She gave him a look as if to say how hadn't he figured it out yet? Her hand waved imperiously in the air, but the words wouldn't come. Her rosy lips parted several times and closed again. Finally, she glanced away with a melancholy expression.
"Maddy, it's just you and me tonight. Don't bring the past in. It doesn't belong here with us.” Maybe if he rekindled her fire, she'd come around. “Let me see you."
She stayed his hand and choked out, “I'm a virgin."
Tenderness washed over him. He nodded. He'd suspected as much at Pointe Bluff. Part of the reason he'd walked away. Maddy deserved more than a quick toss in the hay, a hurried ‘thank you’ and him riding away into the sunset and feeling like a heel. He wanted to do right by her. Give her everything she'd ever want or need. “We'll do this slow so I don't hurt you."
He lowered his head, trailed feather light kisses down the side of her slender throat and opened the buttons on her shirt one by one. She moaned, fixing a searing hot gaze on his face. Her eyelashes fluttered up and down. He had the impression she'd confess something, but she pressed her lips together tightly.
He continued light, sensual kisses down her throat, past her collarbone and onto the swell of each breast. She rubbed her thighs together. Yup. He was turning up the heat in her gorgeous body. To think that he was her first awed him and made him want to protect her with a fierceness he'd rarely felt before. Jeb realised that he'd be getting a real reaction from Maddy. Which awed him even more.
She caressed the line of his jaw with a forefinger. “Why do you rob stagecoaches?"
Startled, he looked into her face. Lord, what was he doing wrong that she was thinking about stagecoaches and not about making love? “What brought that up?"
"I'll have to deal with you tomorrow,” she told him nonchalantly. “After tonight ends."
He nodded. “I see.” He returned to unbuttoning the last button at her waist, slipping the shirt from her pants. “Good thing you don't have your gun on you now. Is that it?"
"Kind of."
"Maddy,” he whispered, gazing at her naked breasts. Each nipple furled into a tight rosebud at his gaze—and the breeze, no doubt. “Put your gun aside for tonight. I'll give it back to you in the morning."
Her head rose up off the pillow. Her expression said that she'd kill him come dawn. “You stole it?"
"Not exactly. I borrowed it in case you were in the same bad mood as when you were shooting with it earlier back beside the jailhouse."
"Oh that."
Jeb didn't ask, didn't want to know what her ‘oh’ was about, but suspected it had a lot to do with him and his penchant for heisting money once in a while. He let her wiggle out of her pants and surveyed every inch of her stomach, her hips, her thighs, her shapely legs and her ankles, right down to her toes. “Do you know you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen?"
"Nearly naked?” Not surprised, not shamed. Simply curious.
"Yeah.” Lord, but he had to get inside her in a hurry or he'd lose his mind. Easy, Jeb. Easy. She allowed him to lift her against his chest and slip her arms out of the shirt. She smelled so enticing. Musky, leathery, all woman. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed deeply.
It was then Jeb recognised that this interlude before Maddy became the sheriff again was only partly about sex and lust. He couldn't understand the feeling. All he could think of doing was holding her like this forever and protecting her from all the evil that lurked outside her bedroom window.
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Chapter Five
Maddy listened to Jeb's heart beating under her ear. He'd become unusually still. Had he changed his mind? She hadn't meant to blurt out that part about why she always fell for the wrong men. Jeb didn't feel wrong to her at all. He felt too right, too masculine, too loving. Her breath caught in her throat. Too loving. She'd never had anyone in her life who'd loved her for being good old Maddy Haynes. The women stayed away from her since she'd been sheriff and the men kowtowed to her in disbelief that a woman could do exactly what a man could.
"Maddy?"
With a start, Jeb brought her back to the present. She tipped her head and gazed into his eyes in question. In the same way that often a gun spoke louder than words, her silence did so now.
The moon shadowed his face but she no longer feared him. She drew his hand to her thighs.
He smiled, reassured. “I want you to feel my cock in your cunt."
