She jumped guiltily as she had been caught staring at Jack’s profile. He really was handsome when he smiled. She watched him listen to something Billy was telling him and noticed that he had a devilish smirk when he looked amused. At that very moment, Sam interrupted her train of thought. She realized that Billy was pointing at her now and roaring with laughter.
“Shut up, Billy!” Jack said, launching himself off the log and walking off angrily.
“Hey Sam! Ol’ Jack has a thing for a certain little, brown-haired boy.”
“You big dumb, moron,” she muttered, poking the fire.
“What’d you say?” Billy cut in angrily, throwing his tin of half-eaten food down on the ground. “I’m pretty tired of your know-it-all attitude and laziness. Jack may be willing to do your portion of the work but I sure as hell am not!”
“What are you talking about? He isn’t doing my portion of the work, is he?”
“Oh! So now I know something you don’t?” he mocked, “How’s it feel to have someone smarter than you?”
“Feels like you are being an ass, honestly.” She expected Eve to jump in anytime now due to her foul language and impending danger, but again there was no response. Eve?
“What’d you call me?” Billy demanded in a controlled voice. He stood there, with a tick near his eye. Clenching and unclenching his hands, staring at her across the small distance between them.
“I called you an ass, okay? You are a big, dumb, hulking dumbass with barely two brain cells to knock toget… EEEP!” she squeaked as he jumped over the fire and yanked her up by the front of her shirt.
EVE! I could use your help right now!
“You’re fixing to learn some manners, little boy,” Billy seethed, breathing directly into her face. She flinched, but it was from his breath and not from fear. He was big, but her coach had been just as large during her protection classes. Her mouth had gotten her in trouble before, but she had never worried about her opponent. Right now? She was worried. Her heart thumped wildly as she realized that she might not be able to reach his neck from the ground if he put her down, which meant she would have to go for the groin in order to get away from him… but where would she run?
“Put him down,” Jack ordered quietly from beside her, pulling his gun as he emerged from the shadows.
“No, I ain’t putting your lover down.”
“He’s not-”
“I’m a girl, you dumbass! You’re threating a little, bitty girl, you lummox! Now put me down so I can kick your butt and show you what this girl can do!” she said with false bravado. She was nervous but certain that she could land a hit or two before he crushed her like a little gnat.
Sam’s laughter broke the silence. “You two idiots didn’t realize it? Oh, now that is rich!”
Jack pulled the hammer back on his Colt. “I am going to say this one more time. Put him… eh… her down. Now.” The click sounded ominous in the silence, accompanied by the popping of the fire and the thump of her heartbeat as they all stood silently.
“Oh, I will put her down,” Billy crowed lewdly, shaking her by the collar of her shirt in the air. “Down on me,” he said yanking her forward against his chest, sniffing at her throat. “Can’t believe that I didn’t notice you smell kinda flowery. I think we should all have a turn with her instead of Jack having all the fun.”
“Billy, I am going to count to three and then I’m going to blow your head clean off your shoulders if you don’t put that little woman down. One. Two.”
Sabine landed with a heavy thud that knocked the wind out of her. Saying nothing, she stood up and dusted herself off. She watched as the two men stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.
“Is some little smart-mouthed woman going to come between two friends?” Billy asked finally, breaking the silence.
“If that is how you treat a tiny, little woman, it’s very possible.”
“Ladies don’t use the words she just used,” Billy replied casually. “I’m thinking that she is a whore. There’s no reason not to use her. Heck, I’ll even pay for a turn. It’s been a while.”
“I never said she was a lady,” Jack retorted.
“HEY!”
“Quiet!” Jack barked at her, not pulling his eyes from Billy. “I agree that ladies don’t use language like that. It doesn’t change the fact that she is female and doesn’t deserve abuse from us.”
“You take care of her then,” Billy said evenly. “Take care of her away from me.”
“We’ll leave now, if it’s all the same to you. Sam, do you want to ride out with us or stay with Billy?”
