Tin-Stars and Troublemakers Box Set (Four Complete Historical Western Romance Novels in One)

by Rice, Patricia

  "We're going to blow up a train?" Artemis was absolutely incredulous. "Won't someone get hurt that way?"

  Sorry now that he'd mentioned it, Tubbs brushed him off. "We're going to blow up the tracks, kid, not the train. No one's going to get hurt, so forget about it. What else have you learned? Did Slater tell you when he figures on leaving the medicine show?"

  Artemis scratched his head, still trying to draw attention to the fact he no longer wore a dunce cap, but Tubbs was interested only in answers. Trouble was, Artemis had forgotten to ask the questions. Backed into a corner, he did what he'd done earlier: lied to his hero. He never would have thought himself capable of it just a few weeks ago, but Tubbs hadn't called him names or slapped a woman around in front of him before then, either.

  With a surprising amount of ease, Artemis shrugged and said, "He ain't planning to leave for a while yet, leastways not until after we take the medicine show to Silverton. He'll most—"

  "Silverton?" Tubbs grabbed Artemis by the collar of his shirt. "Slater's going to Silverton?"

  His eyes bugging out of his head, Artemis nodded rapidly. "Well, sure he is. We got a show to put on."

  "Why the hell didn't you tell me that the minute you walked into this room?"

  "I—I d-didn't figure it was too important where the show went, Tubbs. We ain't taking the train for a week or so yet."

  "The train? Morgan Slater is taking the damn train to Silverton and you didn't think it was important enough to mention?" Enraged, Tubbs didn't just shake Artemis this time. He threw him against the wall. "Maybe Billy's right about you after all."

  Momentarily stunned, Artemis staggered a few steps to the left, and then listed to the right. "Sorry, Tubbs," was all he could say as he shook his head to try and clear it.

  "You'll be a lot more than sorry if you mess up like that again." But as he considered it, suddenly the thought of finding the marshal aboard the train didn't sound so bad. In fact, Tubbs couldn't think of a simpler way to take Slater out than kicking his ass down into one of the steep, rocky gorges between Durango and Silverton.

  * * *

  A few hours later in room 226 at the Strater Hotel, Cain tossed and turned between his flannel sheets. He was having another nightmare—actually, the same nightmare he'd had three nights running, a terrifying scenario in which he was both hunter and quarry. A group of nameless, faceless men bore down on him, driving him farther and farther into a box canyon from which there was no escape. He turned on them, the hunter now, and reached for pistols that were no longer strapped to his thighs. His heart hammered loudly against the walls of his chest and sweat popped out along his brow, running down into his eyes, blinding him. He was trapped. Cain could no longer see his tormentors, but they were coming after him, the sharp retorts of their weapons exploding all around him. Bang! Bang! Tap! Tap... tap.

  Cain abruptly sat up in bed, suddenly aware that the sound he heard was someone knocking at his door. Groggy and disoriented, his pulse still racing, he lit the small lamp on the bed table and climbed out of bed. Tugging his jeans up over his hips as he hurried across the room, Cain held his waistband together with one hand and opened the door with the other.

  Squinting into the hallway, with its blinding lights, he said, "Mariah? What the hell...?"

  Without waiting for an invitation, she brushed past him and pushed the door shut behind her. Cain quickly turned away from her and hastily buttoned his jeans, but not before she caught a glimpse of the shock of auburn coils at his groin. Mariah shivered at the sight, wondering when or if he would initiate something in that area of their relationship.

  Shirtless, but with his pants decently fastened, Cain turned back to Mariah. She was dressed in a voluminous robe of soft white cotton, her long black hair spilling over one shoulder like a river at midnight, that flow barely contained by a purple satin ribbon. Her eyes, captivating as always, were alight with a curious glow; a far, far better dream than the one he'd been having. Cain cleared his throat. "Is something wrong, princess?"

  "It's, ah, Daisy."

  He glanced down at her arms, finally noticing that she was carrying her dog. The little mutt's tongue was hanging out, and she wore a big purple bow between her ears which matched the shade of Mariah's ribbon. "Is she sick?"

