hat had been whipped from his head by the force of water and now lay in a puddle behind him. His eyes narrowed with the promise of retaliation as he grunted, “Why you little…” as he came to his feet. In an instant, he made to move toward her.
In her peripheral vision, she saw him, and she screamed, the bucket flying somewhere behind her. She dashed for safety.
He laughed as he watched her desperate lunge for the door and grunted in satisfaction as she slammed it behind her departing figure. He’d take care of that little lady the first chance he got.
* * * *
“Oh Mr. Knight, I’m so glad you’re here.”
Ever alert, Jack frowned at Lillian Winghamton’s exuberant greeting. “Has there been trouble?”
“No, oh no, well, the truth is, I’m not sure. Perhaps, it’s just worry, but I can’t do anything else since he escaped prison. Lately, I see shadows everywhere.” The lady smiled weakly and shook her head. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Please excuse my manners. Come in, please.”
She opened the door wider and stepped back, allowing him to enter the house.
Jack’s stomach cramped with hunger as the delicious scent of coffee, roast beef and biscuits wafted from the kitchen. He smiled as he followed the small lady into the large, well-lit room.
“Oh please, sit,” she said as she moved toward the stove. “I’ve coffee ready. Would you like a cup?”
“I would, ma’am,” he said.
“And something to eat? I’ve plenty left from dinner. Are you hungry?”
“I wouldn’t mind a little something.”
Lillian filled a plate with slices of rare roast beef and mashed potatoes then covered the whole of it with thick gravy. She added biscuits then placed a fork, knife and napkin before him.
A moment later, he smiled, delighting in the rich, smooth coffee. “I have to tell you I’ve been looking for a woman like you all my life. Anyone who can make coffee this good has to marry me.”
“And you, being an ex-lawman, would be the first to know that’s a new law?” Lillian teased in return.
“Sorry,” he said as if the entire matter were out of his hands. He smiled just before he bit into a thick, succulent slice of beef.
She was a good-looking woman, maybe ten years his senior. She and her niece, the lady he’d been hired to protect, owned this boarding house and the bathhouse he’d used this afternoon. Her gaze told him she knew her way around the opposite sex, and her teasing smile proclaimed her a lady who wouldn’t be disinclined to enjoying his company, and then some, for the length of his stay. She had handsome features and lightly tanned skin with barely a hint of a line. Oddly enough, her thick, black hair and dark-blue eyes seemed vaguely familiar. He was positive he’d never seen her before, but she reminded him of someone. Jack frowned at the thought, for he couldn’t think who it was.
“Why don’t we talk about the coming nuptial after you take care of our current problem?”
Jack grinned at her sassy comeback. “Done.” Then more seriously, he asked, “Have you heard anything? Has he made contact, sent a note, anything?”
“No,” she shook her head. “All we know is he’s escaped and has promised…” She couldn’t control her shudder and shook her head again. “I don’t know exactly what he’s promised. I think he’s insane. In one letter, he says he loves her madly. In the next, he might call her the most awful names and swear he’s going to kill her. I don’t mind telling you I’m at my wits’ end.” She shivered yet again. “I’ve been jumping at shadows since we were notified of the break out.”
Jack nodded as she went on. “The thing is Vinnie is a young woman who refuses to believe she’s in danger.” She shook her head. “That’s not entirely true. She realizes she’s in danger but won’t live her life accordingly. I’ve already lost a nephew; I don’t need to lose her as well. Believe me, I’ve tried to convince her to be more careful, but she won’t listen. She says she can’t live her life in fear. I’d appreciate if you could talk to her.”
“Seein’ as I’ll be with her more often than not, I imagine that won’t be hard to do.”
“Are you going to follow her everywhere?”
“That’s what you’re payin’ me to do.”
Lillian grinned. “Yes, well, that might cause a bit of a problem.”
He frowned. “What do you mean? What kind a problem?”
Lillian bit her lip and twisted her fingers. “Well, the thing is, I haven’t told her I hired you, and she might give you a bit of trouble.”
“Meaning she’s not going to appreciate anyone following her?”
Lillian nodded. “I’m sure you can convince her to see things your way.”
“If you couldn’t, how am I supposed to?”
“She might be more apt to listen to a lawman. After all, you’ve seen quite a bit more of the world than either of us.”
“I get it.” Jack sighed. So far, nothing in his life had been particularly easy. Why start now? “I’ll talk to her. The truth is she doesn’t have much of a choice. You hired me to see to her care. As long as I’m getting paid, I aim to do my job. And if she doesn’t like it, well, that’s too bad, isn’t it?”
Lillian grinned. “Oh, I feel so much better now that you’re here. You will be staying here, won’t you?”
Jack nodded. “If you’ve got some space.”
“That’s no problem. Right now, we have three empty rooms. Two upstairs and one down.”
“Where’s her room?”
“Down.”
“I’ll take the one down here then. As close to hers as possible. I’d like to take a look at the room—at both rooms—as soon as possible.”
“Of course.”
“First, I’d like to store away my stuff and clean up a bit.”
“No problem. Take the third room down the hallway. You’ll find everything you need in there. Vinnie’s room is the next door towards the back of the house.”
Jack counted the doors. The third room was midway between the front and back doors and was occupied by the lady he’d been hired to protect. The very same lady, it immediately became obvious, who had thrown a bucket of cold water on him earlier this evening. Only for the moment, their positions were reversed. Where she had found him naked in a tub a few hours earlier, he now found her naked, standing in a large bucket, rinsing soapsuds from her hair and body with another smaller bucket of water.
Jack felt an instant quickening in his groin as his cock stirred. His heart hammered in his chest, a pulse throbbed in his throat and his breathing shortened to almost desperate pants. He’d never suffered anything like it. A humming came to life in his ears. A low, almost tormented sound escaped his throat. Filled with a mix of shock and delight, it was immediately followed with a muttered and deeply shaken, “Jesus.”
Stunned, momentarily held suspended and helpless upon facing such a vision, he felt frozen in place. Jack thought he’d never seen anything half as beautiful, and even with this small sampling, knew he’d never see her enough.
Vinnie turned toward the draft her opened door had caused. At the sound of his low blasphemous curse, she gasped, stunned to find a man standing at her doorway. Within two heartbeats, she stumbled from the large bucket, almost falling on her face as she lunged toward the bed and the gun that sat on her nightstand.
There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that the man suddenly standing in her room was the monster who had killed her husband. She couldn’t see more than a tall, dark form, his features hidden in shadows, for the dim glow allowed by her lone lamp prohibited light to reach her doorway.
He stepped into the room, and the door slammed behind him. Vinnie’s heart pounded with dread as her mind filled with questions. How had he found her so soon? How had he managed to travel hundreds of miles in so short a time? None of it mattered. All she knew was he was making good on his promise to come to her the moment he was able. She couldn’t think beyond the need to protect herself and her baby, and if that meant killing this monster, so be it.
Vinnie never considered her nakedness as she reached for her gun. She grunted at nearly crushing weight of him as he’d slammed into her, spun her around and fell full length upon her. Heavier than a boulder, he squashed her almost flat. She couldn’t breathe.
This monster was going to kill her, and she couldn’t manage enough of a breath to call for help. Damn this brute to hell. Maybe she was going to die, but she wasn’t going to leave this world without a fight. She swung at him, her hand curled into fists. She grunted in pain as he blocked her swing just before she would have contacted with the side of his face. A second later, both her hands were pulled tightly over her head. She tried to kick him; she bucked her hips beneath him in an effort to throw him off. Nothing. He was heavier than the earth and equally as hard. He had to know she couldn’t breathe; her strangled gasps and soft desperate grunts were enough to tell even the most simple-minded that she was in serious trouble. But did he care? Obviously, he did not.
Suddenly, he pulled away, just enough to allow her a lungful of air. Their gazes locked for an instant before his mouth came crashing over hers and what would have been a scream became little more than a moan, lost in the warmth of his mouth.
She gasped in his breath. It didn’t matter. Her starving lungs cared not. Her heart pounded wildly. It didn’t matter that he tasted of clean skin, of fresh air, of warm coffee, a distant hint of whiskey, of man. It wasn’t that he tasted good, of course. A man who broke in couldn’t possible taste good, could he? Didn’t one have to love a man, or at the very least like him, before enjoying his kisses. Well, of course, she wasn’t enjoying his kisses. Good grief! Besides, they both knew he wasn’t really kissing her. The only reason his mouth covered hers was to quiet her screams. And if he was more gentle than most, it mattered not in the least. Liking this man or his kisses bore no consideration. She didn’t know him, therefore, she couldn’t honestly say she liked anything about him. Still, she knew one thing. She most certainly did not like his kisses.
Then why wasn’t she crying, begging him to stop, pleading for mercy?
She did none of those things. Even her struggles had ceased. Why? Because there was no need. In truth, he posed no real threat. He wasn’t the madman who had killed her husband. He was the man from the bathhouse and there was nothing threatening in his kiss.
She’d stop him in a minute. All she had to do was wait for him to lift his head, to gasp for a breath of air and she’d scream the house down. She wouldn’t have to wait much longer. She was sure she wouldn’t. Any minute now, she’d get that chance.
In the meantime, it couldn’t hurt if she relaxed. After all, she gained nothing but aching muscles if she remained tense. Once he noticed she was calmer, he’d raise his head. She was positive he would.
Only he didn’t.
The oddest thing happened. Even as she swore it to be impossible, Vinnie’s breath caught in her throat and her heart pounded. Granted it was already pounding with fright, but this…this was something different. It pounded still, and she couldn’t honestly say why.
She forgot her insistence that it couldn’t be so and silently admitted he did taste good. Odd, despite her wild and extreme emotions, she had the sense to realize this man certainly knew what to do with his mouth, especially when that mouth touched a woman’s.
Vinnie couldn’t remember ever being kissed like this. It was more than lips, more than a brush of his tongue. It went deeper than that, far more intimate. It tantalized as it involved all of him, his touch, his taste, his breath, just the right amount of pressure. It was all of that yet nothing she could name.
“More,” he muttered. “Give me more.”
She frowned as she listened to his softly uttered demand and frowned again as she realized she was unable to maintain any resistance, any thought beyond the taste of his mouth and the sensations that mouth caused her. Something was wrong, yet she couldn’t, for the moment, understand what that might be. She forgot to be afraid, forgot to fight and forgot to think. And none of it mattered. Nothing mattered but the feel of him, the delicious roughness of his clothes against her nakedness, the smell of him and the taste of his mouth. Nothing was more important than her sudden need for more.
Vinnie moaned her pleasure as her lips parted and he dipped his tongue into her heat. And moaned again as she sucked him deeper into the fire. God, she’d never been so hot, never thought it possible to be so hot. She squirmed beneath him, her body telling him without words that she wanted more. Without thought, her hips lifted slightly against his erection.
She smiled at his moan of pleasure. He released her hands, but she had long forgotten the need to fight. Of their own volition, they cupped his cheeks, discovering the rough texture of whiskers, then threaded into crisp, clean hair. God, she loved this more than she could say.
And when his hand slid down the length of her, she almost cried out her pleasure. He murmured something, she didn’t know what and it never mattered less. The only thing that mattered was he should never stop kissing her, never stop breathing her.
“Taste you. I have to taste you.”
She smiled as the words slowly penetrated a fog of desire. Yes, she wanted to cry. Oh yes, please taste me. The thought came, but she never said the words. Never got the chance for his mouth had already left hers to settle deliciously against her throat and moved to where her shoulder met her neck. God, did anything feel better than the touch of a man’s mouth on a shoulder, than the roughness of whiskers as they moved over soft skin?
She couldn’t hold back her moans of pleasure. Her body squirmed beneath his, telling him clearer than any words of her surrender to both their wants, her need for all he could give her. Her heart pounded in her throat, causing her to gasp for every breath. She knew he had to feel the throbbing of her pulse as his lips brushed over her. She’d never been more willing, more needy, beyond thought, mindlessly spinning in ever tightening circles of aching pleasure.
She cried out the softest sound of enchantment as his mouth took her nipple deep into its heat. Nothing had ever prepared her for this. The pleasure of his mouth spread throughout her body to center deep in her belly. She ached for the feel of him inside her. God, she couldn’t remember ever wanting anything more.
Jack felt her stir beneath him and smiled at her moan of pleasure as she rubbed her pussy against his aching cock. Damn, he hadn’t wanted this. Hadn’t wanted any of this, but in seconds, he was harder than a tree trunk. It had only taken a moment, and he’d been sucked under her spell. Jesus, he couldn’t remember wanting a woman more. Her mouth had opened so sweetly beneath his. It had taken almost no probing for his tongue to find its way inside her. He’d sworn he wouldn’t, but he couldn’t stop.
He sucked a dark nipple deep into his mouth, and both of them groaned at the beauty of it. The intensity was almost more than he could take, definitely more than he could understand. His entire body trembled. Jesus, she was so hot. They’d barely begun, and she met his every want, his every need, all the while demanding her own needs appeased. He moaned and instinctively sought out the other breast. Again sweet warmth filled his mouth. He moved on to her midriff and her belly to lick and bite and suck every inch of female flesh he encountered.
“I have to taste you. I have to,” he whispered as his mouth lowered, intent on discovering all he could. Suddenly, he came to an unexpected stop.
His mind cleared as if he’d been doused with cold water. He’d savored far more than he should have. He’d sucked her breast and had been rewarded with the deliciously sweet flavor of her milk. Warm and sweet, it coated his tongue and nearly drove him over the edge of reason. He wanted nothing but to taste her again. Maybe to never stop tasting her.
It took her some minutes before she came from the depth of her desire. Her naked, languid stretch grew abruptly stiff as her body went hard and her sweet, generous lips became grim.
It was easy enough to read her confusion as her gaze rose to his. She frowned, apparently unable to understand what he was about. Or why he no doubt looked stricken.
Then, in an instant, her mouth thinned to a narrow strip of hate as she immediately set out to put the blame squarely and solely where it belonged—on his shoulders.
“You monster!”
