“Falling off a horse is nothing to shake a stick at. You could have been hurt a lot worse. You had me worried, lady.”
“The saddle slid and I…I couldn’t stay on.” Her face flamed. Talking casually with him about what she’d done only served to point out that she was a yellow-bellied coward.
Luke gave her a gentle squeeze. “Remind me to teach you how to properly saddle a horse.”
She couldn’t answer him. She’d break down and further humiliate herself. The only stability in her life right now was Luke, and he was the very man she’d tried to run away from.
When they finally came to the Gulch, Luke rode right through the middle of town. Shirley heard the gasps and the muffled whispers along the boardwalk, but didn’t look to see who was staring at them. They passed her father’s shop and she turned away, shrinking into Luke’s body for support. Her tears were close to the surface, but Shirley was determined not to let them fall.
She was going to face this scandal head on. She had to. There was no other choice.
Before too long, Luke reined to a stop in front of Maude’s and dismounted. He reached for her and her eyes met his. There was no gauging his mood, but she wasn’t going to deny his help. His gelding was taller than her father’s mare.
His hands held her firmly under her arms as he gingerly lifted her. She leaned heavily on him, not wanting to put her weight on her ankle. Besides, they’d left her other boot behind and she didn’t want to walk on her bandage.
When she balanced on one foot before him, the hands she’d placed on his shoulders now itched to embrace him. He’d come for her. He’d been worried about her. That alone meant he cared. Perhaps she’d wildly misjudged him.
“We should get you inside,” he said, his gaze searching hers.
She nodded.
Without another word, he turned her until her injured leg was against his good one. With his left arm, he held her close and walked slowly, allowing her to hop next to him.
He half-carried her up the steps of the boardwalk when she realized she’d have more balance if she wrapped her arm around his waist. She did so and he tensed.
“You all right?” he asked once they’d reached the front doors of the hotel.
“Yes,” she whispered, acutely aware of the eyes that were probably watching them.
They hobbled to the front desk and Shirley thought Luke might have her lean on the counter so he could procure them a room. But he didn’t. She stayed right where she was and relief flowed through her. In that position, she could tuck her face into his shoulder and hide from the few men sitting in the lobby.
“What can I do for you?” the man behind the counter asked as he pushed up his spectacles.
“We’d like to get a room.”
“Just one?” The clerk looked back and forth between them.
Luke nodded.
His eyebrows rose. “You’re married?” He glanced at Shirley, probably recognizing her from her father’s store.
“Yes,” Luke said harshly. “Mr. and Mrs. Austin.”
The clerk cleared his throat and wrote their names in his ledger. “How many nights?”
“Just one.”
He handed Luke a key and had him sign the ledger as well. “Your room is on the second floor, third door on the right. You share a bathing room with the suite next to yours, however, no one is currently occupying in that room.”
With a nod, Luke moved away from the counter, bringing Shirley along with him. “Send up some hot water for our bath.”
Shirley gasped, but didn’t say a word. The clerk nodded and smiled tepidly. As they shuffled up the staircase, her mind whirled, and her stomach threatened another upset. A bath sounded divine after soiling herself in the dirt, but Luke had made it sound as if they’d be sharing it. Together.
Closing her eyes, she groaned. She was his wife. He had every right to bathe with her. To see her naked.
To make love to her.
“I’m sorry,” he said, hearing her groan. “Going too fast for you?”
She was tempted to ask him if he meant the stairs or the bath.
“I’m all right,” she assured him.
He grunted in response, as if he didn’t believe her.
They came to their door and Luke opened it, revealing a modest room with a vanity, a small chair, a pitcher and a bowl for washing up, a side table, and one bed in the corner with a wrought-iron frame.
Luke brought her to the bed and helped her sit before opening the door to the adjoining bathing room. It was small, only big enough for a tub and a few towels. Another door was closed on the far side room, most likely leading to the other suite.
“While you bathe,” he said, walking to the window to glance outside, “I’m going to stable my horse and take care of a few things. Will you be all right by yourself?”
“I will,” she answered, relieved he had no intention of joining her.
“Leave your water for me. I need to wash up, too.”
“I will,” she told him again.
“You hungry?” As if by his words alone, her stomach came alive and growled loudly. Luke grinned and Shirley was suddenly struck by his beauty. She couldn’t say her husband wasn’t a handsome man, and the way he was caring for her now had her heart swelling. They still needed to talk, but she was looking forward to her bath. “I’ll bring you up some food.”
An oppressive silence descended upon them and she didn’t know what else to say. But he thought of something.
“Can you…manage to undress yourself? With your ankle the way it is?”
“I’ll do just fine,” she answered, trying to keep her voice light. “But I might need you to rewrap the bandage.”
He nodded. “I won’t mind.” The tone in his voice was teasing, and the twinkle in his eyes made her cheeks heat. She had to look away to hide her own small smile.
A knock sounded at the door and Luke opened it wide, allowing the young lads who worked for the hotel to come in and dump their full buckets of steaming water into the tub. Shirley suddenly felt every ache and pain in her body and longed to sink into the inviting heat.
