The thought of having both Payne brothers at the same time sent a thrill bursting through her, one that made her tremble with anticipation. She wondered at herself sometimes. The idea popped into her head out of nowhere and surely that made her no better than the whores at the Royal Princess.
’Tis logical. You know you can ne’er choose between them, Shannon Connelly. There’s bound to be hard feelin’s if you give more attention to one than the other. And ’tis not like they’re payin’ for it. ’Tis a gift.
Aye, there was a difference in that.
Ah, you bloody well know ’tisn’t right no matter the differences.
“I don’t care,” Shannon murmured. “I can do it.”
Eli touched the top of her head, his hand caressing her hair. “No, it’s okay. We’ll handle the dishes.”
Shannon tilted her head back and met his dark blue gaze. She took his hand and twisted around in her chair. “Have I thanked you this hour for what you did for me?”
Eli smiled. “No need.”
“’Tis thankin’ you again I am just the same, Eli Payne. For savin’ me from the Royal Princess. For helpin’ me with Harold Lightner. For changin’ me life.” She stood and ran her hands up his chest.
Eli leaned closer. “How do you always smell so pretty?”
Shannon looped her arms around his neck, rose on tiptoes and pressed her lips to the side of his throat. “’Tis me rose-scented soap. Me one vice. Spent me hard-earned money on it at the mercantile.”
“I’ll buy you a case the next time we’re in town.”
“’Tis a sweet thought, but I think ’twould be wise for me to avoid town for a while,” Shannon said. “Harvey Lightner’s none too pleased with me.”
Eli ran his hands from her hips to her waist. “Harvey Lightner can go to hell. While you packed, I spoke to Abe Barrows about Lightner. That son-of-a-bitch won’t be a threat to you. In fact, Lightner’s going to be leaving Cheyenne permanently.”
Shannon cupped Eli’s face and pressed a kiss on his mouth. Eli’s arms tightened around her, and her body sizzled with his heat. “Ah, ’tis a true hero you are, Eli Payne.”
The screen door slapped, and Josh barreled into the kitchen, carrying two buckets of water. “Jesus, Eli, you can’t even keep focused long enough to clear the table. Move your ass so we can get this over with. I’ve got other things on my mind.”
Shannon laughed and spun in Eli’s arms. “We’ve been waitin’ for you to start.”
She walked toward him as Josh dropped one bucket to the floor and lifted the other. “We can’t start till he cleans up the goddamn table.” Josh started to pour water into the pot on the stove. She laid a hand on his arm.
“We’ve been waitin’ to start the fuckin’, Josh,” Shannon said. “Not the dishes.”
Josh’s head shot up, and the bucket tipped in his hands, splashing water all over the stove. Curls of steam swirled from the hot surface. Water poured over the edge and rained onto Josh before dripping to the floor. His pants soaked, Josh jerked backward and more water cascaded from the bucket and sloshed over Shannon’s dress. Shannon jumped when the cold water hit her, screeching like a banshee, and flailing her arms.
“Christ Almighty! ’Tis bloody cold!”
“Great going, Josh,” Eli said. “Way to kill the mood.”
“Fuck you. Make yourself useful and get a mop.” Josh clutched the bucket against his chest and glanced at the mess and her wet dress. “I’m sorry, Shannon.”
Shannon’s brow lifted. “Oh, are you now?” She plucked the fabric of the cold, wet dress away from her skin. She peered at him, and Josh backed up a step. She dodged toward him and plunged her hands in the icy water, scooping it up and tossing it into his face. Josh let out a yelp and sputtered. Shannon burst into laughter and whirled around.
As Eli came toward them with the mop, Shannon leaned down and dipped her hands into the bucket on the floor. She flung water toward Eli and he scrambled backward, but not quickly enough. She soaked the front of his pants, and Josh howled with laughter. When Shannon leaned toward the bucket again, Eli beat her there. He scooped his hand into the bucket and splashed icy water against her face and down the front of her dress.
She shivered and her nipples peaked. Eli’s gaze focused on her breasts and she took full advantage of his preoccupation. She grabbed the bucket from the floor and hurled the contents toward him. His eyes widened just as the water hit and his body stiffened for a moment before fire blazed in his dark eyes. He growled and lunged for her. She tried to duck around him, but he caught her easily and yanked her backward against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding tight.