  "Umm, not exactly. She ate most of my chicken dinner and now she can't sleep." Mariah gave him a shy smile. "But I think she'd forget all about her tummy ache if you'd just talk to her a while."

  Cain could think of a thousand things he wanted to do at the moment, and talking wasn't anywhere near the top of the list, especially not to a dog. Daring to believe that Mariah's visit meant what he hoped it did, he returned her smile. "She must have something awfully important on her mind if it can't wait until tomorrow."

  "Important, yes. She, ah..." Cain was moving closer to her, the soft glow of the lamp casting shadows on his smooth, naked torso. Suddenly Mariah's prepared speech faded, growing vague and insignificant in her mind. "She's—"

  "Daisy doesn't have a thing to say to me, does she?"

  Mariah shrugged. "Not really. I just brought her with me so I'd have an excuse for being out in the hallway."

  His hope evolved into reality. Mariah had come to him because she couldn't stay away any longer. Because it was time for her to show him how much she cared. Desire lapped at his loins as Cain snatched Daisy from Mariah's arms, marched over to his bed, and picked up one of his two pillows. He continued to the corner of the room nearest the door, where he dropped the pillow to the floor and settled Daisy onto it.

  As he turned back toward Mariah, Cain checked the clock on his dresser. "It's after midnight. What took you so long?"

  A little warning went off at the incongruous statement, but Mariah stumbled along, still searching for the right words to explain how she'd tricked him into thinking he was Cain Law. "I, ah, didn't mean to disturb your rest. Maybe I ought to just go back to my room."

  "Oh, no you don't." Cain stepped between her and the door. "A woman doesn't come waltzing into a man's room wearing nothing but her nightclothes just to deliver a dog. You have something to tell me. I suggest you get on with it."

  The lamp's soft glow hit him full on the torso, highlighting his chiseled muscles and the rigid outline of his chest. How was she supposed to think with him standing there half-naked, looking so very, very seductive? Mariah swallowed hard, forcing herself to remember the things she'd planned to say. She'd come to tell him who he was, to possibly even save his life; yes, that was it. Her mind back to the business at hand, she said, "I have something really important to tell you, something that may change the way you feel about me forever—"

  "Of course it will change the way we feel about each other, sweetheart, but those changes will be for the good." Cain opened his arms, and then whispered, "Come here."

  Another unexpected statement, this one even more incongruous than the last, and delivered in such a smoldering way, Mariah's legs began to tremble. Did he think she'd come to offer herself to him? Did he want her? Mariah shook off a tremor of excitement at the idea, knowing she'd never be able to proceed if she allowed herself to be drawn into his warm embrace.

  She closed her eyes against the invitation, her ears against the sensual caress of his voice, and said, "Let me finish, Cain. Before we can talk about the real reason I'm here, I thought you might like to know that things are just fine between me and my mother."

  She'd even gone to the trouble of meeting his terms. Cain smiled. "I'm way ahead of you, princess. Don't think I didn't notice how hard you were trying at supper to patch things up, or how delighted Oda looked."

  She blushed, feeling just a pinch of guilt. "I've done a lot of thinking since supper about some other things, too. I—I came here because I have... something to tell you."

  "I know you do, and I have a pretty good idea what that something is."

  Mariah's eyes went wide with panic. "You... do?"

  "But of course I do." He started for her.

  M
ariah turned her back to Cain, afraid to look him in the eye. Lord, how long had he known? Since Artemis had called him "Marshal" in the barn? If so, why had he kept his silence? Or was he testing her, waiting to see how far she'd go—waiting for her to hang herself? She could feel him behind her now, so close that his hot breath grazed her shoulder.

  "All right," she said quietly, her back still to him. "So now you know. What are you going to do about it?"

  Cain laughed and bought his hands to her shoulders, lightly squeezing her. "What do you think I ought to do?"

  Strangle her? He moved his hands then, sliding them beneath her hair, and slowly fit them around her throat. For a terrifying moment, Mariah thought he might just do it. But then he lowered his head, to nibble the side of her neck. "Maybe I should have said, 'What would you like me to do?'" he whispered.

