“People died that day.” He shook his head. “That isn’t uncommon, I’d witnessed it before, but that day it included a couple. Newlyweds.”
“Oh, Jake,” she whispered, and her hold tightened on his hand.
He shrugged, trying to shake off the image. Yet, it remained, making him wonder how he’d react if Stacy…
Giving his head a hard shake, he forced the thought to stop there. “I didn’t know them,” he said. “But, then and there I decided I’d had enough of gambling.”
Her eyes were closed and Jake took a deep breath. He wanted to tell her the rest, how when he’d sat down to win back Stacy’s necklace he’d realized it hadn’t been the woman’s death that changed him, but the fact she and her husband had had what he wanted. Had always wanted. Love.
All of a sudden he grew tongue-tied. Shifting, he dug into his pocket, pulled out her locket. “Here.”
She blinked several times, staring at the chain looped over his finger. “Where’d you get that?”
“I won it off Ratcliff.”
Chewing on her bottom lip as she took the necklace, she stared at it for several minutes before whispering, “But you don’t gamble.”
Jake searched for something to say, but nothing formed. The way her shaking hand wrapped around the pendant told him nothing.
None of her usual confidence shone in her eyes as she lifted her chin. “Did you tell me all that because you could never…” She took a breath that made her shoulders rise and fall. “Love a gambler?”
That had once been his thought, but it no longer rang true. Jake wasn’t sure what washed over him. Guilt about his past, shame for blundering this moment, or a form of relief because she’d misinterpreted it all.
He took her by the upper arms. “No. I already love a gambler.”
Hesitancy hovered in her blue eyes, yet hope flashed there, too. “You do?”
“Yes, I do.” Cupping her cheeks, he bumped his nose against hers. “I love you, Stacy Blackwell, the gambler that you are.”
Her velvety gasp had his heart kicking his ribcage.
“I told you about St. Louis because I want you to know I’m not an outlaw or wanted somewhere and why I spent the last three years relieving newcomers of their guns before letting them enter Ma Belle’s and scolding schoolkids for stealing apples. It’s been an easy life. A good life. But…” He paused, not only to inwardly accept his confession as accurate but to make sure he had her full attention. “When I won that necklace off Ratcliff I realized gambling had just been a cover for what I’d been searching for my entire life.”
Frowning slightly, she asked, “What’s that?”
The air was snapping again, as were his insides. The desires that were never far away when she was near were back. Full force. “You. The person I’d give my life for.”
Her response was a soft whimper as her hands folded around his neck and her lips met his. Seconds later the kiss was hotter, stronger than the previous one had been.
“Jake,” she said between smaller kisses. “I love you, too. And I never, ever want to be parted from you again.”
The entire world seemed to stop spinning for a moment and then a thrill shot through him, had his blood rushing and his hands seeking to touch every conceivable inch of her. Kissing her cheeks, her neck, her chin, anywhere his lips could catch a taste of her sweet skin, he admitted, “I didn’t know where to start looking for you.”
He found her mouth again, caught her tongue and tasted her until he was ready to burst before breaking away.
With flushed cheeks and smoldering eyes, she kissed his chin. Her fingers worked at the buttons of his shirt. “I was coming back. I just needed help.”
His focus was slipping. “Needed help?”
“Mmm, yes,” she mumbled, now kissing his chest.
He should stop her, step back before the riot her hands and lips created inside him overtook his final coherent senses, but desperation had a hold on him. A need so powerful he took her lips again in a flood of kisses that ran from short and frantic to long and greedy.
During a brief pause, she gasped against his lips. “Upstairs.”
The plea in her voice, the taunting fingertips slipping inside his waistband, had him sweeping her off her feet and into his arms while his mouth devoured hers. It wasn’t until he was climbing the wide stairway that his sense kicked in and Jake came to a stumbling halt so fast she almost flew from his arms.
Her squeal was more of a giggle, and at the top of the stairs, when he paused to lower her to the floor, her hold on his neck tightened.
“Stacy,” he said, nuzzling her temple. “If I carry you down this hallway…” The consequences were great, but so was his love. Torn, he couldn’t find the words to explain why they should stop now.
Caressing his neck, keeping his desires on the surface, she rested her head on his shoulder. “I know what’s going to happen in my bedroom, Jake. It’s what I want.”
“I want it too, but—”
“But what?” She kissed his neck again, nipped at his earlobe, and then lifted her head, met his gaze. “You’re going to marry me, Jake McCrery.”
Solid determination, without a hint of acting, shone in those blue eyes. A wave of something he could only explain as ecstasy rushed through his bloodstream. “I thought you didn’t want to get married,” he said, half teasing.
“I didn’t,” she answered solidly. With the corners of her mouth curling, she added, “Until I met you.”
He could have shouted to the stars for all the jubilance racing inside him. “You are going to marry me,” he said, “if I have to drag you to the church.”
One fingertip traced along his collarbone and down, making circles on his chest as she said, “There won’t be any dragging involved.” The end of her nose touched his. “Don’t make me wait, Jake. Please. Not tonight, and not for our wedding day.”
