Before this woman, no one ever cried out with need. No one abandoned herself totally in his arms, the way Caroline let herself go. Never had he been so connected with another human being in his life.
More beautiful than he could ever dream, his fingers reached out and combed the tangled mass of curls away from her face as she opened her eyes slowly. She almost purred his name.
"Trent, I . . ."
Gazing at her lips, they were too tempting so he covered them once again. No more talking, he only wanted to experience Caroline. Feel her body crushed beneath him. Feel her wrapped around him, pulsing against him. No concerns for tomorrow, only tonight, the two of them pursuing the desire between them, relishing in still being alive.
She slid a hand down his chest until she reached her final destination. A gasp resounded in the room as she encased her fingers around his rock-hard flesh, flicking the head with a gentle scrape. Lying back, letting the fierce pounding of his blood overwhelm him, pleasure wafted over him in pulsating waves.
Leaning over him, her hand caressed him as her lips devoured him. She traced the edges of his mouth, her hand sliding up and down his blood-engorged manhood.
Resonant sensations filled him as he lay back and let her fingers work their magic, rhythmically stroking him ever nearer to the edge. While her teeth lightly nipped, her tongue teased a seductive trail down to the steeled muscles of his chest, lavishing his nipple as she caressed the tender orb.
Suddenly helpless to take the ecstasy anymore, he lifted her and rolled her to her back in a single movement.
Eager, she wrapped her legs around him as he placed his member at her entrance. With a primal surge, he entered her, as she surrounded him, burying himself deeply within her.
Soft whimpers of gratification increased with each long, slow stroke of his body as he slowed his pace, wanting to make their lovemaking last. This moment with this woman had to last a lifetime. Soon he had to leave to keep her safe. Soon, they would have to part ways.
Somehow this woman altered him for the better, made him see life from a different angle. Made him realize just how empty his existence had been until she stumbled into his world.
Once she was gone, how lonely he would be once again.
His lips fused hers as they shared the breath of life, his nostrils brimming with the scent of Caroline. And he was consumed with a passion that surpassed anything he ever endured before.
Clasping her hands in his, he braced against her, plunging deeper and deeper into her, feeling as if their souls were joining. Like nothing he had ever encountered, her body quivered as she shuddered in completion.
"Trent," she cried in the dark, and his heart swelled inside his chest. Only Caroline made him feel larger than life. Only she had the ability to make him believe he was whole once again.
He couldn't hold back any longer. He'd waited as long as he could, but Caroline rode the crest with him. This time the explosion they created when they came together equaled the one in the jail. Only this one was sweeter, more satisfying, and way more enjoyable.
The next morning, Caroline awoke before the sun had risen. Opening her eyes, she thought about everything that happened the day before and couldn't go back to sleep. What if she'd lost him? The memory of seeing him hanging made her chest ache. For a moment, she believed he was dead.
At that time, all she could think about was how she loved him and would never have the chance to be with him. When he started coughing, she feared he wouldn't recover and yet here they were curled up in bed together after the sweetest night.
How could it get any better than this? The only way would be if he asked her to marry him and she would say yes.
Rising from the bed, she went to the window and looked out at the gray dawn and gazed at Zenith's shops marred by violence and fire. Even Meg's store had a glass pane smashed as the men fought to keep the town from learning about the robbery going on. But her man, Trent saved the bank and Zach's life.
Stepping away, she picked up his jacket and his precious papers fell out, causing her to wonder about them. Knowing it was wrong, but unable to resist any longer, she walked over to the window. Sitting in a chair by the light, she began to read.
"You're under arrest," a soft trembling female voice said in the noisy saloon. At first, the outlaw wasn't certain he heard her properly until he turned around and saw her shaking hand pointing a Colt 45 at him, making him nervous.
Fearing for his life, he wondered what had he done to deserve this little mouse's attempt to take him to jail.
"Honey, it's not me you're looking for, if you're needing a daddy," he said with a laugh.
The woman stomped her dainty foot and shoved the Colt against his ribs. "I'm not expecting. I'm a bounty hunter."
The men at the table roared with laughter at the very idea of this lady arresting men three times the size of this pint-sized woman.
"Are you George Matheson?" The soft-spoken woman asked like she was inviting him for tea.
Now why would she ask that silly question. That name he wanted to remain hidden forever. Why in the world would a gambling man, a thief, and a liar answer correctly. All it would do was get him killed by her shaky Colt and already he had outsmarted the grim reaper once.
"No, darlin', I'm just a gambler," he said, grinning at her, wondering if she was smart enough to realize he played her for a fool.
A tear slipped down Caroline's face, but she continued on reading until she finished. It was their story. Their story of pursuing criminals. While she knew she would never make a perfect bounty hunter, he made her look like the most ignorant woman this side of the Mississippi.
Staring at him lying in the bed, all she could think about was how stupid she would appear when this story published. All this time, she was falling in love with him, he was laughing behind her back.
This was a hard job. One that many women wouldn't pursue. Regardless, she had earned a decent living at this dangerous job. Every time she found a criminal, she risked her own life to bring them to justice. And he made the story seem funny.