Once the boys left, Luke hunkered down in front of her. “I’m gonna leave you in peace, but I won’t be long, I promise. You sure you’ll be fine?”
“I’m sure.”
“You gonna stay put?” He arched a brow and gave her a pointed stare.
“Yes,” she whispered.
He took a few more moments to judge her response before standing up. “Good. Cause if I gotta chase you again, I won’t be as forgiving, sweetheart.”
Icy fingers of dread prickled down Shirley’s spine. They were going to have a talk later, and she could tell by his voice alone that he had more than a few things to say. But not now. For now, he was giving her some dignity by allowing her to eat and bathe. She couldn’t be any more grateful to him.
He turned to leave.
“Luke?” When he spun back around, she bit her lip but held his gaze. “Thank you.”
His frosty eyes melted. “You’re welcome, filly.”
With that, he left their room, closing the door gently behind him.
Eleven
Shirley’s bath worked wonders. The stiffness in her ankle eased somewhat, allowing her to put a little weight on it. She’d found a couple of robes in the bathing room and donned one, not wishing to dress fully. Despite the shudders that rippled through her at the thought of being so vulnerable in front of Luke, she swallowed her pride and remembered she’d given him the right to her body. However, that knowledge didn’t keep her from donning her chemise and drawers underneath the robe.
He was her husband. Her husband. That one little word seemed to chase away her fear at being intimate with him. Before her father had caught them in such a compromising position, she’d been poised and ready for his loving against a wall, nearly mindless with need for him.
Being his wife in every way couldn’t possibly be all bad. He’d brought out her wild side once. She was
sure he could do it again.
When she hobbled back out into their room, the aroma of meat and potatoes reached her from the vanity. But that wasn’t what caught her eye. Stretched out on the bed was Luke himself, with his arms behind his head, watching the bathing room door. Shirley gasped and held the doorframe for support.
“Luke!”
“Scare ya, did I?”
“I-I didn’t know you were back.” And that was the truth. She hadn’t heard him return at all.
“Probably didn’t hear me over all that singin’ you were doing.”
She smiled and looked at the floor. “I was only humming.”
“It was nice to listen to. Soothing.” When she didn’t say anything further, he stood and made his way toward her. His feet were bare—he wasn’t wearing his boots. “You look lovely,” he said.
“No, I don’t,” she retorted with a scoff. “My hair’s all wet and I don’t have any rouge.”
“You look lovely,” he repeated, this time taking a lock of her strawberry-blonde hair in his hand. The wet strands fell through his fingers and she couldn’t help but gaze into his face.
“The water’s still warm if…if you…want…to…” She couldn’t finish her thought. He grinned at her and her heart slammed to life.
“Why, Mrs. Austin,” he said softly. “You’re shakin’ like a virgin on her wedding night.”
Shirley’s mouth suddenly went dry. She licked her lips.
“You’d best go sit in that chair and eat your food before I do something foolish, woman.” He was still smiling. If she didn’t know better, she’d think Luke enjoyed making her flustered. “But after you eat, all bets are off.”
She didn’t like his tone. Not one bit. “Did you eat?”
“I did,” he answered, unbuttoning his shirt. “Hurry up. I won’t be long.”
With a wink, Luke retreated into the bathing room and shut the door, leaving Shirley breathless in his wake. How could she eat now with those words hanging in the air between them?
Somehow she managed to make it across the room and plop down in the chair. She tried to ignore the splashes Luke made in the room beyond, but it was nearly impossible not to imagine him naked. What would he look like without his denims? Shirley had never seen a man unclothed before, and as she sampled the food he’d brought for her, she pondered what his body might look like.
Shirley forced herself to swallow. The food was wonderful, probably ordered from McHale’s up the road. She used to love eating there, but hadn’t gone recently due to her father’s poor profits. What would his business be like now that she had married? If she were to live with Luke, then who would run the shop day to day? Her father obviously couldn’t do it himself, not with his poor health. He’d need to hire help. Help he couldn’t afford to pay.
Once Shirley was finished with her food, she wandered to the window and noticed it was getting on in the day. How long had she been asleep in the desert before Doctor Newcomb and his nephew had found her? How long was the ride back to town? She had no idea. All she knew was she had an entire evening—and the whole night—alone with her new husband.
The knob to the bathing room clicked, and Shirley jumped. Luke’s blue eyes scanned the suite, looking for her. He hadn’t bother dressing fully, either. He’d found the other robe and sloppily tied the belt around his waist. His bare feet poked out at her, but this time, they were accompanied by lean, strong ankles and the calves of his masculine legs.
His hair had been merely finger-combed. It was still wet and sticking up in places, but Lord above, he struck her, at that moment, as the most glorious man in the world.
He spied her at the window and closed the bathing room door behind him. “Did you eat?”
“Yes,” she answered. He glanced at the vanity to confirm her words.
Luke drew in a deep breath and held it a moment before puffing it out his lips. “We need to talk.”
“I’m sorry,” she blurted, too nervous not to confess her true feelings. “For leaving you. I’m sorry, please believe me.”
“Sorry that you got caught?” he said, sauntering over to her. She backed away until her backside hit the sill of the window. She should have expected the venom in his voice, but it still hit her like a runaway stage.
