by Connie Mason
"I don't blame you for being angry," Meg said. "I should have explained why I left the way I did."
"You don't owe me a damn thing. You preferred Skully. I accept that."
Meg held her hand out, as if in supplication. "It wasn't like that at all. Will you listen to me?"
"No. I have no patience to listen right now. Do you have any idea how I felt when I was told you had boarded the train with Skully? I didn't want to believe it. I made all kinds of excuses, but none of them could dispel the truth. Was my proposal of marriage so abhorrent that you had to run away? Or did you want nothing to do with me because I'm wanted by the law?"
He turned around and walked away, his heart heavy. He'd never been in love before and had no idea it would hurt so much to have the women he loved abandon him for another.
"Wait! Don't go. Let me explain."
"Sorry, Meg, I'm not in the mood."
Jess had one foot on the bottom stair when the door opened and Zach burst in.
"I was on my way home when Deputy Taylor hailed me and said Meggie..."
He saw her then and his face lit up. "Meggie! It's true! You did come back."
He held out his arms and Meg rushed into them.
"Why did you leave, Meggie-girl? You loathe Arlo Skully. Did you tell Jess what happened?"
"I tried, Zach, but he doesn't care to listen."
Zach pinned Jess with a censuring look. "What the hell is wrong with you, Doc? Why won't you let Meggie explain?"
Jess shrugged. "It's too late. She should have explained before she left."
"You were ready to go to Denver after her," Zach charged.
Meg's eyes widened. "You were?"
"If I didn't, Zach would have, and we all know Zach isn't up for another long trip so soon after his last one to Philadelphia. That won't be necessary now, will it?"
Jess couldn't bear to look at Meg. He remembered too well their last night together. How she had clung to him, how she had loved him. A woman couldn't do what she'd done unless she loved a man, yet Meg had driven him to the brink of madness with her hands and mouth, taking him further, higher, than he ever dreamed possible.
"Dammit, Jess, you're not being reasonable!" Zach chided. "Give Meggie a chance."
"Don't waste your breath, Zach," Meg said, lifting her skirt and removing the two telegrams she'd stolen from the sheriff's desk from her half boot. Quickly she scanned both telegrams and handed one to Jess.
"What's this?" Jess growled.
"Just read it?"
Reluctantly Jess opened the telegram and read the words Skully had sent to Sheriff Bufford. Then he handed it to Zach.
Jess's intense gaze pierced her. "Where did you get this? It's addressed to the sheriff."
Meg's chin rose fractionally. "I stole it."
Jess's jaw tautened. "From where?"
"The sheriff's desk. It arrived after he'd left with the posse."
"Who sent it?"
"Arlo."
"I told you so!" Zach crowed.
"Keep out of this, Zach," Jess warned. "I can't think straight right now. Leave, both of you. Come back in a few days. Maybe I'll be more inclined to hear Meg's explanation then."
"But the telegram..."
"I know what it says, Zach, but I need time to gather my thoughts and cool off."
"I'm not going anywhere, Jess Gentry," Meg blasted, hands on hips, eyes blistering him with her determination. "You can hate me if it will make you feel better but you're going to listen to what I have to say. If my words don't change anything I won't bother you again."
Jess couldn't, not now. Even as angry as he was with Meg all he could think about was carrying her up to his bed and making love to her. In a day or two, after his temper had cooled and his need abated, he could be a more objective listener.
"You two can let yourselves out," Jess said as he started up the stairs. "I think there's a lot Zach wants to tell you, Meg."
Her shoulders sagging, Meg watched Jess disappear up the staircase.
"You ain't gonna let him get away with that, are you?" Zach asked.
"He doesn't want to talk to me, Zach. I can't force myself on him."
"The Meggie I know could and would. She ain't afraid of anything."
"Jess doesn't understand, Zach. I hurt him."
He led her to a chair. "You want to tell me about it?"
"Arlo knew about Jess," Meg began. "He caught me stealing Jess's wanted poster from the sheriff's office and remembered where he seen Jess before. He'd just come from Kansas, where Jess's poster had been widely circulated."
