Hannah's Gold

by Hannah's Gold (lit)

  Now, however, they realized, he’d done more than let down his customers. He’d let down his family, as well. At least their father had the good fortune to find a good investor who had faith in his business. It also gave his sons chance to get away for a while until the furor surrounding Rose and Jed died down. Yet poor Hannah had been let down by so many men: her father, her brother, and now this man.

  So, what made Luke think he could do any better? After Jed got himself mixed up with the Chandler girl and supposedly made her pregnant, he’d gone out of his way to prove the child couldn’t possibly be Jed’s, causing a dreadful scandal himself. As far as he was concerned, the girl had deserved everything she got. She was a scheming and manipulative little harpy, who carried a child as the result of an affair she’d had with a married property developer. The man had dropped her like a ton of bricks the minute she told him about it.

  He and Jed had worked for him, through their father, and her flirtatious dalliances with the man hadn’t gone unnoticed. When he stated categorically that he didn’t want her around him anymore, they assumed he’d merely tired of her attentions or that his wife had found out. Rose had bawled and wailed, but her tears soon stopped flowing once Jed offered her a few kind words.

  Of course, they hadn’t known about the baby then.

  Jed had had a fancying for her for a while. Unlike other women, however, Rose had always kept him at arm’s length. Any other man would have taken the hint long before. Not Jed. He saw her as a challenge.

  Usually, women melted like putty in his hands, although, with his quick smile and little-boy charm, there was nothing little boy about Jed. His strong masculine physique and flirtatious compliments had the girls buzzing round him like bees round a honey pot. But not Rose. Rose thought herself too good for him.

  Then suddenly, out of the blue, Rose changed from cold, aloof ice maiden, into a hot little madam. She welcomed his brother into her bed before he had chance to draw breath. After months of rejection and being snubbed, she was his for the taking. Every spare minute he had, he spent with her. Her charm and sexual prowess had him captivated. Jed even began to think himself in love.

  Their father hinted that a union between their two families could be good for business, especially as Rose Chandler came from a good family.

  A marriage looked imminent, particularly when she told him only a couple of weeks later that she carried his child.

  However, Luke had his doubts. He’d noticed Rose’s change of dress-style for a while. He even expressed his concerns that she might be hiding a secret. Had Jed actually seen her totally naked, he asked him? Or did they confine their romping to the dark or under the covers? Hadn’t he noticed how her breasts had swollen and suddenly become more lush? Was she hiding something beneath her clothing that she didn’t want him to see?

  As usual, Jed couldn’t see further than his cock.

  It was only when Rose lost the baby that Luke later discovered that the baby was too well-grown to have fit the dates Rose had given. Rose had well and truly hoodwinked his brother. She’d never been interested in him at all, except as a man who could provide her child with a name. Moreover, once she and Jed had married, there would have been nothing he could have done about it.

  When Luke confronted her about it, she’d wept and wailed, accusing him of maligning her good name, but she never actually denied it. She said that his brother had taken his pleasure out of her, so it was only fair that he should do the right thing by her. Rumors already ran rife that she’d lost a child. She had a reputation to uphold. Jed had taken advantage of a poor defenseless girl. He should pay the consequences.

  Luke disagreed. He’d been prepared to keep it all quiet if she’d just let Jed down gently but she’d kicked up such a fuss. He quickly decided Jed wouldn’t be the one to come out of it all dishonorably. Even though his brother should have kept his dick in his pants as far as the little shrew was concerned.

  However, as it happened, he didn’t need to worry about leaking the news. Servants had a good way of spreading the dirt too when they wanted to, and Rose had never endeared herself to any of hers. The argument between them was clearly heard by all and, before long, everyone knew about Rose Chandler’s indiscretions.

  Then the bank crisis occurred. It forced their father to look elsewhere for finance. When he found it, there was no immediate room for his sons as well so Luke took the opportunity to whisk Jed away before Rose really got her vengeful claws into him. He’d already got his revenge by leaving her to face the scandal alone. The long, hard ride they found on a cattle drive was just what the two men needed to put everything behind them.

