"What are you getting at, Sam?" Rusty asked.
"I don't know how else to break this to you so I'll just come right out and say it. Lacey and I are husband and wife. My full name is Sam Gentry. Lacey believed me dead all these years, until I showed up here recently."
"Well I'll be a lop-eared jackass," Rusty said. "Why didn't you return to your wife after the war? It don't hardly seem right to let her believe you were dead. Why, I'll bet you never even knew you had a son."
Sam winced but said nothing. He couldn't bring himself to name Lacey a whore for having a child with a lover. Or label Andy a bastard. "That's right. I knew nothing about Andy. But I intend to make it up to Lacey and Andy. That's why I'm moving into the ranch house. I want everyone to know we're married."
"What about Taylor Cramer?" Rusty blurted out. "He ain't gonna like this."
"That's for sure," Barney ventured. That must have been the general consensus for the other hands nodded their heads in vigorous agreement.
"I don't give a damn about Taylor Cramer," Sam said. "Lacey is my wife and that's not going to change."
Grinning, Rusty slapped Sam's back. "I don't pretend to understand any of this, but I can't say I ain't glad Miz Lacey ain't gonna marry that bastard. Andy don't like Cramer and that's good enough for me. It does my heart good to know he ain't gonna get his hands on old Hob's land."
Sam walked over to his bunk and gathered up his few belongings. "I'll be fit enough to ride again in a day or two," he said as he stuffed clothing into his saddlebags.
"I reckon we'll be taking orders from you from now on," Rusty ventured.
Sam stopped what he was doing to answer Rusty. "I'm going to bow to your knowledge, Rusty. I'm not a rancher but I'm willing to learn. We'll decide what needs to be done together. How does that sound?"
Rusty grinned. "Sounds just fine...boss. Will you join us for supper?"
"Another time. I'm going to take supper with Lacey and Andy tonight."
"Don't blame you none," Rusty replied. "Six years is a long time to be away from your wife. You and Miz Lacey have a lot of catching up to do."
Sam merely grunted. He and Lacey weren't the lovers Rusty imagined them, but he wasn't about to admit it. Neither he nor Lacey wanted that kind of relationship. There was too much ill-will between them to forget and forgive. His only reason for sticking around was to punish Lacey. Becoming romantically involved with his betrayer was asking for trouble, and Sam had enough to contend with right now.
Sam returned to the house and stowed his gear in the spare bedroom. Then he went downstairs to find Lacey. Sam knew she wasn't going to be happy about his new living arrangements but he wasn't going to let that bother him. Lacey wasn't in the house. Rita told him she'd gone to the barn.
"Tell her supper is almost ready, Senor Sam," Rita said. "Will you be joining her and Andy?"
"I'm moving into the house so I'll be taking my meals here from now on."
Sam found Lacey in the barn, currying her horse. She wasn't aware of his presence until his shadow fell over her. She whirled to face him.
"Sam! You scared the daylights out of me. Must you sneak around?"
"I wasn't sneaking around. You were so engrossed in your thoughts you didn't hear me. Were you thinking about Cramer?"
"My thoughts are none of your business. Why aren't you in the cookhouse with the hands? I heard the supper bell ring a few minutes ago."
"I told them, Lacey. The hands know I'm your husband."
Lacey's cheeks flamed. "You had no right!"
"I have every right in the world. I expected more questions but evidently the boys accepted my word and let it go at that. I moved my things up to the house. Rita said to tell you supper is almost ready. I'll be joining you and Andy."
"Your audacity is appalling," Lacey hissed as she led her horse back into the stall and closed the gate.
"It got me through some tough places. You used to like that about me. Among other things," he added with daunting boldness. "Or have you forgotten already?"
"I've forgotten everything about you, Sam Gentry," she sniffed.
Her dismissive tone raised Sam's ire. That was a nasty put down if he ever heard one. Had she forgotten everything about him? A slow smile curved his lips. He'd bet his last dollar there was something she remembered about him.
She started to walk away. He grasped her arm and swung her around to face him. "Everything? You've forgotten everything?"
She stared at him. "A long time ago."