  She nearly forgot both the question and the answer. Cain's touch had rendered her every bit the amnesiac he was, but she somehow managed to say, "Ah... forgive me?"

  "Forgive you? For what? Having the strength and courage to come to me tonight?" Although he wasn't sure why she insisted on acting so coy, Cain couldn't wait a minute longer to take Mariah into his arms. He spun her around, gathered her against his naked chest, and buried his face against her hair. She smelled of fresh soap and roses laced with just a tang of cinnamon, an intoxicating, mind- scrambling scent he was sure he'd never get enough of. Tearing himself away from that aromatic cloud of jet-black hair, he tilted her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes.

  "You didn't come here at midnight just to let me know how well you're getting along with your mother, or to ask me to forgive you for anything. I was under the impression you had something important to tell me." Certain he knew what that something was, Cain winked as he said, "I'm ready to discuss it, if you are, princess."

  He didn't know. Or did he? Mariah's confusion was complete. Hoping to clear things up, she said, "I'm ready, too."

  Lost in her eyes, Cain noticed they were shimmering in that beguiling shade somewhere between indigo blue and deep purple, but also that they were blinking up at him as if she had no idea what was happening. Taking control, and responsibility for the next move as well, he pulled Mariah up tight against his hips and whispered from deep in his throat, "Maybe it'd be easier on us both if I begin this conversation."

  Realizing for certain where his assumptions had led him, Mariah drew her elbows up between their bodies, bracing herself against him. But the gesture did nothing to discourage Cain. He smiled as he dragged the pad of his thumb along her jaw and then down the side of her neck to the hollow of her throat, caressing her there in big, soft strokes. Mariah's thoughts faded away again as she felt a delicious heat spreading throughout her breasts—and below.

  Cain noticed the blush staining her throat and cheeks. He chuckled. "Are you warm, princess?"

  His voice, low and husky, was like a velvet croon, more kindling to the fire growing within. Mariah didn't answer his question. She couldn't speak.

  Reading the answer in her eyes, Cain tore the ribbon from her hair, and then freed the pearl buttons fastening the front of her robe. As he slowly removed the garment from her arms and shoulders, letting it slide from his fingers to the floor, he softly said, "Better now?"

  Mariah still couldn't find her tongue, could barely think, but she did realize that she was standing in Cain's room wearing nothing but her plain muslin Mother Hubbard gown—and not a heck of a lot beneath it. Nervously chewing her lower lip, she said, "I—I came here to tell you something."

  Again, Cain took the lead. "I know you did, princess. Why don't we 'talk' where we'll be more comfortable."

  It wasn't a question. He took Mariah's hand in his and led her to the rumpled bed. Then he sat at the edge of the mattress and pulled her down beside him. "Now just what is it you're so eager to tell me about?" As he spoke, he fingered the bit of lace at the throat of her nighty, and then began undoing the buttons there.

  Mariah tried not to think about what he was doing, but instead about what she'd come here to say. Morgan Slater. That was it. She was supposed to tell him he was Morgan Slater, and then beg him to forgive her and take her away with him. Should she come right out with it, or ease into the conversation slowly?

  Cain's hand slid inside her nighty then, skimming her soft breasts. Everywhere he touched, her skin burned and rippled, and when his thumbs brushed her nipples, the pleasure he brought her was so sharp, so unexpected, she thought she would die from the sheer agony of it all. Oh, Lord, did he know what he was doing to her? Mariah sucked in her breath, and her eyes fluttered to a close.

  "Easy, princess," she heard Cain whisper, his voice darker and richer than she had ever heard it before. "Maybe you ought to lie back."

  She felt weak, short of breath, and much too warm to think, so when he coaxed her down to his pillow, Mariah didn't protest. She was grateful for the opportunity to relax a moment and the chance to gather her wits so she could move on with her plan.

  As she struggled to arrange her thoughts, Mariah felt the mattress sag. In the next instant, Cain was lying beside her, his hands skimming across her body again. Before she could speak or even open her eyes, his mouth was on hers, his tongue busy parting her teeth. The kiss he bestowed now was different from all the others, more insistent and demanding, hotter somehow. How was she to think, much less carry on any kind of lucid conversation, under these conditions?

