Catch Me If You Can

by Juliette Cosway

  Bella went to the bells on the wall. She glanced back over her shoulder. “So, who can I call for you? May is it, or Pearl?”

  “No.” He looked directly up at the screen. “I’ve come for Eleanor.”

  Eleanor stared down in disbelief, her heart racing.

  Bella was flustered. “No, I’m sorry, Sir. Eleanor ain’t one of my girls.”

  He didn’t respond, but continued to stare up, as if waiting specifically for Eleanor’s response.

  She walked to the top of the stairs, her heart racing. His gaze covered her body, releasing scurries of sensation over her skin.

  “I know she isn’t one of your girls.” He paused in order to impress his message upon Eleanor. “But I want her, if she will still have me.” His eyes were heavy with longing and something else – the demand for an answer.

  Eleanor’s heart thundered with hope and excitement. A huge weight began to lift from her shoulders. He’d come back, he’d thought about what she’d said and he’d come back to her. Her heart swelled with pride and longing.

  “No, you don’t have to.” Bella appeared confused by what was passing between the two of them. “Sweetie, you are our guest, unless you want to, don’t do it.”

  “Eleanor never does anything she doesn’t want to do,” Rivers said. His voice was distinct, his sharp gaze making a direct and intimate contact with her.

  Prompted by his comment, she walked down the stairs.

  Bella looked even more confused than before, then shrugged. “Well if you are sure.” She opened a room on one side of the hallway before leaving them alone.

  Rivers stood with his arms folded and his feet widely placed, watching Eleanor closely as she came down the stairs. She noticed how the suede of his jacket looked rough and sun bleached against the light tan of his skin and his black hair. His eyes were jet black. He wanted her. She could see and feel the strength of his desire.

  When she got to the bottom of the stairs, he turned and walked into the room Bella had indicated. Eleanor followed. Her nerve endings were in chaos, her breathing erratic. What would pass between them when they were alone? As she shut the door behind her, she glanced around the room. It was decorated in rich red-flocked walls with heavy wooden furniture and a massive carved headboard over the bed. Trailing wooden leaves and flowers drooped over the full plump pillows of the bed. She set her shawl down on the bed, her hand trembling.

  They stared at each other openly and for several long moments.

  “You look as nervous as a bird on its first flight.” He gave her a gentle, teasing smile. “After your brave and forthright speech of yesterday, it’s quite a turn around.”

  “Yesterday I said my piece, and today you have responded by coming back to me. I’m nervous. So much lies between us, and yet these few feet are a huge chasm for us to cross to reach for it.”

  He nodded. “That’s true enough.” His gaze scanned every inch of her. “We will close the gap between us. It is time, if ever it wasn’t before.” His voice was determined. “You know it as much as I do, and tasting you yesterday did nothing to slake my eternal hunger for you, my love.”

  Her heart gave a great pang of longing. She grew weak in the face of the determination and strength that exuded from him.

  “We are in a house of pleasure, are we not, what better way to close the gap?” His eyes were molten as he said the words, and she shivered under the intensity of his gaze. “Take off your dress, it’s been far too long since I’ve truly seen you.”

  She responded to his request automatically, the situation unleashing her darker carnal urges. With her eyes cast aside, Eleanor unbuttoned her borrowed dress, the light wool cloying against her prickling skin.

  Rivers observed while she moved, as if under a spell. He closed on her as the dove grey dress fell to the floor. She unlaced the pale pink silken ribbons of the ivory bodice beneath. Taking the ribbons into one hand, he drew her chin to face him with firm fingers. His other hand entwined in the ribbons, and he pulled her closer to him. Her lips fell open, a gentle cry escaping her. He was close, real and strong and determined.

  “If you were a whore, my precious love, I believe I’d sell my every possession, including my soul, in order to buy your time all for myself.”

  Eleanor whimpered. The pulse in her core pounded out a relentless rhythm, as solid as hands beating on a tight drum.