Her stomach somersaulted with pleasure at his use of the dirty words. Of course, she'd heard them before. The women in the brothel used them. When Jeb used the words, she wanted to act like a wild cat, throwing caution to the winds. “Fuck me,” she murmured, lowering her gaze, her cheeks flushing.
His soft laughter rang out. “Are you wet for me?” He slid his hand between her warm thighs. She opened up for him like a flower as he laid her back on the bed. His large fingers slipped to her clit, caressing the hard nub with exquisite tenderness.
Which wasn't what she wanted. “I want you inside me."
He echoed her. “You want my cock inside you?"
She giggled. “You're a bad boy, Jeb, if you can think I want anything else."
The soft laughter again. “Can you match my bad boy behaviour with bad girl behaviour?"
"Yes.” She could match him no matter what he did. In or out of bed, she thought ruefully but lost the thought as her muscles tensed and the ripples of one orgasm after another seized her in their grip.
"Now you're ready to take my cock in your pussy.” Jeb rose from the bed, leaving a cool breeze in his wake. Maddy lifted herself up on one elbow and watched him languidly as he stripped. Unbuckled his belt, no gun in evidence, slipped out of his pants and oh Lord! She swallowed hard. His shaft was huge, bobbing towards her as if it had a mind of its own. “How on earth are you going to fit inside me?"
"My little innocent.” The shirt came off and she got to see for the first time how lean and muscled his arms, stomach, and thighs were. He stood back for her to admire him. “You want to touch me?"
"Your cock?” She was having fun with these new words rolling off her tongue.
"You learn fast. You naughty, naughty girl."
It was her turn to laugh. It was amazing how someone so wrong could feel so darned right. “Did you think I wouldn't?"
"I have no doubts about you at all.” He knelt on the bed in front of her, took her hand and settled her fingers on his throbbing shaft. She admired the fine shape of the mushroom-shaped cap and the long, hard muscle protruding from between those lean, lean thighs. He ran her hand down to the opening of his thighs and along his testicles, finely coated with hair.
She sighed again. “You're so big.” She thrilled at the thought of his cock sliding into her. “Fuck me. Hard.” What had made her become so needy, so demanding?
He shook his head. His expression turned solicitous. “Not this time."
She grimaced but forbore asking more questions. Time for action. She continued to stroke and caress his balls and his erection, before she lay on her back, spread her thighs wide and gave him an imploring look.
"You're killing me.” His eyes widened as it dawned on him what he'd said.
She smiled. “What happened to ‘worry about today now and tomorrow later'?"
Jeb climbed between her knees. Affectionately, she saw his male nipples had hardened too and reached up to tweak them. “I like that,” he told her with a bemused twinkle in his eyes.
"Do me,” she whispered, as he circled her clit with the pad of one finger. Her hips bucked as a rigidness thrust gently into her sheath. She realised he was using his fingers. “No! Don't leave me again or I'll—"
"What? Arrest me for failing to perform?"
"Maybe.” She smiled even as his finger slid from her vagina. It was hastily replaced with a thickness that bordered on uncomfortable until he began pumping his fingers in and out in imitation of his cock.
His teasing question emphasised momentarily the gaping cha
sm between them. She was the law and he was a bandit. For a few hours, she told herself, she could find pleasure in his arms. Come morning, she had no idea what she'd do.
"You're pensive while I'm making love to you. What's going on in that pretty head of yours?"
The corners of her mouth lifted in a half smile. Reluctant to tell him her grim thought, she wove her fingers through his hair and pulled his neck down. “Kiss me,” she demanded.
"Once a sheriff, always a sheriff,” he chided lightly.
Isn't that what all this boils down to?
His lips sought hers out, sucking her lower lip as if it were a hard candy. He tasted so good, felt so good next to her. How could such a bad boy feel so right?
Jeb's fingers slid out of her pussy as he broke the kiss, lifted himself on his elbows and gazed into her face.
Man, he had it for her bad. Fucking the sheriff and all she had to do was slap a pair of cuffs on him and his freedom was gone like a dying ember flaring to life one last time.
Her fingertips grazed his cheek. “Why do you do it?"
