A Sheriff's Passion

by Michelle Beattie

  For a moment, he’d have sworn she was tempted. But then she shook her head. “No.”

  “I could stay, if you like. Keep you company.”

  Again, he would have sworn he saw a flicker of interest in her eyes. “That wouldn’t be appropriate either.”

  He cocked his head. He might have a chivalrous vein running through his body but there was much more scoundrel in him. If anyone doubted that they’d only have to ask Shane. Or, apparently, even Melissa knew it.

  “Do you always do what’s proper?”

  The sadness he’d managed to drive from her eyes away moments ago returned. Damn it, he should have left well enough alone.

  “We don’t all have the luxury of wandering without a care in the world.”

  Well, hell. Mitch watched her slip into the house, his conscience troubled. He should have never stopped. He should have turned around the moment he heard her weeping. He didn’t doubt she’d been crying over Shane when he’d first happened upon her. Just as he knew she’d been speaking of her brother at the last.

  A brother Mitch had played poker with just last week in Bozeman.

  Hell.

  He’d come outside to stop brooding.

  There wasn’t a chance of that happening now.

  Silver was certain her feet hadn’t touched the floor all night. Not only had Shane finally admitted his feelings, but he’d let his friends know as well. While she hadn’t missed Shane’s slight cringe when Wade had hollered, she’d chosen to ignore it.

  But a part of her wondered and worried. If there was enough leering and derision, would Shane change his mind? Would he remember all the reasons he’d fought his feelings as long as he had?

  Especially when one of those whispers reached Shane’s ears. He was quick to jump to his feet but Silver beat him to it. This was her saloon and she wouldn’t tolerate sass or insults in her own establishment.

  She whipped the glass from the table, tossed what was left of the drink in Ernest Wilder’s face. While she hated to waste good bourbon it was worth it to see the shock, then fury darken Ernest’s face.

  “Why you—”

  He shoved to feet and though he towered over Silver, she held her ground.

  “You don’t have to like me but I won’t be insulted in my own place. Now get out of here before I get my gun and force you out.”

  Shoving back his chair so hard it toppled to the ground, Ernest stormed from the saloon.

  When she was once again back behind the bar she said to Shane, “That’s exactly the kind of talk you’ve worked to avoid. It’s only going to get worse from here.”

  Though worry lingered in his eyes, he flashed her a grin. “You’re wrong, Silver. It’s only going to get better from here.”

  And now, at long last, Silver was going to see just how much better.

  She turned after locking the door. She’d already drawn the drapes closed. The saloon was quiet and softly lit and though there were tables to wipe, dishes to wash and a floor to mop, Silver’s only care was for the man walking toward her.

  Heavens but he was handsome. Tall, dark-haired, broad-shouldered, and long-legged. And the gun belt riding low on his hips just made her mouth water. But then, everything from the curve of his lips to the slant of his brow made her mouth water. She’d dreamed of his kiss all day and her blood heated with the thought of another. And another.

  His dark gaze told her he was thinking the same thing. And more.

  “I’ve had dreams about you and I alone in this saloon,” he said.

  His voice was smooth as good brandy; his stride long and confident. He tossed his hat onto one of the tables as he passed it, giving her an unobstructed view of his handsome face.

  Silver felt a clutch low in her belly.

  “Have you?” she asked. Though she was beginning to tremble, she wasn’t the least bit afraid. She slid her gaze down his leather vest and the length of his legs, up to his chiseled face. “I’ve had my own.”

  She heard his sharp inhale, saw the flex of muscle in his jaw. Silver leaned against the thick, wooden door for support. She licked her lips, drawing his eyes drew to the movement. He swallowed visibly. Her fingers yearned to trace the length of his throat, feel the pulse drumming in the hollow of his neck.

  He was close enough now she could reach out and touch him. Because she’d been denied long enough, Silver didn’t bother playing coy. She slid her hands up the slick leather vest covering his chest, clasped her fingers together behind his neck. She pushed onto her toes. Even then she had to tilt her head up to look him in the eye.

