by Howe, Cheryl
“I can’t marry you until I get this cleared up. I don’t want you arrested.”
“Marry? Did you say marry?”
“Uh.” Spoken out loud, the proposition sounded bizarre, like volunteering to swallow live crickets. His stomach clenched, but he had crossed a line that he felt forced to step over. “I guess so.”
“You guess so? You either want to marry me or you don’t.”
“Will you listen to me then?”
In answer to his question, she kissed him hard on the mouth.
He kissed her back, easily melting against the soft curves of her body, drinking in the taste of her. Not caring that it was completely inappropriate, his blood rushed to bring him to full arousal. After he’d almost lost her in a thousand different ways, the solid sensation of having her in his arms proved too enticing to resist. He cupped her bottom, urging her hips to melt into his. If he had a little more privacy, he’d be sorely tempted to take her here on the dusty ground, quick and fast. An urgent coupling to burn away the remnants of their separation. He slid his hand across her rib cage to cup her breast. Her nipple strained through the worn fabric of her shirt. When he flicked his thumb across the awakened tip, her soft intake of breath shot down the length of his erection. What the hell was he doing?
He pulled his mouth away from hers and made instant eye contact with Langston’s seething glare. Luckily their angle blocked him from Jay and Corey, and hopefully, blocked them from him.
“You’re going back east until this is settled.” Not only would sending her away keep her safe, but it would keep his head clear.
“Absolutely not.”
“Lorelei—”
“What are you going to do?”
He dropped his hands from her, his arousal doused at the reality of their situation. “To begin with, your brother is a problem.”
“I know.”
“I don’t know if I can keep him from jail.”
“But he won’t hang?”
Braddock couldn’t look away from her blue stare. With the clarity of seeing Jay lying in mud created by his own blood, he saw Corey’s limp body hanging from a rope and understood what that would do to Lorelei.
He pulled her against him. “I won’t let anything happen to your brother.”
“I don’t have a right to ask you to help him. He doesn’t deserve it.”
“We can’t help who we love.” He understood what that meant for the first time. “He’s your brother and you’re going to be my wife. I’ll make it right for all of us.”
Braddock gazed over the top of her head at Langston and wondered if an ounce of those harsh stories he told about himself were true. To make things right, he’d have to keep Langston quiet any way he could.
***
Lorelei pried her bleary eyes open at the persistent shaking of her shoulder. Before she could draw breath, a hand slid across her mouth. In the same instant she was scooped from the bed she shared with Alice and Rachel as silently as a calm breeze. The girls didn’t even shift their sleeping positions at the disturbance.
Instantly she knew Christopher’s touch. Excitement curled in the apex of her thighs at the mere brush of his skin. He eased his hand from her mouth and wrapped his arm underneath her knees as he hauled her against his bare chest.
“Shh.” He half whispered, half nuzzled into her ear as he carried her from the room on bare feet.
The moment they ducked into the boys’ room, he closed the door behind them and slid her down the length of his body.
Before she could voice a halfhearted protest at being abducted from her bed, he gathered her against him by fisting his hands in her white cotton nightgown. As his mouth slanted over hers, he yanked the gown to her waist and sank his hands into her fleshy backside. He worked wicked magic with a thrust of his tongue while he kneaded her with powerful determination.
His arousal seared through his carelessly buttoned trousers. He dipped his knees and pulled her closer as he fiercely raked himself against her.
Panting for breath, he tore his mouth away from hers. “Why didn’t you come to me?”
She had to grasp his taut upper arms to stay on her feet. “You said you wanted to get a couple of hours’ sleep before you left to find the posse.”
He covered her neck with wet, open-mouthed kisses. “That meant that I wanted to take you to bed. Didn’t you see me look at you when I said it? I’ve been lying awake in petrified agony waiting for you.”
His words tempted her to touch him to see for herself. She slipped her hand inside his partially unbuttoned waistband. As soon as her fingers closed around him, he thrust into her hand. Warm liquid coated the head on his second push. “You’re starting without me,” she teased, then kissed the center of his chest.
