by Stacey Kayne
“We’re sure glad she wasn’t hurt,” shouted another.
“Ain’t often we got a single woman in camp.”
Juniper stopped. He turned, and Lily tightened her hold on him. “She’s not single.”
The steel in his voice tensed Lily’s sore muscles.
“She’s spoken for.”
“By who?” someone shouted out.
“By me. Any man who so much as stares at my girl for more than a heartbeat will be dodging my bullets. Y’all got that?”
A murmur of grumbles went through the crowd. Lily didn’t draw a full breath until Juniper had stepped inside a cabin and closed the door behind them.
“I’m your girl?” she asked.
His fierce scowl melted into a crooked grin. “If I didn’t stake a claim they’d be hounding at the door, waiting for the chance to woo you.”
“The horror.”
“Exactly.” He brushed a soft kiss across her lips, then set her on a soft mattress. He lit a lamp on the small table beside the bed.
Lily glanced around a cabin a quarter the size of any other she’d seen in the camp. He gathered up a patchwork quilt spread across the bed and pulled it over her shoulders. She noticed the name May in small yellow letters on the ribbing.
Juniper’s cabin.
“Sit tight, sweetheart. I’ll be right back with something to warm you up.”
Panic flared as he crossed the small room. “June?”
He paused at the door. “Günter’s on the steps right outside. Would you rather I have him come in?”
She drew a ragged breath and shook her head. “No.”
“I’ll be right back,” he said again. He stepped outside, and Lily pulled the blanket tight around her trembling body, shivering despite the warmth of her wool coat and quilt.
Nothing a few hours in Juniper’s arms couldn’t abate.
He was back within a few minutes, opening the door wide, saying, “There should be just enough room.”
A man backed into the cabin, his arms gripping the end of a big brass bathtub.
“Right there on the floor,” Juniper instructed. The long tub took up nearly all the space beside the bed as two men set it into place. They quickly retreated. Next came a procession of men hoisting buckets of steaming water. None of them so much as glanced in her direction as they filled the tub.
The moment the door closed behind the last man, Juniper started toward her, his expression dark with purpose. He reached for her foot and began unlacing her boot. Setting aside her boots and stockings, his hands moved methodically down the buttons on her coat. He gently pulled the garment away and lifted her into his arms, shifting her over the tub just a couple feet away.
Air hissed through her teeth as he lowered her into the steaming water. Cold to the bone, the warm water sent a prick of needling sensation across her skin. The raw abrasions around her wrists burned.
“Okay?” he asked.
She sucked in a jagged breath, and pain slowly gave way to soothing relief. “Yes.” She curled forward, raising her knees, rubbing the sting from her skin.
“Lie back and wet your hair,” he said from behind her, the strong scent of soap filling her senses. She glanced over her shoulder to find him kneeling at the curved end of the tub, his hands working a bar of soap into a white lather.
She glanced down at the steaming surface appearing dark in the soft lamplight. The thought of submerging her head into the water put the chill right back in her skin. She remembered the water rising in that trough, the shaft of fear that had spiked through her when she could no longer strain to keep her head above the murky water. Pain had throbbed through her chest as she had fought to hold her breath until she was sure she’d pass out or drown at any moment.
A shudder swept through her. “I’d rather not.”
Juniper’s hands froze on the soap. “I wasn’t thinking,” he said, his expression apologetic. He stood, grabbed a large tin cup from a shelf behind him then knelt back down. “Tilt your head back,” he whispered.
Lily closed her eyes and did as he asked. She sighed as he doused her scalp with warm water. His strong fingers worked the soap deep into her grimy hair, sending ripples of pleasing sensations dancing down her neck to the rest of her body.
As he finished rinsing out her hair, a knock sounded at the door. “That should be Reg with your clean clothes. Here,” he said, handing her the soap and a cloth. “He’ll want to know how you’re doing.”
Before she could say a word, Juniper was out the door. Anxious to get out of the water despite the soothing warmth, Lily quickly scrubbed up. Finished, she draped the cloth over the side of the tub. The door squeaked open, preventing her from rising.
“June?”
“It’s me,” he said, though all she saw was a pile of petticoats and a light gray dress being tossed at the bed. He spoke in a low murmur to someone on the other side of the door.
“Send word if she needs anything else,” she heard Regi say.
“Will do.” Juniper stepped inside holding a silver tray. Her gaze was trained on her chocolate pot as he kicked the door shut behind him. His slow grin brought the burn of tears to her eyes.
“Figured this would be just the thing to get you good and warm.” He slid the tray onto the table and filled the cup.
Lily began to stand.
“Stay where you are,” Juniper insisted.
“But—”
“You’re not done warming,” he said. “Sit.”
Lily settled back into the warm bath as he handed her a cup of hot chocolate. Just the smell of the rich chocolate made her stomach churn. Wrapping her hands around the warm mug, she took a slow drink and shut her eyes as warm liquid moved through her. But it couldn’t reach the chill deep in her bones.
“Better?”
“I will be,” she said, looking up at him, “once you strip off those wet clothes and join me.”
“That may not be the best idea.”
