“So you think you can just ride into town and treat us how you please?” Allie asked.
Clint could see lengths of brass railings and shiny new spigots hanging here and there on the walls. “We’re at your shop?”
“That’s right. It’s closed up, so nobody’s going to find you.”
“Besides,” Gwen added, “it’s not like anyone’s really looking for you anyhow.”
“What’s this about?” Clint asked.
Allie rushed forward with enough speed to make Clint’s hand reflexively jump to the gun at his side. He didn’t clear leather, but he kept his palm resting against the grip.
Allie drew in a quick breath as she looked down to see the pistol that had almost been drawn. “What’s the matter, Clint? You nervous?”
“Not yet.”
“Well, you should be,” Gwen whispered into Clint’s ear. “After what you did to me. Did you think I wouldn’t tell my friend about what happened?”
“And then you were acting so cordial with me,” Allie purred into his other ear. “Did you think you could have us both?”
Clint stood perfectly still. Although he was a little uneasy about where the conversation could be headed, he couldn’t deny what the women’s warm breath on his skin was doing to him. When he spoke again, he knew he had to pick his words very carefully. All he could come up with was, “No?”
Allie’s lip curled into a subtle pout. “You didn’t? That’s a shame.”
Taking that as an invitation, Clint leaned over to plant a kiss on Allie’s lips. She was surprised for a second, but quickly gave in to his advance by pressing her body against him. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, which brought a soft moan from the back of Allie’s throat.
At first, Clint could only feel Allie’s hands sifting through his hair and rubbing against his chest. Soon, he could feel another set of hands slowly massaging his shoulders and then raking down along his back.
“Save some for me,” Gwen said.
Clint turned toward the sound of Gwen’s voice to find her anxiously awaiting him. Before he could kiss her, she practically devoured him with a kiss of her own. Compared to Allie’s soft, eager lips, Gwen’s were more urgent and her tongue wrapped around his own as if she’d been starving for him ever since they’d last been together.
When Clint was finally able to break away long enough to catch his breath, he looked back and forth between the two women. “I’ve got to admit. I wasn’t expecting this.”
Allie smiled warmly and eased the top of her dress down to reveal her breasts. Large, dark nipples capped the delicate flesh. As she slid her dress down even farther, Allie leaned her head back to fully savor the way the material brushed against her naked skin. After a few more wriggles, she was able to drop most of her clothing to a pile around her feet. That left her only wearing stockings held up by a lacy garter. “Well, you’d better get used to the idea,” she told him. “Because it’s too late to go back now.”
Clint had no intention of going back. On the contrary, he was aching to go forward. His erection strained against his jeans as he reached out to wrap his hands around Allie’s waist. The instant he pulled her even closer to him, she writhed against the bulge in his crotch and made a contented moaning sound that he could barely hear.
“Let’s just see what all the fuss was about,” Allie whispered. She then unbuckled his belt and pulled his jeans open so she could reach inside. By the time Allie had slipped her fingers around the shaft of his cock, Gwen was tugging his jeans all the way down.
“Didn’t I tell you?” Gwen teased.
“You two talked about a whole lot when I wasn’t around,” Clint said.
“Of course,” Allie replied. “But I wanted to see for myself.” Keeping hold of him, she lowered herself to her knees and placed her lips around the tip of his penis. Allie moved her head forward so his rigid member was enveloped by her mouth until she’d taken nearly every last inch of him inside.
Clint let out a long breath as he felt Allie’s tongue go to work on him. Just when he’d collected himself, he looked over to see Gwen staring straight at him. She wore a wicked smile and didn’t get a chance to say a word before Clint reached out for her.
Allie’s head bobbed back and forth as she sucked him like a stick of candy. Meanwhile, Clint had grabbed Gwen by the back of the head so he could give her a powerful kiss. He figured by the look in her eyes that she was a wild one and he was proven right when Gwen responded to his kiss. Her tongue wrestled with his while Allie hungrily sucked him.
