He gigged his horse and they started up the embankment of the river heading in a southeasterly direction. She was no longer frightened, only sad. Sooner or later this journey she’d been on would come to an end and she’d have to say goodbye to Beau. He’d go to jail, possibly hang. And she’d go home to her sisters with the memory of her adventure.
Only she feared that she would be leaving a piece of her heart with Beau. She liked this man, he was good, he was kind, but he was an outlaw. A man who’d robbed banks and roamed with a gang. He wasn’t husband material and she would do good to remember that.
The sun was high in the sky, when the sound of horse's hooves pounded the earth. Quickly they hid in some trees and brush, hoping they hadn’t been seen.
An ache formed in her chest at the realization that, this was the life she could expect to live if Beau was her husband. The constant running, hiding, from the law, hoping that no one would catch them. And their children would be tainted by their father’s deeds. No, she couldn’t live that kind of life.
A posse rode towards them. They were riding hard and fast and their horses kicked up a cloud of dust causing a haze to hang over them like an umbrella. Annabelle slipped off her horse to hide in the nearby bushes and watched as they rode past, wondering who they were after.
Beau joined her side and together they observed the men race by less than ten yards away. Stunned, she spotted Meg and Ruby riding alongside the men.
The sight of her sisters brought tears to her eyes. “Oh my God,” she cried. “It’s Meg and Ruby and Zach.”
Beau whirled towards her. “That’s your sisters?”
“Yes,” she said trembling.
Beau covered her mouth with his hand. “Sh.”
Her sisters rode by, her heart pounding like a race horse at a full gallop at the sight of them. She wanted to call out, ‘wait’ so bad, but yet knew that now was not the time. She needed these last days with Beau, because once they reached Fort Worth, he would be gone. Forever.
She would be alone, with only her sisters. She glanced at Beau, her chest wrenching with longing and aching with need for him. She loved Beau Samuel, loved him in spite of his background. Loved him for making certain she remained safe on this trip. Loved him for how he teased her and made her laugh. Loved him for the good man she knew was inside his outlaw persona. And yet she couldn’t remain with him.
Tear-filled eyes watched her sisters in the distance. Meg’s red hair bounced in a braid down her back, her black hat shadowing her eyes. On one side of her rode Zach, the sheriff from Zenith. On the other side Ruby’s blond hair billowed in the wind, her hat low on her head as her body bounced in the saddle.
God, Annabelle loved her sisters so much and she wanted to reach out to them. Scream and let them know she was here in the bushes, she was fine and she wanted to go home. But there were things she had to do. One last thing before she could go home.
A tear slipped down her cheek and she wiped it away.
Beau’s hand released her mouth. “Sorry, I was afraid you would call out to them.”
She shook her head and swallowed her tears, her feelings, and her desires. Slowly she stood and stared into his emerald gaze. God, she loved this man. “No, we’ve got to get to Fort Worth.”
She took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Are you ready to go?”
His green eyes stared at her, gazing at her with tenderness. His eyes conveyed, he knew she felt torn at seeing them. He knew she wanted to go to them, but had chosen to stay with him and that her decision was ripping her apart. Causing her pain and remorse and a sadness that seemed to grip her in its intensity.
But he didn’t know that she’d fallen in love with him and he never would.
His hand reached out and touched her cheek. “Why didn’t you call out to them?”
“Your hand was covering my mouth,” she said with a flip of her hair as she stared into his green eyes defiantly, wanting to pull his mouth to hers and show him her feelings. “Let’s just say I’m going to finish what I started.”
Beau shook his head as he climbed back on his horse. His green eyes studied her like he didn’t believe what she was saying. “We better go before they decide to head back this direction.”
“Yeah. The sooner we get to Fort Worth the better. I need to get home,” she said quietly. She pulled her horse to her side and stepped up into the saddle. “Let’s go.”
An hour later they hurried down the trail. They were making great time and as long as the horses held out, they might even arrive sometime late tomorrow. His chest was tight with pain at the realization that soon, they would be parting ways. Soon she would go home and he would be back on the trail.
Oh, he knew she thought she was going to turn him in, but he wasn’t worried. He knew Annabelle would do what was right when the time came. He knew she would choose him, just like she’d chosen not to tell her sisters that she was on the side of the trail watching them go by today.
She could have yelled out to them at any time. She could have very easily have removed his hand, but instead she’d watched them go by with tears in her eyes. Oh, he knew she missed them, but she wasn’t going to turn him in. And for now that made him feel good.
“Why didn’t you yell at your sisters?” he asked again, not understanding why she wasn’t ready to give up the fight and go home. Why was she continuing to stay with him when she could leave? Was it still the money? Or was it something more?
She shrugged. “Again, I’m going to see this to the bitter end. I’m staying by your side until we reach Fort Worth. I’ll turn you in and then we’ll part ways.”
If only he wanted a woman by his side, he would easily choose Annabelle. She was everything he loved about a good woman. She was strong, she defended those she loved and she was soft as butter in his arms, melting into all the right places. If he were a marrying man, she would be his first choice for a wife, a mother to his children.
