by Sarah Hegger
“I told them I left you with a trapper.” Cole chuckled and took a big swig of whisky. “Wasn’t too far from the truth in any case.”
“Except you didn’t leave me with that trapper.” Cole had ridden to her rescue then as he had today. “Looks like I owe you for another rescue.”
“Nah, Ellie.” He caught her chin in his hand. “You don’t owe me a damn thing. It’s about time somebody stood by your side.”
Chapter Twenty-One
The next morning, Ellie watched from Cole’s hotel room window as her brothers dragged their sorry asses onto their horses and left town. Not taking any chance of them staying longer, the sheriff stood by and watched as they did.
On the bed, Cole slept deeply, his light snoring from his busted nose the only sound in the room. She hadn’t had the heart to wake him in time to catch the train, but she couldn’t risk letting him rest any longer. He needed more time to heal, but they dared not wait around town. She wouldn’t put it past the twins to sneak back and make Cole pay for besting them.
The hotel clerk had brought her bandages and liniment and all the gossip from the fight. On one point everyone was clear, Cole had won.
The twins wouldn’t like that. It had been some time since they’d been beaten. Patrick had the more explosive temper and was always leading the pair into trouble. However, Paul was the one you didn’t want to rile, and he always got riled in defense of Patrick.
It looked as if the widow Pierce would be making an appearance this morning.
She pinned her hat in place and drew the thick, black veil over her face.
“Sit with Cole while I go out.” She motioned Bridget into a chair near the window. “Don’t open the door to anyone, and don’t let Cole out of that bed.”
“Okay, Ellie.” With a heart wrenching sigh, Bridget took a seat by Cole’s bed. “He gets hurt a lot, doesn’t he?”
Ellie opened her mouth to deny Bridget’s statement, but she couldn’t. Cole had gotten hurt a lot lately, and all of it in defense of her. She had no right to ask any more of him. Despite what he said, she owed it to him to get him on the train to New York, hale and hearty, and ready to claim his sweetheart. Even if the idea hurt her heart more than she cared to think on.
Cole opened his eyes and looked at her. “I don’t need a nursemaid.”
“I think you do.” Ellie nearly fetched a looking glass so he could see what she saw. “I need to run some errands and Bridget can stay with you.”
“No.” Wincing and hissing in pain, Cole sat up.
Ellie rushed to his side and pushed against his shoulder. There was no way he could get out of his bed. “What are you doing?”
“Coming with you.” Cole nudged her hand off his shoulder.
“You can’t.”
“Beg to differ, Ellie.” He rocked to his feet and stood there swaying. “But either you take Bridget or me with you.” His earnest face said he meant every word.
Ellie wouldn’t put it past him to stagger along behind her every step of the way. “Fine, I’ll take Bridget.”
One of these days, she might even win an argument with him.
Even her widow’s weeds didn’t stop Toothless Sam at the livery stable trying to cheat her on the price of a carriage and four with driver and outrider.
The threat of the twins made her add the outrider to their transportation.
But even Toothless Sam’s sharp negotiating powers died before Bridget’s sweet smile, and Ellie arranged for the carriage to fetch them all from the hotel within the hour.
Feeling rather proud of herself, she walked with Bridget back to the hotel. Rounding the corner to the hotel, she stopped dead.
Paul and Patrick slouched against the smartly painted pillars outside the hotel. Like she’d suspected, they had turned around as soon as the sheriff took his eye off them. Will was also right about who had taken the most punishment. Patrick had one arm in a sling and his face was riddled with bruises. Paul looked marginally better, but only just, with one side of his face hugely swollen.
“What is it?” Bridget blinked at her.
Her voice carried to the twins who looked over.
Patrick’s gaze snared on Bridget and stuck.
Paul’s gaze slid past Bridget, came back and then slid past again and landed on her.
If she didn’t keep walking, she would draw attention to herself. Dressed from head to toe in black, with a large veil covering her from head to waist, there might be a chance the twins didn’t recognize her.