“All right,” Clint said. “Let’s see if I can give you both something to talk about after I’m gone.”
He eased back from Allie’s face and helped her to her feet. Then Clint took hold of Gwen and reached up under her skirts to pull down her undergarments. She wasn’t wearing much beneath her dress, but what she did have on ripped all too easily when Clint got ahold of it. Even though he hadn’t meant to tear the clothing, Clint saw a definite spark in Gwen’s eyes when she heard the tearing of fabric. He reached through the shredded material and found the thatch of hair between her legs that was every bit as soft and curly as the hair on her head.
Gwen’s pussy was warm and very wet. The instant Clint’s fingers touched the tender lips, Gwen grabbed his shoulders and shuddered. Clint looked over to Allie and found her standing nearby, watching. Her naked body looked creamy in the pale light spilling in from outside and her stockings made the texture of her skin seem even more attractive. Allie’s hands wandered over her own body and her breasts heaved with her quickening breath.
Clint moved his hands over to Allie so he could guide her down to the floor. He lowered himself onto his back and she settled right on top of him. Allie straddled his hips until Clint could feel her stockings brushing against the outside of his legs. She was slow to lower herself any farther, but was unable to hold back for long once she felt Clint’s rock-hard erection graze against her vagina.
For a few seconds, Allie simply rubbed herself against his cock, savoring the way it felt on her. Clint put one hand on her hip and used the other to guide himself inside. Once he’d penetrated her, Allie dropped all the way down to envelop him completely.
“Oh, God,” Allie moaned. “Oh—” Her next words were taken away as Clint grabbed both hips and began pumping up into her. She quickly adjusted to his rhythm and placed her hands flat upon his stomach so she could grind her hips every time he impaled her.
Clint looked up to find Gwen watching with wide eyes. He lifted one hand and motioned for her to come closer and she was more than willing to oblige.
Gwen knelt down and ran her hands along Clint’s chest. She was still wearing her dress, although the upper portion was bunched around her waist. That way, Clint could pull on her skirts to guide her toward where he wanted her to be. She caught on quickly and hiked up her skirts so she could reposition herself accordingly.
Straddling his head, Gwen held her skirts up and looked down as Clint lifted his mouth to her dripping pussy. He flickered his tongue quickly over her pink lips, which caused Gwen to reach down and grab a handful of his hair.
“Good Lord,” Gwen moaned. “You are full of surprises.”
Clint couldn’t see Allie any longer, but he could still feel her riding his cock. When he looked up, his eyes got a healthy dose of Gwen’s pendulous breasts swinging freely above him. She squatted down even lower so he could truly bury his face between her legs. Clint slipped his tongue inside of her and moved it in and out at the same pace as Allie bouncing up and down on top of him.
After a few minutes, Gwen tightened her grip on Clint’s hair. He flicked his tongue even faster until he could hear her crying out as she climaxed. Although he was a little afraid she might rip out the hair she was holding, Gwen loosened her grip as her orgasm passed through her. She then stood up and stepped aside so Clint could once more see Allie.
Eyes clenched shut and her face twisted with the effort of grinding on top of him, Allie moaned
steadily as her pussy tightened around Clint’s cock. Now he could see that Allie had been the one holding Gwen’s skirts out of the way. Allie still held on to them as if she were gripping the reins of a bucking horse.
Clint rolled Allie onto her back and got on top of her. She wrapped her legs around him, but didn’t seem to have the strength to keep her head up. Instead, Allie closed her eyes and moaned breathlessly as Clint thrust his hips between her legs. It didn’t take long for him to push her over the edge and Allie writhed against the floor as her own climax worked its way through her.
Pumping into her one last time, Clint caused Allie to let out one more groan that echoed within the otherwise silent shop. He then stood up and set his sights on Gwen. “Turn around,” he told her.
Gwen’s eyes lit up and she did as she was told.