  “In your dreams did I do this?” he asked.

  His arm tightened around her, yanked her close. His other hand plowed into the hair tumbling down her back. He grasped a fistful of curls.

  Silver’s heart leapt to her throat. “Yes,” she whispered.

  “And this?”

  He tugged on her hair, drawing her head back and exposing her throat. He dipped his head, nuzzled the column of her neck then kissed her in the tender skin where her shoulder met her neck.

  “Yes.” She gasped as her senses exploded.

  The blood raging through her veins was on fire, so hot Silver was surprised it didn’t melt her skin. Shane’s scent wrapped around her, more potent than her best whiskey. Silver curled her fingers into his short hair, torn between holding him in place and pushing him away until her lungs were once again able to function.

  A task that proved impossible when he nibbled around her neck and lightly closed his teeth over her earlobe. Silver moaned, swayed. There was no pushing him away. There was only clutching him closer. But Shane had other plans. He lifted his head, scorched her with the passion in his eyes.

  “Did I do this?” he murmured.

  The rumble of his thick voice weakened her knees, but not as much as his kiss did when he closed his mouth over hers, when his lips pressed against hers. Silver’s eyes fluttered closed. The world spun. Dizzy, breathless, she clung to Shane. He answered with a low growl in his throat. He tightened his fist in her hair as his mouth continued to move expertly and seductively over hers.

  Silver’s body throbbed, ached in all the places that made her a woman. Despite what most folks thought of her, she wasn’t a whore but right then she felt wanton, bold. She loved this man and she wanted him. All of him.

  With that in mind, she opened her mouth, teased him with a flick of her tongue against his upper lip. Shane’s body tightened and he pulled her flush against him. His mouth claimed hers, his tongue building the fire between them higher and hotter. Even through her skirts there was no mistaking his desire and, with reckless abandon, Silver arched her hips into his.

  Shane’s body surged against hers, pressed her into the wood of the door. His kiss turned molten. His hands moved from her hair, over her shoulders, and down her sides. His thumbs slid over the swell of her breasts, but missed where she ached for his touch most. Her nipples were hard buds and they pressed against her bodice, demanding attention. But instead of touching her further, Shane ended the kiss, slapped his hands onto the wood on either side of her head and pressed his forehead to hers.

  As they were both gasping for air, it took a moment for Shane to speak.

  “Hellfire, woman, you know how to tempt a man.”

  Because she could feel his arousal, knew he wanted her as much as she wanted him she said, “In my dreams we continued this upstairs.”

  His pushed back, looked at her. It was as though she’d opened an oven door. Fiery heat blasted her.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. But...”

  Silver wasn’t usually shy. In fact, she was known to be direct and preferred it that way but, in this case, with the man she loved looking at her, she suddenly felt an overabundance of shyness. It crept up her neck and onto her cheeks, leaving a trail of heat behind. She dropped her gaze to his dusty black boots.

  “I want you to know, despite how forward I’ve bee
n, this will be a first for me,” she admitted.

  Shane gripped her chin, forced her to look at him. “First of all, Silver, I never doubted that. As for being forward”—his thumb skimmed her bottom lip—“I don’t mind a bit. In fact, feel free to keep on doing just that.”

  She realized then that was exactly what she’d feared, that she’d disappoint him. But she didn’t doubt his words. Not only because of the heat in his eyes, but because this was Shane. Because she was safe with him, and he’d take as much care with her as she would with him. If they led with their feelings, with their hearts, how could it not be right?

  “I really want to kiss you again.”

  She placed her hands on his chest. His closed around her back. He smelled as he always did, of leather, soap, and mountain air. His vest was smooth and cool against her palms. There was nothing else cool about him. Heat scorched her back where his hands spread wide over the silk of her dress. Fire blazed in his eyes. Through her petticoats she felt the warmth of his thighs, or maybe it was just the feel of them against her own that caused them to burn. Caused everything in her to burn.