  It now struck him as funny how paths in life crossed. It had all coincided with the bank collapse, and here he was, worrying about the daughter of the very man who had almost ruined his father. So, with his head, full of reflection, he sat in the darkness on Hannah’s front porch until he heard the soft sound of footfalls. She’d risen from her bed and stepped out into the moonlight.

  For a few minutes, he sat quietly in the shadows, watching her. He couldn’t drag his eyes away from her slender figure. Her nightgown buttoned high to her neck, with long sleeves that reached her wrists. In fact, the whole garment hung shapelessly over her slight frame but, where it draped, it touched the delightful curves he’d had the pleasure of handling and stroking only a few short hours before. They were a feast for sore eyes. In the moonlight, as his eyes devoured her, Luke saw two tight little buds protrude against the loose cotton as it brushed against her nipples.

  He’d told his brother earlier that they wouldn’t touch her again. It wasn’t right to take advantage of a defenseless woman. Jed had just laughed at him when he used that phrase. He told him there was nothing defenseless about Hannah. If he’d seen how she’d been panting, all hot and bothered, while she’d peeked through the crack in the door, watching him scrub his armpits and wash his balls, he wouldn’t be bedding down in the straw, with the smell of horses filling his nostrils. He’d be treading a pathway to her bed and supping on the sweet honey that had run smooth and creamy from her tight little cunny.

  Jed was right. That’s exactly what he should have done. Unable to sleep, Luke couldn’t stop thinking about her. He’d had to grab his cock and squeeze hard to stop the blood rush and ease the ache in his balls. However, it didn’t stop the thoughts rolling round his brain that it might just be to his advantage if this Jacob didn’t make it back. Over supper, she’d said that she loved him. But then, she would, wouldn’t she? Barricading her emotions behind a huge wall, by telling them she loved this man, it also told them she was off-limits, despite everything that had happened earlier. Nevertheless, as the evening wore on, it didn’t stop him noticing that she found it harder to meet his eyes than Jed’s, and when she did, Luke saw the same thing nagging at her as at him. That a mighty big battle of lust was going on between them.

  Maybe it was because neither of them had been intimate with the opposite sex for a while, he thought logically, if it was possible to think logically with an excess of hormones rampaging through his body. They were both pretty much sex-starved. All the same, whatever it was, it also gave Luke a mighty strong urge to help her out of her present predicament. No decent woman should have to put up with the likes of McCabe. That was why he said that he and Jed would stay awhile. He’d make sure that he and Jed would devise a plan.

  “Ha!” Jed mocked yet again as they’d bedded down for the night, talking for a while as they always did. “And what do you reckon we do? Go in all guns blazing and shoot the fuckers up? I think if we do that, the only ones to end up six feet under will be us.”

  “We didn’t do so bad earlier,” Luke replied, a little naively, but at the time, he’d not had the benefit of Jed’s earlier conversation with the two whores.

  Jed filled him in on all the details. He told him that the women were very proud of what they’d done to help Miss Hannah but that they would now need to watch their backs. McCabe owned the town and everyo
ne in it. He had his sights set well and truly on her, so it might be best if they left as fast as they came.

  Jed also told Luke he’d laughed at their concern, and said that he had no intention of leaving—at least, not until he’d fucked them both again. The women had giggled and teased him mercilessly, and had been more than happy to let him do so. They told him they could at least say they’d been screwed by one man hard enough to stand up to McCabe. His blatant bragging had brought the first smile to Luke’s lips in a while. Nevertheless, Jed’s revelations made Luke’s head spin. He’d always been the one with the ideas but, this time, none would come.

  What was more, he couldn’t get past wondering why he really wanted to help her. What would be in it for him? A spirited little filly, she certainly fired him up in a way no other woman ever had. Was he thinking of persuading her to go away with him?

  And then what?

  Settle down?

  Marry her?