“Jack, you can’t leave out in the dark. We are safer in a larger group.”
“I know that,” Jack said, staring at Billy. “But is she safe here with us tonight? All of us?” he asked pointedly.
“If she apologizes and keeps her mouth shut the rest of the evening.”
“Do it,” Jack ordered again, waving his gun towards her. Indicating that Sabine needed to apologize to the big lummox that threw her like she was nothing.
“Is he going to apologize for tossing me like a football?” she quipped.
“Chip! Apologize and shut your mouth!”
“I am sorry, Jack” she said smartly.
“Not to me,” Jack said with a heavy sigh, trying to hide a smile. “To him.”
“I am sorry, Sam.”
“Chip?” Jack warned in a voice she hadn’t heard before. He was stern but there was a tone of humor to it as well. This time there was no mistaking the grin that illuminated his face.
“Fine! I’m sorry, Billy,” she ground out as Billy crossed his arms with a satisfied smile that stretched from one end to the other.
“You need to respect your betters, little girl,” Billy said knowingly.
Sabine’s mouth dropped open in shock and disbelief. “My betters? Wher-”
Just as she was fixing to retort, Jack jumped over and slapped a hand across her mouth. He pulled her tightly against him and the sensation made her forget what she was about to say.
“Billy, I will take her into town tomorrow so you don’t… uh… have to listen to her anymore. You good, man?” Jack asked quietly over Sabine’s shoulder. His warm hand was tight against her mouth to keep her quiet. She licked his palm out of spite and almost giggled as she heard his voice break in reaction.
“Yeah, just keep her away from me if I can’t take a turn with her,” he said begrudgingly. “Can’t believe you have kept her to yourself, Jack.”
“Well, you know me,” he shrugged casually. “I’m not the sharing type.”
“I wondered there for a while if you were the buggering type. You had me going there! Sam, how long have you known Chip was a woman?” he asked, walking off to take his seat.
Sabine felt Jack pulling her backwards away from the fire into the darkness, his hand clamped tightly on her mouth. “Shhh,” she heard him whisper as she tried to say something. Nodding, she walked silently as he pulled her away.
“Look, Chip. Is that your name?” he started. “You have got to stay away from him.”
“He’s a damned bully, you know that?” she snapped, breaking away from Jack. Turning, she stared at him in the darkness.
“Chip, he is twice your size.”
“It’s Sabine. And women know that size doesn’t matter, or so I have heard.” Sabine blushed as she realized how that sounded. She prayed that he couldn’t see how red her cheeks flamed up, nor how embarrassed she felt.
“Is that so, little one?” she heard him ask huskily.
“Yeah, it kinda is. What? You’re gonna be nice to me now that you found out I’m a girl?”
“I’m thinking that any one of us could have you pinned…”
“Look,” she cut him off before he said something sensual. “I may be little and a woman, but I promise you that I could have brought him down.”
Chuckling, he smiled in the dim moonlight. “You’re quite a little spitfire, aren’t you? Why�
��d you dress as a boy? Why didn’t you tell anyone you were a woman?”
“Protection.”
“I thought you didn’t need any?”
“Yeah, well. I realize that it was a mistake now and you men seem to think I need it.”
“I wish you had dressed as a woman from the get go. I have been questioning my sanity the last few days,” he muttered, bemused, running a hand through his hair.
“Why is that?”
“Never mind,” Jack said quickly and she could have sworn that he looked completely embarrassed. “Listen, keep your mouth shut and don’t antagonize him. Billy can be lethal if provoked. All of us can be. We’ll leave out in the morning and split up. You can go with Sam.”
“No, I will go with you.”
“I’m not sure that is a good idea.”
“Why? I’m not safe with Billy.”
“That much is true.”
“And I’m not attracted to Sam,” she whispered, laying a hand on his arm. She felt his skin jump under her touch and smiled. That telltale flare she felt had kept her sane the last few days. Each time she doubted what Eve said, it seemed to be time to saddle up and then she was pressed against him or got a chance to touch him. She had spent the last few days wondering what it would feel like to caress Jack or kiss him. It ate at her.