  She’d wanted this for so long that standing there in his arms, his face close to hers, it didn’t quite feel real. Yet she knew it was because she felt his breath float over her cheek, felt the thumping of his heart beneath her palm. Hers was a beating drum behind her breasts. Breasts that were heavy and achy. Breasts that yearned to be touched.

  “I thought you wanted to kiss me.”

  “I do.” And lifting onto her toes, she raised her mouth to his.

  This was more than a kiss, more than the start of a seduction she knew would end upstairs. This was a promise, a culmination of all the wants, dreams, and desires they’d each carried in their hearts over the years.

  While part of her wished she could stop time and hold this moment forever, the rest of her couldn’t wait to see where they were heading.

  As though thinking the same thing, Shane took the kiss deeper, longer, teased her with the flick of his tongue. His arm tightened around her waist, drawing her in tight.

  “Shane.”

  “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Maybe he wasn’t, but his mouth sure was. It swept over hers, nibbled over her jaw and feasted in the curve of her neck. Silver dug her fingers in his shoulders and clung as her knees trembled beneath her. She’d never considered herself a greedy person but she never wanted these sensations to end. The stubble scraping along her jaw, the hot, seductive breath on her neck, the delicious trail of his tongue toward her décolletage.

  Up until the night she’d opened her saloon, Shane had either only seen her dirty and dusty from the work needed to turn a run down barn into the glowing establishment it was today or he’d seen her in simple day dresses or skirts and blouses. But the night of the opening she’d curled and coiled her hair, worn the blue silk dress Letty had agreed to sew for her as it nipped her already small waist and the corset lifted her generous breasts. The skirt was just short enough to show off her kid boots and the lace of her petticoats.

  The hours of preparation, sweat, and dozens of blisters and bruises she’d accumulated building the saloon had been worth it when Shane had walked in and lurched to a stop. He’d looked poleaxed, which was the best compliment Silver had ever received.

  He had a similar look now as he drew away, his heavy-lidded eyes as much on her breasts now as they’d been that night. And then, like now, her breasts wanted more than just his eyes on them.

  The corners of his mouth lifted. “Remember that day in the saloon, after Scott abandoned Katie in the street and she’d gone home furious? Remember when it was just the two of us left in here?”

  Her own mouth curved. “That was the first time you ever kissed me.”

  He leaned in, stole another long kiss that left her breathless. “It was and do you know what I was thinking? I was thinking how I wanted to lay you onto one of these,” he said, moving forward until the backs of her thighs caught a table’s edge. “I was thinking how I wanted to take you right here in your saloon.”

  “Here?” Silver’s breath caught in surprise.

  Not only because he’d considered such a thing, but now she was as well and the image of her and Shane naked in the middle of her saloon? Her belly clutched. Her nipples pebbled.

  “Right here.”

  He ran his hands into her hair. She had no idea her scalp was so sensitive but it was like tiny explosions all over her head. She fisted her hands into his vest as he leaned her back, slanting his mouth over hers and scorching her from the inside out with the heat of his kiss. When her back was on the table, when she could use her hands for things other than holding on, she dug her fingers into his thick hair, gripped his head, and answered his kiss with a hunger that matched his.

  Hellfire.

  She was making it impossible to take things slow. But she wasn’t an easy woman to dismiss. Hell, he’d tried for years to ignore his desire for her, to pretend she didn’t affect him as no other woman ever had. He’d suffered many a lonely night, had woken up erect and gasping after vivid dreams.

  And knowing tonight all those dreams were going to come true? He struggled not to rush things. But her lush curves molded to the angles and planes of his body. Her hands were in his hair and her mouth was moving under his. Shane explored the softness of her lips, and reveled in the tremors he felt coursing through her body.

