by Reece Butler
“Is that a blush because you want more of my handsome body? I sure hope you don’t feel any shame.”
“I…” She couldn’t think of what to say in reply.
“That’s why we need to talk. I don’t know what you and Ross did outside last night, but he got up this morning so darn cheerful that Auntie didn’t know what to do.”
First, he bathed her in the stream as she complained of the cold. He kissed her all over. By then, she was desperate for his cock. He lay on his back on the moss, and she rode him, grinding her clit against him until she came. Then he turned her onto her hands and knees and entered her from behind, claiming her as a stallion would his mare. When he exploded, calling her name, she came again, even harder.
“From the way your chest hardened up, you must’ve had fun.” He teased her swollen clit with his finger. “Maybe next time, you’ll invite me to join you,” he whispered. “You can ride Ross’s cock, and I’ll do what I did last night. We’ll fill you front and back. You want to try that, Amelia?”
She nodded. He rewarded her by rubbing her clit again.
“That’s good.”
He sighed and wrapped both arms around her. She relaxed in his embrace, knowing his pounding heart meant he wasn’t through talking.
“I love that you want my body,” he finally said. “But this is what matters more. Holding you. You holding me. If I had to choose, I would go without the other to have you hold me at night.” He kissed the top of her head.
“Does the cock nudging my hip agree with that?”
He gave a rueful laugh. “Just because we did that last night doesn’t mean I expect it again anytime soon.”
Amelia heard both his disbelief that she would want more and his plea that she would. She finally had a chance to talk without him running away or someone interrupting.
“Why are you so different from Ross? You have the same parents and grew up together.”
His shriveling cock tickled her thigh, and his heart thudded harder under her cheek. She waited until he shifted onto his side, taking her with her. He wrapped his arm around her waist, her bottom tucked into his groin. The hair tickled her.
“We didn’t grow up together. I stayed with my parents until we came back here to the MD. Ross went to our mother’s people when he was five. Something happened, and he came home a few years later. He’s never been the same since. He’s working toward something, but I don’t know what.”
“He wasn’t much older than Daniel. Just a boy.”
“I never thought of it, but yes. Though I don’t know if Ross was ever a boy. He was the first of my mother’s children and suffered for it.” He lifted his arm from her to scratch his cheek. “When he came back, he still didn’t get along with Pa and the two oldest, but he knew how to fight back.”
“Did they hurt him a lot?”
“Far as I can tell, the reason they first sent Ross away was that Fin and Hugh damn near killed him. Those two might be my half-brothers, but they’re meaner than a wild pig with a sore tusk.”
She twisted her back to see Nevin’s face.
“They tried to kill their little brother, so he was sent away? What happened to them?”
“Probably nothing.” He pulled her against him again. “Their ma treated those two like they were perfect. Mrs. Elliott, that’s Trace’s ma, said they were banned from the Rocking E because they caused so much trouble.”
“I thought all boys cause trouble.”
“Those two whipped horses for the hell of it. Ross saw it but couldn’t stop them. He told Pa, and they got a whipping. Ross got whipped, too, for telling tales.”
Amelia let the vision settle into her view of Ross.
“Your father didn’t punish them for hurting their brother, just the animals.”
“Animals are worth something. He could always have another son.”
Amelia heard a trace of bitterness in the statement. Ross was likely not the only one targeted.
“I thought my father was a brute for beating me because he couldn’t marry Prudence and me off to raise himself in society.”
“You’ve got to understand, Pa was raised to be The MacDougal. The word of the Clan Chief is law. If he says you’re banished or even killed, the Clan does it.”
Amelia saw that Nevin didn’t have the same darkness in his soul as Ross. Each of them had remembered pain. Who could grow this old and not experience bumps on the road? But Ross’s went deep. Whatever happened to him had never left.
“Is Gillis the Chief here?”
“As the oldest brother, yes.”
“He ordered Ross to marry me instead of you. Both of you obeyed, even if you wanted something different.”