“You shouldn’t say things like that. We need to get back,” he admitted, looking away.
“Aren’t you attracted to me, too? Is that why you were bothered? You thought you were attracted to a boy?”
Jack shrugged off her hand. Walking off, he left her in the darkness silently. “That’s not a ‘no’ you know!” she yelled out towards his back and hurried to catch up to him. “You didn’t say no.”
“No.”
“No, you aren’t attracted to me?”
“Chip… uh… Sabine,” Jack said, stopping suddenly, grabbing her. “Yes, dammit! Yes! I was attracted to you and thought I was losing my mind! A boy drops out of nowhere and every time he touched me, I wanted to touch him back. Did you want me to be lusting after you? Do you need to hear me say it?” His hands on her upper arms felt huge and hot through the material. She just stared at him in the moonlight as he bent down and kissed her thoroughly.
His warm lips practically melted her knees when they touched hers. She could have sworn that it was like licking a nine-volt battery. It was such a surge of heat that made her near senseless. His firm mouth was incredibly sensual. And the taste? Smoke, whiskey and him, a heady combination. She could see the incredulity in his face as he stared at her. As fast as he had grabbed her, he let go, causing her to stumble from her weak knees.
“Wow,” she breathed and sat down hard on a rock.
“Don’t move.”
“I don’t think I can,” she whispered unabashedly, staring up at him. He literally rocked her world with that quick kiss. She could have sworn she heard the marbles in her head spinning around like they were in a tin can. Maybe she popped an eardrum at the electricity between them?
“Sabine, don’t move!” he ordered again softly. “Snake,” he whispered, drawing his gun.
“WHAT?” she yelped and leaped forward off the rock. A loud explosion shook her teeth as she ran past Jack towards the campfire. His laughter trailed after her, echoing in the hills.
“Where’s Jack?”
“I’m here with food. Sabine found a snake,” he said with a knowing grin.
“That’s gross,” she whispered embarrassed.
“Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Miss Sabine,” Sam teased. “You’ll like snake. It tastes like chicken.”
“Meh, you still look like a Chip to me,” Billy said idly and shoved a stick straight through the snake’s mouth, exiting out of the middle of the body where the bullet had struck it.
“Oh vomit,” she muttered, looking away. “I think I might be sick.”
“Snake is good to eat,” Billy said slyly. “Unless you are too good for it, too?”
“I think it’s time for me to turn in,” she said, looking away.
“Oh no,” Billy gloated. “You need to take your turn cleaning up and putting out the fire.”
“Leave it, I will get it,” Jack said quietly from behind her. Sabine didn’t dare look at him as she felt a blush creeping up her neck as she recalled the feel of his lips.
“Picking up the slack again for your plaything?”
“Billy, I said I would get it. Let her rest.”
“No, I won’t be accused of not doing my part by him. I can do the dishes and bank the fire.”
“Sabine, he wants you to gut and skin the snake.”
“Never mind,” she said with a false bravado. “I’ll owe you one, Jack.”
She unrolled a blanket that he had loaned her to use for a pallet near the fire. His deep chuckle of amusement made her blush with embarrassment. The thought of his smile and laughter made her wonder what other facets of his personality he had and if they were just as mysterious. Boy, infatuation happens fast!
She had been thinking that she had been saddled with the three biggest losers by the descriptions that Eve had read to her, but only to find that snaggletooth Sam was pretty smart and nice. Billy was just as evil and malicious as she’d sensed originally. But Jack? He was like a smooth, strong liquor. Like the whiskey she had tasted briefly on his tongue. He reminded her of a deep, golden whiskey in an unpolished glass. Beautiful to look at, if you really took a good look past the exterior to the heart of it. You know you shouldn’t drink the alcohol, but the scent and the taste just beckon you to savor a sip. His scent, his taste from that single kiss was making her want to get flat drunk.