Taken aback, all he could do was stare at her with an open mouth. “Do what?” he croaked. What kind of woman was this that she couldn't ease up for a few hours and relax into his lovemaking?
"Rob people."
His cock was far too insistent in its need for a simple question to prevent him from finishing what he started. Because no matter how many questions she pelted him with, he would make love to Maddy Haynes properly, like a gentleman to a lady would.
He pressed his lips together, gathered his flagging momentum, and replied curtly, “Why are you a sheriff?"
Her fingers fluttered to the quilt. She closed her eyes and her shoulders tensed defensively.
He sighed in resignation. “What do you want, Maddy? A signed confession?” Despite his misgivings, he eased into her sheath. She was so wet. He sensed her clutch the quilt in her curled fingers. He knew this was going to hurt. But only briefly.
She opened her eyes. Misgiving hit him in the nuts. So much pain in those grey blue depths. Jeb couldn't decide if it was his question or his cock inching into her that caused it. She shut her eyes. Her long lashes fluttered against her pale cheeks.
His heart twisted. He didn't want to hurt her. Pride and protectiveness kicked in. He was her first man, and he wanted the experience to be nothing but good for her.
A quick moan and he knew the pain should have been over for her. When she opened her eyes, she gave him a brief smile. Her hands came up, rested on his shoulders. “Why I'm a sheriff isn't any of your business."
He was too busy climbing mountains to respond that if her being a sheriff wasn't any of his business, then his holding up stagecoaches wasn't any of hers. Her sheath clenched his cock in a tight hold and all he wished for was that she'd never, ever let him go.
The pain had ended so quickly, Maddy hardly noticed. Jeb plunged into her, and her pleasure spiralled upwards. Her spine arched, welcoming his long length into her. As his orgasm tore through his body, hers followed right along. She cried out over and over again as he grunted and called out, “Maddy! Maddy!"
He sank against her, his weight squeezing the breath from her lungs.
"Jeb?” she whispered.
"Yeah, honey?"
His use of an endearment thrilled her. No one had ever called her anything but Maddy. Or sheriff. “You're too heavy on me."
"Oh! Sorry!” He drew his half flaccid cock from her and rolled over to her left, gasping for air. She hoped that sometime soon her pulse would slow down so she could figure out what had just happened.
He gazed at her with what she thought was fascination. How was that possible when she was a sheriff and had nothing favourable to recommend her as a female to a virile male? The never-ending questions and disturbing problems raced through her head, competing with the weariness that suddenly overcame her.
"Are you alright?"
She nodded, closed her eyes, for once glad her bed wasn't empty. She shifted her weight and toyed with the fine hairs on his chest, awed at their silkiness. What would happen come morning? Would she be able to arrest him and send a message to the marshals that they could transport him to Jefferson City? Or despite her best intentions, would she let him go so he could hold up another stagecoach and add to his list of crimes?
Amazingly, she was beginning to like him. A lot. His tender presence gave her ideas she'd never had before. Like getting married. Having babies. Giving up her sheriff's job.
Where'd that come from? She didn't know anything about being a wife or having babies. The little she did know, she'd learned from Lola and the snippets of conversations with other women. But being the sheriff had distanced her from most people. Enforcing the law seemed to hammer a nail into confidences and joyful moments.
Worried, grateful that Jeb was with her, she must have fallen asleep. When she awoke, the sun was beginning to make its appearance in a blaze of glory. And the spot that Jeb had occupied was empty.
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Chapter Six
For the next two days, Deputy Cantrell duly noted that Sheriff Haynes turned in on herself, refused to communicate except for the most basic requirements, which came in terse monosyllables. He had a slim idea of what could have caused the sudden reversal from friendly and outgoing to not so friendly and plain persnickety. He was pretty certain her bad mood had to do with the McIntyre fellow.