With her heart breaking, she understood once again her intelligence was questioned. Well, damn it, she was tired of men treating women like they were stupid. No one ever thought she had enough smarts to take care of herself. At this time, she was sick to death of arrogant people hurting her.
Time to make Mr. Holmes regret his actions.
Quickly she put her clothes on and stuffed the rest in her saddlebags. Glancing around, she spied some rope and the memory of Meg telling how she secured Zach to the bed came to her. When she learned he lied to her, she tied him up and left him at the hotel.
"More than one woman can use that trick," she said softly, gazing at Trent's sleeping form. Why was it men could sleep through a tornado or a freight train coming through the house?
Pulling out the cordage, she took her knife and cut four equal lengths of rope.
First, she tied the right side of his body and when she gently rolled him over to his back, she secured the left side as well. The man slept on.
Cold, she stared at the pages of the manuscript and wanted to burn them or take them with her. When she touched them, she felt nauseous at the depth of his deception.
So instead, she wrote him a note across each piece of paper.
Only a bully would take advantage of a woman’s innocence.
On the next page she wrote, If you thought I was a bumbling bounty hunter, then why did you have sex with me?
At the top of the next page, she scribbled, What’s the big deal about sex? If this is what it’s all about, I’m really disappointed. Maybe other men are better at this than you.
Each page had a note that should have made his cheeks blush a little at how inept he was as a man. On the last page, she penned...How does that make you feel? Yes, it hurts.
A loud pounding on the door had her glancing at the bed and then at the door. Picking up her gun, she slowly opened the portal.
"What the hell?" T
rent said. "Caroline, what are you doing?"
There in the doorway, stood Meg, Ruby and even Annabelle. "Ladies, how can I help you?"
Ruby's eyes narrowed. "Caroline McKenzie, what have you done?"
By now Trent thrashed about on the bed, trying his damnedest to loosen the ropes, yelling curse words and tugging on the knots.
"Just following in my cousin Meg's footsteps," she said in her best tea time voice. "After I read what Trent wrote about me, I tied that SOB up."
The women peered in the room and started laughing. At the last moment, Caroline had pulled the sheet up over his nude body.
"Looks like you did a good job of hog tying him," Meg said. "We came here to ask his intentions. The judge dropped all charges against Trent since he helped the town last night. The man should be marrying you."
"I can't marry her."
"You can't or you won’t?” Annabelle said.
She glanced over her shoulder at the man she loved and her heart shattered at the pain of his betrayal. "Annabelle, it doesn't matter. He thinks I'm an idiot woman who shouldn't be creating her own way in this world. Just like my mother, he thinks I should accept any proposal and be glad someone wants me."
"That's not true."
"Well, that's what you put in your story and you obviously used me as your character. Stay away from me, Trent. If you think I'm so stupid, then I don't want to be around you."
"Caroline, release me so we can talk."
"Maybe I am stupid. From the time we met, I thought you were Frank Colten. Soon I realized you were a gunslinger who didn't need my help. So, I willingly put up with your lies, but this is too painful. No longer will any man make a fool of me. Time for this bumbling bounty hunter to smarten up."
With that, she walked out the door and her cousins followed. All the way down the hall, she listened to his screams in the background, shouting for her to come back and it broke her heart. Out in the sunshine, she kept her head held high and strolled toward her horse.
"Time to go back to work."
Almost two weeks later, Caroline set up the bottles on the fence and began her weekly firing practice. Zach had told her Trent had returned home. Her mother was driving her crazy and she knew she had to take out some frustration somewhere or go stark raving mad.
The woman was now trying to set her up with the mortician. For goodness sake, the man worked with dead people. The thought of him touching her like Trent was enough for her to fire six shots in a row, each one landing in the perfect place.
"Wow, your shooting has improved," Ruby said, calling to her.
Whirling around, Caroline admonished, "That's a good way to get killed. Sneaking up behind a woman."
Ruby laughed ignoring her comments. "Why the gun battle? Those poor obliterated bottles."
Funny how her cousin instinctively knew something was wrong. They both were known to take their frustrations out on a target.
"Mother invited Stephen Roberts over for dinner last night."
"The mortician?"
"Oh, yes. A widower with two small children who lives over the funeral home in two small rooms. His kids are brats."
Ruby smiled at her. "Your mother wants to make certain you're not alone."
Right now, being alone was the only thing she needed. She'd been so angry, people didn't want to be around her for good reason.
"Then she should marry him, because I'm not going to. In fact, you girls made me promise I would stay home for a while, but I think I'm done. Time to get back to work, finding bounties.”
Walking up to the railing, Caroline joined Ruby, and together they looked out at the pasture land where once there had been cattle. A shrewd business woman, her mother sold almost all of the bovine when the price spiked.
Now their herd was only about thirty head that she and Caroline took care of. Mainly, her mother herded them around their one hundred acres.
"Men are so dense when it comes to women," Ruby said. "Men are completely lost. Did you know Deke didn't want to wed me because his first wife died in childbirth?"
Gazing at Ruby, Caroline was surprised to hear that Deke had been married once before. "No, I didn't. At the time, you were chasing your father's killer together, but when did you realize you loved him?"