Nevin moved his shoulders, resettling farther from her. “Clan rules keep everyone alive. No person, even the Chief, is worth more than keeping the Clan alive.”
“And because Gillis thought no woman would ever want Ross, you couldn’t have me.”
Nevin shuffled closer again. His cock, now between her bottom cheeks, twitched.
“Ross has changed a lot since you got here. I expect now he knows the advantage of a wife, he’d want one. And anyway, I’ve got you as well. Right where I want you. In my bed.”
She let him roll her onto her back. She ached for him to touch all the places his brown eyes travelled. Her lips. Her neck, her breasts, and more. He slid his tantalizing fingers around her breasts and over her quivering belly. She pulled her knees up and apart to make it easier for him.
He slid his fingers into her and captured her mouth with his. Blood pounded in her ears, growing louder with each thud.
“You two at it again? There’s work to be done, and daylight’s wasting.”
“Ross?” She gasped when he pulled at her toe.
“This is hard work, brother Raven,” said Nevin conversationally. “My cock’s hard, and I’m breathing like I just ran home from town.”
“Guess Amelia’s hearing isn’t as keen as yours, Bearclaw. I stomped loud enough.”
Ross hauled on her foot. Nevin released her, grinning as she slid past to the foot of the bed. Ross held her foot in the air, her bottom lifted off the bed a few inches. He tsked and shook his head as if catching her with her finger in the sugar jar.
“You wanted him in our bed, husband. What’s your complaint?”
His blue-gray eyes widened as a slow, wolfish smile grew.
“Oh, oh,” said Nevin. “You’re in for it now.” She shook as he climbed out of bed. He smacked the bottom cheek still raised off the bed.
“Ouch! Whose side are you on?” she complained.
Nevin chuckled as he stepped into pants and a shirt. “I’m the youngest brother here. Take it up with the boss.” He grabbed boots and socks and thumped down the stairs.
She clenched her fingers into the sheets, unsure what Ross would do. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her, but she’d never seen that look on his face. It made her pussy twitch. She felt like a maiden captured by a pirate eager to claim her. She gulped.
“You’re thinking something wicked, aren’t you, Mrs. MacDougal,” he said in a soft, deadly voice. “Something that’s made you very wet.”
She licked her lips and scrambled to get loose.
“Save that thought for tonight.” He lowered her foot to the bed. Gripping her other one, he placed the bottoms of her feet together. The wolfish smile widened more as she opened for him. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her clit.
“I want you ready for me tonight, wife.”
“Are you going to fall asleep on me again?”
He stood up. With her on the bed, he was so tall and broad. “All you had to do was ask. Keep that in mind.”
He was down the stairs before his words penetrated her mind. She sat up slowly. Had he been faking those snores? She stood up and went to wash. Did he do it on purpose so she would ask Nevin in frustration? She grumbled at the answer, obvious now.
“That man sees too much and figures things out he has no b
usiness figuring,” she declared. She put on her gray work dress and went down to face the day. She had to get through that before she’d share her bed again.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“I don’t like it that Gil still avoids Amelia,” said Ross to Nevin.
Nevin had shared the bed for a week now. He hadn’t realized how much it meant in his life to hold a woman in the night until he had one. Amelia was more than a woman. She was the wife they shared. But it wasn’t enough. Not until Gillis joined them would their life be complete.
He looked out over the herd of MacDougal cattle quietly munching in the high meadow. Wisps of white rose as the sun burned off the morning mist. Ross had the eyeglass, searching for anything amiss.
“I don’t have any ideas,” replied Nevin. “Gillis bolts from the kitchen right after supper unless Hope calls for him. Then he skedaddles away as soon as she’s asleep. I see him watching Amelia during the day. He still misses Prudence, but he wants Amelia. He just won’t admit it. Something’s got to force him to wake up, but I don’t know what.”
They rode on for a while.
“Amelia gets nightmares about the fire,” said Ross. “Ever since she started using the stove.”
“I haven’t noticed anything.”