  His lips closed over hers, his tongue probing deep into her mouth, it was a hungry possessive kiss. She responded with longing equal to his, her hands wrapping around his neck. He undid the ribbons while he kissed her hard and long, then stroked his hands over her shoulders and breasts. Wild threads of sensation flew out from where he touched her. He drew back, caressing her nipples, watching as her lips parted with pleasure.

  “I realized that last night.” He paused. “I knew it wasn’t true, but if it were I would have to come here, every day, and buy every moment of your time, so no other man could have you.”

  Her body trembled.

  “Eleanor, I love you. Since I first met you I’ve wanted you. I want to look at every inch of your body before I make love to you. Let down your hair.”

  She unpinned it, shaking it down in a tumble of darkness over her shoulders.

  He took handfuls of it between his fingers, then stroked it over her breasts.

  The pulse between her thighs beat faster, and her head dropped back as she gave a low moan. He pressed his lips to her nipples, mouthing her hungrily. Waves of stimulation coursed through her, like snakes across the hot desert sand.

  “Dear god, Rivers, what are you doing to me?”

  He gave her a dark smile. “I’m taking pleasure in the sight of you.” He dipped his fingers inside her, into her well of desire.

  She was weak with sensation. He continued his mastery of her senses, stroking her bud until she was shivering with torment, her mouth open, and her hands clutching at his shoulders.

  “Oh yes, my sweet Eleanor, you are ready for this and you will be mine.”

  Her knees buckled and she moaned loudly when her climax shuddered through her. Her inner flesh contracted fiercely.

  His arms slipped up around her, carrying her across to the bed. She laid back across it, barely aware, her chest heaving with the flood of release. As her breath slowed and her consciousness took hold again she saw Rivers had stripped off his clothes. His fist was on his manhood, slowly pumping as he eyed her. It stood out from his hips, huge and powerful. Her core contracted with need. She whimpered and moved up the bed, making space for him. He came at her and quickly entered her, like a wild hungry creature starved of its vital sustenance.

  Her flesh was so swollen with desire and fulfillment that she was exceedingly sensitive. She gasped as the rod of flesh probed into her, her breath panting harshly against his face. He held her, his familiar dark eyes reassuring her she was safe in her abandon. Her body moved against him, beckoning him closer.

  “You are on fire,” he breathed, his face contorting in ecstasy.

  “Yes, my love, oh to have you there.”

  His extreme arousal was only being heightened by her words, for he thrust harder still. He took slow, deep strides, masterful, even then. She could see he was on the edge, reckoning with control. With each movement he made she uttered a breathless cry – for it was almost too much to stand. The feeling of him thrusting against her, deep inside, caused a torrent of pleasure with each move, each greater than the last. Eleanor’s senses were dizzy with rapture. A dynamite sequence was triggered inside her, wave after wave of acute pleasure flooding her senses.

  “Rivers,” she cried out. “Oh, Rivers.”

  * * *

  He cocooned her against him, holding her safe and locking her into place with his arms. He kissed her over and over, hungry to feel every ounce of her softness to reassure himself she was real in his arms and it wasn’t another dream.

  “I wonder if Venus herself was as passionate in love making as you are, my precious,” he whispered
.

  “It’s been a long time, waiting, thinking of you.”

  “You were thinking of me, even though you had escaped me in New York?”

  She pushed her head back into the pillows, chuckling heartily. “I didn’t escape you. I merely gave you the slip.” Her eyes sparkled mischievously.

  “I should put you over my knee and spank you for your insolence, Miss Craven.” He kissed her and she purred, wriggling up against him, obviously not adverse to his remark about spanking. He would have to store the little fact away for future reference. His hand went possessively around the curve of her bottom as he thought about it some more.

  “Is the chasm between us safely dissolved?”

  She nodded, beaming at him, happily lying there in the glow of their fulfillment.

  “Oh, you are such a wanton, such a sensual, pleasure-loving woman, Bella missed a great business opportunity…she could have made herself a fortune selling you alone.”