It wasn’t until he laid her on the bed and stretched his length beside her that Stacy knew his answer. Waiting would have killed her, it almost was right now. Over the moon and back again with delight, she grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him, rolling on top of him as an entirely new sense of expectations zipped over her skin.
Gamblers were bold, audacious at times, and she was a thoroughbred, had been since the day she was born. Though she had no need to ever play at a table again, she was fully prepared to use all she knew in this—the game of a lifetime. Pushing onto her knees and hoisting her skirt, she sat straddling his waist and started unbuttoning her dress.
The glitter in his eyes, the shine on his face, had her heart thumping and her insides swirling. He grasped her hips, held her in place as he scooted to the top of the bed and propped himself against the headboard. Then his hands took over for hers.
“You never told me why you needed help,” he said, moving on to the next button.
Stacy’s mind was focused on the pleasure that had her breasts growing heavy and tingling, therefore it took a moment before she recalled the conversation downstairs. Rubbing the hard muscles of his forearms as his fingers continued unfastening her dress, she answered, “I needed someone to take over winning back what people kept losing.”
“Why?”
His hands slid between her dress and camisole and his thumbs rubbed the peaks of her breasts, making her nipples throb. The sensation was so unique it stilled her breath and set her center pulsing against his hardness. Closing her eyes, she glorified in the awareness until a wild, burning ache spread through her entire body.
Pushing at her sleeves, tugging her arms free, and appreciating the ability to speak while excited beyond belief, she answered, “Because I’ve grown fond of this town. I don’t want my friends losing all they have at a gambling table.” Once free of the top half of her dress, she found the bottom of her camisole—utterly thank
ful she’d never grown accustomed to wearing a corset. When the material passed her head, she caught it with one hand and dropped it on his chest.
Another wave of satisfaction spiked inside her as his eyes and hands settled on her breasts. “Besides,” she said, willing to admit how much she loved him. “I wanted to make you jealous.”
His hands cupped both breasts firmly; it was heavenly.
“I’ve been jealous of any man who even looked at you since the moment I first saw you sitting at Edward’s table.”
Her spine threatened to melt and the desire spiraling from her center intensified. “You have?”
“Oh, yes, I have.”
He took her mouth and kissed her until Stacy thought she saw stars. When they separated, she could have been boneless, that’s how soft and supple her body felt. Yet at the same time a powerful, restless yearning had her pressing her core against him.
“Jake,” she pleaded, “can we stop talking now?”
The sound he made was between a groan and a chuckle as he grasped her waist and lifted her. “Come here.”
A gasp turned into a moan that trembled on her lips as his mouth settled on one of her breasts. Stacy dug her hands into his hair and clutched tightly as the warmth, the moisture, the pleasure, threatened to send her into delirium.
By the time he’d sampled her other breast, the sweet, yet fierce torment raging inside her had Stacy climbing from his lap and squirming out of her dress. Jake was there to help her, slowly easing the material down her thighs.
“Shh, darling, there’s no rush,” he said, kissing her cheeks.
“Then you’re not feeling what I’m feeling,” she insisted, kicking as the dress slipped over her knees.
Unlacing her boots, he chuckled. “Oh, believe me, I am.”
“Then hurry up,” she groaned.
For years, patience had been a friend of hers, giving her the endurance to wait until the last card had been drawn. By the time Jake had removed both her boots and stockings, Stacy’s fingers were balled into the bed covering. It was all she could do to keep from grabbing him and demanding he take her now. Before the fire inside her burst into flames.
After he tossed aside her pantaloons, she took hold of his arms and pulled him forward. He kissed her, endearingly sweetly, but it wasn’t what she wanted. Pushing his shirt of his shoulders, she begged, “Jake, please, I—”
“Shh,” he insisted, smothering her protest with his lips. The kiss didn’t stop with her mouth, but blazed a trail to her breasts again, which had her collapsing back on the bed and her head rolling from side to side as the ecstasy consumed her.
Lost in the pleasure, a sweeping wave of contentment shivered across her skin when Jake eased away. The smile on her face increased as he undressed and she watched, somewhat languidly considering the way her womanhood pulsed and sent a coil of desire to clatter against the back of her throat.
His body was magnificent, a work of art that had pride welling inside her. A jarring jolt of excitement shot through her when her gaze landed on one particular part. Never shy and always curious, Stacy examined it thoroughly as he moved closer, and lifted her arms in welcome when he leaned over the bed.
“Oh, Jake, I do believe I’ve won the jackpot,” she whispered, catching his broad shoulders.
His eyes held all the glory of the sun as he ran his hands down her sides, fingers lingering for a moment on her breasts.
“I beg to differ, darling. I believe I’m the winner.”
Her giggle was cut short when her breath wedged in her lungs. His hands slid downward toward her hips and the fire centered there, stimulating her more with each touch. There was a tiny inkling of fear, for she’d been told it may hurt the first time, yet the need burning inside was so intense she could only imagine that not satisfying it would be more painful.