“Sweetheart, my mind’s already made love to you five times in the last hour. My body has some serious catching up to do.”
He lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his waist. With two long strides he erased the space to the bed, then whirled around to land on his back with her straddling him. He yanked at the buttons of her nightgown, tearing the flimsy cotton in the process. The same urgency had her attacking the fastenings of his trousers. She lifted her hips and he guided his length inside her. He grasped her bottom and arched off the bed while she came down on a long sigh.
They ground into each other, their movements slight. The sheer heat of him, filling her in a way he hadn’t before, left her lightheaded. She gripped his shoulders and hung her head, her hair spilling across his chest and leaving her in a hazy, ecstasy filled world of her own making.
He dug his fingers into her hips, pulling her down as he surged up, though there was no more room to maneuver.
“Lorelei, you feel so damned good.”
His husky voice drifted around her. Even his slight movement sent unbearable pleasure cascading through her. She gasped for breath, sure she was floating above herself in a whirl of heady lust too powerful to contain.
He rocked beneath her, and she could do little more than hang on. Her climax descended on her like a thunderclap, ear-ringing and powerful. She tossed her head, shaking her hair away from her face to gasp for breath.
Christopher murmured her name in deep, reverberating waves. She knew only the rapture of her own body, unable to discern anything but his hard flesh clamped in the center of her inwardly spiraling pleasure.
When the stars that clouded her vision started to fade, she cupped his rough cheek, feeling a little guilty for getting so carried away. He muffled an angry curse, gripped her by the hips, and lifted her off him. He groaned deathly low in his throat. Hot liquid spewed between them, splattering her and dousing the hair of his chest.
Her fog of pleasure conceded to the sharp clarity that he chose not to risk creating a child. They hadn’t spoken of children, but that was what marriage meant, didn’t it?
He laid his head on the bed, his eyes closed. His chest rose and fell raggedly.
She stared at him, the man she would marry, and suddenly she was unsure of herself and him. The idea of being a wife to a man she desperately loved had thrilled her like a dream come true. But theirs was no ordinary relationship, and Christopher no ordinary man.
He lazily opened his eyes. “Christ, you came so hard you about took my head off.” His satisfied grin turned down at the corners. “What’s wrong?”
Instead of blurting out her fears, something she instinctively knew would change the mood irrevocably, she softened her stance. She toyed with the smattering of hair in the center of his chest.
“Why did you pull out? I didn’t like it.”
He gripped her wrist and brought her hand to his mouth to kiss her knuckles. “I hated it.”
“Then why?” She bit her lip to keep her question inside her head, but her tongue pushed against her teeth anyway. “Don’t you want children?”
He stiffened beneath her and let out his breath. “I don’t know.”
He must have seen the look of sheer horror on her face. “I me
an, can’t we get married first?”
It was hard to become indignant with your legs spread across a man’s hips, but she managed. “I want children, Christopher. Surely that’s no surprise.”
He tugged at her wrist and rolled her over so he lay on top of her, taking control physically, apparently the only way he felt comfortable.
“I want to give you everything you want. Including children. But I have to straighten things out first.” She relaxed beneath him, somewhat mollified by his answer, but not completely.
“You’re not going to get bossy and try to run the show again, are you?”
He smiled and tweaked her nose. “Yes. That’s what a husband gets to do.”
She slid her hands around his waist and cupped his lean flanks beneath his hastily opened trousers. “Not my husband. I want to be in charge sometimes.”
He sucked air through his teeth. “I like the sound of that.” He was already stirring back to life against her thigh. “I’m your humble servant, ma’am.”
She pressed her leg against him. “This time don’t pull out.” He pulled away from her, bracing his weight on his hands and knees. “Lorelei. Be reasonable.”
Oh, but she didn’t like the ring of his words. He only thought her unreasonable because she wasn’t giving in to his demands. “We’ll be married before I even start to show.”
“I’m not some prize stud.”