After all, they were used to seeing Sugar Ellie in her short skirts and shiny silk corsets.
With both twins focused on them, she dare not tell Bridget who they were. Keeping her voice low and making it higher than normal, she said, “A pebble in my boot.”
“A pebble?” Bridget frowned down at her feet. “Does it hurt?”
Ellie regretted her pebble ruse. She didn’t want to stand in front of the twins, the risk of being recognized huge, and discuss dirt. Shaking her head, she marched forward.
Patrick lounged directly in her path, his outstretched legs blocking the walkway.
Heart pounding hard enough to drown out all sound, Ellie stared at the feet and then the man. Perspiration slid down her sides. Between her and the hotel door were about twenty steps, and they would carry her past first one brother and then the other. Her chances of slipping inside looked bad. And when she was there, she still had to make it to her room without one of them stopping her.
Ah, well. She raised her chin and stared at Patrick legs and then up at him.
With a sneer, Patrick looked her up and down.
Ellie held her breath, waiting for discovery.
Patrick looked right past her at Bridget. His expression grew lascivious. “Hey, sweetheart. Where did you come from?”
“Shame on you.” Bridget bent her huge blue eyes on him, brimming with reproach. “Accosting a poor widow and her husband not yet cold in his grave.”
Jerking upright, Patrick yanked his feet out of her way. “Begging your pardon, Ma’am.”
Not quite believing it, Ellie hurried past him and into the hotel.
“Excuse me, Ma’am?” Paul had a huskier voice than Patrick. He strolled toward Ellie. “Real sorry to hear about your husband, but maybe I knew him.”
Bridget appeared at her side, eyes snapping wrathfully. “Are you trying to upset her?”
“No.” Paul took a long slow look at Bridget but came back to Ellie. “Only there’s something familiar about the widow lady.”
“She’s a widow dressed in black.” Bridget looked at Paul as if he’d taken leave of his senses. “It’s not her fault they all must wear the same thing.”
“Right.” Paul backed away from them, but his gaze strayed back to Ellie. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Real sorry.”
How Ellie made it up the stairs without falling on her face, she’d never know. Her legs shook so badly they threatened to drop her to the floor with every step she took.
Finally, they turned the corner and out of sight.
Still, Ellie kept walking and she didn’t stop until she was safely in her room. Once there, she slammed the door shut and locked it. Her legs gave out and she dropped to the bed.
Bridget collapsed on her bed beside her. “Your brothers look like you.”
She couldn’t recall telling Bridget anything about her family or what she was running from, but underestimating Bridget was something she’d never do again. “You saved me.”
“Not really.” Bridget shrugged but looked pleased. “But I knew who they were the moment we saw them.”
“They want to take me back home.”
“Do you want to go?” Bridget’s eyes held a piercing intensity.
“No.”
Bridget shrugged. “Then that’s all I need to know.”
They got all packed, and Ellie went to Cole’s room to get him ready to travel. As soon as the twins moved away from the hotel door, they were heading out.
Cole was fast asleep when she let herself in.
He lay on his side, bare chested with the sheet around his waist. Deep, heavy breathing told her he was sleeping the good healing kind of sleep. She wished she could give him longer to sleep, but they needed out of town.
Cole was beautifully put together. The marks he’d earned in defense of her were the only flaw on him. Her chest ached near her heart. He’d done all this for her. Nobody, not even Theo, had showed her that much caring. It must be why she was getting all soppy and maudlin over him, standing there staring at him sleeping like a moonstruck heifer.
When she peeked out the window, her heart sank. Paul and Patrick were still keeping vigil outside the hotel. They might have been waiting for another chance at Cole. Well, she’d give herself up to them before she allowed that to happen.
“What’s up?” Cole’s voice sounded rusty from sleep.
Ellie turned and tried to brazen her way through. Cole’s weird gold eyes stared at her and demanded the truth. “Patrick and Paul are waiting outside the hotel.”