“Take it easy,” he said, his voice oddly unhappy. “We both got a little carried way, but nothing much happened.” Nothing if he didn’t count the best damn ten minutes of his life. Jesus, how the hell was he ever going to forget the taste and smell of this woman?
“Get off me,” she grunted. “I swear to God, I’ll kill you if you don’t get off me.”
Jack chuckled. She was adorable when she threatened him.
A second later, he denied the thought. What the hell was wrong with him? Since when did a woman entice like this? He gave a slight shake of his head. He was making too much of a stolen moment. The problem here was he’d been too long without a woman. Jesus, he wouldn’t be much of a man if a gorgeous, naked woman didn’t affect him. All he had to do was take himself over to Lacey’s Place and have a go at one of her ladies. Without a doubt, that would solve any immediate needs.
That’s all this woman was. All she ever could be. A need, a purely sexual need. He shook aside the thought. She wasn’t even that. Quickly, his mind assimilated the facts. She looked almost exactly like the lady who hired him, and Miss Lilly had said her room was on this floor. He hadn’t a doubt she was the niece he’d been hired to protect. That made her a job, nothing more or less. She meant nothing to him. And what they’d done together meant even less.
“I believe you,” he said. “Just don’t move, and I’ll get up.”
He was lifting himself, placing an arm on each side of her for leverage, when she suddenly grabbed at him and pulled him back.
“Wait! Close your eyes. No! Turn your head.”
“Lady, you ain’t got nothin’ I ain’t already seen.”
Her eyes narrowed with warning, while her fingers dug hard into his sides, and she grated with menace, “Turn your head.”
He grinned but did as she asked and felt her pull a spread over her as he inched himself away. He breathed his relief as he came at last to his feet and moved far enough away to insure no damage could be done should she suddenly take it into her head to kick him. By then, she was completely covered.
Her gaze moved to her gun. She asked almost conversationally and a bit too softly for his liking, “What are you doing in my room?”
Jack quickly reached for her gun then carefully placed it on her chest of drawers across the room. “Your aunt told me to take the third room, and unless I forgot how to count, this is it.”
She scowled as she watched him move the gun some distance from her. Obviously, she didn’t realize her own glance had told him of her intentions.
Jesus, but she was something. Her hair was still damp and beginning to curl wildly around her face and shoulders. The white spread was held to her chin and covered her almost completely, except it was longer than it was wide and it covered everything but for her right leg, which, unnoticed by her, was bare and exposed to him from her hip to her foot. If he didn’t know better, he might have thought she did that on purpose. Damn, he couldn’t remember seeing anything half so appealing.
The moment he gained his footing, she came from the bed. “The third room is next door.” She nodded her head toward the wall at his back. “The first door you counted was a closet.”
His gaze gentled, unknowingly filled with hunger as it moved slowly over her from her tangled hair to the tip of her toes.
And Vinnie found herself wondering why she bothered to shield herself from his dark, hungry gaze, for his look told clearly that he remembered all too well what lay beneath the spread she clutched so desperately against her. That he’d enjoyed what he’d seen was obvious. That he wanted to see her again, even more so. The air in the room grew thick with need. All she could hear above the pounding of her own heart was the suddenly quick, panting sounds of his breathing.
She couldn’t imagine what was happening. She’d never felt anything like it in her life. His gaze was more than just a look, it was tangible, palatable. She could almost feel it as it seemed to call to her, to rob her of her will, to demand that she come to him, to put aside girlish modesty and meet him halfway as a woman who knew what she wanted.
He stood more than three feet from her. He didn’t touch her yet Vinnie didn’t think she could possibly suffer anything more erotic, more carnal. She’d never again know a moment when she’d feel more desirable, more a woman. With nothing more than a look, he stole her breath and her reason with it.
Helpless to resist, she took a step toward him. There was no way she could defend herself against his silent call, not when she remembered the touch and taste of his mouth, the feel of his callused fingers moving over her body, the pleasure he had wrought. She shivered in her longing for more. Even knowing this was the biggest mistake of her life, she couldn’t stop. Another step. Two more and she’d be in his arms.
It was then that the soft sounds of her baby stirring brought them both to their senses. She shivered at the intensity of the close call, for she hadn’t a doubt they had been seconds from being in each other’s arms and back on her bed had it not been for Amy coming awake.
Jack realized the spell was broken and couldn’t honestly say he was sorry. He never got involved with a client. Absolutely never! And, despite the fact she was the most desirable female he’d ever come across, he wasn’t about to start. Steeling himself against her allure, he swore the intimacy they’d just shared would never happen again. “Get dressed, we need to talk.”
Vinnie frowned at the order and his strange remark. “Talk? About what?”
“About keeping you safe.”
“What? Who are you?”
“I’ll be in the kitchen.”
“You’re wasting your money. I don’t want him hovering over me. I don’t want anyone constantly at my side.” Vinnie shot her supposed guard and his annoying grin a look of exasperation. “I can’t do it. I won’t be able to stand it.”
“You won’t even know I’m there.”
“Right. I didn’t know you were there before either.”
“When?” Lilly asked.
Jack grinned, and Vinnie’s cheeks grew pink. “He opened my door before. He included the closet when he counted the doors. He scared me. That’s all.”
Lilly’s gaze narrowed in disbelief. “You always scream when you’re scared. How come I didn’t hear anything?”
“’Cause he didn’t scare me that bad.” Vinnie shook her head, obviously dismissing the subject. “Is that the point? I don’t want a guard. You’re wasting your money.”
“It’s my money. I’ll rest easier, dear. Mr. Knight will be discreet, I’m sure.”
Jack leaned back in the kitchen chair, relaxed and totally at ease. He sipped at another cup of coffee. “Like I said, you won’t even know I’m there.”
“Would you like more coffee, Mr. Knight?”
“Jack, please, and I think I’ve had enough for tonight.” He directed his attention to his new client. “You turning in soon?”
Vinnie frowned. “How is that any of—”
Jack cut her off. “I’m going to need your schedule.”
“I’m sure my aunt can give it to you.” She turned from her most unwanted protector and, rudely ignoring his presence, said, “Good night, Aunt Lilly.”
She left the room.
“I knew it wouldn’t be easy.”
Jack nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”
As he spoke, he watched Vinnie’s slim back and delicious, swaying skirt as she moved down the hall. Watched her head for her room. Watched her walk right by her door and out the back of the building. No doubt heading for the privy.
In a flash, he was on his feet. A second later, he was behind her. “Where the hell are you going?”
Vinnie stopped short and turned her aggravated gaze to her tormentor. “How it that your business?”
“From this day on, like it or not, everything you do is my business.”
“I not only don’t like it,” she shot him a tight look of irritated determination, “I’m never going to make this easy for you.”
“No problem. Things don’t usually come easy for me. Why start now?”
Jack stood a few feet from the outhouse door and waited for the lady to complete her business. When she exited the small structure, he fell into step beside her again and remarked almost off-handedly, “You know I would have thought a lady like you would love her baby some.”
She stopped and spun to face him. “And what is that brilliant remark supposed to mean?” she said, tone and words all sarcasm.
Jack grinned at her nasty comeback and wondered why this thickheaded woman so enticed him. She didn’t. For Christ’s sake, get that damn fool thought out of your head. She was only a job. How the hell many times did he have to tell himself that? “It means, if you really loved her, you’d want to make sure to stick around for a spell. I figure your aunt would do right by her, but she’d still miss her mother, don’t you think?”
“You don’t want to know what I think, Mr. Knight.”
“Why?”
Somehow, despite the fact he stood a head taller than the lady, she managed to look down her short nose and returned with more than a trace of distain. “It’s hardly complimentary.”
Jack chuckled, the sound low and sexy. “I’m almost sure to have heard worse.”
“I haven’t a doubt.” Vinnie shook her head and with a soft moan rubbed at her stomach.
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. I’ve a stomachache, is all.”
“Why?”
“Why? Are you now a man of medicine as well as a hired gun?” She took a deep breath and sighed wearily, “I’m tired, Mr. Knight, if it’s any of your business. My chest and stomach are giving me some pause. No doubt due to your most unwanted, earlier attentions. In truth, your aggravating presence does not in any way relieve the discomfort.” Vinnie sighed deeply her frustration and remarked, “The fact of the matter is, Mr. Knight, every lawman west of the Mississippi is looking for Rafe Connors. How long do you suppose it will be before one of them takes him into custody?”
“I hope it’s soon.”
“I’m sure it will be. Therefore, I’ve no need of your services.”
“Suppose they don’t.”
She had been continuing to the house but stopped at his comment. “What?”
“Suppose no one takes him into custody. Suppose he makes it all the way to your door. Then what?”
“Then I’ll shoot him,” she returned simply, directly and with a look that told him he should have known better than to ask.
“Right. And how many men have you shot to date, Mrs. Carson?”
“Just because I haven’t done so as yet, does not preclude the possibility that, if necessary, I could.”
“Of course, you’re right about that. I’m sure you could.” He gaze clearly told his disbelief. “Or could you? You know some folks think there’s nothing to it. That killing is as easy as pulling a trigger, but you should know taking a man’s life is a bit more serious than folding towels.”
Vinnie’s gaze narrowed with menace at the mere mention of towels. Instantly, she was reminded of their first meeting, the fright he’d given her at the time and the subsequent insults he’d carelessly thought to bestow.
“Dear me,” she replied, her tone suddenly low, sugary sweet and all southern charm. “I surely do thank you for that little pearl of wisdom, Mr. Knight. Of course, like most folks I have always equated killing with folding towels. It certainly is my good fortune, sir, that you should have thought to show me the error of my thinking.”
Jack laughed at her false show of gratitude. “Do you know you’re damn near irresistible when you sass a man?”
She gasped at his remark. “In that case, I’ll be sure to control any future impulses.”
He grinned again and watched as she spun quickly away from him and walked back to the house.
Undeterred, he was immediately at her side. “Suppose nature called one night, and while everyone slept, you took a trip to the outhouse. Say you took that trip in your nightdress and robe. Say you were tired and forgot just that once and left your gun on your nightstand. Suppose he was waiting out here, and without giving you a moment’s warning, he did this.”
The second he uttered his last word, he grabbed her and pulled her back against him, his free hand over her mouth. He heard her strangled gasp of surprise, felt her suck a lungful of air between his fingers and felt her heart pound wildly beneath the hand that held her just under her breast.
“Suppose he does this and pulls you back with him into the dark. Suppose he turns then squashes you against him and doesn’t give you a second before he does this.” Jack’s mouth closed over hers, and Vinnie, her hands held securely at her back with one of his, screamed her outrage. When the scream had no effect, she merely stood still, very still, and spoke quietly into his mouth. “That’s enough, Mr. Knight. I get your point.”
Jack pulled back and grinned as he released her with the warning, “Don’t forget it.”
Jack first checked her room, her window and the lock on her door. Next, he moved through the house, checking all the windows and doors, before he settled into his own room. The house was quiet. All he heard was the gentle irregular snorts and snoring coming from the room above his own. Outside, of course, was a completely different matter.
It was the last Saturday of the month. Payday. That meant cowpokes and off-duty soldiers alike lined the uneven, wooden sidewalks that ran before each adobe-style building for the full length of the small, rough town. Each man waited his turn to visit with the young ladies who worked above the town’s two saloons. The line had been there when he’d ridden into town and had only grown longer as the day had progressed, which was exactly why Jack hadn’t bothered. Jack had little taste for a woman who been through a few dozen men before him, or he would have paid one a visit after his bath. Instead, after cleaning up, he’d taken himself off to the local sheriff. He introduced himself to Sheriff Joe Brown and Mike Stacey, his deputy. As it turned out, the men had already been informed of his pending arrival and were aware of the possible danger to Miz Carson. Jack thought, judging by their tone of voices and their attitudes, both men had a soft spot for the lady. They appeared to be able, agreeable young men, and Jack thought, if trouble arose, he could count on them.
Jack lay on his back in the dark, his hands clasped together under his head, and listened to the laughter and wondered what the hell he was going to do about his problem. He’d sworn to protect a stubborn, ungrateful woman, and all he could think about was joining her in bed. That couldn’t happen, of course. No matter how she might entice. It not only couldn’t, it wouldn’t happen.
He could only imagine how useless he’d be should he become involved. No, the lady’s life and possibly his own, as well, depended on his professionalism.
* * * *
In the room beside his, Vinnie stirred restlessly. She couldn’t relax. She strove for sleep, prayed for it but lay instead in the dark, remembering what had happened in this room, in this bed even, as she wondered how she had dared face him afterwards. How had she not blushed to the roots of her hair when their eyes had met across the table? How had she managed perfectly reasonable responses to his remarks?
All she could do was thank God for her baby. Had Amy not stirred when she had, Vinnie had no doubt the two of them would already be lovers. He was dangerous. Far more dangerous than any man she’d ever come across. She’d never felt the things he caused her to feel. Not even in her husband’s arms had she lost all sense of self. Never had she wanted the things Jack had done, the things he’d yet to do.
Vinnie groaned her horror. What could she be thinking? What in the world was wrong with her? Granted, she’d heard stories about women who acted oddly after giving birth, but she’d never imagined anything like this. It couldn’t go on, of course. Nothing like it could happen again. She’d make sure it wouldn’t. If they were alone, it would only be while in public. There was no way she would fall again under the man’s spell. And spell was the only thing she could call it. It was like being mesmerized. She certainly hadn’t been herself. Nothing at all like herself.
Vinnie sighed as she turned to find a more comfortable position and smiled as her baby stirred ready for her last meal of the night. Vinnie lit her lamp and came from the bed. She took Amy against her. With a length of bunting in hand, she returned to her bed and cuddled the baby close to her heart.
“Hi sweet Amy love,” she said softly, unable to resist a laugh as her baby gave a toothless, grinning coo at the sound of her voice. “Are you ready for dinner, sweetheart?”
* * * *
Jack stiffened at the soft sounds of her murmurs. She was talking to someone. Laughing. No doubt, the baby was in need of attention.