  "Cain," she said, the sound muffled against his lips. "Wait a minute."

  "Talking too fast for you, am I?" He grinned and kissed the tip of her nose. "We'll go as slow as you like."

  Mariah's throat suddenly went dry, and her mouth fell open in mute understanding. There would be no more talking in this room tonight, at least no discussion of any consequence. She would either have to succumb to his advances, or leave—and leave now.

  But she couldn't, not yet. Mariah had often wondered about the actual mating of men and women, especially since she'd crossed paths with Cain, but to actually do it? To just let it happen? Should she? Could she?

  She moistened her lips, preparing either to speak or kiss him back—Mariah was no longer sure what her intentions were—but before the decision could be made, Cain's big hands were on her again. He gathered her nightgown in his fists and then rolled it up and over her head in one quick movement, leaving her nude except for her thin cotton drawers.

  Embarrassed, shocked, but still curious, Mariah's eyes flew open. Cain was looking at her, his expression filled with appreciation. His eyes had turned to an impossibly dark shade of green. The color made him look more animalistic than usual, dangerous somehow, and suddenly—a lot more like Morgan Slater.

  Fear tripped up the base of Mariah's spine even as a sudden warmth bloomed low in her tummy, terrifying and thrilling her beyond belief. Whatever was happening here, this was not the time to remind Cain of who and what he really was.

  "You're so beautiful," he whispered as he moved lower to nuzzle her throat. "Definitely the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." Cain looked up to meet Mariah's gaze, and then lowered his voice to a low growl. "Definitely."

  Tears of joy stung her eyes, but this was not the time for crying, either. This was a time for discovery. Cain continued to scatter kisses, his lips following the path his big hands had blazed, and when his thumbs rasped across her nipples, drawing a cry from her, his mouth immediately went to her breasts, soothing and arousing their dusky tips into hard little nubs.

  Just when she thought she could stand the pleasure of his touch there no longer, Mariah realized that Cain's hands were on the move again, and had reached down to roll her drawers over her hips. He paused briefly, drinking in the sight of her, and then tossed the undergarment aside.

  "Hey, here I am doing all the talking," he said, his voice dark, husky. "Do you mind, or have you got a thing or two to say?"

  Mariah could barely think, much less know what to say or do next. Her lashes fluttered to her cheeks as she whispered, "You s
eem to have a lot more information on the subject than I do."

  She heard Cain's hoarse laughter, but after that, she was lost in a whirlwind of sensation. Cain's fingers skimmed the apron of ebony curls at her groin, whisking lightly from side to side, building the frustration and need inside of her until Mariah thought she'd go mad.

  She knew she couldn't stand it any longer, but before she could voice her distress, Cain forged a path between her legs, coaxing her willing thighs apart. Then his fingers dipped beneath her dark curls and began caressing her most intimate self. Mariah gasped, cried out with astonishment at the electrifying sensations, and squeezed her legs tight with the shock of it all.

  "It's all right, princess," Cain whispered huskily as he tore off his jeans. "Open up to me, honey."

  If she was to stop him at all, Mariah sensed, it would have to be now. She could do it by demanding that he let her up, or even by simply saying, "You're not Cain Law, your name is Morgan Slater," or maybe, "Ever hear of a fellow called Morgan Slater?" Either of those statements would probably stop him, she figured.

  But she didn't do it. The pleasure Cain's touch brought her was agony, but the void she felt when he moved away from her was utter torture. Mariah closed her eyes and inched her legs apart, willing herself to relax. In the next moment Cain eased his way between her thighs, sliding along her cleft, searching for the perfect complement to himself. When he found it and made an attempt to gain entrance, Mariah cried out in pain, gripped the brass rails on the headboard, and went rigid.

  "Easy, honey," he said, working to keep his voice calm and soothing, nonthreatening. "Don't be afraid. I'll try something else." Her throaty response to that was garbled and wary, so Cain reached up and peeled her hands off of the headboard, kissing each of her fingers before drawing them down around to his hips. "Guide me, princess. Let me know if you want me to go faster or slower."