He turned slowly and envied the moonlight as it shone over his shoulder and caressed her body. Her hair tumbled past her waist, looking almost silver in the light. He’d always thought of her as small, but now he realized she was perfect. Her breasts were high and rounded to perfection just as he knew they would be. Her waist was small, her hips rounded.
He stopped and looked away. “Sarah, what do you think you are doing?”
I’m going to bed,“ she answered. ”Like you told me,“ she added.
Sam felt as if he would starve for the sight of her if he didn’t turn around. But this time the beauty before him was no less of a shock to his senses. “I never told you to take off your clothes.”
She laughed and took a step toward him. “Yes, you did. You said when I’m ready to be your wife in more than name only I should come to you without any clothes on.”
“But, Sarah, I promised you so much.”
“I know. I’m ready now.”
He smiled. “I mean I promised you a home and a place where you would be safe.”
She was only inches away from him. He could smell the honeysuckle aroma in the air.
“Make love to me,” she whispered as she closed the space between them.
Sam let his hands slide over her body as he leaned down and met her kiss. All sanity slipped away as his senses filled with Sarah. Her mouth was hungry, her body warm.
She pulled at his clothes, and he let her help him. He wanted to feel her skin against his as dearly as she seemed to need it. He unstrapped his gunbelt and let it hit the floor as he lifted her in his arms and walked toward the bedrolls.
He spread her out across the blankets and watched her stretch as she smiled up at him. For a moment he was afraid to touch her. How could such perfection be real?
Her small hands moved up and opened his shirt. When her fingers crossed over his heart, he was lost. Lowering slowly, he let his chest gently press against her. She moved in response, sending heat rushing through his veins.
Slowly, he reminded himself. Go slowly. But her body was warm with need as she begged for his touch.
He’d meant to make love to her with great care, but she opened her legs to him and he couldn’t pull away. He moved inside her as his body pressed her into the soft bed of hay.
She kissed him, pulling him to her with her arms. Slender chains he couldn’t have broken. Sam pushed deeper inside her, and without warning heaven exploded and all he could do was ride passion.
When he collapsed, he carefully twisted to his side so that she wouldn’t have to take the weight of him.
He was out of breath, shaking, sweating all over, and she was calmly watching him.
Sam buried his head in her hair. Where had he gotten the idea that he could be a lover? He thought about saying he was sorry, he’d thought only of himself and not her, but he remembered how she’d told him her first husband had used her, but always said he was sorry afterward.
“Sam?”
“Yes, love?” he answered.
“Is that all?”
TWENTY-NINE
SAM PULLED THE COVERS OVER HER AND ROSE UP ON one elbow. She could see his dark eyes shining even in the low glow of the lantern.
“No, my love, that is not all.”
His smile made her want to laugh.
“But I need you to cover up so that I can unwrap this great gift you’ve given me a little at a time.”
She watched him closely. “I thought I already gave you the gift.”
He silenced her with a warm kiss. She thought of pulling away and asking him to explain, for it seemed to her she’d already been bedded. His seed had been planted deep inside her, of that she was sure. But Sam seemed to think their loving was not finished, and his kiss felt so good, Sarah decided to save her questions for later.
As he had before, he kissed her until all thought left her mind and she began to float in a warm ocean of passion where every touch brought both pleasure and need. He moved his big hands into her hair and moved her head first one way and then the other so that he could fully kiss her.
She leaned back and relaxed, letting him do with her what he pleased, for it all pleased her. Finally, when her lips were swollen from his kisses, he moved to her neck and began tasting her skin. She felt his warm breath along her damp flesh as he moved from her ear to her throat.
“Sarah,” he whispered. “Are you my wife, my full and true wife?”
She sighed and leaned her head back so that he could journey down her throat.
“Say it, Sarah,” he asked again. “Tell me how you feel.”
“I’m your wife,” she answered as he moved lower, pulling the blanket down to her breasts. “Oh, Sam I love you.”
He closed his mouth over her breast then and sent her beyond word, deep into a passion only he knew how to take her to. His hands moved over her body, claiming every inch as his as the blanket slipped lower and lower an inch at a time.
Sarah began to rock with his touch, and he rewarded her with bolder movements. When he took the time away from her body to return to kiss her, she was hungry for his mouth on hers, but twisted with need until his hands caressed her, reassuring her that he’d return to taste her flesh once more.
His hand moved lower until he found the warmth between her legs. She pushed against him, suddenly needing more. He held her there, letting her beg for more while he took the time to kiss her deeply one more time. Then, with a swift movement, he spread her legs and shifted above her.
This time Sarah was ready for his mating. This time her body also throbbed with need, and her skin grew damp with sweat. A raging fire built within her, for this time he was in no hurry.
They rode the passion together until Sarah’s body shattered with pleasure. A moment later she felt him shake and knew he had crossed into paradise with her.
She wrapped her damp arms around him and held on as tight as she could, never wanting the moment to end. Never had she dreamed that a mating could be like this.
After a long while Sam tried to pull away, but she held tight.
“It’s all right.”