“Goddamnit!” he groaned as he turned away from the wall, from her room and the sounds beyond it, and buried his head into the pillow. There was no attention that came to mind but one, and he cursed himself soundly for even allowing the slightest thought.
Jesus, this was no good. This was really no good. He felt lower than dirt yet couldn’t help his wild thoughts, the insane need that careened through him or how that yearning affected his body. How the hell was he supposed to sleep when he knew the woman beyond that wall had a child in her arms and that that child’s mouth was where he wanted most to be?
Hours of restlessness, of tossing and turning left him exhausted. The sun was barely a promise of light when he rolled from the bed. Jack figured if he had a half hour of sleep all told, he’d had a lot. He washed up and was buckling his gun-belt over his hips when he heard the back door click shut. Someone had left the house, no doubt to use the privy. Jack was going to insist that she use a chamber pot until this monster was no longer a threat. Either that or he’d be jumping from wherever he was at every damn sound, wondering if she were putting herself in danger.
With his shirt in hand, he left his room and soundlessly entered hers. Just as he thought, her bed was empty. Within seconds, he was outside, heading for the outhouse. He knocked, hard. The sound startled her into a soft, fearful cry.
“Are you in there?”
“No, I’m somewhere else,” she gritted, already aggravated and the day had barely begun. Oh my God, he is so annoying! “Would you mind giving me a moment’s privacy?”
Jack stood a few feet from the privy door, his shirt on, but open, his arms folded over his bare chest as she stepped outside. She snarled at the sight of him. “What are you doing here?”
“That’s a stupid question. You know what I’m doing here.”
“I have a gun.”
“Good. That’s something at least.”
She walked by him, ignoring his presence as she headed for the back door.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist that you use a chamber pot until it’s light out. It’s far too dangerous to be outside in the middle of the night.”
“It’s not the middle of the night. It’s morning, and I’m sure you may insist on whatever you like. And I shall certainly do exactly as I please.”
“You don’t want to push me, ma’am. Not first thing in the morning. My temper ain’t too steady in the wee hours.”
Vinnie continued to ignore him as she entered the house and made for her room. Jack followed her inside both.
He stood just inside her door as she put her gun on her chest of drawers, poured water from a pitcher into a bowl then washed her hands and face. She dried them and reached for her toothbrush. After dampening it, she dipped it in tooth powder and quickly cleaned her mouth. Lastly, she rubbed a towel over her cleaned face and turned only to gasp upon finding him standing there. The beast had followed her right into her room, and she hadn’t until this moment realized she wasn’t alone.
“Who do you think you are? Get out of my room.” She’d barely gritted out the last of it when she threw her towel behind her and shoved him. All her shove managed was to knock her back a step or two, for the beast gave not an inch. Her lips tightened with annoyance at the tingling in her hands. She rubbed them on the skirt of her dress. They certainly did not tingle because she’d touched his bare chest. “Get out!”
“If you don’t listen to me, I’m afraid I’ll be forced to bed down in here.” He gave the room a quick look and remarked, “A mattress on the floor over there should be comfortable enough.”
“You’ll what?” she asked on a ridiculing laugh. The sound was sarcastic but soft, careful not to awaken the baby or for that matter anyone else in the house.
“You heard me.”
“I can’t hear anything while you’re standing there with your shirt open. Get dressed.”
“Why? Does my bare chest bother you?”
“No, does mine?” Vinnie countered then gasped. She’d barely uttered the last sarcastic word when she realized she’d made a mistake.
He laughed at her muttered low curse. “I don’t know. It ain’t bare,” he hesitated before he finished with, “yet.”
She cursed again.
“You might want to be careful. Calling me a donkey’s ass could become a habit, then your baby will start saying it.”
His grin was awful in what it did to her senses. Deep inside something twisted in her chest, while her stomach clenched in discomfort.
“If she were talking about you, I’d only help her speak more clearly.”
He chuckled a low, terrible sound.
Vinnie shivered. The dark, lean, near naked length of him begged for her touch. She shook her head. God, but that was impossible. What in the world could she be thinking? Vinnie didn’t know and, at the moment, couldn’t manage one rational thought. Suddenly the sight of his near nakedness, the smell of his clean skin, combined with his devastating smile was more than she could take. More than any woman could take. She strove for one last desperate moment of sanity even knowing it was already too late. She made a soft sound deep in her throat, unable to stop looking at him, to stop breathing him.
“Shut up and get out.”
She said the right words, but even she didn’t believe she meant them. He watched her, and she couldn’t hold back a shiver at the intensity of his dark gaze. The tremble caused her unbound breasts a shiver. His gaze was drawn to the movement. For a long moment, he said nothing as he watched her nipples harden against the thin material as her chest rose and fell with every breath.
Then, with a voice raw with obvious yearning, he asked, “You’re not wearing anything under that dress, are you?”
She took a step back. This couldn’t happen. It couldn’t. With one last desperate plea, she grated weakly, “I said get out.”
He nodded again as his dark gaze searched her face. “You’ve got it as bad as I do. Jesus, I’ve never known anything like this. We’re likely to set that bed on fire once we start.”
Vinnie’s heart pounded. She was positive he could hear it, see it in the near strangling pulse throbbing at her throat. “Only we’re not going to start, and you’re insane. If you don’t leave this room now, I’m going to scream this house awake.”
Jack grinned again. He was going against every rule he’d ever set for himself, and it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but that he’d have her. He had to have her. Jesus, he was like a man possessed. He’d known her for less than a full day, spent one night in this house, and he was just about mad with need. If he didn’t take her now, what would he be like tomorrow? God Almighty, he didn’t even want to think about that kind of pain.
All night, he’d tossed and turned imagining her in bed, remembering the smell and taste of her, knowing she was just beyond the thin wall that separated their rooms. He shook his head. This wasn’t going to work. He was making way too much out of it. No woman was worth this. He couldn’t remember ever losing sleep because of a woman. Not ever.
And damn it, at this rate, within a few days, he’d be next to useless. How was he going to do his job with this kind of hunger gnawing at his guts? He’d never be able to protect her if he couldn’t stop thinking about anything but the need to take her to bed. He had to get this out of the way. Get her out of his blood, any thoughts of her out of his head.
“I’m thinkin’ you want me just as much as I want you. There’s somethin’ here neither of us can deny. You couldn’t sleep last night either, could you?”
She took a trembling step back. Slowly, she shook her head. “I don’t want—”
“Yeah, neither do I, but there’s no way that I’m not going to fuck you.”
“You depraved monster.” She shuddered at his daring, at his blatantly vulgar yet casually spoken remark, realizing as she did his words both thrilled and repulsed her. “Is fornicating all you can think about?”
“When I’m around you. You might as well ask me not to breathe. There’s no way I can stop.” He reached out then, his hand faster than the strike of a snake and grabbed a handful of her hair. “Jesus, this stuff is so thick and silky soft. I can’t touch it enough,” he shook his head, “or touch you enough.”
His hand at the back of her head drew her to him, and she hadn’t the will to resist. He was right. There was something between them, something unbearably powerful, something she’d never known before. It drew her to him, no matter her denials. She struggled for a trace of her usual common sense. My God, she couldn’t simply fall into a strange man’s arms. Could she?
With one last desperate attempt at sanity, she pulled back, but her effort proved useless because at that same moment his free hand closed over her breast. It was too much to ask of any woman. She couldn’t resist. She couldn’t stop her knees from buckling. He said something, but she couldn’t hear it above the pounding of her blood and the gasping of her own breath.
“I hate you,” she grated.
Her body pressed tightly against his rock-hard, muscled form, and she trembled at the sudden, devastating, rush of gut-wrenching lust that sprang to life deep in her belly. It spread like fire to her groin, her breasts, and her brain. She was losing all control and she hated him for it.
“God, I hate you.”
And as he brought her into his arms, and sank his face into the warmth of her throat, she felt herself drowning in the feel of him, the scent, sliding deeper into a black, soul-crushing pit of lust that rivaled despair. Vaguely she wondered if she’d ever escape this need and almost smiled knowing the folly of her thoughts. She needed this more than her next breath, but it wasn’t him she needed. It wasn’t. It could have been any man. He’s simply caught her at a weak moment. She needed a man, to satisfy the flesh, and once they were done, she’d finally know sanity again.
He growled against her neck and with a groan that sounded like relief muttered, “Good.”
“Tell me it’s got you by the balls, just like it’s got me.”
God, but he smelled so good. Vinnie never thought a man could smell like this. So overpowering delicious it made her mouth water. Her husband hadn’t smelled like—
Vinnie shook her head. She didn’t want to think about Jim. Not now. Now she wanted to breathe this man, to touch him, perhaps to never stop. She forced back the need to bury her nose and mouth against his throat and frowned as she tried to understand his last comment.
She didn’t know how to respond to so crude a remark. Even were it possible, she’d never admit to such a thing. A moment later, she knew a measure of annoyance that he would talk to her like he did. The tiniest glimmer of sanity made itself known. This was the worst mistake of her life. She knew it and, still, a force greater than she pushed her forward, closer to the heat of him, the core of this wanting. She couldn’t stop. She wondered if she’d ever be able to stop.
“Shut up.”
“I need you so damn bad I’m just about dyin’.”
“This can’t be happening.” She quivered with need. She’d never suffered anything like it in her life. She couldn’t think like herself, didn’t sound like herself. Her voice was choppy and breathless, deeper more whispery than ever before. She strained for control but found none. “You only met me yesterday.”
“I know. It’s crazy, but it doesn’t matter.”
“Don’t talk about it. God, please, don’t talk about it. Somehow, it’s only worse when you talk about it.” She said the words against his firm lips as he lowered his head and covered her mouth with the blazing heat of his own. From a distance, she heard someone moan and never realized the sound came from her own throat.
She pulled at her dress, desperate in her attempt to free herself of its encumbrance. With his help, it and the chemise beneath it were finally flung to the floor. Her arms were around his neck, her body pressed tightly to his. She couldn’t stop the need to wrap her legs around his hips. Could this be her? Could she actually be climbing on his body?
He was on the bed, on his back, and she lay over the length of him, unable to remember how they had gotten here. His shirt was gone. Her chest was pressed tightly to his, and she loved it. Loved the scratchy feel of his hair as it grazed against her smooth skin. She loved it more than she could say. She couldn’t catch her breath. She trembled, she shook, she couldn’t believe this was happening and at the same time helplessly prayed for more. Together, breathlessly, holding firm to their control, they opened his belt then his trousers. His gun-belt was placed carefully on the floor; his trousers lay scrunched at his ankles, and neither thought to take off them or his boots.
He was beautiful, long and lean. Vinnie had never realized a man could be beautiful, but he was. She’d known he didn’t carry any extra weight, but naked, he was magnificent, smooth and tanned to his waist. A light dusting of hair matted his chest and thinned to a narrow line as it bisected his stomach and fanned out again to cup his sex. She shivered at the sight of it. Shivered with the need to touch it, to touch him.
He kissed her then. Like a man dying of thirst, he sucked her essence into his mouth and groaned as his tongue searched for more. He stole her breath, leaving her weaker than ever. If she’d wanted to stave him off, he’d taken the last of any resistance with that kiss. It left her naught but a yearning, craving creature, intent only on furthering this diabolical pleasure, of demanding her share of the coming exquisite torture.
She couldn’t give him enough. She couldn’t take enough. She tore at him, scratching his shoulders, his back, his scalp in her desperate attempt to bring him closer.
“More,” she groaned as he tore his feverish mouth from hers for a desperate gasp of breath, and sighed her delight as he instantly returned. His demand for more easily matched her own. She ripped her mouth from the heat of his and came to her knees. Straddling his hips, she gently, eagerly eased herself down the length of his rock-hard erection. Between clenched teeth, she sucked in a lungful of air and gasped at the pleasure and the pain. She hadn’t been with a man since her husband almost a year ago and never a man like this.
Never totally naked, never in the near light of day. Never with such abandon, such passion, such tormented, aching need. Nothing had ever been like this. Nothing had felt like this. And she thought nothing ever would again.
His hands cupped her breasts, his fingers twisted the nipples to near pain and the pain only added to her pleasure. His hips thrust forward and up, impaling her with a dizzying crash of pleasure, driving deep into her tightness, her heat.
She had no control. There was no way she could stop the terrible, insistent, crashing thunder that raged through her body to center just below her belly, to ache with a ferociousness she’d never before encountered.
“Don’t stop. Oh God, please don’t stop.” Her body trembled above his, jerked and squeezed at his sex, squeezed again, sucking him deep, deeper into her.
It couldn’t go on. She couldn’t live through this. Her body and mind were somehow foreign to her. She’d never suffered anything like this, never imagined she could. She cried out her delight as his mouth captured hers. And the cry went on and on as her whole being slid deeper into magic that was him.
She was lost in the delicious, mindless, throbbing pleasure. It took endless moments before her breathing slowly eased back to normal. She shivered and breathed a deep sigh of satisfaction as the pulsing dwindled at last to an occasional throb, and she welcomed the sweet exhaustion as she moaned in blissful delight.
She slumped against him, weaker than she could ever remember, then frowned as it slowly came to her that she alone had found release. She raised her head and shot him a puzzled look.
Understanding her silently asked question, he shook his head and flipped her suddenly to her back. He hovered above her. His features were tight as he fought for control. “Not yet. I need to see you, touch you and most of all taste you—taste all of you.”
For one breathless moment, he held himself in place.
“Jesus, you’re beautiful,” he said on a tight, shuddering breath, just before his mouth came to nuzzle the sweet flesh of her pussy.
Vinnie jumped in shock. “What? Jack, stop! What are you doing?”
Her cheeks were scarlet when he leveled himself above her and smiled into her eyes. “You were married, Vinnie. Don’t you know?”
“What? Know what?”
“Here, let me show you,” he said as his mouth drifted over her lips, leaving behind the taste of her own body, then moved to her jaw then to her throat to linger with devastating results where her neck joined her shoulder.
She shivered as his mouth lowered to her breast where he nuzzled his delight and bit her nipple.