“It’s a fine idea. You need warming, too.”
“Believe me,” he said, his lips tilting with a smile, “I’m plenty warm.”
“I’m not.”
Juniper released a hard sigh. “Lily—”
“I need you to warm me.”
He stared at her for a long moment, then turned away and barred the door. He reached for his belt buckle, saying, “All right. So long as you know that’s my sole intention, to warm you.” He stripped off his damp clothes in a matter of seconds, and she noted parts of him were definitely heating up. She needed every bit of his heat.
“Scoot forward.”
She did, smiling as he stepped into the long tub and eased down behind her, raising the water level to her shoulders. His arms slid around her middle as she leaned back, settling against his chest as his long legs stretched out on either side of her. Lily released a long, shuddering breath, and her body finally relaxed completely.
“Perfect.” She sighed, thankful to have feeling back in her fingers and toes, not to mention every place where his skin brushed hers.
“How’s your chocolate?” he asked after a moment.
She held her cup up in offering.
“Sharing?”
“Of course.”
He wrapped his hand around hers, took a drink and released her.
“Do you like it?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder at him.
“Nearly as sweet as you,” he said, his arm sliding back around her middle.
“This is your cabin,” she said, her gaze sliding over the tidy, functional space as she drank the rest of her cocoa.
“Yep.”
“It’s…cozy.”
His low chuckle vibrated against her back. “It’s a hovel. But having my own place beats bunking with twenty lumberjacks.”
“Do you like being a lawman?”
“I guess.” He lifted the empty cup from her hand, his long arm easily setting it aside. Lily could hardly see anything beyond the brass sides of the tub, and Juniper’s
knees raised on either side of her—which suited her just fine.
“Do you like being a business tycoon?”
She grinned at the title. “Sometimes. I like being a part of something I can watch continually grow. But I’ve never thought much beyond profit margins, never really understanding how people were affected by my decisions. Being here has been enlightening. I’ve been given a whole new perspective, not just for this company, but so many others.” She caressed the long fingers laced across her stomach. “Despite all that’s happened, I’m glad I came. I’m glad I met you.”
Juniper kissed the top of her head, and she hoped that was some kind of agreement.
“I want to fix things,” she said.
“I know you do.”
She eased forward and turned to look up at him. “Do you think I can?”
Juniper was stunned she’d ask him such a question, yet she stared up at him as though his opinion had considerable weight. “I think you’re amazing,” he said in flat honesty. “A bunch of griping lumberjacks should be the last thing on your mind right now. You’ve barely thawed out. And now you’re campaigning for them?”
The memory of how close he’d come to losing her brought the tension back into his muscles. “You could have been killed, Lily. God knows I can’t get you off this mountain fast enough.”
“I created this whole situation. You can’t deny it.”
“Sweetheart, this camp was having problems long before you took it over. Right now, my only concern is you.”
She leaned up and kissed his lips. “I like the sound of that. Just me and you.”
Her gentle smile brought back the words she’d spoken as she shivered in his arms: “I forgive you.”
The words bumped around in his subconscious, yet he hadn’t forgotten that just a week ago she’d had reason enough to want him dead.
Some things are worse than death, his heart cautioned. Wanting what he couldn’t have; falling for a woman who deserved so much more than he had to offer.
Her hand found him beneath the water, jolting him from his thoughts. The gliding caress hardened him in a rush and had him swearing under his breath.
“Oops. Sorry.” She flashed a grin that was anything but apologetic as her hand continued to bump his thighs beneath the water. “I’m looking for the soap.”
“I almost believe you.”
Her green eyes widened, as though his doubt of her intentions shocked her. “I dropped it when you brought in the hot chocolate. See?” She held up the white bar. “Should I get the rinse cup or are you going under?”
Juniper couldn’t fight his laughter, mostly because she delighted him like nothing ever had, and partly because there was no way in hell he’d withstand a scrubbing. “Darlin’, I don’t—”
“The cup,” she said, rising up as though she intended to get out of the tub.
“Get back in here,” he said, his hands closing over her waist, the sight of her slick skin making him groan against a lash of raw desire. “I can do my own scrubbing. Move back,” he said, then leaned forward to dunk his head into the water between them.
Lily’s hands slid into his wet hair the moment he sat back. Then she turned and shifted her knees over his thighs as she sat up, working her fingers across his scalp.
His breath burning holes through his lungs, Juniper stared at the pink water-beaded tips of her breasts just inches from his lips.
“You’re torturing me,” he whispered, his hand moving up the soft curves of her body.
“Am I?” she asked, her husky tone, the smile in her voice telling him she wanted his caress as deeply as he wanted to caress her. Unable to resist, he dipped his head and drew the firm pink tip into his mouth. Her fingers flexed in his hair. Her soft moan echoed his own.
“Lie back,” she said in a ragged breath. “So you can rinse.”
Releasing her, he leaned back into the water and furiously scrubbed the suds from his hair, resenting every second he wasn’t holding her. When he rose up, Lily was over him, reaching for him, joining their bodies.