With his feet on the desk, he sipped his coffee and generally stayed out of her way this morning. He twisted the tips of his moustache and wondered. What would happen if he put out the word that the deputy sheriff had put a bounty, a sizeable one, on McIntyre's head? Cantrell observed Maddy muttering to herself. None of the men she'd sought after had bunched her knickers like McIntyre had, Cantrell reflected. With the wanted man out of her hair, maybe things could go back to normal around here. Then he wouldn't be more afraid of putting on his deputy badge than he was of being at home with his demanding wife during her trying time of the month. Yup. The trials a deputy had to endure in Plains Junction.
* * * *
Claiming he wasn't quite up to par, Cantrell went home, leaving Maddy alone in the jail with her disquieting thoughts. Where would she go in search of McIntyre so she could haul his ass into jail? The last two days, she'd gone out to escort the stagecoach to Plains Junction, hoping Jeb would make an appearance. But her whole trip had been made without incident. And no Jeb. Not even a peep of a rumour.
She'd just returned and drank cold water from a tin cup as she surveyed the food Lola had brought by. A chicken sandwich with lettuce cut into delicate diamonds and a slice of apple pie. As usual the food looked more than delectable but she couldn't find an appetite to match.
Had she ridden along with the stagecoach in an attempt to find Jeb or to see him? She had more questions for him. One, why had he sneaked out on her, and two, did his calling her name out as he climaxed mean anything? The tumultuous questions kept coming, tormenting her. Some Jeb couldn't answer, only she could. Was she falling in love with him? Why? What could a sheriff find to love about a man who led a life of crime? If she'd learned one thing in the last five years as the sheriff, she'd learned that people weren't always who they appeared to make themselves out to be. That appearances could be deceptive.
Her eyes blurred with unshed tears. The silence was almost unbearable. If she was falling in love, why did she have to choose McIntyre?
The door creaked open. In spite of herself, Maddy glanced over her shoulder. Lola strolled in, folding a tiny parasol that matched her light mauve dress perfectly. The whole jail smelled of lilacs. The woman certainly had class. Why couldn't McIntyre have made love to her friend instead of a sheriff who wanted his hide but bad?
Lola noticed with her usual quick perception Maddy hadn't eaten. “If you don't eat, how are you going to keep up your strength for your duties?"
Maddy shrugged but turned to face Lola. “I'm not hungry."
"Worried about
Jeb?"
Maddy grimaced. Her friend seemed to be able to read her thoughts when no one else could.
"My mother came down from Kansas City a few days ago. She'd said she met a very nice man on the stagecoach, and he reminded her of a little boy she'd known.” Her eyebrows hiked upward. “I'm wondering if you really want to know. She asked what his name was."
Maddy finished with her. “Jeb McIntyre."
Lola grinned, adjusted her bodice at the shoulder. “Mother said he'd had it rough as a child. All he had was his mother. Fine boy. Polite, smart, and helpful. Good-looking even back then. Then he left her when he was in his early teens. Almost drove her insane that her boy was gone. But his mother was resilient even though the bottom dropped out of her world. She kept going. One winter she got sick with pneumonia. Her last words were for her son. ‘Tell him I'll always love him'.
Lola wiped at her right eye as if a tear lurked there obstructing her vision. “Rumour had it that Jeb came back about six months later. He'd made a fortune and wanted his mother with him. When he found out she'd gone on, he tore down the old house where he'd grown up with his bare hands. He was so angry. When he left town, he wiped the dust off his boots and swore he'd never return. Ever."
Maddy swallowed down the bile rising in her throat. The taste was bitter. “I see,” she said to acknowledge she'd heard. Pain welled up from deep within her soul. Pain for Jeb. Pain for herself. Pain for the whole suffering world. For the boys and girls who were growing up without either or both of their parents. Pain that she hadn't understood her father better. But some things, like her past, were better dead and buried, never to be resurrected.
"I think I understand,” she murmured.
Lola stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. “It might be hard to do but don't condemn him for what he does. He has a reason we probably don't understand for what he does."
Maddy remembered how Jeb had alluded to something similar. How did one understand when they weren't given a chance, when they shrouded their past in mystery? “There is never a reason to steal what belongs to another. Never.” Like a heart.
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