by Connie Mason
Zoey felt his warmth beside her and thought she was dreaming again of Pierce. Wanting him so desperately always produced dreams that shattered before the light of morning. But when she felt his lips upon hers, drawing her into his heat, she knew this was no dream. She opened her eyes and whispered his name.
Pierce …
Chapter 18
Zoey jerked upright, reaching out to touch Pierce before he disappeared into the land of unfulfilled dreams. “What … How … Dear God, am I dreaming?”
“Not dreaming, love. It’s really me.”
“What are you doing in Butte?”
“Looking for you. It’s a small city, after all. I just bumped into Chad.”
Zoey’s vision blurred, but her gaze remained intent upon Pierce’s face. “Then you know I married Samson Willoughby. But I couldn’t … couldn’t let him … Not after being loved by you.”
“You don’t have to explain, love. Cully told me everything.”
“Cully? You’ve seen Cully?” Excitement colored her words. “Is he all right?”
Pierce pulled her into his arms, stroking her back to calm her. “Cully was wounded while trying to escape Willoughby’s man. By some miracle he made it to Delaney land. He was recuperating when I left. I have every reason to believe he’ll make a complete recovery.”
Relief shuddered through Zoey. “Thank God. I’ve been so worried. Willoughby wouldn’t let me see Cully after the wedding. The only reason I married him was because he said he’d hurt Cully if I didn’t.”
“I know. Can you forgive me, love?” Pierce asked, tilting her chin so he could look into her eyes. “I’ve been such a fool.”
“I’m the fool, Pierce, but it’s too late for regrets. I’m married to a man I despise.”
“It’s not too late, love. I never signed the divorce papers. I destroyed them. Your marriage to Willoughby isn’t legal. You’re still my wife.”
Numb with disbelief, Zoey stared at Pierce. “You destroyed them? I … I don’t understand. Why didn’t you let me know? Why did you go on letting me think we were no longer married?”
“You have every right to be angry. It was difficult to toss aside old prejudices. Once I came to grips with my feelings for you, I realized how much I needed you. I wanted to come for you, but didn’t know how you felt about me. Had I any idea Willoughby was causing you trouble, I would have come to your aid immediately. If you needed money for the taxes, you should have asked me.”
“I guess we both acted stupidly,” Zoey confessed. “I didn’t want to burden you. I promised myself I’d never force you into anything again.”
Her head rested against his chest as he held her tightly against him, savoring her warmth, her special scent, the way her body fit his so perfectly. Zoey was his; he was never going to let her out of his sight again. When she lifted her head to smile at him, her lush lips were too great a temptation. Too many weeks had passed since he’d held Zoey in his arms like this.
Zoey snuggled against the heat radiating from his body. His eyes were darkly brilliant as she lifted her face for his kiss. Then she tumbled into the promise in his passion as his mouth claimed hers. She clung to him, consumed by the hunger of his kiss, by the hardness of his body, his strength, the way his hands were skimming over her body, possessing her utterly by touch alone.
She felt her nipples pucker under his expert touch, felt swirling pleasure begin in the pit of her stomach as he pulled her shift over her head and stroked the hardened tips. When he sucked and licked the aching peaks, she whimpered and arched into the molten heat of his mouth.
“You’re mine, Zoey,” he whispered raggedly. “You never belonged to Willoughby. I was mad to let you go. I want you, Zoey. I want to love you until neither of us has energy left to move.”
Pierce stroked and caressed her gently. The feel of her skin, so hot and smooth and flawless, made him shudder with desire. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaled her sweet scent, and let the pleasure of having her in his arms consume him.
He spread wet kisses along the side of her neck, teased her earlobe with his tongue, and whispered words as arousing to her as the magic of his touch.
Zoey moaned as she reached out to caress him, needing to touch him everywhere. She stroked his chest, his shoulders, his neck, loving the play of rippling muscles beneath her fingertips. She moved restlessly against him, needing to get closer to his incredible heat. Then slowly she blazed a trail of fire with her lips across his chest, continuing downward to his stomach. She heard him take a deep breath and hold it, enormously pleased by his response to her mouth and hands on his flesh.