  It scared him to think of such things. He’d only known the woman a few hours, yet she’d gotten right under his skin. Jed always said he was a sucker for lost causes and vulnerable creatures. Maybe he was right. Left here alone, she was very vulnerable, and her plight appeared a definite lost cause.

  Eventually, worn out with all his thinking, he decided he’d do what he could to help her before moving on. Maybe if he screwed her a few more times, her novelty and freshness might wear off, but still unable to sleep, he walked back to the house and sat on the porch for a while, until she walked out.

  Hannah gave a start when he spoke. She smiled a little unconvincingly at him.

  “The night’s too hot and I’ve got too many things going on in my head,” she said.

  Despite the brave face she put on for the rest of the world, Luke sensed her unease.

  Damn everyone for having left her alone, and so friendless, in this godforsaken town. He wanted to fold her into his arms and comfort her as he had earlier. But he didn’t. After earlier, he needed to administer some self-control. A rush of blood already coursed through his veins. Her nearness and soft, musky scent played havoc with his senses. Using her body to satisfy his lustful needs would make him as bad as McCabe.

  The air crackled between them and the silence that surrounded them pounded in their ears. Their eyes locked and, for ten heartbeats, neither spoke. Eventually, Hannah gave a little cough to clear her throat.

  “About earlier,” she said quietly. Her big, round eyes still captivated Luke’s. “I don’t usually, I mean, I never, I haven’t—”

  “Done anything like that before?” he finished for her.

  She swallowed. Her pretty throat quivered as it rose, and fell with the awkwardness of her admission. She shook her head.

  “Then I’m honored that you chose me and my brother,” he smiled, gently reassuring her.

  “I don’t know what came over me. I-I think I should be feeling terribly guilty about it but, but I don’t think I do. Is that so awful?”

  Luke reached out to her and brushed a stray lock of hair from her eyes. Its softness flashed a tingle of static from his fingertips down into his groin. It paused momentarily on its journey to flip his heart. He caught his breath as he watched her eyes darken, almost black with yearning. Whatever was happening to him, he knew she felt it too.

  She raised her hand and caught his huge hand in her tiny one. Hard work had roughened it but, to Luke, her delicate fingers felt as soft as driven snow. A fresh shiver snaked through his body. He drew her close, letting his free hand find the small of her back. The loose cotton of her nightgown compressed between his palm and her flesh. It molded against her soft curves as he pressed her to him. He felt every delightful undulation of her body against his as if nothing lay between them.

  In his arms, Hannah moaned. The breath caught and rasped in her throat. Her lips parted. Their soft fullness beckoned. She flicked her tongue across them, making them wet and shiny. Luke could scarcely breathe. Hot blood pulsated through his body. Desire crawled across his skin and invaded every erogenous zone he possessed. It sparked lightning bolts along every nerve in his body, charging it with electricity as he gazed at a woman he knew had the power to manipulate him to blissful peaks of satisfaction. His longing sharpened as lust cavorted wildly within him.

  In one swift, fluid movement, his lips met hers, working them in frenzied passion. Hannah opened her mouth in submission and to receive his probing, searching tongue. He slipped it inside the warm, soft cavity. As she met it with hers, their tongues danced and curled with a deep, powerful urgency.

  As Hannah’s body molded against Luke’s strong one, his cock, now a hard ridge, straining at the front of his pants, pressed hard against her belly. She raised her hips toward him. He gave a low moan, craving the breathtaking sensations that he knew this woman could provide. He felt her breathing become short, while ragged bursts trembled in her throat. Her breasts rose and fell rapidly against his chest. When they parted, she grasped his hand more tightly in her own and dragged him inside the house and toward her bed.

  And despite his earlier resolve, Luke let her.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Jed tethered his horse at the hitching post in front of the saloon. On the trail back into town, the sky had been clear, and the silvery light of the full moon had illuminated his way.

