She didn't understand what he meant until he stroked his cock over her slit twice and then started to ease in. His long preparation with his fingers meant that her flesh was soft and open, and though she was still tight, he slid in like he belonged there.
He was sheathed inside to the hilt, and for a long moment, they simply felt each other. He leaned over her to support himself on the far edge of the tub, and almost without thinking, she leaned over to kiss his bare arm.
“That's a beautiful girl,” he said. “So open and easy for me, aren't you?”
She didn't know how long he simply rested his weight on her, and then he was moving. Unlike the strength and aggression he had used before, however, now he was sliding inside her slowly and easily. He wasn't thrusting into her so much as rocking against her, and the gentleness of the motion opened up something deep and gentle inside her. Instead of moaning, she sighed, and she felt herself relax in a way that she never had before with him.
It seemed to go on forever, with his hard cock moving inside her, and then, for a reason that she didn't understand, Marigold felt a spark of that now-familiar heat in her belly. Amazed, she felt her body start to stir out of its sleepy state. She tightened around him, and her thighs shifted restlessly.
“That's it,” he whispered coaxingly. “I know you can again, just for me.”
“Jake, Jake, I can't,” she insisted, but even as the words crossed her lips, she could tell that he was right and she was wrong.
Something about the long, slow burn of his movements was waking her up again, making her ache with want.
“It's going to be just like this,” he whispered, kissing her ear. “Just this. You can depend on it, love, I won't hurt you. I won't make you ache. You can have it if you want, just reach for it.”
Timidly, she started to move back against him, following the same motions that he did. The movements were slow and gentle, but there was strength there, too, and she closed her eyes and arched her back, mutely asking for more.
Sizzling sensations started to run up her legs, and, before she quite understood what was happening, she could feel her body start to convulse again.
“Oh, oh please, Jake...!”
“Reach for it, darling, I'll give it to you, just reach for it.”
That gentle encouragement was all she needed, and, when she did, it was as easy as a bird taking flight. She had a moment to marvel at the perfection of their bodies together, and then she was shaking and could think of nothing at all. This time she could feel his climax as well. Her body tightened around him like a silky fist, wringing his pleasure from him and making him shake.
Marigold had never realized how much she loved his climax before, but now she could feel all of it, from the trembling of his frame to the sudden rush of liquid heat between her legs when he was done. The thought of him inside her made her shiver.
In response, Jake wrapped his arms around her shoulders, kissing her ear and her jaw.
She was drifting in that blank and satisfied spot when Jake finally pulled away from her. She murmured sleepily as he stood her up, but, when he started to dry her, she purred with pleasure. He took his time, rubbing her down briskly with a soft clean towel. When he was done, she was feeling so relaxed that she was nearly asleep.
He laid her down gently on the bed.
When he stripped and joined her, she found that she could not close her eyes.
“Are you going to keep me?” she asked, finding a courage in the dark that she did not have in the light.
“Do you want to be kept?” There was a teasing note to his voice, but there was something terribly serious underneath it as well. He was drawn to her as much as she was drawn to him, and that made her brave enough to continue.
“You're... you're the most exciting man that I have ever known,” she said. “I had never dreamed of a man like you in Bristol, where it takes at least a bit of a dowry to make a marriage of any sort.”
“Ah, bride price,” he chuckled. “Among my mother's people, the men pay for the woman's worth. It shows his regard for her and how well he values her.”
Marigold smiled at that thought, of someone coming to the garret she had shared with her sister Elspeth and offering her money for her to be his wife.
“Would you pay a great deal for me?” she asked softly. She held her breath while he thought about the question.
“A fortune,” he said softly. “Buffalo robes. Beads. Guns. Horses. You would be worth all of it and more.”
She smiled, blushing and burying her face in his chest.
“Do you miss your mother's people?” she asked curiously. When he hesitated, she stroked his chest soothingly and patiently.
“Sometimes,” Jake said at last. “I was almost five before I noticed I was different from them, and, not long after that, my father found us. He was the one who took me back east, and it took more than ten years of hell-raising before he gave up and decided that I was better off out here.” He paused, considering.
She snuggled closer. She could read a lifetime of pain in his light words, and she wanted to fix it for him. She couldn't go back in time and comfort the child he was. Now all she could do was hold the man he had become.
“I was... a handful for him. I got up to a lot of trouble, and some of the mildest involved gambling.”
“You were playing in a game when I met you,” she said, remembering his appearance at the table.
He shifted uneasily next to her.
She wondered if he was uncomfortable.
“I was playing again tonight,” he said. “I... I am very good at it, let's leave it at that.”
“You make it sound like you have some kind of gift from the devil himself,” she said teasingly.
“I'm very good,” Jake responded. “Some of the people back in Boston did say that I have the devil's own luck when it comes to the tables, but I think it's just that I watch, and I listen. A simple thing, but few people have that gift.”
“You watch and you listen,” she echoed dubiously. “Is that all it takes?”