"The bastard threatened you, didn't he?"
"Worse. He threatened Jess. I couldn't let Jess go to jail so I agreed to accompany Arlo to Denver."
Zach paled. "He didn't...you didn't...the bastard!"
"No," Jess was quick to assure him. "We didn't...do anything. I insisted upon separate rooms. He held card games in his room and I was there to distract his customers while he cheated. He threatened to expose Jess if I didn't comply."
"You told him to go to hell and he sent that telegram," Zach guessed.
"Something like that," Meg hedged. She wasn't about to go into detail.
"Where is Skully now? Can we expect him to show up in Cheyenne?"
"He's dead. He cheated a man out of a silver mine and the owner took exception. He was found dead the next morning in an alley. Inspector Faulkner said his killer might never be found and suggested I leave town, that my own life might be in danger since I was with Arlo at that game and might be considered an accomplice."
"Damn," Zach said, apparently stunned to learn of Arlo's death. "The bastard got what was coming to him. What are you gonna do now? Maybe you should come home with me now and get some rest. You look done in. I got a lot to tell you, honey."
Meg glanced toward the stairs. "I'm not leaving, Zach. Not until Jess agrees to listen to me. I want you to go home without me. But first, tell me quickly about your trip to Philadelphia."
Zach grinned. "I'm rich, honey. My wife's folks left her a fortune and I'm her only heir. I asked Mary to marry me, if that's all right with you."
"Why wouldn't it be all right? I'm happy for you and Mary. You've been seeing her a long time, it's about time you two got married."
"My wife's death made it possible," Zach explained. "I ain't the kind to let my wife support me, and now I won't have to. My health ain't the best, but Mary is willing to take me as I am. I can spend the years I have left with a woman I care about. There's plenty of money for you, too, Meggie. You'll never have to take up bounty hunting for a living again."
She gave him a quick hug. "We'll see. Go on home now. I'm going upstairs and make Jess listen to me."
Zach sent her a skeptical look. "You sure?"
"Very sure. The most he can do is throw me out."
"Meggie, I don't..."
"Go on, Zach, I'll be just fine."
"I wouldn't leave you if I thought Jess was a violent man. But I taught you to take care of yourself so I reckon I'll just mosey on home."
Meg locked the door after Zach, dragged in a calming breath, and started up the stairs.
Jess paced the length of the room and back, his temper still high. He didn't know whether he was angrier at himself for letting Meg get to him or at Meg for making his life a living hell. It had taken all his considerable willpower not to turn around on the stairs and beg Meg not to leave.
If that telegram was meant to disarm him, it had served the purpose. She said she'd stolen it from the sheriff's desk. Did she really? Had it actually been sent by her lover? Or was she lying? Where was Skully now?
Jess hated being an outlaw on the run, wondering who would recognize him next and when it would happen. He wasn't cut out for that kind of life. He wanted to settle down in one place and be the best doctor he knew how.
He wanted a home, a family, a special woman to love, one who would love him in return. He thought he'd found that woman in Meg. He'd disregarded logic and propo
sed when he had no business asking a woman to accept the kind of life he now led.
Suddenly Jess knew exactly what he had to do, what he should have done long ago. And if things worked out the way he hoped, he'd return to Cheyenne and listen to Meg's explanation, if she was still willing to give one. He dragged his bag from beneath his bed and began tossing clothing into it.
Immersed in misery, Jess failed to hear the door open.
"Jess?"
Jess whirled, stunned to see Meg standing in the doorway. "What the hell are you doing here? Didn't I make myself clear? I don't want to see you now. Go home with Zach."
She stepped into the room, her expression as fiercely determined as his. "Zach left without me. I'm not going anywhere, Jess, not until you hear what I have to say."
He dragged his hand through his rumpled hair. "Leave me alone, Meg."
Meg's gaze settled on the bag he'd been packing. "Where are you going?"
He snapped the bag shut. "I can't live this way any longer."
"But you have nothing to worry about now. Arlo is dead. He's the only one who knew about the poster."