“It happened when you were at Trace’s the other night. You know how I go out for a walk in the night. I came back and found her moaning and shaking, muttering about fire. She stopped when I held her. She didn’t remember in the morning, and I didn’t say anything.”
“Did you see her when Auntie asked her to stoke up the fire before supper yesterday? Her face went so white I thought she’d faint.”
“And?”
“She gritted her teeth, opened the door, and tossed in a log. But she shook the whole time. Right after, she went out to the privy. She didn’t come back for some time.”
“If Tillie and Auntie weren’t there, she’d have to cook. That would bring on the nightmares.” Ross nodded. “That would work.”
“What are you getting at?”
“If only Gil and Amelia were home and she got a nightmare, there’d be no one else to comfort her.”
Nevin’s smile took a while to arrive while he thought over the implications. “Good idea. How?”
“How long since you’ve been to Virginia City?”
“Since I saw Ace win the Double Diamond off Smythe. Too long. Why?”
“Amelia’s arranged for some fancy doctor to look at Daniel. She thinks he can sew up his hare lip so the boy can at least close his mouth. It hurts her that he turns away, like a dog ashamed to eat in the same room with his master.”
“If we bring Danny boy with us, Gil will have to take care of the women.”
“Just Amelia. Auntie and Tilly are taking the babies to the camas digging. They’ll be gone at least a couple of weeks.”
Nevin rubbed his stomach, grinning. “Fresh, sweet camas! One of my favorite times of the year.”
“You want to show off your hunting skills to the pretty girls.”
“And what’s wrong with that? You did the same. I saw a lot of girls dig heaping piles of those roots, hoping you’d notice what good wives they’d make. You broke their hearts when you refused to look at any of them,” he joked.
Ross winced. His horse jockeyed around until he calmed it. “The elders would not have allowed it,” he stated. He pointed west. “We’d better check out that herd.”
Nevin opened his mouth to speak and then nodded. Ross would talk when he was ready. One thing he knew about his older brother was that the man was stubborn.
“You never told me why,” said Nevin an hour later, his patience exhausted. Ross didn’t acknowledge the question, but his shoulders tightened. His horse shied at the tension, dancing sideways until Ross calmed him. He pressed his lips tight.
They rode for hours looking for predators, counting the branded cattle. As the sun dropped toward the west, they headed home. A family of ravens paced them, strangely silent. Finally, Ross spoke.
“A girl died. I was at fault. I was banished from the People.”
“Was that when you came back?”
Ross, face turned away, nodded his head.
“Dammit, Ross. You weren’t much older than Daniel! How could you be at fault?”
“A girl died because of me. Badly. It didn’t matter how old I was. Those are the laws of the People.” Ross turned his horse aside.
Nevin let him leave. He shut his mouth and set his brain to work. When big brother Ross returned he was no longer the helpful older brother. He was withdrawn and angry.
Ross learned a lot from their Bannock and Shoshone relatives in the years he was gone. When he returned and Hugh started beating on him as usual, Ross put an arrow into the flesh of his ass. Nothing to kill him, but painful and very, very humiliating. Everyone but Pa, Fin, and Hugh thought it was fitting. But once again, Ross was sent away. This time, to the Elliotts. Ever since, he’d had that one-step-removed attitude, as if his time on the earth was short and he had only one purpose in living.
Nevin now knew that purpose was revenge. Against whom, how, or exactly why, he neither knew or cared. His brother, part of his Clan and Tribe, needed him. He followed Ross, easily catching up.
“Gillis said something about you needing revenge. I can help,” said Nevin quietly.
“Don’t need any help.”
Nevin shrugged. “Maybe I need to help you.”
“Help by caring for Amelia while I’m gone.”
Nevin understood Ross’s attitude. If a man had a problem, he solved it. Alone. Ross had had a hell of a time growing up and had every reason to be mad at the world. But Nevin’s skin was the same color. Their children’s would be as well.
