Cole put up his hand. “Now, now, don’t jump to conclusions. What most disturbs me is that one of those outlaws might have followed you here.”
A ripple of shock rushed through Addy, which she struggled not to show. “What! Why on earth would you think that?” Cole! She had to protect Cole! Grant was studying her intently, a hint of anger returning to his eyes. Addy scrambled to think straight, telling herself to stay calm.
“Because John Withers told Ethel Brown that you met some man out behind Miss Ada’s the night of your reception, after you got home. He thought he heard some kind of argument, said you seemed upset. Did you lie about not knowing anyone here in Central? Is there some man in your life I don’t know about, or is some man perhaps threatening you? Harassing you? Sheriff Page wrote that two of the men, a Ted Sloan and Cal something, were both killed in a later bank robbery, but the third man, Jack Slater, was never seen or heard from after Unionville. Maybe he followed you out here. If you’re having troubles because of him, I can take care of it.”
Addy turned away, her mind awhirl. Cal and Ted were dead! They could never tell anyone the truth—that it was Jack Slater who’d been killed by Cole, not the other way around! She felt like celebrating and was anxious to tell Cole. But for the moment, she had some explaining to do.
“I’ve never run into Jack Slater,” she answered Grant. “That night after the reception, it was just some drunk,” she lied. “I went outside because it was a beautiful night. You can see down on the city from Miss Ada’s. The moon was full, and I could see the outline of the mountains. All that is quite new to me, you know. And after the reception, meeting so many new people, I had a lot to think about.” She faced him again. “Some drunken miner was just wandering around, seemingly lost. He spotted me and began making rude remarks. I told him to please leave, but he argued, tried to kiss me, that sort of thing. I managed to get away from him and run back inside. I was quite upset.”
Grant frowned. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
Addy hated lying. One lie usually led to another and another and eventually to disaster. “I was afraid to. I was brand new to town, and all the people I had met were Central’s most important people. I didn’t want to begin my stay here by making trouble. And it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, because it was dark and he wore a hat low over his eyes. I could never in a million years identify the man. It was just a quick encounter in the dark and I got away, so I just left it alone. I knew he was just drunk and would probably not even remember it the next day. And you know how itinerant Central’s population is. He might not even be around any more.”
Grant studied her a moment longer, then nodded. “He didn’t hurt you?”
“No.”
Grant sighed, stepping closer. “And it’s true about the abduction? You weren’t manhandled sexually?”
Addy felt embarrassed, but she was glad not to have to lie about something. “It’s true. Do you really think that if all three of those men had … had done such a thing, I could have recovered so quickly and come west? It was a long, arduous and dangerous journey. If I had suffered something so horrible, I couldn’t have packed my bags within the week and headed for a place where I knew no one, had no friends. I would have felt like—like I belonged among Sassy Dillon and her women. I couldn’t have considered teaching, even though none of it would have been my fault.”
Grant grasped her shoulders. “Well, I’m relieved. I will assure Mrs. Brown of the same. We’ll have to bring it before the board, but you needn’t be there. I will explain the entire situation, including the incident with the drunk man outside Miss Ada’s. It will all be cleared up, and in a couple of weeks you’ll be teaching school. You’ll show men like John Withers and Alfred Rhodes that you’re as good as they are.”
Addy smiled for him. “Thank you, Grant.”
His eyes dropped to her bosom, then trailed up her neck to meet her own gaze again. “I had no doubts all along, but I needed to be sure before …” He pulled her close in a grip that frightened her a little. “Before I told you I’d like you to be my wife someday. I know you’re in no rush for such things now. I’ll give you time. But you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, and the most intelligent. I want you, Addy. I can give a woman a life of elegance. You wouldn’t even need to teach, but I know that’s what you want to do, so I wouldn’t mind, as long as you were home with me at night.” He rubbed a hand over her back and leaned closer, but Addy pulled away.
“I’m sorry, Grant. I am flattered by your offer, but it’s just like you said. I’m not ready to think seriously right now, and I—perhaps I’ve let our friendship go too far. Perhaps I have misled you.” He had not said a word about loving her, just that he wanted her. She realized that Grant Breckenridge was also caught up in lies, if it was true he’d been to see Sassy Dillon several times, let alone whether or not he had swindled Ed Foley out of a mine. There was an arrogance and an obvious greed about the man that she knew would always stand in the way of her caring about him as a husband. She could kick herself for letting their friendship go this far. The man had power in this town, and now he had power over her. He could tell the school board whatever he wished, and she sensed he was already using his power to get what he wanted … Addy Kane in his bed, whether she liked it or not.
“Misled me?” he asked. “Surely you know where all of this has been headed.”
“I wasn’t sure. It started out with you helping me meet all the right people, and things just … I don’t know … just kept going. You’ve been so kind and attentive, and I was lonely and knew no one.” She swallowed. “I’m not saying there couldn’t be more. I’m just saying that there have been so many changes in my life lately that it’s difficult for me to think about anything as serious as marriage.”