He moaned a soft sound of enjoyment then said, “Everything about you tastes delicious. Your skin, your breath, your pussy, and these,” he said as he nudged one breast and watched it shiver upon her chest. “Do you have any idea how sweet your milk is? Do you know I wish I could take it by the mouthful and keep it for myself?”
Vinnie laughed at what she thought was teasing. “And leave none for Amy?”
His gaze narrowed as if studying her. “I’m wondering if I’m ever going to get enough of you.” His mouth lingered over her breast, hovered as if he couldn’t make up his mind if he should sample her yet again. Then he began to lick her, his lips and tongue drifting lower, leaving no part of her untouched or un-tasted.
“Kiss me,” she murmured. It wasn’t a plea. It was an urging, almost a demand.
“Oh, I’m going to” he returned. “No need to worry on that score. But first,” he murmured as his mouth went between her legs. “First, I need this.”
Again she stiffened, but this time, she did not push him away.
Vinnie couldn’t honestly say she was comfortable. He was right, of course. She had been married, but Jim had never done anything like this. And she had never imagined anyone would.
His mouth was hot, almost burning against her flesh. His tongue slid over her, into her, and when his tongue rubbed against one small part of her, she couldn’t stop the need to jump, the need to push him away. “Don’t. I don’t think I like this.”
“Sensitive?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said with a nod. “Very.”
“Give yourself a minute. You won’t be sorry. I promise.”
Vinnie could have mentioned the fact that he never allowed her that minute. The moment he stopped speaking, his mouth had returned to her most private parts. Vinnie moaned a soft sound. She was mortified. She could feel her cheeks growing hotter by the minute. This was probably the most disgraceful thing that she’d ever been party to.
And as he moved his mouth over her, his tongue hot, thick burning against her tender flesh, grazing her sensitive nerve endings, something odd began to happen. She couldn’t exactly name what it was, but her feelings of shock and embarrassment began to fade. Strangely enough, they soon disappeared altogether and were slowly replaced with a curiously heavy ache, almost a need for something. She couldn’t explain it or compare it to anything she’d ever known. This was an entirely new experience.
Still, Vinnie couldn’t honestly say she liked it. Even though she thought perhaps she might, it wasn’t until she further relaxed under his expert tutelage that she realized she did like it. She liked it very much indeed.
Vinnie moaned again, this time the sound nothing at all like the first. This time, combined with the softening of her body, it told him clearly of her pleasure. A heaviness settled over her stomach, her legs relaxed and spread wider, while her hips rose toward his mouth, her body suddenly, silently urging him on. She couldn’t stop it and never thought she should.
His mouth left her for a moment, and he grinned into her gentle gaze. “I take it you’ve come to like it some.”
She bit at her lips as she forced back the need to laugh. “One might understand how you could have reached that conclusion.”
He chuckled softly. “I reckon one could.”
She laughed a sound of pure happiness. She hadn’t a clue why she should feel so happy, but she couldn’t deny that she did.
A moment later, her laughter was cut short as he returned to his delicious chore. Vinnie moaned again, the sound soft, clearly an entreaty for more.
Lord, but this felt good. She didn’t simply enjoy what he was about; she wanted more. Now she could only wonder why she’d never before imagined this exquisite act of tenderness.
Vinnie groaned as a strange sense of pressure began to build, groaned again as it drove her closer, ever closer to…she didn’t know what.
Her body had grown stiff again, this time with need, her breathing choppy and strained. Her stomach tightened into a hard knot of want. She stirred restlessly. God, but she needed…needed. Vinnie frowned unable to say exactly what it was. All she knew was she was on the verge of something—something she couldn’t stop, something she didn’t want to stop.
“Jack, please,” she managed between breathless grunts and building tension. A second later, he was on his knees, his cock buried deep in her warmth, his finger replacing the luscious movement of his tongue.
Vinnie groaned again. She wasn’t strong enough to bear this. “I can’t,” she groaned, breathlessly, desperately. “Please, I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. You can and you will,” he insisted as he drove his body into the depth of hers.
And he was right. She could. Her body rose up, straining toward the pleasure. Wild for it, she tore at his hips, pulling him closer, tighter against her. Something grabbed and twisted at her stomach. It overwhelmed her senses, brought her to the edge of pain, to the brink of madness. She couldn’t make it. She couldn’t live through this. Then it was there, finally, blissfully there, flinging her out among the stars into a world that knew nothing but tormented elation. Her cry was muffled beneath the pressure of his mouth as ecstasy filled her to overflowing, and she mindlessly groaned out her pleasure as her muscles squeezed at his cock—squeezed and throbbed and pulled him deeper into her heat.
He didn’t hold back this time. No, this time he followed her into the magic, his body helplessly surging forth, pulsing, emptying its seed deep into the delicious warmth of her.
He groaned as he fell weakly against her, his mouth taking all he could of her before he rolled them both to their sides.
She lay cuddled at him, her cheek against his chest, his arm holding her close against his length. Vinnie sighed and yawned. She needed a nap. How in the world was she supposed to get breakfast started after suffering through these last lusciously exhausting moments? She breathed a lazy sigh. “I hope you know I’m too tired now to make breakfast.”
Jack grinned. “Don’t matter none to me. I’d rather do this than eat, any day.” As he spoke, his hand moved to her breast and his fingers played with her nipple.
The sun was making itself known just over the horizon, birds chirped merrily as they began their day, while a rider could be clearly heard as he trotted past her house. Like it or not, energy or not, she had to get up. Breakfast had to be started. Actually, it should have been started a half hour ago. She took a deep breath, and her relaxed form told clearly of her satisfaction. “I can’t believe this.”
“I know,” he agreed. “Damn,” he said with some relief, “I’m glad that’s over.”
She smiled at the curious remark and raised her gaze to meet his. “What do you mean? Glad what’s over?”
“I mean I’ll be able to sleep now that I’ve gotten you out of my system. I’ll be able to do my job and do it right.”
She frowned and gave a slight shake of her head. His words weren’t making any sense. “What does that mean?”
“It means, I knew you only one day and already you were an obsession. A man can’t concentrate on his work if he’s thinking about fucking you.”
Vinnie gave a silent groan and shuddered her disgust at his vile language, her gaze wide with shock. What had she done? God, what had she done? Of course, she never expected professions of undying love. She was a grown woman and realized the need some men and woman knew for each other. Still she hadn’t imagined he thought this little of her, of what they’d done. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected of this man, but it wasn’t anything like this.
Slowly, her shock and remorse were replaced by a righteous sense of rage. A rage so powerful she wondered if it were possible to control it.
Over? she silently repeated. This beast might not know it, but it hadn’t even started. Vinnie’s jaw clenched as fury slowly infused every inch of her body, until she felt rock hard, and every sense of exhaustion had magically disappeared. She knew nothing but energy, nothing but the need to get up and away from this disgusting repulsive dolt. She couldn’t decide who she hated more, this beast or herself.
He frowned. “What’s the matter?”
“So now that you’ve fucked me, you can go about your business? Is that right?”
“Sure,” he said with some obvious relief. “I thought for a minute you were angry. We’re both better off for it, wouldn’t you say?”
Vinnie knew he wasn’t being cruel, at least not on purpose. The truth was, despite his need for her sexually, he cared for her about as much as he did his horse. No, she reconsidered, for she hadn’t a doubt that he cared a lot more for his horse.
The trouble here was she was a woman who’d never indulged in a casual affair. She’d known from the first that this was a mistake. His comments only further convinced her. She fought a battle to keep her scream at bay. Thoughts of her sleeping baby won out against this terrible need to do this beast bodily harm, all the while screaming her rage.
On a voice low with disgust, she repeated his words, “Wouldn’t I say?” She took a deep breath and went on with, “What I’d say is you are easily the most loathsome piece of degenerate horse shit that I’ve ever had the misfortune to meet.”
He frowned as he came quickly up on one elbow and looked into her tightly shuttered expression. “What the hell is the matter with you?”
“Get out of my room. Get out and stay out. If you ever come back, I swear to God I’ll put a bullet between your eyes.”
It was apparent by his expression that he hadn’t a clue as to what the problem was. He came naked from the bed and stood at its edge and muttered, “Jesus.” He began to dress with stiff, sharp, angry movements as he said mostly to himself, “Women are the most contrary, obstinate…” He let the sentence dwindle down to silence and nearly tore his shirt trying to get his arms into the sleeves. “I swear ten together can’t come up with one lick of common sense. I only wish—”
Vinnie mouth grew tighter than ever, her displeasure more than obvious. She tucked her sheet tightly under her arms as she sat and leaned back against the headboard, her gaze narrowed with rage as she interrupted his tirade. “If you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you kept your opinions and wishes to yourself. I couldn’t care less what you think about women or anything else for that matter.”
“Jesus, Vinnie,” he said in lieu of an apology. It was easy enough to see by his expression that he didn’t know what he’d said to upset her. “All I meant was now that we’ve done it, I’ll be able to sleep.”
Vinnie frowned. The man had a ways to go before one might accuse him of being charming or suave. If he thought his further explanations were about to ease the anger she felt, he’d best think again. Her lips thinned to a tight line as she snapped, “Get out. Get the hell out. Now that you can sleep, go do it somewhere else.”
Jack couldn’t imagine what the hell was wrong with her. One might suppose after all the pleasure she’d suffered, pleasure they’d both suffered, it might have taken some of the contrariness out of her. Might even have brought her a smile or two, but no. Mrs. Lavinnia Carson was anything but serene and content after almost an hour of the best sex he’d ever known. If anything, she was nastier than ever. Damn, he was never going to understand women. What the hell did they want from a man?
“Damn women,” he said as he dropped to his back on his own bed. “Damn every one of them. What were they after all? Nothing but confusing, mindless pieces of fluff made for only one thing, good for only one thing.” Jesus, why had he ever taken this job? The minute he’d seen her, he’d known she would be trouble. Damn all women to hell and Miz Lavinnia in particular.
The delicious scent of coffee and frying bacon brought him from his room. He sat at the huge kitchen table and offered Lilly a smile with a morning greeting. Vinnie went about her tasks never acknowledging his presence. The two ladies finished up a stack of flapjacks and a platter of scrambled eggs and crisp bacon in record time. Hot coffee was poured, and as if on cue, three boarders entered the kitchen. Two, it turned out, were permanent renters—a Mister Blake, who worked in the town’s mercantile and Mike Stacey, the deputy sheriff. The third man was a traveling salesman, in town for only two days.
From the first, Jack had supposed a definite softening of tone and expression upon mentioning Mrs. Carson to the sheriff and deputy. Now, he could see for himself the man had definite designs on the lady, while she allowed him no more than an absent-minded smile.
After breakfast, Vinnie helped her aunt straighten the kitchen then, after caring for her baby, was soon outside, building a fire to bring a huge pot of water to boil.
“Need some help?” Jack offered.
Vinnie ignored him and his question.
“I take it you ain’t talkin’ to me.”
She shot him a killing glare. “I knew you weren’t just a stupid old cowboy.”
And with that, she stepped into the house. Soon, she emerged with an armload of laundry. Bucket after bucket of water was pumped and emptied into the huge pot, while a fire grew to life beneath it.
Vinnie poured chips of lye soap and bleaching powder into the pot. Soon enough noxious fumes began to burn his throat. Jack moved to avoid them. Laundry was emptied into the pot, and Vinnie stirred the bubbling mixture with a huge stick.
“You do this everyday?”
Again, there was no response.
“There’s no real point in ignoring me. I ain’t goin’ nowhere. It doesn’t matter how much you fuss.”
Vinnie turned to face him, acknowledging his presence with a threatening glare.
Jack grinned. At least, he’d gotten some kind of a response.
“Are you and the deputy getting it on?”
Again, she said nothing but shot him a disparaging look.
“The man’s got it bad for you.”
She took a deep breath. “Look, isn’t it bad enough that you have to be here? Must I listen to this rubbish, as well?”
“What rubbish? I’m tellin’ you the guy is in love with you.”
“You’re an idiot.”
She swirled the laundry through the sudsy water with the heavy pole. With the same pole, she finally took each item from the pot and dropped them into another filled with cold water. Her hands were red and raw by the time she finished scrubbing each piece, wringing them out and hanging them on the line. Without a word, she disappeared again into the house.
He found her in his room, making his bed. She heard him come into the room and remarked without looking up from her chore, “I’m not picking up your things. My job is to make the bed, wash the sheets every two days and cook. I don’t pick up your socks. I don’t put away your clothes. I don’t hang up your things.” With that, she kicked his dirty laundry into a pile at the center of the room. “If you want your laundry washed, it will cost you two dollars a week.” A moment later, she was gone on to the next room.
Vinnie did three rooms before stopping to look after her baby, while Lilly had set the kitchen to rights and was now planning their menu for the week. She wrote up a list of needed items.
Vinnie took the list her aunt had written and left the house, with her baby in her arms. Jack assumed she was sitting on the wide front porch playing with Amy. She was almost at the mercantile by the time he realized she’d left and he managed to catch up with her. “If you’re not going to tell me what you’re going to do next, I’m afraid I won’t be able to let you out of my sight.”
Just as if he wasn’t there, Vinnie smiled at the lady behind the counter. “Morning, Sarah. I have a long list today.”
Sarah Walker smiled and began to gather the articles needed as Vinnie called off each item. Once she was finished, Vinnie settled up the bill, pocketed her change and asked, “Could you have one of the boys bring these things to the house?”
“Of course,” Sarah returned all the while silently eyeing the man who hovered over one of her best customers.
Vinnie ignored the silent question, smiled, turned on her heel and left the shop.
“Your friend was wondering who I am.”
She sighed her despair. “I’m sure someone will tell her eventually.”
“Why didn’t you?”
She stopped short, and after a moment’s thought and a long look sent in his direction, she said, “Good thinking. Why don’t I introduce you?”
Jack took her arm just as she was about to turn toward the store and steered her in the direction of her boardinghouse. “I’m not interested, if that’s what you’re thinking. I was just wondering.”
“The truth is I’m trying to forget you’re here. Perhaps, I did for a minute.”