Instead of butting heads at every opportunity like Ross, Nevin had learned to get along by being easygoing. He kept the peace by giving in when he had to. Ross, on the other hand, would fight to the death before he’d give an inch. Nev didn’t have as many scars as his older brother, both inside and out, but he had enough.
“Raven, I’m your brother Bear. You left right after to taught me to ride a pony. I remember waiting for the first snow, for you to come home for the winter. You were my hero. An older brother who looked like me. Someone tough, who stood at my back.”
“You’re welcome,” replied Ross with sarcasm. “But I don’t need you.”
“Dammit, if I’m good enough to share your wife, why can’t I share your pain? Why can’t I help you do whatever you need to be whole again?”
Though Nevin shouted the words, Ross gave no notice. He nudged his horse. After a moment, Nevin followed. They rode in silence until almost home. Finally, Ross sighed.
“I need to kill three men. One has the bottom of his nose slit from a knife. The other has old powder burns past his cheekbones.”
“What about the third?”
“My raven attacked him. He’s got deep cuts on his head, but thick hair and a hat would cover them.”
“What did they do?”
“They took what they wanted from a girl and rode away laughing.” Ross clenched his jaw, blinking rapidly. “She slit the first one’s nose with her knife, but he knocked her out. I was too late to save her. I killed one when he came back for more. The other three escaped. For now.”
“Aw, shit.” Nevin closed his eyes, realizing what they’d done.
“She was our cousin, Nev.” His voice broke. “Nine years old.” He kicked his horse. The beast, startled at the unusual treatment, snorted and stormed away. The ravens, shrieking, chased after.
Nevin pulled on his reins, stopping his horse. After a minute, it leaned down to crop the grass.
“You’ve kept this inside for too long, brother Raven.” Nevin slid his feet out of the stirrups and dismounted. He stretched out his legs, cramped from being in the saddle so long. He kicked a mound of dirt. “Why?” He smashed the next mound with his other foot. “Why didn’t you trust me?”
An image of what must be burned into
Ross’s brain hit Nevin. The little girl, covered by one man after the other while Ross raced down the mountain as fast as his legs could go. Too small and far away to stop it. Somehow, Ross had killed one of them, but the other three escaped.
Nevin groaned and fell to his knees. Jessamine Elliott was six months older than him and the toughest girl he’d ever met. What if he was Daniel’s age and was unable to stop four men from raping and murdering Jessie? How could he live, knowing what she’d gone through?
Revenge would be the only thing to keep him going.
So much made sense now. Why Ross wouldn’t pay for a woman, even one of Lily’s eager girls. Why he made regular sweeps into the nearby towns, hanging out in grungy bars pretending to drink bad whiskey while he listened to the talk.
Nevin staggered to his feet. He cursed, wiping away tears of rage with the back of his hand. The three men deserved to die as they had killed. Slowly, painfully, and in terror. The type of men who’d do that to a child wouldn’t stop with just one. How many other girls and women had they destroyed just because they could?
His right hand flexed, eager for his gun.
No. That was too easy for raping scum. He’d tie them up and gag them. Let them watch him put a branding iron into the fire. He’d tell them exactly what he planned to do with that iron. He’d start slow, burning right through the front of their pants.
As a finishing touch, perhaps he’d go medieval, like Vlad the Impaler. He’d roll them over a log, face down. He’d let the branding iron cool a bit so it wouldn’t cauterize and kill the nerve endings. He wanted them to feel everything. He’d take that iron rod and shove it up their—
Nevin’s smile came slowly, and it was not a pleasant one. Ross would appreciate his idea. Maybe he’d add a few extras with his knife. Just thinking about what would happen when they caught the men made him feel better.
First, they had to catch them. He looked forward to Virginia City even more now.
He whistled for his horse. The mare took her time, being an ornery female. He shook out his body and set his mind to war. He’d heard a few things about the man with the cut nose. He liked to attack Indians, preferably when alone and defenseless. Lately, there’d been rumors of him hanging around the area.