“Do it, Josh,” Eli said.
Josh came toward them with his bucket. Shannon wiggled, laughing so hard she struggled to get the words out. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Oh, but I would,” Josh said.
Shannon clutched Eli’s arms and shrank backward, shaking her head, but she couldn’t stop laughing. “’Tis cold.”
“We’ll warm you up later,” Eli said.
Josh clutched the bucket. His arm dipped, then came forward. Shannon doubled over Eli’s arm and the water sailed past her and hit Eli full in the chest. It rained down her back as Eli burst into laughter. He twisted her in his arms and lifted her up. She pressed against his frozen, wet shirt and pulled herself up, wrapping her cold, damp legs around his waist. She brushed droplets of water off his face.
“You’re a handful, you know that?” Eli said.
“Two handfuls,” Shannon said.
Eli squeezed her ass. “You are indeed.”
Shannon dropped her forehead against his. “Now take off your clothes. They’re all wet and you’re not trackin’ up me clean house.” She glanced over her shoulder. Josh had already stripped off his shirt and unbuttoned his pants.
“Way ahead of you,” he said. “I never dog it.”
* * * *
Josh thought the cold water should have dampened any desire coursing through his body, but for some reason it worked the exact opposite. After the initial shock of the icy blast wore off, Josh discovered his body had a mind of its own and it had nothing to do with the goose bumps on his skin. Listening to Shannon’s laughter and the lilting cadence of her voice and watching his brother’s hands cradle that ass spread lust directly from his brain to his groin. His cock rose eagerly and enthusiastically, not hampered by temperature in the least.
Josh yanked off his boots, carefully maneuvered the waistband of his trousers over his rigid dick and slid the pants down his legs. After he tossed the wet mess into the sink, he turned and caught the look on Eli’s face. His brother’s smile had faded, and he looked terrified, like the time they’d been kids and climbed to the top of the highest hill in Pittsburgh. They’d peered over the stony ledge, and for the first time, Josh realized his big brother knew fear. Josh had loved the feeling that soared through him, the sense of freedom, of being above the mundane hustle of everyday life. Eli had stood frozen, his face white and his breath stuck somewhere inside. As Josh had leaned farther over the edge, Eli had backed away in small steps until he tripped on a rock and fell on his ass.
He looked like he might fall on his ass again, only this time he’d take Shannon with him. This was no time for Eli to get an attack of the vapors. Time to man up, big brother.
“Take a breath, Eli.”
Eli gulped instead, but he released Shannon, and she slid slowly down his body, her gaze never leaving his. She took his hand and moved it to the bodice of her dress.
“Help me take off this wet dress. ’Tis stuck to me skin.”
Josh clenched his fists. Watching his brother’s big hands fumbling with the little buttons made Josh want to lurch across the room and do it himself, but he also knew Eli needed the time to get his head on straight. Standing in one spot had never seemed so hard, not even close to the time he’d come across a rattler in the brush. That was just a serpent hankering for his blood. This might be
the future of his sexual fulfillment, and potentially offered them both a perfect ending to each day. Josh knew how to keep his priorities straight, unlike some others he could name.
Damn it, Eli. Move faster. Don’t fuck this up.
Finally Josh glimpsed a patch of bare flesh as Eli pushed the dress over one of Shannon’s creamy shoulders. Naked and freezing his ass off from the cold water, his cock hard and his balls tightening into a painful ache, Josh took a step forward. He hesitated for a split second then closed the distance. He brushed his brother’s hands away. Eli’s head snapped up.
“Let me do it,” Josh said. “You’re falling behind.”
Eli ran his hand over Shannon’s skin. “I want to do it.”
Josh rolled his eyes. “You’re gonna take all god-damned night doing it like that. I’d like to fuck her as a young man.”
Shannon laughed. She laid her hand on Eli’s shirt, plucking at one of the buttons. “Get undressed, Eli.”
