“A good wife wouldn’t be so demanding. She’d accept her man knew what was best for her. She’d understand he was trying to protect her. Do you think it’s easy for me? I want to sink inside you so deep and never be parted from your sweet body again as long as I live.”
“Then you’ll have to punish me, because I can’t be a good wife. I just know what my body and my heart want. I want what you want.”
He gave a rumble of a laugh. “Punish you I will.” He rolled her over on her stomach and held his hand high, but instead of spanking her, he brought his hand down and caressed her butt, kneading it then slipped two fingers into her pussy.
“Oh.” Her muscles twitched. This was new. What was he up to this time?
He eased his hand toward her rear again and parted her cheeks.
Her eyes widened as he leaned over and nipped the cheek of her ass then inserted a finger into her back entrance. She pushed up on her elbows. “I think you’re in the wrong—”
“Not at all. Just relax. You wanted me to fuck you and I will. Just can’t do it the usual way. Get on your knees, keep your ass in the air.”
He was going to fuck her. Okay, she was more than ready for that. She leaned down on her forearms and, butt in the air, she asked, “You sure about this?”
“I’ll stop anytime you tell me to.” With one hand, he was already rubbing the head of his Johnson up and down her pussy then up higher. With his other hand, he reached for her breast and tweaked the nipple. The sensation was unbelievably sensual and unexpected.
She heard him spit in his hand, looked over her shoulder and saw him rubbing the moisture on his Johnson. Then he began to nudge his cock into her rear passage. She arched backward and groaned, and the head of his cock slid inside her body. She tensed. Couldn’t help it.
“Take a deep breath. Relax.” Giving her body time to adjust, he moved deeper into her canal then slowly pulled back. “You okay?”
She nodded then moved with him. He reached for her nub and massaged it as he thrust in and out. She met him stroke for stroke, her body burning all over. His pace increased until he was gasping along with her. Perspiration, both his and hers, mingled. Her back and his belly slapped together like wet bursts of applause.
“Can’t hold any longer.” He shoved into her one last time and cried out.
The pulsations of his cock, so deep within her body, sent wave after wave of heat and took her over the edge. Beneath him she collapsed and trembled while her pussy throbbed like a drummer’s call to war.
He pulled out, and she rolled over on her back and cast a lazy gaze at him. He lay beside her, his head resting on his hand, his eyes half closed. “That was sure different. What do you do for an encore?”
He grinned then left her bed and walked over to the wash basin. Over his shoulder he laughed. “An encore? That was the encore, missy.” He began bathing his Johnson.
“But—”
“No buttocks about it. That’s all there is tonight.” He reached for a rag and dampened the end of it then walked back over to the bed. “Turn over.”
“You want to do that again?” As good as it felt, she sure as hell wasn’t ready for another go.
“Just turn over and quit smarting off. Surely you trust me to wipe your bottom. Seems to me you’re the dainty type, even if you carry on like a wh—”
“Like a whore? Is that what you think I am?”
“No, but you sure do a fine imitation.” He shook his shaggy head. “Didn’t know regular women…” His words faded away as he stroked her bottom, gently cleansing her.
“Not sure I care for the comparison.” Still, his tender ministrations to her backside were putting her in the mood for more loving—of the more conventional kind.
He used the other end of the towel, dried her then caressed the curves of her hips and finished by giving her a light tap full on the butt.
“So, that—what we just did—won’t make me pregnant either?”
“Not unless Tyler women are made different from other women. Babes aren’t in the habit of coming out that passageway.”
He set a knee on the bed then lay down beside her. “Darlin’, you’re unlike any woman I’ve ever known. You seem to enjoy all the things we’ve done as much as I have.”
“What’s not to enjoy?” She levered up on an elbow to face him. “Didn’t—you know—your first wife—” She broke off embarrassed to ask him. “None of my business. I’m sorry.”
She watched him heave a sigh and shake his head. “Annie—she was loving, but gentle and shy. Not—”
“Not like me.” She turned away. “Sorry, I had no right.”
He rested his hand on her shoulder and rolled her back to face him. “It’s only natural you’d want to know.”
“Will you stay the night? I get so lonesome here all by myself. Almost wish pa and the hands would hurry up and get back from Abilene.”
“Not so sure I want to run into your pa before the wedding. Just as soon have that a done deal when he comes home.”
“You’re the sheriff. Why would you be afraid of him?”
“Man has a temper and a keen eye. Wouldn’t do for him to roll in and find me here.”
“The earliest they’ll be home is tomorrow, midday or later. You could get up at sunrise, and no one would ever know the difference.”
He rubbed his chin. “I’m giving your offer some serious thought.”
She insinuated her leg between his strong thighs and scooted closer. “I wish you would. Surely you have something else to teach me?” She cupped one of her breasts and offered it to him. He groaned and positioned himself over her, latched on, kissing, sucking and grazing the taut nipple, while he slipped two fingers into her core and a third finger up her ass and started moving. Her walls clenched his fingers.
“Touch me,” he gasped.
“I want you inside me. All of you.”
“No. Touch me.”