Jake’s hand slid to her inner thigh and Stacy bit into her bottom lip. No protest harbored inside her, yet for the first time in her life, doubt humbled her. “Jake?”
“Shh, darling, there’s nothing to fear.”
His kiss, full of passion and love, reignited the hunger in her soul, and in that moment, as her heart swelled, all doubts and fears disappeared. Her hips rose, opening herself for him to explore.
Worlds collided inside her head, one as glorious as the other. Jakes hands and lips took her from one to the other so fast she was beyond recognizing what sent her reeling over the edge of one plateau and onto another. When the heat of his mouth, the searching of his tongue ,moved between her legs and found her center, she gasped, moaned and begged him to stop, though silently, for in truth it was utterly splendid. She clamped one hand on her mouth to keep from crying out in bliss as her thighs trembled, signifying some great and mystifying force overtaking her.
Firmly, with both hands, Jake held her as he suckled and drew on her until a great commotion twisted her hips. Arching into the tumult, she dug her heels into the mattress as a long, low moan rumbled up her throat and over her lips, while a gratifying release fanned through her system.
Barely catching snippets of air, she held her arms up when Jake scaled her body with his and grasped his wide shoulders with both hands as his thighs settled between hers.
“How you doing?” he asked, kissing her neck.
“Wonderful,” she answered, on the verge of squealing with glee.
“Ready for more?”
“You bet.” Arching her hips, she met his thrust with a natural ease she hadn’t known existed. The connection, his entrance, was incredible, surpassed all she’d already experienced, and the quick, snapping bite of pain, so insignificant, had her wondering why others complained of it. She’d have endured ten-fold that minor twinge for this moment. When Jake was finally, wholly and completely hers.
Kissing him, she claimed the deepest caverns of his mouth as her very own and pressed her palms into the curve of his back, riding the slow, easy rhythm he began. With perfection, his hot, fabulous length slid in and then slowly withdrew, only to enter her again. The repeats, over and over, were agonizingly superb.
Each stroke took her higher, as he had before, to worlds that didn’t exist anywhere else. They were more beautiful this time, more intense and fiery because Jake was with her. Kissing her. Loving her.
She rode each wave like an ocean liner, peaking and plummeting with flawlessness that captivated her completely. Passion built inside her, between them, making the thrusts faster, the waves higher, and she clutched his solid form harder. Her mind swirled, her breasts ached, and her core swelled with pressure that stiffened her hips.
“Jake,” she shouted, arching against his chest. “Jake!”
His moan contained her name, and it reverberated in her ears, over her body as a brilliant storm erupted between them, showering her with satisfaction that only increased when he tightened his arms around her and his kiss swallowed her whimpers of pure fulfillment.
Chapter Seven
Propped against the headboard, pillows behind his shoulders and Stacy, wonderful, loveable Stacy, snuggled against his side, Jake brushed a kiss to her temple. Now able to think, his mind more stable than earlier, he asked, “So, I’m supposed to be jealous of Sinclair?”
He was, there was no doubt about that, but he was also jealous of his deputy and every other man Stacy looked at.
Curling her leg so her knee settled between his thighs, she giggled. “Well, that was my plan.”
“Oh?”
She nodded. “I needed to stack the deck, and Adam fit all the things I needed in one.”
“And those are?”
Between her knee and the fingertip circling his nipple, he didn’t hold much hope in lasting long enough for her explanation. He caught her hand, kissed a knuckle.
She sighed and tilted her head to look up at him. “One, he is to win
back anything Ratcliff swindled while I was gone. Two, he was supposed to pretend to be…well, my beau, if you were showing indifference to me, and three—”
“Indifference?” He caught her beneath the chin. “I’ve never shown indifference to you.”
Her blue eyes were sparkling like they held stars. “You did say I wasn’t a very good kisser.”
“I lied,” he admitted.
“I know,” she answered smugly.
The back of his head bumped the headboard as he laughed. “All right, what’s three?”
“He is to ask to court Emma.” She laid her head on his shoulder again. “Just until you and I are wed and she sets her cap at someone else.”
“And Sinclair’s doing all this because…”
Tracing a circle on his chest again, she said, “Because he owes me a lot of money from a few years ago. We’re even once he completes his duties.”
Jake shook his head. She was a wonder. The marvelous little gambler.
Quiet for a few minutes, she let out an audible sigh before asking, “Jake?”
His eyes were closed as he luxuriated in the satisfaction surrounding him. “Hmm?”
“Could you talk to the township council?” She shifted, sat up beside him. “Ask them to pass a law that no bets over fifty dollars will be allowed anywhere within the township?”
Brushing a clump of hair off her bare shoulder, he kissed the area before asking, “Why?”
“Because, even after Adam and Ratcliff leave town, another gambler might arrive.”
He lifted a brow. “So?”
“So, I don’t want people losing their homes or businesses.” Leaning close, she rubbed her nose against his. “Because my gambling days are over.”
The question was out before he could stop it. “They are?”
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