But there was his family to consider, his job, his lifestyle and right now the bounty on his head.
He smiled. That’s what he liked about Annabelle. She was honest to a fault and always told him exactly how things stood. “So you’re still planning on turning me in.”
“Yes, I am. And I’m going to try to collect on the Harris gang.”
He nodded. “I’ll do what I can to help you.”
Her brows drew together in a frown. “They’ll take your word that I killed those men.”
“Don’t know. All we can do is try.”
They rode in silence for a few minutes, watching the sky as it changed from afternoon into evening, the east filled with shadows as the sun sank into the west.
“How much further do you think we should ride tonight?” she asked.
“As long as possible, so that we reach Fort Worth tomorrow. I’d love to sleep in a hotel bed tomorrow night, take a bath and get a good night’s rest. Plus I need to take care of the money.”
He wanted to enjoy the luxury of Annabelle in his arms, in a bed, not the cold, hard ground. For once he’d like to make love to her surrounded by softness with cotton sheets.
“Hmmm that sounds nice. And a home cooked meal sitting at a dining table.”
“I think we can arrange that.”
“And a bath. God, I would love to feel some soap and water on my skin.”
He grinned and wondered how she’d smell after a fresh bath, how her soft skin would feel. “Now you’re talking.”
“Wash my hair and change my clothes.”
Sure Annabelle looked grimy from the trail, but she was still a beautiful woman. Seeing her all cleaned up was frightening because he was afraid of how the sight of her beauty would affect him. Would it cause him to trade in his life for a chance with her?
No, Frank and Jesse were too big a danger. If they located him, his life would be hell. They wanted their brother’s blood. They wanted him dead.
“We have one more night on the trail together,” Beau said, nostalgia gripping his
chest making it hurt to breathe. Had they only known each other for over a week and yet it felt like a lifetime. He felt like he could see her brain churning and knew what she would say before she opened her mouth. He felt like he knew her better than anyone else in the world, including her family.
And yet, they had only been together a short while. A short, tense, life-threatening trip filled with danger from bad guys and weather and everything else that Texas had to offer. And while he didn’t want it to end just yet, he knew it was time. They would soon reach their destination and they would each go their separate ways.
That was life. That’s what happened. With each new day, they would soon forget about each other and the time they rode together. He’d return to his old life and she would go home to her bounty hunter sisters.
All the attraction they felt at this moment would disappear.
Yet somehow he knew Annabelle had left a permanent mark on his heart and that he’d never be the same. It was hard to see a future without her by his side.
That night they sat around the campfire, watching the flames dance an erotic beat.
“Last night,” Beau said softly.
“Yeah,” she said, staring into the glowing fire. A pop filled the air with sparks and he watched her shivering from the chill in the air.
“Cold?”
“A little bit,” she said, wrapping her arms around her knees, her skirt pulled tight around her legs.
He stood and walked around the fire to her side. He sat down beside her and pulled her into his arms.
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” she said, glancing up at him. In the glow of the fire, her sapphire eyes sparkled and he thought of the afternoon they’d made love down in a root cellar during a tornado. That memory would stay with him forever and he’d never forget how he’d loved the way she made him feel that day. Trusting him and wanting to be in his arms.
How many women ran from him when they learned he was Jesse James’ brother. But not Annabelle. The woman had met every challenge head on. She’d faced bats, a tornado, and the Harris gang. Every time, she’d come out more powerful and better than any woman or man he’d ever met. She was so strong and he wanted her more than his next breath.
“Annabelle, I’ve never met a woman quite like you. You’ve changed me.”
“But not enough to quit robbing banks.”
There were so many things he needed to tell her, but now was not the right time. “Sugar, let’s just focus on tonight.”
“Beau,” her voice was filled with want. She reached up and ran her finger along his cheek. “I know this is a bad idea, but I’m doing it anyway.”
She pulled his mouth to hers.
The moment his lips covered hers, he melded her mouth to fit his. His hands gripped her face and he held her firmly in place, letting his lips savage hers with all the desire he could feel coursing through his body. He wanted Annabelle. He wanted to experience joining with her again. To feel her sweetness surrounding him, enveloping him.
What was it about this woman that made him throw caution to the wind and forget his focus on the job he had to do and the harm that his family had done to him?
He couldn’t resist her any longer. Lord, he’d tried, but now he had to have her, again.
She wound her arms around his neck, opening her mouth greedily to receive his kiss. He poured his emotions into his lips, letting her feel what he could not say. The scent he’d come to recognize as Annabelle flowed around him, filling him, tantalizing him and making him crazy with need.
This woman wrung him inside out and left him craving for more. He reached for the buttons on her dress, his hand fumbling, only knowing that he needed her, he had to have her and it had to be now.
She pushed away from him, her breathing harsh, “Stop, let me.”
“Thank God,” he breathed a sigh of relief with a smile. Together the two of them undid her dress. When the buttons were undone, he helped her raise the garment over her head.
“This is the only dress I have.”
While he shucked his pants and shirt, he watched as she undid her chemise and pulled her pantaloons down. They stood in front of each other, naked, staring at each other in the firelight.