Then she found him, cupping his erection in her hand and rubbing the warm crown of his thick shaft against her cheek, thrilled by the strength of his need for her. She ran her mouth over his hard length, felt him shudder and saw his stomach muscles jerk spasmodically. Then her lips parted over him, her tongue flicking out to sample the smooth, velvety texture.
Pierce howled with pleasure, then gnashed his teeth to keep from spilling immediately. He wanted to love her slow and easy, but Zoey was making it difficult for him to control his raging hunger. The uninhibited way she responded to him aroused a fever of passion inside him. He shook with the need to thrust inside her, to feel her heat close around him, to have her take him high inside her. And once he was as far as he could go, he wanted to bring them both to shuddering release.
“No more, love,” he said, disengaging her mouth. “We don’t want to end this too soon.”
As he crawled over her, his mouth took possession of hers. He kissed her endlessly, using his tongue, lips, and teeth to nip and tease. She was gasping from lack of air when Pierce’s mouth left hers and roamed lower, licking and sucking her nipples into stiff peaks. Zoey responded with a driving ardor that matched his own, moaning and twisting beneath him. Then his mouth took a downward path, across the ivory softness of her belly, hovering over the tight nest of curls at the top of her thighs.
He nudged her legs apart, his mouth finding the sweet moistness there as he thrust his tongue inside and tasted her. He heard her breathless cry of ecstasy, heard her call his name as he lifted her buttocks, raising her up so he could push his tongue even more deeply inside her.
Pierce felt a surge of hot blood lengthen his staff. He was swollen, hard, painfully full, and he couldn’t wait. Rising, he slid upward along the length of her body.
“Open for me, love,” he whispered against her lips. “I’m coming home.”
Zoey gave a glad cry as Pierce flexed his hips and thrust into her. He worked her gently at first, trying to go slowly, but with her tight, hot sheath squeezing him, his good intentions flew out the window. When her knees came up to give him further access, the banked hunger in him erupted. He pumped his hips with increasing vigor, each deep penetration sending scorching flames through her body. Zoey rocked beneath him, taking him inside her to the hilt. Mouths clinging, loins meshed in violent rhythm, they reached for ecstasy.
Zoey felt the blood hammering through her veins, exhilarated by the incredible passion they were sharing. Her face blazed with fierce joy as she wrapped her arms around him and crushed her breasts against him. Heat was building, fire blazed through her, searing her with shattering force. She was dying the sweetest death possible. He locked his arms around her and yelled his release, draining himself inside her as she pulled his hips to hers and exploded around him.
“If that doesn’t make a baby, I don’t know what will,” Pierce gasped. “That was worth waiting for, love.”
“A baby,” Zoey repeated dazedly. There was something she wanted to tell Pierce, something about a baby, but she was too tired right now to think. The long journey from Montana and living in turmoil since marrying Willoughby had left her drained. When she woke up she’d tell Pierce he was going to be a father.
“I love you, Zoey,” Pierce whispered as she drifted off to sleep. “I know it’s love because nothing could hurt so much yet feel so wonderful.�
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Zoey heard and smiled dreamily. “I’ve always loved you, Pierce.”
“Sleep, love. We’ll talk in the morning.”
Settling snugly into the curve of his body, Zoey let sleep claim her.
Zoey opened her eyes and smiled sleepily. Sunlight flooded into the room, revealing a drabness that she hadn’t noticed the night before. But to her it was the most beautiful room in the world. Pierce had found her in this room, made love to her here, and told her he loved her. They were the sweetest words she’d ever heard.
“I’ve been waiting for you to wake up,” Pierce said, pulling the blanket from her body. “I want to make love to you in the light of day. I want to see all of you. I want to watch your face when I bring you to pleasure.”
“Do we have time for this? Shouldn’t we—”
“We have time.” His eyes darkened with desire as he stared at her breasts.
“There’s something I want to tell you.”
“It can wait.”