"Prove it."
She blanched. "Prove it? I don't know what you're talking about."
"Kiss me."
She stepped away from him. "I'll do no such thing."
"You're afraid you'll discover something about yourself if you kiss me," Sam charged. "Kiss me, Lacey. I dare you. I never thought you a coward."
Lacey had never been called a coward before. At one time she had dared much for Sam. She had hidden him from Yankee soldiers, had risked everything for him. She would have done anything to prevent her father from betraying him, but all that happened a long time ago. Kissing him shouldn't prove a problem for she felt none of the passion they had once shared. She had been so young then, so inexperienced. But she was a grown woman now, with nothing but contempt for the man who had let her believe him dead all these years.
"Well," Sam prodded. "Are you a coward?"
"I'm not afraid to kiss you, Sam Gentry. You're nothing to me but a nuisance. If kissing you will prove that, then I'd be most happy to oblige."
She stood on tiptoes, pursed her lips, and pressed them against his.
"Not good enough, Lacey," Sam murmured into her mouth.
Catching her about the waist, he pulled her hard against him. Lacey inhaled sharply. His body was a solid weight against hers, his scent intoxicating. She wanted to scream in outrage when he nudged her lips apart with his tongue and deepened the innocent kiss she had given him. She felt herself melting against him and fought it, to no avail. Even if she wanted to forget, her body remembered, and reacted.
He groaned her name into her mouth. She shook her head as if to deny her response, but long repressed emotion ignited and exploded inside her. Betrayed, she cried out in silent supplication. Betrayed by her own wayward body. A cry of denial began deep in her throat. The moment it reached her lips it was swallowed by Sam, whose kisses sucked the air from her lungs, leaving her breathless and gasping.
Lacey felt unbalanced, as if she were floating. She cried out in alarm when she realized she was being pressed down into the soft hay. But Sam's kisses were so spellbinding she couldn't find it within herself to protest. His hard body was pressed into the vee between her legs, his sex a solid ridge between them. She felt a cooling breeze on her bare breasts and wondered when and how he had bared them.
Then he was lifting her skirts, his hand skimming up her inner thigh. When he cupped her, she arched into his hand and screamed. He caught the sound in his mouth. She heard him groan out a curse.
"Damn you," Sam growled. "What are you doing to me? This shouldn't be happening. Your touch has set me afire, now you have to douse it."
He released his manhood. A drop of moisture warmed her thigh. She felt his fingers opening her, felt her own dampness. He entered her with his fingers. She sobbed out a protest, which Sam all but ignored. He was guiding himself to her opening when she heard voices and approaching footsteps.
"Sam! Stop! Someone is coming."
Sam seemed to come slowly to his senses. He shook his head as if to clear it, then lifted himself away from her. Lacey leapt to her feet, struggling with buttons and bows. A glance at Sam told her he was setting his own clothing to rights. She was smoothing down her skirts when Barney and Amos entered the barn.
"There you are," Barney said, regarding them with undisguised curiosity. "Andy is looking for you two. Rita has supper ready."
"We were just leaving," Sam said with a hint of humor.
Gathering her dignity, Lacey strode purposefull
y toward the door. Sam followed close behind but she didn't dare glance back at him, for she knew without a single doubt he'd have a smug smile on his face.
Andy met them at the door. "Supper is ready but I couldn't find you."
"I'm here now," Lacey said. "We'll eat as soon as I wash up."
"Are you gonna eat with us?" Andy asked, regarding Sam hopefully.
"Reckon so," Sam said. "I'll wash up at the pump and join you and your mother in a few minutes."
Sam couldn't stop smiling as he washed his hands and face. Lacey could deny their mutual attraction till doom's day, but her body had betrayed her. She would have let him take her right there in the sweet-smelling hay had someone not come along to disturb them.
Abruptly his smile turned into a frown. What in the hell was he thinking? Intimacy with Lacey was the last thing he wanted, wasn't it? Making love to Lacey would serve no purpose, except perhaps give them both what they wanted. He remembered how hot she'd been for him while he was recuperating in her home during the war. They couldn't keep their hands off of one another. Their hasty marriage had been the result of her father catching them making love in the barn.