  The town was in darkness. Only a few flickering lanterns still lit up the saloon bar, with all quiet inside. It wasn’t like the rowdy singing and cavorting that would still be going on in the town they’d left yesterday morning. There, drinking and fornication would be going on until daybreak.

  Jed had woken when Luke crept from the stable. His brother had tried not to disturb him, but weeks of light sleeping out on the trail, when always on the alert for danger, was a hard habit to break.

  He’d lain for a while, listening to the mumbling voices up near the house. When it all went quiet, he’d dozed for a short time. He’d woken a little while later but his brother hadn’t returned. Jed wasn’t about to hand out prizes for guessing where he would be. However, they’d spent too long watching each other’s backs, so he rolled out of his bed and pulled on his shirt and boots.

  He made his way up to the house and slowly pushed open the door. He stopped for a moment and listened. He grinned at the sounds that met his ears. Grunting and groaning, and ooh-ing and aah-ing, along with heavy breathing and creaking bed springs, told Jed exactly what his brother was up to with the lovely Hannah. It amused him that only a few hours earlier, Luke had categorically stated they should keep their hands off her.

  For a moment, he felt tempted to join them. Memories of their earlier threesome threaded a pleasurable pathway into both his brain and his cock but, reluctantly, he decided he wouldn’t disturb his brother’s time with her. After all, he’d done enough fucking for the both of them with the two whores he’d left back in town. Luke needed a bit of catch-up time. Jed just hoped Luke wouldn’t get his fingers burned. One way or another, the woman had trouble written all over her.

  He sat on the rocker on the front porch for a while. Now wide-awake, he was in no mood for sleep so he saddled up his horse and followed the trail back into town. Maybe the two strumpets were still around. If not, he’d find some other soft, warm flesh to keep him company for the night.

  He pushed open the swinging doors. The place looked near deserted. A couple of cowboys, who had abandoned their game of poker, sat in a corner. They’d turned their interests on to three saloon girls who now paid them close attention.

  Another girl sat alone in the shadows. A large black, crocheted shawl partially covered her turquoise, satin dress. She pulled it tightly around her shoulders. The feather adornment that she wore in her long, dark, wavy hair had fallen askew. It wobbled to one side. She looked a little worse for wear as she slugged back whiskey from the glass sitting on the table in front of her.

  He recognized her as the Irish girl he’d fucked earlier. She obviously remembered him too. Her brief glance darted quickly across th
e room in his direction but she made no move toward him. She just poured herself another glass of whiskey and swigged it down in one go.

  Jed’s boots clip-clopped noisily on the wooden floor. His spurs jangled rhythmically with each steady footfall. The two cowboys and their girls paused to observe the newcomer for a moment. Just as quickly, they returned to their canoodling. The bar tender who’d been sitting on his stool, his head nodding in impending sleep, stood up sharply. He looked slightly bemused. Jed was sorry to have entered his saloon at such an ungodly hour. He imagined the man had been hoping to close up once the girls had taken the two cowboys to their rooms.

  “Evening, cowboy,” he greeted sleepily. “What can I get you?”

  Jed ordered another two whiskeys and tossed some coins onto the counter. He told him to keep the change. He carried the glasses across to the Irish girl.

  He expected a little more enthusiasm, especially after the good time he’d shown her and her friend earlier but she only drew her shawl more tightly around her shoulders. She idly stuck out a foot and pushed the chair beside her out from beneath the table so that he could sit down.

  “Thanks,” he smiled as he sat and set one of the glasses before her.

  As she turned to face him, he caught the full view of her face in the lamplight. The sight smacked him hard in the gut. It looked far from pretty. Her left eye was bruised, and a nasty cut to her upper lip had already scabbed over. The swelling surrounding it appeared extremely tender. Another bruise to her lower jaw looked sore.

  “Shit,” Jed exclaimed in concern. Stretching out his fingers, he gently touched the offending marks. “Who the hell did this to you?”

  The girl didn’t reply immediately. Instead, her eyes welled up and tears sat, like raindrops, glistening on her lower lids.