Grant nodded. “All right. I can understand that.” He came closer again, gripped her arms. “I said I’d wait, but don’t make me wait too long. You’re beginning to haunt my dreams, Addy Kane.” He jerked her close and planted his lips on her mouth. Addy stood in rigid surprise, thinking how cold and thin his lips were compared to Cole’s full, warm kisses. “Maybe that will help you start thinking my way,” he told her after releasing her from the kiss. “You just remember—what Grant Breckenridge wants, Grant Breckenridge gets, sooner or later.” He patted her cheek. “Anybody bothers you again, you tell me and I’ll take care of it.” He glanced down at her breasts again, and Addy suddenly felt naked, and angry. What made him think he had a right to grab her close and kiss her like that or make such forceful remarks? Suddenly she couldn’t wait to be held in Cole Parker’s embrace.
“I’ll remember that,” she answered.
Grant smiled, rubbing her arms a moment before turning to leave. “Keep your doors locked. Maybe we’ll have dinner tomorrow night. I’d like to tell you more about my son, since you’ll be meeting him soon.”
He walked out, and Addy hurried over and locked the front door, breathing a sigh of relief and turning to lean her back against the door. She had let all this get out of hand. If only she hadn’t already signed a teaching contract. If only she didn’t feel so obligated to abide by that contract and so beholden to all the people who had backed her, paid her expenses, built her this house. She and Cole could just leave Central and start over someplace new, but she had so many responsibilities to answer to here. If Grant would just leave her alone, she could put up with the rest while she waited for Cole. Things just kept getting more complicated all the time.
She walked away from the door and into her bedroom, where she angrily removed her hat and threw it into a chair. The house was warm enough that she didn’t have to build a fire, so she walked back into the empty main room and paced, arguing the pros and cons of both Grant and Cole, and of staying in Central to teach.
That was all it was supposed to be in the beginning—just a journey out of the past and into a new life, a chance to finally teach. If only things could have remained that simple. If only Cole P
arker hadn’t ridden into her life.
Someone tapped on the back door then, and a tight feeling came into her chest. She had just gotten rid of one man, turned down a marriage proposal from one of the richest men in Central. Now there was another man here to see her, another man who wanted to settle with her. He drank too much, had lived as an outlaw, was worth only what he had been able to earn by using guns. For the moment he had nothing to give her, and yet he was the man she ached for, the only man she wanted in her bed at night.
“You’re insane, Addy Kane,” she grumbled as she walked into the kitchen. Against her better judgment she opened the door, and there he stood, still dressed in that striking black suit. “Cole.”
He swept her up into his arms and kicked the door shut.
Twenty-Five
“Don’t let go,” Addy wept. “I’ve been so confused and lonely.”
Cole held her tight against his broad chest. “It’s been the same for me,” he answered in a near whisper. “I love you, Addy. Damn it, I love you. I can’t fight these feelings any longer.”
Their lips met in a hot, hungry kiss, Addy held so tightly in his arms that she was lifted, her feet not even touching the floor. She relished the feel of his strong arms around her, the wonderful sense of safety and protection it gave her.
He moved his lips to her eyes and her hair. She nuzzled his neck, enjoying the familiar scent of him. “It was so hard coming to visit you and not being able to hold you. I thought we’d get there and find you dead! I’ve tried to deny my own feelings for you, Cole, but it’s impossible.”
Cole breathed a sigh of relief. He’d been so afraid she would do the reasonable thing and give her heart to the man who could give her anything she wanted, the man who could make her a queen of society. But here she was, in his arms. For the first time in years he knew with certainty he could love again, wanted a family again.
Addy in turn knew she could never experience these feelings with Grant Breckenridge. He could never make her feel so alive, so in love, so full of near-painful passion. She’d nearly lost Cole, and the experience had awakened her to the reality of her needs and feelings. Dangerous as he could be, a man tortured by a past that left him unpredictable at times, she still had to have Cole Parker for herself.
“I need you, Addy,” he groaned, bending down and licking at her cheek, her throat.
Torturous desire surged through her blood. “Then take what you need,” she sighed.
He threw his hat on the table and picked her up in his arms. Addy nestled into his shoulder as he carried her into the bedroom, easy to find in the tiny house. He laid her on the brass bed and both realized how this had always been so easy and natural for them. That had to mean something. It only seemed right that a woman should feel a little lust for the man she loved and wanted to marry, only in Cole’s case it was more than a little lust. Something about him turned her into a woman of unbridled passion.
She groaned at the delicious feel of Cole’s hand fondling her breasts, moving to her throat to unbutton the top of her bodice. They had only the light of the lantern that was lit in the outer room, but it was just enough to lend a magic to the moment, just enough darkness that they didn’t have to look each other in the eyes in bold light and face reality. Neither of them wanted to do that, to think of the consequences this night could bring them, to figure out how they could truly be together, what she should do about her teaching position, how he was going to find a truly settled job.