“No, I was a coward. I was terrified. My father held his gun to your head, Luke! I was still reeling from that when I realized we were married. I began to think about what marriage meant, about how—”
“It means that you’re my responsibility now,” he said, interrupting her. “If your father was fool enough to give you to me, then I was fool enough to take you.”
Shirley winced. “I was angry. At the both of you. I couldn’t take it. I felt trapped.”
“How do you think I felt?” he asked as a muscle ticked in his jaw. “I never asked for your hand. I never got down on one knee, but sure as shit you’re wearin’ my name, filly. And no matter how we got to this point, I don’t ever back down from my responsibilities.”
“I thought you didn’t want a wife. I thought I was doing us both a favor.”
“What I wanted doesn’t amount to a hill o’ beans anymore, Shirley. We’re hitched whether we like it or not. You can’t run away from that. Don’t matter if you’re in Gideon’s Gulch or New York City. You’re Shirley Austin now, and nothing short of divorce will change that.”
Her eyes rounded as panic lit in her belly. “Divorce?”
He must have seen the terror in her eyes. Or maybe heard the squawk in her voice. Luke took his hand and cupped her cheek. “I don’t ever back down from my responsibilities,” he whispered a second time.
“I’m sorry,” she said again, this time her lip trembling while her eyes brimmed with tears. “For everything. It’s all my fault! I didn’t mean for you to be saddled with me. I didn’t know my father was still awake. I didn’t—”
He silenced her with his finger on her lips. “It’s not your fault.”
Shirley tried hard not to break down at the tender look he gave her.
“If you remember,” he murmured, lowering his head. “You told me to go away. I said no. This entire debacle rests on my shoulders. And I accept that. You are not to blame, honey.”
With a cry, she flung herself at him, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He stumbled but held her and breathed deeply against her exposed shoulder, raising every hair on her skin.
“What I don’t accept, Shirley,” he said ominously, “is the fact that you tore off on your lonesome. On a horse that spooks easy. With an improperly cinched saddle. You could have killed yourself out there in more ways than you can count.”
Shirley tried to pull away, but his arms wouldn’t let her. He wasn’t finished.
“You scared the piss outta me, filly. Thought you’d left for good. I had all kinds of thoughts. Abducted. Raped. Left for dead. Take your pick, none of them were good. I swear I aged a decade in one night. Fightin’ with your pa, wondering where you’d gone. It wasn’t until Chuck’s mare returned to the stable that we even had an inkling of which way you’d gone. And it was by the grace of God Doctor Newcomb found you and that I found them. You can’t imagine the relief that came over me.”
Luke pulled away and held her at arms’ length. His hands gripped her shoulders and his eyes cut into her like daggers.
“Don’t you ever, ever, ever do that to me again, you understand?”
She nodded vigorously. He cocked his head and waited for her spoken response. “Yes, I do,” she said as a tear slipped her defenses.
He stared into her eyes for a long time without saying another word. His thumb erased the trail of her tear and he shook his head with a slight grin. “Maybe you are to blame after all,” he said softly.
Shirley’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“I told ya you wanted a ruthless lover. You wanted to know what it was like, being with an untamed man. Maybe you roped me in on purpose.”
She couldn’t do much more than stare at him agape.
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“Do you remember what I said to you the last time I kissed you?”
“Yes,” she croaked.
“What did I say?”
“You know what you said.”
He gave her a gentle shake. “What did I say, filly?”
She sighed and squinted at him darkly. “You said you wanted to taste me.”
“Taste your what?”
“Luke—”
“Shirley?”
“I can’t say it!”
“Oh, honey,” he replied with a devilish gleam in his eye. “You’ll say a lot worse before the night is through.”
She blushed and bit her lip. He waited patiently for her to tell him what he’d wanted to taste, and cocked his brow in expectation. “My…cr-cream.”
Luke gave her one hell of a wicked grin. It had the power to turn her bones to mush. “Get on the bed, woman. And take off your robe.”
Twelve
Shirley hobbled to the bed, all the while taking in deep gulps of air. Her skin crackled, as if electricity raced through her limbs, and her nipples were sharp points. Luke was going to make love to her. He was about to show her just how ruthless he was, and she couldn’t help the fear-laced excitement coursing through her veins.
He’d walked away from her, to the saddlebags she hadn’t noticed by the door. With nervous tugs, she pulled on the tie to her robe while watching him rummaging through his bags. She was suddenly aware that her body ached for him. Regardless of their circumstance, Luke Austin was the only man to bring her to the brink of insanity. The only one who’d promised her sinful delights. The only one, she realized, that she’d ever wanted to make love to.
Perhaps he was right. Perhaps she did want a ruthless lover.
“While you were bathing,” he said, finally turning from his bags. “I swung by your father’s shop and told him you were safe and sound. And with me. He didn’t take too kindly to that, but not much he can do about it now, is there, honey?”
Shirley let the robe slide off her shoulders a moment before she sat down. With the look in Luke’s eyes right now, she didn’t dare disobey his previous order about getting on the bed. But confusion knit her brow when she saw what he held.
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