“That’s not true.”
She shot him a killing glare. “Go away.”
“Are you still mad at me?”
Vinnie frowned. Still mad at him? Is that what he thinks? The trouble was “mad” didn’t come close to the fury that filled her breast.
Jack sighed. “All right, I give up. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I said to cause that tick to crawl up your ass, but I’m sorry. Okay?”
Vinnie’s lips pressed even more tightly together. “Thank you, but as you so politely suggested, I have no tick up my ass. Now, go away.”
“Okay, so you’re not pissed off at me, right?”
Vinnie heaved a deep sigh. “Do you think you might string together two words without being vulgar or adding a curse?”
“What? When have I cursed at you?”
Vinnie moaned. The man was hopeless. He almost never spoke to her without using vile language, and the fool never even realized it. “Go away.”
He shook his head. “That ain’t goin’ to happen.”
* * * *
Jack leaned against the porch support beam, one leg crossed over the other, as he rolled a cigarette and listened to the easy conversation between the two women and Mike, the deputy sheriff. Vinnie smiled as the deputy related a tale about a young lady who lived in the last town in which he’d worked. The lady had been madly in love with one of her father’s cowhands. Of course, her father wanted better for his daughter and refused the match in no uncertain terms.
“The girl, much like her father was head-strong in the extreme and decided despite her father’s refusal, she knew what she wanted. She took up with the young man in shall we say, the Biblical sense?”
Lilly laughed, Vinnie gave a shy smile, and for some unknown reason, Jack felt a measure of annoyance, while Mike’s cheeks darkened at his own daring.
“As it turned out, on the night in question, her family had settled down as usual, but the lady wasn’t exactly in the mood for sleep. No indeed, she waited until the silent house filled with the sounds of slumber before she opened her window and invited her love to join her. It seems they were planning on an elopement for the very next night.
“Alone and with one thing leading to another, it was soon realized that her bed springs were in desperate need of oiling. Oddly enough, the two young people, perhaps because they were involved in other matters, never noticed. Trouble was the same could not be said about her father who slept directly below her room. The noise above soon had him wide awake.”
Lilly chuckled wickedly. Jack grunted less than happily.
“The night was moonless. Inside and out, it was as dark as pitch. In the midst of the goings on, out of the dark, a huge hand reached down and grabbed the man by the back of his shirt, and pulled him from the bed. The man screamed in terror. He could see nothing and later remarked he hadn’t a doubt it was the hand of God sending him on to his just rewards. Which it nearly did. In seconds, with his drawers still wrapped around his ankles he was sent flying from the second floor window. He landed, naked from his waist to his ankles, in a patch of poison ivy.”
The two women laughed. Mike struggled to keep his grin at bay, while Jack only glared at the man.
“Of course, the daughter refused to give up her lover’s identity and was therefore locked in her room, her window nailed shut. Her father, although angered, knew there was no real need to press. Having contacted the local doctor, he was notified of a severe case of poison ivy which, oddly enough, covered a young man of his employ from waist to knees and a wedding was immediately planned.”
Again the two ladies laughed, Vinnie eyes glistening in the shadowy porch. “The father should have said yes in the first place.”
Mike nodded with a grin. “It would have saved his son-in-law some unnecessary pain, I’m sure.”
Jack frowned as the oddest emotion came to assail him. An emotion he couldn’t name. All he knew was he was far from happy to see the lady enjoy herself with another man. What the hell did that mean? He’d already slept with her. He shouldn’t be feeling anything, but the need to begin looking for another. Except he did. Night after night, he lay in bed longing to sample her charms again. Jack frowned at the thought. What the hell was going on? Why did he still want her?
He didn’t. Jack knew he didn’t. He’d been through this numerous times in his mind. Once he had a woman, he rarely ever thought of her again. Then why was he constantly suffering this ache? Why was her face always uppermost in his mind? Why did he hunger for her taste, for her scent, for a goddamn smile? It had been more than a week since he’d had her, and he couldn’t seem to get her out of his mind. By now, he should have damn near forgotten her name.
Jack had the most disturbing notion that forgetting this woman wasn’t about to happen. Immediately, he refused the possibility. Of course, he’d forget her. Once he rode on to his next job, he’d forget her soon enough.
It was late. Mike had the night shift this week and soon left for the sheriff’s office.
Lilly bid them both good night as the two women rose from the rocking chairs.
“Wait a minute, Vinnie. I need to talk to you,” Jack said, delaying her departure.
Lilly turned in his direction and asked tightly, worry clear in her eyes, “Is everything all right?”
Jack nodded. “Don’t worry. Everything is fine.”
Lilly smiled her relief and entered the house. A moment later, he heard her bedroom door close.
“What do you want?” Vinnie asked as the silence began to stretch out uncomfortably.
Jesus, that was easy enough to answer, wasn’t it? He wanted her. The problem here was he couldn’t tell her that unless he was willing to see her mouth tighten with displeasure and her eyes glitter with anger. What the hell was the matter with some women? Why were they so uptight? Why couldn’t they simply enjoy sex like it was meant to be enjoyed?
Only she could. He had firsthand knowledge that she could. But she wouldn’t. Jack decided then that he was going to make it his business to see to it that she would. No more “Mr. Nice Guy”. From now on, every chance he got he was going to push. He was going to seduce her. And he was going to do it as often as necessary in order to get her out of his system. And maybe, if he had her enough times, he would. He sure as hell would give it his best try. And he was going to start right now.
“I got a telegram from the marshal’s office over in Tucson. Seems Connors has been spotted up north a ways. My brother is the marshal for this territory. I sent him a telegram asking him to come. He might bring a deputy or two. Between us and the sheriff, Connors will never reach you.”
Vinnie shivered. “God, why can’t they do something? He’s only one man.”
Jack shrugged and leaned again against the support beam, widening his stance slowly. Gently and deliberately, he drew her closer. “It’s a big territory.”
She leaned against him and never noticed. Her cheek was pressed gently to his chest. She fit him so damn perfectly. Jack couldn’t believe he was capable of the protectiveness she caused him to feel. Jesus, if anything ever happened to her, he didn’t—
Jack shook his head. He couldn’t think about that. Nothing would happen. He would make sure of it.
“I want you to keep your window locked. Your door, too.”
She shook her head. “It’s hot, Jack. The only relief I get is at night. If I lock the window—”
He cuddled her closer. His mouth drifted over her hair, her forehead, unconsciously depositing tiny kisses along her temple and cheek. “Listen to me. He knows where you live. I understand it’s uncomfortable, but it’s necessary. Would you rather I took you and Amy away for awhile? Maybe hole up in a cabin somewhere?”
“And how would that be any safer than here?”
“Well, for one thing, he wouldn’t know where you are.”
“Suppose he finds us. What then?” She shook her head. “There would only be you and him. Suppose he killed you…” She shivered.
“You’re letting your imagination run off. None of that is going to happen. You’d be safe with me.”
“I don’t know. I think I’d be even more afraid. And I hate being afraid, Jack.”
“I know. Damn.” He cuddled her closer. “I know.”
She raised her gaze to his and suddenly seemed to realize her position. She stiffened slightly and made to pull back, when his arms brought her even closer. “Stop. Jack, I hate you.”
He nuzzled his mouth against her cheek, barely an inch from her lips, causing her mouth to ache for the touch of his.
“You know I hate you, don’t you?”
“I know. But just to make sure I remember, you should try to keep your hands to yourself.”
She laughed. Both of them knew well enough she hadn’t touched him at all. She gave a low moan. “You’re driving me crazy. God, what is it about you?”
“I’m irresistible.”
She laughed again. “This isn’t any good.”
“You’re wrong about that. It’s not only good, it’s the best.” As he said the last words, his mouth swooped down and attached itself to hers. She stiffened and tried to pull back, but his hand reached for the back of her head and gently held her in place. A moment later, he heard her low moan of surrender as she softened against him.
Her lips moved over his jaw as if she couldn’t resist. “I’m going to be sorry about this later.”
“No, you’re not. Later, you’re only going to want more.”
Vinnie smiled at his arrogance. “You are really something, Mr. Knight.”
“I’m happy you think so.”
Her soft chuckle was lost in the luscious heat of his mouth.
It didn’t matter how many times she denied it. He might aggravate her more than any other man alive, but there was something here, an overwhelming attraction she’d never felt before. She might show some vague reluctance, but it never lasted long. Once he touched her, once he kissed her, all was lost. All she could think, all she could want, was more of his touch, his scent, the deliciousness of his taste, the feel of him. God, she couldn’t get enough.
His stance widened, and she moved even closer. She felt his erection against her belly and shivered, wanting it more than she could say. Her hand slipped between their bodies, and she cupped him. They both groaned with the pleasure of it.
Her mouth opened to the slightest pressure of his tongue, and the two of them groaned again as tastes mingled and flavors merged.
“I love this,” she gasped. “God, I can’t tell you how much I love this.”
“Jesus, you don’t have to. You couldn’t love it more than I do.”
It didn’t matter that she’d more than likely hate him once they were done. She didn’t care. Right now, she wanted him, wanted him and everything he could do to her.
Vinnie moaned, “Baby. God, the baby.”
“What? What do you want?”
“No.” She shook her head. “My baby. Amy, she’s crying.”
His arms slipped to his sides, and he said nothing as she leaned away from him and took a deeply shaken breath. They looked at one another for a long moment before they both smiled. She left him then. Left him aching to see that smile again.
* * * *
The next day Jack sat in the kitchen, sipping at a mug of coffee while Lilly peeled potatoes for dinner and Vinnie ironed. It was hot, and he wished he could take her somewhere cool, but she insisted she had work to do. Work that couldn’t be put off.
Maybe later, after dinner, he could convince her to take a walk with him down by the river. There, under the cottonwoods that lined the riverbank, it would be cool. There deep in the shadows he’d kiss her again. He watched her lips as she and Lilly spoke and remembered how clean she tasted. God, he couldn’t wait to taste them again.
Idly, he wondered how he’d gotten so caught up in this need. It was the first time for him. The first time he’d ever wanted a woman like this. Oddly enough, it no longer angered him that he should want her, think about her and ache for her. He no longer denied this nearly desperate need. As yet, he hadn’t closely examined these feelings. All he knew for certain was he wanted this woman and couldn’t imagine the day when he wouldn’t.
From Vinnie’s bedroom, the gurgling sounds of a baby could be heard. Amy had awakened from her nap. “Is it all right if I get her? I never get a chance to hold her,” he asked.
Jack couldn’t have said anything that might have endeared him more surely to a mother’s heart. Vinnie smiled with pride that he should want to hold her baby. She smiled and nodded for him to do so.
A moment later, Jack reentered the kitchen with Amy held an arm’s length from him. His face was a mask of disgust. “She smells like a dead skunk.”
Vinnie left her iron heating on the stove and frowned at the insult. “She does not,” she said as she took the infant in her arms. “What is that bad man saying about you, sweetheart?”
Amy cooed and laughed aloud at her mother’s attention. Vinnie stopped short as the aroma Jack mentioned clearly made itself known. She grinned as she returned the baby to his less than anxious arms. “Hold her for a minute. I’ve got to get some soap and water.”
“I changed my mind. She smells like a dead buffalo.”
Vinnie laughed. “Maybe just a little.”
For close to a half hour, Jack sat at the table with Amy. Most of the time, the baby sat on the table and Jack simply looked her over, marveling at the tiny creature with the most perfect lips, ears and eyes. She had the longest lashes and the sweetest, toothless smile. “I think you’ve got yourself a little beauty here, Vinnie.”
Vinnie smiled. Her look told him she already knew that.
Jack spent the time talking to Amy just as if she understood his every word. “You gonna learn how to ride a horse soon? I knew how to ride by the time I was two. If you want, I’ll give you a few lessons.”
Vinnie glanced in his direction but said nothing in response to his comment.
Amy watched his mouth move and reached suddenly for his lips. A tiny finger slipped into his mouth and touched his teeth.
He spoke around her hand. “I know you ain’t got none yet, but you will.” He smiled. “Yours will be white but tiny. Tiny just like you.”
She pulled at his bottom lip, her nail biting into the flesh.
“Ow,” he said with a playful threatening growl, which only caused Amy to laugh. “Do you know that hurts?
Amy only laughed again.
He smiled at the sound and said proudly, “Wow, I didn’t know I could make a baby laugh.”
“Have you played with many?” Lilly asked.
He shook his head. “Can’t say as I have. This one is the first. Why do you think babies laugh on an indrawn breath?”
Neither woman knew the answer to that.
“Do you know this little one doesn’t look like a baby? She looks like the tiniest most perfect little person I’ve ever seen.” His gaze moved from Amy to her mother and back again. With no little surprise, he said, “She looks exactly like a miniature you.”
Lilly smiled as she brought the potatoes to the sink to rinse them off, while Vinnie folded the last of her ironing, her cheeks staining a dusty pink.
The ironing was complete and dinner was in the oven by the time Amy started to fuss. Trying to soothe, Jack hugged her to his chest, while patting her little bottom. “I think she probably wants you.”
Vinnie nodded and reached for her baby. A moment later, she disappeared into her room.
Alone with Lilly, Jack again enjoyed a cup of coffee.
“What are your plans after Connor is back in prison,” she asked.
Jack shrugged. “Not sure.”
“Do you live somewhere? I mean do you have a place of your own?”
Jack nodded. “Have a place in San Francisco.”
“Are you anxious to get back? Is someone waiting for you?”
“Nope. Why?”
Lilly shrugged. “You’ve got ideas about my niece. What are your intentions?”
Jack grinned. “My intentions are clear enough. She’s a beautiful woman. And like most men, I appreciate a beautiful women.”
“She’s a good woman.”
“I know.”
“She doesn’t know how to play your kind of games.”
“So you’re telling me what?”
Lilly shrugged. “I’m not telling you anything. Just wouldn’t want to see her hurt.”
“I think we’re both old enough to decide what we want.”
Lilly nodded, obviously far from happy. “I reckon you are.”