None of that mattered. Only this mattered … Cole’s hand slipping over the cutout of her dress that showed just enough flesh to entice a man … more buttons being undone … her dress coming open, Cole’s lips at her throat, the whites of her breasts. Oh, how she had ached for this, Cole’s hand reaching inside her camisole, pushing out a full breast, taking her firm nipple into his mouth and tasting it hungrily. She grasped his hair and pushed against him, wanting him to take more of her. In one quick moment he was able to bring her to this kind of wanton passion, and she could not bring herself to be ashamed of it.
Cole moaned with painful need relishing again the taste and feel of her. So beautiful this woman was, this Addy Kane who looked so much like Bethanne, who had come into his life through the incredible circumstance of a bank robbery twelve hundred miles away, in another world, in a painful past he was determined to leave behind forever.
He unlaced her camisole and pushed it open, caressed her full, firm breasts, wanting to devour her, to be inside of her and show her for once and for all to whom she belonged. He met her mouth again, cupping a breast in his hand, enjoying its incredible softness, teasing her nipple with his thumb.
Addy felt wild with need, again surprised at her own boldness. “I want to feel you against me, Cole, like back in Abilene.” How long ago had that been? Sometimes it seemed like years, yet it had only been a little over two months. Their liaison in the shed at the stage station had been quick and necessary, more of a good-bye. But in Abilene they had lain completely naked, spent the night together, and there had been something special about it that could not be forgotten or ignored. She wanted that something special again, wanted to lie naked against Cole Parker’s own virile body.
She sat up and let Cole pull her dress off her shoulders, then remove her camisole and toss it to the floor. It felt wonderful to let his dark eyes drink in the sight of her bare breasts. He caressed them lovingly. Another kiss, burning hot. She flung her arms around his neck and pulled him back down, both of them smiling, almost crying while they kissed. He pulled away from her long enough to remove his suit jacket, his string tie. Addy sat back up and unbuttoned his shirt, and he pulled it out of his pants and threw it aside. “Don’t you go away,” he told her teasingly.
He got up and removed his gunbelt, and as much as she originally thought she hated guns and his outlaw ways, she realized that those things had also attracted her to this desperado. But now it was simply Cole Parker she loved and wanted. She waited as he sat down on the bed and removed his boots, removed his pants, his longjohns. He undressed with furious speed, and as each layer came off, more and more of his splendid body was revealed, until he stood before her with bare, muscular shoulders, the dark hairs on his chest leading down to his slender waist and slim hips, his muscular thighs. She looked into his dark eyes, and Cole moved back onto the bed.
Addy lay back and let him finish undressing her … shoes, stockings, dress, petticoats, drawers. Finally she lay there naked and unafraid … unashamed. He leaned down, and she closed her eyes as his full lips caressed her belly, then moved back up, to linger at her breasts. She moaned with pleasure as he tasted them with sweet passion while his fingers gently fondled secret places, drawing her fully under his spell until she had to quell an urge to cry out with utter delight.
She told herself she had to be quiet. They still must keep this a secret, but now more than ever she wanted it to be forever, to be his wife and not have to worry about being discovered. Surely they would find a way. Then she could no longer think. She grasped his hair, moaned his name, and quickly a pulsating climax ripped through her loins, making her literally groan with the need of a man inside of her, knowing no man could fulfill that need better than Cole Parker could.
Quickly his lips found her throat, her mouth. He buried himself inside of her in one quick, hard thrust that made her gasp. He moved in furious rhythm then, rocking her body, overpowering her in every way until she felt limp from desire and ecstasy. He raised up to his knees, looked down at her like the conqueror that he was, grasped her hips and groaned as his life spilled into her with unexpected quickness. He closed his eyes and held himself there for a quiet moment, then breathed deeply to relax.
“I’m sorry,” he told her, “but I needed you so badly.” He leaned down there, resting his elbows on either side of her. “We’ll do it again. We’ll do this all night.” He met her mouth again before she could even reply, and Addy returned his kiss with hungry fervor. Already she c
ould feel his hot shaft growing harder again. He was a wild, passionate man, and this part of him was as big and wild as the rest of him. She could think of nothing more wonderful than spending the night with Cole Parker in her bed.
The night moved in dreamlike joy, and Addy had never been more aware of her womanliness, nor of her own needs and passions. This time it was more than just lust and loneliness. This time there seemed to be more meaning to their lovemaking. It was truly more an act of love than it had been before, two people needing to share more than bodies, needing more than just one night of relief from loneliness and confusion. This was a sharing of spirit, of hearts, and it had to be right. How could it not be when a man brought out such desire and happiness in a woman?
Dawn was beginning to light the room a little more. Was this the third or fourth time they had made love? They had slept only a little while, and now she had let him roll her on top of him. She rode him like the magnificent stallion that he was, grasping his powerful arms for support, feeling no doubts that whatever pleased this man, it was right. She had never dreamed she would be able to do some of the bold things Cole inspired within her. Part of it was a desire to be wild and please him as any prostitute would, but unlike Sassy and her kind, there was only one man with whom she could ever do these things. She could never let another man touch her, knew now she could not be married to Grant Breckenridge, could not begin to imagine doing such things with Grant. She was not sure she would want to live if anything happened to Cole.
Until Tomorrow Page 34