Maybe moving in with Lacey house wasn't a good idea, Sam reflected. He hadn't had a woman in a while and Lacey was too convenient. Telling everyone about his relationship to Lacey had seemed a good idea at the time. But now he wasn't so sure. How long could he keep from taking from her what his body demanded? Judging from the hard ridge straining his denims, not long.
Andy and Lacey were already seated at the table when Sam entered the dining room.
"Can Papa sit next to me, Mama?" Andy asked with an eagerness that put all Sam's nefarious plans regarding Lacey to shame.
"He can sit wherever he wants," Lacey said, slanting Sam a disgruntled look.
Sam seated himself beside Andy.
"Rita said you moved your things into the house today," Andy said.
"You ask too many questions, Andy," Lacey chided.
"I don't mind answering," Sam was quick to reply. "I did indeed move into the house today, Andy. But it's all right. I'm your mother's husband, remember?"
"I remember. I just wondered why you moved your things into the spare room. Aren't you and Mama supposed to sleep in the same bed?"
Sam nearly choked on a piece of meat. He swallowed with difficulty and said, "Andy shouldn't be hanging around the hands so much. He's far too precocious for his age. Stable talk isn't for tender ears."
"I couldn't agree more," Lacey said. "From now on you'll be spending more time at lessons, Andy."
"What did I say?" Andy complained.
"Never mind. Eat your supper."
Andy finished his supper, wolfed down his dessert and asked to be excused. Lacey nodded and Andy scampered out the door.
A smile hovered on Sam's lips as Lacey devoted all her attention to her plate.
Suddenly she glared up at him. "You can wipe that smile off your face, Sam Gentry. What occurred in the barn today will never happen again. I don't know what got into me."
Sam grinned. "I know what almost got into you. You were hot for me, Lacey. Your nipples were hard and you were damp between your legs. I could almost taste your passion. You were..."
"Stop!" Lacey lurched to her feet and threw down her napkin. "Don't say another word."
She ran from the room as if the devil was nipping at her heels. Sam watched her a moment, then charged after her. He caught up with her at the top of the staircase and swung her around to face him.
"Are you afraid of the truth?"
"What is the truth?"
"You want me."
"I don't! You abandoned me."
"You betrayed me."
"I didn't! I was devastated when I learned what my father had done. What hurt the most was the knowledge that it gained him nothing. My brother was already dead. Just go away, Sam. Go away and leave me and Andy alone. I was better off believing you were dead. I have to marry Taylor Cramer to save the ranch. I can't pay the taxes without him."
The grinding pain of truth sparked Sam's anger. He could offer Lacey nothing while Cramer could give her everything.
"Don't you care that marrying Cramer will make your son unhappy? A ranch is only property, your son should come first. My brothers and I lost our farm and had to split up, but we are still bound by family ties. We genuinely care for one another. You and Andy are family, marrying Cramer would betray your son. Cramer cares nothing for Andy's welfare."
"And you do?"
"More so than Cramer."
"Taylor wants to send Andy to the best schools, give him the education he deserves."
Sam made a disparaging sound in his throat. "Cramer will send Andy to a school so far away you'll rarely see him. Is that what you want?"
Lacey blinked away the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "You don't know what I want!"
Sam grabbed her shoulders and pulled her roughly against him. "You're wrong. I know exactly what you want."
As if to prove a point, he lowered his head and seized her lips in a soul-destroying kiss. It wasn't what he'd intended but he couldn't help himself. His body thrummed with suppressed passion and his shaft became instantly hard, instantly aroused. His loins ached with the need to thrust himself into her soft, melting center, and he groaned into her mouth.
He kissed her until her lips softened and her body melded into his. Until she went limp in his arms. Then he scooped her into his arms and carried her into his bedroom.
Chapter Six
Lost in a haze of passion, Lacey gazed up at Sam. Why was this happening? Sam was trying to confuse her. He didn't want her, he couldn't want her. She'd loved him once, but he had accused her of betraying him and then pretended to dead. She couldn't allow herself to love him again. She felt the bed give beneath her and Sam's hard body pressing her into the mattress, and fought desperately for sanity.