  He knew just how she felt. He wasn’t steady either. But then he never was around her. From the beginning she’d kept him off balance. Sure, at first he’d been suspicious of how and why a woman would come to Marietta alone and set out to turn a barn into a saloon. Where was her family? How could she afford such an undertaking? How was a woman who looked like she did not married? He’d questioned her, watched her. Heck, he’d watched her when she hadn’t known he was watching.

  In time, however, after witnessing nothing but her working until she was weary, after watching her build Silver’s into a respectable and clean saloon, he’d let his suspicions go.

  It had been a relief when he finally had because it had been hell doubting her and wanting her all at the same time. Not that he’d ever acted on his feelings until recently but, from the beginning, he’d been drawn to her honey-gold eyes, her petite and lush figure. Her passion. She’d never taken any guff from him, had always been quick to challenge him.

  He ended the kiss, lifted his head, and watched Silver’s eyes drift open. By God, she was stunning. Her hair spread around her head like a silken, golden halo. Plump lips still wet from his kiss remained parted as though just waiting for his return. White, creamy skin spilled over her bodice and strained the fabric with each breath she took. He could look at her all day and never get enough of her.

  But it wasn’t only her beauty, which was incomparable. He loved talking to her, loved watching her work and take pride in what she’d built. He loved the light that came into her eyes when he walked through her door or they met on the street. And even when she was putting him in his place, he loved that she had the gumption to do so. Maybe that was why Melissa wasn’t the woman for him, because she was softer, more delicate. While Silver could be tender, she was also strong. Strong enough to run a saloon despite how folks looked at her, strong enough to stand up for her friends, and strong enough to fight back when a fight was required.

  Was it any wonder he’d fallen in love with her?

  And because he had and because she deserved better than to have her innocence taken on one of her tables, he backed away, held out his hand for her. “Let’s go upstairs.”

  While Silver dealt with the lights, Shane double-checked the doors were locked. They met at the bottom of the curving staircase where Silver waited, an oil lamp glowing in her hand and illuminating her face.

  He stepped close, cupped her cheek in his palm, and looked into her eyes. “I’ve never told you this before but you take my breath away. You have since the very first time I laid eyes on you.”
r />   She placed her hand over his. “I wish you’d have said something sooner.”

  “So do I.” He swept her up into his arms and began climbing the stairs. “But I intend to make up for lost time.”

  He hadn’t been upstairs since the workers were in the process of turning the hayloft into her personal rooms but he remembered that the one at the end, closest to the back door, was intended for her bedroom. He angled them through the doorway, stopped as the soft light from her lamp cast an intimate glow around them.

  She hadn’t drawn the drapes. Pale moonlight spilled in through the narrow windows flanking her wide bed. There was other furniture, he couldn’t have said what. All he cared about was laying Silver onto the bed and doing all the things to her he’d only dreamed about.

  Luckily Silver had the presence of mind to remember she carried the lamp and she set it on the dresser next to the door before he moved them further into the room. Before he laid her onto the patchwork quilt and followed her down. Before he set out to ensure she had no room for thoughts at all.

  Bracing his hands on the soft mattress, Shane once again brought his mouth to hers. He loved the taste of her, the softness of her lips, the boldness of her tongue. Changing angles, Shane stroked his tongue against hers, gently bit her bottom lip. Silver arched, pushing her generous breasts against his chest. God, it felt good. And it had only just begun.

  Shane gripped her waist, kneaded her flesh. Then, rolling to the side, he slid his hand up the bodice of her dress and finally filled his hand with her breast.

  Silver sighed into his mouth. He continued to kiss her, content for the moment to build their excitement while he molded her flesh to his hand, teased the hardened nub he felt through the layers of clothes. But the sounds coming from her throat, the way her hands raked through his hair, the way she kept pushing her breast further into his touch added fuel to an already blazing fire.

  Soon touching her wasn’t enough, not nearly enough. He needed to taste her. See her.