Two days later, Jack ran through the small barn behind the boarding house and stopped short as he watched Vinnie close the gate to the chicken coop. She held a basketful of eggs in one hand. God damn it! All he’d done was stop for a minute—barely a minute—after dinner to ask Mike if there was any news about sighting Connors. It hadn’t taken more than forty-five seconds and she’d disappeared again. The third fucking time in two days.
He gasped for breath. Panic had squeezed his chest causing his heart to thunder with dread. He pressed a hand to his chest as if to control the pounding. Jesus, he couldn’t trust her out of his sight. Not for a minute.
He was shaking and fought for control as he leaned, for a moment, against the barn wall and sighed deeply with relief. Damn the woman. How the hell did she keep disappearing? If Connors was anywhere around—and judging by the time since he’d escaped and his last sighting, he just might be—she could have already been taken. He shivered at the thought of it. Christ, he didn’t want to think about what might happen to her if she fell into that madman’s hands.
Anger suddenly overrode his fears. He knew one thing. He was tired of worrying, tired of knowing terror at her every disappearance. This was going to stop. This disappearing act of hers was at an end. He was finished searching for her, finished with worrying.
Jesus, what the hell was the matter with her? All right, so she couldn’t stand being watched all the time. But was that any excuse to constantly chance her life?
He waited, determined to throw a scare into her she wouldn’t soon forget. The moment she entered the barn, he grabbed her. The basket of eggs dropped at her feet. Her scream was muffled behind his hand as he dragged her backward into a dark corner. A moment later, he had her pushed up against the wall.
The second he turned her toward him, Vinnie slapped his face.
He grabbed her hands, forced them behind her and gave her a hard shake.
“Damn it!” His intent had been to give her a scare, to get this woman to see reason. It was a mistake. Holding her this close, pressing her body between his and the wall behind her, he forgot what he’d been about to say.
“Why are you trying to scare me?”
“Somebody needs to. Jesus, you’re a spoiled little brat. You know that constantly disappearing is dangerous, but will you give me a break?”
“I’d like to give you a break, all right. I’d like to break a frying pan over your head.”
He never realized he was about to do it, but standing this close, touching her softness, it was too much for any man to resist. Suddenly, his mouth slashed hungrily across hers. He frowned wondering why he was kissing the woman when all he’d wanted was to talk some sense into her.
Jesus, he hadn’t been able to get his mind off her for weeks. Long ago, he’d given up trying to free his mind of her spell. He’d forgotten to try to get her out of his blood, out of his mind. Living in the same house with her had only compounded his need. All he wanted, all he thought about was taking her again. If anything, that one sampling had increased his need tenfold and left him aching for her day and night.
God Almighty, what was it about this one that made her so different? What made him want her so desperately? There was no way he could stop kissing her. Idly, he wondered if there’d ever be a time when he could. His tongue sought out the taste of her mouth, the exquisite heat of her, and she groaned as she allowed her lips to part.
He felt her soften against him, heard her low moan of acquiescence and released her hands as his own came to cup her bottom. One behind her raised her hips to meet his throbbing erection; the other smoothed over the tip of one breast. He growled as he felt her nipple tighten beneath his fingers and growled again as her hands came to his cheeks, thread through his hair, circle his neck then finally bring his mouth harder against her own.
“Jesus, God, I need this. I need you.”
Vinnie knew exactly what he meant. He wasn’t talking about love or relationships or anything but the pure need of a man for a woman. Vaguely, she wondered if any woman might not do, but instantly discounted the thought. It didn’t matter. He wanted her, and she felt the same. Ever since he’d left her room that first time, she’d wanted him back. She might hate herself for it, but hating herself or him didn’t stop the impossible need for the magic she found in this man’s touch.
She wasn’t herself when he touched her, and she didn’t care. She ached for him to never stop touching her. Some nights, she lay in bed unable to sleep for the want of it. Other nights, she awoke well before dawn, her body hot, sweaty and pulsing with need for his touch. And now, now, she was going to take what he so eagerly offered. Her hand slipped inside his shirt and both of them moaned with the pleasure of her nails scraping over his nipples. He was so warm, so hard, with only a sprinkling of chest hair. His skin was so smooth. God, she couldn’t touch him enough.
“Your shirt,” she muttered, the words muffled against his relentless, urgent kisses. He didn’t stop long enough to allow either of them a breath, but somehow, he seemed to understand her need. His hips pressed her against the barn’s wall as his hands quickly disposed of his shirt and dropped it to the floor behind him.
He kissed her eyes, her cheeks and skimmed briefly over her lips. “I love the way you taste and the way you feel. Jesus, I can’t get enough. I have to have more.”
He’d barely said the words when her bodice came undone, and his hot mouth was there to taste her sweetness. His hands, under her skirt, shoved her drawers down her legs to join his shirt on the floor. The touch of her smooth, skin nearly drove him to madness. He groaned as his fingers encountered her warmth, her sweet, wet warmth. He felt her tremble as two fingers slid inside, and he finger fucked her to a near instant climax. “Vinnie, God, I can’t stop. Open my pants.”
She gasped for her every breath as trembling fingers moved to his trousers. In seconds, his erection filled her hand and then some. She moaned her pleasure as both hands cupped his cock and balls.
He brought her higher, lifting her so his mouth might more easily reach her breasts and his cock her pussy. Then at last, he was inside her, and they both moaned at the beauty of it, the sweet, delicious heat they knew.
“I need to come to your room tonight. I need to hold you, to breathe you, to taste you. And stay there until morning.”
Vinnie moaned at his suggestion.
Jack watched her face as her clear eyes clouded over with passion, with her need for him, for everything he could give her. Jesus, he wanted this woman more than he’d ever wanted another. He couldn’t live with this need, this constant ache for her touch. Always waiting, planning for the next moment when he might touch her. No, he couldn’t live like that. He wanted her with him forever. And there was no way he would take no for an answer.
She didn’t know it yet, but she was his. She was always going to be his.
Jack thought he was probably in love. Never having experienced the emotion before, he couldn’t be sure. He was only sure of one thing. He wanted her forever at his side. He didn’t care how he had to go about it. He was going to convince this lady that she wanted the same.
Her legs slipped around his waist to allow easier access. His hips pumped wildly into her heat, and she cried out her pleasure. His hands were at her breasts cupping them, his thumbs moving over the moist tips, his tongue eagerly following the path his fingers had taken, eager for yet another tasting as tongue, lips and scraping teeth ran back and forth over each lush mound. She trembled. She shook. He couldn’t touch her enough, lick her enough, and suck her enough.
She was wild for him and cried out her pleasure as her body surged up, taking him deeper into heaven, her muscles grabbing at his cock, squeezing, throbbing, squeezing again and again. There was no control. They tore at one another, each mad with need.
She’d only just finished when she felt the explosion of heat as his cock surged deeper and emptied its seed in endless waves of ecstasy. And when they grew still at last, delighting in each sweet, surging aftershock of pleasure, Vinnie barely had the strength to breathe.
He stood motionless against her and groaned into the warmth of her neck. “I never wanted a woman the way I want you. I never needed one like I need you.” He gasped for every breath as he pleaded, “Kiss me, Vinnie. Kiss me like you never want to stop.”
Filled with despair, Vinnie knew she hadn’t the will to refuse this man anything he might ask of her. She knew what he wanted. She’d heard his conversation with her aunt a few days back as neither had thought to lower their voices. She’d known a measure of pain at the time but soon had realized Jack wasn’t at fault here. The man didn’t love her. He might want her, he might need her, but need and want weren’t love. She forced aside the slight ache in her chest the thought had brought about. After all, one couldn’t compel another to love you. She’d known from the first he had but one purpose in mind, and that was to get her to bed.
Only it no longer mattered. Vinnie wasn’t sure the depth of her own feelings and thought later would be soon enough to sort them out. Perhaps, it was best to forget feelings in this instance. It was better by far to realize one simple fact. Her body wanted his. For as long as he stayed, for as long as she could, she would delight in the pleasure found only in his arms.
She raised her mouth to his and gently teased his lips with the sweet, delicate pressure of hers. Slowly, she allowed the kiss to grow bolder, with aching pleasure her tongue slid softly over his lips. She moaned as they parted, eager for more of this delight.
She dipped her tongue inside then suddenly sucked his bottom lip into her mouth. Holding it there between her own lip and teeth, her tongue danced over it, teasing him to madness. At last, she released him and followed his taste with her tongue, eagerly exploring his mouth.
Jack took control of the kiss, his arms crushing her against him, his tongue burrowing deep, filling her mouth, her mind with his taste and taking from her all he could.
He leaned his forehead against hers and gasped as he broke the kiss at last. “God, I can’t stand the thought of that maniac watching and waiting for you. I wish I could keep you locked up. Keep you safe forever.”
She shook her head. “That wouldn’t work. In an hour, I’d be mad to escape. I couldn’t stand it.”
“You could for a short time, couldn’t you? Couldn’t you do this? I can’t tell you how afraid I am for you.”
“There’s no need. I’m sure someone will get him and do it very soon.”
“Before he gets you, you mean? Suppose no one does. Suppose one night he breaks in. catches all of us unawares and drags you off.”
“Then taking all these precautions wouldn’t have mattered, would they? Not if he could break in and take me at will.”
“God damn it, Vinnie. That’s not going to happen. But what might happen is he takes you while you’re picking eggs from the coop. That could easily happen.”
“And what am I supposed to do? Hide? Maybe for years? Maybe even for the rest of my life?”
“How many times do I have to warn you not to disappear?”
“Let me go! Damn you, Jack. Let me go.”
“Lady, you’re scaring the shit out of me. Are you so stupid as to believe he’s not going to try and kill you? You testified against him. You’re the reason he was incarcerated.” He gave her a little shake. “What’s the matter with you?”
Vinnie tried to shove him away even as she grunted, “He was incarcerated because he killed my husband.”
“And you think he sees it like that? Your aunt showed me the letters. The guy is nuts. One minute, he hates your guts, the next he wants you with him forever.” He shook his head. “I don’t know which is scarier.”
“I’m not taking any chances. I’m being careful.”
“Are you? Is that why it was so easy to pull you into this corner?”
“He couldn’t have gotten back here. You have to go through the house to get here. Someone would have seen him.”
“Right. And he couldn’t have climbed that fence out back.” He nodded in the general direction of the split rail fence that bordered her property on three sides.
“I hate you.”
Jack grinned. If she hated him, he didn’t know up from down. She felt something all right, but it sure as hell wasn’t hate. And the sooner she figured that out the better it would be for both of them.
“No, you don’t. I’m thinking not only don’t you hate me, you might even love me a little.”
She gasped and looked at him, her shock apparent. “You’re out of your mind. Do you think every woman who lies with you loves you?”
“No, but a lady like you might.”
Vinnie couldn’t look at him. She was thankful for the shadows. She felt her cheeks grow warm. It wouldn’t do at all to allow him to believe she was in love. Lord, help us. The man was full of himself as it was. She’d seen the women of this town looking at him, trying to catch his attention. He didn’t need another drooling female to boost his already over-inflated ego.
She thought she might not have the morals she’d once supposed, but at least, she still had her pride.
She grabbed her drawers and shoved them in her pocket as she left him to finish dressing. “You broke half of these eggs,” she said while inspecting the damage done.
“Here,” Jack said as he pulled his shirt from his trousers again. “I’ll hold the good ones while you empty the rest into the compost pile and rinse out the basket.”
They had just stepped from the barn when a man rode into the yard. He was huge. Vinnie thought he looked like Jack, but older. It wasn’t until she saw a marshal’s badge glimmer upon his chest and listened to his laugh that she knew for sure Jack’s brother had finally arrived.
Jebediah Knight dismounted and in three easy strides took his brother against him in a mighty bear hug. Vinnie groaned her dismay as the rest of her eggs were crushed between them.
Jebediah Knight wasn’t just tall, his shoulders were huge. Wide in his chest, thick in his thighs, his quiet strength was enough to cause many a man to shake in his boots. He sat at the kitchen table, his hands dwarfing his coffee mug.
“Are you hungry, Marshal?” Lilly asked.
“Thank you, Miz Lilly.” Jeb offered her a shy smile. “I’d surely appreciate a little somethin’. I’ve been travelin’ some, so it’s been awhile since I enjoyed a good meal.”
Lilly set out a plate of fried chicken, potatoes, butter and freshly baked bread. Vinnie and Jack sat at the table as the four of them discussed Connors and his possible whereabouts. As Jeb ate, Lilly added to everyone’s coffee.
When he was finished, she set a huge slice of apple pie before him. Jeb grinned as Lilly explained Vinnie had made the pie that morning.
“If you stay here,” he said while shooting his brother a knowing look and helping himself to a second bite of pie, “she’ll make you fat.”
Jack laughed, and with a wink directed at a blushing Vinnie, he offered, “I’ve been thinkin’ lately, I could use a few extra pounds.”
Vinnie’s cheeks burned at the casual remark. Did he realize what he said? Did he mean it? Was he thinking on staying? Staying because of her? Her heart pounded. “I have to check on Amy,” she said, coming quickly to her feet and exiting the room almost at a run.
Minutes later, Jack searched her out on the porch. “Did you check her?”
“What?” She’d forgotten her excuse and murmured a vague, “Checked who?”
Jack laughed. “I knew you were lying. You said ‘I have to check on Amy’. Why did you run away?”
She shook her head in denial. “I didn’t.”
He brought her to her feet and guided her with him into the darkest corner of the porch. His voice lowered to a deliciously sexy drawl, and Vinnie shivered as he asked, “You ran out of the room. Why?”
“I didn’t.”
“Don’t you want me to stay?”
“Jack, you’re not serious.”
“I’m very serious, sweetheart. Do you want me to stay?”
His arms were around her, his mouth deliciously nuzzling the warm soft skin just under her ear.
“Jack, I can’t think when you do this.”
“Move away from him.”
“Fuck,” Jack said as he flung Vinnie to his side. He moved to stand in front of her, but Vinnie cried out, “No!” as she stepped before him. He shoved at her, but again, she only moved back.