She felt his laughter against her chest.
“It’s all right, Sarah,” he whispered. “We can do it again. You can let go.”
“When?” she asked as she loosened her grip around him. “When can we do it again?”
He collapsed beside her. “Soon. I have to have a little time.”
“Is this one of the things I shouldn’t ask of you often?”
Sam pulled her mouth to his and kissed her lightly. “No. You can ask it of me anytime you like. I’ll just need to rest a while between times.”
“How long?”
“You’re a demanding woman, Mrs. Garrett.”
She sat up and watched him, suddenly not the least shy. He closed his eyes for a few minutes, then opened one eye. “What are you doing?”
“Waiting,” she answered.
He grabbed her and pulled her beneath the covers. “I’ve got a better idea. How about I hold you while we wait.”
His hand slid down to her backside. “You are the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.”
She relaxed, realizing how exhausted she was. The warmth of his hand felt as if it belonged on her hip. She liked the feel of his body against hers. The thought crossed her mind that she might ask him why people wore so many clothes when it felt so good to be without them.
She drifted into sleep with his warm breath brushing her cheek.
Much later, in the time before dawn, she awoke to him touching her, to his hungry warm mouth on her breast.
She stretched and realized her body was already longing for him.
When he noticed she was awake, he moved to her ear. “Would you mind mating with me again, my love?”
Her arms went round his neck. “No, I wouldn’t mind. Thank you for asking.”
“You’re welcome,” he answered as he kissed her ear.
This time the journey was familiar. She knew what
waited at the end of passion’s ride, and she looked forward to it even while cherishing each step along the way. She moved to his every touch and welcomed the opportunity to feel of him as well. When her hands moved over him she felt powerful for his muscles tightened with her caress and he let out a low moan when she grew bold.
They took their time discovering each other, playing at lovemaking, swimming in passion. When finally they were both hurting with a need for the other, he rose above her once more and ended the delicious torture. They climbed together and fell into heaven wrapped in each other’s arms.
When her breathing returned to normal, Sarah laid her hand over Sam’s heart and whispered, “I’m home, Sam. Right here circled in your arms is where I belong.”
THIRTY
SARAH AWOKE LONG AFTER SUNRISE. THE BARN WAS bright with light. Sam stood by the loft window looking out on the day. When she stretched and yawned, he turned her direction.
“Morning,” he said. She thought he looked younger, not as cold as he once had with a frown carved into his face.
“Good morning. I’m sorry I overslept.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He smiled. “You didn’t get much sleep.”
Sarah pulled on her undergarments and looked around for her dress. “I’ll get the coffee on and see what we have in the supply sack for breakfast.” She hurried to where she’d left the saddlebags.
Sam stepped in her path. “First, good morning.”
She looked at him, confused. “You already said that.”
“Not the way I’d like to say it.” He pulled her close and kissed her mouth so lightly she could barely feel his lips.
“Is it time to do it again?” she asked with a smile, wondering what the rules were on this new lovemaking thing he’d taught her.
Sam laughed. “No, I think we’d better rest and eat something.” He looked worried. “Are you all right? Did I hurt you?”
Now was her time to laugh. “No, Sam, but thank you for asking.”
He lifted her into one of his huge bear hugs.
An hour later, after they’d taken a shivering bath down in the pond and drunk a pot of hot coffee while wrapped in blankets, they finally got dressed and stepped out of the barn.
“Sarah, I wish you could have seen the house.”
“I will. Not today, or tomorrow, but soon. And this time it will be the house that we built.”
“I don’t know. Maybe you’d be safer somewhere else.”
Before she could answer, they noticed the sheriff coming up the road. Behind him was a line of wagons all loaded down with lumber.
Sam didn’t know what to think. The men pulled onto his land as if they’d been asked. He might have said something, but he didn’t want to worry Sarah.
The store owner jumped off his wagon first. “Now, I know you didn’t tell me to order lumber, so I just brought all I could round up in the back. We may not be able to build a whole house, but we can get the frame up today and from then on, I’m guessing I can get supplies in as fast as you can build the rest of the house.”
Sam could say nothing.
“And don’t worry about paying for everything. I’ll carry you if you need me to.”
Sarah moved out from under Sam’s arm and greeted each man as he pulled into the yard. Sam could see they were all charmed by her, each taking off his hat and greeting her.
“Now, don’t worry, ma‘am, about feeding us,” one said. “Our wives will be out all together in a wagon after while, and they’ll each be carrying an armful of victuals.”
The men rolled up their sleeves and began pulling the burned lumber down. Sam wasn’t sure what to say, but he pitched in. Slowly, as they asked questions about where he wanted a window, or how did he want to hang the door, Sam began to learn the men’s names. He talked with them as he’d seen folks talk to one another. He didn’t wear his guns. They didn’t know who he was. No legend stood before them, just a man who’d lost his home, and they were his neighbors planning to help him out.
By lunch a few of the men were kidding him about how he must be a newlywed because his wife couldn’t pass within a mile of him without patting on him. Sam tried to grumble, but ended up smiling. In truth, he loved her attention. She was, however, no good for his image as a tough man. It was hard to convince anyone to fear him with a butterfly landing on him every few minutes.