“Damn.” Cole rolled to his back and winced. He rolled back to his side with a groan. “I keep forgetting to stay off my back.”
“We need to get out of town.”
Cole nodded. “Yup. We need a way to do that.”
“Already arranged.” It gave her an inordinate amount of pleasure to tell him as much. “I hired us a coach and four with a driver and outrider.” She hoped he didn’t cut up nasty about the next part. “I had to take some of your money to do it.”
He eased to sitting. “It’s okay, Ellie. You take what you need.”
“I’ll pay you back.” She wasn’t his charity case, and she really didn’t want to keep costing him in every part of his life.
“Ellie.” Cole patted the bed beside him. “Come and sit.”
“No.” Sitting that close to an almost bare Cole was a bad idea. “I need to pack.”
“Ellie.” He used a preemptory tone that got her hackles right up. He needed to rethink if that tone was aimed at making her mind him.
She folded a shirt of his and packed it. “I said no.”
“Please, Ellie.” That and the soft entreaty from his strange, beautiful eyes got her over to him and perching gingerly on the edge of the bed. She was right where she’d plotted to be from the start of this adventure, in Cole’s bed. The thought nearly made her giggle, and she bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself.
Cole chuckled and turned her face his way. His fingers were warm beneath her chin, warm and strong and making her skin sensitive. “I’d dearly like to know what’s going on in that head of yours right now.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” Her dumb imaginings and even dumber heart fluttering were nothing Cole needed to know about. She steeled herself and met his gaze. “What did you want?”
“You did well, Sugar.” He slipped his hand beneath her chignon and cupped her nape.
The touch shot through Ellie like a bolt of lightning, and she wanted to purr and rub against his hand. It took her a minute to find a voice that she hoped came out normal. “I didn’t do anything.”
“You kept your head.” His long fingers stroked the column of her neck. “You kept your head and got us a way out of here.”
“You would have done the same.”
“Maybe, but you still did well.” He shrugged. Slumberous warmth crept into his eyes and he stared at his fingers on her neck. “Your skin is soft.”
“Oh.” Nothing else came into her mind, and she dropped her gaze before he saw how much he affected her.
“Smooth and silky.” His voice grew deeper, huskier, and it rasped against her senses like his touch. Her girls had spoken of men who could melt your bones with a touch. Unaware of her innocence, they had shared all their bawdy stories in her hearing.
Ellie knew what was happening. She was in lust. Her woman’s body craved Cole. It had nothing to do with deeper feelings. “Cole?”
“Hmm?” He trailed his fingers to the button at her neck. “It makes me wonder all sorts of things.”
God help her, but she couldn’t stop herself. “What sort of things?”
“Like, is it as soft all over?” He popped her top button open and slid his fingers into the opening. Leaning closer to her, he popped a second button. “Will it taste as good as it looks?” Another button slipped open, and his hand slid beneath her chemise and found her skin. He growled and spread his fingers. “Still soft here.”
He wove enchantment around her in the brush of his long, clever fingers and the rich burr of his voice.
Ellie’s breath caught as a fourth button popped open. Her corset top peeked out.
“I’ve always wondered.” He brushed her open bodice to the side and spread his hand over the swell of her breast. “So many times.” He pressed closer, his lips skimming her cheek. “More times than you know, I’ve watched you, Sugar, and thought about putting my hands on you.” He dragged his hot mouth down her cheek and to her neck. “Putting my mouth on you.”
Ellie felt like she might go up in flame any moment. Her befuddled brain barely clung to the knowledge that he wanted her as well. Her response whispered out of her on a soft moan. “Me too.”
“No, Ellie.” He groaned against her shoulder. “You’re not supposed to say that. Tell me to get off you. Tell me to keep my hands to myself.”
“I don’t want to.” For once, could she not have what she wanted? Heart thudding, she said the words that had been hovering on her lips for days now. “I want you to touch me. I want you to do those things to me and more.”
Cole stilled and straightened away from her. He removed his hand from her bodice and cupped her cheek. “You don’t know what you’re saying, Ellie, what you’re asking for.”