“Wait,” she said calmly. “Wait. Don’t do anything.” She stood in front of him again, her body blocking most of his. She was terrified, but there was no way she was going to allow this man to be shot. She didn’t know why. She simply couldn’t allow it. “Rafe, it’s you, isn’t it?” she asked the shadowy figure, almost hidden from sight in her dark front yard.
“I couldn’t wait to see you. I came to you as fast as I could. And here I find you with another man.” He sounded as if he were crying.
Vinnie shook so bad she could hardly stand.
“Why couldn’t you wait for me? Why did you have to be a whore?”
“But I’m not. I did wait for you, Rafe. I did.” Her heart pounded so loud she thought it a miracle he couldn’t hear it.
“You mean he forced you?”
She saw light glitter off his gun as he waved it toward Jack, indicating he was talking about him. Vinnie was only thankful he couldn’t see her face. She hadn’t a doubt she’d never pull this off while looking in his eyes. He’d know in an instant she was lying.
“No, no it’s nothing like that. This is my brother.” Her voice trembled madly. Did he hear it? Did he notice? “You remember I had a brother back east, don’t you? He’s just come for a visit.”
“No one ever said anything about a brother.”
She saw him move his arm. She heard a loud sniff. He was wiping his eyes with his sleeve. He had been crying.
“Things were very busy for awhile. Maybe I forgot to tell you.”
“You should have remembered. I might have hurt him by mistake.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yes. I’m ready. I just need to get my bag. I have it packed in my room.”
Rafe said nothing.
“Is that all right?”
“You’re lying.” His voice was deep, tight, filled with hate. “I think you’re trying to trick me. I think you are a whore. A whoring bitch! Why did you tell them I did it?”
“They made me say—” Vinnie never got the chance to finish. Suddenly, she found herself flung to the porch floor with Jack stretched protectively over her back, while the night came alive with an explosion of sound. Before they were done, two men emptied their guns into Rafe Connors.
She couldn’t move an inch with Jack’s weight upon her. When she was able to look up at last, she saw Jack jump over the porch railing, while Jeb kicked the man’s foot and pocketed his fallen gun.
“I didn’t know where you were. I couldn’t just start shooting.” Jack said.
“I know. I figured you were worryin’ about that.” Jeb hammered his younger brother’s back in what appeared to be a grateful or comforting gesture that prolonged would probably crack a rib. “Thought since your little lady was keeping him occupied, I could come up the side of the house. He never knew I was there. Worked out just fine.”
Jeb turned and smiled as Vinnie came slowly from the floor. Her legs shook so bad she couldn’t stand. She collapsed into the closest rocking chair. “That brother story was quick thinking, ma’am. He believed it. At least for a minute and that was all we needed.”
Amy was screaming, but Vinnie didn’t have the strength to go to her. “Want me to get her?” Lilly asked. Vinnie turned to look at her aunt’s white face and huge eyes and nodded. “Would you, please?”
Moments later, she cuddled the baby against her, and the child eventually settled back to sleep. Jeb and a few men took Rafe’s body away, while Lilly returned to her kitchen. Now that it was over, Vinnie began to cry.
“Are you hurt?” Jack asked, obviously concerned and suddenly at her side.
She shook her head.
“Relieved it’s over?”
She nodded as tears ran freely over her cheeks.
Jack lifted her from the chair, sat and placed her with the baby upon his lap. “You were so brave.”
She couldn’t stop shivering. “I wasn’t. I was terrified.”
“I know. I heard your voice trembling. Brave doesn’t mean you’re not afraid, sweetheart. Brave means you’re afraid but doing what you need to do anyway.”
Vinnie sighed as she cuddled against him, her shivering easing at last.
“You didn’t answer my question before.”
She stiffened again. “What question?”
Jack laughed. “I just said you were brave. Don’t make me regret those words.”
“All right,” she granted, with a shrug, “I suppose you could stay if you want.” She couldn’t look him in the eye. Somehow, this was suddenly too important. She couldn’t bear it if he were teasing her.
“I suppose I could, but that’s not what I asked you.”
She shot him a glare and quickly looked away. “I’m a little upset, Jack. Do you think we could talk about this later?”
“Are you afraid?”
She breathed a deep sigh. “Not any more.”
“No, not about Connors. I mean are you afraid about us?”
“Us? You mean you and me?”
He smiled. “Damn, but you’re a skittish little thing, aren’t you?”
“Jack, I heard you talking to my aunt the other day. I think you made yourself pretty clear, don’t you?”
“I told her what she needed to know.”
“You said we were both adults and knew what we were doing.”
“Aren’t we?”
Vinnie nodded.
“I see you got the wrong idea about that. That sometimes happens when one eavesdrops.”
She gasped. “I didn’t. You never lowered your voices. I didn’t set out to listen.”
Jack grinned as he cuddled her closer. “The thing is, I’ve never been in love before, so I figured—after I figured out I was in love, I mean—that the lady I loved should be the first to know. And that aunts, despite their concern for their nieces, should sort of mind their own business. Don’t tell her I said that.”
Vinnie smiled and turned to look at him, at last. She watched him for a long moment, while biting her bottom lip, trying to force aside the need to laugh. “So did you tell the lady you love her yet?”
“I think I’m telling her now.”
Vinnie’s eyes twinkled with happiness. “Are you sure?”
“This is going to sound really crazy, but I’m very sure, and I wish I didn’t. It’s scary to love someone and worry about them all the time.” His voice began to rise. “Especially when some damn maniac points a gun at her.”
“Calm down,” she said as she nuzzled her mouth against his neck. “Worry is just part of loving.”
“I know,” he said, his despair obvious. He allowed her nuzzling for a long moment before he finally said, “Ah, Vinnie, you know, I was thinkin’.”
“Were you? About what?”
“Well, I was thinkin’ that when a man tells a woman he loves her, she usually says something in return.”
Her gaze danced with mischief. “Does she?”
He nodded. “That’s what I heard.”
“And you just told me you loved me, right?”
“And…” he offered, meaning for her to continue.
“Ah Jack, do you think you might help me to my room? My legs aren’t terribly steady at the moment.”
“Sure,” he said as he brought both Vinnie and Amy into the house.
Lilly was in the kitchen making another pot of coffee. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Vinnie nodded. “Just a little shaky. I’m going to put Amy to bed now. Then Jack and I have a few things to discuss.”
Lilly smiled as she watched the three of them disappear into the bedroom.
Vinnie saw to the baby and left her to sleep for the night. When she was finished, she spied Jack staring at the huge bucket of water she’d brought in earlier. Beside it stood a chair with towels, a bar of soap and a smaller bucket meant for rinsing.
“Are you feeling better? A little steadier?” he asked while never tearing his gaze from the bucket.
“Some.”
“Did you plan on showering tonight?”
Vinnie grinned. She wondered how long it would be before he asked about the bucket. Far as she knew, he hadn’t looked at anything else since they’d entered the room. “I did. I thought after this afternoon, in the barn, I’d need to freshen up some.”
“When did you…”
“Before, when you were talking to your brother outside. The water was hot then. It’s probably barely warm by now.”
“You know if you wait much longer it’s only bound to get colder,” he suggested slyly.
She chuckled. “Was that supposed to be an innocent remark?”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”
Vinnie grinned. “You’re right though. I should get to it. The water is only bound to get colder.”
“Do you do this often?”
“What, shower in cold water?” She shrugged. “I’ve done it before.”
“Are you going to shower now?”
She glanced at his dazed expression. It was clear enough that she was about to shower. If their conversation hadn’t suggested as much surely the fact she was disrobing did. Vinnie bit her lip, harnessing a laugh. The man was actually babbling. “If you don’t blink, you could hurt your eyes.” She unbuttoned her dress as she spoke.
His voice was a bit breathless, his tone grainy and strained as he asked, “You need some help?”
“I wouldn’t hate it if you washed my back.”
He blinked then smiled as he raised his gaze to hers. “I reckon I could do that.”
“I’m happy to see you came back.”
Jack laughed.
“You know, the bucket is small, but…” She allowed her words to trail off to silence.
“What?” he finally asked. “But what?”
“I was thinking we’d have to be careful, since the bucket isn’t very big, but if we showered together, we could wash each other’s backs.”
Vinnie giggled as he tore away his clothes. He was naked, and she had barely finished unbuttoning her dress. “You wouldn’t be anxious, would you?”
“Nope,” he said without a shred of remorse at the outright lie. “I always undress like that.”
“You must spend a lot of money on clothes, then. I think you ripped your shirt, and I know you ripped your socks.”
He nodded. “That’s why I need a wife,” he said logically. “I never could work one of those damn needle things.”
“I know needle and thread,” she said while nodding in supposed commiseration. “It’s a complicated procedure.”
Jack’s grin was nothing less than voracious as he watched her pull away the last of her clothes.
Vinnie stepped into the bucket. “You look like you’re ready to eat me up.”
He nodded again, this time slow, with a slower smile working at the corners of his mouth. “That’s pretty damn close to what I was thinkin’.”
She smiled as he came to stand in the bucket with her. The tight quarters left barely an inch of space between them. “Jack, you have to do something about this stick poking my belly. It’s about to knock me out of the water.”
He laughed, his teeth a flash of white against darkly tanned skin “Why don’t you use it to steady yourself? Sort of like holding to a banister while climbing the stairs.”
Vinnie giggled. “You’re so bad.” She turned her back to him. “All right, wash my back.”
“You don’t have to turn away from me. I can reach around you.” And he did just that. “See.”
She moaned as he soaped his hands and ran them over her neck and shoulders. He kissed her behind her ear and trailed his hands over her neck, her arms, her back and waist. Again he wet them and again rubbed the soap to suds. She sighed her pleasure as he trailed those suds over her chest, her breasts, her midriff and her stomach. She leaned against him, gasping for breath by the time his fingers reached her pussy. “I do see, but that’s not my back.”
“It’s not? You know, now that you mentioned it, it doesn’t feel like a back.”
“Jack, oh God.”
“Feels good, does it?”
She could only groan as his fingers slid beneath her protective curls to investigate her softness.
“I love this,” he whispered against her ear. “I love touching you. I wish I never had to stop.”
She shivered against him. “I need you to kiss me.”
“No. If I kiss you, I lose my concentration. I need to do this first.” Bending over, he washed every inch of her flesh, and if he lingered longer than was necessary between her legs, she uttered not a sound of protest.
Her body vibrated with need by the time he reached for the bucket and rinsed away the soap.
“Your turn.”
She trembled, her body never more needy as she whispered, “If we do this again, I’m washing you first. I can hardly stand.”
“Get on with it, lady. No excuses.”
Vinnie smiled. “I love you, Jack,” she said as she spread a layer of suds over his shoulders and neck. He closed his eyes and allowed a soft moan of pleasure.
“Did you hear me?”
His eyes remained closed as a smile teased his mouth. “I have a problem.”
“Do you? What kind?”
“If I say yes, you might not say it again.”
“I’ll say it again.”
He opened one eye and tried to glare. “So what’s stopping you?”
She giggled. “How many times do you want me to say it?”
“How about a million?”
Her gaze widened with surprise. “A million times?”
“Of course, now you’d only have to say it one hundred ninety nine—”
Vinnie laughed as she interrupted him with, “I love you, I love you, I love you and I love you.”
“Wait! I can’t subtract that fast. I need a paper and pencil.”
She smiled as she washed his chest. “I’ll get you one later.” She leaned forward and tried to reach his back. “I can’t reach all of your back. I hope you don’t mind if I lean against you.”
Jack only grinned.
“Maybe you should turn around.”
“Vinnie,” he shook his head and gave her a you-should-know-better-than-that look. “Think of what you’re saying.”
She shrugged. “It’s your back.”
“Yes it is, and it’s my front, as well.”
Vinnie giggled, the sound young and girlish.
“When you laugh like that it almost melts my heart.”
“Oh my!” her eyes widened with surprise. “I never would have expected you to say something so romantic. And here, I was just about to tell you that I knew you were a beast the first moment I saw you. Shame on me.”
He laughed. “I suppose I was, and you didn’t wash my back then either.”
Vinnie soon had all she could reach covered with soap. She rinsed him and stepped out of the bucket.
“Are we finished already?” His disappointment was obvious.
Wrapped in a sheet, she dried herself quickly. “We’re far from finished. Actually, I’d say we’ve barely started.”
“Is that right? You mean you’re planning something?”
“Not planning exactly.” She glanced up, looking into his dark gaze. “Do you think we need a plan?”
He shook his head in the negative. “There are times when it’s better if you let things develop naturally.”
“I think I know what you mean. Why don’t you let me dry you, then you can lie on the bed?”
Jack did as he was told. His soft murmurs of pleasure told clearly of his enjoyment.
He was lying on his back, his feet on the floor when Vinnie climbed upon him. She straddled his hips and leaned forward to kiss his throat. “You smell like a girl.”
His grinned was the most wicked she had ever seen. “I don’t feel like a girl.”
She laughed. “No, you don’t. Thank God. Is it time for us to kiss yet?”
“Have we set up a special time for kissing?”
“Well, you said you couldn’t kiss me before because you wanted to concentrate on something else.”
“Oh, yes. I remember. I think now would be a very good time to start kissing.”
“Oh goody,” she said, her eagerness not to be denied.
He grinned. “And you can start any time you like.”
“Oh me?” She knew a moment’s surprise. “You want me to kiss you?”
“You know how, don’t you?”
“If I’m not mistaken, it goes something like this.” Vinnie leaned forward and allowed her mouth to drift slowly, softly over his. Back and forth, her lips rubbed over his until he groaned, opened his mouth and tried to capture the constantly evasive flesh. He turned them so she lay beneath him then took control of the kiss.
“I love the way you kiss,” she moaned when he allowed her to breathe at last. “Did I ever tell you that?”
He was nuzzling his mouth to her throat, when she heard. “I think you forgot.”
“Mmm, I won’t forget again. I love the way you kiss, the way you taste.”