  “Rivers.” Her head went back against the pillows. She caught his teasing expression and pushed him away before quickly pulling him back against her again. “You are terrible, don’t say such a thing, and you must know it’s only you. It’s you who makes me this way.” She blushed and looked up at him with adoring eyes.

  Her words brought every confirmation he needed. His heart swelled with pride and joy. “I barely dare ask…” He smiled at her. “May I assume we will travel together from this point?”

  She nodded. “Yes, we will travel on together and please forgive me…”

  He put a finger to her lips “That’s all I wanted to know.”

  “There’s something else…” She grew serious.

  What could this be about?

  “Yes?”

  “There’s a young man here who has no family, and he helped me with a difficult situation. I’ll explain it all when we are under way, but I wish to take him with us to California. There’s nothing for him here now and I owe him a great debt.” Her eyes were clouded with some unhappy memory. Would he ever know about everything that had happened to her in those missing weeks? he wondered.

  “His name is Leo.”

  “If you are happy with that I am, especially if he helped you in some way. However, I want us to be on our way tomorrow…and I want you to come with me now and stay in Fort Bridger tonight.”

  “No, Rivers, no I can’t.”

  He hated to see that frown on her beautiful face, but he knew his was deeper. He sighed. “Why ever not?”

  “These women have been good to me. Let me stay with them tonight to say my goodbyes at supper time.”

  Rivers didn’t want to risk spoiling this blissful moment with protestations. He nodded his agreement, albeit reluctantly. “I don’t suppose there’s any point in trying to persuade you to join the railroad from here on?”

  She arched her eyebrow at him, her mouth pursed.

  “No, I thought not.” He couldn’t help smiling.

  “For Father,” she whispered.

  “I know. I’ll come for you tomorrow and I’ll bring fresh mounts, you must be ready to leave by noon.”

  “And Leo,” she insisted.

  “And Leo.” He smiled. She was as feisty as ever, even while languishing against the over-stuffed pillows and the gaudy headboard of a small town bordello, looking like a sated harlot. He was happy her spirit was strong, but tomorrow couldn’t come quickly enough for Rivers. He didn’t feel at all happy about leaving her there another single night. Despite her reassurances, he had a bad feeling about the place.

  His doubts hankered on as he left her side and he was mighty reluctant as he turned his horse back toward Fort Bridger. Behind him, the sun was going down over the little town of Clearwater Creek, and the shadows grew long.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The Lady Challenged

  Eleanor took Leo with her to the tiny bank at the far end of Clearwater Creek, as soon as it was open the next morning. She smiled at Charles, the teller, remembering his visits to Bella’s house and Clare’s comments about him. He was all polite charm and efficiency. He wired her account in New York and they waited for the funds to be confirmed and released. She requested some extra money for Bella as a contribution for her keep over the past weeks, as well as some for both her and Leo to buy clothes and supplies.

  She told Leo about the plans while they waited. He asked if he could go and say goodbye to his neighbors before they set off later that day.

  “Hurry back, we must be ready to leave this afternoon,” she said as they separated outside the bank. He tipped his hat and set off. She watched his retreating back with a sense of misgiving. The ghosts in the gloomy corners of the town were creeping out to remind her of their presence. Eleanor shook the feeling off and told herself he would be back and they’d be on their way soon enough.

  She crossed to the store to buy her provisions. The storekeeper beamed at her while the pile of things on the counter grew, topped finally by the two pistols she’d selected from the special drawer behind the counter. When she got back to the house she pulled on the riding breeches and crisp cotton shirt and folded up the dresses and petticoats that had been lent to her during her stay.

  She examined her old boots, deeming them sturdy enough to complete the journey, and thumbed the edge of the hat she’d bought earlier.

  A sound attracted her attention from below.

  It must be Rivers, she thought, although it was still early. No, it sounded like a woman’s voice and she crept to the top of the stairs, curiosity drawing her.