Juniper’s groan vibrated through both of them. Her hips shifted, her body demanding, relentless, so damn alive.
At the first silken tug of her body closing around him, release ripped through him like a bolt of lightning searching across a dark sky. He grabbed her hips, halting the maddening movements, but he couldn’t slow his own hot, searing pulses. With a shout that was her name, he spent himself inside her.
Catching his breath, he slumped back against the tub, annoyed by his startling lack of control. “Damn.”
Lily followed him back, soothing him with gentle kisses. “I love watching you,” she said in a breathless whisper, the tender core of her body caressing him, “and feeling your pleasure.”
That quickly, a new charge of passion stirred. The fire in his blood exceeding the temperature of the water, Juniper lifted her off him and into his arms as he stood.
“June!”
“If I don’t get you out of this tub, we’re going to flood the cabin.”
A while later they were cuddled up in bed and Lily was sighing with utter contentment.
“I never thought I’d find something I enjoyed more than my chocolate.”
Juniper’s low chuckle churned the wonderful swirls of sensation still shimmering inside her. “Should I take that as a compliment?”
“Of the greatest accord,” she said, smiling, hugging him. “You, Juniper Barns, are decadence personified.”
His lips grazed the shell of her ear. “I should feed you,” he said.
She shifted against the warmth of his skin, her cheek nuzzling into the hollow beneath his shoulders. “Later. Right now I have everything I need.”
Chapter Eighteen
H e had to admit he didn’t mind the coziness of his cabin. The tight space made it convenient to do just about everything in bed. They’d eaten breakfast, read through some files Günter had brought over for Lily and made love a couple of times in between. The one time they’d gotten dressed and sat at the table, Lily had done her best to give him a statement of all that had happened on the mountain, a task that was as hard on Juniper as it had been on Lily. She’d been tearful and shivering by the time they’d finished. He’d dropped his pencil and hadn’t stopped kissing her until neither one of them could think beyond the passion rising between them.
Lily, currently snuggled against his side, was warm and sated. She’d been quiet for a long while, her head against his shoulder, her fingers brushing lightly over his chest as her toes rubbed against his calf.
Sweet mercy. A man could get used to this.
In another hour her carriage would be waiting to cart her down to The Grove. He hadn’t told her yet that he wouldn’t be going along. He had prisoners and dead scattered in all directions and enough reports to write to keep him busy for several weeks. His first priority was to get Lily home. Kyle would go along with the other hired escorts, staying with her until they reached San Francisco. June would have the peace of mind of knowing she was well protected.
“June?”
“Hmm?”
“What’s to keep the men from locating their homes closer to the mill so they can see their families more often? Why can’t we have a place where husbands can stay with their wives?”
He had a notion her mind had been steeped in business rather than daydreams. “Company land. Company policy.”
“That’s what I thought. The one complaint I keep hearing is that the men are so isolated from their families. Don’t you think they’d be more content if they had the option to stay with their wives?”
“Having you in my bed makes me believe it would.”
Lily smiled. This was the reaction she’d hoped for. She certainly enjoyed being in his bed.
“But there are valid safety issues to consider. You allow wives, you’ll have children. Logging sites are hazardous, even for the workers.”
“Couldn’t we establish housing beyond the foresting, but close enough
for the men to go home at night?”
“Jim has made that suggestion over the years. You’d have to designate some land and be willing to parcel it out.”
“What do you think?”
He lifted onto his elbow, easing her head onto the pillow as he smiled down at her. “That you sure are pretty when you’re talking business.” His gaze trailed down her body. “Makes it hard not to get distracted.”
She laughed and pulled the sheet up to her chin. “Pay attention.”
“All right.” He pulled her close and brushed his lips lightly over hers. “Tell me what’s brewing in that mind of yours. I promise to pay attention.”
When they finally emerged from the cabin, a clear, blue sky shone bright overhead as giant redwoods chased early afternoon shadows over the grounds. Walking through the camp beneath the weight of Juniper’s protective arm, Lily buzzed with energy. Her mind was a flurry of ideas, and Juniper had listened to every one of them and offered suggestions. There was so much to do.
“Well, don’t you look refreshed?” Regi stood on the stoop of their cabin.
“Miss Carrington,” Juniper said with formal politeness as he stepped away from her.
“Sheriff Barns,” she replied.
“I’m going to leave you to pack while I go check on a few things. She’s in your care,” he said to Regi.
“Oh, I do believe we’re all well guarded,” Regi said in a droll tone.
Lily didn’t know what he meant until she watched Juniper walk toward two tall carriages and teams of horses waiting farther out. A group of large men stood near them, all wearing long dusters, each with a star pinned to his chest. Kyle stood among them and clapped Juniper on the shoulder.
“Who are they?” asked Lily.
“That,” said Regi, shuffling down the steps, “is our escort.”
“Six lawmen?”
“Seven armed guards including the one called Marshal Darby. I don’t know if they’re all lawmen or if some were deputized just for the occasion. Your sheriff isn’t taking any chances of you getting away again. Marshal Darby has been put in charge of our journey home.”
“Juniper isn’t going with us to The Grove?”