Josh twisted Shannon around. “Get busy, big brother. You can watch, but don’t get distracted.” He nodded toward his brother’s shirt. Eli’s brow furled and he plucked at one of his shirt buttons, his stare glued to Shannon’s face. “Faster, Eli. Otherwise you’re going to miss all the fun.”
“Stop telling me what to do,” Eli murmured. He stripped off his shirt then dropped into a chair and yanked off his boots.
Josh ignored him after that, his focus confined to each tantalizing inch of skin he released from its calico prison. He tugged at the sleeves and peeled the dress down Shannon’s body, letting his gaze wander over her breasts, the rosy tips of her puckered nipples, over the taut abdomen and to the gentle swell of her hips. When the dress dropped to the floor, and Shannon stood in just her petticoat, stockings and boots, he couldn’t resist another moment. He leaned down and took a taste of her breast. His lips locked on her nipple and sucked hard. Shannon made a soft sound and practically fell against him.
“Your mouth is so warm,” she murmured.
He could have licked her skin all night. She tasted better than dinner, and that said a lot. But he had work to do, and he also remembered he had to share.
Josh fell to his knees. He unlaced each boot, then lifted her foot to remove one. She placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned down to steady herself. Her braid swung down and caressed the side of his face as he slid the stocking down her leg.
“’Tis like Cinderella I’m feelin’,” she whispered.
Josh glanced up and smiled. He lifted her other leg, tugged off the boot and pitched it behind him. “I don’t know her. She live in Cheyenne?”
A burst of laughter shot from her. “No, ’tis just a story me ma told me.”
He pulled down the stocking, revealing another slender, lovely calf. Every part of her seemed slender and lovely.
Her face scrunched up. “Though ’tis not quite the same thing. Cinderella had a slipper put on her foot, not a boot pulled off. Still, lookin’ at you on your knees, watchin’ me like I could be a princess in a fairy tale makes me feel…so pretty.” She blushed and her lashes fluttered.
“She couldn’t be as pretty as you.” Eli’s voice tugged Josh’s attention away from Shannon’s beautiful eyes. Eli straightened in the chair, seemingly hypnotized by the soft glow of her skin. He shook his head as if to scatter the cobwebs that had collected in his mind, then stood and unbuttoned his pants. Finally.
“I ne’er saw a drawin’ o’ her as we ne’er had the book,” Shannon said with a laugh. “’Twas a tale me ma knew by heart. I suppose all mothers tell it, meanin’ to give their daughters hope. ’Tis sometimes a hard life and dreamin’ makes it a bit more tolerable. Me ma wanted me to know I should ne’er give up wishin’ for better.”
“Mothers want the best for their kids.” Josh ran his hand up Shannon’s leg. “What did you wish for?”
A grin spread across her face like sunshine and lit her eyes with a glimmer of something that might have been a touch of embarrassment. “What all girls wish for I guess. Me own prince to love, to cherish, to live with happily e’er after.” She traced the side of Josh’s face, then glanced toward Eli. “’Tis me great luck that I’ve gotten more than that. Me wishin’ has granted me two princes. ’Tis beyond me wildest dreams and ’tis a lucky girl I am.”
Josh stood and cradled her face in his hands. “We’re the lucky ones.” Reluctantly he lifted his head to glance at his brother. “Right, Eli?”
His brother had vanished.
Damn it!
* * * *
The soft swells of music drifted into the kitchen. When Josh dropped his hands, Shannon tilted her head and listened as a symphony of sound swirled around her, tempting her to sway to the lyrical strands of the piano.
“What the hell is that damn fool doing?” Josh said. “I’m going to kick his cowardly ass.”
He started toward the parlor, and she twined her finger through his, tugging him back. “He’s attemptin’ to calm his heart.”
Josh shook his head in disgust. “If Eli calmed his heart much more he’d plumb up and die.”
“’Tis only that way on the outside. Inside…” Shannon put her hand on Josh’s chest, feeling the gentle, steady rhythm of his heart. “He’s not like you, Josh. You’ve a need for excitement, for thrill, for new experiences and wonderment. Eli has a need for quiet, for normal pursuits, for security, for sameness.”
Josh nodded. “Yeah, he’s dull. I’ve warned him about that.”
Shannon smiled. “Not dull, ne’er dull.”