That was dangerous to her because she always thrived on a goal, a detailed plan of her life. Now that was in the shredder! Plans, goals, dreams were in the dust and she had been tossed onto another path. Only this time, she wasn’t given instructions or ideas, but simply a “go get ‘em” from her guide. She felt lost and drawn to Jack, like he was a compass guiding her. It scared her because she had never really put her trust in anyone else before or needed anyone. Now, she felt need and she wanted to trust him. A perfect stranger!
Sabine lay there for some time, listening to them talk and the crackle of the fire. Her mind whirled with all sorts of questions, none she was ready to ask. She eventually fell asleep to the sound of Jack humming a tune. His voice carried and washed over her like a warm blanket, finally easing her nerves.
Sabine awoke the next morning to the sun already in the sky. Stretching, she listened momentarily to see if the others were nearby. Hearing the barest hum coming from not far away, she rolled over and looked around. She realized that it was just her and Jack. The others had left. “Where’d they go?”
“They wanted to make good time getting to Austin.”
And left without us?
“I intended on going to the Austin vicinity,” Jack continued.
“Oh?”
“Did you need to go there? Do you have plans or want me to take you to someone?”
“No,” Sabine replied with some anxiety.
“What am I to do with you then? You can’t be alone out here. There are too many Indians and Mexicans that would swoop in and take a lovely woman like you. Even if you are dressed as a boy.”
“You think I’m lovely?” she preened, surprised at the compliment.
“In a strange way, yes.”
“What’s strange about it?” she asked.
“For one, your hair is shorter than mine in spots. Were you sick at some point? Is that why it’s all cut off on one side?”
“A. That’s rude. You don’t tell a woman she looks strange or sick. B. No, it’s the style, thank you. And C. It’s pretty cool in the heat.”
“I can imagine,” he responded as he chuckled.
Jack paused for a moment before asking, “Will you be growing it out long then?”
“Maybe. Does it matter?”
“I think you would look very fetching with long hair.”
<
br /> “Hmmm, then maybe I will.”
“Are you trying to tempt me to kiss you again?”
“Is it working?” Sabine asked, shyly.
“No.”
“Wow,” she said, staring at him. “You have no idea how to win over a girl, do you?”
“I’m not trying to.”
“And I repeat again: wow.”
Chapter Six
They rode for several hours in complete silence. It didn’t matter what Sabine said or how many knock-knock jokes she tried to engage him in. He wasn’t falling for it. It was like playing the silent game with someone who was pushing all her buttons. He would give her this “look” like she was supposed to know what she was doing at all times and it got under her skin.
“Tell me about yourself?” she asked and got no response.
“You married?”
“Divorced?”
“Catholic? Baptist? Protestant?”
“Favorite food?”
“You like music?” At his sharp questioning glance, she almost grinned. She had finally thrown him off. “Oh ho! You are a singer? Me, too! I love to sing at the top of my lungs in my…” car, she was about to say. “In my free time.”
He turned back away from her and prompted his horse into a faster gait. There was nothing in the area and it was quite flat and acrid. Weeds, sparse trees, and dirt surrounded them but she could see some hills ahead and some greenery. Must be why he was hurrying, he was tired of the sun-burned landscape, too. “Don’t worry about me, I’m right behind you.” I’m watching your behind and thinking about how it looks in that saddle, she admitted silently to herself.
“Let’s see. If you like to sing and I like to sing, we could pass the time singing a few songs. Any suggestions?”
Jack didn’t even bother to look back. He simply kept pace just ahead of her. “Okay then! Ladies choice? Sweet! I’m thinking that maybe something a bit peppy is appropriate. I like pop music. So how about some Taylor Swift? I just adore her songs!” Sabine started singing and waving her arms in mock dancing as she rode the horse slowly behind him. When she got to the chorus, she realized that Jack had stopped his horse and was staring at her.
Enchanted by You: Timeswept Soulmates (Timeless Brides Book 3) Page 6