His mouth was on hers again. Vinnie groaned her desire. She couldn’t get enough. Her tongue slid deep into his heat then fought a quick playful duel with his. With a helpless groan, she investigated the lush warmth and dark mystery of his mouth.
“I love this. I love you,” she murmured as his mouth left hers to drift over her throat, her shoulder then her chest to sample her breasts. She cried out her delight as he moved lower yet again, his tongue, his chin, his nose pressed deep into her moist heat of her pussy, eagerly absorbing her taste and luxuriating in her scent.
The room swirled wildly around her, and she thought surely the world did as well. Nothing could remain the same when she suffered this kind of pleasure. She felt perched on the edge of madness. She longed for a repeat of those delicious sensations, the lusciously aching torment he’d once shown her. Her body strained into the pleasure, and she groaned as it began at last. Her stomach grew tight, tighter, her need suddenly desperate, her breathing choppy and weak. Her heart hammered in her ears. He said something, but she couldn’t hear him. His tongue slid away from the sensitive nub and moved to further discover the taste of her, swirling at her small opening, driving her mad as it tickled and took what he needed of her taste, only to return again to her clit to nuzzle, to tease and torment until her body was hard with need, straining for more. She grunted. Her hips came from the bed, supported by the balls of her feet, pressing against his mouth, wild for the pleasure, desperate for more, for all he could give. Tight, tighter, she couldn’t bear it. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t think, but to have still more.
She was a frantic, achingly mad being longing only for a release from this agony, yet she pleaded for it to never end. A heavy hand suddenly covered her mouth. It was too much to worry over, but it muffled the sound of her cries and she did cry. She cried and groaned and grunted nearly all at once, lost amid surging waves of diabolical ecstasy. Her body pulsed, flung into a world of mindless, shattering pleasure. Behind closed eyes came a blinding flash of light, and with it, she shivered the last of this wondrously, delicious torment.
Vinnie smiled as his body slid into hers. She listened to his groan, for her muscles had yet to ease their pulsing. They squeezed his cock and released it only to squeeze again.
“Jesus, God, you’re killing me,” he gritted as he began to move into her softness.
She thought she was too tired, but she wasn’t. Suddenly filled with love, she eagerly took him deep into her. It felt so good. Lord, but it truly did. She grunted as he moved hard against her, into her.
“Jack,” she said softly. “Jack.”
He leaned forward even as he took her hips higher, brought her tighter against him.
“Don’t cry out again,” he whispered against her mouth. “Can you hear me?”
She nodded, but the nod was impossible to detect with the way her body bounced with his every thrust. “I think I’ll kiss you. That should stop your cries, don’t you think?”
“Oh God,” she managed. “Am I supposed to be able to think?” It was impossible to think, impossible to do anything but allow the pleasure. And it was coming again. She hadn’t expected it. Not so soon. It was the strength of his movements, perhaps his trembling urgency. Whatever the cause, she couldn’t hold back. She bit her hand in an effort to hold back the cry that threatened and wildly, desperately, leaned into the splendor as her body surged forward into his, throbbing with aching need.
He waited until the last of her pulsing had eased before smiling and taunting her with, “Enjoying this, are you?”
God, but the man was so full of himself. She tried to shrug, but couldn’t manage the movement. “It’s better than making beds, I suppose.”
“Witch.” His gaze narrowed with warning as he laughed and promised, “I think you deserve to be punished for that smart remark.” His movements slowed, and a wicked light entered his eyes.
“Meaning you’d deny yourself the pleasure?”
He shook his head. “Meaning I’d only look to prolong it.”
He stopped moving altogether, but before he could do much of anything else, she suddenly shoved him off and pressed him to the mattress. “Stay there. Don’t move. I want to try something,” she whispered as her mouth began to trail down the length of him.
She felt him stiffen, heard his low moan, as her mouth came closer to his cock. His body grew harder. His breathing became only short desperate gasps until her mouth touched his cock at last. He groaned in anticipation of the pleasure and groaned again when her lips brushed over the length of him.
She tasted her body on his and delighted in the sweet, musky scent of sex, but it wasn’t until she licked him that he cried out.
“Don’t cry out,” she said, repeating his words spoken only moment before.
He laughed, realizing what she was about.
“Enjoying this, are you?”
His hips rose toward her mouth, his need for her to continue obvious. “It’s better than shoeing my horse, I suppose.”
They laughed as she went on to discover his warmth. And despite his need, he forced himself to linger into the pleasure of her mouth and tongue for some time before he turned them both. Once again above her, his cock slid deep into her hot, juicy pussy, and there was no way he could hold back his moan.
He moved above her, drawing her deep into the ecstasy, when with a wicked grin he managed breathlessly, “Did I say, better than shoeing my horse? I probably should have said it’s almost better.”
Vinnie chuckled. “Don’t be a wise guy. I couldn’t possible love a wise guy.”
“Why not? You already love a beast.”
They both laughed as together they moved to the music only lovers can know, and as they awaited the coming rapture, she whispered, “You’re right, I already love a beast.”
Patricia Pellicane lives with her husband on Long Island in New York. Her six
children live in neighboring towns as do most of her fifteen grandchildren. Her
favorite hobby is reading. Patricia insists her ideas for stories come while
doing dishes. “Could anything be more boring? It’s nearly impossible to keep
your mind from wandering.” In a recent interview she was asked. How hard or easy
is it for you to write? Patricia returned with, “Someone once wrote. ‘Writing is
easy. All you have to do is put a sheet of paper in a typewriter and stare at it
until blood forms on your forehead’. Sometimes writing is exactly like that.
And other times it’s a wondrous happening where words flow from mind to fingers
to computer screen almost without conscious thought. It doesn’t matter which way
it works for you. Once a writer begins the journey, they’re hooked. It’s a drug
and you can’t stop looking for that next story, that next high.”
Patricia’s fans can contact her at,
ppellicane@gmail.com or stop in at her website at
www.patriciapellicane.com Click under Books for a list of her twenty
two printed published books and About Me to catch a glimpse of what
Patricia thinks about life in general and more.
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Jan
Scarbrough’s Bluegrass Reunions Series
is available at
Resplendence Publishing
They thought the boys they loved were out of their lives. They were wrong.
KENTUCKY COWBOY — She had dumped him in high school because he was a risk-taker.
“Warmhearted and wonderful... Kentucky Cowboy is a keeper.”
— Bestselling Author Joanne Rock
*Winner of the 2006 PASIC Book of Your Heart Contest, Contemporary Series
Romance
A contender for the world title, professional bull rider Judd Romeo defies death
for a living. Now he must deal with the death of his mother by settling her
estate. Returning home to Kentucky, he runs smack dab into the arms of his high
school sweetheart, a woman he has never forgotten.
Veterinarian Mandy Sullivan learned early on that risk-takers are trouble.
Having custody of her sister’s child, she is working hard to be both mother and
father to the abandoned girl, and doesn’t count on trouble showing up next door.
Mandy discovers she can’t avoid the famous cowboy she’s never quite put out of
her mind. When Mandy’s sister comes back threatening to take away the little
girl she loves as her own, will Mandy realize Judd is not the same man he was
back then?
KENTUCKY WOMAN — She had loved him when she was a teenager, but they never
connected.
*Winner of the 2007 San Diego RWA’s Spring into Romance Contest
*Second Place in the 2007 PASIC Book of Your Heart Contest, Contemporary
Series Romance
Years of hard work and schooling have paid off for single mom and ex-jockey
Alexis Marsden. She now has a desk job she loves and she’s paying her
bills—barely. But she can’t give her son everything he needs, especially a
father. When the big brother of her child’s father asks her to marry him, does
Alex give up her hard-won independence and settle for an old-fashioned marriage
of convenience?
Workaholic banker Jackson Breckinridge has spent his life meeting the
expectations of his parents and protecting his younger brother. When his brother
fathers Alex’s child, Jack must protect his parents from the truth and fix his
brother’s screw up. Marriage to the childhood playmate he’s loved since his
school days is just the right thing to solve his problems. He accepts her terms
for a marriage of convenience, but he longs to convert it into a one that’s for
real.
KENTUCKY FLAME — She had his baby, but he left not knowing the truth.
Horse trainer Jake Hendricks arrives to take charge of Royalty Farm from his
one-time mentor. After the main barn goes up in flames, Jake must do everything
he can to save the farm that is already under financial pressure from a greedy
local real estate developer.
After gathering the courage to leave an abusive marriage, horse trainer Melody
O’Shea returns to Royalty Farm when her father needs her help. Coming home to
the famed American Saddlebred farm is bittersweet because it is also the home of
her daughter, the secret child she gave up for a private adoption.
Mel doesn’t count on Jake being there. The man left her nine years earlier not
knowing she was carrying his baby. Forced to work with Jake to save her
daughter’s home and heritage, Mel grapples with the mistakes of her past and her
love for a man who once rejected her, but who she never forgot. When danger
escalates, Mel’s life is in jeopardy and she must work with Jake to solve the
mystery that threatens her safety and the safety of the daughter they both love.
Also available
from
Resplendence Publishing
Circle Star
After thirteen years in the East, Susanna Talbot stands to inherit the Arizona
ranch she grew up on, but only provided she marry Connor McGregor, the young
drifter who once forged a bond with her father. Susanna will do whatever it
takes to claim her right to land—even seek a union with a man who believes she
ruined his life.
But first she must find him.
Connor McGregor rode into the desert without a backward glance thirteen years
ago, believing Susanna had banished him from Circle Star. Now a man of
twenty-eight, he has no interest in coming to her aid. Will he bury his
bitterness, or leave Susanna on the mercy of the ruthless neighbor Burt Hartman,
who covets the ranch and will stop at nothing—including rape and murder.
Made for Mischief
by
Regina Carlysle
All she really wanted was one naughty night before returning to her life as a
sheltered country spinster! Crawling beneath a bed in London’s most notorious
brothel was beyond the pale, even for known eccentric Arabella Spencer. Little
did she imagine that lust, desire, and yes, love was just within her grasp.
When Grayson St. James, Lord Mercer, newly returned from fighting Napoleon,
dragged a squirming, dusty bluestocking from beneath his bed, he
was…well...aghast! She wanted adventure, did she? She wanted to learn about sex,
did she? He was just the man to teach her.
As a vow of vengeance and a case of mistaken identity unite Grayson and Arabella
in a common goal, the dour Lord Mercer finds himself laughing for the first time
in longer than he can recall. But will an unknown threat bring them together or
tear their world apart?
A
Love in Disguise
by Cara Hart
The letter from her brother warned her of danger, but Kate Carteret is doubtful
until she discovers her bedchamber in ruins. In the face of an unknown threat,
she flees her home and finds sanctuary as companion to a family friend. But
Kate’s peace is soon shattered by the arrival of the Earl of Ashton, a man with
a few secrets of his own.
Though retired, James Meredith has unwillingly accepted one last mission for the
Crown—locate
a dead colleague’s sister, who may hold the key to the identity of a traitor.
Her trail leads to the home of his cousin, in a tiny village in the north of
England. His aunt’s new companion, a middle-aged spinster, should be easily
dismissed. Why can he not get her out of his head?
More
than Words
by Kelly Kirch
Kylie Dobson is a romance author with a problem. As a seat-of-the-pants writer,
she depends on the strength of the characters to drive her plot. But when her
hero, Milo, Lord Gafton refuses to chase after the prescribed heroine,
everything goes wonky. Kylie is inexplicably sucked into her work of fiction and
transported from a contemporary venue to a fictional Regency setting. What’s
worse, nothing she does is affecting the plot and she can’t get out.
Set into motion by her own creative process is a winter storm which seals the
Regency party goers in on a country estate. If that wasn’t bad enough, a
murderer is on the loose and he’s picking off one guest at a time. The more time
Kylie spends with Milo the more she comes to depend on him. She’s convinced that
his character sketch will kick in at any moment and he’ll fall for her heroine.
But will it happen before she loses her heart to him? And what happens when the
plot draws to the end? Will the killer have his way and will Kylie solve the
case only to be returned to her reality without the man she’s fallen for?
Always and Forever
by Pamela Labud
Left crippled and weak after a pistol shot to his head, Robert Houghton, Earl of
Singleton, a nobleman from the English Regency, is kidnapped by a cantankerous
ghost and taken back through time to 1245 Scotland. Now he must rescue a
headstrong and beautiful Laird’s daughter from a forced marriage to a cruel clan
chieftain.
Jenna MacReynolds is the daughter of a dying clan chieftain who faces her doom
at the hands of the cruelest man in all of Scotland, the very same who years
before had ravaged her and left her barren. She knows that once it is learned
that she cannot conceive his child, he will arrange an ‘accident’ that will take
her life, and then go on to claim her beautiful young sister as his bride.
Desperate, Jenna calls up the ancient ghost who owes every first born daughter
of the MacReynold clan a single wish. The ghost fulfills her wish, and Robert
appears, a broken man who is able only to speak in her presence. Although he’s
not quite what she had in mind, she has no choice but to accept Robert and
offers him her hand in marriage. Soon they find themselves in the midst of
castle intrigues, a fierce battle between the clan chieftains, and finally
facing their own death at the hand of their enemy.
But the love that grew out of a common purpose has a magical power of its own,
and, as Robert and Jenna learn, is strong enough to overcome the fiercest evil
and transcend even time itself.
A
Dusting of Syn
by Melinda Barron
As the seventh son of a duke, Keran of Bristol never thought to have his own
lordship. So when King Edward IV offers him a bride and a castle near the
Scottish border, he is ecstatic. However, when he arrives at the country keep,
he finds that His Majesty’s court is not the only place where intrigue resides.
Syndra of Mardoon knew that after her father’s death, her stepmother would never
allow her to be anything more than a servant in her own home. Threatened with
the death of her friend if she doesn’t cooperate, she hides in the shadows while
her younger half sister is introduced to the new lord as his intended.
With the scheming ploys put forth by her stepmother already in play, Syndra is
reluctant to believe that the handsome new lord can set things right at Mardoon.
But one touch of Keran’s lips convinces Syndra otherwise, and she finds herself
surrendering to him...mind, body and soul.
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