He’d never had a woman who was so sexually innocent, yet daring and brave. Somehow she’d wrapped her hands around his heart and even now he could feel it slowly dying with the thought of never seeing her again. He pushed the thought out of his mind, focusing on the here and now and the way she looked in the firelight.
“I guess the last time we were in such a hurry we didn’t take the time to really see each other,” he said. “God, you’re so beautiful Annabelle.”
“You’re not too bad looking yourself.”
Annabelle deserved so much more than to be taken on the hard cold ground, but it was the best he had to offer and he wanted her so badly it wouldn’t have mattered.
She shivered and he pulled her into his arms. His hands were touching her, rubbing her skin, trying to warm her both inside and out.
“Sugar, I need you so badly,” he said, next to her ear.
“I can feel just how much you want me,” she said, her voice husky. “Quit talking and get on with it.”
He chuckled. God, this was what he loved about this woman. She was practical as the day was long and told him in no uncertain terms what she craved. And right now, she fancied him as much as he needed her and that left him starving for her.
He lowered his mouth to hers, accepting her unspoken acknowledgment of the passion that wrapped around them. She moaned and the sound charged through him like a matador in a bullfight.
Lord, he wanted to go slow. To savor each touch, each caress, the feel of her soft satiny skin, but knew he wouldn’t last long. He reached out with his fingers tracing circles around her nipples, feeling them harden beneath his touch. His hand slid down along her ribs, past her waist, where he pulled her leg over his hip, letting his erection slide along her center.
Though the temptation was strong to plunge into her womanly silkiness, he waited. Her pleasure was more important than his own. He wanted her to enjoy this as much as him.
Breaking off their kiss, he laid her down onto their bed roll and placed his lips on the puckered tip of her nipple tenderly sucking the tiny bud. She gasped and arched her back, pushing her breasts toward his mouth. He pulled her tight against him, loving the way her pressed flesh felt against his naked skin. All her womanly softness, tight against his male hardness.
While his mouth continued lavishing attention against her breast, his hand crept down towards her center. Her skin was so silky smooth, velvety to his touch and he wanted more. Somehow Annabelle filled his empty spaces. She touched him and soothed him and made him want to be a better man. He wanted to be her man. But that was impossible.
His fingers touched the springy curls that covered her velvety folds and she jerked from the sudden touch. His heart pounded in rhythm with this breathing as he stroked her until she was moaning. Stroked her until she was wet with desire for him. Stroked her until she was crying out his name.
“Beau.”
The sound of her voice had desire racing through his veins. His lips covered hers once again, raking the inside of her mouth with his tongue, teasing, and dancing, retreating and withdrawing. From the beginning, this woman had tantalized his senses mercilessly, goaded him, vexed him at every turn, and now writhed beneath his touch.
No woman had ever responded so completely, so lovingly.
She reached down between his legs and found his hard male shaft. Annabelle gripped him in her soft sweet hand and he thought he was going to die. For a moment, he feared he would not be able to control the fierce need that overwhelmed him, causing his blood to race through his veins like a stampede out of control. The touch of her fingers brought him right to the edge.
He couldn’t wait another minute to be inside her, to feel her womanly sheath surround him. He moved his body over hers until his manhood lay between
the vortex of her thighs.
With a sense of rightness and homecoming, he sank into her body. He gazed into her sapphire eyes, dilated with passion, her breathing heavy. Intense tenderness overcame him and he covered her mouth with his in a kiss that sizzled with the fervor of their lovemaking.
Why had Annabelle affected him like no other woman? Why with her did he think of hearth and home and family and a life that was impossible for a man like him? Why with Annabelle did he feel like his life had been empty until the moment they’d collided in the bank changing his course forever?
That collision was the catalyst that had set his life into a tailspin of emotion and feelings that he had no control over.
She matched his thrusts and he felt the need to devour her, consume her until they were one. No other woman had ever affected him like Annabelle. Just her mere touch had him reeling with the need to make her his own. To experience over and over this paradise in a world of pain. A world where no matter what he did, either good or bad, no one seemed to understand him, except this woman.
She raked her fingers down his back, sending shivers stampeding through him. Knowing his climax was rushing towards him, he held onto her tightly, trying to absorb her into his skin, knowing she’d branded her soul onto his own.
Annabelle released his lips, a cry escaping her throat like he’d never heard before as her body spasmed with release. The sound of her calling out his name sent his own release ripping through him, shattering him. He shuttered, clinging to Annabelle as the world lurched and he knew he’d never be the same.
As the world slowly stopped spinning and his breathing began to slow, he lay there on top of her wishing he could give her everything she wanted. Knowing he could not marry her or be the man she needed. He would have to let her go.
Her arms were wrapped around him, holding him like she’d never let him go and he wished that was true. He rolled them to their side and pulled the blankets of the bedroll up tight against them. They lay there, watching the fire die down, letting their bodies cool while once again rational thought overcame him.
Lipstick and Lead Series: The Complete Box Set With a Bonus Book Page 49