“You'd be surprised. There was plenty I saw in you that night when I stopped being a fool long enough to look.”
“Really?”
“Hmm, yes. When I stopped to look, I could see that you were terrified. You didn't want to be there, and you might have fallen down on your knees if I offered to take you away.”
There was a pause, and she wondered if he had fallen asleep, but then he gathered her up in his arms and held her close.
“I'm sorry for that,” he whispered. “I was too much of an idiot to see how frightened you were or how much you needed gentleness. That was... not well done of me. In the future, I pray I will do better.”
She fought back the tears that welled up at his tender words, pressing her body against his, trying to tell him that she forgave him.
“Will you go into town again tomorrow?” she asked softly. Suddenly she wanted him to stay by her. The idea of the two of them settling in this quiet area with nothing to hurt them appealed to her, and she didn't want him far away.
“I'm not sure,” he admitted. “I need to go back to town again, but I did win a mare tonight. If I keep this up, the good people of Langtry are going to start thinking I'm using marked cards. It's happened before.”
“A mare?” she asked, confused. “Another horse?”
“Yes, a man offered her up as a stake because he didn't have any more cash. It wasn't a good idea. The stakes had already gone higher than he was prepared to go, and he had a poor hand. He spent the rest of the night cursing his luck, but now I have a new horse, I suppose.”
In Bristol, horses had been beasts of burden, but expensive ones. A man's livelihood was wrapped up in his horse, and the idea that someone would gamble it away stunned her. Then she thought of her own position in that first poker game and winced.
“She's a fine horse,” Jake continued. “Sweet and gentle. Not the money I needed, but I might keep her for a while, see how she gets o
n with Tamu.”
Jake went on to tell Marigold about the money that he was trying to raise to help his niece in Boston. She listened, but a part of her was far away, thinking of her own sister in Bristol.
Elspeth must be worried sick, she thought, turning over to go to sleep. With Jake's warm weight against her back, she couldn't stop her mind from turning over thoughts of her sister, who had now gone more than two months without word. The thought of her sister's fear sent a lance through her heart, and Marigold knew that she had to do something to fix this.
The thought of the new horse in the stable floated through her mind. Tamu was a brilliant animal, but she was far from sweet and gentle. If this new horse proved to be more tractable, she might make it into town and be back before Jake knew she was gone.
Her mind full of thoughts and plots, she drifted off to sleep.
When she awoke, Jake was gone, but he left her a paper-wrapped package with her name on it.
Opening it up, she found a well-made dress of dark calico with sprigs of berries on it. It looked like the clothing worn by the townswomen, and she stroked it gently, awed that he had thought of her. It fit her well, and she gladly consigned the taffeta skirt to the rag bin.
After she had eaten a simple breakfast, she dressed herself in the clothes that he had provided. They were sturdy and clean, and though they were less showy than the garb she had discarded, she marveled at how lovely they were. When she tied up her hair and looked down at herself in the dark dress, she looked like a respectable homesteader, a woman with a life and a purpose, and she couldn't help but smile.
The new mare turned out to be just as sweet as Jake had promised, and Marigold even managed to saddle her securely. The ride to town was accomplished swiftly and easily, and by the time she got there, she was delighted with herself. She could be back before Jake even realized she was gone, and with the little bit of money she had filched from the jar where he kept some cash, she could bring back something delicious for dinner as well.
She hitched the horse to the posts in front of the general store, and it was only when a man stepped aside to let her come up the steps and another opened the door for her that she understood the difference.
Marigold realized that her clothes and her tidy hair made her a respectable woman in the eyes of the town, and indeed, everyone seemed to smile when they saw her. A nicely-dressed little girl dropped a doll, and when Marigold bent to retrieve it for her, her mother smiled a thank-you.
Marigold found her way to the store owner, a kindly older man with a heavy mustache.
“I... I have a telegraph to send,” she said shyly. “To Bristol.”
His eyebrows raised at that.
“Now that's a fair ways,” he said. “You must need to talk to someone powerful bad.”
“My sister,” she explained. “I've been out of touch, and she must be ill with worry.”
The man clucked his understanding, and offered her his chair while he went to send off her missive. It was brief so it would not be so expensive, but it would set Elspeth's mind at ease greatly.
After it was done, she browsed the store. It was primitive compared to the shops in Bristol, but there was a simplicity to it that appealed to her soul. People smiled at her, and one woman complimented her on her dress.
Marigold realized that she might have found a home in this country, with its wide open spaces and its easy-going people. The thought swelled inside her, making her feel like she was flying on the wings of a dream she had never thought possible before, and then it all came crashing down to earth when a terrifyingly familiar man came into the store.
“Well, well, looks like you got away from that bastard after all,” Black sneered.
He strode over to where she stood, ignoring the disgust and the glares of the other people in the store.
As he reached for her, Marigold felt herself freeze.