  She looked through the screen.

  It was Clare. There was a large male hand heavily across her mouth, and an expression of fear in her eyes. She was trying to shake her head but the man’s hand was holding her tightly.

  “Take it easy, my pretty,” he said.

  Eleanor put her hand over her mouth to catch the sound of warning that rose in her throat. Her mind was racing. The man was grappling Clare’s skirts with his free hand – he truly meant to harm little Clare. Her heart beat loud in her chest. An image of the leering trader flashed through her mind. She couldn’t let this happen, but there was no one around to call for help. She backed into her room where the pistols and holster lay on the bed. Her heart ached for Rivers, for his strength and willing protection. He’d wanted to take her away from this place, but who would have been here to help Clare?

  Would you be willing to get blood on your hands, as well as dust on your boots? His question echoed around her mind, yet again. She swallowed.

  A muted scream reached her from the hallway.

  She grabbed the holster and strapped it round her hips. As she walked back to the landing she let her hands slide across the weight of the guns on her hipbones for reassurance, then walked unseen to the top of the stairs.

  The sound of ripping fabric reached her. The man was tackling Clare’s resistance with brute force, his knee sliding between her legs, his body pressing hers over the table in the hall. Eleanor grew mighty angry and wondered where everybody else was, but as the thought grew it faded, to be replaced by the realization this man was familiar to her, for he was the man she’d seen in the store.

  It was the judge himself.

  As Clare struggled, she caught sight of Eleanor and her eyes pleaded for help.

  The man looked up at Eleanor.

  She moved her hand along the length of her right pistol then slid it out of the belt, aimed, and waited. A sense of power touched her, bestowing her with its air of command. His face twisted into a sneer, a comment of dismissal. What a repulsive creature he was, assuming his power omnipotent. He may rule the town, but right now she was taking control of this particular situation. She jerked the pistol sharply. He removed his hand from Clare’s mouth. She gasped and whimpered, but he kept hold of her, watching Eleanor all the while. She pointed the pistol at him and stepped down one stair, indicating her seriousness.

  “Get back, get away from her,” she said.

  Still he didn’t mo
ve.

  “Get back,” she seethed.

  He looked at her with narrowed eyes, trying to gauge her intentions.

  “This is the whorehouse, if I’m not mistaken.” He chortled.

  She stepped down again, the pistol leveled at his head.

  Fear flickered across his face. He knew she was serious now. She wanted him to be afraid. If he’d made the rules of the game, he had to learn to play by them too.

  The man moved back, his hands lifting, his eyes still narrowed and fixed on her. Clare shifted and moved slowly along the hallway – pressed against the wall, where she could see the door.

  “I’m sure we can work this out. Come on…let’s get Bella in here.”

  Clare’s whimpering halted him.

  “Move right away, Clare, get right away from him.”

  Eleanor’s eyes and the gunpoint never left the judge.

  He lost the jovial look. His fingers twitched. A dark shadow on the inside of his jacket made itself known to her consciousness. He was going to try to out shoot her. The knowledge of it brought a cynical smile to her face. The corners of his mouth tightened when he saw the pleasure she got from his discomfort, and he reacted. In a flicker of a second, she caught the movement of his hand toward his jacket with a shot perfectly centered on the palm of his hand. The sound of it seared through the silence.

  His hand seemed pinned to the air by the bullet, the only movement blood covering the palm. He cried out, his other hand going to his wrist, blood pouring quickly down his arm. He looked at her, his eyes filled with rage.

  “You bitch!” he cried.

  “And what does that make you?” She glared at him, weeks of frustration spilling out. All the injustices she’d witnessed flooded into her mind. “Presumably I’m not following the rules of your game. I’m following the rules of decent people and justice.”

  His eyes were filled with fury, his hand clutching at the wrist, stemming the blood flowing from his palm. “You’re going to see justice all right, Missy, you’re going to see it in jail, and if I’ve my way you won’t even live to see that!”