She nipped at his braced arm. “I disagree.”
He laughed low in his throat, gathered her up in his arms, and kissed her long and hard on the mouth. “You tempt me, woman, but let me do what I have to. I don’t want to have to worry about you carrying our child until I can devote my full attention to it.”
She traced his cheek and saw the earnestness in his eyes. She suddenly felt guilty for demanding so much of him when the problems he faced were created by her and her brother. “I’m a lot of trouble, huh?”
“You’re worth it.”
“So you think the marshal will listen to you over his deputy?”
He nibbled her shoulder. “I think so. Let’s change the subject. Tell me a place I haven’t kissed you yet.”
She squirmed beneath him, enjoying the attention but also realizing he was purposely covert. “What are you not telling me?”
He lifted his head and looked at her seriously. “The less you know, the better. I don’t know exactly how it’s all going to work out, but you have to trust me.”
“I do,” she said, shocked that he would insinuate she didn’t. “Haven’t I trusted you from the beginning?” She stopped herself, glad it was too dark for him to see her gaze falter. “With only a couple of exceptions.”
“Those exceptions are what’s got me worried.”
“On the way back I promised you I was going to stay here with Jay no matter what, and I intend to keep that promise.”
“Good. Because if you run off, Jay will come too. I need you both to keep an eye out for each other. I don’t want Jay and his family to be dragged into this any more than I want you to get into trouble with the law. I’m going to have trouble enough keeping your brother and myself from swinging.”
“Don’t say that.” She kept the tears from her eyes, but obviously not the anguish from her voice.
He gently kissed her forehead. “It would kill me if you had to face prosecution. Promise me you won’t say a word about our relationship to anyone who might come around here asking questions.”
“We’re going to be married. I’m not going to keep that a secret.”
He squeezed her shoulders roughly. “You have to, or it could look bad for you if I can’t clear my name.”
“No, Christopher.” A cold, familiar fear snaked up her spine. Berkley had forced her to keep their marriage plans a secret until he could fix things. Only later did she realize that that was because he had no intention of marrying her at all.
“Promise me, Lorelei. You’ll do nothing but stay on this farm and act the innocent bystander that you are.”
She hesitated. This was nothing like with Berkley. She and her brother had dragged Christopher into this situation. All he was doing was trying to arrange it so they could all live happily ever after. Of course, she knew that happily ever after didn’t really happen, but she felt like she was close…so close.
She lifted her head and tagged him with a kiss on the mouth. “I promise.” He relaxed against her. “Good. Now be quiet so I can spend my last hour making love to you.”
She let him kiss away any objections. She wanted to remind him that he’d have the rest of his life to make love to her, but she didn’t want to jinx them.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The encroaching dawn turned the desert light blue. Rocks and cactus lost their menacing shapes. Shadows transformed from hidden threats to ordinary scenery. Braddock shifted in his saddle, relieved and distraught at the same thought. He couldn’t kill Langston in cold blood. Hell, he didn’t even think he could kill him in a fair fight.
Knowing that Lorelei lay wrapped in a warm bed still sated from their parting melted the desperate fury that, less than twenty-four hours ago, had urged him to bash Langston’s head against a rock. A patch of crisp air left over from the frosty night curled around Braddock like a choking vine. Braddock shivered and pulled the thin coat he should have exchanged for his sheepskin jacket tighter around him. Cold, tired, and hungry, he didn’t feel like half the badass he’d once thought he was.
Looking for a reason to turn back, Braddock studied Langston and Corey. Corey’s head was down, watching the clip clop of the horse’s hooves in front of him. He looked asleep in the saddle. Langston, on the other hand, was wide awake, glaring poisoned arrows at Braddock.
Unfortunately, killing Langston would be wrong. Taking an innocent man’s life went against everything Braddock had been taught and—damn his honorable soul—everything he still believed in. After all the men he had killed, after all the men who had tried to kill him, how Braddock could still feel honor played a part in this world was beyond him. But like it or not, Christopher Braddock was an honorable man. At his ripe old age, he'd better just accept that about himself and get on with it.