In truth he found himself glancing in her direction every few minutes. Even working, he could still feel her body against his. He had to fight the urge to tell all these good people to go home so he could make love to his wife.
Sarah fit right in with the women. They all seemed to talk at once, asking her a hundred questions without allowing her time to answer one. They brought food by the basketful and spread it out on a table made from extra boards. When one found out that Sarah was newly married, they all decided to give her a cup towel shower.
When Sarah looked confused, they explained that each woman would bring a small gift for the kitchen wrapped in a cup towel. When the party was over, Sarah would not only have all kinds of things for her kitchen, she’d also have a drawer of cup towels each with the initials of one of her new friends.
When the men came over to eat, Sarah had to sit with the women, but she hurried over, helping with the table when she could. Each time she passed Sam, she brushed against him until finally she drove him so crazy that he pulled her into his lap and kissed her soundly. The men hooted and the women blushed, but everyone seemed willing to excuse the newlyweds.
“Ain’t no sin in loving your wife,” the store owner said as he put his arm around his chubby little wife. “I’ve been doing it for twenty years.”
The men returned to work, but not before Sarah saw the promise in Sam’s eyes. By sundown the tired neighbors were all loaded in their wagons and ready to head home.
Sam stood with the sheriff and Luke, the store owner. “Thanks,” he said, extending his hand to each.
“You’re welcome,” Luke answered. “You’d do the same for me.”
“That I would,” Sam answered and realized he meant it.
Luke climbed into his wagon and moved down the road. Sam glanced over at the house, where Sarah was arranging imaginary furniture in a house without walls.
“Long day, Sam,” Willoby, who served as sheriff, said, as if they’d been friends for a long time. “I best be moving on.”
Sam had to be honest with the man before him. “I need to tell you something about me. As the sheriff, you’ll probably find out soon enough.”
The older man shook his head. “I know all I need to know about you.”
“But—” Sam tried again. It would only be a matter of time before someone recognized him, and then folks would talk.
“Tell you what, Sam, you get this house built for your little lady, and then we’ll talk. Winter’s coming on and I wouldn’t want her out here without a home.”
Sam felt as if someone were offering him a suspended sentence. He knew it wouldn’t last but for a matter of days, but he’d take it. This might be the only time he had to feel like a regular man.
For the next couple of weeks Sam worked on the house until his hands bled with blisters, but he didn’t care. He liked working all day and loving Sarah all night. They’d go round and round over some detail about the house, for she had her mind set on how she wanted every detail to be, but at night under the covers there were no arguments.
The kitchen was finished first, and she set about proving she could cook. Every time she went to town, something seemed to follow her home. First a cow, then two goats, then a dozen chickens, and finally a puppy. The place was suddenly overrun. The cow kicked Sam every time he got within three feet of her; the chickens kept trying to roost in whatever part of the house he was working on.
Sarah only laughed until one of the goats ate one of her new cup towels. Sam thought they might have goat stew for dinner when she found out.
The first night they slept in their own bed, they didn’
t make love. They just held each other all night long.
Three weeks to the day she’d become his real wife, Sam looked up from his work on the roof to see Sheriff Willoby and two other men riding toward his new home. He watched as Sheriff Riley and Jacob Dalton came into view. He felt as if his heart fell out of his chest.
His life with Sarah was about to end.
THIRTY-ONE
SARAH WATCHED THE FOUR MEN WALK TOWARD THE barn. She had no idea why they’d come, but from the look on Sam’s face, it couldn’t be good news. Sam had told her to stay in the house as he stared at her with a longing in his dark eyes. She’d seen the look before in the silence of the night when he thought she was asleep. A gaze that memorized her as though he knew he’d never see her again.
She waited as he’d told her, until they closed the barn door. Then she hurried through the kitchen and ran to the corral opening near the back of the barn. She slipped into the shadows between the stalls and tried to figure out what they were talking about.
“We all know why we’re here,” Willoby started. “I knew Sam Garrett and Sam Gatlin were the same man when he bought the land. I’d seen him before down in Waco when I was keeping books for an undertaker. He had no reason to even notice me as he brought two outlaws and a body into town.” The part-time sheriff looked at Sam. “I didn’t believe all those stories I heard about you then, and I don’t believe them now. You had the decency to offer to pay me for burying the man strapped over his horse, and not many would do that.”
Sheriff Riley sat down on a stool, then stood slowly, looking older than he had when he married Sarah to Sam months ago. “We’re all here because we know Sam ain’t a bad man. But he’s never going to know any peace if we don’t do something.”
Jacob agreed. “He’s a legend. It’s getting so bad his legend grows when we know he’s down here doing nothing. I can think of three tales that have started about him since he’s been building his house.”
“There are probably boys practicing their shooting now hoping to get a chance to gun him down in a fight.” Riley pulled out his papers and pouch and started rolling a cigarette. “It’s just a matter of time before one finds him.”
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