This was interesting news. They seemed so happy now and you couldn't tell there had ever been any problems.
"He had to overcome his fear of me dying in childbirth. How do you guarantee a man something you have no control over, yet in the end, he saved Annabelle and baby Zerelda's life."
Did she find a correlation between Deke and Trent?
"You think Trent is trying to save my life?" Caroline questioned. "After reading his story about me, I'm the one who walked out. I left him tied up, remember?"
"What about his story upset you?" Ruby asked. "You've never said what he wrote."
Laughter bubbled out from Caroline's lips as tears welled up in her eyes remembering how Trent painted such an unflattering picture of herself. "Ruby, you carry yourself as a strong woman. A take charge person who isn't afraid of criminals. Even you haven't really believed I was capable of being in this business."
Ruby nodded. "Because I feared you were going to get one of us killed. So I sent you home to protect both of us."
None of them thought of her as a self-sufficient courageous woman and Caroline no longer was willing to be treated as the idiot in town. Enough.
"That was humiliating. To be sent home because someone didn't think I was capable of being a bounty hunter. Trent writes a story about a woman who is a bumbling fool who screws up one thing after another. Many people think I'm not smart because my voice is soft and I'm not commanding like you, and sometimes, I use that to my advantage."
With a shake of her dark curls, Caroline said, "Who suspects a woman who looks innocent and then slaps you in handcuffs and hauls you to jail. Just because I'm not loud and brash and aggressive, does not make me stupid."
A big smile crossed Ruby's face. "Agreed, Caroline. Even I have not given you the credit you deserve. Our inclination is to protect you because you're such a gentle person. We don't want to see you hurt. We both know this is a mean business."
"Yes," Caroline said softly. "Bounty hunting is not something I want to do forever. Just long enough to prove to myself and everyone else that I'm competent of being an independent woman. Not someone who marries to have a man provide for me, which my mother continues to try to force. First, the pig farmer and now the mortician."
Ruby wrapped her arm around Caroline. "Stand up to both your mother and Trent and tell them exactly what you're saying to me. Tell your mother, stop with trying to find me a husband. When I'm ready, I'll marry."
How many times had she told her mother those exact words and the woman never listened. How many times had she said she expressed no interest in marriage to the men her mother introduced and not to bring her another. Then she brought home another stray.
"She doesn't listen very well."
"Somehow, you have to look her in the eye and say enough."
With a sigh, Caroline realized she was right. It was time to put a stop to her meddling. Dealing with her was exhausting and if she didn't stop, Caroline would take that train to the East Coast.
"How are you going to handle Trent?" Ruby asked. "Are you in love with him?"
Closing her eyes, the memory of his hands on her and the way they made love to each other that last night smacked her in the heart. Blinking away the moisture gathering in her eyes, she almost groaned from the pain of his betrayal.
"Yes," she finally said. "He's afraid Butch will harm me."
Frankly, she worried about the outlaw as well, but her resolution would be to hunt him down and put him behind bars where he belonged. Otherwise, you're always looking over your shoulder wondering if today was the day he put a bullet in you.
"What would happen if you went to Trent and talked about how his story wounded you?"
"That still doesn't deal with Butch
."
"No, but maybe the two of you could come up with a solution. Go after the wanted man and collect the bounty. If I wasn't expecting, the two of us would go after the Jones Boys."
Caroline's eyes widened and she stared at Ruby. "You're having a baby?"
Excitement filled her and she hugged her cousin, so happy for her and Deke.
Ruby smiled. "Yes. I'm going to be a mother. Can you believe it?"
Anxiety suddenly clutched Caroline. "What about Deke? How is he feeling learning you're pregnant?"
"He's scared. Like I keep telling him, I'm not his first wife and he's not going anywhere the last month before I'm due. Me and the baby are going to be fine."
Part of her felt jealous, envious of the relationship she had with her husband. That each of the McKenzie sisters had. Caroline longed for the happiness they had found.
"Congratulations," Caroline said. "Since you girls married, I've always dreamed of having a love like the McKenzie sisters. Understand, I want to be seen as a smart capable woman. A woman that a man would be honored to have as a wife."
"And if Trent is not the right man for you, someone else will come along," Ruby said, smiling. "Now I need to go. The new rule is I'm to be home early and rest each afternoon. Go after what you want, Caroline. Stop letting people walk over you and start with your mother."
Giving Ruby an impulsive hug, Caroline said, "Okay, you could be right. I'll leave in the morning for Castle Gap to tell Trent just how I feel about his betrayal."
Chapter 14
Caroline walked into the house and her mother met her at the door.
"What was Ruby doing here?" she asked. "She's not convinced you to go out hunting again, has she?"
It was all Caroline could do to keep from saying what if she had. Determined to leave tomorrow, she’d have one last word with Trent and tell him how he made her feel. Then get back to the profession that earned her a good living. Time to start making money again.
"Ruby came to tell me she's expecting," Caroline said, gazing at her mother.
Lipstick and Lead Series: The Complete Box Set With a Bonus Book Page 101