Braddock slowed his mount to walk beside Langston’s. “Won’t be long until we pick up the posse’s trail.”
Langston stared straight ahead, his chin raised. “Won’t be soon enough for me.”
The skin under both Langston’s eyes had started to blacken. His nose swelled a painful shade of purple. Braddock scoured the horizon. He couldn’t exactly blame Langston for wanting a piece of his hide.
“Do you really think Douglas is going to believe I’m an outlaw? Especially when I’m riding out to meet the posse?”
“I have your signed confession.”
Braddock shrugged. “No one will believe it. I wanted you to believe I was on the wrong side. I was trying to get in with the gang so I could find the gold.”
“You planned it. You said you did.”
“I was worried about Lorelei Sullivan. I would have said anything to find her.”
Langston brought his horse to a halt, and Braddock was forced to look at him.
“Why couldn’t you just tell me that? I never wanted to see an innocent woman dragged into this.”
Braddock raised an eyebrow. “That’s why you held her at gunpoint in her nightgown?”
“I was just doing my job.” Langston slumped slightly in his saddle, giving Braddock hope that he was getting to him.
“You know, Langston, this is your chance to get on Douglas’s good side. We’ll tell him you tracked down Sullivan. The kid was scared and wanted to help you get Mulcahy. I was tracking Sullivan too, and when I caught up with you, you let me come along.”
Langston clamped his lips together. “You broke the law.”
“None that anyone’s going to pay any attention to. Especially not out here in New Mexico territory. All they want are gangs like Mulcahy’s wiped out and the railroad’s gold back. And we’ll give them both. Right,
Corey?”
Corey had stilled his mount and watched them like a dazed spectator. The dark smudges under his eyes emphasized the pale smoothness of his skin. Braddock doubted if the kid was even eighteen. “You’re the boss, Braddock. Lorelei said so.”
Braddock unlocked Langston’s handcuffs. “Do yourself a favor. Don’t fight me on this. You can’t win. You want to be a hero, maybe even become a U.S. marshal? Stick with my story. The truth isn’t going to do anyone any good.”
Langston rubbed his wrists. “You’re not fooling me, Braddock. You might think you’re above the law, but you’re not. And you’re not going to do any good by that woman. A leopard doesn’t change its spots.”
A flash of fury surged through Braddock’s limbs. He snaked out his arm and gripped Langston’s vest. A told you so smile curled Langston’s thin lips.
Braddock released him and scanned the horizon one more time. The landscape blurred in chunks of gray green shrubbery and miles and miles of dirt. A hot blue sky burned out the last inch of night, then stretched over them in unrelenting dominance—and the sun hadn’t even made a full appearance yet. Braddock tugged his hat brim over his face, wishing the day could as effectively whisk away the dark shadows in his heart. He could be good for Lorelei. He wanted to be good for her. Sure as hell more than he wanted to ride back up to Specter Canyon.
A plume of smoke rose above a distant clump of brush. It was too late to turn back. He nodded to the gray streak across the cerulean backdrop. “It’s the posse. If we ride hard, we might be able to catch up to them before they finish their breakfast. Are you with me, Langston? Instead of answering his question, Langston slapped his reins against his horse’s hide and took off toward the column of smoke.
“I hope that’s the posse and not Apaches,” yelled Braddock at his back.
Langston slowed his mount. Braddock rode ahead, knowing that at least for the time being, Wade Langston was at his mercy. But for how long was a real question.
***
Braddock hung back while members of the posse crept through Mulcahy’s abandoned hideout. The place was a ghost town. Literally. Perhaps a few of the outlaws that hadn’t been wounded in the bungled robbery had moved on, but before they had, they’d slaughtered the ones they left behind. Considering the state of things on his last visit, Braddock wasn’t too surprised. Though that and the culprits’ obvious desertion didn’t stop the sensation of danger crawling over the back of his neck.