With an efficiency of motion he lifted her atop him, settling her across his loins. He was already swollen and hard. He kissed her as he reached between them and touched her, delving his fingers inside her. She was wet and hot, and as ready as he.
“You want me as much as I want you. The proof of your need is at my fingertips.”
Zoey blushed but could not deny it. Wanting Pierce was as elemental to her as breathing.
“Take me, love. Take me inside you.”
Grasping his erection, she lowered herself onto him, gasping as he slowly filled her. Spanning her hips with his hands, he drove himself into her, taking them both to Paradise.
Afterward they lay in one another’s arms, basking in the aftermath of their love. Zoey smiled dreamily, imagining Pierce’s reaction to her pregnancy. She no longer worried about his acceptance of their child. He loved her, therefore he would love the babe he had put inside her. She tried to form the words to tell him, but they never left her mouth. The door crashed open and Samson Willoughby stepped into the room, accompanied by the sheriff and two deputies.
Pierce jerked upright, pulling the blanket around Zoey’s shoulders.
“What in the hell is the meaning of this?” Pierce roared. He glanced at his clothing lying in a heap beside the bed and spit out an oath. Being caught naked, without his guns, unable to protect Zoey, left him feeling as vulnerable as a newborn babe.
“You’re in bed with my wife, Delaney,” Willoughby said from between clenched teeth. He turned to the sheriff. “Do your duty, Sheriff Wilkins, arrest this man. There must be a law against stealing another man’s wife.”
“I can let him cool his heels in jail awhile,” Wilkins said, “but if the woman was willing, there’s little I can do to keep him.”
“Of course my wife wasn’t willing,” Willoughby said huffily. “She was kidnapped from our room.”
Wilkins cast an inquiring glance at Zoey. She didn’t appear at all pleased to see her husband. “What about it, ma’am? Were you taken against your will?”
His question shook Zoey free of her stupor. “No, Sheriff, I went willingly. Pierce Delaney is my legal husband.”
“Like hell!” Willoughby thundered. “My wife and Delaney were divorced before I married her. My wife suffers from delusions.”
“Wrong,” Pierce said. “I never divorced Zoey. Now, get the hell out of here.”
“Arrest this man, Sheriff Wilkins,” Willoughby ordered. “Obviously he’s lying. I have a marriage license to back up my claim. You have no proof Delaney is other than a no-account drifter, while my reputation is without blemish. Delaney was the object of a manhunt after he beat a poor defenseless woman in Dry Gulch, Montana.”
The sheriff appeared confused. “Are Mr. Willoughby’s claims true, Mr. Delaney?”
“Those charges were false, and Willoughby knows it,” Pierce said. “I’ve been cleared of any wrongdoing.”
Willoughby smiled blandly. “So he says.” He removed a document from his vest pocket and offered it for the sheriff’s inspection. “I have my marriage license as proof of my marriage.”
“These look legal to me,” Wilkins said, handing them back to Willoughby. “Do you have your marriage papers, Mr. Delaney?”
“Not many men carry their marriage license with them,” Pierce contended.
“Mr. Willoughby does,” the sheriff said. “Until I learn differently, you’d best come with me, Mr. Delaney. And you, Mrs. Willoughby, should return to your husband. Get dressed, Delaney.” He strode deliberately over to Pierce’s discarded clothing and picked up his gun belt. “You won’t be needing this.”
“You’re making a big mistake, Sheriff,” Pierce said, reaching for his clothes.
“That remains to be seen. You can cool your heels in jail while I send out a few telegrams and go through my wanted posters.”
“The Delaneys are well known in Montana. My brothers and I own one of the biggest spreads in the state,” Pierce said as he pulled on his clothes.
“Pierce is telling the truth, Sheriff,” Zoey said, growing frantic. How could this be happening to her? “We’re not divorced. My marriage to Samson Willoughby isn’t legal.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Willoughby said. “My wife is slightly confused. It’s a condition from which she suffers from time to time. The doctors suggested a sanatorium, but I can’t bear to part with her.” He sent her a sympathetic smile.