Jess inhaled sharply. "Did you kill him?"
She shook her head. "Someone got to him first. He was found dead in an alley."
Jess turned away. "I'm sorry your lover is dead."
"Arlo wasn't my lover and I'm not sorry he's dead. I despised him. I was planning on doing him in myself. Someone saved me the trouble."
"Tell that to someone who will believe you. You went off with your ex-husband without so much as a good-bye. What the hell was I supposed to think? After the night we spent together I thought... I'm a damn gullible fool. I thought you and I were..."
"No, you were right. That night meant a great deal to me. I knew I was leaving the next day and would never see you again. You have to understand. I had to go, Jess."
"Of course you did," Jess snarled. "And now that your lover is dead, you decided I'm the one you want after all. Go home, Meg, I won't listen to anything you have to say. Perhaps when I return, if I return," he stressed, "I'll be in a mood to listen."
Jess turned away, more disgusted with his behavior than with Meg's. He should at least have the courtesy to listen to her. But pride was all he had left. Obviously he hadn't counted on Meg's determination. He couldn't believe his ears when he heard the metallic click of a gun hammer. Whirling, he looked down the barrel of the Meg's revolver.
"What the hell...!
"Sit down, Jess Gentry," Meg said in a voice he'd never heard before. "You're going to listen to me."
Stunned, he plopped down on the bed, but it only took a moment for him to regain his wits. "You're not going to shoot me, Meg."
"I might."
Jess's mirthless grin should have warned her. Before she had time to react, Jess wrested the gun from her hand, tossed her onto the bed, and flung himself on top of her. She arched and twisted and succeeded only in arousing more than Jess's anger.
"Dammit. Hold still," he gritted against her mouth.
"You're not going to let me explain, are you?" Meg said, glowering.
He ground his hips against her. Meg gasped, wondering how he could maintain an erection when his anger was still potent enough to sear her.
"I might listen...afterward."
"After... No, I'm not going to let you use me. Let me go, Jess Gentry."
"You used me. Do you have any idea what your leaving with Skully did to me?"
"I had to! He was going to expose you to the sheriff."
"You could have told me and let me decide what should be done instead of traipsing off with the same man who almost caused your death."
"I heard you and Polly talking about me before I left," Meg confided. "The conversation led me to believe that the townspeople would never accept me if we married. I decided the best thing I could do for you was leave."
"You should have let me decide that. What it all boils down to is you didn't trust me enough to tell me about Skully and your fears about us. You went harrying off to God knows where with a man you professed to despise."
"I did despise him. Enough to consider killing him to keep him from exposing you."
He stared at her mouth, his eyes dark and hungry. Meg likened him to a predator stalking his prey.
Her heart contracted. "What are you going to do?"
"Since you've come to my bedroom uninvited, there is only one thing I can do."
His mouth bore down on hers. The heat flowing from his body to hers was incredibly arousing. But she didn't want to be aroused, not when he was still angry with her. Their loving had always been special, not an emotion born of rage. His bruising kiss, however, brought forth all those intense feelings Jess had always aroused in her.
Unerringly his hand slid beneath her skirts, skimming her knee, his long, knowing fingers probing between her thighs. Meg bit back a scream as he reached deep, stroking into her heated center.
"You're already hot and wet for me," he whispered hoarsely. "Do you want me, Meg?"
Fighting her own wayward body, Meg swallowed a moan and summoned the shattered remnants of her willpower. "No. Not like this. Not when you're angry with me."
He merely smiled as he teased and tantalized and caressed, then evocatively probed deeper. She couldn't find enough breath to protest as his other hand lifted her skirts high, exposing her to his heated gaze.
His hand splayed possessively over her naked stomach. His hand shifted, fingers searching boldly through her curls. Unerringly he found the sensitive spot and rotated it gently with the pad of his thumb. Lights burst behind her eyes and she cried out. Her response seemed to satisfy him as slowly, deliberately, he lifted himself slightly and unbuttoned his fly. Then he settled between her legs.