Clint stepped behind her, pulled her skirts up, and positioned her so Gwen was facing a stack of anvils piled in one corner. The moment he placed his hand upon her lower back, Clint felt her lean forward and stretch her backside toward him. He rubbed Gwen’s ample hips and then entered her from behind.
Gwen grabbed the anvils in front of her and braced herself as Clint began pumping into her again and again. She grunted and groaned while occasionally looking back at him to show the wicked smile that had overtaken her face.
After driving all the way into her, Clint reached around to cup Gwen’s breasts. She straightened up so he could move his hands freely over the front of her naked body and she spread her legs a little farther apart so Clint could move a little easier between them.
Soon, Clint felt Allie’s bare breasts graze against his back as she came up behind him. She reached around to let her hands wander up and down over the muscles of his chest and down to his abdomen. As Clint thrust in and out of Gwen, Allie rubbed against his thigh and waited for her next turn.
NINETEEN
The next morning, it seemed as if the entire town was suffering from the festivities of the night before. The air wasn’t just quiet. It was absolutely still. When a breeze did manage to wind through the streets, it only managed to blow around some tattered banners or other trash that hadn’t been picked up. Shutters creaked and a few dogs barked, but there weren’t many clues that Red Water wasn’t just a recently abandoned ghost town.
When the line of horses left the stable and marched down Sales Street, the crunch of hooves against dirt echoed like gunshots down the empty avenues. There were nine men in all. Marshal Flynt led the group, with one of his deputies on either side. Behind the lawmen, Clint and Arvin rode with another posse member who had been playing the banjo during the previous night’s dancing. The remaining men had all been at Dale’s, but a vast majority of the group who’d heard Flynt’s speech hadn’t bothered leaving the comfort of the saloon.
The deputy to Flynt’s left was the tall redhead who’d dragged Clint into the alley. He looked even more imposing on the back of a horse and he didn’t try to hide the distaste he felt when he turned around to catch sight of Clint. “Is this all we could find?” he asked.
Flynt didn’t bother looking behind him. “This’ll be plenty,” he said with a casual wave over his shoulder. “I’m surprised we got this many to join up at all.”
“Weren’t there more that signed the book?”
“Sure there was, but they ain’t here now.” Flynt finally did turn around to get a look at the men behind him. “More reward for us!”
Despite the fact that his comment only got a few half-hearted nods from the posse, Flynt settled into his saddle as if he were at the head of an adoring army of followers.
Clint merely shook his head and kept his chuckle to himself as much as he could. “Where are we headed?” he asked.
“Out of town and to the northwest,” Flynt replied.
“I could have figured out that much on my own. I meant where are we headed once we leave Red Water? Do you know where those outlaws are?”
“You said they attacked you,” the redheaded deputy growled. “Maybe you should ride on ahead and see if they can chase you around some more.”
“That’ll be enough of that kind of talk, Tom,” Flynt scolded. “All these men have signed on to help, so I won’t let you fight among yourselves.”
“Good,” Clint said. “Perhaps I can turn my back on him without worrying he might try to bushwhack me.”
“Bushwhack, like hell!” Tom snapped.
“That,” Flynt said quickly, “was a misunderstanding. We’re all on the same page now, so let’s act like it and get this job done.”
Tom glared at Clint with a look in his eyes that would have withered most healthy oak trees. Clint stared right back at him, without bothering to stare the redhead down. Instead, Clint kept one hand wrapped loosely around Eclipse’s reins and the other resting within easy reach of his holster.
“Why the hell are we riding with him?” Tom asked.
“Because there ain’t no reason not to,” Flynt replied. “If anyone else has a problem with Clint Adams, tell it to me right now!”
If anything, the rest of the posse merely looked interested in the possibility of seeing Tom and Clint throw punches right then and there. When Marshal Flynt looked at them each in turn, the locals shrugged their shoulders or shook their heads.