"Sam! What are you doing? Stop right now."
"Is that what you really want?"
She found it difficult to breathe, much less form an answer. "I...yes, of course."
He searched her face, his hot gaze settling on her kiss-swollen lips. "Liar."
She jerked upward, trying to dislodge him. He groaned in response. She stopped abruptly when she realized her movements were arousing him.
"Has Cramer made love to you yet?" Sam whispered against her mouth.
"That's none of..."
"Of course he has," Sam interrupted. "You've probably had countless lovers in the past six years. I'm surprised Andy doesn't have brothers and sisters."
"Bastard," Lacey hissed. "You're the only lover I've ever had." She didn't add that he was the only lover she'd ever wanted. No man had ever measured up to Sam.
"Then have me again, Lacey. I'm still your husband. That's not going to change any time soon."
"You lost that privilege when you let me believe you were dead," she replied. "Making love will only complicate matters between us."
He rotated his hips. She felt the solid bulge of his sex against her thigh and her breath hitched. He was hard all over. His legs, his chest, his back. Her fingers dug into the muscles of his arms, tense now with wanting. This felt so right yet was so very wrong. Sam wanted her for the wrong reasons. And she didn't want him at all.
"You're wrong, Lacey," Sam said. "You do want me. Your body is hot and eager for me."
Lacey gasped. Had he read her mind or had she spoken aloud?
"I'm going to make love to you."
He kissed her, and she lost the ability to think. All she could do was feel. Things she hadn't felt in a very long time. Things only Sam could make her feel. He deepened the kiss, his tongue a hot spear against the roof of her mouth. Suddenly his relentless pursuit became too much for her and long denied passion exploded inside her.
"Oh, God, yes."
She buried her fingers in his hair, shifting her body to bring him closer. She touched his tongue with hers and felt a bolt of lightning pierce through her.
She arched against him, her fingers plucking at the buttons of his vest.
Sam reared up and stared down at her, as if unable to believe her sudden acquiescence. Then he grinned and lifted himself away from her. Sharing her urgency, he quickly tore off his clothes. Then he returned to her. Too fast, Lacey thought, disgruntled. She wanted to look her fill at him. He had changed over the years. There was nothing boyish about him now. He was all man, solid, powerful, fully aroused...needy.
"I want you naked," Sam said raggedly.
Lacey was so heated from his kisses she could only nod. Her fingers fumbled with buttons and ties until he shoved her hands away and rendered her naked in less time than she could have done it herself. Then he sat back on his heels as his glittering gaze mapped a leisurely route over her body.
"My God you're lovely. I never imagined... I hadn't realized... The years have been generous to you," he said lamely.
Their gazes locked. Tension sizzled between them. Lacey closed her eyes, refusing to acknowledge her feelings. Her eyes flew open when she felt his hands on her breasts. His expression was taut, dark with long repress4ed emotion. Lacey wondered if he was remembering how desperately they had once loved one another. Then the force of his passion hit her like a searing gale as he lowered his head to her breasts and sucked a turgid nipple into his mouth. She cried out and surged against him, driving her body upward against his.
He responded by kissing her eyelids, her nose, her lips, plunging his tongue so deeply into her mouth that she succumbed easily to his drugging sensuality. Her hips surged upward, asking for what she wanted without words. Her breath caught as his fingers found her, opening her, sliding inside, testing her readiness.
"You are eager, aren't you," he whispered when his fingers encountered satiny wetness.
She was more than ready for him, though it rankled to admit it.
His fingers delved deeper. She felt a shudder go through him when he drew them away drenched with her dew. She buried her face in the crook of his neck as he worked his fingers in and out, slowly at first, then with increased vigor. A buzzing began in her head. Her body felt weightless, her legs trembled. She hovered so close to the edge she feared she'd burst. Abruptly his fingers left her; she cried out in dismay. Then she felt his knees pressing her legs apart and his sex prodding against her slick opening.
The Outlaws: Sam Page 7