"Don't!" Meg said, stiffening.
"Yes," Jess replied. "You want this, you know you do."
"That's besides the point," Meg managed to gasp out.
He smiled grimly and pressed the blunt head of his sex against her weeping center. Meg felt the hot hard length of him nudge into her softness. She held her breath as he sank into her filling her, driving himself to the hilt. Then deliberately he withdrew. Shock shuddered through her when he turned her over and propped her on her knees.
"What..."
Before she could protest the indignity, Jess raised her hips and thrust into her, pressing so deeply her knees would have collapsed if he hadn't had a firm grip on her hips. Again and again he filled her, his restraint shattered as he pounded into her. With one hand splayed over her belly, bracing her, and the other on her hips, holding her steady, his loving was driving her to the brink of madness.
Being with Jess again brought Meg nothing but joy, though she knew she shouldn't give in so easily. He thrilled her, filled her, made her aware of all the reasons she loved this impossible man.
Tucking her bottom more firmly against his jutting hips, he moved more forcefully within her, thrusting more deeply, more powerfully. Meg grasped the bedclothes in her fists and fought for coherence as Jess drove her higher and higher. The tension grew, swelled; it was all Meg could do to cling to her sanity.
Climax hovered just out of her grasp. She reached for it, tried to draw it nearer. She felt herself tighten around him, heard him groan his approval. Suddenly she was there, grasping the shimmering pleasure as it burst around her, relentless, passionate, rolling through her in iridescent waves as he sank deeper, stretched her...
Completed her.
Jess felt her insides quiver. Felt her contract around him and drove deeper. He was in no hurry. He wanted to savor her slippery, scalding softness, look his fill at the glowing mounds of her bottom. Slick wetness gleamed along the length of his sex. Her wetness. She fitted him as if she were made for him. He felt her tensing and squirming against him and recognized the awkwardness of her position. He held her steady and thrust his rigid length into her again and again, until he exploded and collapsed against her back.
His breath was gone and his heart pounding
as he slowly withdrew and flopped down on the bed beside her. He smiled when he saw Meg lying on her stomach, her legs sprawled in abandon. She couldn't even rouse herself enough to pull down her skirts, affording him a tempting view of her backside and long shapely legs.
Meg turned her head to stare at him. "Why did you do that?"
"Because I couldn't wait. Did I hurt you?"
"No, not really."
"As soon as I rest, we'll undress and do it properly."
"That's not what I meant and you know it."
Her eyes were glowing with fury, her face flushed. She was lovely. Somehow, while he was pouring his passion into her, his anger had dissipated. Making love to Meg had done that to him. He'd already heard most of the story behind her leaving and understood, even though he deplored the abrupt way in which she had left. He wouldn't have been half as angry or upset if she had trusted him. That's what hurt the most.
"Did you think me incapable of handling Skully?" Jess challenged. "I may be a doctor but I know how to defend myself. I grew up with two rowdy brothers and lived through a war."
Meg flopped over on her back, her gaze fusing with his judgmental one.
"I couldn't bear the thought of you languishing behind bars. Or face the knowledge that I wasn't good enough for you. My reputation leaves much to be desired. I figured you'd be better off without me."
Jess's face hardened. "Did the bastard touch you?"
"No. I would have killed him had he tried. He realized I wasn't the same timid sixteen year old he had once abused. Arlo promised he wouldn't expose you if I helped him win enough money to set him up for life."
Jess's eyes narrowed. "How exactly were you to do that?"
"I made it clear from the start that I wouldn't play whore for him. I was to distract the men so Arlo could cheat during the game. He won heavily but he didn't keep his promise. He wanted us to continue the scam. He said we made a good team. That's when I contemplated killing him."
"Someone beat you to it."
"Yes. But it was too late, Arlo had already wired Sheriff Bufford."
Jess frowned. "Why wasn't I arrested?"
The sheriff wasn't here to receive the telegram. He'd already gone after the bank robbers and Deputy Taylor didn't think it right to open the sheriff's mail. I..." she bit her lip, "I stole the telegram."