Reading the desperation in his tone, she grasped his swollen cock, circled it then slid her hand up and down his length rapidly as he’d shown her only the night before. Together they moved and came in a shuddering climax as one.
As he murmured sweet words in her ear, she snuggled into his arms, secure in his presence and his love.
Chapter Eight
Star gazed at her reflection in the looking glass then gave a pat to her hair. Not bad for having to do it herself. Her mama had a way with hair, but she wasn’t here. And it was a good thing she wasn’t because she’d be having a fit over what Star was about to do.
Only two more days until she and Cord were wed. This afternoon he’d sent word by his brother Nash he’d see her again tonight. What new way to make love would he teach her this time?
Or would he finally give in and truly make love to her? Not that she didn’t enjoy all the other methods he had of pleasuring her and himself—she did mightily. But it just seemed as if something wasn’t right if he couldn’t find it in his heart to make love to her the way men and women had made love all through time. Is that why he left in the early morning hours without waking her?
She stopped. Listened. The sound of agitated horses nickering and stamping their feet reached her ears. What now? She’d fed the two horses, her mare and another saddle horse, earlier. Still, she’d better check.
She set the brush on the small oak dressing table and headed downstairs.
She emerged from the stables. The horses had quieted down and nothing else was out of place. Still, she’d be glad when Cord came to say good night. As many nights as she’d spent alone on the ranch, she’d never been afraid.
In the distance a coyote howled, and a shiver slid up her spine. She folded her arms across her chest and rubbed her arms. Something just didn’t feel right. The bright prickles of stars couldn’t make up for the fact there was no moon tonight. Only the dim light from the kerosene lamp in the kitchen provided the barest bit of illumination. Most of the area between the barn and the house was in complete shadow.
&
nbsp; A rush of feet. She started to turn then a hand was clapped over her mouth. “Mm-uh!”
“Quiet or I’ll slit your fucking throat.”
A pair of very strong arms crushed her to his body. She fought, swinging her elbows into his ribs and kicked back at his knees.
No good.
A second pair of hands grabbed her wrists and tied them with what felt like rope. The hand over her mouth was removed, but before she could scream, something—a kerchief, most likely—was stuffed into her mouth, gagging her almost to the point where she couldn’t breathe.
She kicked forward and back.
“Tie her fucking feet, before she breaks one of my legs and runs off.”
The second voice was guttural, but oh-so-familiar.
Her half-brother, Tom.
“Mm-unh!” What the devil was he playing at? Why treat her like this? She’d never done anything to him, unless you counted being born into the most miserable family in the entire state of Texas.
“Her horse’s in the stable,” her brother said. “We’ll throw her across it and lead the mare as we go.”
Entirely too quickly Dolly was led from the barn, already saddled, and the two men picked her up and slung her over the mare’s back like a sack of feed. Her head hanging down left her so dizzy she wanted to pass out, but she was too damn mad.
Oh, just give her a chance and she’d get even.
Still, she strained to hear what they were saying. What was her demented brother’s plan?
Kidnap and ransom? Would Cord pay to get her back? What if he was glad she was gone and out of his hair?
“Appreciate the help. Won’t forget it,” Tom said.
“Hold on now. You said there’s a reward in this for me.” Again the unfamiliar voice, probably one of her brother’s gang.
Reward? Maybe Teddy Darwin died from a measly little knife wound. Granted it was rather close to his shriveled manhood.
“Don’t have a mind to split it.”
“Fifty-fifty—that’s what you said.” Tension tightened the partner’s tone as he insisted.
“I reconsidered.”
Not good. Tom was tricky and not to be trusted on a good day. Surely his partner had enough sense not to challenge him.
“B-but you said enough for us to clear out and start new lives if we want.”
Ah, stuttering. The partner was starting to panic. Maybe she should, too.
“I can have a better life with all of it.”
Then a grunt. “You sumbitch. You gutted me.” A muffled thud.
Silence.
Her mare whinnied then pranced in an uneasy side-step or two. She tried a soothing croon, hoping to settle her mount.
Next she heard her brother grunt and the sound of something being dragged away.
Disbelief and now fear set her heart to pounding. Her brother just killed a man. What would he do to her? Would he really slit her throat like he threatened?
Not until he collected his reward.
“Gotta head on outta here.” He walked past her and snatched up the mare’s reins then mounted his horse. “Places to be. Folks to see.”
Didn’t make sense her brother would turn her over to the authorities, since he was on the run himself. Had to be her mother or Darwin. Had they already followed her here to Texas?
Without much more than a warning, “Hyah!” the horses took off at a rapid clip. Her body jostled and slid about. Fearing she would be flung from the horse’s back, she pressed her elbows into the horse’s flanks on one side and knees into the opposite side, hugging as tight as she could.
How far would she have to hang on like this?
Though Cord knew the trail to the Tyler ranch by heart, he kept a firm grip on the reins, and picked the way down the hill and into the valley leading to the spread. The night was a rare dark one. No point in injuring a good horse in a headlong rush to get laid.
Nights turning cooler, too. Before long it’d be fall.