“Good,” Flynt said proudly. “That’s settled. Now, Clint. You were the last one to lay eyes on these killers. Do you know which way they went?”
“I was camped east of town,” Clint explained. “I led them away from there to the north and circled back around until I left them in the dust. After that, I didn’t have any cause to follow them. I suppose I could take you back to the camp and I can pick up their tracks from there.”
“You ain’t the only tracker in this outfit,” Tom said.
“Fine,” Clint replied. “I’ll just follow your lead as you wander around looking at every last dent or shoeprint left behind by any number of horses ridden by any number of—”
“Fine, fine,” Flynt cut in. “Clint’s camp is as good a place to start as any.”
Pulling back on his reins, Clint stopped just short of Red Water’s northernmost limit. “Just head east and I’ll catch up to you men shortly.”
“What are you doing?” Tom asked.
“Just playing a hunch before I take you to my campsite. It won’t take long to see it through and it may pay off sooner than you think.”
“What hunch, goddamn it?”
“I could explain myself and waste more time or I can see it through and meet up with you before you’re a mile outside of town. Either one doesn’t make much difference to me.”
“Just let him go, Tom,” Flynt barked. Shifting his eyes to Clint, he added, “And you . . . whatever you’re doing be quick about it. If we don’t see you inside half an hour, you’d best keep riding and pray we don’t cross paths again.”
“You run off with your tail between your legs and you’ll see me again!” Tom added. “And it won’t be friendly like the last time we met.”
Clint rode away without looking back. More than anything, he wanted to laugh in Marshal Flynt’s face and punch Tom in his. Since he didn’t think he could act concerned enough to make either of the lawmen satisfied, he just threw a quick wave over his shoulder.
The only thing that made him want to come back to that posse at all was the fact that Flynt and his men were acting even more suspicious now than they had before. They were definitely up to something and Clint truly wanted to be the one to bring that plan to light and crack it wide open.
TWENTY
Clint had come up with his idea sometime after last night’s supper. Unfortunately, he’d been too busy dancing to do anything about it that night and he’d had his hands full all the way until early morning to do anything then. He’d truly almost completely forgotten about it until he was on his way out of town.
It was a short ride back to Tanner Hall and he jumped down from the saddle before Eclipse even came to a stop. Snapping the reins around a hitching
post, Clint bolted inside to have a talk with some of the workers in the place. A few minutes later, Clint made the rounds to a few more spots in town and then hopped onto Eclipse’s back one more time.
Clint figured he could still catch up to the posse with plenty of time to spare and fought back the urge to get a cup of coffee somewhere before subjecting himself to the company of Marshal Flynt and his gang of assholes. The only thing that allowed him to do that was the thought of how sweet it would be to throw whatever those lawmen were doing right back in their faces.
If Clint had ever had any doubt that something fishy was going on, it would have been wiped away by seeing the lawmen that morning. From the moment Flynt and Tom had met up with the rest of the posse, they’d been chomping at the bit to get out of town, even when it was clear they didn’t have a solid plan to go after those outlaws.
No lawman formed a posse unless he already had somewhere for them to go. The whole reason for a posse was to collect able-bodied souls who could lend numbers to go against armed fugitives. If Flynt didn’t know where to find Laramie and his gang, he had no need of more men.
If there was some other pressing need to assemble a posse, Clint would have seen it just by keeping his eyes and ears open. Nothing had happened in town the last few days and the rowdy Founder’s Day celebration would have been the perfect time for more trouble to be stirred up. As far as Clint could tell, the only thing that happened during Founder’s Day was that the women of Red Water got hot under the collar.
There was no law against that.
The only thing that bothered Clint more than Flynt’s peculiar behavior was the fact that he couldn’t put his finger on the reason for it. If the lawman were just up to shady business, Clint might have just left him to it. But Flynt was gathering armed men and putting them to use under the color of authority. It wouldn’t take a brilliant tactician to cause some trouble with a posse at his command.
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