“You haven’t lived with him yet.”
She tugged him toward the doorway and they stood for a moment, staring at Eli’s naked back. He still wore his pants. She watched his fingers glide over the keyboard, creating beauty and tranquility with each touch. The fire of his quiet passion blazed in the notes, making her heart pound and spreading an ache through her pelvis. That a man should feel so much and bind it so tightly inside made her want to cry. She felt his need to hide what he couldn’t control, and his desire to cease struggling and let go. She leaned back against Josh, and he wrapped his arms around her, tucking his chin against the top of her head. He caressed her naked breasts, letting his fingertips trail over her skin.
“He’s hopeful, yet reluctant to want. He’s wishin’, yet unsure they will be granted. His life’s about to change and ’tis a scary thing. Listen to the music, Josh. Can you not feel the disquiet in your brother’s soul? It bleeds into me, mixin’ into my blood until I can feel the passion stirrin’ and quakin’ with need. ’Tis a wondrous thing to feel so deeply. He pours his soul into the music and yet he locks his heart up tight.”
Josh laughed. “What heart?”
Shannon tilted her face up. “’Tis teasin’ me now you are.”
Josh kissed the tip of her nose. “Yes, my little Cinderella, I’m teasing you. How did you get so wise? An old Irish tradition passed from mother to daughter?”
She winked. “No, me da played the piano.”
Shannon closed her eyes and let the music of Eli’s soul wash over her own, bathing her in quiet passion, but also comfort and security. Such promise existed in that man. He would never hurt someone, would never demand more than was freely given.
“’Tis the way o’ certain men. Me da was scared o’ dreamin’ and wanting’. ’Tis why me ma did enough for both. But they were happy. ’Tis always been me hope to be as content, to live a life I could trust and enjoy, but in me dreamin’, I kept me heart locked tight. So I’ve a bit o’ both inside me.”
“And you see that in Eli?”
“Oh, aye. ’Tis waitin’ to be happy he is, waitin’ for his dreams to be fulfilled and for his real life to start.”
“Not a fairy tale life?”
“Oh, no. ’Tis no time in this life for fairy tales. ’Tis me hope to make this real.”
“It already feels real to me,” Josh said.
“I know. Your soul resides in your laughter, and ’tis ne’er hidden. ’Tis plain to hear and fe
el and it makes me burst with gladness.”
She leaned sideways in his arms and peered up at him. Josh lowered his head. She could almost feel his kiss on her lips.
The music stopped.
* * * *
Eli moved his hands from the keyboard to the piano bench. His fingers curled around the wood and he stared at the piece of music in front of him though he hadn’t used it. He knew Josh and Shannon stood in the parlor. He’d almost hoped to hear their footsteps on the staircase. His decision would have been made. He twisted around and there they stood. Two lovers entwined in each other’s arm. Shannon still wore her petticoat but her bare feet peeked out from beneath the hem and, though Josh’s arms crossed over her breasts, Eli caught a glimpse of a pink nipple.
Why is it so easy for them?
Shannon smiled at him then. Christ, he wanted it to be easy. He wanted her.
He stood up and slowly moved around the bench. He glanced at them through strands of hair that had fallen over his face and saw Josh’s arms drop to his sides. Shannon flew across the short distance between them, and Eli held his breath. She flung herself toward him. He caught her easily and felt the soft, smooth skin of her arms cross his bare shoulders as she wound them around his neck. He tucked his hands under her bottom, feeling the heat of her through the thin linen of her petticoat. She dropped her forehead against his and the whisper of her breath fanned his face.
“’Twas the most beautiful song I e’er heard. ’Tis not something I know. Who wrote the piece?”
“I did.”
Her lips curled into a smile. “Oh. ’Tis not surprised I am.” She brushed the strands of hair away from his face and skimmed her fingers along his jaw. “You’ve the soul o’ a poet, Eli Payne, and truly a wondrous gift.”
“You’re a gift,” Eli murmured.
“Aye,” she whispered, “I am, and all is given freely. Though ’tis me thought acceptin’ a gift is not easy for someone such as yourself. What can I do, Eli Payne? What is it you need to hear?” She kissed him lightly on the lips. “Tell me.”
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