* * * *
After the cattle were tended, Jake made his way to town. One more good night at the tables would likely see him making the money he needed for his niece, and if it were a very good night, he might not even need to sell the new mare. She was a sweet-footed, sweet-natured animal, and he liked the idea of Marigold having a mount of her own. Just the thought of her riding by his side was enough to make him grin. As he rode into Langtry, he thought about how lucky he was.
He had come to town just a few nights ago to make money. He had never anticipated the thought that he might find himself a beautiful, spirited woman who wanted the same things that he wanted, that thrilled to his touch as much as he thrilled to hers. He had been lonely, and he had thought that that was the way it was going to be. Then Marigold had appeared, and all thoughts of his loneliness had fallen away.
Jake pulled up to the main street, realizing that it might be hours yet before any of the games where he could win the money he needed were due to start. The general store was still open, however, and he suddenly realized that he certainly had enough to buy Marigold a treat. She had likely never had sweet honeycomb before, and it was the right season for jars of the stuff to be on sale. The idea of the two of them sharing the sticky dessert was wonderful, and he hitched Tamu up to the post.
He almost went up the stairs, and then with a moment of dawning rage, he realized that the horse next to Tamu looked startlingly familiar. It was the chestnut mare that he had won the night before, and there was only one reason why she would be anywhere except the ranch.
He took a moment to catch hold of his temper, and then he climbed the steps two at a time.
* * * *
“I'm sure you must be mistaken,” Marigold said, her voice high and afraid. “I'm not who you're looking for.”
Black snorted.
“You can put a dress on a pig and it don't make it a woman, and you can put a whore in a dress and it still don't make her honest.”
“Please, leave me alone,” she said, a tremor coming to her voice. She looked around at the other people in the store, but they knew of Black and his reputation, and even if they had wanted to help her, she could see that they wouldn't.
“The hell I'm going to,” he snapped. “You got away from me once too easily, and damned if I am going to see it happen again.”
His hand circled around her wrist, and suddenly she was back on that train coming west, when the man who had delivered her to this country handed her over to Black. She had felt a deep and endless terror when Black first took hold of her, and now she felt it again, threatening to overwhelm her and pull her down.
She froze, but when he started to pull her away, she dug in her heels. She thought desperately of Jake, and she realized that she could not let this man carry her away.
“No!” she cried. “I won't.”
He laughed at her, but now he found that she was resisting, trying to pull away.
“Come on, damn you...”
“You have the wrong woman,” she said desperately. “I'm not who you're thinking of...”
“The hell I do, I know who you are, slut, nothing wrong about it.
“You've got the wrong woman because that is my woman.”
The words were spoken quietly, but there was such terrifying menace to them that Black took a step back. Though his hand was still clamped like a band of iron around Marigold's arm, Marigold felt her heart soar when she saw Jake standing there.
He stood easily, watching everything out of his quick dark eyes, but she could see that his gun was out of its holster. It was pointed at the ground, but she had an idea how fast he could be with it.
“Your woman's a runaway whore,” Black informed him.
Marigold winced away from the words that Jake had used against her.
Jake never moved his gaze from Black. “She's got more honor in her little finger than you could hope to find in all your family, Black, but I'm not here to talk about that. She's mine, she always will be, so you just let her go. I am not warning you again.”
“She's not...”
The words wer
e barely out of Black's mouth before Jake reversed the rifle and jabbed the butt hard into Black's face.
The other man howled, letting go of Marigold's arm to cover a suddenly fountaining nose. He fell to the ground, covering his face with his hands.
The men who gathered around him looked less than sympathetic.
“We'll take care of this, Sloan,” one of them said. “We've been waiting for a chance to take Black apart ages ago.”
“See that you leave enough for the sheriff,” Jake said calmly.
Marigold was so relieved to see Jake that she nearly collapsed in a heap, but then she met his eyes. They were dark and cold, and suddenly she remembered the stranger who had won her over a hand of cards and never wanted her. The look struck a deep spear of terror into her gut, and she reached out a pleading hand to him.
He looked down at her offered hand with no more understanding than a wolf would if a fawn offered it a hoof, but finally he took it, bringing her close so that she could curl her hand around his forearm. He guided her around the still-shouting bulk of Black, and they walked into the street.
“Jake...,” she began, “Thank you so much, I....”
“Shut up.”
His words were deep and furious, and it was all she could do not to cringe away. There was a black rage radiating off of him, and she was bewildered as to where it was coming from.
Instead of leading her to Tamu, who was hitched at the post, he lead her straight to one of the nearby hotels. It was not a nice place, she realized as he paid for a room. The girls in skimpy clothing nearly identical to what she had worn were lurking in the lobby, and she could hear the man at the desk ask if Jake wanted a room for the night or for the hour.
Marigold blinked to see one of the whores waving at her, and she realized that the small blond was Maisey, the girl who Black had threatened what seemed like so long ago.
Cautiously keeping eye on Jake, she walked over to Maisey. The girl smiled at her encouragingly and leaned in close to visit.
“We barely recognized you in your dress!” Maisey exclaimed. “You look like a real lady.”
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