He was later than he said he’d be. Hopefully she’d still wait up for him. As anxious as she was for lovemaking, she probably was. First, he’d had to settle a dispute between two drunks in town. Both now resided in his jail with Nash pulling guard duty overnight.
He shook his head. Star’s coming back to Kenton Valley was more than he deserved. Yes, he’d loved his wife Annie, but not like he’d loved Star. Annie was a good wife. But maybe he’d been half-hearted in the way he loved her. No doubt she’d been a maiden true.
But loving Star was akin to being an opium eater. He couldn’t get enough of her. And she seemed to feel the same way. Or maybe she just wanted to get away from her drunkard father.
Couldn’t blame her for that.
In two days they’d be hitched good and proper. In two days she’d expect him to be a real husband and love her the way a man should.
How could he risk her life for his own selfish needs? The west was hard on women. Birthing was hard, too. And being shot in a holdup was totally unexpected. Could he risk losing another wife and child? But he couldn’t imagine the rest of his life without Star in his bed.
After being shot, Annie went into early labor and suffered for four long days. Her screams tore out his heart, until the end when they grew faint and fainter. Unable to stand it any longer, he pushed aside the sad-faced women who attended her laying-in to hold Annie’s hand at the end.
So far gone, she didn’t recognize him or even know he was there. Her poor face was ashen and clammy with sweat.
The baby they finally pulled from her was pale and limp.
He held the tiny mite; tears streamed down his checks. Her hair was wild and black like his. If she’d lived, she’d have been a beauty.
Could he put Star through something like that? Could he stand to lose another woman he loved? Especially the love of his life?
No, he couldn’t. Wouldn’t ever make love to her that way.
Before he knew it, he was at the Tyler ranch. His heart kicked up at the thought of seeing her again. No matter how much she begged him, he wouldn’t give in to her demands. Still, she was an enthusiastic lover, this love of his life.
He brought his horse to a halt and dismounted, looped the reins at the hitching post. Brushing off the trail dust from his trousers, he strode up the steps and knocked on the door.
And waited.
He knocked again.
Maybe she’d gone to sleep. He tried the latch. It opened easily. “Star?”
Maybe she was already upstairs waiting for him. He bounded up the stairs and tapped on her door. “Star? It’s me.”
Dang it. She was playing some game with him. He opened the door, but her bed wasn’t disturbed.
A sense of unease collected on the back of his neck and sent a shudder through his body. He quickly checked the other two rooms on the second story then ran downstairs.
He headed to the kitchen where he found a kerosene lamp, burning low and smoking. The back door was standing open.
Maybe she was out in the barn.
He ran to the barn, but she wasn’t there and neither was her mare.
Where the hell could she have gone this time of night…in the dark?
Then he noticed it. The metallic copper smell of it. Blood.
His heart slammed in his chest and he could barely breathe.
If someone…anyone…
He followed the scent until it grew stronger. He stumbled across a body. He crouched down and ran his hands over it. Felt of the head and bearded face…a man’s.
Thank God.
Relief shot through him in a rush of emotion. Weak as a newborn babe, he sank back against the wall of the barn.
Had someone attacked her? Had she gone for help?
No, he would’ve met her on the trail.
Dang it. Why tonight with no moon? He couldn’t tell much except the dead man had been gutted.
Focus.
Wouldn’t be able to see well enough to trail her until daylight. Better go back to town, assemble a search
party and be ready to ride at first light.
Chapter Nine
After what seemed like hours, they stopped. Her half-brother yanked Star off the mare and threw her on the ground. The rocky terrain cut into her back and tore at her arms. With what little breath she had left, she groaned.
“Shut up, you whiney bitch.” He loomed over her and yanked the gag from her mouth.
Finally.
Able to breathe freely, she gasped for air. “What the hell are you up to, Tommy Tyler?”
He flashed his usual shit-eating grin. “Got to make a living somehow.”
“Heaven forbid you should run the ranch. Our drunken pa doesn’t seem to give a hang about it anymore. If Ben Davis weren’t such a good foreman, there wouldn’t be a ranch to run.” She struggled against the ropes binding her. Somehow she had to get loose before whatever he planned took place.
“Don’t like cow-poking all that much. Not very rewarding.”
Her bladder about to burst, she struggled more. “Untie me. I have to use the facilities.”
He laughed, a raw, empty sound echoing through the dark Texas night. As far as she could see, the land was flat, and the night sky was as wide as it was dark with no sign of the moon. The ride hadn’t been as long as it seemed. There wasn’t a hint of daybreak yet.
He got down in her face. She caught a whiff of his whiskey breath. “Facilities? Honey, you’re in Texas. Ain’t no facilities or outhouses for twenty miles.”
“You know you can’t get away with this.”
He let out a bark of laughter and hooked his thumbs in his braces as if he’d accomplished something noteworthy. “’Pears to me I already have.”
“Cord’s coming after me and he’ll find us. And now you’ll hang, for sure.”
He pulled a flask from his hip pocket and took a long swig then wiped his mouth with his shirtsleeve. “You need to shut up before I shove this gag back in your mouth. Why’d you have to come back anyhow?”
“I didn’t care for Boston.” And certainly not my mother’s choice of a husband.
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