Fully dressed now, Pierce lunged at Willoughby. “You lying bastard! You’re going to pay for the grief you’ve caused Zoey.”
It took the combined strength of both deputies to subdue Pierce and drag him from the room. The words he flung over his shoulder were those of encouragement to Zoey. “Don’t worry, love, I won’t let Willoughby get away with this!”
Zoey wanted to run after Pierce, to try to convince the sheriff that he spoke the truth, but she was naked as a jaybird beneath the blanket Pierce had flung over her.
“Get dressed. We’re leaving Butte immediately,” Willoughby said. “You’ve caused me enough embarrassment to last a lifetime.”
“I’m not dressing in front of you.”
His gaze turned lustful. “I can be persuaded to join you in bed. I’d prefer not to take you in the same bed in which you sported with Delaney, but if you don’t move quickly, I’ll do what I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.”
Zoey gave him a venomous look and did as he requested. She didn’t want him to touch her. Holding the blanket to her naked breasts, she snatched her shift from the floor and pulled it over her head. Feeling less vulnerable, she ignored Willoughby’s hot gaze as it followed her across the room. Fuming inwardly, she grabbed her dress from the chair and yanked it over her head. The welcome weight of the gun in her pocket bolstered her courage and gave her a sense of reckless confidence.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Zoey said, facing him squarely. “You don’t frighten me. I’m not married to you. I never was.”
“I’m not going to return to Rolling Prairie alone and become the laughingstock of the town. Oh, no, my ‘wife’ will be with me.”
Zoey laughed in his face. “Pierce won’t remain in jail for very long. You’re a fool if you think he won’t follow us.”
Willoughby’s fingers curled hurtfully around her arm as he pulled her toward the door. “We’ll be back in Rolling Prairie before the sheriff releases your lover. I’ve made arrangements to leave on the afternoon stage. I fully expect Delaney to follow when he’s released, but he’ll never reach town alive. I fear he’s going to meet with an unfortunate ‘accident.’ My men won’t fail me this time.”
“You can’t make me leave,” Zoey said, pulling the gun from her pocket and poking the barrel in Willoughby’s gut.
“You’re threatening me?” Willoughby said, his voice rough with anger.
“Damn right I am. Cully is out of your reach. He’s recuperating at the Delaney ranch. You can no longer bully me.”
Willoughby’s eyes glinted dangerou
sly, which should have warned Zoey.
“Turn around, Mr. Willoughby. Walk out that door and keep walking.”
Willoughby made as if to comply. He placed his hand on the doorknob, but instead of turning it, he whirled abruptly, flinging his arm out at the same time, dealing Zoey a blow to the face that sent her flying. Too stunned to move, she lay at Willoughby’s feet as he calmly bent and ripped the gun from her hand.
“What were you saying, my dear?” His face turned hard; his icy gaze impaled her. “Get up. We’re both walking out of here and boarding the stagecoach. Before I left the hotel I arranged for our luggage to be delivered to the station.”
“How did you know I was with Pierce?” Zoey asked shakily. The left side of her face felt as if it were on fire; her mouth was numb from his cruel blow.
“When I found you missing, I questioned the hotel clerk and learned that a man fitting Delaney’s description was asking about us. I put two and two together.”
Zoey thought it best not to mention that it had been Chad asking questions, not Pierce. “How did you find me?”
He gave a hoot of laughter. “Easy. I went to the sheriff’s office and told him my story. His deputy just happened to see a woman and man fitting the descriptions I gave him enter the Cow Town Hotel while he was making rounds. I remarked to Sheriff Wilkins that Delaney was a dangerous man, so he and his two deputies accompanied me. The clerk verified that a Mr. Delaney was registered and gave us the master key.
“I hated to brand my wife a whore, but I had no choice,” he continued. “Fortunately no one in Rolling Prairie is likely to find out about this. You won’t be going to town much, anyway.”
“Holding me prisoner will solve nothing. If you hurt Pierce, his brothers will come gunning for you. They both know why Pierce went to Butte.”