“Yes, I do.” He needed to see her for who she really was. Not some sheltered princess to be left untouched on the shelf. “I might still be a virgin, but I ran a cathouse, and I know more than most about what happens between a man and a woman.” With him looking at her like he wanted to consume her, and her own senses screaming for more of the same, Ellie took her chance. “I want you to show me all of it. I don’t want to spend my life hiding my secret.”
Cole frowned. “Be straight here, Ellie. I don’t want any room for misunderstanding.”
“If you were so inclined.” Ellie had to stop to catch her breath and summon her last ounce of courage. “I’d like you to be the one who takes my virginity.”
Cole blinked at her. “Shit! That was honest all right.”
“Yes, Cole.” She stood and buttoned her dress “Now you need to decide if that’s shit yes or shit no.” She walked on rubbery legs to the door. “But it’s going to happen whether it’s you or the next man I meet who I think will do.”
“Ellie.” Cole spoke her name like a harsh demand. His gold eyes blazed at her. “There won’t be any other man. Got it?”
There was that bossy tone again, and she aimed to cure him of that. Summoning her sassiest version of Sugar Ellie, she met his gaze with all the boldness she could muster. “Maybe. I’ll let you know.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Three days of hard traveling later, Ellie stood in the hallway of Cole’s Denver house wanting to commit murder. The only thing stopping her was she couldn’t decide who to kill first, Bridget or Cole.
Getting past Patrick and Paul had been ridiculously easy. They’d stayed in the hotel until boredom and the lure of liquor pulled the twins into the saloon. Once they were all three safely in the carriage and Cole settled as comfortably as possible, Bridget started talking.
Bridget hadn’t stopped talking for all three of those traveling days. To get away from her, Ellie had tried to bribe the outrider into riding in the carriage. Until she’d spent three days in a carriage with Bridget, she would have thought it impossible that one person could have so much to say about nothing.
Ellie had all but thrown herself out of the carriage when Cole had announced their arrival at his home. Soon af
ter that point, Cole had moved into first place on her murder list.
Standing before the gleaming wooden stairway, on a rug so fine it made her want to apologize to it for brushing it with the unworthy skirts of her widow’s dress, she straight up gawped.
“Do you think Cole is rich?” Bridget whispered, loud enough for the poker-faced butler to hear, not that he showed an indication of having heard. He directed a couple male servants with the baggage.
Ellie didn’t bother to reply to the flaming, blasted, bedamned obvious. Cole was rich. Not, a nice house with some pretty horses rich, but a goddamn castle-like mansion with more rooms than she’d had cups of tea rich. From the sheen of it, she’d bet that pale gold wallpaper above the gleaming wainscoting was silk.
Cole, who should now be known as a dirty, low down, deceiving snake, had disappeared shortly after their arrival with a mousey, earnest looking younger man who called himself Cole’s secretary.
“Oooh. Pretty.” Bridget reached out to touch the shimmering crystal of a wall sconce. “How do you think they make them so shiny?” She turned to the butler.
Ellie almost told her not to touch, but then Cole could go out and buy himself a million more crystal wall scones to match the exquisite chandelier above their heads.
“Do you polish these every day?”
“Yes, miss. Our housekeeper, Mrs. Fuller, is most particular.” The butler bowed and motioned the staircase. “If you would follow me, I am sure your rooms are ready.”
“Our rooms?” Bridget scampered to catch up with the butler. “Are Ellie and I sharing a room?”
“No, miss.”
“I don’t mind sharing a room with Ellie. She doesn’t snore or anything, and she’s real careful not to wake me if I’m still sleeping.” She threw a smile over her shoulder. “Ellie likes to wake up early.”
“I’m sure.” The butler kept climbing stairs.
Ellie followed in their wake and gave up trying not to stare. Cole had the temerity to not only have lied about his wealth but to have built the sort of house she would have fallen in love with. Despite its opulence, everything had the subtle elegance that screamed old money.